Mountain Views News          Saturday, March 12, 2016

Section B

SPECIAL WISTARIA FESTIVAL SUPPLEMENT


SECTION B

SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2016

The Wistaria Vine 

Celebrating Sierra Madre’s Most Well Known Landmark


The Vine

Sierra Madre’s122-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 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 
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!


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