Readers take a leisurely trip down memory lane, remembering a simpler time in Bakersfield

 * ... GO BEARS: Jon Crawford, a proud alum of Cal Berkeley, said he lives south of Valley Plaza where his neighborhood is frequented by three or four ice cream trucks. One of them, he said, plays the hold "Cal Drinking Song" that he sang at football games while at Berkeley in the 1950s. The lyrics start like this: "Oh we had a little party down at Newport - there was Harry, there was Mary, there was Grace. We had a little party down at Newport, and they had to carry Harry from the place." Crawford said he believes the song dates to 1939 and may have been picked up by other schools. It is now part of the song list of the Berkeley Marching Band and is regularly played at games. "Every so often, an ice cream truck comes down my street and plays a wonderful tune that reminds me of some good times at Berkeley."

 * ... GOLF: Don Adams wrote to recall the old Buck Owens Celebrity Golf Tournament that featured so many Hollywood celebs. Adams said Buck discontinued the event when he learned that part of the money raised for the American Cancer Society left the county. "Buck loved Bakersfield and wanted all the money to be distributed locally and withheld the funds from his last tournament in an effort to make that happen," he said. After that, and a dispute with the Cancer Society, Adams said Buck no longer put on the tournament. "Our own George Culver also held an annual golf tournament for several years, featuring many baseball and football celebritries: Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Jack Youngblood ... All the money raised went to local youth baseball."

 * ... EAST SIDE: More memories from growing up on Bakersfield's east side back when it was the place to be. Wrote Steve Richardson: "My family has a rich east side history. "My grand parents Lyle and Erma Richardson owned a radio shop on Baker in the 1930s where the Tejon theater sits now. When I was a kid we went to the golf course by the airpark on Union. We went to Shakey's after Bakersfield College football in the 1960s and 1970s. The town of Arvin was named after my uncle Arvin Richardson in 1914. He started the Niles Street water district back in the 1950s. Arvin has one living daughter and one niece who will be 94 this month. My dad was born in 1933."

 * ... BROCKS:  The old Brock's department store downtown received some more reader love when Doris Wofle wrote to recall an encounter with John Brock Sr. She had moved to Alaska in 1972 and returned for a visit when she bought a pair of shoes. "Upon returning home to Anchorage, I found that the shoes did not fit. So, I put them away until my next trip to Bakersfield.  One of the first things I did was go to Brock's and I took my shoes and receipt with me. The man who waited on me refused to let me return the shoes as it had been several months since I bought them. All of a sudden, Mr. Brock was standing there beside me. He asked how long I had lived in Alaska and I think he told me he was born in Alaska.  He immediately told the young man to do the paper work to return the shoes and wished me a happy day.  Boy,  do I miss Brock's!"

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From Marlene Morales, head of marketing at Chain, Cohn, Stiles law firm: "You know you're a Bakersfield old timer if you remember Larson's Dairy. They actually delivered the best chocolate and whole milk to your door on a weekly basis. Or you could visit the store on Wible Road, drive through and place your order. Better yet, actually see the cows on the premises."

A local Marine pays the ultimate sacrifice and a new spotlight on public pensions

 * ... ULTIMATE SACRIFICE: I was saddened to read of the death of Marine Sgt. Adan Gonzales, the latest Kern County resident to die in the line of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. Adan was a regular at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and leaves behind a wife and young children. He was killed Aug. 7 in combat in Helmand province. He was just 28 years old. Adan's death and the quiet dignity in which he served stands in stark contrast to the behavior of our elected representatives back home, many of whom spend far too much time engaged in petty bickering while so many young men and women put their lives at risk overseas. Keep the family of Sgt. Gonzales in your thoughts.

 * ... PENSIONS: Did you read that the retired administrator of the city of Vernon receives a lifetime pension of $500,000 a year? That's right, and it is all perfectly legal. No one begrudges our public employees of a pension, but sweetheart deals like this one - done to buy peace with our public labor unions - has led to abuse of the system. According to The Los Angeles Times, CalPERS is now reviewing and reducing some top pensions, a long overdue exercise triggered by the scandal in the city of Bell.

 * ... GOLF TOURNEY: Steve Urner remembers the Buck Owens Celebrity Golf Tournament when so many Hollywood names came to town. Said Steve: "Jane Sears was asking if anyone remembered the Buck Owens Celebrity Golf Tournament. I sure do. I was working at KAFY Radio at the time in 1976 when several of us volunteered to help out with the tournament at the Bakersfield Country Club. I was running ice to various holes in a golf cart. I remembered seeing John Wayne standing next to Mayor Don Hart, both the same height! Max Baer hit a golf ball farther than I’ve ever seen one hit! And while I was making my rounds, a 7-year-old kid with a head full of hair jumped in my golf cart and with his parents permission, rode around with me on my errands. He begged me to let him drive the cart. I did, and I’m sure that was the high point of his trip. He didn’t want to go home when it was all over, but his dad carried him off thanking me for watching him. His dad was James Brolin, and that kid was Josh Brolin.... I’m sure Josh owns a few golf carts by now... Fun times."

 * .... TAFT COLLEGE: Big news out at Taft College where the school is getting ready to break ground on the 24,000 square foot "transition to independent living."  Sheri Horn Bunk, head of the Taft College Foundation, told me this will the the only "living and teaching facility" in a two-year college program for people with autism and intellectual disabilities. Since 1997, she said 95 percent of the graduates are all employed and 86 percent are living independently." These are impressive statistics for an innovative program.

 * ... FRAUD: Yet more stories of credit card fraud, this one coming from Eileen Sanchez who discovered a $10,000 charge made in Florida. "The charge was a truck accessory and it was not mine," she said. At the same time, my mother-in-law's credit card was compromised as well. Just though you would find it interesting that this type of fraud is rampant and Florida seems to be the hot spot."

.* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're a Bakersfield old timer if "you remember the Carnation Ice Cream processing plant and soda fountain on South Union Avenue. As a school kid we were taken on field trips on hot Bakersfield summer days and treated to a tour of the coolest place in town and a cone thrown in for good measure. It was my mother's favorite place to have a hot fudge sundae as well." Thanks to Rhonda MacGillivray-Brady of Tehachapi for that nugget.