Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 12, 2015

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 12, 2015 

REMEMBRANCE

Walking Sierra Madre…The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis

MORTIMER GREEN

“Labor Day is a great opportunity to reflect on what you failed to 
accomplish this summer.”

 “Sometimes it’s important to work for that pot of gold. But other 
times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most 
important decision simply consists of choosing which color to slide 
down on the rainbow.” Douglas Pagels

 Hope your Labor Day holiday consisted of nothing more difficult 
than relaxing in the shade, eating a hamburger or hot dog that 
somebody else cooked and taking a long afternoon nap. I made 
pancakes for breakfast and my best buddy, John, went to OSH to 
take advantage of the No Sales Tax weekend. He bought me six big 
bags of ornamental bark to help contain our water! 

 College football is back....at last!! We watched the Stanford game, 
the Cal game, part of the Oregon Ducks game, the UCLA game 
and part of the USC game last Saturday. Yes, it is possible to watch 
football all day and well into the night and live to tell about it. All 
our teams won, too! 

 Met a really splendid person this week, Susan Wallis of John 
Wallis & Associates, Designers, Makers and Restorers of Stained 
Glass Windows. Susan’s studio is in that nifty 38 East Montecito 
Center, east of Baldwin. She’s in #7. Just walking in the door is 
an adventure in beauty as the walls are covered with designs and 
renderings of stained glass windows that have been created by 
Susan and her Dad, John Wallis, who passed way several years ago, 
but Susan had no desire to change the name of their business. John 
Wallis created stained glass masterpieces for 70 years, starting in 
Boston, MA. Susan spent her childhood in the studio and learned 
the stained glass business from every perspective, later adding a 
Fine Arts degree from Cal State Long Beach. Everywhere I looked 
something fabulous was under construction. Exquisite diamond 
shaped leaded glass windows to go into homes. One piece featuring 
flowers and a small bunny in one corner of the glass took the 
homeowner several years to decide upon. Stained glass is not a rush 
rush business!

 Much of Susan’s antique glass comes from Germany where it is 
still glass-blown by mouth, just as this glass has been created for 
hundreds of years. Each piece is uniquely beautiful, no two alike...
and the colors!! The biggest piece the Wallis family ever created 
is the Pearl Harbor Memorial window for St. Andrews Cathedral 
in Honolulu, Hawaii. The window is 50’ tall and 25’ wide. If you 
Google the Cathedral, you can see this window in all its splendor. 
They also created the windows along the side walls in this Cathedral 
and another window 45’ wide and 30’ tall, which took six months 
to create. The stained glass windows in our own Ascension Church 
are also Wallis work.

 All of Susan’s, and her father’s work has been done in the 
traditional method with the old fashioned tools which have proved 
to be the best. The process is a thousand years old and the finished 
product is beyond amazing. Each client tells Susan what they 
think they’d like, Susan does a water color or ink rendering, the 
client approves it and, as Susan says, “If you like the design, you’ll 
love the windows!” It takes months to finish a 5’ square piece and 
there is a waiting list. She is working on 7 or 8 projects currently, 
in addition to restoration work. After all, lead deteriorates and has 
to be replaced after about a hundred years or so! All the lead and 
solder products Susan uses are Made In America and a great deal of 
her glass is also U.S. made: cathedral glass from Kokomo, Indiana 
and opalescent glass from Washington and Oregon.

 
John Wallis came to California after World War II and set up shop in 
Pasadena for some fifty years. Susan brought the business to Sierra 
Madre in 2002 and she’s a resident, too, along with her mother who 
is now 96, who worked with the glass for over 50 years. My Dad, 
who was a well-known artist in many mediums, from oil to water 
color and pen and pencil drawings, learned to make stained glass 
late in his life so when I saw Susan Wallis had a studio here in town, 
I had to meet her. Susan Wallis: One more of the Treasures of Sierra 
Madre. 

 

 My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

 “Tablespoon of Love, Tablespoon of Laughter” is available there…

 An excellent wedding gift and teachers would love it, too!


Mortimer Green died on August 31, 2015 at the age of 92. Born 
and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Mortmer spent most of the 
last 30 years in the Pasadena - Sierra Madre area.

Mort, as he was called by his close friends, had a great love for the 
outdoors and was an active member of the Sierra Club, hiking 
every week up into his mid-80s. He was also an avid reader, 
movie goer and participant in local life.

Mortimer Green was a gentle, witty, elegant, caring, attentive, 
loyal and observant friend, neighbor and family man. He is 
survived by one of his daughters, a brother and many loved ones 
and friends.

We will miss his memorable presence very much. We would 
have hated to go through life without meeting Mortimer. Rest in 
Peace dear friend.

 

GET OUT! GET ACTIVE! 
VOLUNTEER! BE A 
COMMISSIONER!

Sierra Madre, CA. – September 11, 2015 - Volunteer to Serve on 
the Community Services or Senior Community Commissions! 
The City is looking for motivated, enthusiastic, creative volunteers 
to serve on the Community Services and Senior Community 
Commissions. As a volunteer on the Commission you serve as a 
communication link between the community and City Council – 
Community Services advocates for the parents, kids and families 
regarding recreation and community service programs. Seniors 
advocates for senior programs and services. Both Commissions 
assist in formulating policies that govern the department; 
recommend rules and regulations to the City Council regarding 
the City’s parks, facilities and programs, make recommendations 
regarding department priorities, and much more.

 

The City Council is looking for applicants RIGHT NOW! Be a 
part of your community today! 

Applications and information can be found by visiting: http://
www.cityofsierramadre.com/cityhall/commissions__boards__
committees

For more information please call 626.355.7135 


SMART GARDENING WORKSHOP 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2015 

California remains in a serious drought and the average home uses 
up to 70% of their daily water outdoors. Please join us for a free 
Smart Gardening class for residential customers of Sierra Madre.

 The course will cover topics such as sheet mulching, soil building, 
water-wise plants, landscaping design tips, efficient irrigation and 
turf removal. The class will be held at the Hart Park House Senior 
Center, 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., on Saturday, September 19th 
from 10:00am to 11:30am. The class is sponsored by the City of 
Sierra Madre, the San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, 
the California Department of Water Resources, and the California 
Urban Water Conservation Council. 

 Please call the District at 626-969-7911 or email ereyes@sgvmwd.
com to register

SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER

During the week of Sunday, August 30th, to Sunday, September 6th, the 
Sierra Madre Police Department responded to approximately 303 calls 
for service. 

Monday, August 31st 

At 7:16 pm, Sierra Madre Police responded to the 500 block of Lotus 
Lane regarding stolen mail. Upon arrival, Officers were informed by the 
victim that when she arrived home she noticed the mailboxes belonging 
to herself and two other neighbors were wide open. Officers inspected 
the mail boxes and discovered damage to the locking mechanisms. 
Upon notification, all the victims informed Officers that the last time 
they saw their mailboxes closed and secured was around 9:00 am earlier 
that morning. The victims were unable to determine if any mail had 
been stolen, as they each reported they either only receive monthly bills 
or have their mail delivered to a P.O box separate from their residence. 
This case has been forwarded to the Detective Bureau. 

Tuesday, September 1st 

At 5:09 pm, Sierra Madre Police responded to the 700 block of Alta Vista 
Drive regarding a vandalism report. Upon arrival, the victim informed 
Officers that the day before, she observed the padlock on her mailbox to 
be fully operational. She explained her postman padlocks the mailbox 
after they deliver her mail. When she returned home later that evening, 
she noticed she could not get into her mailbox has her key to the padlock 
would not go in. Officers inspected the padlock and discovered the 

keyhole had been filled with an unknown gray substance. Officers cut 
the padlock of with bolt cutters and the victim was able to retrieve her 
mail. This case has been forwarded to the Detective Bureau. 

Saturday, September 5th 

At 7:22 pm, Sierra Madre Police responded to the 200 Block of East 
Orange Grove in response to a female jogger who felt she was being 
followed by a vehicle. Upon making contact with the woman, who 
informed them that while 

jogging west bound on Orange Grove she felt a vehicle drive past her 
really closely. As it passed 

her up the driver, a male Hispanic, raised his right hand at her as though 
he was trying to gestor something to her. The man proceeded to drive 
past her and parked and waited approximately two houses ahead of her. 
The woman felt uneasy and chose not to continue jogging towards the 
man and instead called police. While she called police, the man then 
drove off. The vehicle was described as a grey sedan. Officers checked 
the area but were unable to locate the vehicle. 

Monday, September 7th 

At 12:12 am, Sierra Madre Police responded to the 100 Block of West 
Bonita Avenue regarding a suspicious person. The reporting party 
informed Officers that at around 11:30 pm, she came home and saw 
a tall and skinny subject with dark clothing running across her front 
lawn. She stated her son was home at the time and he informed her that 
he did not hear or see anything as he 
was asleep. When the woman checked 
her home, she confirmed everything 
was locked and secured. On scene, 
Officers investigated the residence and 
discovered that the pool house door 
was wide open and inside Officers 
discovered open cabinets. The home 
owner stated she had not checked 
the pool house in several days, but 
believed that nothing appeared to be 
missing. A check of the immediate 
area provided no further details on the 
incident. This case has been forwarded 
to the Detective Bureau. 


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 Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com