Remembering the fiberglass Big Indian who once stood on the Garces Circle, and recalling when Buck Owens and the boys would play at the old Blackboard honky tonk

 * ... BIG INDIAN: How many of you know the history behind the fiberglass "Big Indian" that now stands in front of Ethel's Old Corral on Alfred Harrell Highway? On Tuesday, at 9 a.m., local Realtor Ken Barnes will join me on First Look with Scott Cox (KERN 1180 or video streamed on bakersfield.com) to talk about the history of the statue. It turns out Barnes' family brought the Indian to town in 1965 to promote their tire store that was located on the Garces Circle. The original price: just $1,400. On some weekends, teenagers would drive by and fill it with arrows as a kind of adolescent rite of passage. Call in at (661) 842-5376 to share your memories.

 * .... BLACKBOARD: There has been a lot of talk on this blog speculating if there were two locations for the old Blackboard bar, birthplace of the Bakersfield Sound. Charlie Duran says back in 1953 he worked at Wayne's Dairy up the street and as far as he knows, there was only one location for the honky tonk. "On the south across the street from the cafe side of the building was the Hammaroph Hotel," he told me. "Farther south near the train overpass was the Tower Motel that had weekly rates. I and my milkmen pals used to enjoy going to the Blackboard to down a few cool beers while playing poker dice... Little did we know we were listening to the invention of the Bakersfield Sound."

 * ... GOOD DEED:  Al Caetano and his pals always have lunch on the first Monday of the month as a way to network and stay in touch. What happened last week at La Mina at the corner of Brimhall and Coffee roads was a pleasant surprise. "The five of us were sitting at a table near the buffet and across from us, in a booth, was a 'young' fellow with two ladies. Since they were in front of me, I glanced at them but didn't recognize any of them. After they had left, a La Mina employee came to our table and said that the gentleman had picked up our check, treating us to lunch. I've heard about this happening but this had never happened to any of us. The man was gone before we had a chance to thank him and I'm guessing that was on purpose. When we asked the waiter, he said that the gentleman was a regular customer and that he just wanted to do something nice. It was certainly a nice gesture and I'm sure that sometime in the future each of us will do the same."

 * ... ACHIEVER: Hats off to Anthony Wonderly, a graduate of Garces Memorial High School, who was honored this week in Fort Worth, TX., as one of the 'Forty under Forty.' Wonderly has emerged as a leader and principal of Olympus Property along with his brother, Chandler Wonderly. Anthony was recognized as one of the Elite 40 at an awards ceremony held by the Fort Worth Business Press as well as featured in their May magazine.  He is currently serving as the president of the Tarrant County Apartment Association.  He graduated from UT Arlington with a communication and business double major, and along with his wife and children, calls Texas his home. His parents Bill and Avon Wonderly of Bakersfield couldn't be prouder.

* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From Dixie Crane: "You might be a Bakersfield old timer if you remember the Green Grasshopper Teenage Night Club (no one over 20 allowed). It was located on 18th Street right in front of the canal. Before that it was a cola bottling plant."

Finding a bit of Bakersfield in Africa and honoring the death of a local Marine

* ... SMALL WORLD: Local residents Sheryl and Lou Barbich just returned from Africa where they learned that, yes, it is indeed a small world. Said Sheryl: "We were in Zanzibar on the beach and ran into Aaron Rothkopf, who is a teacher at Miramonte High School here in Bakersfield. He was there as a prelude to climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. He called today to say that he had made it to the top, but was totally exhausted when he finished the climb…13 hours, and at the top the temperature was minus 20 with a 40 mph wind! What a guy!" Then, to top that, Lou and Sheryl were visiting a small school in Tanzania when lightning struck again. "While the principal is talking about his school, we see a poster on his wall from the Cayucos Elementary School. It was to recognize the pen pal relationship they had. We showed the pictures to the principal in Cayucos, and they hope to restart the program. Great people."

 * ... RIP MARINE: I want to note the passing of a young Marine who died recently in a car accident while heading back to base at Twenty-nine Palms. A.J. Hamilton was just 22 when he died, leaving behind a wife and 9-month-old daughter. He was a graduate of Highland High School.

 * ... KUDOS: Reader Mindy White wrote to mention another Highland High graduate, Joseph Zasoski, who completed a semester abroad in Italy and will graduate from the University of Southern California next May. His brother Andrew graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and is now working in broadcast journalism. Mindy added: "You are almost an old timer if you can remember the old honky tonks - the Dungeon, the Blackboard. I was too young to get in legally but that didn't stop me from getting in an whooping it up to good old country music!"

 * ... THE BUZZ: The talk of the weekend was the incredible thunder and lightning that shook homes across Bakersfield Friday night and early Saturday morning. I thought the single-pane windows on my 102-year-old bungalow were going to explode, but it didn't seem to bother my 7-year-old gray tabby, who slept soundly through the entire light show.

 * ... BAD FORM: Janet Torres wrote with this observation of behavior that is simply inexcusable. "This morning a man, possibly late 40s or 50s, in a small black truck was seen abandoning his Brittney Spaniel on Merle Haggard Drive across from the airport entrance. The dog was rescued by Sheriff's Deputies and the truck description and license plate number were turned in to the CHP; hopefully he doesn't get just a slap on the wrist."

* ... TOON'S: Marjori Payne wrote to say she vividly remembers the old Toon's piano store on Chester Avenue, where her sister took lessons. "We drove into the studio once a week from the Lamont area for her lessons. My parents had a dairy farm out in the area and my dad shipped his milk to the Carnation Company." She also remembers the famous Union Avenue Plunge, a huge swimming pool where "everyone went," as well as the popular Terrace Drive-In movie theater. "I also remember when Brocks had a store in Westchester and also the specialty store Harold Brown's. It's always fun to read about our history of what we lived and fondly remember."