TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

  • eEdition
  • mobile
  • rss
  • newsletters
  • facebook
  • twitter

Local News

Flores_Steve_tab.jpg

STEVE FLORES: Diving into summertime memories

By STEVE FLORES, Contributing columnist
Saturday, May 18 2013 11:59 AM

Canals and the Union Avenue Plunge: That was our southeast neighborhood's primary refuge from the San Joaquin Valley's oppressive summer heat during the 1960s. We shared the canals with crawdads, broken beer bottles and other unknown sources of refuse. Disgusting, I know, but it was almost a rite of youthful passage back in the day. It also helped us get through the 110-degree Bakersfield summers.

Other than the Union Avenue Plunge, which was a one-mile bike ride away from our Watts Drive home, the only pool we knew of in southeast Bakersfield belonged to my friend Dick Cook, who lived across the way from Casa Loma Street.

So it was with great surprise and amazement that my dad announced he was going to buy a Sears, Roebuck & Co. above-ground Doughboy pool for our home. And it wasn't going to be a small Doughboy pool. It was a big dog one.

My dad wisely insisted all our neighborhood friends who would eventually swim in our new pool had to come over and help us build it. That was your ticket to get in. You had to come over, pick up a shovel, screwdriver or rake and help dig the hole and build what was to eventually become a community pool.

I can still remember my dad sitting in his worn lawn chair drinking a cold one while directing the assembled crew of our friends. Like characters from "A Bronx Tale," we had our friends the Hernandez boys, Big Al, Flash, Logo, JB, Duck and Squirrel at one point or another, coming over to help my dad watch us work. Some eventually would help us dig and build.

Read More
Signup for updates! DAILY DIGEST • BREAKING NEWS ALERTS

Recent Local News

  1. Kern's image may be taking a hit

    The death of a man in custody following a prolonged struggle with Kern County Sheriff's deputies and CHP officers and the subsequent fracas over confiscated witness cellphones have gained international attention and raised concerns here that the incidents could tarnish the county's emerging reputation as a desirable place to live, visit and do business.

  2. HERB BENHAM: If karma is real, Lance McCullah has a lot coming his way

    Thursday nights during football season, Lance McCullah, an assistant varsity coach at Bakersfield High School, takes linebackers and running backs to dinner.

  3. SOUND OFF: What's known, and what's not, in Silva investigation

    ARTHUR: Our coverage of the death in custody of David Sal Silva has been read around the world and has drawn many comments. It's impossible to answer them all (and some don't need answers) but a couple of online remarks from our article last Sunday -- "Deputies' video confiscations come under scrutiny in fatal Bakersfield beating case" -- seemed worth noting.

  4. ROBERT PRICE: Has good-ol'-boy corruption seized the Kern County Sheriff's Office?

    The Kern County Sheriff's Office is out of control. That's one conclusion many people will draw based on the events of the past two weeks and in the context of recent years. We won't know whether that's a fair characterization until we get some answers, but it should grieve us all that the possibility is even on the table.

  5. Funeral services for May 19, 2013

    TO OUR READERS

  6. First of two special elections hits Tuesday

    Tuesday is Election Day in the sprawling 16th Senate District and for thousands of local voters, it's the first of two and possibly three times they'll get to head to the polls in just a matter of months -- creating some confusion.

  7. Rollout of new academic standards, testing off to slow start

    This coming fall, every school in the state of California will be scrambling to meet a set of richer, more rigorous academic performance standards.

  8. Action Line: Best advice on gift cards: Use them

    Editor's note: Action Line is a weekly column from the Better Business Bureau answering consumers' questions and concerns about money and business issues.

  9. davis sig_fa.JPG

    SHERRY DAVIS: The peril of owning a 'shop-vac' dog

    Recently, as I chastised Frank for the zillionth time about eating the mulberries that fall into my yard every year, it brought to mind my first Newfoundland, who likewise would suck up and swallow anything in his path. Or, as I call them: "Shop-Vac dogs."

  10. MEMORIAL_tab.jpg

    Medicare rule change to cost local hospitals

    A new Medicare program that punishes hospitals with high patient readmission rates is forcing administrators to reach out and improve how patients are cared for even after they're wheeled out the hospital doors.

  11. Ijames_fa.JPG

    HEATHER IJAMES: A dozen years of marriage, some a cracked egg

    I always reflect on my marriage at the end of May because it's anniversary time. Twelve years now. A dozen. That's like one egg for each year, and I suppose there are some cracked eggs in the bunch. This year, however, the egg is looking pretty good. I've been trying to put together some quantifiable reasons why this year has been better than others, and this is what I've come up with so far:

Bakersfield.com Daily Deal!

Buena Vista Golf Course

Daily Deal

$88 Round of Golf for 2 for $45

Value
$88
% Off
48%
You Save
$43
17 Bought
Buy Now!

Californian Photos

more photos








Subscriber Services

Phone: (661) 392-5777
Toll Free: 1-800-953-5353
Email: circulation@bakersfield.com
Office Hours:
Mon-Fri 5:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sat 5:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Sun 5:30 a.m. to Noon
Holidays 5:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Subscription Options