Local history: Bakersfield.com

Martensdale 100 years ago!

Thank you!

“Brad Paisley Walks the Streets of Bakersfield”

Brad Paisley rolled back into Bakersfield during his “American Saturday Night,” tour to not only rock Rabobank Arena, but to make Bakersfield and Country-music history.

If you’ve seen any of Brad’s live performances before, you know the gives a no-sitting down concert. A songbook spanning a decade of heart-felt, realistic music, Brad’s performance spanned his career and even touched upon a few Buck Owens classics.

Opening the show was Jimmy Wayne and Dierks Bentley. Both sang their hearts out to an audience that came to party all night long.

The crowd went wild as soon as Brad graced the stage with an acoustic opening of Buck Owens’ “I’ve Got a Tiger By The Tail.”

The 2009 six-time-CMA nominee paid beautiful tribute to his “good friend, Buck,” and took care of a little unfinished business for the late Buck as well.

In the middle of Brad’s set, he called Dierks back on to stage to discuss Buck Owens and Buck’s fondness for Dierks music and ambition on the country music scene. After hearing of Buck’s interest in Dierks, Dierks grew sheepish. From out of the blue, Brad announced one of Buck’s last wishes was to give Dierks one of Buck’s signature Red, White and Blue guitars. Although Buck wasn’t able to give it to Direks himself, the excitement of the crowd and the sincerity of Brad, Buck’s spirit was alive inside the arena.

Brad closed the show with true-to-heart cover of Buck’s “Streets of Bakersfield,” with the help of Jimmy Wayne and Dierks Bentley, donning his shinny new guitar!

I Lived Through the Great '77 Dust Storm

I was working as a long distance telephone operator for Pacific Bell Telephone Co.

When I awoke that morning I immediately noticed the eerily orange glow to the light, or lack thereof, coming into my bedroom through the window. The air seemed still and there was an uncomfortable quiet or hush.

I shared an apartment with my older brother in the Meadow Apartment complex. Our unit was somewhat toward the edge of the complex, yet still within the interior and therefore a bit sheltered.

I can remember wondering if the world was coming to an end...had there been a nuclear attack...was the Lord's return imminent?

At that time we still had power and my brother, who worked at a local bank, had not yet left for the office. He told me what was happening, according to Chanel 17 news. They were advising people to stay off the roads unless it was an emergency.

My best friend and co-worker lived in Lamont. She and I were both scheduled to be at work early in the afternoon around 2:30 p.m. I called her and she was preparing to go to the Lamond Sheriff's sub-station to talk to the deputies about what her chances were of successfully making it in to Bakersfield for her shift at work.

She called sometime later to say that they had advised her to stay off the roads. She said it had been difficult just to maneuver through the sand dunes on the local roads to reach the sub-station. She was somewhat terrified by the experience and vowed she would not attempt the drive all the way in to town. I agreed with her and said I would be going in since in town it didn't appear to be as bad.

The drive to work that afternoon was like being on a sci-fi movie set. There we virtually no cars on the roads and all business were dark and vacant. The office was quite the opposite. The switchboards were lit up like a giant Christmas tree. Everyone was trying to call everyone. And yet so many were without phone service. It was a bit chaotic, and at the same time, calm. Everyone was in disaster mode. All supervisors were on the floor. Some operators that had been scheduled to leave already had made the decision to work additional time to cover for those, like my friend, who could not navigate the roads to come in to work.

I have since moved across country and lived several lifetimes of events, but none will ever compare to what I experienced that December day in 1977.

Colonel Baker's "Pay to play" road contract

California is busted, but then that's not exactly new information, is it? We had a short term reminder of the state's fiscal woes when bills were being paid with IOUs and, if you drive a car, you have a constant and long-term reminder of our depleted treasury in the form of roads and highways that, already in poor repair, continue to deteriorate. But, my fellow prunepickers, if there is no money for schools, and prison officials have detemined that, to balance the budget, we can now put a large part of our criminal population (having been properly corrected and rehabilitated) back on the street, what are the chances that funds will become available any time soon for highway repair? I'm thinking zero and/or nil, take your choice.

What to do, what to do? Well, we could just sit and worry. That would, if nothing else, put us a step ahead of our legislators who, from all appearances, merely sit. Or, we could step back a century and a half, to 1866 when Kern County was first formed, and pull a page from the playbook of Kern County's early leaders. They were an innovative and enterprising lot - which means simply that they had no money but a lot of common sense. They, too, were sorely in need of better roads but, unlike their modern counterparts, they had a plan. Their plan didn't have a label but we will call it "Pay to play".and this is how it worked.

Colonel Thomas Baker was a talented and energetic entrepreneur. On November 6, 1867, the Board of Supervisors granted Baker and his associates the right of way and a contract to "construct, improve, and keep in repair, a waggin (sic) or Turnpike road from a point at or near the junction of Agua Caliente and Walker Basin creeks in Kern County. Thence to Walkers Basin in said county."

There were other specifications, of course. The road had to be completed and "fit for practical use on or before the first day of January, 1868", a period of about 60 days. Bear in mind, now, that this was a brand new county that would have little money until tax revenues began to flow into the treasury. So how would they pay Baker for the road work? That was clearly spelled out in the remaining contract provisions, to wit: "Said Baker and his associates and assigned shall be at liberty to collect tolls upon said road for a term of twenty years from and after the first day of January next year upon condition that said road shall be kept in good repair for practical use."

Perfect! The road gets built within a specified time period, there is a quality control provision in that it must be "fit for practical use", a maintenance clause, and it will cost the county nothing. Hey, we can do this. Well, it may require modification of the toll rates since Baker's fee schedule looked like this:

For each span of animals .......................75 cents

Wagon or buggy,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 1 dollar

Horse and rider,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 50 cents

Each pack animal...................................... twenty-five cents

For loose horses and cattle (each)........... 6 cents

For goats, hogs, and sheep (each)........... 5 cents

Well, it's a concept worth exploring, don't you think? I do see one possible hangup. Baker was required to complete his road within about 60 days. Today, the project would have to be advertised and open to competitive bidding. Then, once the bid was awarded, the work could not begin until the plans had been subjected to review by everyone from OSHA to the Office of Homeland Securtiy.

It may still work out, though, because by the time all those agencies have signed off on the project, say, a couple of years down the road, prosperity may have returned to the Golden State and all the wrinkles and potholes on thoroughfares both major and minor will be nothing but a distant memory.

Museum School Tour Over 60 Years Old!

For over 60 years, third and fourth grade students have traveled to the Kern County Museum to learn about the lifestyle and culture of the Yokuts Indians. The program has changed over the years, but the school children of today are still as enthralled as their great-grandparents!

According to museum records, the program was inaugurated sometime in that late 1940s by then museum director Frank Latta. The Native American Life program predates the creation of Pioneer Village; the museum’s first historic structure, the Barnes Log Cabin, wasn’t dedicated until 1950. It is unclear what Latta’s school tour program entailed, but it was likely very informative. In the 1940s, Latta was researching the history and culture of the Yokuts for his seminal book Handbook of the Yokuts Indians, published in 1949. He also employed Yokuts to construct a village near the Kern River in 1948 and made a movie documenting the Yokuts lifestyle in the reconstructed village.

In 1948, then assistant director Richard C. Bailey took over the program and admitted that the program was “still in its formative stages." Bailey took the program to Bakersfield schools, and outlying schools came to the museum. At that time, students walked down steep, concrete steps to view the program in the basement of the main museum building. Under the low roof that included pipes and beams under which Bailey had to stoop, students learned about the lifestyle of Yokuts Indians while looking at authentic artifacts.

Over the years, the program has moved a few times. It was conducted in the basement until the spring of 1952 when the program was moved to a former Kern County Fair Association building behind the main museum building. After the 1952 earthquake, the program moved into the north gallery of the main museum. The program stayed in the north gallery until the spring of 2009 when it moved to the newly renovated Three Oaks Lecture Hall.

Bailey was the primary docent for only one year. In 1949, the Barrios family began conducting the program. Pete Barrios, a member of the Tejon tribe of Yokuts, and his wife Clara, a member of the Tachi tribe of Yokuts, demonstrated acorn pounding, flour leeching, and basket weaving and spoke about traditional Yokuts lifestyle as they displayed a variety of artifacts including baskets, tools, beads, and weapons. During the five weeks that the Barrios first conducted the program, their sons Jimmie (age 2) helped grind acorns while Mark (age 7 months) slept in a traditional Yokuts cradleboard. Their third son, Willie, took his turn in the cradleboard in the spring of 1952.

The Barrios family continued telling the story of their people until the spring of 1956, when Elydia Gilbert Vasquez who grew up on the Sebastion Indian Reservation replaced the Barrios as the docent. Elydia Gilbert Vasquez conducted the program for a number of years, and she and the Barrios family have been joined by a number of dedicated docents including Shirley McFadzean, Phyllis Fieber, Richard “Dick” Heber, Thursa Revenaugh, Ken Griffin, Betty Wachob, LeAnna Dracup, Don Halbert, Gloria Dixon, Carol Henshaw, Dorothy McGee, Chris McDaneld, Barbara Adams, Dale Hopwood, Don Golden, and Barbara Kelly. Each docent has undergone extensive training to ensure a quality experience for the students.

During the 1940s and 1950s, the program was conducted twice a year for 5 weeks each session. The lecture lasted twenty minutes and an additional five minutes was allowed for questions. At that time, it was suggested that schools allocate 45 minutes for the program and to view the museum. Today, the program is offered every Tuesday and Thursday and lasts for an hour; it consists of a half-hour lecture and a half-hour hands-on acorn grinding experience. In the 2008-2009 school year, over 2,000 pupils participated in the program and spent, on average, 3 hours at the museum. That is quite an improvement over the suggested 45 minute museum visit of the 1940s!

As standards have changed in the schools, so have standards in museum education. In 1951, “free mimeographed Indian unit pamphlets” that “authoritatively cover the study of Kern county Indians” were available. A few years ago, Educational and Voluteer Services Manager Jackie Brouillette and docents revamped the program to meet the California State Framework for History and the Social Sciences. Program packets that include information about the Yokuts, as well as pre-visit and post-visit activities to enhance the local history curriculum are now offered to teachers. A learning guide is also available online!

In 1948, the Bakersfield Californian wrote, “Success of the program, [Bailey] believes, depends largely on the cooperation of the schools and teacher. Many instructors welcome the plan wholeheartedly, he says, and believe it is a vast improvement over the use of textbook since it brings the lesson much closer to the pupils.” The longevity of the program is evidence that the schools and teachers have cooperated! Over the years, other programs have been added to the museum’s school tour offerings including One-Room School Tour, Frontier Life Living History Day, California Living History Day, and Black Gold: The Oil Experience.

DESIREE NICOLE RIVERA

August 23,2009 will be one year that my 16 year old daughter was killed a tragic vehicle accident on Old River Road. DESIREE NICOLE RIVERA known as DEEDEE.

I Will Forever Miss You You Always put a smile on my face no matter how mad I was all I had to do was call out your name and you would come and wouldn't stop till you made me smile. The moment that I had to identify that it was you and you were taken from us my heart broke. I Dropped down to my knees and cried and cried. All I wanted was for one more day with you As I sit here looking at your pictures day after day. All I want to do is hug you and laugh with you and have you home with us. I miss you so much we all do. and when you died. The whole town felt the pain. You were only 16 years old. You didn’t deserve to die. You wanted to get married and go to college Have babies and have a family. You've been gone for a year now and I miss you like hell I think about you everyday It’s not getting easier. Every time I look at your pictures or pull out the scrapbook or go into your room, hear a song that reminds me of you the tears don't stop. I think of you every second of the day. I will never forget you DEEDEE DESIREE NICOLE RIVERA I love you and miss you, but I know that your in heaven looking over all of us.. I can’t wait until I get to see you again LOVE YOU, MOM

Gene and Freda Martin 50th Anniversary Celebration

Gene and Freda Martin were married on Aug. 22nd, 1959 in Bakersfield, California. They enjoyed an early celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary by spending a weekend in Branson, Missouri with their family including their 3 children, Debbie Anderson of Searcy, Sandy Johnson, of Gravette, Ar. and Steven Martin, of Garden Grove, Caliifornia, along with 7 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. Gene and Freda have lived in Searcy, Arkansas since July, 1976, and visit Bakersfield often to spend time with Freda's parents, Charley and Allie Fry. They are soon going to continue their celebration of 50 years together on an Alaskan cruise.

Bakersfield Californian Displayed in D.C. Museum

A visit to the National Air and Space Museum last week revealed a surprise. A copy of The Bakersfield Californian from Friday, February 16, 1945, is on display in the Naval Aviation exhibit. Another visitor standing next to me noticed I was proudly wearing a Bakersfield Condors shirt, and put the two together. We had a good laugh.

Millions of people see this display every year. You will find it on the second floor in the World War II section. Look for the room marked Naval Aviation. Go behind the display of the USS Enterprise, and there it is!

No matter what you think about our local paper, you can't help feeling even a little pride, seeing it displayed so prominently in a National museum.

Tales from the Vault #2

Marie Beale & Decatur House

This edition of Tales brings us to one of the most interesting of Kern County’s pioneer families. We have all heard of the remarkable stories about General Edward Fitzgerald Beale, Mexican/American War Hero, and friend of Kit Carson, gold smuggler, Indian Agent, and land holder. We have also heard as many stories about his son Truxtun Beale. The focus of this tale is on Marie Beale, Truxtun’s wife who was just as intriguing as her husband and her father-in-law.

Born about 1881, Marie Oge married Truxtun Beale on April 23, 1903. The only witnesses present were Marie’s mother and Truxtun’s sister. Soon after the wedding they set sail for Europe aboard the S.S. Kaiser Wilhelm II built in Stettin, Germany.[1] The Wilhelm II was seized April 6, 1917 by the United States Government after it entered the Great War. Some notable passengers on the same voyage were Fremont Older, the San Francisco reporter who exposed the corruption of Abe Ruef, and newspaper millionaire William Randolph Hearst.

Although Marie Beale married into one of America’s preeminent families, she too, came from a family with its own claims to historical fame. Philander Chase (December 14, 1775-September 20, 1852), founder of Kenyon College in 1824, was a great grandfather . Philander’s nephew, Salmon P. Chase, was a U.S. Senator, Governor of Ohio, U.S. Treasury Secretary (under Abraham Lincoln), and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

After Marie’s marriage to Truxtun, they moved into the historic Decatur House on Lafayette Square in Washington D.C. The Decatur House, built in 1818, was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe and was home to a variety of historical figures including Henry Clay, Martin Van Buren, and Edward Livingston. Edward F. Beale gained ownership of this magnificent abode in 1872 and soon remodeled it in Victorian Style.[2] Mary Beale (Truxtun’s mother) occupied the house after her husband’s death in 1893. At first, Marie and Truxtun lived part of the time in California (Tejon Ranch) and part of the time in Washington D.C. It seems, however, that her fondest moments were spent at the Decatur House. She shares those memories and its history in her book Decatur House and Its Inhabitants (1954).

Marie was the quintessential Washington socialite as she frequently entertained American Statesmen and foreign diplomats. Hers was one of two places to be in Washington D.C. She notes that "as in its first days, guests now came to only two places in La Fayette Square--the President's Mansion and Decatur House--which somehow symbolized the completion of a long cycle." [3] In 1938, Life magazine paid tribute to Marie Beale in the article "Life Goes to a Party with high Washington Society at Mrs. Truxtun Beale's historic Decatur House." The article included fourteen photographs of notable figures including the Belgian Ambassador, Mrs. Patrick J. Hurley, the Yugoslavian Minister, the German Ambassador, Lady Lindsay, Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers, the Rumanian Minister, and, of course, our esteemed hostess Marie Beale. The article noted that she was "one of Washington's topflight hostesses, has been giving her post-Diplomatic Reception party ever since the War. An affair so exclusive that even guest lists do not appear, it has never before been photographed." [4] The article goes on to note that the reception in question would quite possibly be the last, as she was looking to liquidate the estate.[5] This must of been bad news for those who attended her receptions.

Sadly, Marie Beale died in 1956 while visiting in Zurich, Switzerland. Thanks to her efforts she was able to get Decatur House to become a national shrine. It is managed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Of Decatur House, Marie had this to convey and is worth quoting at length:

Like a prim dowager, Decatur House serenely overlooks the park that grew up in its front yard, preserving unchanged its original simplicity. During more than 130 years of intimate connection with the main stream of American history Decatur House has been the inner sanctum of La Fayette Square. Few houses have witnessed such a panorama of events. Here the dying Decatur suffered out his last hours. Here foreign Ministers represented the power and policies of other nations. Henry Clay struggled here for the Good Neighbor Policy and the Presidency, attaining one but not the other. The "gorgeous hussy" Peggy Eaton quarrelled here with the wife of the Chief of Staff, and the astute Van Buren moved on to the White House and subsequent defeat. In this house the jurist Livingston had averted the first secession threat by South Carolina. The gaudy Gadsby lived here, the unimpeachable Dallas, and the benevolent Appleton. Two leaders of the Confederate cause, Cobb and Benjamin, walked these floors as they reached the most momentous decision of their lives, and renounced their country. After the interim of the Civil War years, a General and a President, Ulysses S. Grant, came here for friendship and counsel from General Beale, himself one of the architects of the American West, a "pioneer in the path of empire." Through the tumultuous period that followed, Truxtun Beale preserved the historic role of Decatur House in the life of Washington. Residents of Decatur House have occupied the Presidency and Vice Presidency; they have been Cabinet members, military leaders, Congressmen; they have been foreign diplomats and American envoys to other nations; the roster includes Confederate Statesmen, a jurist and an inn-keeper. By all of them Decatur House was valued, and perhaps beloved.[6]

This story and many others are waiting to be told. If you want to learn more about Marie Beale and the distinguished Beale Family, the Local History Room has many sources at your disposal. The original Marie Beale Papers are kept safe in the vault, however, there are copies to be found in the Vertical Files; just ask the librarian for access. There are also numerous files and books concerning the Beale family, all of which can be found in the Local History Room.

Come on down to the Jack Maguire Local History Room; you never know what you will discover!

--Chris Livingston

[1]The Bulletin, April 23, 1903.
[2]Decatur House on Lafayette Square, http://www.decaturhouse.org/people/ebeale.htm
[3] Marie Beale, Decatur House and Its Inhabitants, (Washington D.C.: National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1954), 136.
[4] Life Goes to a Party," Life, January 3, 1938, p.58.
[5] ibid.
[6] Beale, 134.

Centennial of Martensdale Settlement

Thank you for letting me share my mother's memories of 100 years ago.

On October 12, 1909, a "Special Train" of 65 cars arrived at the Lerdo siding of the Southern Pacific Rail Line, 6 miles east of the present city of Shafter, CA and 15 miles north of Bakersfield, CA. No lush scenery greeted the travelers.

This train originated in Fairview, Ok and the freight cars were loaded with families -- who rode in the passenger cars -- and their belongings: furniture, household goods, implements, wagons, buggies, harnesses, horses, cows, chickens, pets, food and clothing. It took six days to arrive at Lerdo, which became Martensdale when a post office was later established there.

Who was on this train, looking forward to making a home? Some of the family names were: Elrich, Fleishauer, Nord, Boese, Klassen, Ratzlaff, Eidsen, Classen, Goertzen, Wall, Duerksen, Nickel, Buller, Kohfeld, Fast and Bergen.

My mother, Regina Bergen Becker, was almost 9 years old when her family decided to move from Corn, Ok and rode that "Special Train" to California. My information is from her book, "A Bundle of Living," where she compiled her memories at the age of 85. She gave it to the Shafter Historical Society which printed it into book-form in 1986 and is still available.

What was the catalyst for this move? A highly-regarded salesman from Kansas, Mr. Henry Martens, came to the Mennonite communities in Oklahoma in the summer of 1909. He persuaded 55 men, some with their wives, to go with him on an excursion to California. To see "the land flowing with milk and honey," Mr. Martens boasted. They traveled by train through parts of southern California where they viewed citrus groves, and other beautiful sceneries, and much prosperity.

Those who were sold on this "wonderland" signed a contract with Mr. Martens, giving their land in Oklahoma in trade for acres in California. My mother's parents traded their homestead of 240 productive acres for 60 acres.

From her book: "Early that first morning (October 13, 1909), the families gathered for a thanksgiving service to praise the Lord for His protection and to ask for His guidance for the task before them. Then the (train) cars were unloaded. The sixty acres of land we were assigned was two miles south of the Lerdo station. We (her parents and 6 siblings, plus 2 single aunts) hitched our horses to our carriage and set out to find it on that first morning after our arrival. We had to cross a wide ditch which was filled with water. The horses swam across, pulling the floating carriage. We were fearful, but all went well." They quickly built a two-story building on the property assigned to them. The Bergen family consisted of: Jacob E. Bergen and wife Katherina, sons John, Menno, Otto and Arnold; daughters Bertha, Marie and Regina; and two of Katherina's younger sisters, Lena and Sarah Fast.

Printed in Mother's book are clippings of "Fifty Years Ago" - a column in the Bakersfield Californian, printed in 1959 and 1960, which gives headlines from 1909: I quote:

October 20, 1909 - "Mennonites are building many homes in the Lerdo area."

November 29. 1909 - "Supt. R.L. Stockton of the County School System is visiting the Mennonite colony at Lerdo."

December 8, 1909 - "The Mennonites have developed big wells in the Lerdo area."

January 10, 1910 - "Indignation meetings of enraged Mennonites have been held around the Southern Hoel for the last few days. They claim they have been unfairly treated by Mr. Martens, capitalist, who has been financing the Lerdo colony venture."

February 3, 1910 - "Mr. Martens denied this week that he is an employee of the Southern Pacific."

February 18, 1910 - "Warrant out for Martens."

Some of the questions that were asked by her family and other settlers. Quote: "Where was Mr. Martens? Where was the money he had received for the sale of our homesteads back in Oklahoma? Why had he not paid for our land at Lerdo according to the agreement? Why must we pay for the land now or move off? Who has money to buy land?"

Tragedy in the colony! Optimism turned to disappointment! Since they didn't have an ownership deed for their land, they had to move. Many moved to the Rosedale area, and so did the Bergen family on April 4, 1910. They took their house with them, pulled by 4 horses and 2 drivers. Quote: "During a seven-month period of time, Martensdale had grown from barren land into a thriving, proud little town, and returned to barren land."

The family had to move again in June, because of a dispute with the Rosedale realtor. Regina's dad went to the new "Arp Subdivision" located just north of the Kern River and bought a lot that they could move their house onto.

From the "Fifty Years Ago" column in the Bakersfield Californian:

July 10, 1910 - "Mrs. C.A. Hare and the Women's Club are leading a movement to exterminate mosquitos."

August 24, 1910 - "Mr. James Arp is subdividing land just north of the Kern River."

Quote from Mother's book: "Kern River was untamed except that some of the water was diverted for irrigation. There was a swampy area just south of us. Evidently the Women's Club had not yet succeeded with their mosquito abatement program. There were swarms of mosquitos. Soon four of us were in bed with malaria fever. We swallowed many quinine capsules during that time.

"I can't remember Mom ever complaining, but many times I heard her say, 'I can adjust to anything.' There was no welfare organization to turn to, and we managed with very little money. We were seven kids, and we had our fun playing, with accidents and quarrels at times, just like other kids. There were so many of us, it was like having a party every day.

"When October of 1910 came, we had been in California for one year. But we could not continue to live near the swampy river. God had His watchful eye on us. He opened an unexpected door."

The Bergen family was invited to move to the Reedley-Dinuba area of California, 80 miles north of Bakersfield. They moved onto a sixty acres place where they were care-takers of farmland and many milk cows. My mother tells of their early years of education and events that took place during that time. And the family grew with daughter Rosie and sons Wesley and Jake.

But Shafter was still in their mind. In 1918, Quote from book: "When Dad heard the good report of land available at Shafter, California, he made several trips in the old Ford to view the land. He found that the reports were true, and signed up with the Kern County Land Company for forty acres located two miles south of the little town." (On Burbank Avenue) Shafter became their home!

Mother included in her book the experiences and memories of living in Shafter. She married Otto W. Becker on July 9, 1922 in Shafter. They raised 4 children: Richard, Joanne, Belva and Neva. Otto died in 1977 and Regina in 1994. They were both born in 1900.

In Mother's early years, she experienced difficulties, happy times and life-changing events; from independence to depending on others' goodness, her faith in God was tested! But through the following years, she and her wonderful, amazing family, and its descendants, trusted God's promises found in His Word. We have faithfully worked and served in our communities, churches and also in the mission fields.

If you have a family connection to this event 100 years ago, I would like you to respond to this with any other information you may have. Thank you!

Belva (Becker) Warkentin, Shafter, CA email: abwark@atginternet.com

Tales from the Vault #1 Kern County Library Local History

Tales from the Vault #1

Picture yourself being put in charge of some of Kern County’s most valued treasures. You're nervous because, while you do know a little about Kern’s rich local history, the focus of your history degree was in Nineteenth Century French Antisemitism. You don’t fear handling the material, however, you need to understand it so that you can make it available to the public. That was me just six short months ago.

In December 2008, I was put in charge of the Beale Memorial Library’s Special Collections which includes the Jack Maguire Local History Room. Since this time I have been immersing myself in the collection and the history that surrounds it. The room was named for the major benefactor Jack Maguire (1913-1985) and houses “over 20,000 books, pamphlets, periodicals, newsletters, vault materials, and vertical files on over 900 subjects.”^¹ Some of the room’s most renowned holdings include Bakersfield City Directories dating from 1899, Kern County telephone books dating from 1940, and various area school yearbooks. Some of the items date as far back at the early 1800s.

In order to organize a special collection you must first get acquainted with it. I began with the Vault.

My first task was to organized the space more efficiently. This really meant shifting boxes and files to different shelves. One day while moving a box of photos to a new location a large ledger type of book caught my eye. As I picked it up to examine it I noticed that it was the District Attorney's Register of Action, 1872-1888. This is a record of the criminal and civil action by the Kern County D.A.

This source gives the names of defendants and claimants, criminal charges, disposition of the case and final sentence. Register columns include: Title of cause ; When and in what court instituted (District, County, and Justice's Court) ; Character of cause (civil, criminal) ; Mode of prosecution and nature of demand or crime ; Stage of proceedings, and nature and amount of judgment (date of conviction or acquittal, date of sentence, amount of fine or time of imprisonment in County Jail, time of imprisonment in State Prison) ; Title of court and memorandum of final judgment on appeal.

Here are a few entries to whet your curiousity:

Santos Francisco, April 8, 1874, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Held

John Doe Tarran, April 25, 1874, Selling Liquor to Indians, Dismissed

W. Cross, 1873, Murder, Charge Dismissed

William H. Johnson, 1878, Murder, Convicted March 30, 1878, Sentenced June 3, 1878 Ten Years Manslaughter

Joseph Fitzgerald, 1878, Assault to Commit Murder, Indictment November 12, 1878, Convicted November 20, 1878, Fine $150, Committed until fine paid.

Come on down to the Jack Maguire Local History Room; you never know what you will discover!

Another story tell and I exchange stories

A reader wrote me a brief statement about herself so I wrote back the following information and got back fun information about her which she said I may share with all of you. If any of you want to join in then please write me and give me permission to share your stories. This is fun stuff!

I am a PR person and taught PR, communications and journalism at Cal State, Chico after going to college here and elsewhere. I had 15 minutes of fame myself over a few fun things like being the designer of the orange Union Oil ball on the antennae and being the Union Oil Girl traveling around in Union Oil uniform on TV and in newspapers,- a 1964 thing. Then in the 1960s I was on Jimmy and Sandra Bayes Show on Channel 17 and a fill in for Sunny Scofield and Don Rodewald on Channel 23. In 1980 I made 280 newspapers across the USA and TV and radio appearances for The National Alternatives Campaign, then statewide news in 1984 and many papers when I ran a Republican campaign in Sacramento when only Democrats, since California became a state, had won. Then when I became a expert on international adoption and spoke before groups across USA and on TV and handled a local anchorman's Korean adoption.

In the middle of all of this I did a few great contracts which opened me to moving to New York but the kids screamed and cried and made my life hell so I stayed home. Now that they are grown and gone I am sorry. I listened to them although one of them, Jennifer George Walker, is a bit famous in her own right. Goggle her for many on line reports. Now--guess what--her three children are screaming and crying and begging her to stop traveling to Madagascar and Kenya doing photo shoots. They want a cookie making mom too.

Right now I am the events planner on paid contract for the Greek Festival at St. George planned for Sept. 11 and 12 in Bakersfield which is shaping up to be a great event.

I went to East High-class of 1959. BC class of 1962. Let’s hear about you.

Here is the response from another fun story teller named Jo.

Jo wanted to go into show business and leave Bakersfield for a big city like New York when she was young in the 1960s but like so many women before the 1970s Jo chose to marry and stay home and have a family. In 1991 she joined BC in the

student activities dept. and ended up being the co-advisor for the BC cheerleaders for 4 years. I LOVED that job!!! I retired from BC July 2007 after 16 years and 6 departments!” She had a successful career after a success family and beloved daughter.

I had told her that I had filled in for Don Rodewald on Channel 23 in the 1960s when he was off ill or gone or was a guest when he needed someone to fill air-time. She then told me this coincidence.

“Hey! I danced on Don Rodewald's dance show in the 60's when Bandstand was a big deal back east!!!”

I had mentioned in my blog that I was a Smoker Incorporated member working the Fuel and Gas Championships at Famous Raceway in the 1960s and Jo reported back to me that

“I was also the "trophy girl" at Bakersfield Speedway a couple of times! HA that was a hoot!!!”.

Something I have not yet shared with readers but I was active in Bakersfield Community Theater in the 1950-60s and Jo shared that “I was nominated for best actress for a part I played in a UCLA one act play festival when I was in HS (1962).

It’s a small world in old time Bakersfield and fun to hear from others who have had a good life here.