Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, November 20, 2021

Mountain Views-News Saturday, November 20, 2021 

SIERRA MADRE'S LATEST HERO: FINNIGAN 


Sierra Madre resident “Finnigan” saved a family consisting of three young girls,their dog and 
father at nearby dog park in Pasadena. 

Finn, a large white boxer rescue, on numerous occasions has played the role of diffusing attacks 
by bully aggressive dogs and smaller submissive ones, very skillfully without any of the parties 
involved getting injured. This time around was scary and the potential of escalating into serious 
injury or worse. 

As the family was entering the park, with youngest daughter leading their dog in, a ferocious 
very large Doberman went on the attack with no provocation at all. 

Finn and and his owner, Gary, were approximatly two feet away waiting to exit when Finn 
instinctively went into action. With lightning speed, Finn got between the Dobie and the girls 
attached to their dog. Finn and the Dobie, both standing up on hind legs like two bears fighting 
paw to paw head to head. Finn managed to dodgeface bites and pushed the Dobie down while 
owner got control and left immediately. 

All this left the rest of us literally speechless. Nobody was injured. In retrospect , I just want to 
say, city officials just don’t make up rules and regulations for the heck of it. They are there to 
proctect every person and dogs everywhere. Please, people, follow the rules in the dog parks, 
and everywhere else! 

This story and photo were submitted by the dog's owner, Gary. 


WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis 

“For each new morning with its light, 
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, 
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.” 

Ralph Waldo Emerson 

“Count your many blessings, see what God has done.” 

I guess where I am just a few days before Thanksgiving, 
is counting blessings, naming them one by one. Blessings 
are small things. They seldom arrive on a pink 
unicorn with glitter being tossed about. Blessings are 
a shared moment you didn’t think would happen, like 
an unexpected hug or a nice phone call with someone 
you’re missing. Even finding a penny in the parking lot 
at Target is pretty nice. 

You’re probably still planning your Thanksgiving menu 
and my best and favorite dish is my Aunt Helen’s Lime Jell-O Salad. Everybody has some sort 
of Jell-O salad but my Aunt Helen’s is delicious and blessedly easy to make. Everybody devours 
it and there’s seldom even a bite left. 


HELEN’S LIME JELL-O SALAD 

Regular size package lime Jell-O2 cups boiling water24 oz. can crushed pineapple1 Tbs. lemon juice2 cups miniature marshmallows1 8-oz container whipping cream, whipped till it’s nice and thick, 
or the equivalent amount of Cool Whip 

Put the Jell-O into whatever dish you plan to serve it in. Drain the pineapple juice into the 
Jell-O but not the pineapple, add the marshmallows, the 2 cups boiling water, the lemon juice 
and stir till the Jell-O is completely dissolved. Refrigerate. Keep a close eye on it as you don’t 
want it to jell completely, just till it’s starting to get firm. Add the other ingredients, mix well to 
be sure all the Jell-O is off the bottom and mixed in. Refrigerate until totally firm. You can add 
nuts, walnuts or pecans, but only if you’re sure that everyone who is going to eat this actually 
likes nuts. Otherwise, you have to clench your teeth and bite your tongue while the non-nut 
eaters carefully pick each and every nut out and set them on another plate. You can double this 
with complete impunity and great success. 

My Aunt Helen has been gone for quite a while now but she will never be forgotten as long as 
her Lime Jell-O Salad is still made here and there. She was an interesting woman who never 
married. She was the gift and jewelry buyer for long-departed I. Magnin’s Department Store.
She never had children of her own but she loved me dearly and I can remember her sitting on 
the floor in my bedroom with a shaded lamp beside her reading Winnie the Pooh to me when 
I had a really serious case of measles at about age four. She sewed doll clothes for me on her 
treadle Singer sewing machine, helped me write and memorize a long report on Victoria Falls 
when I was in third grade, and was a blessing to me all her life. 

She had the distinction of being a person who never said anything unpleasant about anyone, 
unlike Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter, Alice Roosevelt Longworth who famously said, “If you 
haven’t got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me.” 

This is another of our Thanksgiving favorites and, while my daughter, Leah, is a huge fan of 
roasted vegetables, I have to have Creamed Spinach. After you try this, you’ll feel the exact 
same way. This is so good that even people who eschew (that means they wouldn’t touch it 
with a fork) spinach will eat it! Popeye would never eat another can of spinach once he tasted 
this. 

You can double, triple or whatever this recipe and it will be fantastic. 

CREAMED SPINACH 

1 (10 oz.) package chopped spinach2-3 slices bacon, finely chopped (or more if it makes you happy)
½ cup onion, finely chopped2 Tb. flour 
1 tsp. seasoned salt
¼ tsp. seasoned pepper1 clove garlic (optional)
1 cup milk (I use non-fat which works just fine) 

Cook spinach and drain well. Combine bacon and onion in a large skillet and fry till tender 
and bacon is brown and crispy. Remove from heat. (As bacon is so lean anymore, it’s not necessary 
to drain off any of the fat, unless it makes you nervous. Do leave some!) 

Add flour, seasoned salt, seasoned pepper and garlic (if you’re using garlic). Blend thoroughly. 
Return to heat and slowly add milk, stir continually until thickened. (In case you hadn’t noticed, 
you’ve just made white sauce!) Add spinach, mix well. Astonish your guests and family. 

This recipe is originally from Mike Roy, one of my culinary heroes, from The Mike Roy Cook 
Book, copyrighted in 1966, which I bought at the Sierra Madre Library Used Book Sale for 
the astonishing price of $3.95 – hard cover! Mike has been in heaven for some time now, but 
I like to think he is still cooking up there, for a very appreciative crowd. 

Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends and neighbors. May your turkey be moist and tender, your 
stuffing perfectly seasoned and your pumpkin pie be spectacularly delicious. May the company 
around your table be hungry and happy to eat all you’ve prepared,

 and may no one want to discuss politics! 

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” Ps. 107:1 

At long last, the new Emma Gainsworth novelette is out!
“Hurricane: An Emma Gainsworth Adventure 
Look for it on my book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 
Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09K5YVTCPEmma is up to her elbows in disaster…you’ll love it! Best $2.99 purchase ever! 

VOLUNTEER FOR SMRFA DECO WEEK 


The Sierra Madre Rose Float Association has opened 
the online sign up program for decorating the Sierra 
Madre Rose Float during Deco Week (December 
26th to December 31st). 

Please sign up for this year’s float entitled “Nature’s 
Classroom” and join us preparing our beautiful 
Amazon rainforest. 

Sign up through our website at https://sierramadrerosefloat.
org/getinvolved/volunteer/decorate/ to 

get involved, then volunteer, then decorate! 

Our Volunteer Guidelines have changed this year, and we have some new restrictions and Covid-
19 protocols, so it is important to read our guidelines BEFORE you sign up through iVolunteer. 
If you have difficulty signing up or have questions, please email us at info2021@sierramadrerosefloat.
org. 

If you have a group of 8 or more, you need to schedule a time that would be convenient for your 
group to work. Please complete the Application for Group of Volunteers form and return it to 
volunteer@sierramadrerosefloat.org. 

We may be able to open up more spots when it gets closer to Deco Week, so if you don’t find your 
preferred shift or the shifts are full, please check back in December. 

Thank you for participating and we’ll see you at the barn! 

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