Cafe Smitten and the renovated Silver Fox Starlite Lounge open on 18th Street, Cathy Butler retires from the Downtown Business Association and remembering when Truman's whistle stop tour came to Bakersfield

* ... CAFE SMITTEN: The downtown area is getting an upscale new coffee and pastry house east of Chester on 18th Street. It is called Cafe Smitten and it is run by the daughter of Ward 4 City

Councilman Bob Smith and her husband, Stasie and Shai Bitton. Not coincidentally, Smith is a principal investor in the 17th Place Luxury Townhomes just a couple blocks away. Cafe Smitten opens on Monday. Meanwhile, down the street we are about a month away from the opening of Qwikcafe, the new venture by Sequoia Sandwich Co. that will feature a full array of "to go" sandwiches and salads.

 * ... STARLITE LOUNGE: Meanwhile a bit farther east on 18th Street the Silver Fox Starlite Lounge opens Friday after an extensive remodel and facelift by new owners Rod and Julie Crawford, who also own the popular Pyrenees Cafe in east Bakersfield. Both the Starlite and Cafe Smitten are important chapters in the renaissance of the 18th Street corridor.

 * ... CATHY BUTLER: Congratulations to Cathy Butler who recently retired as president of the Downtown Business Association after more than 40 years. Butler was a tireless advocate for downtown, but the passage of time has rendered the DBA as something of a nostalgic relic of the past. Whatever largely ceremonial work the DBA is now engaged in could likely be performed by a committee at the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, at a fraction of the cost.

* ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Don't be surprised when your tax refund arrives as store credit toward the purchase of Ivanka's Spring line of fashions."

 * ... MEMORIES: How about this memory from east Kern's Bill Deaver? "About your item on president Harry Truman visiting Kern County during his 'whistle-stop' tour in 1948. My brother Mike (later deputy chief of staff under President Ronald Reagan) and I were attending Mojave Elementary School and walked to the Standard Pacific station in Mojave to see Mr. Truman. He walked onto the back platform of the heavily-armored Ferdinand Magellan, the presidential car. About that time one of the new jet fighters from Muroc Army Air Base flew over and Margaret Truman ran onto the platform to see it and almost knocked her dad down, to the great entertainment of the large crowd. Fast-forward to 1984 and guess who was riding in that car as a top aide to President Ronald Reagan during another presidential campaign? That kid from Mojave, Michael K. Deaver! One of those “only in America” moments!"

  * ... MORE TRUMAN: Jim D. Smith also remembers the whistle stop tour of Harry Truman. "As an 11-year-old I was on the Beardsley School playground as the train slowly rolled into Bakersfield, powered by a steam engine and pulling a caboose. Teachers had us all outside, knowing the train was due to pass by. "    

 * .... BAKERSFIELDISM: According to Ronal Reynier, you may be a Bakersfield old-timer if you remember two of Bakersfield's auto thrill rides: "the 'Seven Sisters' outside of Oildale and when the road down the Bluff's was two-lane. I think almost everyone when they got a car had to try the Seven Sisters. There were other places outside the city were you could 'fly' with four wheels up but they were a lot further out then the Sisters. A trip in the spring on Round Mountain Road to South Granite Road can be quite interesting at times. At times you can still see pieces of cars at the bottom of 100 foot gullies who did not make the complete trip. It gets interesting when oil trucks are coming at you 50 mph and you think your 25 mph is too fast."

New York writer revels in the eccentricities of Bakersfield and looking back at the 1952 great earthquake

* ...  COUNTRY MUSIC: If you missed it, The New York Times ran a nice feature on Bakersfield and the famous "Bakersfield Sound" recently, highlighting the late Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and of course our Basque eateries. The writer stayed in The Padre Hotel, ate at the Arizona Cafe, went to Trout's and the Crystal Palace and stopped by Ethel's Old Corral Cafe. His other recommendations: Noriega's, Los Tacos de Huicho and the Kern County Museum. Writer Ethan Hauser noted "the Bakersfield sound grew out of a reaction to the polished and lifeless tunes coming out of Nashville. Thus the country music born here in the 50s and 60s, wafting from the honky-tonks and recording studios, was more stripped down, a little louder, abetted by the punch of electric guitars, the lurch and sway of rockabilly."

* ... REUNION: Coldwell Banker Realtor Dutch Toews dropped me a note to tell me about the 50 year reunion of the Delano High School class of 1962. It is set for Saturday, October 13 and will feature "the same band that played for us in 1962, Al Garcia and The Rhythm Kings. Three of the original seven members are still playing." It will also celebrate the school's 100-yeark anniversary and all classes from 1959 through 1965 are invited. It will be held at the DoubleTree in Bakersfield and the cost is $50 per person. Contact Dutch at (661) 616-3424 or Tom and Donna Roberts at (661) 821-4226.

* ... EARTHQUAKE: In 1952, Bakersfield and Tehachapi were hit by a series of earthquakes and aftershocks that changed the face of those cities forever. In the 60th anniversary year, Kern County Library will present an historical retrospective with photo displays, archival materials, and documents.  On May 5 the Beale Library will offer a program showcasing the earthquakes visual and written history.  However, one more element is needed at the program - the oral histories and human stories. If you want to add your voice to the May 5 program, call Andie Apple, head of Public Services, at (661) 868-0723. (photos courtesy of the Kern County Museum,)

 * ... TRAINS: Correspondent Bill Deaver weighed in on the miniature train that used to ferry children around Hart Park. Said Bill: "I was born at Mercy Hospital in 1935, and my maternal grandfather, Henry Mack, was a Santa Fe official in Bakersfield. One of the highlights of growing up in those days was riding that little train in Hart Park. That, and riding trains between Bakersfield and Madera where we lived during the war sparked a life-long love of trains that eventually led to an appointment as a special assistant to the Federal Railroad Administrator in Washington during the early days of the Reagan Administration, which led to other jobs in that fascinating city during the Reagan and George Bush administration."

 * ... NEW BUSINESS: It's always good to hear of a new business opening locally, and the latest is Music Together, a downtown-based center that will offer early childhood music and movement programs during a 10-week semester. Pyper Von Normann, who used to be a massage therapist, is the new director of the Yellow House Music Together program. The classes involve both children and parents in singing, chanting, moving, listening and other activities. The "yellow house" is at 1905 17th Street. Call Pyper with questions at (661) 979-0157.

 * ... THEATER: The Bakersfield Music Theater will hold its second annual wine tasting fundraiser at the Stars Theatre Restaurant on Chester Avenue. The event is set for March 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The cost is $60 per person or $120 a couple. Call (661) 325-6100 for tickets.

Bakersfield listed among the top unhappy cities in America, but here's a dissenting view

* ... SAY WHAT? Men's Health, the magazine that loves to compile "best" and "worst" lists, is at it again. This time it rates the top 20 "Frown Towns" across the country, places where folks are just plain unhappy about everything from unemployment to foreclosures. And sure enough, Bakersfield made the list along with Sacramento.  Florida cities led the list (no doubt because of the housing crisis) with St. Petersburg, Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville and Orlando near the top. Pardon me, but my view is Bakersfield has shown real resilience in this long recession. Memo to Men's Health: personal happiness is not determined by one's Zip Code.

 * ... OUR TOWN: To that point, here's a valentine to our fair city. Twilla Klassen wrote that she was in a grocery store when she and another shopper allowed a man with one item to cut in line. "He paid and left but when we checked out he had purchased a holly plant for each of us. What a great way to start the Christmas season. Blessings on him and his family."


 * ... TV ANTENNA: Bill Deaver wrote with this nugget about the old television antennas. "The item about the woman turning the TV antenna reminded me of a time back on the 1960s when my wife and I moved to a home on Mojave's west side. By the time we were moved in it was raining cats and coyotes (desert weather!). So I hooked the TV lead to a pair of metal pants-stretchers (remember them?), and we got a great signal until I could get up on the roof and install an antenna. It helped that the LA TV antennas were on top of Mt. Wilson which was visible from Mojave!"

 * ... SPOTTED: Woman driving a black Mercedes SUV pulls through a Starbucks drive through lane with coffee in hand, but offers her dog the first sip before moving on.

 * ... AIDS QUILT: Eight panels of the national AIDS quilt will be on display Tuesday at The Metro Galleries on 19th Street. The public is invited to view the exhibit from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. At 6 p.m. there will be a fund raising reception - hors d'oeuvres, no host bar and live music - to benefit Bakersfield's AIDS Project and Ricky's Retreat. The cost is $20 a person.

 * ... BOYS AND GIRLS: Another worthy fund raiser will be held Tuesday, December 5, at the Stockdale Boys and Girls Club behind Sam's Club on Gosford Road. It's the club's Bunco Night to benefit children living in homeless shelters. The cost is $35 per ticket and the fun gets under way at 6 p.m. For more information call Carole Cohen at (661) 496-4882.

 * ... WHO KNEW?: Did you know that the Fox Theater opened downtown on Christmas day in 1930, when movies were still called “talkies?” Other cities with Fox Theaters include Atlanta, Brooklyn and Detroit.