Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, September 30, 2023

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Mountain View News Saturday, September 30, 2023 

REMEMBRANCE:

WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side

by Deanne Davis


N. BLAINE LEFLER, III

N. Blaine Lefler III, most recently of Glendale, Arizona, 
died in a motorcycle accident on Sunday, September 10, 
2023. He was 61.

 Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Blaine and his 
family moved to California in 1968. Blaine grew up in 
Sierra Madre and attended local schools, rode his skateboard 
around town, and listened to classic rock. He 
joined the Army in 1980, spent time stationed in Germany, 
and was honorably discharged in 1983. 

 Blaine met the love of his life, Wilma Fisher, in 
1988 when they worked together in Montclair, California. 
He knew after the first date—a game of tennis—that 
she was “the one.” They married in 1990 in Elverson, 
Pennsylvania. They have lived in California, Pennsylvania, 
Colorado, Tennessee, and Arizona, and together 
raised two wonderful children: Elaine and Briana.

 After spending time working in the restaurant 
business and running his own recycling business, 
Blaine became an IT systems engineer. At the time of 
his death, he was a senior specialist systems engineer at 
a large international bank. In his free time, Blaine loved 
spending time with family, exploring Route 66 on his 
Harley, enjoying live music, cheering for the Nashville 
Predators, reading sci-fi and fantasy, visiting In-N-Out 
Burger in remote locations, and around Christmas, telling 
anyone who would listen, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid!” He was also a grill-meister, happily serving 
meals to family and friends. 

Blaine died returning home from one of his many rides with Tour of Honor, a charity benefiting veterans 
and first responders. Friends and family will miss Blaine’s unique mix of playful irreverence and existential 
philosophy.

Blaine is survived by his wife Wilma Lefler, daughters Elaine and Briana, mother Sharon, sisters Debra and 
Rebecca, and a large extended family.

Blaine’s internment will take place on Monday, November 6, at 11:00 am at the National Memorial Cemetery 
of Arizona, 23029 North Cave Creek Road, Phoenix. All who wish to celebrate Blaine’s life are welcome. 
Donations in Blaine’s memory may be made to the Gary Sinise Foundation at https://www.garysinisefoundation.
org/donate. 

“October is the least dependable of months…full of ghosts and shadows.” Joy Fielding

“October has tremendous possibility. The summer’s oppressive heat is a distant memory, 
and the golden leaves promise a world full of beautiful adventures.” Sarah Guillory

“October! Baptize me with leaves, swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea 
soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand 
pumpkins!”

Rainbow Rowell

AN ODE TO OCTOBER

September smiled and said goodbye,

Leaving us with a glorious full harvest moon,

To remember her by.

October! You are here at last,

Holy scarecrows, this year is flying fast!

Pumpkins, pumpkins everywhere,

Halloween is in the air.

Pumpkin ice cream’s in the store, 

Pumpkin cookies, lattes, pancakes and more.

Pumpkin health bars, pumpkin gum,

Pumpkin Frosted Mini-Wheats, and even pumpkin doggie treats!

Pumpkin patches, haunted mansions,

Costume contests, carnivals,

Candied apples, Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Pops and Snickers,

They’re all ok, but I have to say, Dots, my friends, are truly the best, 

A box of Dots will pass every Halloween test.

Chrysanthemums of orange and yellow,

Sing October’s song…it’s Fall, y’all!

The days are shorter, the mornings darker,

Pumpkins still growing at the house of Parker!

The folks on Alegria are plotting and planning,

Terrifying, scarifying Halloween surprises.

Witches and skeletons and spiders, oh my!

Jack-o-lantern faces, evil or sweet, 

Lurk in the shadows on every street.

Little girls will be Barbie and Belle and Ariel,

Harry Potters and Super heroes,

Will be knocking at your door…

Trick or Treat! Trick or Treat! Give me something good to eat!

Their moms stand behind them hissing… “Thank you!”

But the kids…already gone. Maybe more at the house next door.

Our bears will want to trick or treat,

They, too, want something sweet to eat.

But I’m afraid with those guys,

It’s gonna be more trick than treat.

October! You are here at last,

Holy scarecrows, this year is going 
fast. Football! Football! Which 
team will be best.

My dear John watches his beloved 
USC Trojans from a seat on heaven’s 
50-yard line.

I hope they have Doritos and maybe 
a little glass of wine.

The picture this week is, of course, 
pumpkins! Have you started on 
your scarecrow yet for the annual 
Scarecrow Contest? Judges are 
watching. Be creative! Be outrageous! 
Be your scariest best!

What was Humpty Dumpty’s favorite 
month? October because he 
had a great fall!

What’s the best thing about October? 
All the cobwebs and dust 
in your house become Halloween 
decorations!

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

There are treasures there! Trust me! 

Including “Just Desserts” A Fall Fantasy of Pumpkins Gone Wrong! 

Blaine with his wife Wilma

CLARIFYING THE HISTORY OF LIZZIE'S TRAIL INN


(Archived Photo)

While the Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society (SMHPS) is appreciative of your reporter Kevin 
McGuire’s coverage of Lizzie’s Train Inn being named a local historical landmark (September 8. 2023 issue), 
we would like to clarify some of the historical data that was presented at city council and that Mr. 
McGuire reported.

The building that was the predecessor to the current Trail Inn was on the west side of the intersection 
where Lizzie’s now stands. That intersection was originally the start of the Mt. Wilson Trail, as can be 
seen on the cover of the publication by John W. Robinson, Sierra Madre’s Old Mount Wilson Trail (commonly 
referred to as “the Trail book”). There is some hearsay that the original name of the establishment 
was the “eating place at the foot of the trail,” but we do know with certainly that the original building we 
have proof of on the west side was called Doug’s Lunch Stand, and was operated by Walter Douglass. He 
can be found at that location (an address no longer in existence) in the 1910 and 1920 census records. Several 
photos of this building are in both the Trail book and Michele Zack’s Sierra Madre centennial book.

After Walter Douglass, the lunch business stand passed through two other owners until Elizabeth Stoppel 
bought the business in June of 1926. Please note we refer to the “business” as the land the lunch 
counter, or Trail Inn was on, as well as the Richardson Museum and where the park is now, was never 
owned by any of the proprietors. The land was owned by N.C. Carter first and then by William Caley 
(first Sierra Madre Marshall) and eventually his daughter, Maybelle.

One of the interim owners of the establishment between Douglass and Lizzie, renamed it Trail Inn. We 
know from photos that it was still on the west side of the intersection sometime in 1924, and with Lizzie 
buying the business in 1926, probably “moved” across the street sometime in between. Please note that 
at this time we do not know for certain if it was moved, demolished, or taken down, with parts used to 
build the new business on the east side of the street. Research is still pending to discover this, as it is 
believed that the move is connected with the new water reservoir which was being built at that location 
in early 1925.

There was a time period when Lizzie was sick that she did “sell” the business to her third husband Edward 
“Mac” McElwain’s relatives (the Ormes) to run, but very shortly took the business back because she 
missed it. After Lizzie died in 1939 of breast cancer, Mac and his family changed the name to Lizzie’s 
Trail Inn in her honor. When Mac died in 1941 the Ormes ran it until the end of the 1940s. It then sat 
vacant until being restored as a museum in the mid-1970s, and again in the early 1990s.

Lizzie and her second husband, Louis Stoppel, did not live in the Inn or the house next to it, but rather on 
North Auburn. Lizzie would move into the house (Richardson museum) after her divorce from Louis in 
1932. And it is known that Louis was the person who decided that they should set up a still and bootleg 
illegal whiskey.

Also note that John Richardson never owned any of this land. John, who came here in 1860 (long predating 
Carter) with his family in a covered wagon, had a land grant that started at the site of present day 
Mountain Trail, and went east from there into the canyon. Despite the belief that the current Richardson 
museum, called the Richardson House, was believed to be from 1864, the building only dates to about 
1890, and can be seen in one of the photos of Doug’s Lunch Stand and Trail from circa 1910 in the Zack 
book. Information gathered in the last couple of years indicates that the John Richardson house was in 
the canyon area that became a part of the old Cypress Court, and the location is now a newer home on 
Old Ranch Road, the original house being torn down in 1976.

SMHPS is ecstatic that Lizzie’s in now a Sierra Madre Historical Landmark! 

 Dedicated members of the SMHPS strive to gather the most up to date information about our cultural 
historical sites and are happy to share.

Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society


Sponsored by the Sierra Madre Civic ClubAll Sierra Madre 
households are invited 
to create and 
participate in a 
Halloween Art Show that 
will be displayed on 
downtown merchants’ 
windows from October 20 
through November 4, 2023.
All ages from a single 
address are welcome to 
draw or paint any 
Halloween theme on paper 
‘canvas’ delivered free to 
your front door. 
Any medium you choose 
is acceptable—crayons, 
markers, pencils, paint, 
ink are just a few ideas.
Halloween ART ShowDowntown SIERRA MADRE 
Sign up on-line at 
sierramadrecivicclub.org 
before september 29.
Deadline to return completed artwork is October 13.
YourARTWORKHERElet’s decorate 
those windows!
Your 
ARTWORKHEREYour 
ARTWORKHEREAttention 
Sierra Madre!
Be creative! 
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