Remembering with the Civic hosted the Rolling Stones, the Jefferson Airplane and so many other rock favorites

 * ... BASQUE PRAISE: The new edition of the LA Weekly threw Bakersfield some love, focusing on our Basque restaurants as well as our unique character. Writer Jonathan Gold, a former Los Angeles Times writer, noted he has a soft spot in his heart for our community.  Wrote Gold: "Bakersfield, a scant two hours away, offers the not-inconsiderable pleasure of being in a place that is neither Los Angeles nor part of greater Los Angeles, a town that is thoroughly Californian but can also feel a lot like the good parts of Oklahoma. It's the home of the Bakersfield Sound, the Merle Haggard/Buck Owen/Rose Maddox thing that brought a bit of grit back to country music, and without it the radio now would probably sound even more like Taylor Swift. But mostly, at least for me, there is the old-fashioned cooking at one of the city's Basque dining halls, huge, multicourse feasts originally intended for the Basque shepherds staying at the local boardinghouses. They have become so popular that the few sheep men who show up are treated like local celebrities." (photo courtesy of the LA Weekly)

* ... CONCERTS: Old friend Rick Kreiser, owner of Carney's Business Technology Center, dropped me a note after reading about the rock band The Doors appearing at the Civic Auditorium in 1968. Not only was he there, but it prompted a flood of  memories when famous bands regularly showed up at the Civic. "How about half-way up left center to catch the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean with my Janzen shirt, baby blue Levis, and Converse low tops (all from Bud Johnson's in Hillcrest) with my mother! Or perhaps sitting in Orchestra Row T, seat 1, for the greatest rock and roll band in the world (still)... Mick and the boys in July of 1966 with the Standells, McCoys and Trade Winds opening the show. I painted the entire outside of our College Heights house in exchange for the price of a ticket ... six bucks!" Finally, Kreiser remembers when Civic manager Chuck Graviss pulled the plug on Grace Slick and the Jefferson Airplane during the haunting rock ballad 'White Rabbit' at the stroke of midnight, resulting in the rock goddess leading a few hundred angry fans down Truxtun Avenue to show the police how unhappy they were."Thanks for the memories, Ricky.  

 * ... CARNIVAL: Al Sandrini, manager over at Sundale Country Club, wrote to remember the old carnival that once entertained thousands down near the Kern River. "I can't say I am 100 percent correct, but I think the carnival at the river was set up just about where the 24th Street exit from northbound 99 is located," he said. "I remember that we would walk from the carnival and go into the river and walk out and cool off. The water at this point was about two feet deep and ran very slowly."

 * ... MEMORIAL RIDE: Friends of the late Paul White, the retired educator who died of a heart attack while riding his bike last week, have established an educational fund in his name to help struggling young teachers at the Panama Buena Vista School District. To raise money for the fund, the first Paul White Memorial Bike Ride will be held on Saturday, February 26, at Yokuts Park. It will start at 9 a.m. and head out to Hart Park and back, riding past Greenlawn Mortuary and Cemetery on Panorama where he is buried. The cost is $20 per rider. Interested? Contact Margaret Patteson at margpatt@sbcglobal.net or just show up at 8:30 a.m. on the day of the ride.

 * ... SPOTTED: A beautiful picture of Bakersfield's Tiler Peck, a member of the New York City Ballet, in a performance of Balanchine's 'Divertimento No. 15' in the Arts section of The New York Times. The story praised Peck's "brightness and keen musical responsiveness" in the performance. (photo courtesy of The New York Times)

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From reader Jack Kelley: You know you're a Bakersfield old timer "if you remember the River Theater in Oildale, which later became Buck Owens' recording studio."

A rash of burglaries hits downtown Bakersfield and remembering the old Coachlight Inn restaurant and bar

 * ... LOCK YOUR DOORS: A friend of mine who lives downtown on Cedar Street returned from dinner last Friday to find her house ransacked. Her loss: two computers, a flat-screen TV, a few incidentals and her sense of safety and security in her own home. Two Bakersfield police officers told her the downtown-Westchester area was getting regularly popped by burglaries, so take this as a reminder to keep your doors and windows locked and turn on your alarm. And if you think alarms are expensive, think again. Each burglary they prevent or interupt pays for the cost of installation and service. Police will tell you this stuff is happening all over town as the economy worsens and our underachieving youth are out of school and on the streets.
 
 * ... ICONIC BAKO: You don't have to be an art aficionado to appreciate some of the screen prints that are on display at the Padre Hotel by local artist Larry Jason. The prints depict some of our community's  iconic places, including Luigi's, the Alley Cat bar, the old Bakersfield "sun, fun, stay play" welcome sign on Highway 99 and of course the Padre Hotel itself. A reception honoring Larry Jason is being hosted by Metro Galleries and the Padre and will run from 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday in The Farmacy at the Padre. If you can't make the reception, the art will be hanging through the first of August.

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 * ... IN INDIA: Reader Doris Winham wrote with pride to report that her grand-daughter, Taylor Witcher-Page, is with a group from Valley Christian Center in Madera working with disadvantaged children in India. The group is working with Sarah's Covenant Homes, an orphanage for kids with special needs, in Ongole, India.

* ... OOPS: Retired school superintendent Al Sandrini corrected me for misidentifying him in an earlier post regarding the location of the old Coachlight Inn. "You may find this hard to believe, but there are two Al Sandrinis in Bakersfield. My cousin, Alan Sandrini and I (Alvin) both go by Al and you are not the first to confuse which of the cousins with whom you might be dealing.  Al(an) and I both came from 'farmer families' south of Bakersfield. He was the long time owner of B and F Hobby Shops on Baker Street and more recently, worked with his son Bryan as the host for Sandrini’s restaurant downtown. He currently is working at Sundale Golf Course in Kern City as the assistant pro while I continue to work on lowering my handicap! Since retiring from Norris ten years ago, I’ve worked as an educational consultant, thus proving to my wife what she already knew, I flunked retirement! Finally, all that stuff about the Coachlight Inn Al told you about was true…I think…at my age it’s hard to remember!! Have a great day." My apologies to both the Al Sandrinis.

 * ... MORE COACHLIGHT: Additional recollections about the old Coachlight Inn from reader Milt Huggs, who should know something about the subject. "Jack Ewing's Stockdale Inn, located on the corner of Stockdale Highway and California Avenue/New Stine, was purchased by Milt Huggs and a group of investors in 1971. The building was sawed in half and moved to the corner of California and Oak Street, the former site of the Santa Fe Railroad Roundhouse. The two halves were placed over a vintage red caboose and reassembled.  The red caboose then became the lively centerpiece of the dinning room in a restaurant remodeled to look like an old train station. An old green Pullman Car was placed on tracks in front of building for future dining.  The remodeled restaurant was named the Iron Horse. The Iron Horse became the meeting place for the newly charted West (is best) Rotary Club. Al Sandrini and Milt Huggs are still members of the West Rotary Club. In 1978, the restaurant was sold to Gilbert Burns and it became a disco. A few years later Burns sold to the owners of the Coachlight Inn. They closed their Union Avenue and 34th Street location and moved to California Avenue and Oak Street.  The location is now a strip mall. While I have the chance I might as well toot my own horn. Milt Huggs is in the restaurant business with his son Mark Huggs. Milts Coffee Shop at Olive Drive and Freeway 99 for 46 years and the 24th Street Cafe for 25 years."

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield if "you remember the name of the country western singer who was tried and convicted in Bakersfield of murdering his wife. (Spade Cooley)