Mountain Views News          Saturday, March 15, 2014

Inside This Section: Wistaria Festival News....Arts & Entertainment & more! 


SECTION BSATURDAY, MARCH 15, 2014 
Celebrating Sierra Madre’s Most Well Known Landmark 
The Vine 

Sierra Madre’s 120-Year Old 
Wistaria* Vine 

By Phyllis Chapman 

In 1894, William and Alice Brugman purchased 
a home on what was then called Piedmont, which 
is now called W. Carter Ave. The house had been 
built one year before by builder Amos Trussell for 
his daughter Winona and son-in-law Edward B. 
Jones when they married. It was the first wedding 
celebrated in early Sierra Madre.

 The Trussells and the Jones had a change of 
plans, sold to the Brugmans and moved away. To 
enhance her new home, Alice Brugman and her 
neighbor Mrs. W. B. Crisp, drove by horse and 
buggy to the R. H. Wilson Pioneer Nursery in 
Monrovia and for $.75 purchased a gallon can 
of wistaria. It was the Chinese Wistaria variety 
(Wisteria sinensis). She planted it in a corner of 
her front porch remarking to her neighbor: “They 
say Wistaria grows fast.” And grow it did.

 Mr. Brugman, a mining engineer, was in Mexico 
when the vine was planted. He died in 1899 
and Mrs. Brugman sold the home in 1906. The 
property changed hands until it was purchased in 
1913 by Henry T. and Estelle Fennel. Mr. Fennel, 
who was a bit of a horticulturist, loved the vine, 
and gave it devoted care, even building support 
trellises. 

Although the Wistaria is a vigorous grower, 
the added support of the trellises may have 
contributed to this vine’s phenomenal growth. 
The arbors prevented the end tendrils from 
hanging down and causing the tender terminal 
buds to die from the added weight. Wistaria 
requires good drainage, certainly provided by 
this hilly, terraced location. There may also be an 
underground spring providing water to the tap 
root.

 The vine eventually destroyed the original 
home, growing into the walls and fireplace and 
causing the roof to collapse. Mr. Fennel built a 
new home 200 feet to the north (the present 
upper home) and trained the vine to grow up to, 
but not covering the new residence. A portion of 
the foundation of that original home was saved 
to continue to provide support for the vine as its 
branches extended such a distance.

 When the vine was in bloom, the Fennels would 
invite friends to come and enjoy the blossoming 
plant. Visitors also came from Pasadena’s main 
hotels: The Green, The Huntington, and The 
Raymond. In 1918, the Fennels opened the vine 
to the Sierra Madre Chapter of the American 
Red Cross, which sponsored a very successful 
fundraiser to help the war effort. 12,000 people 

Partial View of The Vine from the home of Bob and Nel Solt 

Photo by S. Henderson/MVNews 


attended the event. This was the beginning of 
many Wistaria festivals that took place year after 
year. Sierra Madre became known as the Wistaria 
City. Many local organizations, including the 
Board of Trade (now the Chamber of Commerce), 
the Woman’s Club, the Masons and Eastern Star, 
the Sierra Madre Volunteer Fire Dept., etc. were 
involved.

 Many homemade items, fancy work, ceramics, 
artwork, gift books, and Wistaria fragranced 
perfume, hand lotion and bath salts were sold 
at booths under the vine. Luncheons and teas 
were served, often with young Japanese women 
wearing their kimonos.

 The hard work and money earned at the vine 
by the Woman’s Club paid off the mortgage of 
their first clubhouse. One year the Fire Dept. 
parked 30,000 cars on the parking lot that existed 
in Floral Canyon. (This is now Sierra Meadow 
Dr.). Easter sunrise services were among vine 
activities. People came from all over the world 
and extra street cars were added to handle the 
crowds. Among the famous were Fritz Kreisler, 
Janet Leigh, Mary Pickford, and Norman 
Rockwell. These two helped select the festival’s 

Wistaria Queen. Packard Automobile Co. 
used the vine as a backdrop to advertise its 
automobile. 
On December 5, 1936, Carrie Ida Lawless 
purchases the vine property from Mrs. 
Fennel, who was now a widow, for $17,000.00. 
December 5th was Mrs. Lawless’ birthday, 
and according to one account, she was 
making a present to herself of the world’s 
largest bouquet. Also a widow, her husband 
William J (Bill) Lawless was mayor of Sierra 
Madre during 1928-29. She, herself, was a 
successful businesswoman having founded 
the Weaver Jackson Beauty Co. in Los 
Angeles and was active in the community, 
serving as president of the Woman’s Club and 
the Garden Club.

 Mrs. Lawless spent a small fortune (around 
$100,000) enhancing the grounds of her new 
property and caring for the vine. When the 
festivals were held they often lasted for the weeks 
the vine was in bloom, not just for one day. Mrs. 
Lawless, a patron of the arts, also sponsored vine 
activities all year long.

 She hosted art exhibits, musicales, and poetry 
readings. Nearby residents objected to the 
constant activity and took their complaints to 
the City Council. Nothing was done as Mrs. 
Lawless 
presented the argument that the vine existed 
before these neighbors purchased their 
properties.

 In recognition for her contributions to the 
community, the Garden Club planted another 
Wistaria in the terraced garden on the west side 
of what is today the Solt’s garden. It blooms a 
bit later than the original vine and the plaque 
commemorating the occasion is gone.

 When Mrs. Lawless died in 1942, she provided 
for the vine by leaving a legacy to her nephew 
and heir, Bruce McGill, to continue care of 
the property with a committee headed by the 
Garden Club President. In 1944, the property 
was purchased by Richard and Marian Thayer. 
Marian is the daughter of M. Penn Phillips, 
a well-known developer of desert property. 
In 1944 the vine was overgrown and in poor 
condition. Richard Thayer planned to chop it 
up and get rid of it. A protest was raised and 
an association was formed to protect the vine, 
with money provided to pay property taxes and 
provide year-round care for the vine.

 In 1961, after Richard Thayer died, the lot was 
split. Marian married builder Ronald Cook 
who developed the west side of the property 
with homes and built the present Solt home for 
he and Marian in1962. The upper home was 
sold to Joseph and Marie Feeney who raised 
eight children there. In 1972, Ron and Marian 
sold the lower home to Bob and Nell Solt. In 
the late 1990s, Joe Feeney died and Maria sold 
the property. It was purchased in 2003 by the 
present owners, Dan and Dana Dorrance.

 By the 1970’s Vine Festival activity had about 
ended. It started up again in the late 70’s when 
sponsored for one day each year by the Chamber 
of Commerce. The Sierra Madre Beautification 
Committee was the yearly sponsor in the 
1980’s. Approximately 500-600 people attended 
the festival each year. In the spring of 1989, 
Huell Howser came to film the vine for his 
program Videolog, which aired on KCET. The 
next year, approximately 6,000 people came 
to view the vine. The festival organizers were 
unprepared for such a turnout; lines stretched 
for two blocks. Howser returned in 1992 to film 
again for his California Gold program. Sierra 
Madre and the Chamber of Commerce quickly 
organized and combined the annual Vine 
viewing with a downtown street fair. A shuttle 
bus is provided, and people procure tickets to 
see the vine at a pre-scheduled time. 

The Guinness Book of World Records has 

Phyllis Chapman, Sierra Madre’s Annointed 
Historian Photo by Bill Coburn 


named the Vine the World’s largest flowering 
plant. It is estimated that at the height of bloom it 
has 1.5 million blossoms with 40 blossoms per sq. 
ft., weighs 250 tons and has branches that extend 
500 feet. Wistaria is a member of the pea family 
though its seeds resemble a flat bean. Seed pods 
burst open in the summer. The plant is deciduous, 
losing its leaves in the winter. Wistaria seeds were 
brought from China by Marco Polo in the 13th 
century.

 Today, the vine covers approximately one acre. 
Over the years, it has shown distress and seemed 
to be dying. Experts have been brought in from 
Cal Tech, Occidental, and Cal Poly Pomona. 
Correct pruning, treatments with hormones, and 
vitamin B have helped the vine to recover and 
to flourish. To help maintain the Vine’s health, 
records of vine growth and care are now kept on 
a computer log. The Vine seems to produce its 
greatest flowering after a cold winter followed by 
a sudden hot spell. 

What is the correct spelling for wisteria— 
wisteria or wistaria? In the Sunset Western 
Garden Book it is spelled wisteria. Sierra Madre 
has always spelled it wistaria. According to L. A. 
County Arboretum and Botanic Garden senior 
biologist Jim Bauml and Librarian Joan De Fato, 
the plant was named to honor Caspar Wistar 
(1761-1818), an American physician and teacher, 
who taught at the University of Pennsylvania. 
Among his accomplishments, he wrote the first 
text-book on anatomy. When the name of the 
genus Wisteria was put into the books, it was 
incorrectly spelled, says De Fato. So, one could 
say that all along, Sierra Madre has correctly 
spelled Wistaria! 

Learn more about The Vine in an article written 
by NPR science reporter, Sandy Totten at: 

http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/03/14/42794/howdid-
sierra-madre-s-record-setting-wisteria-get/ 

Inside this section: 

Wistaria Festival Info 
Arts & Entertainment 
SMTV 98 Channel Guide 
Legal NoticesPublic Notices 
Letter To The Editor 


Mountain Views News 80 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327, Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com www.mtnviewsnews.com