Friends of Nature rise from the ashes with Oktoberfest after the Eton fire

The Eaton Fire destroyed the century-old Sierra Madre Lodge in January, but not its members, who signed up for Oktoberfest on Saturday. The debris was cleared and a stage built on the ruins, the 200-member Nature Friends Club fired up its biergarten grill with a roar. Proust! And raised beer steins. Children walked the restored track, and some danced schuhplattlera Bavarian folk dance with a lot of foot stomping and foot and leg tapping.

Friends of nature The lodge, built in Bavarian style by German immigrants in 1923, was reduced to charred wood, shredded metal and broken pottery by fire. Nine months after the demolition, the club was ready for its Phoenix moment.

Friends of Nature, a 100-year-old mountain retreat, hosted its annual Oktoberfest on new platforms built above the rubble left behind by the Eaton fire.

(Gary Coronado/For The Times)

“Our members saw fire as a challenge, not a deal breaker,” said Nature Friends President Jim Angus. “There’s a new sense of opportunity, and even a desire to reimagine the property.” The nonprofit plans to rebuild the three-story lodge in phases just as the founders did, keeping its alpine look but adding modern innovations. Funding efforts About $140,000 has been raised.

Friends of Nature is a department NaturfreundeFounded in 1895 by Social Democrats to enrich the lives of factory workers in Vienna. Original organization Champions ecological and sociopolitical causes and operates 700 lodges worldwide that offer budget accommodations and nature activities.

Although dirndl dresses and Lederhosen prevailed at Oktoberfest, which was attended by about 60 people, Nature Friends is not a German social club but a place for lovers of nature, art and culture.

“I like Friends of Nature because it reminds me of home in the north of Tehran – a place called Darband.” said Leila Ghabadi, who hosted Nowruz, the Persian New Year celebration, in 2023 in memory of her sister, Ferishta.

The Sierra Madre Clubhouse, a nature-friendly lodge, was built in 1924.

(Friends of Nature, Los Angeles)

Darband, a dreamy mountain village, reflects the simplicity of canyon life along Woodland Drive, which leads to nature lovers. The road is lined with stone walls and cottages decorated with flags, painted rocks, wind chimes and gnomes – a small Topanga canyon. Mary’s Bazaara 103-year-old eclectic diner and country store.

Ghabadi said that Fitrat’s friends remind her of the free spirit of her youth in Darband, when she used to escape from strict dress codes with her friends. “We will wear our hijab, eat good food, celebrate together,” she said. “Nature Friends has a similar type of Persian culture, a society that celebrates life, nature and beauty.”

With a sledgehammer in hand to help clean up the wreckage of the lodge in February, I found remnants of the community that had saved the fire: the iron triangle we struck before the community dinner, the cup of coffee I drank after a night out with friends, and a handprint left in cement by a longtime member. Countless acts of love had gone into maintaining and beautifying the lodge.

As a 30-year member and past president, I have seen the organization become a hub for diverse groups, some non-conformist: drum circles, shamanic trainings, dining spaces, yoga retreats, sound baths, ecological lectures and the Body Electronics School, founded in San Francisco during the Tantric 1980s.

But long before the fire, the lodge had rebuilt itself several times.

On the surface, the organization offers potlucks, movie nights and holiday gatherings open to all. But dig deeper, and what Angus calls the club’s “hidden history” emerges.

“We have never been what we appear to be,” he said.

The club was largely an expatriate German club with Jewish members. This began to change in the early 1990s.

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1. Lionel Gimari, six, left, imitates Julien Hasenfertz, out of frame, during the Friends of Nature dance competition at Oktoberfest. 2. John Waller, 87, left, and D. N. Gunnemann prepare themselves a German meal. 3. Cheddarwurst on the grill. (Gary Coronado/For The Times)

“We bring in friends – a gay element and free spirits,” said Bruce Anderson, whose home facing Nature Friends was saved in the fire. Her husband, Cuban-born Ken Symington, became trustee of the Friends of Nature in 1993, a post he held until his death in 2022 at the age of 90. Symington was a guide to the hundreds of visitors who gathered at the lodge for events and concerts. He also became an engine that settled and developed the club, in part by offering the property as a wedding venue.

After I met Symington, he invited me and others to co-found Invisible Theatre. Started in 1998, our group of 30 has held annual exhibitions for a decade, exploring themes of masculinity in underground events. It was a rare collaboration that deeply connected our tribe through art, play and free expression.

After Symington’s death, the club began another revival. Zach Clark became the club’s first chief operating officer, living in the property’s bunkhouse which later survived the fire. He attracted young members and encouraged hands-on involvement.

“We emphasize the importance of volunteering, and people love it,” said Clark, who managed the rebuilding effort. “They want to work with their hands and feel a sense of ownership, just like the immigrants who founded the club.”

Friends of Nature built a temporary deck between the remaining walls and the base of the lodge after clearing the debris from the fire. (Friends of Nature, Los Angeles)

Daryl Goodwin holds a German stein during the Oktoberfest celebration. (Gary Coronado/For The Times)

Two dozen volunteers worked to make the property usable for outdoor events. Retired contractor Darryl Goodwin, who lives under the ruins, built a 750-square-foot stage and will lead a volunteer-led restoration of the building. His wife Heidi Godwin and her family have been nature lovers since the early 1960s, when their German immigrant father joined Beno Werstein.

“It was so overwhelming to see it burn — all the time and love we put into the building,” said Lori Werstein, Heidi Goodwin’s sister. Months before the fire, she and her mother, Barbara Werstein, put Bavarian decorations on the front of the lodge — faux shutters, flower boxes and door and window trim. Undeterred, Werstein created new Alpine touches that adorn the ruins’ newly painted concrete walls.

The Eaton fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures, mostly in Altadena; Sierra Madre wasn’t that hard.

For members, the fire was just the first of what Clarke called a “brutal trifecta.” Winter rains have brought a torrential river that flows down the Yucca Trail, which is located between the leveled lodge and the bunkhouse. Landslides followed, burying parts of the property under four feet of mud.

Next came the birdsbreaking into Clark’s cottage several times, destroying cabinets and a refrigerator; It has been proven ever since.

Friends of Nature members survey the ruins of the lodge after the Eton fire destroyed it in early January.

(Friends of Nature, Los Angeles)

By early summer, the clean-up shows results. The club’s recovery efforts are focused on expanding its non-profit status. A New foundation Dedicated to recovery, education and awareness. “The fire gave us permission, or maybe a command,” said Angus, who creates family and scouting programs and conservation internships.

Member Jeff Kane seized the opportunity to reimagine the surrounding mountains. After clearing the burned aloe plants, he dug in about 500 native plants that he said “will look fantastic in a few years.”

At Oktoberfest, I joined one schuhplattler Dance competition, 6-year-old Lionel lost badly to Gemari. (Dance group Die Gemütlichen Schuhplatttler done at no cost). The winning times of the Stein-Olding competition (water mugs held with straight hands) were 5 minutes, 57 seconds for the women’s group and 7 minutes, 20 seconds for the men.

We dug into the potluck, enjoying member Michael Swain’s makeshift band playing classic rock. Lead singer Maggie Moran is no stranger to fire hazards. Her nearest business, Adams Peak Stationwhich supplies donkeys to the historic cabins, was hit financially during the 2020 Bobcat Fire.

“She came to support us, and so did we,” Clark said. “We are all very vulnerable to shooting in these areas – we are close and we help each other.”

Verona Gaimari, 3, center, dances at the Friends of Nature Oktoberfest.

(Gary Coronado/For The Times)

Friends of Nature will be holding their annual “Decemberfest” night market 4 By December 8 13. Open to all, the event features arts and crafts vendors, a silent auction, live music and an appearance by Santa and the Kramps. Price to be determined.