A walk down memory lane at the McGill brownstone and the old Fontana Pie store

 * ... BROWNSTONE: Another memory came in of the stately McGill  brownstone located at 19th and B streets. Reader Marilyn Sullivan said her grandmother, Erma Payne, once lived next door to the brownstone in a 1911-circa home on 19th Street. "As a small child, I remember the apartments as a looming presence next to my grandmother's beautiful camellia garden, made possible by the presence of the shade from the apartments," she said. "The camellia garden was like so much of my grandmother's big house (with two scary basements); it was delightful and scary at the same time. Speaking of the 1952 earthquake, very little of grandmother's house was damaged (a few bricks fell from the chimney) compared to the damage at the apartments." Erma Payne was the wife of James Bruce Payne, who worked with his father at the original Payne and Son Funeral Home. They built what is now the red brick home of the Junior League. The Payne house next to the McGill still stands, on the south side of 19th Street. (photo is of the Junior League building, original Payne and Son Funeral Home)

 
 * ... FONTANA'S: Here's an interesting bit of local history, told to me by Joyce (Actis) Weingarden. "You recently ran a column about Fontana Pies and Dorothy Fontana. Dorothy and I are cousins. We haven't seen each other since 1994 and your column made her decide to find family ... We are now in contact. Dorothy and I are cousins because her mother, Eda Fontana (pie matriarch) and my dad, O.J. 'Rusty" Actis (O.J. Actis Junior High) were brother and sister. They came over from Italy as immigrants in 1914 and contributed so much to Bakersfield. My dad was on the Panama School Board (no Buena Vista at that time) for 31 years, the longest of any board member." Turns out Joyce was born here, moved away for 40 years and five years ago came back to the farm started by her grandfather, John Sandrini, in 1904." Welcome back, Joyce.


 * ... PAUL WHITE: More than a half dozen readers wrote to say how moved they were with the Friday memorial service for Paul White, the retired educator and fitness buff who died of a heart attack last week. St. Francis Church was packed and at least a hundred folks had to wait outside. Reader Glenn Worrell said he spoke with Paul's family and was told Paul ran both the New York and Boston marathons, and once participated in a 150 mile run. While working at Sunset School early in his career, Paul apparently ran from Bakersfield to the school where he showered and dressed for a day of teaching and coaching. That's commitment.

* ... MARATHON: Hats off to Don and Sharon Brakebill who completed the marathon run in Greece last summer. Thousands of runners competed in the run, which started in Marathon and ended in Athens. The Brakebills were the owners of Carriage Jewelers and remain active runners to this day. They have now retired to the City in the Hills and can be spotted almost daily running the hills of the Northeast.

 * ... BOOK DRIVE: The Bakersfield SPCA is gearing up for its annual used book sale, one of its big fund raisers of the year. Spokesman Chuck Nordstrom says the drive will be run from the last week of April through May. So if you have some books you'd like to donate to this most worthy cause, haul them over to the SPCA offices on Gibson Street off Rosedale Highway.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield if "you get mad every time you see 'Best of Times' and Taft wins at the end."

Dennis Ralston checks in with Bakersfield and an alarming report on poverty in the bubble cities

 * ... RALSTON: I received a nice email from Dennis Ralston, one of the greatest American tennis players of all time who hails from Bakersfield. He recently had his left foot amputated but has been fitted with a prosthetic leg and is back at his game. "A friend forwarded your blog to me," he wrote. "We enjoyed it very much - a real trip down memory lane for us. Thanks for the mention. I am doing very well - have gotten back on the court to teach etc. Just wanted you to know we enjoyed it. We still count Bakersfield as our home - many years of wonderful memories there." Ralston graduated from Bakersfield High School and went on to play collegiate tennis at USC before joining the pro tour. He was  the No. 1 American player for three consecutive years in the 1960s and both played on and coached the U.S. Davis Cup team. He was once ranked No. 5 in the world.

 * ... SUNSHINE: Two straight days of sunshine and warming temperatures is almost enough to make one feel guilty given the snow and ice that is covering most of the country. Well, almost. These are the days that remind us why we all live here.

 * ... POVERTY: It's not surprising that there's been a spike in poverty after three bruising years of this recession. And it's also not surprising that the Central Valley shows up on most lists for suffering from some of the nation's worst economies. In a report in the January 29 edition of The Economist, the Sarasota, Florida, area saw a 4.5 percent jump in people living below the poverty line. Said the report: "All the other metropolitan areas that saw jumps of four points or more are also formerly fast growing southern and western states: Bakersfield, Boise, Greenville, S.C., Lakeland, Fla., Tucson, Az. Arizona now has the highest poverty rate in the nation, after Mississippi. The especially severe housing bust that ended the breakneck growth of these sunbelt cities has brought with it deprivation on a scale they have never previously encountered and are struggling to address."  (photo courtesy of The Economist)

 * ...  McGILL: The 1917-era McGill brownstone on 19th Street downtown has sparked a lot of interest. And now this from local art gallery owner Don Martin: "I was in Fishlips chatting with some friends about where I live and an older gentlemen sitting at the next table overheard the conversation. He asked if I lived at the McGill Building and what apartment number. He recalled babysitting in my exact apartment when he was in high school at BHS in the 1920s!"

 * ... FIRST FRIDAY: If you are heading downtown tonight for the First Friday festivities, remember that the Guild House is now open for First Friday as well. For just $5 you get a glass of wine and a variety of home-made hors d'oeuvres, and the proceeds go to a good cause: the Henrietta Weill Child Guidance center.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're an east Bakersfield old timer
if you remember driving over the Mount Vernon overpass and being able to see the Thriftmart 'Big T' signs at College Center and Hillcrest, both at the same time!" Thanks to Joe Stormont for that one.

 * ... OLD-TIMER: And speaking of memories, one of my regular correspondents, Gene Bonas, dropped me a note the other day. "I thoroughly enjoy your blog. However, I can relate to so many of your 'old timer' comments that I remember something my dad used to say: 'You know you're getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.' I'm not there yet but I may be getting close!"

Tennis great Dennis Ralston sends his thoughts to Bakersfield, and remembering the 1952 earthquake

 * ...TENNIS GREAT: You don't have to be from Bakersfield to remember Dennis Ralston, arguably one of the greatest American tennis players of all time. He graduated from Bakersfield High in 1960 and went on to play at USC, rising to the top of his game in the 1960s. You may also know that he recently had his foot amputated and is now recuperating in Houston, Texas. It turns out the men's and women's tennis teams at Bakersfield College sent Ralston a thoughtful get well poster late last year, proclaiming that "Bakersfield remembers you and always will." Gene Lundquist, BCs women's tennis coach, told me he received a thank you card from Ralston the other day. "He said he was doing better and had a new foot designed for golf and tennis. He said he hoped to get back to Bakersfield and added that he needed a Dewar's fix," Lundquist said.

 * ... TRAIN RIDE: Heard from several readers about the tragic end to the Bakersfield to Buttonwillow train ride that featured a fake robbery staged by a local Lion's Club. Al Sandrini, who works at Sundale Country Club, remembers the last ride in 1959 when the actors rode their horses along the train, shooting blanks into the air and eventually stopping the train. But this is where things went wrong because others (not the Lion's Club actors) started shooting live 22 rounds at the train. "My father was standing in one of the parlor cars with some friends and a young man was struck in the head. My father attempted to stem the flow of blood with his handkerchief while others assisted. The young man died, and so did the Buttonwillow train ride."

 * ... McGILL: Reader Nancy Fieber wrote to recall being in the McGill brownstone apartment building during the 1952 earthquake that leveled much of Bakersfield. "As a newlywed, we were living at the McGill. We were routed out of our bed and had to grab the nearest articles of clothing. We had to rent an apartment elsewhere as the McGill had to have extensive repairs." Located at 19th and B streets downtown, the 12-unit McGill brownstone was built in 1917 and remains a popular destination for those who prefer the downtown lifestyle.

  * ... IVY BOUND: Nice to hear that James Nguyen, a senior at North High School, was accepted through early decision to Cornell University and will be headed there this Fall. He will be a double major in foreign economics and Japanese linguistics. Thanks to teacher Nicole Cerotsky for passing this along.

 * ... SPOTTED: From reader Wayne Marshall: On the southeast corner of Coffee Road and Rosedale Highway, a man in camouflage with a bed roll holding a sign reading, "Traveling, need help." When he flipped it over it said, "Need money for Guns and Ammo." 

* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Linda Welch wrote to say that "you know you're from Bakersfield if you remember the revolving doors on the old Bank of America at the corner of 20th and Chester. It was on the 20th Street side across from a Long's Drug Store."