Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, January 28, 2017

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Mountain View News Saturday, January 28, 2017 

Walking Sierra Madre…The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis

FORMER CITY TREASURER GEORGE 
ENYEDI PASSES AWAY

“The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it 
rain.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, ya gotta put up 
with the rain.” Dolly Parton

Remember how Garrison Keillor used to open the 
most popular story on his weekly radio program, The 
Prairie Home Companion? “It’s been a quiet week in 
Lake Woebegone...” It has not been a quiet week here in 
Sierra Madre or anyplace else for that matter. My weather 
prognosticator and son-in-law, Chuck Seitz, tells we 
had 2.6” of rain last Saturday, and he’s forecasting last 
Monday’s storms will total around 3.5 inches. Those of 
us who have been praying for rain need to stop now and 
send prayers of gratitude for all we’ve gotten and ask for 
a little respite! 

 Congratulations to Citizens of the Year, Rod and Joan 
Spears. The dinner honoring them is this Saturday night 
at Nano’s. Should be a great evening celebrating two lovely 
people who add a lot to our community. Congratulations 
also to our new City Manager, Gabriel Engeland, who 
will be working hard to fill the shoes of our former City 
Manager, Elaine Aguilar, who did an amazing job keeping 
us on track for the last nine years.

 Speaking of Nano’s, J J Jukebox, featuring Rich 
Johnson, Barry Schwam, Mike Gallegos, Mike DeLeo 
and Steve Cipriani, were there rockin’ a full house last 
Saturday night. Some famous sage once said that the 
music you loved in high school will be your favorites 
all the rest of your life. They were right. All my favorite 
music is what J J Jukebox does best. These guys specialize 
in the best of the 50’s and 60’s, with an occasional foray 
into the 70’s and 80’s. They’ve added some new (old) 
favorites, Good Lovin’ (The Rascals), Run Away (Del 
Shannon’s huge hit), and the Beatles Hard Day’s Night 
and Can’t Buy Me Love! It went from good to really 
really good there at Nano’s! Folks were dancing, there 
were a few adult beverages and Twist & Shout was better 
than ever before. J J Jukebox calls this the “In Bed By 10 
Tour” and kicked off their last number at 9:15. Thanks 
again to my ace field reporter, Chuck, for his coverage. 
We love J J Jukebox but couldn’t be there ourselves last 
Saturday. Next time for sure.

 Possibly as many as a million people were expected 
to participate in The Women’s March on Washington 
last Saturday and Sierra Madre was represented by our 
great-granddaughter, Catherine Sophia Davis, her mom, 
Alexandra, and her mom, Pam Kemp. Catherine is our 
daughter, Leah’s, granddaughter. She is 9, the cute blonde 
girl, and in this picture she is joined by her best friend, 
Melia, and Melia’s mom, Julie. Alexandra said it was an 
amazing experience. They were able to see many of the 
monuments, but we don’t know if they got as far as the 
Smithsonian. One of the highlights of my life was a trip 
to D.C. some years ago when my best walking buddy 
and occasional engineering expert witness, John, and I 
were there for him to express his views on some weighty 
question while I got to sightsee. Conquering the Metro 
system was a huge victory, making my way successfully 
to the National Gallery where I spent hours wandering 
through the Impressionist exhibit. I treated myself to 
an elegant lunch at the Cascade Café and felt like such a 
world traveler. It was Spring, the weather was beautiful, 
we wandered around the city, taking in monuments 
right and left and, as Alexandra said, it was an amazing 
experience.

 “While much of America seems to be getting more and 
more divisive, I’m going to be holding doors for strangers, 
letting people cut in front of me in traffic, greeting all I 
meet, exercising patience with others, and smiling at 
strangers. I’ll do this as often as I have the opportunity. 
I will not stand idly by and let children live in a world 
where unconditional love is invisible and being rude is 
acceptable. Join me in showing love and respect to others. 
Find your way to swing the pendulum in the direction of 
love, because today, sadly, hate is gaining ground. Love 
must begin somewhere and love will overcome hate. 
Imagine the difference if we each purposely love a little 
more.” This quote, attributed to Ben Carson, was put up 
on Facebook by my Huntington Beach daughter-in-law, 
Michon, mom of three year old Caleb and almost two 
year old Brady. We like it. Also, we have decided to pray 
daily for our President that he will seek wisdom. “Learn 
to be wise, develop good judgment and common sense...
cling to wisdom – she will protect you. Love her – she will 
guard you.” Prov. 4:5-7 Can’t hurt!

 My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

 “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter” is 
available from me!

 Kindle readers, give yourself the gift of: 

A Treasure Map, A Drunken Owl & 47 Rattlers in a Bag – 
True Tales of Early California

 It’s on Amazon.com on my book page!

 Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.com/@
playwrightdd


Sierra Madre has lost another 
treasure. Smart, charming, 
energetic, handsome and strong….
just a few adjectives that described 
Sierra Madre’s former City 
Treasurer, George Enyedi. He 
was a wealth of knowledge on 
finances, volunteerism, loving life, 
and living well. He never met a 
challenge that he couldn’t handle. 
What made him so amazing is 
that until he was well into his 80’s, 
it was hard to keep up with him! 
George passed away quietly at his 
home on Tuesday at the age of 91. 
He was truly an amazing man that 
will be missed.

Volunteerism and working to 
improve the quality of life in 
Sierra Madre were always a big 
part of Enyedi’s life. He was an 
active member of the Sierra Madre 
Cemetery Association, The Sierra 
Madre Playhouse, The Sierra 
Madre Mountain Conservancy, 
SMEAC, and the Sierra Madre 
Kiwanis Club, just to name a few. 

Recipient of numerous civic 
honors, George was the Sierra 
Madre Citizen of the Year, and was 
bestowed with the city's George 
Maurer Lifetime Achievement 
Award to name a few.

By profession, George was a Certified Public Accountant and senior partner in the firm of Enyedi, 
Marshall and Montanez in downtown Los Angeles. It was this experience that made him the 
choice of Sierra Madreans when he ran for Treasurer in 2011. It was also his financial experience 
that kept both the Sierra Madre Cemetery and the Sierra Madre Playhouse from closing several 
years ago. 

Enyedi and his wife, Gerda came to the United States in 1952 from Cluj, Transylvania, a province 
of Romania, settling in Pasadena, California. They moved to Sierra Madre in 1961. George was 
looking for a house “on top of a hill” and found the perfect place in Sierra Madre. His home has 
magnificent views of the San Gabriel Valley and is a stone’s throw away from the natural habitat 
of bears, deer, coyotes and mountain lions. The Enyedi’s reared 3 sons, Klaus, Hans and Kurt in 
Sierra Madre and the family has expanded to include 3 daughters-in-law. In a conversation with 
him several years ago, he had 6 grandchildren and 2 great granddaughters, all living in Southern 
California. Gerda, his beloved wife of 60 years, passed away in April of 2006 something he really 
never recovered from.

George Enyedi, through all the ups and downs that life brought his way, epitomized strength, 
conviction and compassion. When one speaks of the glue that holds this town together, his name 
is right there at the top of the list. George Enyedi truly was a first class gentleman with the heart 
of a lion. 

S. Henderson/MVNews


CITY COUNCIL SEALS 
THE DEAL

REMEMBRANCE


THOMAS R. PICKREN M.D. 

January 29, 1922-November 27, 2016

A longtime resident of Sierra Madre passed away, Sunday November 27, 2016. 

He was born in Salem Arkansas to Margaret and Harry Pickren and he and 
his twin brother were the youngest of 6 children. He attended Arkansas 
Polytechnic College before entering the University of Arkansas School of 
Medicine in 1944 graduation from medical school at the age of 22. 

After interning at Gorges Hospital, Balboa Heights, Panama CNEL Zone, he served as a member of the 
medical corp. of the United States Navy during the second World War. Upon release from active service 
he completed a 4-year surgical residency training program at the Grace New Haven Hospital with Yale 
University. His extensive training and experience in surgery was acknowledged by certification of the 
American Board of Surgery and an appointment as fellow in the American College of Surgeons. 

He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Eloise and his children Stacey Pickren, Craig W. Pickren,M.D. 
Grandchildren Cara Pickren, Triplets Ryer, James and Jennifer Pickren. Great grand children Daisy and 
Lily Cason and Ryer F. Pickren. He was preceded in death by his son Ryer Pickren. 

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to Opica, support of older adults with memory loss. 
http://www.opica.org

Gabriel "Gabe" Engeland Will 
Become City Manager on March 
13th

 On Tuesday, the Sierra Madre City Council 
confirmed the hiring of Sierra Madre's next 
City Manager, approving a five year contract 
which was reported in the Mountain Views 
News last week. (http://mtnviewsnews.com/
v11/htm/n03/p01.htm ). 

 A press release issued by the city on Monday 
stated, " Mr. Engeland (“Gabe”) is an 
experienced City Manager with outstanding 
qualifications and references from all past 
employers. Gabe has been on a City Manager 
“track” in his professional career for the 
past six years, and most recently has been 
serving the City of Trinidad, Colorado as its 
City Manager since 2015, where he oversaw a 
staff of 178 employees and a budget of $38.9 
million dollars." 

Trinidad is a full service city, including 
police, fire/paramedic, electric utility, water 
utility, waste water, gas, library, golf course 
an landfill, in addition to the general fund 
services of public works, human resources, 
finance and budget, development and 
economic services; Trinidad has a population 
of 10,000 and a service area of approximately 
15,000."

The release goes on to quote Engeland as saying, "Gabe intends to fully engage with the community 
and make Sierra Made home with his wife and new baby daughter. “I am excited to be part of team 
Sierra Madre and my wife and I are looking forward to our move to this wonderful community.” 

The position in Sierra Madre will yield a substantial increase in salary for Engeland. According 
to the City of Trinidad's 2016 Budget, the new city manager will receive approximately $79,000 
more a year. In Trinidad where Engeland was City Manager for just about two years, he was paid 
$103,000 a year. In Sierra Madre his contract calls for a base salary of $182,000. 

Engeland, pictured above, will be missed by 
the town of Trinidad according to an article in 
their local paper, The Chronicle-News, 

Trinidad Mayor Phil Rico lauded Engeland 
and his contributions to the city during his 
tenure here. Rico credited Engeland for 
turning around Trinidad’s finances and 
balancing the budget for the first time in 
years. 

 Photo credit The Chronicle-News

CELEBRATION OF LIFE 

"The Joy of Jan Reed"


The public is invited to a celebration of the life of beloved Sierra 
Madrean Jan Reed on Saturday, February 11, 2017 from 3 to 6 p.m.

The event will be held in the Sierra Madre Room and the 
Recreation Center, 611 E. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre.


NANO CAFÉ: THE NEW RESTAURANT IN TOWN

Nano Café is proud to announce that they 
are the owners of 322 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 
and have been since October. Due to the 
fact that the building is 65 years old the past 
several months has been a soft opening so 
that the restaurant could be restored and is 
now young and new again. Even the water 
system now produces 100% percent purified 
water.

 Traditionally local musicians and 
singers have entertained there and still do. 
Wednesday thru Saturday evenings. You can 
call Nano 626-325-3334 for schedules, times 
and reservation’s or just ask when you are 
there. It’s truly a great place for your party, 
business meeting, family gathering or date 
and can accommodate up to one hundred 
people.

 Nano has always been an ‘A’ restaurant. 
Customers are made to feel special and the food 
is so good that they keep coming back. 
Breakfast starts at 6am and is served all at until 5. 
Lunch is available as well until five o’clock. Dinner 
is from 5-9pm. Cocktails are served daily and 
evenings. Of course from 3-6 is happy hour. If 
you are a sports fan you may enjoy watching the 
games in the cocktail lounge while you eat and 
drink. The restaurant is open daily and holidays. 
Everyone is always welcome and the staff looks 
forward to serving you in doors and out on the 
new patio. 

 The Mountain Views News is delighted to 
welcome Nano Café to Sierra Madre.

SIERRA MADRE LIBRARY WINE AND CUISINE 
TASTING – A PERFECT VALENTINE’S DAY GIFT

Friends of the Sierra Madre Library are pleased to 
announce the 47th Annual Wine and Cuisine Tasting 
Benefit. The event will be held on Friday evening, 
February 17, 2017, from 7:00-9:30 pm at Alverno’s 
historic Villa del Sol d’Oro, located at 200 N. Michillinda 
Avenue, Sierra Madre, and will be an elegant affair 
featuring more than two dozen vintners providing 
magnificent wines along with local restaurants offering 
imaginative and delicious foods and desserts. Musicians 
and magicians will serve as entertainment. The featured 
art this year is an original block print by Sierra Madre 
Artist, Melanie Campbell-Carter.

 Tickets to the premier event are $80 and allow 
admission at 6:00 pm. Those at the premier event 
will enjoy a variety of wines from Thornton Wines, a 
California winery, and gourmet hors d’oeuvres from 
local Sierra Madre restaurant Sierra Fusion. In addition 
to this lovely wine-cuisine pairing, there will be a gift 
basket drawing and entry into the main event. Tickets 
to the main event are $60 and provide admission at 7:00 
pm. Both are on sale now at the Sierra Madre Public 
Library, The Bottle Shop, Savor the Flavor, Arnold’s 
Frontier Hardware & Gifts, and can be purchased on-
line at eventbright.com.

 The Benefit is sponsored by the Friends of the 
Sierra Madre Library, an all-volunteer organization 
dedicated to supporting our community Library. 
All funds received from this event support the Sierra 
Madre Library. For more information about the event 
or Friends of the Sierra Madre Library visit our website 
at www.sierramadrelibraryfriends.org 

www.mountainviewsnews.com

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