Monday's Bakersfield Observed: Countryside Market wins the Mac 'n Cheese fest (yet again), the story behind a downtown Sycamore tree, Brian Kiser's confirmation in the Catholic Church and homeless graffiti

 Monday, April 22, 2019

 Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this such a special to live. Send your tips to rsbeene@yahoo.com.

 * ... COUNTRYSIDE MARKET: Congratulations to Countryside Market that took home the

People's Choice award for an unprecedented fourth time in the annual Mac 'n Cheese Festival at CSUB. The festival was a sellout and featured more than 30 food vendors, live music from Truxton Mile and plenty of beer and wine. Proceeds from the event go to the CSUB Athletic Scholarship fund. The annual feed is put on by American General Media, owner of KERN NewsTalk and other radio stations in town.

 * ... HOUSE OF FLOWERS: Among the vendors at Mac 'n Cheese was House of Flowers, the popular flower shop on 19th Street. Owner Diana Klawitter was happily passing out colorful flower "crowns" for both men and women that proved to be the hit of the event.

* ... DOWNTOWN SYCAMORE: One of the most iconic trees in downtown Bakersfield - and truth is there are many - lives at the northeast corner of A and 20 streets. A graceful old sycamore, one of its huge branches shoots over the intersection providing shade. As it turns out, this tree was planted in 1977 by a then-resident of the intersection named Stephanie Foe. I met Foe recently and she told me she dug up the tree, then about three feet high, in a wash ravine in the San Gabriel mountains and transplanted it to Bakersfield where it continues to flourish today. She said it struggled early on, but daily she would urge it to grow and thrive. And indeed, it did.

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: This woman was tagging the freeway overpass at Ming and Wible and was caught on camera doing so. Recognize her?

 * ... MILESTONES: Happy birthday to Miranda Whitworth Munoz, communications manager at Kern Medical who celebrated in classic style with a Saturday brunch at Luigi's. Her birthday fell on Easter Sunday. Also hats off to my friend Brian Kiser, who was confirmed in the Catholic Church Saturday evening. Kiser works for California Resources Corp.

* ... CSUB BARBECUE: The annual spring barbecue at CSUB is set for Thursday, May 9, out at the southwest campus. The annual feed goes to support athletic scholarships at the campus. Tickets are just $30. Call Logan Belz for tickets or sponsorship opportunities at (661) 654-2361.

* ... MEMORIES: Check out this old postcard showing a parade down Chester Avenue to mark the end of the Spanish-American War.

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: And check out this photo from the Kern County History page on Facebook. The caption read: "Photo of the aftermath of a wind storm in Fellows in 1926. Murvin and Eugene Delaney were asleep in the bedroom of this clapboard house when the wind blew over a wooden derrick which landed on the house killing Eugene."

Relay for Life closes in on $2 million goal and here comes the Spring Cal State Barbecue

 * ... DOMINIC: Hats off to the thousands of folks who participated in this weekend's Relay for Life. One team, Dominic's Dugout, raised more than $17,000 for the cause. The team is named for Dominic Cornejo, a promising young man who died of cancer just shortly after graduating from Garces Memorial High School. His parents, Irma and Gerry Cornejo, wanted to thank everyone who has donated in the name of their late son. This year's Relay attracted a huge crowd (some 10,000 people) representing more than 400 teams. Its goal was to rail $2 million.

* ... CSUB: Don't forget the 40th annual CSUB Athletics Spring BBQ is coming up this Thursday out at the campus. This is always a fun event with great people watching and a terrific meal. The brains and cooks behind this event are chairman John Giumarra, Jr. and the Icardo Family, starting with the late Jimmie Icardo and now his son Gary and grandson Adam Icardo. Mark this one on your calendar.

* ... PIT BULLS: There are few issues that divide us more than how we feel about pit bulls. Born to kill or misunderstood dogs made vicious by their owners? I will be talking about pit bulls with several experts on Monday at 9 a.m. on Californian Radio KERN 1180. Call 661-842-5387 to weigh in.

 * ... OVERHEARD: A local man talking to a friend: "I don't get it. Why is it I can be arrested if I throw away used motorcycle oil in my trash, but the city oils down entire streets every few years. Does that make sense?"

 * ... BAD FORM: This note was sent to me by someone who asked to remain anonymous. "I spent hours filling out a job application with the Kern County Water Agency that contained ten pages of short answer job related questions. The rejection letter had someone's else's name at my address. Called the agency and was assured I received the right letter, even though it wasn't addressed to me. I still haven't received a letter addressed to me.  I can't believe they expect applicants to spend hours answering questions just to apply for a job, when they can't be bothered to spend a couple of minutes to send a letter with a correct name and address. Poor form."

 * ... HIGH ACHIEVERS: Hats off to a special group of students who competed in the state level of the National History Day competition in Riverside. Some of these youngsters are moving on to the national competition in June, to be held in Maryland. They will soon be raising money to fund their trips, and I couldn't think of a better effort. Some of the winners include Alex Coleman and Christopher Trickey (Champion) from Fruitvale Jr. High, Group Documentary, going to Nationals;  Kaitlyn Moss and Caitlyn Richter (Champion) from Fruitvale Jr. High, Group Exhibit, going to Nationals;  Cassidy Porter (Champion) from Endeavour Elementary, Individual Performance, going on to Nationals; Jessica Jensen (runner up) from Endeavour Elementary, Individual Display and Emma McNellis (Champion) from Endeavour Elementary, Individual Display;  and Madeline Abernathy (Champion) from Laurelglen Elementary, Individual Display.  Special Awards: Best use of Primary and Expert Sources Emma McNellis-Endeavour Elementary; Exemplary Understanding and Use of Geography Alexis Hill, Kaitlyn Hillis and Max Barrera - Thorner School; Outstanding Use of Academic English by English Language Learner Bryan Garcia- Blake Elementary. Thanks to Julie Gragg for submitting this.