House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy remembers a member of the Greatest Generation in marking Father's Day

 Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield and House Majority Whip, gives us his weekly view from Capitol Hill. In his words:

 "This Sunday, fathers, grandfathers and father figures in our communities will be recognized. There is probably no more important responsibility for me than being a dad.

 "I look back at all the great memories I have watching my two children, Connor and Meghan, grow up. And I'm sure most parents can agree, when you have children, your life becomes centered on

ensuring the well-being of your kids. I think of all the things my father did for me - from working on Saturdays moving furniture to help provide for our family to helping me start my deli. He taught me the values of hard work, commitment, and dedication.

 "Many of the fathers and grandfathers in our community were part of the Greatest Generation. I had the honor of meeting one of them recently – a true hero who was a soldier in WWII and also a father and grandfather, former Army Staff Sergeant Raymond Weber to Washington on the most recent Kern County Honor Flight.

 "Over Memorial Day weekend, Ray made the journey from Bakersfield to Washington to see his memorial for the first time. The group was greeted at the airport with handshakes and cheers and Mr. Weber’s family said he was overcome with joy.  Before Ray was able to make it to his memorial, however, he was rushed to the hospital for an emergency surgery.  I had the honor to talk to Ray while he was in the hospital.  He shared with me his stories from the Battle of the Bulge, and what struck me the most was his courage in the face of capture by the Nazis.  He told me that as the German Panzer tanks and infantry approached their position, Ray and his men grabbed nearby fallen tree limbs and camouflaged themselves in their foxholes.  As the tanks drove overhead, their position was finally given away only by the condensation of their breath, rising above the branches.   Ray was taken away at gunpoint and, for the last few months of the war, served as a POW under the Nazis before being liberated by the U.S. Army.

 "Ray never made it back from the hospital, passing away this past Sunday in a Washington-area hospital.  But, before he passed, I was able to present him with a flag that flew over the Capitol in his honor on the anniversary of D-Day and that was walked through the WWII Memorial for him. In the short time that I got to know Ray, I saw the love he had for his country and for his eight children. Four of his children made the trip to Washington, and it was clear how much they admired their father and cherished his stories of courageous moments in battle.  His legacy as a father reminds me of my commitment to family and love for my children.  With Father's Day coming up on Sunday, I am looking forward to spending time with Judy and Meghan and Connor.  I wish all the fathers and caretakers in our community a very Happy Father's Day.

First Kern County Nut Festival and a fund raiser for a documentary on Billy Mize on tap for Saturday, and who remembers an old honky tonk called The Tank?

 * ... WEEKEND: Organizers of the first Kern County Nut Festival are hoping for a good turnout for the inaugural Saturday event, which will be held on the grounds of the Kern County Museum. But if you are looking for something different, you might drive up to the Aviator Casino in Delano where folks are putting on a fund raiser for a documentary on The Bakersfield Sound and the life of musician Billy Mize. It all starts at 5 p.m. Saturday and there will  be poker, impressive prizes (guitars signed by Merle Haggard and Billy Mize, tickets to the Bakersfield Sound exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame etc) and music. Tickets are $75 per person and that includes dinner.

 * ... BAD FORM: When are we all going to understand that our intense heat is simply not good for our animals? This from Craig Holland: "A family walking a small, long-haired, well-groomed dog across the hot pavement (at the Marketplace).  The dog was yipping in pain with every step.  (Clearly an indoor dog). The lady told the dog to shut up. I told her the hot pavement was burning the dog's pads. She gave me a look which could kill, and did not pick up the dog. Classy!"

 * ... PIT BULLS: And speaking of dogs, reader Sindee Irelan wrote to thank a young preschool teacher who rescued her and her Bichon from an attacking pit bull on District Boulevard near Campus Park South. "The dog was circling me as I had picked up my dog. She (the teacher) noticed, stopped and gave us a ride home. This would have been the fifth attack in five years in two different neighborhoods in Bakersfield from a stray and unleashed pit bull. Sometimes there have been very severe injuries. Animal control did try to find this dog."

 * ... DOWNTOWN: Good news for folks who live downtown: the remodeling of the Smart and Final near Golden State is well under way and the store now features a full fresh produce and vegetable section.

 * ...DANCE HALL: James Irwin shared a memory of another dance hall that existed actoss Chester Avenue from the Blackboard back in 1947. "It was called The Tank. It really was an old ground built water tank that had a door and three or four coolers in the sides with a hole in the roof for exhaust," he said. "It was 40 or 50 feet across with a steel center beam and four, eight-foot tables around the dance floor." A search on the internet revealed an old book of matches advertising "The Tank Club, 3800 Chester Avenue, Telephone 179."

* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: This nugget comes compliments of reader Joe Stormont, who I had the pleasure of meeting at the Crystal Palace recently. Only in Bakersfield: "West Drive is in east Bakersfield, College Avenue is nowhere near a college, and Lake Street is nowhere near a lake (although it does have a canal running down it's center). When driving Nord Road between Stockdale and Rosedale, about half of the signs label it as 'Nord Road' and the other half say 'Nord Avenue' in no particular order. There is no Old Stine Road although most locals will say otherwise."

The Bakersfield Racquet Club rallies to stay alive, remembering the old Blackboard bar and a little known band called The Spats

 * ... BRC: The Bakersfield Racquet Club is holding an open house barbecue Thursday afternoon to reintroduce the place to old and new members. The club, struggling with an aging and declining membership and trying to redefine itself as more than a tennis club, is on a drive to gain new members. Lots of changes there, including the departure of longtime club pro Jeff Hedberg. The open house starts at 6 p.m.

* ... BAD FORM: A young man is served a free glass of water at the Starbucks at The Marketplace, uses the restroom and then runs out the door after grabbing the tip jar. What happened next was good form: customers pitched in and refilled the tip jar.

 * ... BLACKBOARD: Tommy Hays, one of the last living members of the great musicians who created The Bakersfield Sound, wrote to share a memory or two of the old Blackboard bar. "There is some confusion regarding previous location of the Blackboard. The building located where Floyd's used be on Chester was similar to an Indian tepee on a large scale: all one room in a circle. However, I remember it as The Tex's Barrel House which the business later moved to the Garces Circle and I played my first 'union' engagement there back in 1947. I had been told I needed to join the musicians union which I did. They sent me out on this gig; the leader did not pay me the required $10.50 scale and also took the tip jar as a leader's fee. Of course I complained to the union and was told to attend the meetings and not vote for the admission of this man (I forgot his name). I attended three monthly meetinsg in which he did not show. I missed the fourth meeting and even though there was a filed complaint, he was voted in. I still hold the grudge against the musicians union. The union no longer exists and we were transferred to the Fresno branch. I am one of the few remaining Bakersfield Sound guys that were active in that era."

 * ... MORE BLACKBOARD: And speaking of the Blackboard, local architect Wilson Call remembers when the original Blackboard was heavily damaged in the 1952 earthquake and had to be razed. It was replaced with a framed stucco building that stood until it too was demolished in 2001. How does he know? He was the architect. At the time he said it was owned by Joe Lima and Frank Zabaleta. 

* ... GRASSHOPPER: An earlier reader who commented on a bar called the Green Grasshopper brought this correction: "I remember the Green Grasshopper, but in my memory it was called Billy the Blue Grasshopper," wrote another reader. "Almost directly across the street from Mexicali downtown, and yes next to the canal. I believe Harvey Hall was the bouncer/owner, always smiling and kind and he kept us safe.  I loved to dance and didn't miss a weekend there. There was a bar where a hot teenage dancer could buy Cokes and other soft drinks. I also remember dancing to Ike and Tina Turner."

 * ... MORE MEMORIES: Another reader, Roger Bailey, said this about the Blue Grasshopper: "I used to gig there years and years ago. It was named after a song by a group called The Spats out of LA.
The song was called 'Billy was a blue grass a blue grass hopper. They had another novelty song called 'Gator Tails and Monkey Ribs.'"

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Ron Froehlich says you may be a Bakersfield old timer if you remember when the county dump was located at the corner of Brimhall and Jewetta. A caretaker's house was located near the location where Fresh and Easy is today.

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."

House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy: IRS was systematically targeting people based on their political views and this kind of intimidation must end

 Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, gives us his weekly view from Capitol Hill. In his own words:

 "As more details are uncovered about the outrageous actions by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), it is clear there is a massive cultural problem that exists inside the agency. It is unacceptable that any

American should be targeted for an audit based on his or her political beliefs. Receiving a notice from the IRS that an audit is to be conducted is terrifying enough, but for IRS employees to be directed to harass and target American citizens based on politics? This is simply wrong.

"After months of denials, the agency has finally admitted to systematically targeting individuals based on their personal political views. We need to find out who ordered it, why it began, and how widespread it was. We all saw testimony from the individuals who were exercising their First Amendment rights to voice their concerns about the direction of our country and for that, the IRS tried to intimidate them.

"As the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigate the IRS, be assured that I will continue to closely monitor the situation so that we can get to the bottom of this and hold the responsible individuals accountable.

These actions continue to erode the trust that Americans have toward their government, and I will continue to call for more transparency and accountability in Washington.

Bakersfield Californian tapes pilot for new video streaming sports program

The Bakersfield Californian's video division is taping a new pilot program for local sports. Hosted by sports reporter Mike Griffith, this shoot featured longtime outdoor's columnist Steve Merlo and Gene Thome, owner of Bear Mountain Sports. They covered new gun laws, gun and ammunition control and popular new weapons. Stay tuned. Much more to come.

Who would have thought that the tiny (and sometimes adorable) Dachshund is the most aggressive dog breed? And downtown Bakersfield gets ready for another First Friday

 * ... DOGS: Pit bulls and Rottweilers end up on most people's lists of vicious or dangerous dogs, but as it turns out they don't even rank in the top five. The most aggressive breed? According to a study by the University of Pennsylvania, that would be the humble Dachshund.  Researchers from Penn surveyed some 6,000 dog owners to determine just what breed was the most aggressive. "The number one aggressive breed out of the 33 dogs surveyed? The Dachshund. Yes – the wiener dog," it was reported. "The study found that one in five dachshunds have bitten or tried to bite strangers, and a similar number have attacked other dogs; one in 12 have snapped at their owners." Following the Dachshund are the Chihuahua, Beagle, Jack Russell Terrier and the Australian Cattle Dog. Who knew?

* ... FIRST FRIDAY: There's an interesting new art opening for First Friday over at The Foundry on 19th Street. The exhibition by a group of artists will focus on portraits of the legends of the Bakersfield Sound: Merle Haggard, Bill Woods, Red Simpson, Bonnie Owens, Billy Mize, Cousin Herb Henson, Buck Owens, Tommy Collins, Jean Shepard, Wynn Stewart, Fuzzy Owen, Ferlin Husky and Lewis Talley. Meanwhile, next door at The Metro Galleries the work of Tina Bluefield and Moira Fain will be presented in another can't miss show.

 * ... BAD FORM: Darlene Platnick witnessed two cases of really bad form during our recent heat wave, and both cases involved small dogs. First, she was in the Costco parking lot on Rosedale Highway when she spotted a small brown dog locked in a white van, "panting profusely and standing up at the window. I didn't know who to call. Then we went to WinCo at Coffee and Hageman and outside was another little black dog, tied up in the sun where there was no shade. I didn't sleep well thinking about those things. People need to be brought up short when they do things like that."

 * ... CRIME: Dina Ronquillo, the niece for former Fresno City Councilman Dan Ronquillo, stopped by the ATM off Chester Avenue just north of Brundage Lane to get some cash before heading to work when a woman confronted her and tried to take her money. The would-be robber picked on the wrong person, and a feisty Ronquillo fended off her off. But the incident is a warning to all of us to be aware of our surroundings.

 * ... BLACKBOARD: Roger Williams called me to share a few memories of the old Blackboard honky tonk, made famous by the late Buck Owens and others who created the unique Bakersfield Sound. Williams told me the Blackboard was a favorite haunt of the Hells Angeles motorcycle club in the 1950s and 1960s when they would arrive in town for the March Meet drag races out at Famoso Speedway. "There must have been 150 of them at the bar,"he said. He noted that his uncle, Lawrence Williams, also briefly played piano with Buck Owens and his band.

 * ... LOCATION: And Anthony Kane writes that he believes the original Blackboard (not the one that was located near the Kern County Museum) was located in the spot where the old Floyd's store occupied.

  * ... EAST HIGH: Rick Van Horne is looking for help to solve a mystery over at East High School. Said Rick: "I was contacted by ESPN Magazine writer Steve Wulf because he is doing a piece on Johnny Callison (East High grad) who was the MVP of the 1964 MLB All-Star game. He was wanting to know about a mural at East High of Johnny Callison…. I told him there wasn’t currently a mural of Callison anywhere at the school. What I would like to know from your readers that went to East High, if there ever was a mural of Johnny at the school that has since been painted over or was in a building that is no longer here at East."

The Bakersfield Racquet Club struggles to survive and will Andy Vidak agree to an on air debate with Leticia Perez in the 16th State Senate District runoff?

 * ... THE BUZZ: It looks like the Bakersfield Racquet Club may be in financial trouble again. Members are telling me that money is so tight a purge of the staff is under way and members are being urged to sign up 100 new members to save the club. The storied tennis center, located on Pine Street off Truxtun, has been suffering from declining membership for years. Over a year ago a move by some
board members to revamp the club to widen its appeal was rejected by a core group of older members, leading to a lot of bad blood among long-time members and supporters. The issue: how does a club built around tennis (unfortunately not a growth sport) stay relevant and expand its audience? Stay tuned.

 * ... STATE SENATE: Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez says she is ready to debate Republican Andy Vidak in their runoff for the 16th State Senate District. No word yet if Vidak will take Perez up on her offer to appear together on First Look with Scott Cox. Vidak narrowly missed winning the seat outright and the two are now headed for a July runoff. Perez, a Democrat, is positioning herself as a centrist who can work with the Democratic majority to get things done.

* ... BAD FORM: "How this for bad form?" wrote reader Car Nicita. "Yesterday my wife Beverly and I were taking our dogs for a walk in Challenger Park when we found someone had dumped an old dried up full size Christmas tree along Harris Road. The tree still had a stand attached! Wonder where they were keeping it until they decided June was the time to dispose of their tree?"

* ... ACHIEVER: Hats off to Ashley Langeliers, a Liberty High School graduate who went on to earn a degree from CSUB. On May 31, she received her PhD in clinical psychology from Alliant International University in Fresno. She currently works as the clinical manager at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders in Fresno. Her parents are Marcy and Joel Brust.

 * ... CHAMBER: Congratulations to all the people and organizations who were recognized in this past weekend's Beautiful Bakersfield awards sponsored by the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce. The awards are an excellent way to recognize people who contribute to the betterment of our community, even if the annual banquet is a televised snooze fest in dire need of a makeover.

 * ... BLACKBOARD: I received a call from Helen McCutheon, a loyal reader, who wondered where the original Blackboard honky tonk was located. The Blackboard, of course, was home to the birth of the Bakersfield Sound and enjoyed its hey day in the early 1950s. Its Chester Avenue location was razed in 2001 to make room for the expansion of the Kern County Museum. McCutcheon was a youngster but remembers when the blackboard may have been located farther south on Chester Avenue near a series of 35 to 40 small cabins, the original location before it was moved near the museum. Can anyone pinpoint where the original Blackboard stood? (historic photo of The Blackboard)