User Posts : Bakersfield.com

The evolution of the Garces Circle

Colonel Baker surveyed and designed many new towns in the east and through this experience gained knowledge that narrow streets and town circles are not the way to lay out a young city.
A horse and wagon couldn’t even turn around in most early western towns After witnessing the congestion narrow streets caused to many cities in the east he gave Bakersfield very wide streets so it had room to grow.
In early Bakersfield, roads into town all led to the city’s center of business. The Old Immigrant road ran near Colonel Baker’s field, which was near 19th and N streets. After the town was layed out with street names, Chester Avenue became the main drag north and south so it evolved into the highway through town.
The Beale Clock Tower was built in the center of Chester Avenue in 1904. Many townspeople were critical of this placement and as the through traffic of automobiles increased in number, traffic congestion on Chester increased yearly. In 1928, Chester Avenue, through Bakersfield, was made California State Highway 99.
By the late-1920s, state and city planners began searching for a way of relocating State Highway 99 around town and off Chester Avenue.
A traffic circle was decided as the means to interchange highway and city traffic smoothly. It took years to prod the state and Santa Fe Railroad to build the underpass at Truxtun and Union Avenue, but it was finished in 1935, which allowed State Highway 99 traffic to detour to the north of town and meet the newly finished traffic circle on North Chester Avenue.
After these projects were completed and traffic was cruising around the new traffic circle, people began to complain of the project’s bare appearance.
First, lawn was planted and there was talk of transplanting some large palm trees, but everyone had their own idea of how to beautify the circle so the subject was argued for years.
The city manager’s idea of beautification was to build a large, mission style service station-garage inside the circle. The income from the business would pay the maintenance on the landscaping of the property, he explained, but after considering the traffic congestion this idea would create, the idea was scrapped.
The next year the city discussed erecting a full size oil derrick in the center of the circle, fully illuminated by flood lights. Those in favor stressed Kern’s ties to oil; those against noted that there were hundreds of derricks already dotting the local landscape.
City engineer Joe Holfelter drew up plans for a massive 200-foot-wide fountain. This would have been a spectacular display for traffic passing through Bakersfield. The fountain was designed to spray 124 jets of water in a 40-foot halo while four center jets shot 75 feet high. The entire water show was illuminated from underwater with multi-colored lights, constantly displaying a changing rainbow of colors.
“The Living Fountain” would have been spectacular, but the $10,000 price tag and projected maintenance railroaded the project. A lawn and a few hedges were all the circle gained in four years until finally a thrifty solution presented itself to the planning commission.
John Palo-Kangas, a famous sculptor, working for the Works Public Administration Federal Arts Projects, was commissioned to carve a block of Indiana limestone into the statue we see today. So, on May 7, 1939, Bakersfield gained a treasured icon, Father Francisco Garces, thanks to the Works Project Administration of the Great Depression. The funds to erect the statue were raised by the Kern County Historical Society and other civic organizations.

Shafter shelter manager making a difference

My interest in animals began at a very young age. As a child, I would bring home baby birds that fell from nests and try to save them. I would try to bring home every stray in the area, as many children do.
My passion grew from bringing home stray animals to a desire to make a difference in the lives of animals on a larger scale. I volunteered at our local veterinary clinic in high school and after that I worked at pet stores, ranches and anywhere that I could gain more animal handling experience. In addition to gaining work experience, I also earned a bachelor of science degree in animal science.
After graduation, I stumbled around for a year or two and ended up in animal control. Collectively, I have been in the field for eight years.
Initially, it was very difficult for me and I did not have the mental fortitude to do the job. I spent one year at one animal control agency and then I left to take a break. Later, I was offered the job that I have now, working for the city of Shafter. The opportunity to run a fairly small program and be in charge of most decisions enticed me, so I took the job. That was almost six years ago.
There are so many emotional facets that cross my path on a daily basis that I could go on for 10 pages. My situation is unique in that I am usually the person who is responsible for picking the animal up, helping to care for the animal during its stay at the shelter and then ultimately deciding the fate of the animal.
There is an emotional attachment to every phase of that process. It is difficult to stay emotionally detached. I can see in their eyes that they are scared, sick or just lost and they look at me through their kennels almost begging for help. It saddens me deeply to face the reality that I cannot possibly help them all. For the ones that I do help, I feel an elated sense of purpose.
My staff works very hard to try to find homes for all of our adoptable animals. I work with many animal rescues that take some of our animals and can hold on to them until they are adopted. We also have an adoption Web site that allows for more exposure of our adoptable animals. We have had people from as far away as Canada adopts an animal from our little shelter in Shafter!
We occasionally do off-site adoption days at various locations. The joy that I receive from helping those few adopted animals is what keeps me coming back to work everyday.
I always told myself that I would no longer continue this work if I could not make a difference. The fact that I am still here and doing what I do, means that I am making a difference.
About the author: Shyanne Schull is the Shafter Animal Control manager.

Artifacts tested at CSUB were used to butcher ice-age camels

A biochemical analysis performed at Cal State Bakersfield indicates that artifacts unearthed in Colorado were used to butcher ice-age camels and horses that roamed North America until their extinction about 13,000 years ago, according to a University of Colorado at Boulder study.
All 83 implements from a rare Clovis-era stone tool cache recently unearthed in the city limits of Boulder were shipped to CSUB anthropology professor Robert Yohe of the Laboratory of Archaeological Science for protein residue tests.
The protein residue on the artifacts was tested against various animal anti-sera, a procedure similar to standard allergy tests and which can narrow positive reactions down to specific mammalian families, but not to genera or species.
“I was somewhat surprised to find mammal protein residues on these tools, in part because we initially suspected that the Mahaffy Cache might be ritualistic rather than a utilitarian,” said Yohe. “There are so few Clovis-age tool caches that have been discovered that we really don’t know very much about them.’
The tests were funded by Boulder resident and landowner Patrick Mahaffy, on whose land the cache was found.
The study is the first to identify protein residue from extinct camels on North American stone tools and only the second to identify horse protein residue on a Clovis-age tool, said CU-Boulder Anthropology Professor Douglas Bamforth, who led the study. The cache is one of only a handful of Clovis-age artifact caches that have been unearthed in North America, said Bamforth, who studies Paleoindian culture and tools.
The Clovis culture is believed by many archaeologists to coincide with the time the first Americans arrived on the continent from Asia via the Bering Land Bridge about 13,000 to 13,500 years ago, Bamforth said.
Dozens of species of North American mammals went extinct by the end of the Pleistocene, including American camels, American horses, woolly mammoth, dire wolves, short-faced bears, saber-toothed cats, woolly rhinos and giant ground sloths. While some scientists speculate ice-age mammals disappeared as a result of overhunting, climate change or even the explosion of a wayward asteroid, the reasons are still unresolved, Bamforth said.
The Mahaffy Cache consists of 83 stone implements ranging from salad plate-sized, elegantly crafted bifacial knives and a unique tool resembling a double-bitted axe to small blades and flint scraps.
Discovered in May 2008 by a landscaping crew working on the Mahaffy property, the cache was unearthed with a shovel under about 18 inches of soil and was packed tightly into a hole about the size of a large shoebox. It appeared to have been untouched for thousands of years, Bamforth said
“There is a magic to these artifacts,” said Mahaffy. “One of the things you don't get from just looking at them is how incredible they feel in your hand — they are almost ergonomically perfect and you can feel how they were used. It is a wonderful connection to the people who shared this same land a long, long time ago.”

About the author: Jim Scott works in the news office at the University of Colorado.

Mutts ready to leave the ranch

Five hundred dogs in my house? Am I nuts? Yes, I am a dog foster mom and I run Canine Canyon Ranch Rescue for large mutts over 50 pounds.
When I moved to Tehachapi in 2001 and finally had a yard, I thought I would get a dog of my own. After years of working 12-hour days, I decided to “get a life” in the mountains. When I called the local humane society about adopting a dog, I found out that there was a huge need for foster homes … doggie auditions! I did pick one dog right away, and then, well, I just kept going.
On the way I went out on my own in 2004 and Canine Canyon Ranch was founded.
Eight years later, I have now fostered and adopted out many hundreds of homeless dogs. After three years here, I found just the right place in east Tehachapi, on 21 acres with no neighbors. I’m only eight miles from town, and I wake up surrounded by green trees, mountains and at least 10 dogs in my living room, more in better weather.
I planned a sanctuary, but “rescue” served a much greater need. I have no problem saying goodbye to each dog that finds that perfect “forever” home. I love when they drive off down my road and don’t look back.
In 2008, Canine Canyon Ranch found new homes for 115 dogs and many others passed through to other rescues.
Rescue is hard physical work, emotionally draining, even dangerous at times. My personal dogs sometimes get the least amount of attention when surrounded by eight to 10 foster dogs with “issues.”
My house has been marked by hundreds of male dogs (strays are most often un-neutered males), females too. My furniture is chewed up and I’ve been growled at, charged and bitten. I get dogs that have been kicked and beaten and worst of all, totally ignored.
After a week or two here, they become normal dogs. How? The Dog Whisperer mantra of “exercise, discipline and then affection.” It works!
I’ve had people “dump” their dogs, lying about their age or health status. I answer calls every day from people needing to “get rid of” dogs and people losing their homes. I can’t help most of them but I do give lots of free advice and referrals based on my experience. I must turn down pit bulls, because I can find a home for 20 to 30 mutts while one pit gets adopted. Hard choices are necessary because “you can’t save them all and if you try, then you can’t save any.”
Amazingly, I sleep quite well at night, 10 dogs snoring softly in the living room, warm, safe and happy. I wish I could help every homeless dog, but I do what I can. I have had dogs here for an hour, a year, and just last month, a three-year resident finally found his perfect home, a big ranch in Montana. I hope it happens again tomorrow.
Meet your new best friend at caninecanyonranch.org.

Walk for Life 2009

Hi, my name is Daniel Kinder. I am a 15 year old sophomore attending Liberty High School and member of St. Philips Church in Bakersfield, CA. On January 24th, 2009 I attended the 5th annual Walk for Life in San Francisco. Walk for Life is a peaceful walk for no abortion. I was a little hesitant before going because I thought abortion only affected women. After attending I learned I was wrong.
The day started off at 4 AM at St. Francis Church in Bakersfield, CA. We took the 5 hour bus ride into San Francisco. We stopped for breakfast at McDonalds. There is nothing like a sausage, egg, and cheese McGriddle to get you going in the morning! Once we arrived in San Francisco it looked like it was going to pour down on us. The good Lord didn’t let it though.
We gathered in Justin Herman Plaza in Downtown San Francisco. In order to get the faith, prayer, and spirit going five amazing speakers shared their great stories about how abortion has affected their lives. Diana Nagy, a famous Catholic singer, spoke how she was a teen mother that chose life and to put her newborn son up for adoption. I met and spoke with her about how special her speech was. Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr. talked about our newly elected president, Barak Obama, signing a bill to promote pro-CHOICE in Mexico City a couple days before. This was a huge blow to our cause. It made our peaceful fight even more important! His amazing speech led us into the 2.5 mile walk to Golden Gate Park.
What comes to your mind when you think of San Francisco? Liberal, different, unique, and crazy is what comes to my mind. All 30,000+ who walked encountered these types of people. This was the opposition. They had bands, bullhorns, profanity everywhere, and cheers to prove their pro-choice point. I was yelled at inappropriately, flipped off, given dirty looks, and even had a condom thrown near me that was aimed at another woman. I was very tempted to start something, but held back and prayed the rosary with an amazing leader/friend, Emily. Other than those people the walk was awesome!
We ended at the Golden Gate Park. There was a band playing Christian rock music. An Israelian dance group played and had a circle of dancers. The St. Philips youth joined in. We know how to get down. We intermingled with ourselves and left for Bakersfield to round out an amazing trip!
This is my story. The reason I wrote this paper was to get the word out. Abortion is a very unnecessary procedure. People can debate all they want, but a human is a human no matter how small. Listen to scripture: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb”- Jeremiah 1:5 and “Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don’t stand back and let them die. Don’t try to avoid responsibility by saying you didn’t know about it. For God knows all hearts and he sees you. He keeps watch over your souls, and he knows you know. And he will judge all people according to what they have done.” - Proverbs 24: 11-12.

Get involved and let’s make a difference.

I'm Poo, and I'm one of the lucky ones!

Hi, my name is Poo and I am not up for adoption because I already have been adopted.

When my mom, Tisha Brown, returned from Iraq she adopted me and we moved to Bakersfield with her mom, Joyce Smith.

I am a very happy, little dog and everyone in the family loves me very much. I am the center of attention.

So to all my canine friends waiting to be adopted, just have faith and be patient because just like me, you too will be adopted into a family who will love you the way I am loved.

— Poo

Mentoring helps woman turn her life around

Mary Wayner had every reason to give up. She had surrendered her body to drugs, her children to CPS and her life to hopelessness.
Drug-free today, Wayner has been reunited with her children and she has a job and a house. “I’m doing fantastic,” she tells her mentor, Patricia Mitchell. This month, the two are celebrating Wayner’s 45th birthday together, and National Mentoring Month.
Wayner, placed in foster care as a young child, began using marijuana and methamphetamine at age 11. Like her birth parents, she became an addict and eventually ended up on the streets with her children.
“My life was a mess,” Wayner says. “You’re done, you’re tired, and you know that there is something more to life than this. I knew I had to make a change before I lost what meant the most to me — my children.”
Early in 2007, Wayner made a change. She voluntarily turned over her two youngest children to Child Protective Services, and then turned herself into probation.
Through substance abuse treatment, Wayner was able to get off drugs. But she recalls that she needed more. “The classes showed me how to get clean,” Wayner says. “But I realized that it wasn’t just quitting dope; there’s a whole lot more to learning how to live.”
Guided by a referral from the Kern County Department of Human Services, Wayner enrolled in Garden Pathways’ Family to Family Mentoring program in September 2007.
She engaged in group mentoring, received job search guidance and was matched with Mitchell as her mentor. Within weeks, Wayner had found a job. A house soon followed, and then transportation.
Wayner tells the Garden Pathways team, “You didn't hand me a job or a house, you gave me the courage to take steps to get a job and a house.” She pauses, and then beams with pride. “My boss tells me that I’m an asset at work. My job loves me so much, they come to pick me up and drop me home.”
When Mitchell began to mentor Wayner, she first guided her to focus on her strengths. “She had the will, the right attitude, but lacked confidence,” Mitchell recalls. “She needed someone to care and encourage her. We were able to share our faith together.”
In the summer of 2008, Wayner joyously celebrated the return of her children, Corrie, 14, and Dustin, 15. However, the family soon encountered the challenges of the extended separation.
During this transitional period, Wayner garnered support from Mitchell in learning how to communicate effectively with her teens and how to establish boundaries and consequences.
“She showed me how to be a mom,” says Wayner.
Both children entered Garden Pathways’ youth mentoring program. Corrie now has the additional support of her mentor, Bre Carlson. With Carlson’s guidance, the 14-year-old is making major strides in communication and anger management. Wayner reports that family dynamics have improved tremendously. “Change is scary, but it’s awesome,” she says.
What happened this Christmas would have been unimaginable to Wayner a year ago. TIC, The Industrial Co., adopted the Wayner family and generously showered them with gifts.
But the best was yet to come: presents from Wayner’s two grown children. Her eldest son, 28, shared the first surprise. He informed Wayner that he had recently given up drugs: “If you could do it, Mom, so could I.”
Then Wayner’s 24-year-old son called from out of state after nine years of silence. At age 6, he had been removed from Wayner. Mother and son had spoken once in 18 years. Since Christmas, they have been talking almost every night.
Mitchell, a project manager with McIntosh & Associates, had initial reservations in becoming a mentor. She remembers asking herself, “Do I really have the time?” A year later Mitchell says, “I’m surprised that mentoring is a lot easier than I thought it would be. I expected it to be more work and harder than it is. It’s amazing how little we have to give someone else for it to be so valuable.”

Kern County is in dire need of mentors to guide and encourage at-risk youth and adults. The investment of a mentor can change the future of a family forever.
You can become a mentor or volunteer through Garden Pathways to help your community in one of the following ways:
Attend training to become a mentor and be willing to commit one hour a week of your time for one year to mentor at-risk youth or adults one-on-one, as a group, or as part of a team.
Commit to becoming a “mentoring consultant” to train or support mentoring participants or mentors in your field of expertise.
Sponsor a mentoring event or enrichment experience for at-risk youth.
Donate financially to support mentoring.
Other local organizations also offer opportunities for mentoring. For information on how to get involved, contact:
Garden Pathways Inc. (Family to Family Mentoring): Karen Goh, Executive Director; 661-633-9133; www.gardenpathways.org
Stay Focused (Reach 4 Greatness Mentoring): Manuel Carrizalez, Founder/President; 661-322-4673; www.stayfocused.org
Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Central California: Gerardo Marquez, Program Manager; 661-900-1222; www.bigs.org.
MENTOR: www.mentoring.org

Traveling to Tikal

Tikal has been described as the “archeological equivalent of shock and awe”. It is one of the largest and most impressive of all the Mayan ruins, and is especially intriguing because it was lost in the jungle for over 800 years! Today, the excavated tops of six of the Mayan temples at Tikal can be seen above the jungle tree tops. When first seen, they are very impressive almost straight vertical temple pyramids. Temple IV is the tallest at 212 feet high, which was the largest structure in the Western hemisphere at the time. Climbing up to the top of these temples is quite a feat, but is worth it for the view of the jungle and the rest of the site, only 15% of which has been cleared of the dirt, trees, and brush that had hidden the site for so many years. Tikal was begun in 200 B.C. and was mysteriously abandoned in 900 A.D. At one time, almost 100,000 people lived around these temples, as Tikal, located at the Northern end of Guatemala, was the center of the Mayan civilization that stretched from Mexico to Honduras.

When visiting Tikal, it would be a shame to miss out on a visit to the highlands of Guatemala, where the Mayan descendants still dress in the fashion of the past. For example, in Santiago on Lake Atitlan, where we stayed at the Posada de Santiago, the men wore white culottes with red stripes, a white shirt with sash, and what amounted to a “cowboy hat”. The women wore hand woven long skirts with generally purple blouses embroidered fancifully. This dress style was not worn by just a few, but was pervasive throughout the village. In other villages, the style was the same, but the colors of the outfits were different according to some decree by the Spanish colonizers that would allow them to distinguish villagers by the colors they wore. It was interesting to see the mode of transportation generally taken by all. First, there were many people just walking down the road. Second, in the larger towns there were tuk-tuks, which are three wheeled, motorized “taxis”. Less expensive, no doubt, were the pickup trucks with a raised bar in the truck bed which allowed people to hang onto the bar as they were driven down the road to work or other, standing in the truck bed, generally crowded together. Finally, for long distances there were the gaily painted “chicken buses”, which apparently had many a previous life as school buses. In the morning and the evening, the pickup trucks transported men and boys into the hillsides to pick coffee beans. The other work we saw was men, women, and children gathering wood for heat and cooking. The consequence of all this wood burning is that the air is often thick with smoke and it can be difficult to breathe. Imagine if you had to live inside with all that smoke, all your life.

Another place to visit in Guatemala is Antigua, which is a Spanish colonial city, complete with cobblestones and Spanish language schools for tourists. There are several active volcanos nearby, so we decided to climb one along with a guided group. Pacaya volcano was a fairly strenuous hike for us, but the views are amazing. We hiked right up to the lava fields where lava was coming out in fiery chunks that came crashing down the hill toward us. That was almost a little too exciting!

An interesting cultural side note is that the curious blend of Mayan religion with the Catholic religion is slowly being replaced by a rising number of new Evangelical Christian churches.

Accident-free driving has its own rewards

The Arvin Union School District Board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 20 was not business as usual. Mrs.. Jerrelle Kavanagah was delighted to present Mr.. Randy Hooser with a special award. Randy's award came from the California Highway Patrol for his 30 years of accident free driving. His dedication to his district is greatly appreciated.

Cruise rule No. 1: Don’t miss boat

There are few things I enjoy more in this world than taking a relaxing cruise. I really don’t care where the ship is going. The ship, for the most part, is the destination.
There are a few simple rules that pertain to cruising, and they all pale in comparison to the first rule, “Don’t miss the boat!” It is such a big deal, it is a cliche and for good reason!
You are not flying Southwest Air, where they have a flight every hour. This is old-school travel.
Recently, we booked a three-day cruise out of L.A. Harbor. I broke rule No. 1 and I’m still paying for it.
As we sat in unusually bad gridlock, I called the convenient assistance phone number in my cruise packet. I pleaded my case to Royal Caribbean to please hold the ship for me, but alas, it was to no avail. The ship was going to leave on time and they were not going to be swayed by my sob story.
I can’t adequately put into words how agonizing it is to sit on the 405, stuck in traffic with six other people in the car all hollering, “Can’t you go any faster?” Which, of course I can’t.
When we finally did reach the Los Angeles Cruise Center, we got to wave goodbye to our ship, sailing off into the sunset without us. Bummer!
Our wonderful prepaid vacation has left without us. To avoid a land mutiny, I tell the family, “It’s really not a big deal; we’ll just pick up the ship in the next port.”
Now is when the real torture begins!
The nice lady on the cruise assistance line informed me that if I did venture down to Ensenada, Mexico, to meet the ship I would have to clear Mexican Customs and that would really be difficult.
I thought if I’m going down, I might as well go down in flames! So after an uneventful night at the Comfort Inn in Carson, off we headed to the Mexican border on a hope and a prayer.
The next morning, we drove down the 5 to the last U.S. exit before Mexico. (That’s exactly what the sign says.)
So we left the Suburban in a parking lot, which I was sure I would find stripped upon my return, and walked into Mexico with all of our giant suitcases that my wife, daughters and their friends had packed for the cruise. Needless to say, I felt a little conspicuous, so I thought about blending in with the locals by wearing a poncho being sold by a nearby vender embroidered with “Dodgers” on the front.
My wife successfully negotiated cab fare in a bright yellow Suburban to Ensenada for $75. Not bad when you consider there were seven of us. Just one problem: There were only two rows of seats — room for six — so I sat in the back with the luggage. Apparently, there is no seat-belt law in Baja California.
An hour and a half of riding backward in the cargo bay, and we arrived at the ship. I felt like an accordion when I crawled out over the tailgate.
Thank goodness for our driver, he knew every Mexican official in Ensenada and how to motivate them on a Saturday afternoon. Surprisingly, the tough part was getting Royal Caribbean to let us on board. We had to wait for the captain to give the go-ahead for us to board.
So we made the best of what was left of our cruise. I tried to make it up to my family by booking another three-day cruise with Royal Caribbean, but they no longer do the short cruises out of Los Angeles, so we booked Carnival Cruise Lines.
We gave ourselves plenty of time to get there. Carnival has its own cruise center, next to the Queen Mary, so getting on board was a breeze and everyone had a wonderful trip.
(For an inexpensive family vacation, try a three- or four-day Carnival cruise out of Los Angeles. Big cabins and excellent food.)
Did you wonder what happened to our car we left at the border? Well, it didn’t get stripped, but I did have to hire a driver to take me from the ship in L.A. to the Mexican border. We also discovered, if you keep going past the pay-to-park lot, there is a giant outlet mall complete with a Neiman Marcus clearance center and many other great outlet stores.
Lesson learned. Give yourself plenty of time to leisurely board the ship.
Jim Darling is a Bakersfield native who enjoys traveling and writing about his experiences.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Grants Awarded to Standard School District

On Tuesday, January 20th, the students at Highland Elementary were able to experience a Farmer's Market first hand. Students were given “Hawk Cash” to purchase locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables from our vendor Food 4 Thought. The students learned consumer skills and were exposed to a variety of produce while participating in a fun activity. A nutrition lesson was also part of the Farmer's Market. Did you know a third pound of broccoli has more vitamin C than 240 apples or 20 oranges? These students practiced what they learned- there were many bags with broccoli not just fruit. Students also chose cucumbers, celery, carrots, pink lady apples, mandarin oranges, kiwis, grapes and palmero grapefruit. No two bags had the same fruits and veggies so you know they thought about their choices. Thank you to the parent volunteers that helped the day go smoothly. Almost 900 students and teachers passed through the Farmer's Market in less than two hours.

Three schools in the Standard School District have received Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) grants funded by the 2008 federal farm bill. Highland Elementary, Standard Elementary and Wingland Elementary schools competed in the grant process and are three of only twenty five schools in California selected to receive funding.

The FFVP provides a variety of free fresh fruits and vegetables to all students at school as a supplement to the school lunch and breakfast programs. State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O'Connell describes the program as a concerted team effort of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Food and Agriculture. The FFVP is designed to create healthier school environments by providing good food choices, expanding the variety of fruits and vegetables children eat, increasing their consumption of healthier foods, teaching students about good nutrition, and making a difference in their diets to improve their present and future health. It is hoped that this federal program will help in the fight against the childhood obesity epidemic.

Highland Elementary, Standard Elementary and Wingland Elementary schools have implemented the Harvest of the Month program. The elementary schools also have walking programs to encourage physical activity during recess times by offering incentives and celebrity walkers. The parent clubs and PTAs at each of the elementary schools are supportive of the wellness efforts at the schools and provide much needed volunteers and funding for fitness and nutrition programs at the school.

Food 4 Thought is a locally owned company that partners with small family owned farms to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to schools. Standard School District purchases produce from this vendor to provide taste samples with nutrition lessons to kindergarten through fifth grade students. Harvest of the Month extends from the classroom and cafeteria to the home and community, promoting healthier habits and futures for our students. This is a program that connects to core curricular areas and provides educators with materials and resources to motivate students to make healthy choices through hands-on experience with fruits and vegetables and physical activity. This endeavor is funded by the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables grant. In preparation for the Farmer's Market, the students participated in a poster contest featuring fruits and vegetables. Over 100 posters were displayed at the Farmers Market. Wingland and Standard Elementary schools will have Farmer's Markets at a later date.

When cotton was king

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" ... until it comes back to bite you.

Digressing to the 1970s and 80s, cotton marketing co-op CALCOT and the Kern County Farm Bureau — perceived as players in an emerging free-trade ideology — welcome foreign tour groups into local agriculture. Eager, well-dressed men — mostly Chinese — are armed with cameras and notebooks.

In an altruistic wave of "show and tell," big hearts take time to give them all they need to know about the science and technology to grown and gin quality cotton — Kern County's white gold — on a mass scale. Likewise across the nation they glean knowledge through the southern cotton beltway and its textile mills ... all in all, hard-won advancements spanning a century since our nation's Industrial Revolution.

Today cotton prices have tanked due to overseas dirt-cheap-labor competition and market flooding. Our surviving cotton gins are few. Many have become gutted shells (or scrapped), eerily silenced, except for the haunting echo of squatter pigeons. U.S. textile mills have virtually collapsed or converted to museums, offices and retail boutique complexes. nationwide, cotton acreage, as reported by AgDay, "has fallen to a 140-year low; nearly to that of the Civil War era." Jobs have given way to imported goods and mob-oriented Wal-Mart is the beneficiary. CNN News reports that today, thanks to the Internet, China's online espionage systematically preys on our aerospace technology.

United State of America ... where innovation, not imitation should remain as our founding credo. Politics aside, let's stop giving it away. Let's plug the leaks and look on the bright side.

Becoming a school marm

Before being issued a credential, prospective teachers today must prove their proficiency in reading, writing, and math by passing the California Basic Education Skills Test, CBEST for short. Just like doctors, lawyers, and beauticians, they must be able to demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge base required to be competent in their chosen field. It is important to note, at least for this brief essay, that students may retake any failed section of the CBEST as many times as is required for passage.
Now, with that information as background, I invite you to join me on a brief journey into Kern County’s past.
Our purpose for taking this journey is merely to compare what is required to demonstrate readiness for teaching in today’s world to what was required a century ago, in 1900 or thereabouts. You may be surprised, even enlightened, at what we find. No time machine is required. Just bring your imagination and I’ll supply the details.
First, however, we need just a little background information to bring our picture of the past into focus.
In 1898, there were 63 school districts and just 86 teachers in Kern County. And since most of those districts were small, at least in terms of enrollment, the schoolhouses were generally one room affairs with all grades being taught by a single teacher. With no mechanical transportation, schools had to be built within close proximity to population clusters and, consequently, many of those schoolhouses were in extremely remote areas.
We tend to picture all teachers from that era as female and unmarried but, in this instance at least, in 1898, that would not have been an accurate characterization since eight of that year’s 86 teachers were men and 15 of the female teachers were married.
Some of the names that appeared on that year’s roster are familiar ones: R. L. Stockton, for instance, who would later serve as county superintendent of schools, as would his son, Jesse Stockton; Alfred Harrell, who would become publisher of the Bakersfield Californian; and Millie Gardett, who would become Millie Gardett Munsey and have a school named in her honor.
The names of most of the 63 districts are less familiar: Antelope, Cleveland, Fitzgerald, Lonetree, Miramonte, and Wicker — to name just a few — no longer exist, having at some point been absorbed by another district.
Completing the teaching program today presents a dramatic contrast to what was required of prospective teachers a century ago - here in Kern County at least. Both groups had to take and pass an examination but there the similarity ended.
The 1898 test, called simply the Teachers Examination, was given in May just prior to the opening of school. It made no effort to address areas of the curriculum but was designed to measure the breadth of one’s general knowledge. It’s possible that some of those who took that test in 1898 had completed all or part of a two year program at one of California’s two teacher training colleges, called “normal” schools in those days. (One was in San Jose and would eventually evolve into what is now called San Jose State University. The other, in Los Angeles, was for some time referred to simply as “the southern branch” of the University of California. We know it today as UCLA.)
As described in one newspaper account, “Twenty-five applicants put in their appearance to endeavor to pass the trying ordeal.” Trying ordeal, indeed! It’s likely that most of the twenty-five had no formal training and limited understanding of the basic elements of pedagogy. But then there was little enough need for that since most instruction was through recitation and rote learning.
The kicker was simply this: Your performance on the Teacher Examination was the sole determiner of whether or not you were granted a teaching certificate. And it was, as you will see, a very difficult test. All sections had to be passed at a proficiency level of 60 percent or greater. Failing one section meant that you had failed the test and you were not allowed to continue. No retakes. Adios!
The exam covered the following subject areas: spelling, arithmetic, physical geography, physiology, music, civil government, geometry, literature, and drawing. A sampling of the test questions follows:
Spelling was the first test area. Fifty words were dictated. Among them were: asceticism, cynosure, oleaginous, paraphernalia, and denouement. Only 17 of the 25 passed this section.
Geometry was next, and the task: “Describe how a line is generated. Do the same for a surface and a solid.” Then, “Prove that an inscribed angle is measured by one-half the arc intercepted between its sides.”
Literature: “Who is the Poet Laureate of England and whom did he succeed?” Also, “Give the nationality of Burns, Byron, Emerson, Thoreau, Hugo, Scott, Irving, Dumas, and Swift.”
Physiology: “Define the office of the lymphatics.” Too hard? Try this one: “Describe the entire process by which food is changed into blood.”
Geography: Here is one of the easier ones: “Name the leading countries in the production of the following: gold, wool, wine, tea, quicksilver, jute, opium, India rubber, lead, and spices.”
Civil Government: “Define the following: indictment, impeachment, tax, municipal, corporation, constitution, belligerents, reprisal, and embargo.”
Equally impossible questions were asked in the sections on music, arithmetic, and drawing but I think the point is made: If you were seeking a teaching certificate in Kern County in 1898, you had to know a lot of stuff about a lot of stuff, stuff that you would never use in the classroom.
On the other hand, it’s easy enough to see why they made the test so difficult. Only the most astute would then be given the opportunity to teach 10, or 20, or 40 kids from all grade levels in one large room that was difficult to heat in January and impossible to cool in May or June. Still, there was the generous salary to consider: $75 a month, perhaps as much as $85 if you would agree to haul in water and firewood and sweep the floor once a week.

Bakersfield's first resident: Tommy Fitzgerald

The industrious beavers that have lately reappeared along the Kern River bottom in Bakersfield are reminescent of the reason our city is built in it's present location.

Have you ever wondered why Bakersfield was built where it is presently located ?

Thomas (Tommy) Fitzgerald was the first settler to build and live in his house on what is now downtown Bakersfield. He lived in the house while trapping beaver in the Kern River, Buena Vista Lake, Kern Lake and numerous sloughs in the area. His home was located near 19th and "M" Streets. After he selected this spot to build his cabin, settlers who came later built near this home. Some of the pioneers, who's names are legend, had passed this way before Fitzgerald settled here; Padre Garces, Joseph Reddeford Walker, John C. Freemont, Jedediah S. Smith, Alexis Godey and Elijah Stevens are a few, but none of these great explorers settled here.

Tommy Fitzgerald was one of those legendary "mountain men" who fur trapped and hunted in the Rocky Mountains during the 1820's and 30's. Little is known about him previous to his being one of the fifty mountain men in the 1833-34 Joseph Walker expedition that left the annual rendezvous on the Green River in eastern Utah, in July 1833. This is where Tommy Fitzgerald joined Walker's party. The expedition's goal was to explore, find a usable trail from Utah to the Pacific Ocean and trap furs along the way.

This party crossed the Sierra Nevada mountains over Mono Pass. They then entered what is now Yosemite National Park where they were the first white men to view the wonderous water falls and giant redwood trees. They then traveled west to the San Francisco Bay area then down the coast to Monterey, the Mexican Capitol of California at that time. They spent the winter as welcomed guests of the Mexican Government.

In the spring of 1834 the party traveled east to the San Joaquin Valley, then heading south along the slopes of the Sierras. They explored and trapped along most of the rivers running out of the mountains. When they arrived in the Kern County area they followed the old Indian trail that ran through Lynn's Valley and what later became Glennville. From here they crossed over the Greenhorn Mountains, then through "Walkers Pass" which was named for the leader of this party.

It seems Tommy Fitzgerald, liked the green, spacious, Linn's Valley so much he returned and built an adobe trading post at the junction of those two Indian trails at the present town of Glennville. Tommy called it his "fort" because it was built like a fort with walls three feet thick and small, square, "porthole" type windows. He traded with the Indians and fur trappers passing through on the ancient trail over Greenhorn Mountains to the Mojave desert and after the Kern River gold rush began in the early 1850's, his merchandise business boomed for a couple of years.

With help from the friendly Yokuts Indians, Fitzgerald built the tamped earth, adobe trading post sometime in the mid 1840's, long before the California gold rush began. He then built the house at "Kern Island", (now Bakersfield), during the 1850's as a hunting and trapping lodge at which he could reside in the winter and then move up to his Glennville trading post during the heat of summer. This adobe house is the oldest standing residence in Kern County and is today located at Glennville adjacent to the County Fire Station. It is a registrated State Historical Landmark, preserved and maintained by the Kern County Historical Society.

The beaver pelt business died out in the 1850's because the top hats that for years had been made from beaver fur were then being made from silk. The price for beaver pelts dropped 50 percent. Fitzgerald built the first house in Bakersfield near what is now 19th and "M" Streets as a headquarters for his beaver trapping and hunting. Tule Elk, antelope and waterfowl, which were numerous near Bakersfield back then, were his means of making a living. In the 1850's, he sold the fresh and dried meat to the Army at Fort Tejon as well as to merchants at Visalia.

In the late 1850's, Fitzgerald sold Bakersfield's first house to Christian Bonah, a farmer who had migrated from Texas with his family. Bonah realized the agricultural potential of this area and began farming the rich soil.

Fitzgerald and Colonel Thomas Baker, founder of Bakersfield, met in Visalia in 1858. Baker was living in Visalia at that time and interested in swamp land reclamation. Fitzgerald, being familiar with Kern's lakes and swamps, agreed to a canoe trip with the colonel to the local area. They canoed from Tulare Lake by way of Goose Lake Slough to Buena Vista Lake. then to Kern Lake and from there up Kern River to Fitzgerals's old house,(now owned by Bonah), on the present site of Bakersfield. Baker was so impressed with the site that in 1863, he moved his family into this house which he had purchased from Christian Bonah. Bonah had also built an additional house of logs next to the origional structure. From this site Colonel Baker founded the present town of Bakersfield.

Tommy Fitzgerald, now a very old man, retired to his beloved "fort" at Glennville to live out his years. The man who selected the site on which now stands Bakersfield was a local legend in those times and in 1877 he died in his adobe home in Glennville. His solitary grave can be found on a beautiful, green, hillside, 5 miles north of Glennville, at the south end of Sand Flat. A cast iron enclosure marks the gravesite from which can be viewed the entire Lynns Valley.

Charles John Schmidt is turning 90!

Charles John Schmidt

January signals fresh beginnings. A time of the year that usually brings about self-reflection and resolute changes. January 19, 2009 will mark 90 years of fresh beginnings for local business man Charles “Pop” John Schmidt. Everyday is one of routine that includes waking up to talk radio, drinking a cup of coffee, talking with Madeline Schmidt, his wife of 66 years and heading out the door to pick up the mail on his way to work. Yes, this spry old man drives himself to work everyday to Attorney’s Certified Services. As a partner, he now only performs certain jobs at the company.

Charles John Schmidt was born in North Hampton, Pennsylvania on January 19, 1919. Madeline his wife and three of his five children, moved to Bakersfield, CA on
January 14, 1949. That’s sixty years ago!
Prior to moving to Bakersfield, Pop proudly served his country for 4 years 4 months in the South Pacific with 3 Battle Stars under Mac Author in 339 Engineer Battalion.
Pop returned home when peace was declared in 1945.

Pop opened his first business, Pioneer Allen Cleaners in 1954. He had 8 Stores with the main plant located on 19th Street, next door to The Woolgrowers where he and his employees frequently ate. To this day, Woolgrowers is one of Pop’s favorite places to eat. The year 1976 marked the closure of the cleaners and Pop’s retirement. By 1979, Pop was bored with retirement and went to work for Memorial Hospital, as an Engineer. He worked there for 10 years before his second retirement. Then in 1985, he partner with his son, Steven and opened AAA Limousine Service. He sold out in 1991.
Two years later in 1993, a business opportunity was presented to him by his grandson, Chad Barger. On February 1, 1994, Attorney’s Certified Services opened and Pop was back to work, where you will find him Monday thru Friday.
Pop says if you want to stay young, stay busy!

It may seem as though Pop’s life is all about work, but he also has a garden and grows the best tomatoes in Bakersfield, which he shares with his 5 children, Chuck, Paula, Steven, Charline & Mary, 10 grandchildren, Burton, Shanie, Brandi, Chad, Ryan, Jered, Casey, Cameron, Chris & Cheyenne, 10 great-grandchildren Rachel, Caleb, Jacob, Hannah, Clayton, Cambria, Jaden, Riley & Reagan, and 1 great-great grandchild Parker.
(That’s a lot of tomatoes!)
Pop has a great since of humor and always makes us laugh! He keeps up on the latest political happenings and is a huge fan of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. Most Sundays you will find him in front of the television set watching whatever football game is on & enjoying a special cigar, from his son Steve.

As you reflect on your life and the legacy you wish to leave behind, let the word’s of Charles “Pop” Schmidt bring you some clarity:
“If you can’t beat’em, join ‘em, if you can’t join ‘em, confuse ‘em. Hey, he is 90 years old!
He is a Bakersfield Hero in all of our eyes! We love you!
Happy Birthday to a great Pop!