This Granny Smith Apple and Goat Cheese Salad includes julienned chicken breast, granny smith apples, candied pecans, apple chips, and mixed greens tossed in champagne vinaigrette topped with goat cheese. The coffee mugs have all been handmade by Jolyn’s mother Jennifer Simison. / photo by Katherine Careaga

by Ashley Sourapas
photography by Katherine Careaga

Twisted Sage Cafe is a new restaurant that has the community coming back and taking a second look at this hidden gem of Americana cooking. The menu features fresh quality ingredients with a twist on classic Americana cuisine that has locals’ taste buds craving more. Try the featured crisp granny smith apple and goat cheese salad, topped with tender succulent julienne chicken breast and candied pecans, all tossed in a champagne vinaigrette. Couple it with the cranberry turkey sandwich, served on perfectly toasted wheat bread with cranberry chutney, alfalfa sprouts, melted havarti cheese and roasted garlic aioli. Menu items like this show why the Twisted Sage is a local favorite. One has to look closely for this restaurant, located on the famous Route 66 in San Dimas, tucked into a corporate environment among insurance agencies and accounting firms. The restaurant is worth the hunt; this is a small family restaurant run in a classy way.

Owner Jolyn Thompson is a graduate of the Bonita Unified School District. She may now live in San Dimas, walking distance from her restaurant, but she is at heart from the neighboring city. “I grew up in La Verne, I went to Roynon, Ramona and Bonita,” Jolyn says. She is a wife and mother of two young children. Daughter Chloe, 4 years old, and son Landon, 5 years old, love to help and be a part of the action. Both children attend La Verne Heights Elementary in La Verne. Husband Richard is the general manager and part owner. Jolyn has been working in the industry for 15 years. She graduated form the California School of Culinary Arts. “I can remember her graduating from culinary school in 2002; she has been determined since then to execute ‘our own place,’” says Richard. Before opening her cafe, Jolyn worked in Pasadena as well as at Angels Stadium, serving as a chef in the exclusive Diamond Club, a place where high profile customers come to dine rather than watch the baseball game. “I have cooked for Kobe Bryant and Robin Williams; not many can say that,” says Joyln.

The husband and wife duo each have their own roles to play at Twisted Sage. “My husband is the face, and I am the taste,” says Jolyn. Indeed, diners at Twisted Sage are able to taste Jolyn’s work while Richard’s input is appreciated visually. The atmosphere is raw, eco-friendly and artsy. Twisted Sage has hosted an open mic night in honor of the Invisible Children charity and hopes to do many more charitable events. Local artists showcase their art on the walls, giving customers the opportunity to invest in a one-of-a-kind piece. “My passions in the cafe are the aesthetics: paint, music, artwork, all around decor and trying to show our personality and beliefs through the design,” says Richard. He performs all the artistic touches, from the innovated ombre four leaf logo to the custom paint chalk specials board that on Oct. 25 featured “not your mom’s” biscuits-n-gravy, country fried steak-n-eggs, the buffalo chicken sandwich and french onion soup. The walls are colored forest green. Richard cleverly chose wood elements and refurbished railroad ties for decorations. The tables are all recycled stainless steel, adding a unique touch to the dining experience. “This is my ever-changing focus, to keep people stimulated and comfortable and coming back for more,” he says.

A green kitchen

The cafe and its employees are dedicated to “green” practices. The kitchen is equipped with energy efficient appliances; the “to go” containers are made of recycled paper and even the coffee mugs are handmade by Joyn’s mother Jennifer Simison. The cafe has an incredibly low waste percentage, with only about 5 percent of the supplies ultimately thrown out at week’s end. Jolyn has become resourceful in every way possible to reduce waste and stay “green.” Stale bread is revisioned into their famous creamy bread pudding. The butts of the bread loaves are thrown in the food processer and made into the golden crunch that tops a blend of brie, gruyere, sharp cheddar cheese and thick bacon pieces that make a cheese lover’s mouth water.

Owner and Chef Jolyn Thompson receives help from her children, Landon and Chloe Thompson, in creating a Granny Smith Apple and Goat Cheese Salad. Landon and Chloe can often be seen in the restaurant helping out. / photo by Katherine Careaga

The owners translate their goal of encouraging a slower pace of living, coupled with high quality fresh and healthy ingredients to their customers. Nevertheless, they feature “curbside to go” in 2.5 minutes if one calls ahead. Tables can be reserved. Order for 10 or more people, and they deliver for free. “We are hoping to slow down the pace of California and bring fresh quality food to the table,” says Jolyn. The couple see a troubling dining trend in the local area.“In the little bubble that we live in—San Dimas, La Verne, Claremont, Glendora—we live in a different world than what’s out there. We think Applebee’s, Red Robin and these places are what bring us the fresh quality food,“ Jolyn says. Think that? Wait until you try Jolyn’s cooking. The Cafe buys its ingredients from local farms and farmers markets whenever possible. The chefs are continuously cooking up innovative and comforting dishes.

The dining experience

It is breakfast time, and the smell of warm croissants, applewood smoked bacon and French toast fills the Twisted Sage Cafe. At noon, a different aroma hits you at the door: roasted turkey, chipotle aioli, sun dried tomatoes and heavenly soft ciabatta bread. Whether it is breakfast or lunch, the cafe offers a wide variety of unique items from sandwiches and wraps to salads and soups. The menu favorite is the turkey avocado sandwich. Though Jolyn loves that her customers come back for their favorites, she urges them to try something new; she guarantees that they will love it.

Along with their amazing food creations, Jolyn and Richard have enjoyed watching their business succeed. “I am proud of ourselves; we were able to come up with a plan and execute it in the area we grew up,” he says. “I would like to think of us as growing in incremental stages,” says Jolyn. “First we crawled, then walked; now we are almost running.” They know what their customers want; they are balancing that with an acceptable twist of classy gourmet food. “When someone says, what are these sprouts doing on my sandwich, I tell them ‘try it, you’ll like it,’” laughs Jolyn. Her gourmet twist is found in all her classic Americana cuisine. This family has stuck together not only serving great food but serving the community they live in. Try it. Indeed, you will like it.

Twisted Sage Cafe
433 E. Foothill Blvd., Suite 103, San Dimas
(909) 305-0724
www.twistedsagecafe.com

What does the Thompson family order?

Jolyn’s favorite sandwich is the cranberry turkey (noted in the story.)

Richard’s favorite is the BLT, served on toasted wheat bread topped with thick slices of applewood smoked bacon, crisp butter lettuce, ripe tomato and garlic aioli.

Landon’s favorite is the chicken caesar wrap served with juicy julienne chicken breast, romaine lettuce, homemade croutons, freshly grated parmesan cheese and caesar dressing, all wrapped up in a spinach tortilla.

Chloe’s favorite is the cheese-lover mac and cheese; however, she personally calls it the daddy mac and cheese. It is a blend of brie, gruyere, sharp cheddar cheese, bacon chunks and topped off with toasted breadcrumbs.

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Holy Name of Mary Church, San Dimas and Bonita avenues. / photo by Courtney Droke

by Kevin Garrity
photography by Courtney Droke

A La Verne street at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains bears his name, and the private high school at its south end proudly recalls his life’s work. Indeed, in so many other ways the Catholic leadership in Southern California has made him a native son. But while people in La Verne and San Dimas call him their own, his story and selfless actions made national prominence when he was canonized Oct. 11. Saint Damien, father to lepers, brother to all, is now revered by all.

The official sainthood pronouncement was over, and, at the time, Vatican City was filled with people wearing leis representing their leader from Molokai. But four days later about 75 people, their eyes deep and passionate, sang “Amazing Grace” on their festive half mile march from Holy Name of Mary Church in San Dimas to Damien High School in La Verne to celebrate their hero’s sainthood. Damien is their inspiration, and his spiritual presence is felt throughout the community. He no longer just lends his name to the local high school and street; he now owns a high-ranking status in the Catholic sect and garners as much national attention as he does local. The high ranking accolades now reach from the pope to the United States President.

“He invites us to open our eyes toward the leprosies that disfigure the humanity of our brothers and sisters and that today still call, more than for our generosity, for the charity of our serving presence,” proclaims Pope Benedict XVI at the canonization in Vatican City. President Obama, himself a Hawaii native, says, “Fr. Damien has earned a special place in the hearts of the Hawaiians. I recall many stories from my youth about his tireless work to care for those suffering from leprosy who had been cast out. Fr. Damien challenged the stigmatizing effects of the disease, giving voice to the voiceless and, ultimately, sacrificing his own life to bring dignity to so many.”

Saint Damien in the late 1800s voluntarily went to the Hawaiian island of Molokai to help a leper colony. He developed churches, created laws and provided care for those who were shunned by society. His life of selflessness, charity and devotion was the first building block to a life that could officially be considered saintly. But first he needed two miracles.

Miracle man

In 1895, a French nun, Simplicia Hue, age 37, was in grave condition for more than seven months. She prayed to Damien for her recovery of a gastrointestinal disease. Her prayers pleaded for Saint Damien to intercede with God and heal her. Hue was allegedly cured overnight, and she remarkably lived for another 32 years.

It would be 114 years before the Pope was to recognize the second miracle. In 1999, Audrey Toguchi, 81, a teacher for 44 years, prayed every day to Saint Damien for a healthy recovery from her battle with terminal lung cancer. Toguchi went to Damien’s grave site in Kalawao, Molokai to pray resiliently. Inexplicably, by the end of 1999, her cancer was cured without treatment.

“She had visited Father Damien’s grave site constantly. She prayed to Father Damien to ask Jesus to cure her cancer. The next time she saw the doctor, her tests showed the cancer was shrinking. The doctor, who himself was not Catholic, kept all the medical records and told her to show them to whoever she needed to in the church because he believed that it was a miracle,” articulates Jennifer Hoge, University of La Verne alumna and co-writer/director of “Damien: Making a Difference, God Making a Saint.”

The tireless prayers of thousands were finally answered. On Feb. 21, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI approved the second miracle and a saint was canonized.

It becomes official

Father Damien de Veuster of Molokai was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 11, 2009, and the Catholic Church in Vatican City, elevated his status from father to saint. The three-step process was finally complete. First, Damien was declared venerable by Pope Paul VI in 1977. To become verified, one must live a life free of sin and not involve himself with anything that would prevent a person from becoming a saint. Then he became Blessed Damien in 1995 by Pope John Paul II after his first miracle was officially recognized. And, finally, the second miracle was pronounced legitimate, and he was propelled into sainthood, elevating his status to the highest level a person can achieve in the Church.

A community celebration

Damien entered the Catholic order of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in 1863. The order has established denominations in the La Verne, Pomona and San Dimas areas, all of which proved instrumental in propelling Damien into sainthood. It was the inspiration his charitable life that gave the people strength in pursuing Damien’s rightful recognition to such a coveted status in the Catholic Church. “The mission of the congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary is to live, contemplate and proclaim the love of God in the midst of the world,” says Martin O’Loghlen, Holy Name of Mary associate pastor.

Once the canonization news broke, a worldwide celebration started, with its roots in the streets of La Verne, Hawaii and Vatican City. People celebrated with week-long events that led up to the final declaration by the Pope. Four days before Damien officially become a saint, the local Church held a special mass in his name. “The 150 year wait comes to an end this weekend with a great moment for our community of the Sacred Hearts,” preached Father John Roche, Holy Name of Mary pastor. “His example of charity and generosity is an example for all of us on how to live the gospel. A brother to all, father to lepers, Damien was able to give up everything and serve the poor and needy.”

After the mass, the Church staged a luau. The congregation wore leis, and propped up pictures of Saint Damien graced the alter fronts. Even the mass featured a ceremonial Hawaiian dance, bringing the flock to life in a true celebratory moment for people within the community and the dozen visitors from Hawaii.

Four days after the official canonization, members of Holy Name of Mary walked east from their Church on Bonita Avenue to the gymnasium at Damien High School. There, a Thursday night mass was observed. On the walk, men, women and children harmoniously sang “Amazing Grace,” paying their admirations to not just any saint, but their saint.

“We promise to imitate Christ, and saints are great examples of people who imitate Christ,” says Father O’Loghlen. “I find Damien very inspirational. His humanitarian efforts should even be inspirational for people who are not necessarily religious.”

“He was already a saint to people even before he was canonized. He was that kind of a person; he didn’t need this expression because people already saw what he did, and that he was a special kind of a man,” says Father Rich Danyluk, vice provincial of the Sacred Hearts.

A life to remember

In 1840, Joseph de Veuster was born in Belgium, the seventh of eight children, to Frans de Veuster, a corn merchant. Expected to take over the family farm business, he instead followed in his brother’s footsteps and entered the seminary of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary at age 23 and took the religious name of “Damien.”

His brother Auguste was scheduled to serve the Sacred Hearts order in Hawaii but was stricken with typhus. The illness required a long recuperation period, and thus Auguste was unable to journey to Hawaii. Damien offered himself to serve in his brother’s place, although not yet an ordained priest. Even though this was not allowed in the Catholic Church, Damien’s unconventional request was granted, and, in 1864, he assumed the responsibility of serving as a missionary in Hawaii. In the same year, he was ordained to the priesthood at the Cathedral of Our Lady Peace.

“He brought the presence of God there, but only because of his deep faith, total commitment and his willingness to give himself totally. He didn’t just come to visit as many others had. He came to be with them,” expresses Father O’Loghlen in the documentary “Making a Difference.” “Damien should not have been sent, because he was only a seminarian; he hadn’t achieved ordination. This is a miracle itself,” says Father Michael Berry in “Making a Difference.”

During this time, the native Hawaiians faced a dire health problem: leprosy, now called Hansen’s disease. The United States government enforced “The Act to Prevent the Spread of Leprosy” in 1865, thus leading to the purchase of a five-square-mile village on the Makanalua peninsula, which jutted out from the island of Molokai, in effect to establish a leper settlement. The law prohibited people from leaving the island, and since Damien integrated himself there, it meant he would never be allowed to leave either. Lepers were often forcibly taken from their homes, stripped from their families and thrown onto the peninsula, effectively quarantined away from loved ones and society.

Leprosy, now extinguished with antibiotics, was then a feared and grotesque disease of the peripheral nerves. It caused disfigurement—swollen eyes, protuberances in the cheeks and ears and infected legs, which made it difficult to walk, were all external ailments people endured. Damien was able to provide priestly leadership to these societal outcasts, and during his 16 years of guidance, houses were built, schools were in session and basic community laws were enforced. “Damien was able to serve people both spiritually and physically who everybody thought were outcasts,” Father O’ Loghlen says.

Damien acquired leprosy that would ultimately take his life on April 15, 1889, at age 49. The first effective treatment for Leprosy was developed in the 1930s.

“I look at him during that time in the world as a man who had special kinds of eyes. He was able to look beyond all the negativity and all the ugliness that the world saw and was able to see more in them. He saw the beauty in them and transformed their lives,” Father Danyluk says.

Saint Damien’s canonization was as much representational for his life’s achievements as it was a community’s resilience in seeing the sainthood process through. And while his selfless life is recognized throughout the world, those singing “Amazing Grace” down Bonita Avenue are still proud to call him their very own.

Also see the companion story, “A Touch of God.”

Seemingly looking to his sainthood future, a statue of Father Damien presides over the sanctuary courtyard of Holy Name of Mary Church. Father Damien volunteered to work among lepers on Molokai, Hawaii, beginning in 1873. The sainthood canonization of Father Damien took place Oct. 11, 2009, at the Vatican. / photo by Courtney Droke

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photo by Sher Porter

by Erin Konrad
photography by Sher Porter

Black, billowing smoke fills the air as the train pulls into the crowded station. Men and women rush about, carrying crates of lemons and oranges. Horses drag wagons filled with supplies and boxes down the bustling dirt road. The scent of citrus is everywhere in 1887, the year the railroad was completed. The city of San Dimas was a small community nestled against the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. It soon became a hub of activity for the area, when the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe Railroad made visits to pick up the citrus. The Santa Fe was a profitable and efficient railroad company, shipping citrus produced in San Dimas and La Verne to destinations all over the world. The location was selected by the railroad because of its prime position among the surrounding communities that all produced citrus. Prospectors came by the hundreds to stake their claims.

Now the station is closer to a ghost town than to the busy, prospering post it once was. Trains no longer run on this railroad anymore, and the only trace of its path along the route are the worn tracks that run behind the building. However, the city of San Dimas has done a great deal to ensure that this site where history was made will retain its historical value. The Santa Fe Railway Station was made into a small museum for visitors wishing to take a trip back before the turn of the 20th century.

The bright yellow building on Bonita Avenue in San Dimas consists of only one room filled with artifacts and photographs from throughout the city’s history. Glass cases surround the room, except for the back wall, where there is a large window facing what used to be the location of where trains unloaded citrus crates and passengers. The glass cases document the city’s illustrious past. There are Native American artifacts and pieces of tools and crates from the heyday of the citrus industry. There is a worn sign behind the glass that was once hung on a wall in an orange packinghouse. It reads, “No talking to employees.” There are stacks of the original labels that were pasted to the sides of the lemon and orange crates. “These oranges grew in San Dimas” they proudly state.

Despite all of the history present, there is still a kitschy, hometown feel to the museum. Marmalade and jellies are for sale in jars with labels that tout the Walker House, another site of the city’s impressive history. The mansion was once a hotel for weary travelers who had just gotten off the trains. Now, it’s under construction to refurbish it back to its original glory. The museum also offers pens and hats for sale, but none of the merchandise hides the fact that this location holds many genuine relics from the past.

An adjacent room, really not much bigger than the museum, is owned by the Pacific Railroad Society. This room is another piece of history. There are large benches on display, where people would wait patiently for their train to arrive. Neither museum is open every day, creating a special window of opportunity for those who wish to view the historical site. Both rooms are run solely by volunteers from the San Dimas Historical Society.

Before it became the capital of citrus production in the late 19th century, the area was occupied by the Gabrieleno Indians. In the 1770s, the first Europeans traveled to the site. A Spanish soldier named Juan Baptista DeAnza passed through the area and named it Mud Springs because of the nearby marshland. After a mix of settlers and ranchers came pouring west, the railway was completed and a huge land boom took place. The area had originally been solely for cattle ranching. But in 1889, Robert Teague planted what would be the largest citrus nursery in the world. Over 10,000 acres of lemon, orange and grapefruit trees were planted. Eleven years later, Teague had more than 7,000 seedlings. A decade later, his sales totaled more than $100,000.

The building that has become the museum, however, is the not the same structure that the railway company built in 1887. That one burned down in 1933, after a packinghouse across the street caught fire. The station was rebuilt within a year, but the design was completely different. The only true remnants of the original building are the photographs that memorialize the site. The station finally closed in 1967 after the citrus industry went downhill and a more suburban feel took up residence in San Dimas.

One volunteer at the museum, Susan Davis, has always loved history. She became a member of the Historical Society some years ago.

“My favorite part is the old pictures,” Davis said. “We have almost 2,000 and we’re in the process of digitalizing them now.”

The San Dimas Railroad Museum is open the first and third Saturdays of every month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

photo by Sher Porter

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