Bakersfield Observed puts a spotlight on old memories about town, from the Golden Crust Bakersfield to the companies that stamped the sidewalks around downtown

 * ... ODDS AND ENDS: I am visiting friends out of town and will devote this blog to sharing some of the odds and ends that readers send my way, most of them heavy on the history of the town we call home. Enjoy.

* ... BARBECUE: Elsie Petty weighed in on the best barbecue in town with this missive: "The best old locally owned BBQ restaurant was the Hickory House on 18th Street, across from Bill Lee's. It was owned by the Bill Lee family and was very good and not too expensive. Sad day when they closed and tore down the building. I am not sure when it closed."

 * ...SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Finding out your ex got fat is like finding 20 bucks in your pocket. Not life changing but definitely puts a smile on your face."

 * ... MORE TWITTER: "Someday, once humans are extinct, I hope whatever species rules Earth makes chicken nuggets in the shape of us like we did for dinosaurs."

 * ... GOOD FORM: Don Summers submitted this example of really good form: "Richard, I travel on Highway 65, Porterville Highway, weekdays and for the last month or so I have noticed a gentleman who travels up and down the highway picking up litter. He doesn't discriminate one side or other, far north or south, or in between. One person trying to make a difference."

 * ... MEMORIES: Navy veteran Gene Bonas reached out to share his memories of growing up on our east side, where the Golden Crust Bakery filled the streets with the sweet aroma of fresh bread. "One of my most cherished memories had to do with our kitchen when I was quite young. Because I was the last of nine kids, my mom cooked and baked each day of the week, Monday through Friday.  On Mondays it was bread; Tuesdays cakes; Wednesday cookies; Thursdays pies; and Fridays mom baked breads, rolls and muffins.  here were so many delicious smells coming from our kitchen that they were  magnets for friends of my five brothers and three sisters. Saturdays were shopping days where my mom and I would walk to the market on the corner of Kentucky and Kern Streets. I can't remember the name of the market but maybe one of your readers can. Shopping was an experience because my mom would visit with neighbors on the west side of Kern Street going to market, and talk with neighbors on the east side of Kern Street coming home. All the while I was pushing a cart loaded with two 50 pound sacks of flour and sugar plus groceries. By the time I got home, I was pooped! But, my mom made me return the borrowed cart to the market."

 * ... HISTORY: Last week I mentioned the names of the companies that left their logos stamped in our downtown sidewalks. It struck a chord with my friend Bailey Abbott, who dropped me this note: "You mentioned Fairchild, Gilmore and Wilton. That curb stamp, which can be found on (900 – 1000 block) 18^th Street, north and south sides, and possibly elsewhere is neigh on to 100 years old. In 1922 Fairchild, Gilmore and Wilton was purchased by Griffith Company out of Los Angeles. Griffith Company, License No. 88, has maintained an office in Bakersfield since at least the early 1930s. In 2002 Griffith Company celebrated 100 years of building California. My meager 36 years of continuous employment with the Griffith Company Red Trucks in town was just a bit part over their last 114 years in business. And no the city no longer allows those concrete stamps to speak to the history of Bakersfield."

Remembering a fallen Marine, supporting the SPCA and men behaving badly

 * ... MARINE: My earlier mention of the passing of young Marine A.J. Hamilton drew this response from Gene Bonas, who was A.J.'s principal when he was a student at Hort School. He remembered A.J. as an excellent student who was always surrounded by friends. "Last Friday I was invited to participate in a 9/11 remembrance presentation by Sherri Best's third grade class," he wrote. "The kids sang patriotic songs and read descriptions of the attack on the World Trade Center. A.J.'s military picture was prominently displayed on a bulletin board for all to see, and I was privileged to meet his wife prior to the program." Bonas was Hort principal ten years ago, and recalls how the students and staff raised over $1,000 for the American Red Cross after the World Trade Center attacks. A.J. Hamilton was 22 when he died in a car crash while driving back to Twentynine Palms Marine base.

 * ... SPCA: The SPCA is holding its annual "Unleash Your Love" fund raiser Wednesday (September 14) outside the KGET officers at the corner of 22nd and M streets. Please try to support these folks over at the SPCA who do so much to help save discarded dogs and cats. SPCA spokesman Chuck Nordstrom said there will be onsite adoptions all day as well as a low cost microchip clinic and rabies vaccinations.

 * ... SPOTTED: A boisterous, boozy crowd of middle aged men wearing oversized Tommy Bahama sport shirts and matching goatees drown out two Nashville-based singers at a local wine bar. Another example of how decorum goes out the window when men start behaving badly.

 * ... OVERHEARD: A woman on Facebook gives these tips to her single friends who may be looking for a date: "All of the out of town firemen and volunteers are staying at the hotels near Costco and shopping and eating there."

 * ... JOE ALEXANDER: One of the "must see" fund raisers of the year is coming up later this month at the 21st Street home of Dr. Mark and Sue Ashley. It's East Bakersfield Rotary's "Elegant Evening of Wine" to raise money for the Joe Alexander Scholarship Foundation. This is a classy event featuring wine and food selected by Meir Brown of Cafe Med and will be held on the sprawling lawn of the Ashley estate on 21st Street. It's a bit pricey (individual tickets are $150 each) but well worth the cost. It will be held Saturday, September 24, so get your tickets now by calling Vern Varner at (661) 979-5788.

 * ... BROCK'S: Bill Deaver remembers when Brock's moved to Westchester. It was after the downtown Brock's was damaged in the 1952 earthquake and the company erected a large tent and called it Brock's Big Top.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Gene Tolomei wrote that you might be a Bakersfield old timer if "you remembered my dad's sporting goods and liquor store, Gene and Joe's. It was located at the corner of Baker and Bernard. It was very popular place to get you hunting and fishing licenses. It was also very busy doing dove season when everyone came in to buy their shotgun shells. My dad Gene Tolomei and his partner Joe Lencioni were partners as well as good friends.