Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, July 15, 2017

Mountain View News Saturday, July 15, 2017 

Walking Sierra Madre…The Social Side



by Deanne Davis 

“If you’re the village blacksmith and a Model T comesalong, you better become a mechanic.” 

Marc Andreessen 

You may not have noticed, but there’s been the cutestlittle old car sitting out in front of Ascension EpiscopalChurch on No. Baldwin for some weeks now. Everytime I’ve driven past it I’ve thought, “I need to take apicture of that car and find out something about it.” 
Of course, my imagination being what it is, I imbuedthat little Ford with a back-story to rival Bonnie &
Clyde. I had it running bootleg hooch down fromCanada and careening around corners with Treasuryagents in hot pursuit. Or maybe it was owned by aflapper with bobbed hair and rouged knees and shedrove it all over the Hamptons from house party tohouse party, occasionally finding herself out of gas ona country road and having to be towed back to townby a good-natured farmer with a horse. Or maybe apreacher who drove it from tent revival to tent revivalsaving the lost and showing folks the way to salvation.
“Doctor Love’s traveling salvation show!” to quote NeilDiamond. 

Needless to say, I could go on that way for days but Ifinally called Ascension and had a nice chat with MikeBeach, the Verger at Ascension. The car is a 1926 FordCoupe and is in the Model T group. Mike had wantedto own a 1926 Ford Coupe for years and years andfinally came across this one. Where? In Boston! So hehad it shipped out and has been working on putting ittogether for the last 15 years. Car restoration is never aspeedy pastime as it’s usually expensive, parts are hardto find, and getting to work on The Car falls low onthe priorities list most of the time. Mike said the cararrived sporting a Chevy engine, which was frozen,
and a 4” steel frame, which was way too heavy for thisFord’s little body. First thing he did was throw all thatstuff away and then get it dipped in a corrosive to getthe rust off. 

As of now, it’s got a Nissan V6 engine and Mike’s beendriving it back and forth from his home in Monrovia tothe church for several weeks now. He says that it seemslike something new falls apart on it about every time hedrives it, i.e., the door latch just broke so he sent thatback east to be fixed, while using a rope to keep the doorclosed. It came back minus the critical spring part soback again it went and the rope is still doing door duty.

It runs great, he says, except its small wheel basemakes it kind of a rough ride. Yes, he’d like to get itpainted but there’s that old “it’s expensive” thing again....
about $6,000! The interior fabric is ready to do, all thepieces are cut out for the doors and seats but that won’t 

be happening till the paint is on.

Meanwhile, Mike told me he’s a local boy, livedin Hastings Ranch for 25 years or so till his wifepassed away, then eventually remarried and is now inMonrovia. We compared notes about growing up local

– Mike in Alhambra, me in So. Pasadena, and if youhaven’t met Mike or seen his 1926 Ford Coupe, go on byAscension and take a look. Henry Ford said you couldhave the Model T in any color you wanted...as long as itwas black. Wonder if that’s what Mike has in mind! 
Have you been noticing the crepe myrtle trees all overthe place that are in glorious bloom? The jacarandas areabout finished with their purple blossoms and nowcrepe myrtles in every shade of pink, purple or white aregracing our area. Cactus are blooming, too, and the beesare just loving those flowers. We have tomatoes!! Lots ofthem and, my oh my, are they delicious. If you haven’tgrown your own tomatoes, you have to start. What youbuy in the supermarket bears no resemblance at allto home grown tomatoes! As singer-songwriter, GuyClark, said, “There’s only two things that money can’tbuy and that’s true love and home grown tomatoes!” It’snot too late to get yourself a tomato plant or two andyou’ll find yourself with home grown beauties in abouta month or so. 

“Ain’t nothin’ in the world that I like better 
Than bacon and lettuce and home grown tomatoes.
Up in the mornin’ out in the garden
Get you a ripe one, don’t get a hard one.
Plant ‘em in the spring, eat ‘em in the summer
All winter without ‘em’s a culinary bummer.
I forget all about the sweatin’ and diggin’
Every time I go out and pick me a big one. 


Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes
What’d life be without home grown tomatoes.
Only two things money can’t buy
That’s true love and home grown tomatoes.” 


My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 
Blog: www.authordeanne.com 
“A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter” is
now available at 
Sunrise Books + Coffee at Pasadena First Church of the 
Nazarene – 
just down the road on Sierra Madre Blvd.
Kindle readers, give yourself the gift of:
A Treasure Map, A Drunken Owl, and 47 Rattler’s in
a Bag


 It’s on Amazon.com on my book page!
Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.com/@
playwrightdd 

SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER 


During this time period, the Sierra Madre Police 
Department responded to approximately 439 day andnight time calls for service. 

Wednesday, July 5 Officers responded to the 00 blockof Sierra Madre Bl. for a verbal dispute between twomale adults. During the interview and the officer’sobservation, it was determined that one of the males 
was under the influence of an alcohol beverage. The 
subject was arrested and transported to the PasadenaPD jail for booking and released to the duty jail staff.
Case referred to the DA’s office for filing 

Thursday, July 6, at about 9:02 a.m., officers madecontact with a male subject who was banging his handsagainst a window of a business. During the contact itwas revealed that the subject was under the influenceof a controlled substance. The subject was arrested,
transported and booked at the Pasadena PD Jail. Case 

referred to Pasadena DA’s office 10:43 p.m. Patrolofficers conducted a traffic stop at Sierra Madre Bl. andLima St. for a vehicle code violation and found out the 
driver of the vehicle was unlicensed. The driver was 
cited and the vehicle was stored. 

Friday, July 7 At about 9:21 p.m. officers responded toa call for service regarding a female laying behind anSUV parked along the north curb in the 200 block of

W. Grandview Avenue. Upon further investigation,
it was determined that the female was under the 
influence of an alcoholic beverage. Paramedics werecalled to the scene to treat the female because she was in 
an altered state and could not answer simple questions.
The female refused medical treatment and would not 
sign the refusal form. The female was arrested forpublic intoxication and was later released on a citationat Huntington Memorial Hospital. Case referred to the 
Pasadena DA’s office 
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