Mountain Views News          Saturday, July 21, 2012

5

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

Mountain Views News Saturday July 21, 2012

“What’s Going On?” 

News and Views from Joan Schmidt

Remembering a Special Woman:

HELENA RUTH HENLIN ROLDAN 

 A couple weeks ago, I read of the passing of Helena Roldan with a 
heavy heart. Helena Ruth Henlin Roldan was born on August 23,1940. 
From day one, she was remarkable. She was the eldest of ten siblings and 
helped raise the younger ones. In the last years of their lives, she helped 
take care of her parents. Helena was a remarkable daughter, sibling, 
mother, wife, friend, and teacher. 

 As the eldest of the children, she may have seemed bossy at 
times, but took the little ones out to do fun activities such as catching 
“lightning bugs”. Helena and her siblings grew up in a happy, love-filled 
home. After Helena graduated from High School, she was determined to become a nun 
and entered the “Sisters of St. Louis”. She was a nun for eight years and taught school. But 
she became ill and when her health finally returned, she decided to leave the convent. She 
received a dispensation from the Pope and her Mother Superior. She met Henry Roldan 
and they married in December, 1970. They raised Henry’s young son, Henry Jr., and their four children, Marie, Phillip, 
Teresa, and Daniel, who will greatly miss their beloved mom. There are also nine grandchildren who are left behind. Helena 
taught ten years at Annunciation School, Arcadia.

 I met Helena in September, 1985. She, Father Eugene, and I were the three “New Kids on the Block” at Annunciation 
Parish. Father Eugene had come as Associate Pastor, and Helena and I were the new teachers at the school, Helena in 5th 
Grade, and me in 4th Grade. She was my “neighbor” at school, and if ever a question came up, I’d run over to her room and 
get an answer that I knew would be the right one. Once I ran into her room after school to escape a parent. (The parent would 
come in my room and spend an hour telling me her personal problems. Normally I didn’t mind, but I had a lot of papers to 
grade. I was “small” in those days, so I ran into Helena’s room and squeezed into the coat closet! The parent came looking for 
me, and Helena said, “Oh, Mrs. Schmidt must have left already”!

 When I mentioned Helena’s passing on Facebook, all former students left so many beautiful comments. She was a 
“great teacher”, “great role model”, and “I learned so much from her” are just a few of the MANY positive comments!

 The Memorial Mass was held on June 29, 2012. Fr. Eugene, now pastor, officiated. His comments included, “I liked 
her a lot. She was kind, dear, gentle, matter-of-fact and honest”. 

 Two months ago, while at a party, Mrs. Donnelly, retired Teacher’s Aide had said, “I just love Helena. No matter what 
happens, she always has the upbeat positive attitude and great smile on her face!”

 There were hard times in her life as we all have. But Helena was different. She did not wallow in self-pity. She accepted 
whatever came her way always with an upbeat attitude and smile on her face.

 Helena’s surviving siblings and their families, her children and her two oldest granddaughters as well as friends, 
former co-workers and four Sisters of St. Louis came to honor this special lady.

 Her sisters Dorothy Harren and Terri Schreine did the two readings. Her sister Kathy read the beautiful Eulogy and 
spoke lovingly of the eldest sibling who “helped raise the little ones” and “looked after Mom and Dad when they moved down 
from Oregon.”

 Eight years ago, Helena developed Alzheimer’s and confided that she had it. Again, she was upbeat, but the disease did 
take its toll on her. Her last years were spent at the home of her eldest daughter Marie and her family. They took great care of 
her. 

 Her other daughter Tess planned the beautiful Memorial Mass which was followed by a Celebration Reception at 
Marie’s house, where loved ones shared so many beautiful and happy memories.

 Rest in peace, dear friend and co-worker. You have touched so many hearts at Annunciation and you will be greatly 
missed.

ANTONOVICH CALLS FOR RENEWED 
ACTION TO PREVENT WEST 
NILE VIRUS EPIDEMIC

LOS ANGELES COUNTY — As several dead birds have tested 
positive for West Nile Virus in Los Angeles County, Supervisor 
Michael D. Antonovich has introduced a motion calling for 
multi-agency coordination and a renewed effort to combat the 
virus to prevent an epidemic.

Supervisor Antonovich’s motion directs the Departments of Public 
Health and Public Works to investigate and clear open water 
ways that harbor mosquito breeding sites, exterminate active 
breeding areas and fully implement the planned West Nile Virus 
awareness and surveillance program. 

“Though the Department of Public Health has been educating 
the community on methods to combat West Nile Virus, more 
proactive measures must be taken,” said Antonovich. “It is vital 
that West Nile control is achieved through mosquito control by 
elimination of mosquito breeding sites, active breeding areas, and 
education on West Nile Virus prevention.”

Antonovich urges residents to take the following precautions:

-Avoid outdoor activities between dusk and dawn when mosquitoes 
are most active. 

-Wear long-sleeve shirts and pants when engaging in outdoor activities 
during these hours. 

-Apply approved insect repellents containing active ingredients 
such as DEET, Picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Keep tight-
fitting screens on doors and windows to prevent mosquitoes from 
entering your home. 

- Eliminate all sources of standing water around your home and 
property and properly maintain ornamental ponds, pools, and 
spas. 

- Request FREE mosquitofish from your local vector control district 
for placement in out-of-order swimming pools, spas, and 
ponds to control mosquito breeding. 

-Contact the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District 
at (562) 944-9656 or online at http://glacvcd.org/ to report any 
significant mosquito problems in your neighborhood. The District 
strongly encourages you to report any mosquito activity near 
vacant or foreclosed homes and abandoned swimming pools in 
your neighborhood. 

The public is encouraged to report dead birds to help with West 
Nile virus surveillance and control efforts, as birds play an important 
role in maintaining and spreading the virus. 


INTERVIEW ON CZECH TELEVISION 

 

By Christoper Nyerges

[Nyerges is the director of the School of Self-reliance, and author of “How 
To Survive Anywhere,” and other books. He can be reached at Box 41834, 
Eagle Rock, CA 90041, or www.ChristopherNyerges.com]


Recently, I was interview by a journalist from the Czech Republic who saw 
my appearance on the National Geographic’s “Doomsday Preppers” show. 
He wanted to learn about some of the practical skills that I teach to prepare 
individuals for emergencies and disasters, such as the identification 
of wild foods, making fire, and methods of being more self-reliant in the 
home. I presented all these skills as positive ways to enhance one’s daily 
life and to improve one’s survival quotient without a focus on fear or panic.

As we were finishing, he asked me something to the effect of “What was your worst and most painful 
experience?” I had to think a minute, and I recalled why I got interested in survival skills in the first 
place. 

The very beginning of my studies involved agriculture (all my mother’s brothers were farmers), and 
the claim that the U.S. feeds the world. I can recall the various frightened predictions of famine in the 
U.S. in the 1970s, based upon the fact that way we deal with land management was worse in the 1970s 
than it was in the 1930s which led to the Dust Bowl. 

I began to study botany and wild foods partly because I was worried about the larger conditions 
which might impact myself and my family. This dovetailed well with my interest in Native American 
living skills, where the average person knew all the uses of every plant that grew in your area. The 
idea of rekindling those bygone skills appealed to me. If I had to, I wanted to be able to find my food, 
medicine, tools, weapons, etc., from what nature has provided. 

I told the reporter, Michal Kubal of Ceska Televize, that I have gone into the mountains many times 
with no food, and enjoyed doing it. But, I told Kubal, my primary goal has been to avoid pain and 
discomfort and untimely death in the first place. I’ve enjoyed traveling into the wilderness and knowing 
that I could take care of myself. But my motivating interest was the survival of my society, and my 
country, and the sustainability of the systems that we all depend upon. 

Thus, any knowledge of self-reliance and survival builds strength into the community. Individuals 
who are knowledgeable and trained in survival tend not to have a victim mentality and tend to be a 
part of the solution. That has been my goal, and what I attempt to teach.

The various uses of wild foods that I collected and ate while on a short walk with Michal Kubal were 
the very foods I’d eat if there were no stores to go to, for whatever reason. My simple salad consisted 
of plants that were then in season: wild radish leaves, mustard flowers, lambs quarters, curly dock 
leaves and some amaranth leaves. All these plants would make a delicious stew if simmered slowly in 
a miso broth.

I also showed the reporter the many hand-operated tools that would allow life to continue if there 
was no electricity. In fact, the kitchen tools I showed Kubal were taken from my own kitchen, things 
like hand-operated can opener, juicer, coffee grinder, grater, etc. Though I don’t have anything against 
good electrical kitchen appliance, I have experienced enough black-outs to know that the hand-tools 
will never go out of style.

We also looked at some of the very simple and inexpensive tools that are commonly available to provide 
electricity from the sun, which were lamps, radios, battery chargers, etc. 

I don’t know when my segment on Czech Television will air, but I will post it on my website if possible. 
My short interview reminded me that these skills are direly needed in a society that is always growing 
larger, in which we are increasingly dependent on others for everything. The simple solutions to 
any disruptions to our society are the focus of my classes, the schedule of which you can see at www.
ChristopherNyerges.com

Reduced!