The Hill - thehill's Blog - Bakersfield.com

Cannibal Chickens

Now, I didn't know chickens dined on each other and their eggs. These little freaks can also lay green eggs, another little fact I learned at Highland High School. I have a story in today's paper on how the ag students there have started an egg business:

"A class of 12 students started the egg business as a school project. The Highland Scots' Egg Co. even has a logo for the cartons. It's a hunky yellow chicken in a kilt jabbing a sword into the air. Already, school staff members have bought one or two dozen at a time, said ag teacher Craig Davidson. The students have about 20 to 30 regular customers. ...
The breed produces eggs with light green shells. Sorry, the yolks are yellow."

I really had fun "hamming" it up (harty-har-har) with the Dr. Seuss references. Anyway, if you want these eggs, they're available by contacting the teacher at Highland. E-mail: craig_davidson@khsd.k12.ca.us

Nerd Alert: Space Show

Ahh, space. The Bakersfield College planetarium is presenting another show this Saturday, this time about the search for water in space. The Friday show sold out. Seems this place has become quite popular. Also, the black holes show will return April 21. Can't wait to see that -- looks like it'll be trippy. Details on this weekend's show below. You need to buy tickets at the ticket office. They're not sold at the door:

The William M. Thomas Planetarium at Bakersfield College will present “Oasis in Space” Saturday.
The one-hour show will begin with a short tour of the evening sky followed by the 24-minute all-dome presentation “Oasis in Space.” The presentation transports the audience on a voyage through the universe, galaxy and solar system in search of liquid water, a key ingredient for life on Earth.
The Friday show sold out, but Saturday’s show will start at 2:30 p.m. Doors open at 2 p.m.
The planetarium is in the math and science building, room 112, 1801 Panorama Drive.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors. Tickets will not be sold at the door. To purchase tickets, call the college ticket office at 395-4326.

More info:: bakersfieldcollege.com/planetarium

High school party spots...where are they?

Back home in Visalia, teens partied on Friday and Saturday nights at a little place called Cutfoot. It was out in an orchard and a creek ran through the area. (This is all second-hand info, of course, from my brother, who was the life of the party in high school. I'm already having visions of "Dazed and Confused.") The place is almost a legend. If it hasn't been demolished already, it'll probably be swallowed by housing soon.

What are the teen party spots in Bakersfield? Which do you remember from your high school days? I hear spots along the Kern River were big. I'd like to write a story about these places and how growth might be pushing them out.

Please note the locations of these party spots -- provide street names, local landmarks, etc. Also, please share your old party spot stories by e-mailing me at sbranco@bakersfield.com.

(Sigh) Que romantico ...

I just finished a story about two Bakersfield couples who are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversaries. Yep, there are people out there who can last that long, unlike Brit and K-Fed.

They are Adeline and Chris Stumbaugh and Margaret and Charles Andreoli. (I don't know why, but Mr. Stumbaugh looks a whole lot like an old-time Big Band musician in the photo). These huge anniversaries must be a fairly recent phenomenon as history goes. I figure it's due to: 1) long life expectancy 2) the common trend of early marriage up until a few decades ago and 3) perhaps the stick-to-it attitude of "The Greatest Generation."

What do you think?

Meanwhile, here's the couples' "how they met" stories. I love those.

Adeline, 90, and Chris, 93, married New Year’s Day 1937.
They lived in neighboring Los Angeles suburbs. Adeline said she met her future husband while on a blind date with her twin sister Isabel and her boyfriend.
“I thought he had pretty hair,” Adeline said. “I thought he was pretty nice as he wasn’t loud and pushy.”
When asked about his first impression of the girl, Chris, never much of a talker, shook his hand as if jittery.
He said “nervous.”
They married in an Episcopal church in Los Angeles, Adeline wearing the gown her sister wore when she married her boyfriend.
The obvious question: What’s the secret to 70 years?
“We just live for one day to the other and be as kind as we could,” Adeline said. “We never go to bed angry.”

Margaret and Charles Andreoli, 94 and 93 respectively, had a romantic courtship.
In May 1935, Margaret and a friend went down to the Needles, Calif. depot to people-watch as the trains came in, the only entertainment in town.
“Along came these two fellas,” she said. “One was tall and skinny, one was short, but very good-looking.”
“I thought she was gorgeous,” Charles recalled.
Margaret’s friend introduced her to Charles, who was a railroad employee, and his companion.
Two days later, Margaret’s friend said Charles wanted a date.
“Who in the world is Charlie Andreoli?” Margaret asked.
You met him the other night at the depot, the friend said.
Margaret asked, the tall one or the short one?
The short one.
He was too short, Margaret recalled saying. “‘I’ve never gone out with anyone that short.’”
But all the girls were dying to go out with him, her friend pressed. And he had a job.
“I said, ‘All right, this one time,’” Margaret recalled. “Never got rid of him.”
They were married a year later in a simple ceremony at Margaret’s childhood home.

Do you have a great "how we met" story to tell? Spill it!

-- Shellie Branco

Did Tim Burton design your holiday decorations?

My pal Matylda Czarnecka, specialty product manager here at the paper, is working on a Holiday Lights map. She wants to know if you Nor'easters are doing anything splendid with lights and decorations.

Click here to add your atomic-glow neighborhood to the map.

Side note: Those blue string lights I see on some houses give off a pretty but creepy glow at night. Not very Christmas-y, but great for Tim Burton fans.

Darn it, Jim, I'm a reporter, not an astronomer

Hey, it's northeast neighborhood reporter Shellie Branco. This is my first blog entry on the 'hood and I encourage y'all to write here about the *best* side of town. (OK, so I'm biased.)

I'm a space nerd. I love the cheesy retro feel of the original "Star Trek," so I was stoked to see it come back to channel My 45.

And I was just as happy to hear Bakersfield College is opening its newly remodeled planetarium to the general public for a special holiday show. It's not just for the schoolkids anymore. Here's the lowdown:

The William M. Thomas Planetarium at Bakersfield College will show the holiday all-dome film "Season of Light" Friday and Saturday. The film explores the mystery behind the Star of Bethlehem and the science behind nature's seasons. It also delves into Christmas traditions from around the world. The film will also run Dec. 15 and 16.
Doors open at 7 p.m. and the one-hour show begins at 7:30 p.m. No late admittance.
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors. They are available from the Bakersfield College ticket office only. Tickets will not be sold at the door.
The ticket office is in Business Services, across from the cafeteria in the bookstore building. Call 395-4326 for more information.

On the Web: www.bakersfieldcollege.edu/planetarium

Bakersfield College is located at 1801 Panorama Drive. The planetarium is on the second floor, northwest end of the math-science building, room 112.

Please, take note that tickets will NOT be sold at the door. You have to go the BC ticket office, which closes early on Fridays. If you can't make it to the show this weekend, you still have time.

******

The planetarium lobby features something really cool: ViewSpace. You can check it out before the show or drop by from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays once the semester picks up again Jan. 22. The ViewSpace monitor shows online pictures and video about the universe from the home of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. You can also check out images from the Mars Rovers and Cassini Saturn missions. Groovy space music and captions accompany the images. New content is downloaded every night.