Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 26, 2015

3


Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 26, 2015 

Walking Sierra Madre…The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis


“Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation are 
not utopian ideals. They are critical to global peace 
and security.” Ban Ki-moon

 

 What a week! Will Farrell and Amy Poehler 
filming in town, our favorite jockey, Victor Espinoza, 
dancing with Karina Smirnoff on Dancing With 
The Stars, the scarecrow workshop last Saturday at 
Creative Arts, and rain! We had actual rain! 

 The best thing that happened to me this week was 
meeting Amadea Tanner. Occasionally one meets a 
young person who is so awesome that one is filled 
with hope for our future. Yes, there are wonderful 
teen-agers out there! The hour I spent at The Only 
Place In Town with her is one I shall treasure. This 
young woman is probably the busiest person I’ve 
talked to in some time, and everything she’s doing is 
beneficial to the world at large. 

 A research project about the Humanitarian 
Impact of Nuclear Weapons led to her being one 
of two Pasadena High School students chosen to 
accompany the Assistant Principal to Hiroshima, 
Japan this past summer to represent PHS at a 
conference on non-proliferation. Additionally, she 
created a nuclear non-proliferation website. Also 
attending the conference were students from two 
schools in Russia, four in Japan and an additional 
four U.S. schools. Now how amazing is that! 
Students stayed with host families and Amadea’s 
impression of Japan is that it is very clean...no litter, 
no graffiti, with very strict social conduct. She was 
there during the Cherry Blossom Festival and said 
the locals aren’t that wild about it, even though this 
is one of the most world-famous-save up for years to 
see it events. Why on earth not, you’re asking...well, 
being over-the-top clean, neat and tidy, they don’t 
like having to keep cleaning up those blossoms! You 
know, like us when it’s Jacaranda blossom time. We 
love looking at the purple clouds but get really tired 
of tracking those blossoms into the house.

 How was the food? Amadea’s host family, 
wanting to be sure she got the full Japanese food 
experience served lots of sushi and included her in a 
family celebration at a sashimi restaurant where ten 
different courses of raw fish were served. Let’s just 
say that being the delightfully polite young woman 
she is she smiled a lot and got through it. The Sake 
ice cream was, “interesting.” Her host family live 
in a very modern, upper-middle class house on a 
mountain at the edge of the cherry blossom forest, 
the trees of which have been there for centuries.

 Her trip included a visit to the Hiroshima Peace 
Park and Museum, where the 70th anniversary of 
the WWII bombing was observed this past summer. 
This park, filled with numerous memorials, stands 
on the site of the original bomb crater in downtown 
Hiroshima. Two of the monuments which most 
impressed Amadea were the Cenotaph for the 
A-bomb Victims. Below the Cenotaph arch is a 
stone chest holding a register of the names of those 
who died because of the bomb, either due to the 
initial blast or exposure to radiation. There are over 
220,00 names. Also, The Atomic Bomb Memorial 
Mound, a large, grass-covered knoll which contains 
the ashes of 70,000 unidentified victims of the 
bomb. She commented on the thousands of paper 
cranes which are everywhere in the peace park, 
originating with one little girl, Sadako Sasaki, who 
became ill with leukemia several years after the 
bombing. Sadako believed that folding a thousand 
paper cranes would help her to live and, sadly, she 
did, indeed, fold a thousand paper cranes. Her 
death was the inspiration for the Children’s Peace 
Monument at the Peace Park. Needless to say, this 
student conference in Japan to promote non-nuclear 
proliferation impacted Amadea in a big way.

 What did she do the rest of the summer? Traveled 
to Europe to visit friends and family in France and 
Florence, visited cousins in Quebec, spent some 
time looking at Canadian colleges, wrote a terrific 
blog about her travel adventures and had, basically, 
a fabulous summer. School is back and Amadea, 
now a senior, keeps herself busy at PHS being a 
violinist in the orchestra, she also plays piano and 
taught herself viola. She’s Editor in Chief of the 
yearbook, runs cross-country, and plans to attend 
film school and be a screen writer. She made it into 
the second round for the Rose Court and her goal 
is to keep expanding on her life experiences. At 17 
she’s already had more life experiences than a lot of 
people ever get around to! And then, just to make 
this wonderful hour we spent together even more 
special, I discovered that she is the little girl I have 
observed over the years living right here in Sierra 
Madre next door to our daughter, Leah, and her 
husband, Chuck! She babysits their cats and plays 
their piano! I am convinced that we are going to hear 
great things about Amadea Tanner in the next few 
years.

 My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

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

An excellent wedding gift. Teachers would love it, 
too!

FRIENDS OF THE ARTS, FOA OPENING.

October 9, 5-9 pm at BELLE’S NEST on North Baldwin, Sierra Madre.

All Are Welcome: Join us for 
an evening of wine, cheese, 
beautiful art and craft, and good 
company.

 This FOA exhibition marks 
the beginning of a series of 
shows that FOA plans to mount 
showcasing the many artistic 
talents of the town in partnership 
with supportive businesses and 
Venues. 

 This exhibition features 
works by:

Patricia Ancona - Textiles from 
Mexico

Elizabeth Converse - Paintings, Design, Textiles

Sophia D’Auria - Handmade lighting

Jennifer Lindstrom - Paintings and surprises.

INCLUDED WORKS BY:

 Patricia Ancona: As an artist I promote Arts and 
Artists. This is an obsession and as an obsession I can only 
share the fruits and hope to share the emotions. These 
textiles are hand-made by Mexican women who will share 
their skill and tradition. My passion is to support their 
beautiful work and pay them a rate that respects their skill, 
with the hope that their children will learn and continue 
the tradition. 

 Elizabeth Converse has known 
several artistic professions 
from the inside out: painter, 
writer, educator. In the last 
year, she began devoting herself 
to a new series of painting. 
Her Away paintings on display 
reflect her recent interest in 
landscapes and the notion 
of Being Away and Renewal. 
Also on display are current 
designs and Textiles from her 
growing Leda Collection 

 Sophia D’Auria launched her 
company SoPhab in 2014. After 
10 years of working for others in thedecorative lighting 
industry, honing her wood and metal working skills on 
both large commercial projects and intimate one of a kind 
designs, she decided to start her own artisan business. 
She is committed to creating fun, friendly and functional 
lighting for both homes and workspaces.

. Jennifer Lindstrom is an artist of many colors and 
mediums from henna to glitter and paint or collage. You 
never know what its going to be, it could be anything. On 
exhibit will be a collection of bird prints mounted in hand 
painted distressed picture frames. There may also be a 
few original paintings for sale or possibly an entirely new 
project altogether. Be surprised!


SIERRA MADRE COMMUNITY NURSERY SCHOOL 
RELEASES 70TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF 
NURTURING HUMAN GROWTH

The local preschool Sierra Madre Community 
Nursery School has published a new edition of its 
signature handbook Nurturing Human Growth. 
This edition is in honor of their upcoming 70th 
Anniversary and includes a special dedication 
a new foreword by school Director Beverly 
Slocum and Assistant Director Amy McGinnis. 
For many years the handbook created at Sierra 
Madre Community Nursery School, Nurturing 
Human Growth, has been used by colleges and 
early childhood teaching programs throughout the 
country. Now in its third printing, this valuable 
text is available for purchase by interested nursery 
schools, libraries, universities, parents and others. 
It is a book about human beings, each worthy of 
celebration. In it, the school shares their philosophy 
and understanding of the unfolding of the human 
being. It demonstrates how a school program 
based on this philosophy is developed for children, 
parents and other adults, and offers practical 
suggestions for parents to use at home or school. 
About Sierra Madre Community Nursery School
The Sierra Madre Community Nursery School is a non-
profit, parent participation preschool and kindergarten 
that has been nurturing young children in the San Gabriel 
Valley since 1947. Since its inception, parents and friends 
of the school have provided their manpower to build the 
facilities and maintain them. Over the years it has become 
one of the largest, most respected parent co-operative 
preschools in California. The school ascribes to the 
recommendations of NAEYC, the National Association 
for the Education of Young Children, and has been 
accredited by that organization. For more information 
please visit http://www.smcns.us/


SCARECROW FESTIVAL

It’s that time of year again! That’s right, the Scarecrow 
Festival is just around the corner! We hope that you’ve 
seen our posters around town and that you are gearing 
up to participate in our 4th Annual Scarecrow Festival. 

 If you haven’t registered for the contest yet, don’t 
worry, there is still time! The deadline to enter online is 
Sunday, September 27th. You can fill out the registration 
form online here: http://www.creativeartsgroup.org/
scarecrow-festival/contest/. 

 If you would like to register in person at Creative Arts 
Group, the deadline in Saturday, September 26th (we 
close at 2:00pm). 

Once you register, you can come in during our office 
hours to pick up your ID tag. We are open Monday 
through Friday from 10 to 5, and Saturday 10 to 2. 

 All registered scarecrows need to be on display with 
their ID tags by October 2nd. 

 We are also offering a FREE shuttle tour of many of 
the residential scarecrows on Saturday, October 10th! 
The shuttles leave at 10:00, 12:00 and 2:00. Register to 
reserve your space today! 

 We hope to see your amazing creativity on display 
again this year! 

 ~The Scarecrow Festival team at Creative Arts Group

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