Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, August 29, 2020

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, August 29, 2020 

WHO REMEMBERS PIONEER DAYS?

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis


2003 “Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society is a Silver Level sponsor of the
2003 Pioneer Days (www.SierraMadrePioneerDays.com)celebration. Activities include 
a “Hike into History” on Saturday, October 4th from 8:00 am to Noon. The hike 
starts at Chantry Flats and continues to Sturtevant Falls. Historian John Robinson will 
lead the hike and will provide local lore as selected cabins and Fern Lodge are visited. 

Thursday, October 9th brings us a repeat of an old favorite, the Collectibles Show, from 6:00 pm to 9:00 
pm,at the Bank of the West. This is a joint venture with the Bank and the Chamber of Commerce. Many fine 
historical collections of local residents will be showcased. 

Saturday, October 11th is a full day of activities centered on the family. Day long events taking place in 
Memorial Park include a gathering of Sierra Madre residents, past and present, calling themselves “Living 
Treasures”, a slide show by Debbie Henderson titled “Then and Now”, kid’s games, demonstrations of old 
time activities with hands on participation, a historical pageant and Heritage Essay contest winners will be 
announced. Food booths including the Society’s” Old Fashioned Ice Cream Booth” will be set up in the park 
to satisfy hungry appetites. 

The evening activities move to Kersting Court for the annual Rotary Tri-tip Dinner and Dance from 5:00 pm 
to 10:00 pm. The winner of the Whisker Growing contest will be announced at 7:00 p.m. during the dinner. 

Pioneer Days winds up for another year with an Open House at the historical E. Waldo Ward & Son factory. 
In 1891 Edwin Waldo Ward, Sr. bought land from Nathaniel Carter, the founder of Sierra Madre. On Sunday, 
October 12th, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm the Ward ranch will be open for tours of the jam making factory. 
There will be craft demonstrations, food booths, jam samples, printing press demonstrations, classic automobiles, 
antique engines, apple pressing and fun. Bring the family and experience a real “taste” of history. “

Pioneer Days was celebrated in Sierra Madre for many years. It was another way to bring all ages of our little 
community together. I miss those types of celebrations and look forward to having them again in our near 
future! Stay safe Sierra Madre! Keep wearing your masks!

Leslie Ziff, Co-President of Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society

Last week’s rip-roaring true adventure tale, “The Rattlesnake Bite”, seemed to be well received 
by you dear friends and neighbors so I thought I’d send along another one. This story, “El 
Tecolote” was also written by my Dad, Kim Weed, and you’ll have to agree that his life was 
certainly different from the ones our children are living these days. Hope you enjoy it!

“EL TECOLOTE”

 “My father, Solon Weed, with his brothers in various partnerships had considerable 
land holdings in the Mexican territory of Baja, California during the 1920’s which called for 
many trips below the border, usually to Mexicali, for so called “business” reasons. My mother 
hated Mexico, was terrified every time she went there, with good cause we can only assume, and, 
therefore, seldom crossed the border. Nor did she want me there. However, I was sometimes 
allowed to go anyway. Thus, between the ages of five and eight I made many trips with my 
father, usually in our Model-T Ford touring sedan. Mother’s parting words would invariably be, 
“Now don’t you dare take him,” him meaning me, “anywhere near The Owl!”

 Although I was always eager to go, the trips were usually boring once we got to where 
we were going, with my father having long conversations in Spanish with ranch foremen, or my 
having to sit squirming on hard benches while he talked to officials in the hot, dirty offices of 
government buildings. There was something about Mexico that excited me, though, probably 
the mixture of strange smells, poverty and degradation, all the dogs, horses and buggies, burro 
trains, the dirt, countless children playing unsupervised all day long, apparently never bothered 
with the inconvenience of having to attend school. Most of all, I loved The Owl.

 Gambling, alcohol (then forbidden by the 18th Amendment to the Constitution) and 
all that went with it was illegal in California and existed only as clandestine activities. Not 
so in Mexico, especially the border towns. Mexicali became a magnet for gamblers, good-
time Charlies and other riff-raff, some quite well off. Anyway, it was the “Roaring Twenties” 
and the tight strings of morality had been loosened considerably throughout the Western 
World. Customers came from a large radius that included part of Arizona and all of Southern 
California. Professional gamblers and entertainers came from everywhere, for The Owl paid 
well. The focal point of the area, El Tecolote, or The Owl as it was called by those who spoke 
English, was well known in an infamous way. Tecolote, by the way, means “eagle-owl” in 
Western Hemisphere Spanish.

 It was a rip-roaring pleasure palace of great proportions, owned by three gangsters, one 
of whom bred, raised and raced thoroughbred horses.

 When my father finished with whatever business he had in Mexico, which I believe at 
times was concocted just to get away from the daily disasters of farm life, we usually headed 
for The Owl, which was the most exciting place I had ever seen or could possibly imagine. My 
older brother, Harold, had been treated to The Owl ten years earlier, in his pre-school years, as 
I was now, and had told me of the wild happenings there, usually improved in the retelling. Nor 
did he stay away from the place when he was in his teens, one of his poorly kept secrets.

 The owl was always crowded, always open, smoke-filled, loud and permeated with the 
sour mash smell of spilled whiskey, tobacco, marijuana, sweat and cheap perfume. Any and all 
were welcome as long as they didn’t cause trouble. Even dogs visited now and then, looking for 
a handout of any kind. Solon, my father, never smoked, drank, nor gambled, but he enjoyed The 
Owl’s atmosphere in small doses, and I was always amazed by the number of people of every 
stripe he knew in that immense dive, where in summer the temperature seldom dropped below 
100 degrees, even after midnight. I noticed, too, that he would call acquaintances by their first 
names, Jake, Manuel, Rosalie, Oscar, etc., but they always called him Mr. Weed. When I asked 
him about this, he told me they just didn’t know his first name. That was all.

 A brassy band was always high up (from my point of view) in the bandstand. When 
they tired, they would be replaced by another band. Entertainment was continuous, all jazz 
of the era, danced, played and sung by vocalists who projected lyrics through megaphones of 
various sizes.

Scantily clad dancing girls pranced and high kicked down the runway in their costumes of dyed 
ostrich plumes and sequin-covered gauze. I thought they looked like goddesses and angels. 
Then there were the “working girls” wearing boyish bobs or bangs and spit-curls, decked 
out in short pleated skirts, forever smoking cigarettes through long holders and rubbing up 
against potential customers, while smiling through rosebud painted lips. I must have been 
propositioned a dozen times, much to the amusement of all onlookers. One beautiful, painted 
creature would hold my chin in her hand, now and then, and stroke my forehead, sending the 
blood racing through my veins, which had a tremendous effect on my eight-year old self!

 Yes, I knew all about “working girls” and what they did, or thought I knew. A nasty 
little kid named Lyle was my friend for a while. His father was a full-time gambler. Lyle was a 
year older than I, but the same size, skinny, strong and mean. During our brief friendship he 
told me just about everything there was to know in his sad world, his mother’s problems with 
drinking, his parents’ vicious fights, how to cheat at cards, all about dope, and details of the 
world of prostitution. After he was unbelievably rude to my mother, I was no longer allowed to 
play with Lyle, nor was he allowed anywhere near our house. Which was probably a good thing.

 But to get back to The Owl. There were gambling games: poker, craps, roulette and 
the big wheel, fan-tan and others. I most enjoyed watching faro and the somber looking man 
watching the game from his high chair. While Las Vegas gambling is quite orderly and the 
casinos fairly quiet, thanks to those thick, noise-deadening carpets, The Owl was loud, drunken, 
disorderly, exciting and memorable, so very memorable.” 

Next week, “The Horses and the End of the Owl.” These stories of California in the early days of 
our father’s and his father’s lives are one of the best things our Dad left me and my sister, Heidi. 
These stories would turn up in the mail every now and then and I, fecklessly, just set them in a 
pile. But I kept them! I kept them all. If you want to read more of my Dad’s adventures, look 
on my Amazon.com book page.

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

My Dad’s Adventures are in:

“A Treasure Map, A Drunken Owl, and 47 Rattlers in a Bag”

You can follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@playwrightdd


Pioneer Days parade at Kersting Court, 1947. Joe A. Hinojos photo

Courtesy of the Sierra Madre Historical Archives (1999.704.1)

City of Sierra Madre

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

From: The City of Sierra Madre

Subject: DESIGN REVIEW THRESHOLDS – MUNICIPAL CODE TEXT AMENDMENT 20-06 (MCTA 20-06) 

Applicant: City of Sierra Madre

Project Location: Properties in the City of Sierra Madre, County of Los Angeles, State of California

The City of Sierra Madre gives notice, pursuant to State of California law, that the Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing 
to consider recommending adoption of Municipal Code Text Amendment 20-06, amending the design review thresholds in 
residential zones inclusive of Single Family Residential (R-1), Two Family Residential (R-2), Residential Canyon (R-C), and Multi-
Family Residential (R-3) Zones. The objective of the amendment is to consider reducing design review thresholds in residential 
zones by exempting smaller single-story additions and new construction and rear second-story additions from discretionary review. 
Larger projects will continue to be reviewed by the Planning Commission.

DATE AND TIME OF HEARING

City of Sierra Madre Planning Commission meeting; Thursday, September 17, 2020 (Hearing begins at 7:00 p.m.) 

PLACE OF HEARING

This meeting will be conducted utilizing teleconference communications and will be recorded for live streaming. In accordance 
with the State of California Executive Order N-29-20 dated March 17, 2020, all City of Sierra Madre public meetings will be solely 
available via live streaming and made available on the City’s official website.

Watch the meeting on Channel 3 (Government Access Channel) or live on the City's website at www.cityofsierramadre.com

Email public comments to: publiccomment@cityofsierramadre.com by 6:00 PM on the day of the meeting.

Requests for verbal public comment must include name, phone number, and agenda item number and must be e-mailed to above 
email address by 6 PM on the day of the meeting. City staff will call the phone number provided at the appropriate public comment 
time.

To participate in public comment please call: (669) 900-9128; Meeting I.D: 626-232-0232; Password: 232242

ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The project qualifies for an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act 
review pursuant to Title 14, Section 15061(b)(3) of the California Code of Regulations as it can be seen with certainty that there is no 
possibility the adoption of this Ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment, because the amendments are made to be 
consistent with the provisions of Government Code section 65915.

APPEAL: A decision by the Planning Commission is subject to a 10-day appeal period to the City Council. If in the future anyone 
wishes to challenge the decision of the Planning Commission in court, one may be limited to raising the issues that were raised or 
presented in written correspondence delivered to the Planning Commission at, or before, the scheduled public hearing. For further 
information on this subject, please contact the Planning and Community Preservation Department at (626) 355-7138.

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills

thechefknows@yahoo.com

SO SIMPLE !!! CORN ON THE COB

Corn doesn’t have to be a side dish to a steak or a mix-in to a pasta dish… corn can be stand alone. Actually, 
last night my dinner consisted of just two ears of corn (and a couple of pieces of homemade peanut 
brittle—had to make sure I kept my calories up).

 I think there are hundreds of ways to cook corn and why not—corn was first domesticated by native 
peoples in Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Native Americans taught European colonists how to grow the 
indigenous grains, and, since its introduction into Europe by Christopher Columbus and other explorers, 
corn has spread to all areas of the world suitable to its cultivation. It is gown on every continent except Antarctica. 
Did you know that corn is the most widely 
distributed of the world’s food crops—used for used 
as livestock feed, as human food, as biofuel, and as 
raw material in industry? Wow! Did you know corn 
was so versatile?

 Corn is essential for masa used to make tortillas and 
tamales; corn meal for corn rye and the bottoms of 
pizza; grits and corn bread—two original southern 
favorites. Plus, dozens of other applications.

I can easily boil my corn in salted water, grill it on 
the barbecue, make in my Instant Pot or even zap it in 
the microwave and all these methods work. So, I was 
tooling around the other day trying to figure new ways to cook and enjoy fresh, sweet corn on the cob and I 
came up with this new method. Rather than just boil the corn in water (which does nothing to enrich it), I 
boiled it in butter and milk. It is a spectacular way to make sweet buttery corn, well—sweeter and “buttier.” 

 

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 8 to 10 minutes

Yield: 6 servings



Ingredients

 4 to 6 cups water

1 cup milk

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons kosher salt

4 to 6 ears corn, shucked and halved

 

Directions

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add milk, butter, honey, red 
pepper flakes and salt.

2. Carefully add corn and reduce the heat to simmer.

3. Simmer the corn for 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Use tongs to remove the corn from the butter bath and serve immediately.

ChefSecret: I also like to strip the husks off the corn, slather it with mayonnaise, sprinkle it with Parmesan 
cheese and wrap it tightly in aluminum foil. You can do this ahead of time. Toss the “iron-clad” corn on the 
barbie the same time you put your steaks up they will be ready when the meat is medium-rare.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day: “This darn pandemic! I went grocery shopping with a mask last night, got home 
and discovered I brought home the wrong wife. Everyone looks alike. Stay alert people!”

Please tune in to my radio show on Sunday Mornings Go Country 105


SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER 

August 16, to August 22, 2020 
During this period the Sierra Madre Police Department 

responded to 207 calls for service. 

Injured Person 

Officers responded at 11:10AM to the 00 block of S. Baldwin Ave for the report of a male that 
had fallen down. Sierra Madre Fire Department also responded and evaluated the individual 
who refused treatment. 

Graffiti 

A resident reported on 8/19/20 at 8:22AM that unknown person(s) used red spray paint on the 
sidewalk to paint slogans, in the 00 block of E. Laurel Ave and in the 100 block of N. Canon 
Ave. 
Case to Detectives 

Traffic Collision 

Officers were dispatched to the intersection of N. Lima St. and W. Highland Ave. on 8/21/20 at 
9:50AM to investigate the collision of two vehicles. No injuries were reported. 

Graffiti 

On 8/21/20 at 2:09PM graffiti was reported by a resident in the 00 block of N. Mountain Trail. 
An unknown person(s) used red spray paint to paint a logo on the sidewalk. 
Case to Detectives 

Vandalism 

A resident in the 600 block of Oak Crest Dr. reported that the window of his residence was 
shattered by an unknown person(s) using an unknown object, on 8/21/20 at 11:15PM. 
Case to Detectives


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