SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 2011

VOLUME 5 NO. 25

Adams’ Pack Station - 75 Years Young Story & Photos by Chris Leclerc


CITY COUNCIL 
TO DISCUSS USER 
UTILITY TAX AND 
REGIONAL 

HOUSING NEEDS 
ASSESSMENT AT 
TUESDAY MEETING

For local hikers, campers and cabin owners 
who frequent the trails at Chantry Flat in Big 
Santa Anita Canyon, Adams’ Pack Station 
has become known as a treasured historic 
icon, and after 75 years the pack station has 
much to celebrate. Having met numerous 
seemingly insurmountable challenges over 
the years including forestry road closures, 
fires and landslides, Adams’ Pack Station is 
still quite alive at 75! Their success did not 
come easy, however. Without the dedication, 
hard work and support of people who cared 
enough to invest themselves in such a labor 
of love, the pack station may easily have 
become a thing of the past. Now it is thought 
to be the last remaining pack station of it’s 
kind in the United States. 

 During a recent visit to Chantry Flat, I 
heard the brassy braying of a donkey echoing 
through the canyon which surprised me 
because for whatever reason, I assumed that 
hauling services had been discontinued. 
When I stopped by the pack station on my 
way down the hill, I was very pleased to see 
that it is indeed open, and there is a lot more 
going on there than there has been in years. 
I had the pleasure of meeting the current 
owner, Deb Burgess and she was kind 
enough to allow me an interview. 

(continued on page 4)

 The Sierra Madre City Council 
will undertake two controversial 
issues at its regular meeting on 
Tuesday, June 28th.

 On the agenda are the final report 
of the User Utility Tax (UUT)
Oversight Committee which recommends 
that the city increase 
the UUT to 12% in the fiscal year 
ending 2012. ‘The UUT Oversight 
Committee was formed to 
review and make recommendations 
concerning the audit and 
appropriate expenditure of the 
funds collected by the increased 
UUT’.

 The recommendation came from 
the committee on a vote of 3-2. 
Kevin Brennan is the Chair of the 
committee and Larry David is the 
Vice Chair. Other members of 
the committee are Jeff Bohn, Tom 
Denison and Anna Laws.

 Also on the agenda is an update/
status report of the city’s Regional 
Housing Needs Assessment 
(RHNA). The assessment is mandated 
by the state and, through 
the Southern California Association 
of Governments (SCAG), the 
state has tried to require all cities 
to provide low and moderate income 
housing based upon the regions 
growth patterns.

 For the City of Sierra Madre, the 
suggested number of new housing 
units has raised the ire of 
most residents. On Tuesday, the 
council will hear an update on the 
status of what is currently going 
on with SCAG and where Sierra 
Madre now stands.


In addition to enjoying the beauty of the area, visitors to the Pack Station 
can listen to Live Music and partake of Eric’s good cooking! Mules such as 
the one pictured below still provide a valuable service to overnight guests.


Inside This Edition...

CALENDAR Page 2 

SIERRA MADRE CENTENNIAL BOOK AND 
DESIGNER WIN ANOTHER DESIGN AWARD

JPX Media Group of Los 
Angeles has announced 
the winners of its 2011 
International Book Awards, 
honoring outstanding 
books on a global scale, 
and Southern California 
Story: Seeking the Better 
Life in Sierra Madre has 
won the award for Best 
Interior Design. Sierra 
Madre resident Jeff Lapides, 
designer of the book, was 
recently notified of the honor. 
Competitors for these awards 
ranged from small boutique 
publishers to large ones such 
as Random House, Simon 
and Schuster, A.A. Knopf, 
and Penguin Books. Over 300 
winners and finalists were announced in over 140 categories covering print 
and audio books. Awards were presented for titles published in 2009, 2010 
and 2011.Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of JPX Media Group, said this 
year’s contest yielded a large number of entries from authors and publishers 
around the world, which were then narrowed down to the final results.

 It has just been confirmed that Jeff will also be designing the forthcoming 
San Marino centennial book being written by local author Elizabeth 
Pomeroy, which is due to be published in 2012.

Southern California Story: Seeking the Better Life in Sierra Madre, published 
by the Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society, was written by another 
local author, Michele Zack.

SME’s NEWEST AUTHORS

Sierra Madre News Page 3

Around San Gabriel Valley Page 4

Pasadena/Altadena Page 5

Arcadia Page 6

Monrovia/Duarte Page 7

Education & Youth Page 8

SUMMER FUN Page 9

Good Food & Drink Page 10

Arts & Entertainment Page 11

Legals Page 12

Left/Right Page 13

Opinion Page 14

The World Around Us Page 15

 The Good Life Page 16

Homes & Property Page 17

 FYI Page 18


Miss Palmer’s 3rd Grade Class at Sierra Madre Elementary School consists of 
31 published writers! Full story on Page 9


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