Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, December 21, 2019

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, December 21, 2019 

REMEMBRANCE

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side 

 by Deanne Davis

KEVIN SWITZER


Have you walked through Kersting 
Court and admired our really 
handsome Christmas tree, with 
wonderful red bows, ornaments, 
and even a gift or two beneath? 
And the dreidel and the Festivus 
Pole, so named by Robert Gjerde. 
I think it gets better every year! I 
was delighted to see a family of 
Mom, Dad and three young adult 
kids, decked out in red Santa hats, 
standing in front of our community 
tree, tripod set up on the sidewalk, 
Dad taking one last look into the 
lens then vaulting over the wall 
to get into position for the family 
Christmas photo. They were 
having such a great time. If you 
haven’t done yours yet, there’s a 
new idea. 

Everywhere I’ve been the last few 
days some smiling person has asked 
me, “Are you ready for Christmas?” 
They mean have I spent my very 
last dime on presents, are they 
wrapped and under the tree and 
are my cards in the mail. Yes, my 
cards are in the mail, I’ve gone the 
easy route and gotten gift cards for 
all the small children I know, wrote 
a Christmas letter and sent it out in 
my cards and baked a dozen loaves 
of pumpkin-cranberry bread for 
Jessie and Emily’s teachers. 

My gifts are wrapped and ready to go to their final destinations and I’m about as ready as I’m going 
to get, which is good seeing as how Christmas is Wednesday. I trimmed my tree and house, trying 
to remember what I did last year with the manger scene that made it look so sweetly reverent. I 
promised myself I wasn’t going to do so much this year, and then put up more than ever before.

There=s no way I couldn’t put out all the Christmas goodies the children made in Sunday School 
through the years; the little hands pressed into plaster of paris, the pictures mounted in bread dough 
frames, the miniature red felt stockings with family names in glitter, the red globes that date from 
the beginning of our marriage, which are cracked and crazed (which occasionally, our marriage 
was, too), but precious in our sight. 

The highlights of my Christmas season this year were seeing The Nutcracker as performed by 
Ballet Arizona at Symphony Hall in Phoenix. This production is so gorgeous and the dancers so 
accomplished that we were all spellbound. One of the best parts is that they have huge numbers of 
children rotating through the performances so that many little people get to be part of this, instead 
of just a few. We got ourselves a new Nutcracker tree ornament each to commemorate the day and 
mine is in the picture. 

Another highlight was attending Emily’s choir concert at her school. The fourth graders sang a great 
song about “It’s Tough To Be Me!” which was hysterical. All these 9 and 10 year olds singing about 
how hard their lives are. These little folks were all dressed to the teeth in Christmas dresses and 
many of the little boys sported neckties. Needless to say, the Grinch-iest person’s heart would melt 
seeing these kids singing their hearts out.

My own choir concert with the Community Choir and Orchestra was wonderful, too, filled with 
traditional carols, “What Child Is This...” “Noel, Noel...” “The Shepherd’s Lamb,” featuring a children’s 
choir and a little boy soloist. One of the best parts was hearing...

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 
An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they 
were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that 
will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ, 
the Lord.....Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God 
and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 
2:8-13

Yes, I’m ready for Christmas and I’m sure you are, too. 

“On a night like this, centuries ago,

A brilliant star rose in the East,

To show the Wise Men where to go.

They set out on a journey,

To find an unknown King.

Their hearts were filled with happiness

And praises they would sing!”

(“A Night Like This” from “Star of Wonder – A Christmas Musical”

Book & Lyrics by Deanne Davis, Music by David Wheatley)

Merry Christmas, dear friends! 

May God bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you

And give you peace...and joy!

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

Christmas is just a few days away and my book:

“Sunrises and Sunflowers Speak Hope” 

Would be a really nice gift for everyone you know.

You can find it on Amazon.com

“Star of Wonder” a delightful Christmas Kindle story is there, too.

If you’d like a little preview, take a look at: https://youtu.be/Ka1KYrONrd0

On Monday, December 2, 2019, Kevin 
Switzer, loving husband and father of five 
children, passed away at the age of 56. 

Kevin was born on February 23, 1963, in 
Pasadena, California to Glidden ‘Bud’ and 
Donna Mae (Kurvink) Switzer. After 20 years 
as an electrical distribution mechanic for the 
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, 
Kevin completed his career in Alabama, 
retiring from Riviera Utilities in 2016.

On May 1, 1993, Kevin married Robin 
(Baldwin) Switzer. With Robin, he was the 
proud parent of sons Jacob, Seth and Thomas 
and daughters Sophie and Lizzie.

Kevin grew up in Sierra Madre where he made 
many friends with his outgoing personality. 
He enjoyed playing sports growing up, 
especially team baseball. He was a member 
of the Scouts at the Church of the Ascension in Sierra Madre and the Arcadia Church of 
the Good Shepherd, and, with them hiked many trails above Sierra Madre, backpacked in 
the Sierras, and explored countless local mountains.

Upon moving to Alegria Avenue in 1970, Kevin and his father, Bud, started carving 
pumpkins for Halloween. The number of pumpkins grew year by year until eventually, 
they lit up the entire front yard, long driveway, and the trees. The neighbors soon joined 
in so Alegria became, “Halloween Street”. Kevin loved bringing joy to thousands of people 
through this. He continued to use his creativity and passion to produce unique art pieces 
that were admired by many.

Kevin was preceded in death by his mother, Donna Mae, and his nephew, Truman Charles 
Switzer. He is survived by his wife, Robin, his five children, Jacob, Sophie, Seth, Lizzie 
and Thomas, his father Glidden ‘Bud’ Switzer, his sister and brother-in-law, Debra and 
Duane Spoelstra, sister, Lisa Switzer, brother, Cameron Switzer, as well as his father and 
mother-in-law, Kenneth and Nalda Baldwin, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Richard and 
Tamara Baldwin, five nieces, Bethany Spoelstra Cronk, Sarah Switzer, Madison Baldwin 
Mouledous, Amanda Baldwin Fiala, McKenzie Baldwin and three nephews, Matthew 
Spoelstra, Andrew Spoelstra and Spencer Baldwin.

A memorial service was held on Saturday, December 7, 2019 in Fairhope, Alabama.

KATIE Tse....This and That


GENTLE & LOWLY IN HEART

Merry Christmas! I hope this Christmas week finds you well and that it’s 
everything you’d hoped it would be. 

If you’ve read my Christmas messages in the past, you may think this 
one’s recycled. Not so. Every one of them is brand new. But since the 
message of Christmas hasn’t changed in two thousand years, hearing it 
again sounds strikingly familiar.

What is the meaning of Christmas? God came to earth as one of us so 
that His death on our behalf might save us from Hell. We hear it so often 
it can start to lose its significance over time. But let’s pause to take a fresh 
look at it.

God came to us. When was the last time someone was with you in 
something you were going through? Didn’t it make such a difference? 

These days we’re used to getting blown off. Especially by people who are “important.” We expect it. 
They can’t make time for us. Completely understandable. 

So take a moment to consider that the creator of the universe, the being who is infinitely more 
important than we are, paid us a visit in person. I don’t even get to see my doctor in person 
sometimes.

The Bible calls Him Emmanuel, literally the “With us God.” Now, if He were only with us at our 
finest moments, that’d be one thing. But He’s there through it all, our triumphs as well as our 
mistakes and times of greatest vulnerability.

He was with Hagar in the wilderness, David in the cave, Jeremiah in the pit, and the prodigal son 
in the pig sty. The God of Christianity doesn’t just watch us from a safe distance. He’s not afraid of 
getting His hands dirty, if that’s where we are.

What else is this God like? Of course He is holy. The Old Testament makes that clear over and over. 
God is many things. So many, that He forbid His people from trying to capture His likeness in an 
image. How can you portray the infinite, or render omnipotence?

But God has described Himself for us in understandable terms. He has made Himself relatable. 
Christ’s incarnation puts a human face on the Divine. And how does He describe Himself? 

Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My 
yoke upon you and learn from Me. For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for 
your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

When the disciples asked Jesus to show them the Father, He told them, “He who has seen Me has 
seen the Father.” Jesus is the image of the invisible God. 

I’m reminded of a story I heard of a hardened atheist who had stayed home when his family invited 
him to yet another Christmas Eve service. It was snowing heavily, and a sparrow had gotten trapped 
in a bad place in the barn adjoining the man’s house. 

Try as he might, the man could not get the sparrow to move to the safer part of the barn. Frustrated, 
he thought, “The sparrow is afraid of me because I’m so much bigger than he is. He doesn’t see 
that I’m trying to help. If only I could turn into a sparrow. Then I could talk to him in a way he’d 
understand, and I’d show him the way to safety.”

And upon realizing this, the man went to church.

*I pray that you have a relationship with God today. But if you don’t, now is a wonderful opportunity 
to change that. Ask Jesus to come into your life as your God and Savior, and experience the peace 
that only He can provide. Merry Christmas!

SIERRA MADRE HOLIDAY TRASH 
SCHEDULE AND CHRISTMAS TREE 
RECYCLING

There will be a one-day delay in collection of residential and commercial refuse, 
green waste, and recyclables after both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. 

Also, please note that Christmas trees are 100% recyclable! Athens Services will 
collect Christmas trees at the curb from 12/30/2019 to 1/10/2020 this on your normal 
pickup day. Trees are delivered to various landfills to be used as mulch or cover 
material, or to Athens’ American Organics compost facility in Victorville.

Tips to ensure your tree is properly collected:

• Remove stands, ornaments, lights and tinsel.

• Place holiday trees next to your regular trash containers.

• Trees over 6 feet in length must be cut in half.

• Trees with flocking or fire retardants ARE acceptable.

• If you miss the date for recycling, please cut up your tree and place it in your 
yard waste container(s).

Please help keep our parks clean and safe during the holidays. If you see anyone illegally 
dumping holiday trees, please call Sierra Madre Police Department at (626) 
355 - 1414.


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