Central California Life Winter 2016

Hockey: Getting to Know the Monsters Al Perry – Our Hero’s Hero Skip Essick – Talk Radio’s Answer Sweet Nectar Society Our National Tree

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Reflections

W

elcome to another issue of Central California Life Magazine.

Winter is the most starkly contrasted season — it is the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. Our writers continue

to best themselves as they bring stories from the heart of who we are. These stories reflect the change within the season. The Sweet Nectar Society reaches out to the youngest members of society as they face life-threatening illness and the Garden of Innocence memorializes those babies and children who passed away unnoticed. In contrast, local honor flights celebrate the freedom so dearly purchased by those in the December of their lives. Tony Robbins noted, “Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life’s deepest joy.” Reading through these pages will reveal story after story describing how our friends and neighbors experience this joy through dedicating themselves to making life better here in Central California.

This is what Central California Life is all about — real people and real life in Central California. Our resolution in the New Year is to continue to bring you inspiring — and accurate — stories. On that note, please visit our web site to see a revised story, “Leading in Love,” with updated information featuring Fresno State’s First Lady Mary Castro.

Karen Maroot Karen@CenCaliLife.com

Cover Photo

The General Grant tree at Kings Canyon National Park – Fresno’s tradional “National Tree”

Photo by Quang-Tuan Luong terragalleria.com 2 |

Central California Life

Our Mission “The mission of Central California Life magazine is to spotlight what makes this region a unique and integral part of the Golden State.

We do this by telling the stories of the people who live, work and play here—artists and entrepreneurs, farmers and elected officials, educators and athletes, and so many others who call California’s heartland “home.” From short profiles of ordinary individuals who are making extraordinary differences to in-depth stories about our history and more contemporary matters, our team of experienced writers produces content that is informative, relevant and interesting. Their work is complemented by talented photographers and graphic artists.

We also provide comprehensive event listings, restaurant reviews and art and entertainment news. We are the only magazine that covers the central San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast, and count among our targeted readers those who live both within and outside the region.”

CenCaliLife

For subscription info or advertising opportunities visit CenCaliLife.com or call 559.691.1004 Central California Life

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48 Skip Essick

20 Honor Flight

What’s Inside Reflections

2 Publisher’s Letter

Contributors

8 Getting to Know Us

A Few Cool Things

10 What to Do in Central California

Keeping the Faith

14 A Holiday tradition unlike any other Faith Sidlow

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Central California Life

Stories from the Heartland

Destinations

28 A Shoemaker’s Spirit Valerie Shelton

54 Channel Your Inner Artist: Downtown Fresno Kim Leonard

20 Honor and Duty Bud Elliott

37 Billy the Kid Steve Helwagen 48 Skip Essick Dr. Bradley T. Wajda

50 Exploring Mining Towns Keith Warwick

54 Destination Downtown 64 Home Gardening: Roses

42 Sweet Nectar

Health and Wellness

42 A Guiding Hand: Sweet Nectar Society Amy Guerra 58 The Psychology of Gift Giving Dr. Bradley T. Wajda 60 Fighting the Flu Comes Naturally Camille Holstein, Ph.D. 64 Home Gardening: Roses Eddie, the Lazy Landscaper

Sip and Savor

Spotlight

70 The Annex Kitchen Amy Guerra

Calendar of Events

72 Sip: Little Leaf Bar Janelle Schneider

68 Cheap Eats Amy Guerra

76 Garden of Innocence Janelle Schneider 82 January & February Happenings

Arts and Entertainment 74 Book Review: Cindy Wathen

Central California Life

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Contributors

PUBLISHER Karen Maroot karen@cencalilife.com ADVISORY BOARD Bud Elliott, Karen Maroot, Kelley Campos McCoy, Richard Melella, Faith Sidlow MANAGING EDITOR Steve Helwagen EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Janelle Schneider CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Bryce Alderton, April Bolin-Propst, Kelty Bolin-Propst, Bud Elliott, Edgar E. Dunn III, Amy Guerra, Madeline Shannon, Valerie Shelton, Faith Sidlow, Andrew Veihmeyer, Dr. Bradley Wajda, Jeffery Williams, Desiree Herroz CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Bud Elliott, Amy Guerra, Dan Minkler, Marty Solis, Rose Waterfield/Raw Graphics Photography, Mark Bouldoukian, Belen Gomez, Andrew Martin, Michael Quintero DESIGNERS Beth Greene, Gary Hoffman PR & EVENTS DIRECTOR Tania Kasparian-Herroz TRAFFIC DIRECTOR Priscilla Urias CREATIVE CONSULTANT Edgar E. Dunn III INTERN Miriam Del Campo VOLUNTEERS Derek Andre Marines Copyright © 2015 by Central California Life magazine. All rights reserved.

Central California Life magazine accepts or assumes no liability for the material contained herein. This magazine is for entertainment only and is not intended as an offer or solicitation with respect to the purchase or sale of any product or service.

All statements and expressions are the sole opinions of the writers. Central California Life magazine reserves the right to edit any editorial, photos or ad submissions for the purposes of clarity and space.

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Central California Life

Brad Polzin Photographer

Kim Leonard

Brad Polzin is a Fresno-based photographer and artist, drawing inspiration from a wide range of interests and experiences. He studied at the French École des Beaux Arts, The Arts Institute of Chicago and the Art Institute of Seattle, among others, and has taught photography, art and digital technology for more than 25 years. His travels have taken him to 30 countries, including Egypt, where he was a Fulbright Seminar Scholar.

My favorite thing about Central Valley winters is … I appreciate all the aspects of winter, from the crisp chill of the air, rain and fog to the warmth of winter festivities.

One thing that people don’t know about me is … I was once held hostage in Morocco.

The one person who most influenced my life is … My mother.

Writer/Photographer

Kim Leonard is a Fresno native who has only lived elsewhere for two years, but she came running back to the open arms and open fields of the Central Valley as quickly as she could. This place has substance, promise and real, good people. She blogs (31 Days of Fresno, Downtown Fresno Blog, Anzula and The Alpha Blonde), creates handmade books and has participated in panels and workshops about zinemaking and given zine readings as LA Zinefest as a featured writer. She works for Bertz-Rosa Strategy & Creative as a project manager, and she’s the owner of The Central Valley Buzz, a local television program that airs every weekday on KAIL. My favorite thing about Central Valley winters is … I’m a summer girl at heart, so I really appreciate that throughout most of winter, we can get away with wearing carCindy Wathen Writer digans and leggings without having to have Cindy Wathen is the heavy jackets and boots for every trip out to public relations specialist for the mailbox. I also love the colors of winter Fresno State’s Henry Madden here. White Christmas doesn’t apply to us: Library and a Fresno Art We have bright, clear blue skies in the crisp Museum board member. She afternoons, green and orange citrus trees, and has degrees in marketing, that thick, velvety gray fog that turns everypsychology and a Juris Doctor thing into a monochromatic, Instagram-filof Law. She has worked as an tered scene. editor and publicist for McGraw-Hill, The One thing that people don’t know about University of California Press, and Quill me is … Don’t be fooled by my ultra-cool Driver Books. She’s also the co-author of exterior (ha!): I’m a huge fan of the ‘90s band Remembering Cesar: The Legacy of Cesar Hanson. I’ve seen them live at least 10 times, Chavez, the first book to be endorsed by the have a Hanson tattoo, and even once asked Cesar E. Chavez Foundation.

Zac to predict the sex of my unborn baby.

My favorite thing about Central Valley Thankfully, security was not called. winters is … Snow on the mountains.

The one person who most influenced my One thing that people don’t know about life is … My lovely best friend, Aurora, who me is … Cindy Lane (aka Candy Cane Lane) has always been the best cheerleader, server is a street that my father, Spalding Wathen, of realness and source of inspiration for me. originally named for me. He named one for There’s not a single endeavor I even think of each of his daughters and several of his family attempting without first consulting her. The members. Who knew Cindy Lane in Clovis way that she constantly works to keep her life would become what it is today. artful and every action she takes ultimately The one person who most influenced my fits into her personal philosophy makes me life is … Like many people, my father was the want to do the same. most influential person in my life. He was a (www.auroralady.com) • brilliant businessman, and I’m still in awe of everything that he achieved in his life.

A Few Cool Things

We Keep Our Tree Up All Year

by Karen Maroot

No sooner does the satiation of the Thanksgiving meal begin to subside, then we begin to hear the call for the family to “put up the tree.” Most Central California homes celebrate the season with a Christmas tree, as do many businesses and municipalities. Certain trees are famously beloved traditions: New York City’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C. However, there is one that tops them all, right in our own backyard: the “Nation’s Christmas Tree.”

In 1925, a little girl observing the General Grant Tree (in what is now Kings Canyon National Park) observed, “What a wonderful Christmas tree that would be!” This idea motivated the Sanger Chamber of Commerce to appeal to President Calvin Coolidge. On April 28, 1926, the U.S. Department of the Interior dedicated the General Grant Tree as the Nation’s Christmas Tree.

Since Christmas 1926, people have made the annual “Trek to the Tree,” as it would come to be called, and park rangers lay the traditional wreath at the base of the General Grant. The Sanger Chamber of Commerce sponsors the annual Trek to the Tree” on the second Sunday in December at 2:30 p.m. For more information, contact them at (559) 875-4575.

Apart from our tree’s unique designation as belonging to the nation, it is distinguished by the fact that it is the only official Christmas tree that was actually living when Christ, the namesake of the holiday, was born. It stands 267 feet tall, measures 29 feet wide at the base, is the second-largest tree in the world, and yes – we leave our tree up all year.

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Central California Life

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An Encantada Christmas Hearst Castle

La Cuesta Encantada – The Enchanted Hill, otherwise known as Hearst Castle – stuns in all its opulence during the Christmas season. Tour the Casa del Mar guest house, the grounds and the main rooms in Casa Grande, and drink in the splendor of lavish decorations of hand-made garlands, brilliant red poinsettias and two 18-foot Christmas trees with all the trimmings.

Hearst Castle, formerly the home of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst and now a state park and museum, is six miles north of Cambria. Christmas season tours run through Jan. 2. Admission: $24 for adults, $12 for ages 6-17.

For information, call 800-444-4445 or visit www.hearstcastle.org.

Estrella Warbirds Museum and Woodland Auto Display Paso Robles

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Central California Life

armaments and memorabilia from World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War, as well.

The newest addition is a building devoted to the Red Ball Express Motorpool, with vintage U.S. World War II military vehicles from 1941-45.

There is also an extensive military library with rare and priceless documents, photographs and newspapers of the era, staffed by knowledgeable volunteers.

This nonprofit museum, one of the fastest-growing in California, is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of military aircraft, vehicles and memorabilia of those who served and sacrificed in the armed conflicts of the past

100-plus years, as well as a testament to the Valley’s legendary auto-racing history.

It’s worth a visit.

4251 Dry Creek Rd. Paso Robles 805-227-0440 www.ewarbirds.org

Photo courtesy of Estrella Warbirds Museum

If you’re wine-tasting in Paso Robles, or even if you’re not, make a stop at the fascinating Estrella Warbirds Museum and Woodland Auto Display, just off Highway 46.

This museum, a labor of love begun more than 25 years ago by two men with two airplanes as an aviation museum, today comprises six buildings on more than 13 acres of land housing not only aviation history – including fighter jets (“Top Gun” Tomcat among them), helicopters, missiles, tanks, amphibious troop transport ships and even a flight simulator that you can operate – but an extensive collections of race cars, classic cars, complete military uniforms,

The cockpit of a 1965 Bell UH-1D Iroquois, known as the “Huey” helicopter, one of the aircraft you can visit up close and personal at the Warbirds museum in Paso Robles.

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Keeping the Faith

A Holiday tradition unlike any other: Bracebridge Dinner at Yosemite has been holiday tradition for nearly 90 years by Faith Sidlow

I

Faith Sidlow teaches broadcast journalism at Fresno State. She spent the last 28 years as a news reporter and morning anchor at KSEE-TV, where she produced a series called Extreme Faith.

14 |

don’t really have a bucket list, but if I did, the Bracebridge Dinner at Yosemite would be near the top.

I’ve wanted to attend the elegant Christmas dinner and pageant that takes place at Yosemite’s historic Ahwahnee Hotel, ever since my old assignment editor Bill Murphy told me about it, in 1985. Back then, I could never have afforded it on my $5 an hour wages, and even if I could, chances were I wouldn’t have been able to get a ticket because attendees were selected through a lottery system.

Fast forward 30 years. My husband and I were fortunate to receive an invitation from Delaware North’s public relations manager Lisa Cesaro. A few weeks later, on Dec. 13, we drove

Central California Life

into Yosemite Valley on a snow-covered road and checked into the newly renovated Yosemite Lodge at the Falls.

Cesaro met us for dinner at the Mountain Room, where we had a lovely meal of Onion soup gratinée, lamb shanks and blackberry cobbler.

She filled us in on the history of the Bracebridge Dinner, which started in 1927. Yosemite Park and Curry president Donald Tresidder, who was also the president of Stanford University, hired pageant director Garnet Holme to create a Christmas event.

Holme based the production on Washington Irving’s “A Christmas at Bracebridge Hall.”

When Holme died in an auto accident two years later, famed photographer Ansel Adams took over the job and the role of the court jester.

Holme based the production on Washington Irving’s “A Christmas at Bracebridge Hall.”

When Holme died in an auto accident two years later, famed photographer Ansel Adams took over the job and the role of the court jester.

San Francisco choral conductor Eugene Fulton, who had been with the production since 1934, took over when Adams retired in 1973. Five years later, Fulton died, and his daughter Andrea, who has performed in the pageant since she was 5, became the director and producer. We chatted with her as she prepared for the evening’s performance.

“It used to be all men, a completely male chorus,” Fulton says with a smile. “It started with the Bohemian Club.”

She says the men were used to going to rehearsal and drinking. And that included Ansel Adams. When her father took over, he curtailed the scotch and whiskey during the performance, and the choral began to have a professional sound. Once Andrea was at the helm, she wrote a new script, adding women to the cast along with the chef and woodsman characters.

Over the years, Fulton says the menu has changed, but the presentation is the same

as it was when the dinner began in the 1920s. The menu is created by executive chef Percy Whatley, who invited us into the Ahwahnee kitchen for a tour.

The kitchen is immense, with two-dozen chefs, sous chefs, pastry chefs, line cooks and all of their assistants busily preparing dinner for 300 guests.

Whatley says each of the seven courses is prepared fresh and plated just before it’s served. Nothing is placed in a hot box ahead of time. For example, the kitchen crew has just seven minutes to assemble 300 “Peacock Pies,” (Sonoma duck confit strudel) with apples, chestnuts, braised cabbage and chutney.

New on the menu last year, for the fish course, was the chilled Rainbow Trout Mousse, a mixture of poached and smoked trout with a Chaud Froid sauce, also known as aspic, served with a refreshing citrus avocado salsa. Whatley shared the recipe for this dish (to serve 400!).

I’ve broken it down to serve just four (recipe on page 18).

We returned to our hotel to dress for dinner. If you ever needed Central California Life

| 15

If you ever needed an occasion to pull out your finest formal wear, this is it. Many women wore floor-length gowns, and about half of the men wore tuxedos. an occasion to pull out your finest formal wear, this is it. Many women wore floor-length gowns, and about half of the men wore tuxedos. We walked into the Great Hall, where hundreds of guests were sipping champagne and singing Christmas carols as two pianists played duets.

A few minutes later, the trumpets sounded from above.

We were ushered in to the Dining Hall, which had been transferred into a 17th century English manor. The dinner is a fourhour long, seven-course production. With each course, another part of the story unfolds, played out by singers from the San Francisco Opera.

Each of the seven courses is a major production, from the “peacock” pie with a peacock that has a wingspan of eleven feet to the boar’s head and baron of beef, which starts as an argument between Fulton, who plays a very elegant housekeeper, and the 16 |

Central California Life

French chef. There are a few surprises involving an absolutely hysterical jester that I’m not allowed to share. The feast ends with plum pudding, mignardises (tiny, petit four-type pastries) and wassail, a spiced wine.

This year’s Bracebridge Dinner will be the last production under Delaware North Companies, which has run the Yosemite National Park concessions for the past 22 years. In March, Aramark takes over. Earlier this year, the Philadelphia-based company signed a 15-year, $2 billion contract with the park service.

Although the concessionaire is changing hands, the park service promises us Bracebridge is here to stay.

IF YOU GO …

For some, the Bracebridge Dinner is a treat of a lifetime, and it comes with a hefty price tag. Dinner-only tickets cost $389

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per person including gratuity. Hotel packages, which include dinner, start at $526 per person for a onenight stay and $614 per person for two nights.

Free shuttle bus transportation is provided from the Wawona and Yosemite Lodge hotels to and from the Ahwahnee. There are now eight Bracebridge Dinner performances that begin Dec. 13 and run through Dec. 25. The lottery system is gone. With eight performances, tickets are almost always available.

For more information, go to: www.yosemitepark.com/bracebridge-dinner.aspx • From top left:Heralding trumpets open the opulent annual pageant; costumes are rich and historically accurate;Bracebridge producer and director Andrea Fulton displays an ornate costume; Trout Mousse is one of the gastronomic delicacies diners will enjoy this year.

Fresh and smoked trout mousse

with Chaud Froid sauce

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

CHAUD FROID SAUCE

1 trout – steamed and flaked with bones and skin removed (about 8 oz. meat)

Lightly oil a straight-sided 2-cup mold or soufflé dish.

INGREDIENTS

Smoked trout fillet, skin and bones discarded and fish broken into small pieces (about 4 oz. meat) ¼ cup cream cheese 2 T fresh lemon juice 1 tsp. tarragon (de-stemmed and chopped) 1 T parsley (de-stemmed and chopped) 1 T chives (minced fine) ¾ cup well-chilled heavy cream 1 tsp. unflavored gelatin (melt in ¾ cup cream from above) 1/2 tsp. coarse salt White pepper

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Central California Life

Add cream to a small saucepan and warm over moderately low heat. Add gelatin and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Add steamed fresh trout, cream cheese, lemon juice, zest and herbs into food processor. Pour warm cream/gelatin mixture over and add salt and pepper.

Process until smooth and creamy on a combination of low and high speeds, stirring often.

When proper consistency is reached, add diced smoked trout meat. Quickly fold in, stirring constantly on low speed. This step should be 15 to 20 seconds, so that the meat does not get ground up, but rather just folded into the mixture.

Remove from food processor and refrigerate immediately. Pour into mold and chill. Remove from mold and place each mousse on a dinner plate. Ladle the Chaud Froid over the mousse.

Let it stand until set. Serve immediately or keep refrigerated over night.

1-¾ cups heavy cream 5 leaves sheet gelatin 1-¾ cups mayonnaise 1 T parsley, finely chopped 1 lemon, zested and juiced, blended together and strained Salt, White pepper (ground)

DIRECTIONS Place the gelatin leaves in a medium bowl. Add ½ cup water. Let stand until softened, about 10 minutes.

Heat cream in a double boiler. Melt softened gelatin leaves. Remove from heat. Stir in mayonnaise, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Let cool to 100 degrees. Glaze should be about 100 degrees for proper consistency when glazing. Pour over unmolded trout mousse. Let chill until Chaud Froid has set.

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Stories from the Heartland

Al Perry with Congressman Jim Costa at World War II Memorial, September 15, 2014.

Photo by Bud Elliott

Honor & Duty

Perry’s Central Valley Honor Flights give veterans ‘one last mission’

by Bud Elliott

“I

’ve got 63 World War II veterans on this plane, all of them over 85, some of them over 95, half in wheelchairs, none have eaten a real meal all day, we’re four hours behind schedule, and I need to know whether I can count on you to feed them when we get there.”

Those were the words spoken by Al Perry, president of the Central Valley Honor Flights. He was burning a few minutes of precious phone time with Mission BBQ in Baltimore while on a re-fueling stop in Wichita, Kan. It’s the eighth such trip since October, 2013. The trips ferry World War II military veterans to Washington, D.C., to view the memorials.

This tour, aboard a chartered Allegiant Airlines MD-80, has gotten off to a rough start — SNAFUs (look it up), in GI parlance. The contracted jetliner was late arriving at the Castle Airport in Atwater, meaning a carefully-orchestrated 12-hour travel day would stretch to at least 16 hours, and ultimately, much longer than that.

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Central California Life

Perry, is not happy, yet doesn’t show it. The souls in his care are war heroes, fragile and infirm, yet eager to complete this one last campaign – he does not intend to disappoint them.

Jacquie Broach, an operating room nurse at Community Regional Medical Center, is one of three bus captains and a veteran of several Honor Flights. She summed up Perry’s demeanor.

“I’ve never seen him angry or pushy,” Broach said. “People do things because they admire him, it’s hard to describe, but he just talks to you and you fall under his spell. He never panics — he just leads.”

On the phone Perry, smiling, concludes with a command, not a question: “Can I count on you to feed ‘em when we get there?”

“Absolutely,” comes the reply.

ONE LAST MISSION WITH HONOR This flight, like the seven before it, begins with big

Perry is proud of his record, which has safely ferried 560 elderly men and women from one end of the country to the other and back without a single injury-causing accident.

Al Perry Photo by Sarah Soghomonian

fanfare and high spirits. Marching bands, flags everywhere, speeches from the likes of Congressman Jim Costa and Paul Loeffler, the man who brought the Honor Flight Program to central California. This is a thank-you sendoff by family and friends for the men and women who fought and won the world’s greatest war 70 years ago.

“Let’s face it,” Perry said, “absent the chartered air travel, hotel and bus logistics which we handle start to finish on every trip, and the traveling ‘guardians’ and medical support we provide on the Honor Flights, these 88- to 99-year old veterans would never be able to make the trip to D.C. on their own.

“I know in my heart that they are getting a final warm and loving experience they never imagined would come their way. They are so appreciative, sometimes their gratitude just breaks my heart. Can you imagine a 98-year old veteran who fought on Saipan, or in the Battle of the Bulge, or survived a dozen bombing raids over Germany saying about the trip, ‘That was the best I’ve ever been treated in my life?’ To me, it’s worth every bit of effort.”

PRECIOUS CARGO, NO ACCIDENTS Honor Flight No. 8 finally lands at Baltimore-Washington International Airport well after 9 p.m., not 5 p.m. as planned. The procedure for getting the veterans and their guardians off the plane takes more than an hour — it requires the coordinated assistance of the entire staff of 16

who are trained and experienced and exceedingly patient as the heroes of a long past era slowly shuffle (or are carried) down the aisle.

At the terminal gate about half of the men and women are matchedup with wheelchairs, their guardians never more than an arm’s length from their side. They stream through the airport to the greeting of a military welcoming committee and then cheers and applause of late night travelers, complete strangers, who spontaneously thank them for their service.

“This is the most organized Honor Flight I’ve seen, it’s amazing,” says Joe Fry, a bus captain and veteran of several flights, “Al works 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the month before a trip. He’s into it 110 percent.”

“Yes, I’d say his main trait is intensity,” agrees his wife of 41 years, Susan-Jean. “He’s just so focused on anything and everything he does. That, and his humor. People don’t realize how genuinely funny he is.”

But all the planning in the world cannot anticipate a four-hour delay of a cross- country flight for 150 passengers, who have been awake since well before dawn. Or can it?

“We’re gonna be fine,” Perry tells the assembled group as they prepare to board three luxury coaches for the short trip to American Legion Post 276 in Severn, Md., where that barbeque dinner is waiting. “But I need all my people on maximum alert. We’re late, we’re tired, and we’re hungry.

That’s when accidents can happen.”

Perry is proud of his record, which has safely ferried 560 elderly men and women from one end of the country to the other and back without a single injury-causing accident. For this he thanks his staff, and the management style he perfected during a 38-year career with the Veteran’s Administration. He calls it “a strategy of overactive engagement.”

“The best part of working at the (Fresno) VA was having Al as my boss,” says Carol Barney, a retired registered nurse, and Medical Director on this and six other Honor Flights. “It’s the same with Honor Flight, he doesn’t tell you what to do, he expects certain things and then he just lets you do your job.”

A VETERAN’S VETERAN Skiing has always been a big part of Al Perry’s life. Born in Philadelphia and raised in western Massachusetts, he attended Middlebury College in Vermont because of the skiing and soccer. It was during the height of the Vietnam War. Perry graduated in 1970 with a degree in political science and an Army ROTC commission as a second lieutenant. He was slated for a miliCentral California Life

| 21

Al Perry leads veterans into World War II Memorial on Oct. 20, 2015.

tary active duty reporting date 10 months later. With that time on his hands, he motorcycled around Europe, ran with the bulls in Pamplona and joined the Professional Ski Patrol in Colorado.

As an officer with good grades in college, he could determine his training specialty. He’d gotten a taste of emergency first aid and liked it while serving on the National Ski Patrol in Vermont and Colorado, so he chose the Medical Service Corps and Hospital Administration.

Al knew from the beginning that he was not a career officer; he was happy to serve two years stateside and discharged as a first lieutenant.

In 1974, the Arab oil embargo was playing the devil with the economy.

There were few jobs and few prospects.

Al Perry bummed around Vermont for a few months sending out resumes far and wide until he finally got an offer to become the night-duty officer at the tiny VA hospital in Bedford, Mass. Thus began a 38-year career that eventually would land him – eight moves later — in Fresno and earn him a reputation as one of the best hospital administrators in the country with dozens of awards and 24 |

Central California Life

Photo by Bud Elliott

citations from two U.S. presidents to prove it.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER At 10:20 p.m., the rag tag army of World War II veterans and their guardians arrives at the American Legion post aboard three chartered buses. Unloading everyone takes another 20 minutes.

They shuffle into the dining hall and are immediately energized by the warm and authentic welcome they receive from a cadre of military volunteers.

The catered dinner is hot and delicious.

It’s the first square meal anyone on the trip has eaten since they left the Central Valley many hours ago.

“My big concern is that these people should have been in bed an hour ago,” Perry said. “This is a unique group of tourists; they require very special handling. I promised them and their guardians and their families that everyone would be in Washington, well fed and in bed by 10 o’clock. That was the plan.”

Instead, Perry adjusts. He cuts short the usual speeches and ceremonies.

They linger just long enough to savor the friendly ambiance and good food, then they are back on to the buses for a half

hour drive into Washington, D.C., and at long last, check-in at the hotel well after midnight.

It’s nearly 2 a.m. when some of the vets finally get to bed and after 4 a.m. when the medical staff finishes checking on everyone. Breakfast is pushed back from 6 to 7 a.m.

“The joy for me is that every one of the people is uber-competent in what they do,” Perry said of his Honor Flight staff, “They volunteer to do it, they pay their own way, and they are absolutely reliable. They understand protecting the dignity and honoring the sacrifices these veterans made in defense of our country.”

Perry has learned to pick the right people to staff a succession of VA Hospitals he has administered. After stops in Richmond, Va.; Salt Lake City; Minneapolis; Long Beach, Calif., and several other cities, Perry was asked in 1998 to repair a badly broken Veterans Hospital in Fresno.

“It was one of the poorest performing VAs in the country, with poor morale, just run down,” Perry said. “My first week on the job, on a Saturday afternoon I picked up eighteen bags of trash around the grounds and parking lot. I was embarrassed.”

As the medical center director, Perry set out to turn things around as he had in other hospitals. It took four years, but, “We eventually climbed up to the top 5 percent nationwide in performance on quality, access and patient satisfaction.”

Tom Broach, a chief nurse anesthesiologist, worked at the Fresno VA for 12 years under Perry.

“He was always out and about in the hospital,” Broach said. “You’d see him down in the laundry room or the boiler room working alongside staff and next thing you knew he’d be up in the O-R scrubbing in to watch a surgery.

Perry realized very quickly that organizing and launching the first Honor Flight in October 2013 would require all of the skills and talent he had developed over the course of his career.

He wanted to know everything that was going on and he put his hand on every facet of the hospital.”

“Part of it is, just like Honor Flight, getting the right people on the bus,” explains Perry. “After my fourth year in Fresno we had replaced or reassigned 85 percent of the department heads and certain key staff and we began to really move forward.”

By 2012, Perry was at the top of his game. He retired as a hospital CEO after 40 years of federal service – two years in the army and 38 years with the VA. “But I had a lot of runway ahead, and a pretty full bucket list,” Perry said.

He jumped right into consulting and executive coaching. He stepped up his volunteer work to bring veterans programs to Break The Barriers program and expanded his participation in the annual VA-Disabled American Veterans Winter Sports Clinic in Aspen, Colo., to teach skiing to blind vets. He climbed and bicycled in the Alps for a few months, then returned to Europe in September 2015 to motorcycle 2,000 miles through a succession of World War II battle sites.

But his life, and the lives of many, many people changed when he received a phone call in the spring of 2013.

YOU HAD ME AT HELLO “I’d actually been talking to people about trying to start up an Honor Flight program for over a year, but the time just wasn’t right.” recalls Paul Loeffler.

“Then, EECU called and said they would

commit as a major supporter.”

He was joined on the new board

by Riclo Guerrero, Bruce Batti and Kim Regnerus. Then Jerry Fahrney of Fahrney Automotive Group came along, and other people like Christine Edwards and Patty Martin all brought different skills.

“But we still had no leader,” Loeffler said. “It wasn’t until I hung up the phone after chatting with Al about a Break The Barriers event we’d both worked on in May 2013 that it struck me!

He’s the guy! So I called him back and he let me ramble on about the Honor Flight for a while, and suddenly he cut me off and said, ‘Paul, you had me at hello,’ you know, that old Jerry Maguire line.”

Perry recalled, “Actually, I couldn’t say no. I just couldn’t. I’ve been so invested during my whole career in the care and rehabilitation of the men and women who have put so much on the line for our country, I couldn’t say no.”

“He jumped in with both feet,” said Loeffler. “He studied the organization, manuals and protocols, became an expert in what other Honor Flight organizations around the country (there are 140) were doing. His history with the VA and the contacts he had helped create a medical staff that I don’t think any Honor Flight in the country can match. He was the absolute perfect guy for the job.”

Perry realized very quickly that organizing and launching the first Honor Flight in October 2013 would require all of the skills and talent he had developed over the course of his career. But just

Al Perry visits with Robert Metzler as part of the “No Veteran Dies Alone program.” Metzler fought with General Patton at Battle of the Bulge, Bastogne, and Bridge at Remagen. Metzler passed away in October . Photo provided by Al Perry, taken at Veterans Administration in Fresno.

about everybody who comes into his orbit agrees that he was indeed the right man for the job.

“He is the most selfless person that I know,” explained two-time safety officer Lindsay Hughes. “His passion and dedication to the mission of the Honor Flight is what has made it what it is.”

“These veterans love him, they know and appreciate what he has given on their behalf.” Loeffler said, “He does it all from the goodness of his heart. He doesn’t look for attention. He goes to the VA every weekend on his own time and sits with terminally ill patients because he wants to. I haven’t met too many people like him.”

70 YEARS OF NIGHTMARES Day two of Honor Flight No. 8 dawns cool, crisp and bright in Washington, D.C. It is a glorious day. Autumn sunlight washes the granite walls of the World War II Memorial in magnificent shades of gray. Yesterday’s travel hardships are instantly forgotten as the Central California Life

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Perry is no stranger to fighting his way through the fog of war.

Not once, but three times he was asked to recruit emergency teams of 100 specialists from around the country to organize Federal Medical Disaster Stations for victims of hurricanes Katrina, Gustav, and Ike. He seems to thrive on conquering chaos.

veterans stream into the vast Memorial.

Because of their late arrival, however, the group is forced to rearrange the rest of the day, which features a luncheon at the Air and Space Museum, then a visit to the Iwo Jima (U.S. Marine Corps) Memorial, but not the Vietnam Wall and not the Korean War Memorial.

At the formal Honor Flight banquet which is always held the night before departure for home, Perry deftly interposes humor with gravity; patriotism with military irreverence as he explains to these veterans of a nearly forgotten war that America is truly grateful for their sacrifice and service and mindful of the toll it has taken over these past 70 years.

“He was in his foxhole, and the German bombardment was precisely calibrated to explode just above the foxholes, so that night after night, freezing bone chilling night after night, splintered trees and metal shrapnel rained down on their heads,” Perry describes the Honor Flight application of a man who fought the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium.

“He said, ‘I thought I would never see morning. Night after night, I thought I would never see morning.’ And he said, ‘I still have nightmares.’ This is 70 years later and he still has nightmares. I learned that story and a hundred others, here on Honor Flight.”

Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, once wrote, “Dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them.”

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Central California Life

CUTTING THROUGH THE RED TAPE Perry is no stranger to fighting his way through the fog of war. Not once, but three times he was asked to recruit emergency teams of 100 specialists from around the country to organize Federal Medical Disaster Stations for victims of hurricanes Katrina, Gustav, and Ike. He seems to thrive on conquering chaos.

“I’m a bit of an organization challenge junky, I thrive on it,” Perry said. “When Paul called and asked me to get Central Valley Honor Flight up and running, I couldn’t refuse. It was just my cup of tea.”

As a result, for eight successful Honor Flights, Perry has been the man who recruits veterans and guardians and sponsors and staff, approves all applications, trains everyone not once but twice, compiles complete lists of everything from bus assignments to special medical needs. Six months in advance of each trip, he negotiates contracts with charter airlines, charter bus services, meal providers, hotels (always near the Memorials in downtown Washington, D.C.), and four congressional offices.

Then there is the Transportation Safety Administration. Can you imagine herding a planeload of 150 elderly men and women and their guardians through the security lines?

Thankfully, Perry found a way to speed things up. He is also the complaint resolution department, special request facilitator (“Can I bring my tiny snakes on the plane?” True story), wheelchair wrangler, media liaison, and collector of accolades from every corner.

And then there is the money. Each trip costs around $175,000. Part of the Honor Flight promise is to get World War II vets to Washington, D.C., at absolutely no cost. Guardians pay around $1,000 to attend, as do the volunteer staffers. Yet, fundraising is a nearly full-time part of the program; and it’s one that occupies a great deal of the board’s and Perry’s time.

(Please see the accompanying sidebar, “An Open Letter.”)

IMPORTANT APPOINTMENTS The final morning in D.C. finds the band of brothers and sisters watching reverently as two of their own help lay a wreath at the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldiers, an immense honor re-

An Open Letter Last September, I looked down from the once heavily-fortified Normandy cliffs above Omaha Beach, where 70 years ago American and Allied troops began weeks of bloody battle to establish a beachhead in Nazi occupied Europe. It was finally won weeks later at a cost of 16,276 Americans killed in action.

I turned to gaze upon row after row of 10,000 white crosses – an American cemetery on French soil.

I motorcycled to the bustling city of Bastogne, Belgium passing rich farmland and thriving factories. Many of the 31,000 Americans killed in the Battle of the Bulge fell there. Close by is the farmer’s field in Malmédy, where SS Panzers massacred 84 captured American soldiers, leaving their bodies in the frozen snow of the brutal Belgian winter of 1944.

Liberation of France and Belgium from Nazi tyranny came at a shockingly high cost in American lives. Europeans now enjoy peace, freedom and prosperity thanks to American sacrifice. I firmly believe that France and Belgium have an unpaid debt owed WWII veterans living in the Central Valley. Time to retire that debt is running out.

Our eighth Honor Flight with 63 World War II veterans returned home safely on Oct. 21. Honor Flight is an all-expenses paid three-day trip to Washington, D.C., for these veterans to see their memorials–it is funded entirely through donations.

I am compelled, once again, to urge all businesses, including European-owned local companies, to please consider adding Central Valley Honor Flight to their lists of worthy charities. I urge everyone to join over 1,000 local individuals, civic clubs, small businesses and foundations which have so far given nearly $1.4 million since Honor Flights began in 2013.

Donations are urgently needed to allow remaining WWII veterans to experience “One Last Mission With Honor” before it is too late. At these memorials, men and women, now in their late 80s and 90s, quietly and tearfully remember the 400,000 comrades lost in land, sea and air battles; those who paid the ultimate price of freedom.

Honor Flights, at a cost of $170,000 each, are scheduled in 2016, but not yet funded. The waiting list grows even as hundreds of WWII vets die each day. Time is quickly running out.

Al Perry President & Trip Leader Central Valley Honor Flight

“My career has always been about care for veterans, I don’t think that will ever go away.” served by Al Perry. A high point of every Honor Flight is the time spent at Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknowns, and the Women in Military Service for America Memorial.

“There really are only two stops on every trip that we absolutely must make on time,” Perry said, “The World War II Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknowns. We make appointments weeks in advance, and we do not miss those appointments. Ever.”

On the trip home, a mainstay of every Honor Flight is mail call at 34,000 feet, conducted two hours before landing. The staff has seen to it that every one of the 61 men and two women gets at several pieces of mail. With Perry calling out names on the public address system, and the entire staff deployed down the center aisle, dozens of cards and letters and packages bound the old fashioned way with brown paper and twine, are passed along to the surprised, then smiling, then tearful vets.

There are more smiles and hugs and cheering fans when the Allegiant Airlines jet taxis to a stop at the old Castle Air Field on Wednesday evening. A crowd of over one thousand people is waiting. Loeffler is there to welcome the veterans home, and so are honor guards and police details, brass bands and cheerleaders and a hundred handmade signs of love and support. Nearly all of the vets call it, “The welcome home from war that I never received.”

Perry says he plans to retire after Honor Flight No. 10 next June. He’ll spend more time with his girls, Susan-Jean and Meredith and Amanda, and a brand new grandson down in southern California. But, he adds, “My career has always been about care for veterans, I don’t think that will ever go away.”

For an uplifting footnote, please visit http:// www.justacommonsoldier.com/ “A Soldier Died Today” by A. Lawrence Vaincourt, with Tony LoBianco.

•

Central California Life

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Stories from the Heartland

George Sheklian, who passed away last December, is pictured repairing a customer’s shoe. He operated Sierra Shoe Repair at various Fresno locations since 1963.

A Shoemaker’s Spirit Arsen Sheklian continues father’s legacy of kindness, generosity and quality craftsmanship by Valerie Shelton 28 |

Central California Life

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s many of us deck the halls and take in the spirit of the holiday season this December, local shoemaker Arsen “Georgio” Sheklian is doing his best to not only stay positive with holiday cheer but to also continue the legacy his late father, George Sheklian, left behind.

Arsen, 39, lost his father unexpectedly last December when he was trampled by a group of thieves who had just robbed

Arsen, 39, lost his father unexpectedly last December when he was trampled by a group of thieves who had just robbed the gun store next to Sheklian’s Sierra Shoe Repair shop, also known as Georgio’s and Son. Proud papa George Sheklian (right) and son Arsen are pictured outside Georgio’s and Sons’ storefront.

the gun store next to Sheklian’s Sierra Shoe Repair shop, also known as Georgio’s and Son. George Sheklian was on his way to say good morning to the gun store’s owner and take him a cup of coffee, which was his morning ritual, when the robbers stormed out of the store, knocking him to the ground. The 85-year-old was critically injured when he hit his head on the pavement. Arsen witnessed the tragedy and did all he could to help his ailing dad, but little could be done and the injury he sustained ended his life.

Few could endure such a tragedy and return to work in that same shopping center, but that is precisely what Arsen did, pickingup where his father left off.

“Honestly, it is tough,” Arsen Sheklian said of carrying on his father’s work in the shadow of what happened. “I have my good days and my bad days. It’s one thing when [parents] go from old age and it’s another thing when they go because of some tragedy.

“Sometimes, there is no explanation for it, but sometimes you don’t need one because there are no answers. One thing my dad was always big on was being positive. ‘Don’t

think negative,’ he would say. So that is what I do, I stay positive.”

A generous history This attitude, Sheklian said, resonates with the customers, many of whom have been coming to the shop to have their shoes fixed for years.

“I had one customer come in to have his shoes resoled and he said my father had resoled the same pair over 20 years ago,” Sheklian said.

The Fresno shop’s roots were planted in 1963 at Sierra Shoe Repairs’ first location at Ashlan and Cedar avenues.

It later moved to a once-booming Manchester Center and then finally to the shopping center at Blackstone and Sierra avenues. In August, the shop moved just a few feet from its old storefront to its new spot next to Best Donut House.

The store’s history and positive vibe aren’t the only aspects of the business that are remarkable. The late Sheklian was well-known for his generosity as well as his craftsmanship and Arsen has made it his mission to continue that legacy.

Not only is Arsen generous to loyal customers — he Central California Life

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“My dad always said, ‘God gave us each other to take care of each other,’ and that’s really what he lived by and that’s the legacy I’m continuing.” offered one regular customer who came in during this interview half-off an expensive Dooney and Bourke bag — he enjoys helping those in need.

Right next to the cash register, Sheklian keeps hand-drawn thank-you letters from local elementary school children whose shoes he repaired free of charge after learning their families couldn’t afford new shoes.

Also, in the front of the store, he keeps a stash of snacks that he shares with a few homeless friends who stop by the shop to have their shoes repaired.

Sheklian recalled one instance where a homeless man came in and was excited about having been offered a job, but in order to do the job, he needed work boots.

“He asked me if I had anything for $5, and I found a pair that had been left here for some time and just gave them to him,” Sheklian said. “I didn’t need the $5. It wouldn’t make or break me, but for him, that’s a meal.”

It’s this spirit of giving that lives on.

“My dad always said, ‘God gave us each other to take care of each other,’ and that’s really what he lived by and that’s the legacy I’m continuing,” Sheklian said.

Musician turned artisan While Sheklian is determined to continue his father’s legacy, he has also added his own flare to the business.

Originally, Sheklian never intended to be a shoemaker. Instead, his life’s ambition was to be a musician. He achieved that goal, traveling Europe and performing under the stage name Arsen Roulette. His passion was rockabilly music, and he would play the upright bass and guitar. He was so good at playing the upright bass, he even performed with the legendary Jerry Lee Lewis.

Things were going well for Arsen Roulette as he continued to tour the world while living in Parma, Sicily, in Italy. It never crossed his mind that he would come back to Fresno and work in his dad’s shop the way he did as a teenager. But, four or five years ago, when his father had a stroke, Sheklian knew he had to return to help his dad out.

“I picked up a shoe and automatically, all that 30 |

Central California Life

Top, Arsen Sheklian, aka Roulette, with his rockabilly band; right, Arsen and George in earlier times.

knowledge I learned as a teen came back,” Sheklian said. “It was like riding a bike. At first, I started doing it sporadically. I didn’t know what was really going to happen but I knew I had to help. Then after two weeks, all of a sudden I started falling in love with this work. I was like, Holy cow, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. ” Since then, Sheklian has continued to perform with his band and has traveled back to Italy a few times, but his main focus is being a leather artisan.

As a craftsman, Sheklian can repair almost anything.

An old pair of work boots needs new soles and waterproof coating? He can do that easily. A heavy-duty duffle bag needs a stronger strap so its owner can carry 30 pounds of camping gear? He can do that, too. An everyday-use backpack needs to be stitched up? No problem. And these are just the items brought to Sheklian on a recent Tuesday afternoon.

He’s even been entrusted on several occasions to repair the most luxurious of ladies’ shoes:Jimmy Choos.

“My specialties are shoes, bags, belts, wallets and accessories, but right now, I’m even fixing a saddle,” Sheklian said.

Sheklian’s work goes way beyond just repairing leather items.

He also designs and creates new shoes, wallets, belts and handbags, the latter of which he picked up while working at a luxury handbag factory in Italy.

His own line of handbags, made under the Georgio’s and Son label, are a hit with many of his regular customers, but he does more than just make items to sell in the store. He also does manufacturing work for luxury companies located along Madison Avenue in New York.

“When it comes to leather, it’s my calling,” Sheklian said. “It’s an art. You have to be a craftsman to do this work.”

Day by day, shoe by shoe, Sheklian carries on his father’s legacy by taking care his customers. Just the way his father did. •

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Stories from the Heartland

By Steve Helwagen

One Amazing Find

Inyo

Fresno-area collector pays $2 for Billy the Kid photo that could fetch $5 million

Death Valley 190

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ecrest

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little bit of luck and a lot of perseverance have turned 127into an amazing find for a Clovis couple. 178 Back in 2010, Randy and Linda Shoshone Guijarro were perusing items at an antique Tecopa shop in Fresno’s Tower 127District. A friend directed them to another store, where Ran-

C a l i f o r n i a

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dy came across a shoebox of old tintype photographs.

Randy Guijarro did not know it at the time but one of the photos he selected out of the box is believed to be just the second known photograph of the Western outlaw Billy The Kid.

Guijarro has spent most of the last five years trying to authenticate the photo.

Jeff Aiello, an executive producer with Clovis-based 18Thirty Entertainment, helped produce a documentary on this quest. He picked up the story with more details. “Randy bought the photo out of an Central California Life

| 37

old antique shop in downtown Fresno in 2010,” Aiello said. “He walked in to visit a friend. His friend said, ‘There were just two young men here with a shoebox full of old documents and photographs.’ He knew Randy liked to collect those kind of things. He had sent them next door to the next shop and told Randy he should go and catch them.

“He wanted to buy the whole shoebox but he only had a couple of dollars.

He picked out three tintypes and he gave them $2.”

Upon closer inspection, though, Guijarro believed there was a familiar face in the photo.

“One of those tintypes, when he got it home, he looked at it through a viewfinder, and he realized that one of the individuals in the photograph looked very similar to the one known and authenticated photograph of Billy the Kid,” Aiello said.

“That’s when he got excited.”

Billy the Kid — also known as Henry McCarty or William H. Bonney — was a 19th-century gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier outlaw in the American Old West.

After a spree of various crimes, including a daring jailbreak, Billy the Kid was gunned down by Sheriff Pat Garrett in New Mexico in 1881.

The photo in question is believed to have been taken in 1878, making the tintype roughly 137 years old. It depicts Billy the Kid and his cohorts, known as the Regulators, playing a game of croquet on a lawn next to a cabin.

Guijarro’s excitement was well founded. In 2011, millionaire William Koch purchased what was believed to be the only legitimate photo of Billy the Kid for $2.3 million, a discovery that was well publicized.

“Of course, when that came out, everybody had a Billy the Kid photo after that,” Aiello said. “A lot of the Old West 38 |

Central California Life

historians and collectors were bombarded by people who said they had Billy the Kid photographs. Randy became one of those people. He took his picture to those experts.”

Aiello said the reasons why experts regularly discount such claims are many, Aiello said.

“First of all, it’s easier to say no than yes. There is also some politics involved. There is a lot of old power in

“One of those tintypes, when he got it home, he looked at it through a viewfinder, and he realized that one of the individuals in the photograph looked very similar to the one known and authenticated photograph of Billy the Kid, That’s when he got excited.” play,” he said. Guijarro’s efforts to have the photograph authenticated were rejected at first, Aiello said.

But Guijarro believed he had “something real,” Aiello said.

“He kept working and researching and traveling to New Mexico, and doing all the things you need to do to prove a photo is real. This photo does not have provenance (record of ownership). There is no documented chain of custody. It was taken.

It was lost and then it was found again in a California junk shop.”

Aiello was working on another project when he was introduced to Guijarro, who shared the story of the photo.

“I became interested in that. I went for a couple of months and tried to do research on it. I said, ‘Let me see if I can come to the same position of belief you are.’ We dove in and did a ton of research on it,” finding out that not only was the subject indeed Billy the Kid, but everyone else in the photo was identified except for a few people.

“It was nothing more than diving into the early history of New Mexico and the Lincoln County War. It was understanding the movements of the group of people who were believed to be in the photograph,” Aiello said. “We believed that this certain group of people could only have been together at a certain place and a certain time in history for about two weeks in 1878. That’s when we started to drill down.”

With his background in film, Aiello convinced the Guijarros to allow him to produce a documentary on his quest to show this rare find was real.

“I said, ‘Let’s do a documentary on your journey to document this photograph.

But more importantly, let’s shine the light on the shortcomings of photo authentication in Western Americana and Old West photos,’ ” he said.

“The problem is, there are one or two wealthy guys who get to decide if something is real or not … especially whether they have financial interests or not. That inspired the documentary.”

As the process continued, National Geographic Channel and Leftfield Pictures, producers of the popular Pawn Stars series, signed on to help with the documentary. The documentary, titled “Billy the Kid — New Evidence,” aired in October on the National Geographic Channel. The channel proposed a twohour documentary narrated and executive produced by Kevin Costner.

With involvement by national media interests, Aiello said his goal was to stay

true to the story at its root.

“That’s part of the deal working in television: Everybody tells you what you want to hear at the beginning. They say, ‘We want to keep it authentic and tell the story.’ At the beginning, we did not know how it was going to go. We told people we were embarking on an investigation.

“We knew we would give up some control. National Geographic also wants an entertaining story with re-creations. We did the best we could. We told the story and it was fascinating.”

Aiello recalled the various steps Guijarro took to get his photo recognized, including identifying the location where the photograph was taken, Chavez County, New Mexico, which was integral to eventually authenticating the find, he explained.

“We did high-tech facial recognition that proved that five of the people we thought were in the photo were there. All of these things started to triangulate with the fact the photo was authentic.” Eventually, fairly recently, globally recognized dealer named Don Kagen pronounced it authentic.

“He took it and documented our evidence and went out to the site where it was taken. They did their own surveys and did everything independently. They found our findings were correct and they stamped their seal of approval on it,” Aiello said.

A forensic scientist had helped provide a seal of approval this past July, while Kagen and his firm added their sanctioning in October.

Aiello said the route they took to reach the conclusion of authenticity wasn’t typical. Usually, two or three photo historians or collectors are approached “to sell them on the idea.

“We tried that and it didn’t work,” Aiello said, but “that didn’t change the fact we had an authentic piece. We went to a wide variety of experts, scientists and historians with different parts of this world.

(left to right): Jeff Aiello, Linda Guijarro, Randy Guijarro and Steve Sederwall

We took all of that and compiled it into one thing that proves the photo is real.”

According to Aiello, the documentary is available for streaming on the online National Geographic channel. It will be re-packaged and shown in some 200 countries and in 70 different languages. He called the response from Western memorabilia collectors and viewers in general “overwhelming.”

The obvious endgame for the Guijarros is finding a new home for the tintype and monetizing their $2 find from years ago. Kagen and Associates is brokering the sale.

Aiello said that despite the historical nature of the photo, the Guijarros aren’t emotionally attached to it. “They realize it is worth some money.”

Aiello said the photo has been valued at about $5 million by an independent author and historian, R.L. Wilson.

However, he cautioned, “Valuation is always a tricky deal because five people will have five different ideas on what it’s worth.” He said the sale price is currently $5 million and two parties are interested in purchasing it.

But Aiello admits there are “two or three” known experts in this field who are rejecting the authenticity of the Guijarro-owned photo.

“These are the same people who would probably like to have the photograph in their collection, so that’s why they’re doing that,” he said. “There is an overwhelming and rapid movement by most people to accept the photograph.

“There could be a sale at any moment on it. If the right offer comes along, that would be great.” • Editor’s note As the magazine was going to press, Aiello shared one more tidbit about this special photo: “We have found documentation that proves one of the Regulators in the photo, Charlie Bowdre (seen at far left on the horse), had a great-great nephew that lived and died in Fresno and came from a side of the family that preserved the history of Bowdre’s past. This is the first link between someone proven to be in the photo and the place where the photo was found here in Fresno.”

Central California Life

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Stories from the Heartland

Khloe

A Guiding Hand

Dean

Sweet Nectar Society provides comfort for families of children with diseases

by Amy Guerra

“Sometimes, a butterfly doesn’t know the beauty of its own wings.” t’s the phrase my publisher used when she asked me to write a story about my sister, Carrie Miranda, and the organization she co-founded with Brittany Wilbur, Sweet Nectar Society.

It is true that my sister and her co-founder, like butterflies, have little cognizance of the immensely difficult and emotionally demanding path that they have undertaken. Rather, they are driven by empathy and love for the children and families that are impacted by their organization.

Sweet Nectar Society’s mission is to provide comfort to the families of children who are affected by serious illness, disability or injury through photography and community outreach.

The simple and humble mission that graces the front page of their website cannot articulate the impact their work has done for the families of children who are experiencing the most difficult moments of their young lives. It cannot express the grief and despair that so many of their clientele experience when they realize their children are undertaking a life or death struggle.

I

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And yet, the beautiful and vibrant pictures that these photographers capture don’t focus on grief or despair; every bright and colorful picture captures the happiness and joy that each one Brittany Wilbur and Carrie Miranda founded the of these children Sweet Nectar Society have brought to their families, even when their lives are cut tragically short by cancer, or other life threatening diseases.

A few years ago, shortly after I heard that a fellow lawyer’s young son was battling acute myeloid leukemia, my sister started talking about her latest “Sweetie,” (the term the organization uses for all their clients), a little boy named Hendrix.

Elijah Emily

Bryer

Among the many beautiful and joyous pictures that Sweet Nectar Society was able to capture, a picture of his parents, kissing his sweet, happy face remain permanent in my memory of how I perceive this child I never met.

Aurora Laila

I could tell that, like so many of her clients, he and his family had captured her heart. Among the many beautiful and joyous pictures that Sweet Nectar Society was able to capture, a picture of his parents, kissing his sweet, happy face remain permanent in my memory of how I perceive this child I never met.

When I heard that Hendrix (affectionately referred to by his family as “Hendo”) had died, I, like so many others that knew about his situation, felt helpless.

In those moments, when so many people don’t know how to comfort a family that’s experienced such a tragic loss, my sister, Brittany Wilbur and Sweet Nectar Society do.

They enlarge their best picture for the funeral or memorial service and send it to the family. They attend their services, they offer their assistance, and they post a memorial on their website and Facebook, sharing the story of the family to their many followers. They do their best to remember and celebrate the birthdays of their clients, long after they pass.

They advocate for people to become part of the bone marrow registry. But more than that, they celebrate with their families when they receive good news and they grieve and remember the happiest times these children had with their families when they don’t.

In those pervasive moments of helplessness, my sister and Brittany, as representatives of Sweet Nectar Society, quietly do their most impactful work.

And after Hendrix’s death, it was my sister who reached out to Hendrix’s family and invited them to our family get together at Christmas. It was my sister and Brittany who turned clients into family friends. It was my sister and Brittany, who worked with Hendrix’s Central California Life

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Hannah Lucy

Adaliese

parents, Art and Roze Wille, to organize the Sweet Eats Program in memory of their son.

Sweet Eats provides a stocked kitchen space at Valley Children’s Hospital for the families of children admitted to the oncology department. They provide restaurant meals, snacks, gift cards, groceries, laundry services and the other needs of the families.

Sweet Nectar Society’s story is as much a story about loss as it is about life. It is as much about grief as it is about hope.

While some of Sweet Nectar Society clients did not survive their medical battles, many of Sweet Nectar Society’s clients will. And it is that hope that drives the organization and it’s many community outreach programs.

With hope in mind, last month, the organization celebrated a Day of Sweetness, surprising clients and their families 44 |

Central California Life

Sophia Joe

with thoughtful gifts. Expressions of gratitude and pictures of smiling children graced their Facebook page that day, and this time, it was the families of these children who were the photographers, bringing attention to the happy moments in the lives of Sweet Nectar’s beloved “Sweeties.”

Sweet Nectar Society continues to be a catalyst for happy memories, even in the face of adversity.

Sweet Nectar Society’s services depend heavily on donations. In addition to collecting monetary donations, this holiday, the organization in conjunction with the Sweet Eats program, is holding a food drive to stock the Sweet Eats kitchen at Children’s Hospital.

For more information, or to donate visit: http://sweetnectarsociety.org/make-a-difference. •

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Skip Essick

the ‘Radio Artist’

by Bradley T. Wajda, D.O.

I

n September 1988, there was a live broadcast that was the first of its kind. A call-in radio talk show was broadcast on location from–of all places–the Vatican!

The show commemorated the 10th anniversary of the pontification of John Paul II. And who was the radio host who accomplished this “first”? Most of Fresno either recognizes his voice or his name. It is our own Skip Essick.

The Vatican is a long way from Toledo, Ohio, where Skip was born the oldest of five to a strong Catholic family, but travel was to become second nature to him. This kid from Ohio was not into sports or other activities that captivated his contemporaries. Skip was actually more interested in his maternal grandfather’s interests of travel, fishing and golf.

In fact, he states that his grandfather was a member of the PGA (though he never toured), and his grandfather’s 1938 golf clubs remain in Skip’s care to this day.

A defining moment in his life came at the young age of 10. Uncle Lou came driving up in a “big car with a beautiful wife”–the fruits of being a popular DJ in North Carolina. That was when Skip decided that radio was to be his life. As a senior 48 |

Central California Life

in high school, he found his first radio job in his hometown of Lima, Ohio.

Upon finishing school, Skip describes traveling “to every small town that had a broadcast antenna” to apply for a radio job. He found success at the bottom of one antenna in Van Wert, Ohio, at WERT. In those days, you had to have an operator’s license to be on the radio; therefore, Skip applied to broadcast engineering school in Atlanta.

WERT had other plans. They offered this young man a full-time job which, of course, trumped going to Atlanta.

Election Day in 1968 was Skip Essick’s first day of fulltime employment on the air. It was also the first time he ever cussed on the air!

The engineer had hung a microphone in the teletype closet to pick up the sound effect of the teletype, and instead it picked up Skip’s opinion of the election results (left to the imagination of the reader). The spring of 1969 found Skip at “the big station” of WCIT in Lima and then at WGRD in Grand Rapids, Mich., where his career took off.

He humbly gives credit for this to the people he worked

Skip receiving the prestigious Marconi Award from the National Association of Broadcasters in 2006.

Skip and Sharon Essick in the west of Ireland in 2009.

with. Skip tells of how he knew from the start that focusing on the quality of the audio production was the secret of success and he set his standards high.

“It is much like being an artist with a canvas,” describes Skip.

“When you’re doing a radio station in America, it’s about quality.”

He describes his favorite station as WHAS in Louisville, where “a big signal, amazing talent, University of Kentucky sports and University of Louisville sports” kept him for seven years. In 1995, he finally had the chance to work at WJR in Detroit, explaining, “I grew up in the shadow of that station” as “The Great Voice of the Great Lakes” with Detroit Tigers baseball.

The task of rebuilding that station after the passing of the great J.P. McCarthy in 1995 fell to Skip. His success led him to become a general manager with Clear Channel Communications just one year later (he ultimately managed 17 stations). Unfortunately, managing a station was too far removed from the art of good radio, and Skip wanted to return to directing programming.

Being older and overqualified were some unexpected hurdles, but in stepped KMJ in Fresno. Skip tells of how he formed the vision for KMJ on his first day–and that vision carried KMJ to the No. 1 spot for most of the seven years that he was the program director.

New corporate ownership with myopic decision-making and a brief health issue sent Skip back to Ohio.

During that transition, the job offers were many but he wanted to retire in Fresno. An unexpected surprise awaited him. It was the opportunity of ownership in KGED-AM (1680) Fresno that brought him back.

(above) The first radio call in show ever permitted by The Vatican.

September 1988. Skip’s guest was Cardinal John Foley, the president of the papal commission for social communication. The broadcast was from the studios of Vatican Radio/September 1988. (below) Left - Right Jack Fox with WHAS Radio Lousiville, The Lord Mayor of Dublin and Skip in 1992. Skip was awarded the gold Shamrock Award by the city of Dublin and made an honorary citizen of Dublin for promoting tourism to Ireland.

Skip has become known for many things, including his trips to Ireland. He tells of a DJ at WOOD in Grand Rapids who often spoke of retiring to Ireland.

Every St. Patrick’s Day, this DJ would celebrate on the air.

When it came time for the DJ to retire, Skip arranged for a retirement trip to Dublin on St. Patrick’s Day where DJ Bruce Grant broadcast his last show from the RET studio in Dublin.

Now, after 23 trips to Ireland and taking more than 800 listeners with him, he stands to add trip No. 24 in April 2016 with the listeners of KGED. Skip talks of his vision for KGED with true passion: “It’s simple. I want KGED to be the very best conservative Christian station in all of California.”

To our benefit, we are now the canvas that this radio artist is creating upon. • Central California Life

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Desti nations

Exploring mining towns in Mariposa County

by Keith Warwick

W

hy take just a trip when you can take a trip into history? California’s mining towns are a fascinating glimpse into the beginnings of the modern Golden State.

The California Gold Rush began on Jan. 24, 1848, with the discovery of gold in Sutter’s Mill in Coloma by James Marshall. It was one of the most influential events in the history of not only California but the U.S. during the first half of the 19th century. The non-native population of the state increased 100-fold, from fewer than 1,000 before 1848 to more than 100,000 by the end of 1849.

The rush extracted more than $2 billion in the precious metal during its run, peaking in 1852.

The Gold Rush regions, generally considered to be the goldfields in the Sierra Nevada mountains and in Northern California, were the destinations of an estimated 300,000 gold seekers during its boom 50 |

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While the mining towns of Sonora, Columbia and Angel’s Camp in the northern Sierra are well known, the river of gold unleashed by gold fever spilled into the Central Valley and extended as far south as Mariposa County, in the Valley’s eastern foothills.

Stockton was founded as a direct result of the Gold Rush in 1849 and the first permanent residence in the San Joaquin Valley was built there. The port of Stockton became a critical trade hub and the city flourished, today ranking as the state’s 13th largest. A century ago, Stockton’s Chinatown spanned numerous blocks. Today, one square block north of the Crosstown Freeway remains. There are a few Chinese-operated establishments still in operation south of the Freeway.

Mariposa County is at the southern end of the Mother Llode region. In 1850, the year that the

Stockton was founded as a direct result of the Gold Rush in 1849 and the first permanent residence in the San Joaquin Valley was built there.

Wong Family Benevolent Association in Stockton’s Chinatown

county was formed and also the year that California was admitted into the union, the population was about 4,000, compared to a population today of about 20,000. Mariposa County also has the distinction of containing no incorporated cities, reflecting the configuration of most communities as census-designated places at the time of the Gold Rush.

But the place names of the county are colorful and allude to its lively past, whether or not gold was mined in their vicinities: Bear Valley, Bootjack, Buck Meadows, Catheys Valley, Coulterville, El Portal, Fish Camp, Greeley Hill, Hornitos, Mt. Bullion, Mariposa and Midpines.

GOLD IN THE HILLS Bear Valley, formerly known as Haydenville, Biddle’s Camp, Biddleville, Simpsonville and Johnsonville, was settled in 1848 in the beginning of the rush. At its peak, Bear Valley had 3,000 residents, which subsequently dwindled to about 100 today. The primary gold mines that operated in the 1850s were the Pine Tree and Josephine mines.

Mt. Bullion, formerly named Princeton, is six miles southeast of Bear Valley. The primary mines in that area were the Princeton and Mockingbird mines.

Coulterville was established in 1850 by George Coulter, who operated a dry goods store that served nearby miners.

While there was a significant level of gold mining in the area and current production continues, it has dramatically declined to 1 thousand ounces per year or less, some of which is mined

by hobbyists. The population of Coulterville has also declined from a peak of 4,000 during the rush to the current 200 residentsHornitos,Spanish for “little ovens,”was founded before the Gold Rush by Mexicans who were ostracized from nearby Quartzburg because of racial prejudice. But the town’s population burgeoned during the rush and its mines, some of the most prolific of the southern gold-mining region, yielded a tremendous amount of gold.

In the town, there were hotels, a post office and several stores,including the first store of D. Ghirardelli, who went on to form a chocolate empire. There was so much gold production that Wells Fargo opened an office in the 1850s to manage it.

Several thousand people lived in the town. In fact, at one time, it was incorporated but it is now a small, quiet townAnd one of the best-preserved ghost towns of the Mother Lode.

Mariposa, is the largest community in the county with a population of 2,200. Several deep mines worked underground veins during and after the gold rush years.

Midpines is a census designated place which is in the vicinity of the Colorado Quartz Mine. The current population is 1,200 people.

Some of the county’s communities served the mining industry although no mining was actually done there. For example, Buck Meadows, population 30, began as a stage stop in the 1870s. •

Images from the Mariposa Mine community from the Gold Rush era Central California Life

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Desti nations

Channel your inner artist

in downtown Fresno

by Kim Leonard

P

eople who hang out in downtown Fresno choose it as their place for myriad reasons.

But if you were to survey 100 Tioga-Sequoia Beer Garden hipsters about what they love the most about downtown, chances are a pretty huge chunk of them would say something to the effect of the music and art scene. And 100 tipsy hipsters can’t be wrong, right?

Right! Thanks to the Fresno Arts Council’s Art Hop activating the heck out of the Cultural Arts District, South Stadium and pockets along the Fulton Mall, more and more people are recognizing downtown as the place to go to consume art.

What’s interesting is that the more people come downtown for music festivals, art shows and even fashion shows, the more opportunities pop up for people to get their creativity flowing in downtown Fresno.

Here are some of the better art experiences in the downtown area: SUBLIME TIME EXPERIENCE When you think of who uses studio space at places such

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as M Street Arts Complex (1419 M Street), you probably imagine classically trained, fine artists who are covered in paint and talk about famous artworks with names you can’t pronounce.

Would it surprise you to know that at Sublime Time, you, or your weird cousin, unimaginative co-worker, or fun-loving best friend are actually the artists? Well, you could be, anyway, if you sign up for a Sublime Time Experience.

Artist and instructor Denine Bennet will guide you through the entire process of creating a work of art from first brush stroke to signing your name at the bottom. Basically, you show up, hang out and get to go home with a finished painting and the smug satisfaction of being an artist.

You can learn more at www.sublimetimefun.com COLORING FOR GROWN-UPS AT PEEVE’S You can’t throw a grown-up diva tantrum these days without inadvertently knocking over a newsstand lined with coloring books for adults. The notion that coloring is a mindful practice has taken off, and it has become an alternative to meditation to many of the can’t-stop-checking-my-work-e-

Art students work on their renditions of a black cat at Sublime Time.

“Thanks to the Fresno Arts Council’s Art Hop activating the heck out of the Cultural Arts District, South Stadium and pockets along the Fulton Mall, more and more people are recognizing downtown as the place to go to consume art.”

mail-even-though-it’s-midnight folks out there.

Well, Peeve’s Public House (1243 Fulton Mall) took the adult coloring craze one step further and offers Coloring for Grown-Ups once a month. The whole affair is a BYOCB (bring your own coloring book), and the entire dining room, as well as outdoor dining area and beyond, are packed with grown-ups sipping saison and comparing coloring books with one another.

Cameraderie, craft beer and coloring. Now that’s some serious stress relief. Coloring for Grown-Ups happens on the last Tuesday evening of the month. Don’t forget your markers!

SONGWRITERS AND CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOPS AT JEWEL FM If you can paint a picture with words better than you ever could with a brush, or if your guitar gently weeps because it hasn’t had a play date in such a long time, the Gallery at Jewel FM (1415 Fulton St.) has been hosting regular Songwriters and Creative Writing workshops.

These events are designed to get local talent together Central California Life

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Broadway Studios Nigel Robinson provides classical art instruction at his Broadway Studios location.

Downtown is chock full of artists, and many of them are working to grow the community, one student at a time. to help each other work through new material, show off old material and be inspired by one another. Songwriter workshops are the last Wednesday of the month, and Creative Writing is still on a month-by-month basis as it gets established.

Visit and follow www.facebook.com/JewelFMGallery/ to stay updated on the dates and times of workshops.

FINE ART LESSONS So you’ve painted a tree at sunset with a group of other people, and after a few local IPAs, your coloring game is fierce.

You want to delve deeper into your artistic side, but where can you go to learn more?

Downtown is chock full of artists, and many of them are working to grow the community, one student at a time. Here are a few to choose from to boost your art skills: 56 |

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• Nigel Robertson boasts classical art instruction and will give you an atelier-style studio experience as you learn to paint and draw in his Broadway Studios location. Learn more at www.nigelrobertson.com.

• French painter Ma Ly is self-taught, and he now teaches painting to the very young (ages 7 and up) and the notso-young out of his space at M Street Arts Complex. Visit www. artbymaly.com for more information.

• If drawing with lifelike accuracy is your aim, aim yourself toward the TW Patterson Building and learn all about realism and drawing the human figure from Marcos Dorado.

Check out www.marcosdorado.com.

This is only a small sampling of the ways you can flex your creative muscle in downtown Fresno. Now get out there and make something! •

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Health and Wellness

The psychology of gift giving

by Bradley T. Wajda, D.O.

L

During his 25 years of practicing in the Central Valley, Dr. Bradley T. Wajda (aka “Dr. Brad”) has amassed extensive experience in adult and child psychiatry, as well as comprehensive substance abuse treatment. Catch “Dr. Brad” at RadioPsyched.com.

You can also read more from “Dr. Brad” at EsanoHealth.com.

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ove, friendship, celebration, hospitality, generosity, and even manipulation: those are all reasons why people have been giving gifts to each other since the beginning of human history.

Gift-giving is of obvious benefit to the recipient. But what about the giver?

Psychologists have long studied the beneficial effects of bestowing gifts on others. We have so many opportunities for exchanging gifts –Christmas, birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, anniversaries, weddings or even “just because.” Exchanging gifts is a prominent–and complex–part of our culture. With the arrival of functional brain imaging, scientists have now seen that the act of giving a gift activates the reward center of our brains.

Gifts are loaded with meaning and add a unique dynamic to relationships. There are several aspects of gift-giving that we subconsciously acknowledge, but rarely verbalize. A certain amount of time is spent in pursuit of the gift, there is usually a financial investment, and there is always symbolism, as reflected in the reasons that began this discussion.

Central California Life

Often, it is the giver who actually psychologically benefits most from the experience. Givers feel caring, consideration and connection to the recipient; they also can express emotions via gift-giving when they may struggle to show emotions in other ways. Especially when the gift is given for less than altruistic reasons, there is gain derived on behalf of the giver, whether to assuage guilt (especially when giving from afar), garner favor, influence a decision or hope for reciprocity.

Gift-giving feels good internally and taps into how we want to connect with that individual.

The ability and ease of shopping online makes the process of seeking out just the right gift ever so much simpler. Let’s look at an analogy to gift-giving by looking at a baseball bat. A baseball bat is successfully used for recreation a vast majority of the time, but unfortunately, there are occasions when it causes injury.

Likewise, there are occasionally negative consequences in gift-giving, such as resentment. If the gift doesn’t meet the expectations of the recipient, then they can feel undervalued or that the gift expresses more feelings than expected. Sometimes

No amount of money can buy more than you have to give. the hunt for the perfect gift can also cause a lot of stress.

There are ways to acknowledge others without having to purchase something. Much has been written about alternatives to traditional gift-giving. In fact, often these alternatives allow us to focus more on the actual meaning of the holiday or special occasion. The best way to change your gift-giving habits is to start slowly. You can’t change your traditions all at once, but you can try one or two ideas at a time. Here are some alternatives:

• Personal cards and photos tell them that you are important in that person’s life.

• Gatherings or parties are a good way to share together without exchanging gifts.

• Donate in their name to the global nonprofit Heifer International, which brings livestock and agriculture to impoverished areas of the world.

• Adopt a family through your church.

• Focus on experiences such as making memories with loved ones.

• Adopt an animal at the zoo on behalf of the recipient.

• A charity gift card, where the recipient chooses the charity.

• Exchange consumables such as cookies rather than gifts.

• Divert funds traditionally spent on gift purchases in order to travel to be with loved ones.

• Chronicle your family history by assembling photographs, letters and important documents.

• Put together a photo album or book of family recipes.

• Give a gift of music or sports lessons.

• Gift certificates that offer babysitting, a home-cooked meal or a monthly lunch date.

• Donate to a charity in the name of a loved one.

• Give away one of your favorite things.

• Give books on tape.

• Give handmade gifts.

• Make a family calendar with photos, birthdays and other special occasions.

The common denominator here is the giving for your time, your energy, and your emotion. Quality time spent on those that you care about is the most priceless thing I am aware of on Earth.

No amount of money can buy more than you have to give. Take inventory of your precious memories. How many are because of “stuff ”? Any? Remember, “Life is not measured by the breaths we take in the moment, but by the moments that take our breath away.” • Central California Life

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Health and Wellness

Fighting the flu comes naturally

by Camille Holstein, Ph.D.

A

s the weather begins to change and winter is fast approaching, there is one word that begins to cross the minds of many … the “flu.”

We see signs, from drug stores and health clinics to grocery stores, offering flu shots. According to the Centers for Disease Control, those who are at greatest risk for developing the flu are the elderly, young children and those who suffer from chronic conditions. While the vaccine is highly available and, in my opinion, not very effective, there are natural methods that can help prevent you from catching this infection. Also, there are natural methods to help your body get over it quickly.

Whether or not to get the flu vaccine is a sensitive subject.

Passions tend to run high on both sides. I’m not saying you should get the flu shot and I’m not saying you shouldn’t. I’m encouraging everyone to educate themselves on this topic. In the meantime, let’s discuss what you can do to decrease your chances of getting the flu.

Here are some helpful suggestions you might want to try: EAT MUSHROOMS Forget the apple a day, enjoy a mushroom instead. Both shiitake and maitake are the best choices when it comes to boosting your immune system. These mush60 |

Central California Life

rooms increase your white blood cells, the cells that strengthen your immunity against infection.

INCREASE YOUR SLEEP Think of your immune system as a battery; it needs to be charged each night to work at its maximum capacity. Eight hours is what’s recommended to fully charge it, giving it the strength to fight off infections.

EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES These are important for good health under normal circumstances, but when trying to prevent influenza, they are even more so. Eating a wide variety of these super foods ensures you will receive the vitamins and minerals that are vital for strengthening your immune system. These include vitamins A, B6, C and E and minerals such as zinc, selenium, iron and copper.

EXERCISE MORE OFTEN The benefits of exercise are two-fold; it helps strengthen your immune system while reducing your stress levels simultaneously. Walking for 30 to 60 minutes a day can reduce the number of colds and sore throats you develop by half; this is due to a strengthened immune system. Exercise is also a terrific stress reducer.

WASH YOUR HANDS Hand washing is the single most important step anyone can take in preventing the spread of any

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Honey fights infections and actively kills bacterial cells. disease or infection. Use warm soap and water, taking care to scrub under your nails.

Sing the Happy Birthday song while washing; this ensures you are washing long enough. When finished, use a clean paper towel to turn off the faucets, and always avoid touching your mouth and nose; these are the easiest methods of transportation for germs.

If you have had the flu (or any other potentially communicable condition like a fever or sore throat), you should replace your toothbrush with a new one.

If you find yourself with a cold or the flu, you can boost your immune system by using the following: HONEY It fights infections and actively kills bacterial cells.

VITAMIN C It has antiviral properties and is a powerful healing tool.

LEMON Lemon has both antibacterial and antiviral properties. It also reduces mucus.

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR It helps prevent the flu, eases digestion, kills fungus, and reduces inflammation.

GINGER It boosts immunity and reduces inflammation.

ZINC Zinc has been shown to reduce the severity and length of illness.

GARLIC Garlic is an antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal. It reduces inflammation and boosts immune function.

VITAMIN D3 It enhances your immune system.

CHILI PEPPERS These are a natural remedy for sore throat and they ease congestion.

TURMERIC It has strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

ELDERBERRY Elderberry inhibits viruses from spreading and bacteria growth.

BAKING SODA This prevents the contraction of colds and the flu.

CINNAMON This is a potent antioxidant.

Hopefully, you find this information a useful ally in the seasonal fight with colds and the flu. Remember what I emphasize with all my patients: Let’s all be mindful of what we put in our bodies, and take care of what God gave us the natural way. •

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Home gardening

Just some of Sue Kendall’s nearly 400 rose bushes

Take time to smell, and maybe prune, the roses {Preparing roses for winter dormancy may not be as hard as you might imagine}

by Eddie, the Lazy Landscaper™ photos (at Kendall yard) by Jim Schwartz

E

ven I, the Lazy Landscaper, make the effort to ready my handful of rose bushes for winter dormancy. My investment in a little time and effort is well worth it in anticipation of the bountiful bouquets of vivid colors and perfume-like fragrances that will permeate my garden the following spring through fall.

To help us comprehend what even I consider a mostly enjoyable chore, I invited two avid rosarians and members of the San Joaquin Valley Rose Society: my mother-in-law (it never hurts to score points with family), “Sweet Caroline” Moser, and my good friend and fellow Master Gardener board member, Sue Kendall. Sue’s also known to many as “The Rose Lady of Fig Garden” because her breathtaking yard features nearly 400 rose bushes, including approximately 300 varieties (many of which are popular choices of the 10,000-plus varieties of hybrid teas now available).

One of Sue’s hybrid tea roses was selected for pruning and care demonstration here because so many of us appreciate these regal roses that have for decades enjoyed the title of “The 64 |

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most popular type of rose” (Miracle Gro Complete Guide to Roses; The Scotts Miracle Gro Co., 2008). We not only have ogled them on display in landscapes, homes and businesses, but we have likely sent this rose type in arrangements to significant others and/or received them on special occasions.

In our family, Sweet Caroline is famous for beautifying our homes during gatherings with a rainbow of breath-taking hybrid tea roses.

With their long, straight stems, perfectly formed buds, and showy blooms with lots of petals in varied, vivid colors and enchanting fragrances, it’s easy to appreciate why hybrid teas are often the roses of choice. And, even though in recent years, “many people feel they are just too busy to properly care for hybrid tea roses, they are still well worth the effort, in my opinion” justifies respected, local rose expert, Bill Welzenbach, consultant rosarian emeritus, American Rose Society.

PRUNING FOR SHOW AND HEALTH The purpose of this article is to hopefully help many home gardeners uncomfortable with their perceived ability

“The benefits of pruning outweigh any consequences of the few mistakes you might make as you learn to prune…” to cultivate roses to realize there are many available resources for novices to learn rather easily how to adequately prune and maintain hybrid tea, along with other types, of roses.

“The benefits of pruning outweigh any consequences of the few mistakes you might make as you learn to prune…Pruning also encourages new growth, promotes large flowers, and keeps a rose healthy” (Sunset Roses; Sunset Publishing Corp., 2003), not to mention what joy and satisfaction that each home gardener can experience with the results come spring. And as I have realized over time, we all tend to get better at pruning and otherwise caring for roses with experience.

So what I have requested my rosarian friends Caroline and Sue to do is to demonstrate below a few simple steps in properly pruning a hybrid tea rose bush for symmetry, plant health and showy blooms, as well as suggest to you what you can do to enhance the soil surrounding your rose bushes: Step 1: They start after the first frost (usually sometime in late November in the Central Valley) by pruning back much of the foliage and stripping the leaves (though some rose gardeners prefer to do it all at one time in January). By getting rid of the foliage after the first pruning the frost, the theory is that it foliage will help the rose bush to enter dormancy quicker by not encouraging it to re-bloom Step 2: During January, the final cuts can be made including: removing all suckers from the original root stock at the bottom, and eliminating all cross branches, inward making growing buds and dead the final wood. cuts

achieving the bowl shape

Step 3: Select four or five of the best-spaced canes (eliminating any growing from the middle) and cut each cane at an angle (high on the inside to low, facing out from the middle of the bush) just above an outward facing bud (which will eventually develop into a branch) ideally forming a bowl-shape.

Personal preference dictates the length of the pruned canes.

I usually leave mine at anywhere from 10 to 15 inches. Sue trims her canes according to “how large and quickly I want the mature bush to grow. I have left canes as long as 24 inches or more if I’m preparing them for an earlier (in the season) show, such as the Master Gardeners’ Spring Garden Tour this year.”CLEANING AND AMENDING THE SOIL Step 4: It is important to completely remove all debris from around each rose bush to help reduce insect and fungus problems in the following blooming season.

Step 5: Once the pruning and cleaning around each bush are completed –and this is where rose enthusiasts seem to vary in opinion–a “rose cocktail” mix (usually a combination of minerals and nutrients) as Sue likes to call it may be immediately applied to the soil around each bush as is Bill’s and my practice; or one can opt to wait until the first part of March, a practice Sue prefers.

After working into the soil a special mix, it is recommend Central California Life

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Sue, Eddie and Caroline, l-r

mulch be applied around each bush’s drip line (not right up against the trunk). This kind of soil treatment can really help “kick start” the growing season for roses by providing needed nutrients and soil amendments as well as mulch (or humus), the latter added to help retain water, control weeds and prevent fungal spores from splashing up on the foliage during the rainy season.

My favorite product I apply in this step is the locally popular product “Bill’s Rose Formula Maintenance Mix,” created

by Mr. Welzenbach, which I get at Gazebo Gardens in Fresno.

Each small bag is just enough to enrich the soil surrounding a single bush. However, for those of you who wish to make your own batch of Bill’s special mix, he was generous enough to give us his formula ratio to treat one rose bush as follows: 1 cup alfalfa pellets 1 cup Ironite 1 cup organic fertilizer 1 cup gypsum ¼ cup epsom salts Bill mentioned that some gardeners enhance Bill’s concoction with blood meal, cotton seed, sulphur and/or various other ingredients, depending on their respective soil types, conditions and experience. For other rose care product choices, you can visit your local nursery or garden center to inquire 66 |

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about spring soil treatments and mulch, as well as helpful spray applications (such as fungicides).

If you appreciate roses like millions of us do, take the leap if you haven’t already and learn more about some of “nature’s showpieces” and how to care for them. You can start with more information on rose pruning and maintenance by searching the internet for helpful books, as well as for beginning rose care classes.

Many nurseries and garden centers, along with Master Gardeners Associations, offer classes on how to care for many types of roses, often during late fall and early winter. You might also consider investigating the San Joaquin Valley Rose Society at www.rainforest12548.org in Fresno or another chapter of the American Rose Society closest to you.

If you take time to smell the roses, you might just decide to plant a few. • Eddie the Lazy Landscaper (aka Ed Dunn III) writes the CCL gardening column, is a media and internet personality/spokesperson, nursery industry marketing consultant, and is a Board member of the Master Gardeners Association of Fresno County. He can be reached at his Facebook page, the Lazy Landscaper, or at eddie@thelazylandscaper.com.

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¢heap Eats

Savor

Story and photos by Amy Guerra

T

here’s a lot to be said for quick and cheap eats. As we approach the holidays, as we prepare to sit down for holiday dinners, inevitably as preparation reaches a feverish pitch, there will be days where quick dinners are a must.

Maybe it’s lunch before the night of a holiday party or a quick bite before a long Christmas shopping trip, whether it’s off the beaten path or right on it, sometimes the best of what Fresno has to offer isn’t overly refined—it’s authentic and laid back like Fresnoans.

With that in mind, Central California Life magazine introduces our new regular Savor feature, Cheap Eats.

Fancy Burger Sitting in the drive-thru, I see the young man who was stationed at the window hand to the car in front of me two white bags, and they remind me of a drive-in my parents used to take me as a child.

The neat folds around the top couldn’t disguise its contents, because after only a few minutes, the bags would be marked with the tell-tale translucent spots that easily identified nearly every American kids’ favorite meal: cheeseburger and fries.

I’m in the drive-thru of Fancy Burger, an independently owned fast food joint, waiting for the delicious,

real, fresh burgers and perfectly salted fries I’ve already enjoyed one time prior. This time, I notice the advertisement for a Coke Float on the drive-thru window and my mind wanders to the simple, five-flavor milkshake menu: Chocolate, vanilla, pineapple, banana and strawberry.

I resisted the temptation then, but just a day later, went back and ordered three: Banana, pineapple and strawberry. Like all good drive-ins, the milkshakes are sweet, creamy and 68 |

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delicious, (and appropriately equipped with an extra-wide straw for all the fruit) the perfect complement to a menu that plays host to traditional fast food fare: hot dogs, burgers, etc.

Fancy Burger is located at the southwest corner of Herndon and West.

For more information and coupons, visit http://fancyburger.net/

in this exchange between us, I am as similarly grateful for this soup as she is for the patronage.

Pho 90 is located at 2256 North Fresno Street. For more information, call (559) 248-9090. •

Amy Guerra is a criminal defense attorney practicing in Fresno. She has written for several publications throughout California and enjoys writing about the law, food, travel and all things Fresno.

Pho 90 There’s only one thing someone in my family wants when their sick. Chicken Pho from Pho 90. There’s comfort in the laborious Vietnamese soup, paired with chicken and rice noodles and served with limes, freshly cut jalapenos and bean sprouts.

Located on Clinton and Fresno, Pho 90 is a substantial, but worthwhile trek from my house. Today, and most days, I will make a to-go order and cart it back to my house to dole out. An extra-large soup easily serves two or three, and at $7.95 per bowl, the only thing that exceeds its value, is its taste.

I already know what I want, but while I wait the few minutes it takes to put the soup in containers, I look at the updated menu and notice the nearly infinite options for smoothies: Avocado, soursop and tamarind, as well as traditional options like strawberry, peach and nearly every other fruit I can think of.

When my rather large soup order is complete, someone from the restaurant helps me carry it to my car in a box — gently guiding me to place it in my trunk where it is less likely to spill. She thanks me politely, and I thank her, certain that

I didn’t expect Trigoso would remember me.

Then I realized that the careful detail she pays to each dish, she pays to her guests.

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Savor

The Annex Kitchen Story and photos by Amy Guerra

cocktails and extensive wine list. Pleased with her recommendation and the adept way at which she touched on each menu item, I took her second recommendationBurrata Mozzarella Crostini. The appetizer came just minutes later: crusty bread topped with marinated broccolini, fresh Italian cheese and pancetta crumbs. Again, we did not regret it. Next, she brought the Salumi Board, a chef ’s selection of cured

I

thought I was early, but the cars parked outside of The Annex told me otherwise. I checked my watch. 4:45 p.m., fifteen minutes until opening. An inquisitive patron asked me why I was there as I photographed the tidy iron lettering that spanned the brick façade. Several other parties arrived, forming a hungry line along the outside of the restaurant.

The smell of fire and food saturated the air and the line grew, huddling closely around the door. Only three months before, The Annex opened its doors for the first time. Once home to Pardini’s Café, brothers Jeff and Jimmy Pardini had a specific vision and remodeled the space with a Los Angeles trattoria in mind. Now, despite being a newcomer, a healthy hoarde of people waited for the moment the doors would open.

They did open… right at 5:00, and a small but tasteful piece of furniture marked the front of the entry hall where the host stood. Within a few steps into the interior, I saw the fiery pizza oven that had produced the smell that had fostered the urgent hunger I’d experienced outside. A long bar ran along the west wall of the restaurant, bottles of liquor displayed prominently against the tiled white wall.

My husband and I sat in a small table on the window-side of the restaurant, next to the large booths that over the next hour and a half filled with parties until every seat in the restaurant was filled. I took the server’s recommendation, and tried the sweet, tangy Blood Orange Cosmopolitan from among the handcrafted Gnocchi with Rabbit Ragu 70 |

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Burrata Mozzarella Crostini

meats, served with Parmigiano and Pecorino cheeses and grilled bread.

We transitioned easily into our entrees, enjoying the vibrant atmosphere of the restaurant and the delighted way nearby patrons enjoyed the sight of their food arriving. The next dish to arrive was Mary’s Free Range Half Chicken with Salsa Verde, perfectly cooked, a zesty, bright and acidic dish served with field greens and parmigiano cheese. Because The Annex makes the entirety of their pasta from scratch, we would have been remiss not to try it, and ordered the deliciously rich Gnocchi with Rabbit Ragu and Parmigiano Cream.

It was beginning to get dark, but the restaurant continued to thrive despite being a Sunday night. Servers took wine bottles to several tables, cocktails flowed freely from the bar and order after order of homemade pasta passed our table. It was clear that despite the fact it was my first time at the

restaurants, many others already recognized the significance of a restaurant like this in Fresno.

They were already celebrating birthdays, and anniversaries here, posting Instagram pictures of their #datenights. We may have been some of the last people to know about The Annex, but we wouldn’t easily forget it. Especially, when our server brought out the Zepolle, Ricotta donuts, carefully nested on printed paper, dusted in powdered sugar and served with chocolate sauce, we were smitten. • The Annex is located at 2257 W. Shaw Ave., the former home of Pardini’s Café. For more reservations or to make reservations call 559) 248-8512 or visit www.annexkitchenfresno.com.

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Sip George Widjaja, Little Leaf’s owner and sole bartender, flanked by his artfully displayed liquor inventory

Little Leaf Bar

by Janelle Schneider

T

he season’s first cold rains ushered us into the intimate warmth of Little Leaf Bar at Palm and Bullard avenues on a chilly, autumn evening. The deep sheen of cherry-stained tables, the sleek, black bar with cobalt under lighting and a mellow music soundtrack wrapped itself around us like a gentle hug.

There’s a seat at the bar and a welcome from owner/ bartender George Widjaja (pronounced “We-jī-ya”), who recalls that your drink is his inventive variation on the classic Moscow Mule. Spontaneously, the day’s stresses dissipate in a deep exhalation.

Little Leaf Bar’s evolution from its parent tea room, also named Little Leaf and accessible through the always-open connecting door, was an organic development.

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Widjaja, a native of Indonesia, detoured from a plan to continue his education in Los Angeles after college in Seattle, and decided that Fresno was the ideal place to cultivate his expertise and interest in tea. When the previous tenant at Little Leaf Tea’s space, a coffeehouse, closed in 2009, Widjaja thought a tea room in the Bullard area “might work out.” And when the coffeehouse’s companion bookstore, Holy Child, moved across the parking lot last year, Little Leaf Bar was a natural extension.

The bar, which matches Widjaja’s description of his clientele (“mature, modern, classy and looking for something unique”) exudes a chill, Asian vibe and specializes in classic liquors including small-batch bourbons, whiskeys and Scotch, while embracing the craft-beer move-

Perfect for winter: Widjaja’s Pumpkin Chai Latte, a comforting concoction of butterscotch liqueur, Fireball whisky and chai tea, garnished with frothy whipped cream, maraschino cherry and cinnamon.

ment with a changing array on tap. Widjaja enjoys inventing tasty, new libations of his own, such as the hot, luxurious Pumpkin Chai Latte, or his unique twist on the Mule: he uses ginger tea.

He’s succeeded at building that elusive establishment that so many watering holes try, and fail, to create: the neighborhood bar.

“People can sit here and talk,” he said approvingly. “It’s very private. You don’t have to deal with a lot of noise.”

But patrons can easily strike up a conversation with the person sitting next to them, as a couple did one night on their way to the airport and their new home in Atlanta.

“Someone told us about this place, and I wish we would have known about it sooner,” said the traveler, a 30-something

Little Leaf’s Moscow Mule: Vodka, ginger tea, IPA on tap and lime juice, served perfectly iced in a gorgeous, sweating copper mug

sports marketer, regretfully.

Customers can order tea from the adjacent tea room and appetizers from Widjaja’s global-inspired menu with roots in French, Italian, Korean and Japanese cuisine. A generous portion of kimchi and spicy sauce adorns fries.

Jewel-green seaweed glistens with sesame oil atop baby greens. But if a patron is looking for the classic bar sliders, he’s got those, too.

“We’re a specialty bar,” he said. “If we’re going to serve burgers and fries, they’re going to be really special.” Little Leaf also recently began offering lunch through its tea room and happy hour is daily from opening until 7 p.m.

Not interested in a flash-in-thepan business, Widjaja said he’s planning for the long term. He enlisted the talents

of his sister, a Europe-based interior designer, to create Little Leaf ’s intimate, comfortable ambiance. And he applied what he learned about architecture and design on the many trips he took with his father as a youngster in Asia.

Like a carefully crafted cocktail, the classic and unique elements of Little Leaf come together just as Widjaja intended: “Something special you can’t find in other places.” •

LITTLE LEAF BAR 6011 N. Palm Ave. Fresno 93711 (559) 261-2699 Hours: Monday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m.

Friday-Saturday, 5-11 p.m.

Happy Hour: Daily, 5-7 p.m.

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Arts & Entertainment

Book Review

Rad American Women A-Z

by Kate Schatz book reviewed by Cindy Wathen

Kate Schatz, author

L

ike all A-Z books, “Rad American Women A-Z” illustrates the alphabet.

But instead of “apple,” A is for Angela – as in Angela Davis, the iconic political activist. B is for Billie Jean King, who shattered the glass ceiling of sports; C is for Carol Burnett, who defied assumptions about women in comedy; D is for Dolores Huerta, who organized farmworkers; and E is for Ella Baker, who mentored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and helped shape the Civil Rights movement.

And the list continues, spanning several centuries, multiple

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professions and 26 diverse women. There are artists and abolitionists, scientists and sports heroes, rock stars and rabble-rousers and agents of change of all kinds.

“Rad American Women A-Z” was written by Kate Schatz and illustrated by Miriam Klein Stahl. This New York Times-bestselling book for kids – and their parents, teachers and cool grown-up friends – documents America’s famous and unsung heroines.

The Huffington Post called it “The empowering book both boys and girls need!” The San Francisco Examiner said, “History books come in all sizes, but few include enough stories of women who have influenced American society.” TeenVogue stated, “The ABCs just got a major girl-power upgrade.”

This is all staggering praise, and the beauty of it is that it’s all well deserved. The writing and illustrations are as compelling as these women’s lives and legacies. As the first children’s book published by the acclaimed City Lights Booksellers and Publishers in San Francisco, “Rad American Women A-Z” is a rousing tribute to the women who

Together, Schatz and Stahl have sparked something that endures.

They’ve committed to publishing additional A to Z books with an international focus.

changed American history.

The author Schatz (pronounced “Shots”) is a Bay Area writer, editor and educator. She is the chair of the School of Literary Arts at Oakland School for the Arts, where she teaches fiction, poetry and journalism to high school students.

Stahl is a Bay Area artist, educator and activist. In addition to her work in printmaking, drawing, sculpture, paper-cut and public art, she is also the co-founder of the Arts and Humanities Academy at Berkeley High School.

Together, Schatz and Stahl have sparked something that endures.

They’ve committed to publishing additional A to Z books with an international focus; and just recently, Fresno State’s Henry Madden Library and its Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature hosted them on campus for a reception and book signing.

Faculty and students from the Fresno State campus Art Department and Women’s Studies Department contributed with a collaborative art display and informational website.

Together, they created wheat paste art displays of a curated group of Rad Fresno State Women, which were displayed around campus and

included QR codes for more historical information. The displays paid tribute to 12 Fresno State women, which included the likes of Judy Chicago, Lillian Faderman, Francine Oputa and Sherley Anne Williams.

Look for these displays at the upcoming Fresno Art Museum 2016 spring exhibition.

The women in “Rad American Women A-Z” shaped America’s history, and their legacy continues to shape our future. Now here’s our chance to meet them in a unique and playful way. • For more information about this inspiring book, visit www.radamericanwomen.com.

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Spotlight

A tiny doll left by an unknown mourner rests on a headstone at the Garden of Innocence in Mountain View Cemetery in Fresno.

Held, and loved, babies find final peace Fresno’s Garden of Innocence volunteers lay forgotten children to rest

by Janelle Schneider

T

he grandmotherly woman gently took the handmade box from the person to her right, looked at the nameplate and softly pronounced the name.

“Jill-Elise,” she breathed, tracing a cross lightly on the lid and then kissing it before passing it on.

She repeated the ritual seven more times as each urn came her way: Stella, Aurora, Isaac, Jeremiah, Christopher, Samuel and Nehemiah.

With kisses, poetry, music, honor guards and tears, eight abandoned babies were laid to rest Nov. 14 in the Garden of Innocence in Mountain View Cemetery in Fresno.

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Photos by Brad Polzin.

Garden of Innocence, a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization that began in Carlsbad in the late 1990s, now has chapters in multiple cities throughout the U.S. Their purpose is simple: to inter abandoned, anonymous children whose remains ended up at county coroner’s offices with dignity, love and, most fundamentally, names.

“I named the first [Fresno] baby Grace, after my mother,” said Roy Bell, the director of the Fresno chapter of Garden of Innocence. Fresno County held its first service in 2012 after Garden founder Elissa Davey approached the county board of supervisors about establishing the program

A regal procession of Fresno Police and Sheriff department honor guards, Knights of Columbus and a bagpiper open the service.

On this morning, glorious fall sunshine was the backdrop for the service conducted by a cross-section of the Fresno community. locally. Previously, the abandoned or unclaimed remains of children were buried with adults at Fresno County Cemetery.

Bell, the retired owner of Bell Memorials and Granite Works in Clovis, became involved when his company was approached about donating memorials. He has since donated every headstone. His wife, Donna, is also on the local Garden board.

The outpouring of love in the form of donations and time is generous and ongoing. Mountain View Cemetery Manager Elaine Tosh donated the space for the Garden and designed its features: a white, butterfly-shaped iron bench; a black, wrought-iron, child-sized fence and gate; a butterfly park. Bell Monuments donated a large statue of a vigilant angel. Another statue, of two children on a bench, sits serenely under a tall palm tree.

As of the November service, 58 babies and children have been given resting places through the Fresno chapter. Two services are held each year, Bell said, because “I don’t want a

baby buried by itself.”

On this morning, glorious fall sunshine was the backdrop for the service conducted by a cross-section of the Fresno community. Bagpiper Ed Mayo, in ceremonial dress and intoning “Highland Cathedral,” led a dignified, white-gloved procession including members of Knights of Columbus, in full regalia; Fresno County Sheriff ’s deputies and Fresno Police Dept. officers, in formal uniforms with gleaming buttons; and members of the Fresno and Clovis Elks lodges, in their immaculate inaugural tuxedos.

Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims, whose department this year assumed management of the county coroner’s office, and Fresno County Supervisor Henry Perea, who has attended every ceremony since the first one in 2012, made brief, heartfelt remarks.

“This is such a part of who we are, as people,” said Perea, who, after losing his father, mother and the mother of his son within six months of each other several years ago, bestowed his Central California Life

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From top left: Fresno County Supervisor Henry Perea, who was instrumental in establishing Fresno County’s Garden of Innocence chapter, gently and and emotionally passes an urn to fellow mourners; Community members and volunteer honor guards from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department stand in quiet witness to the interment; Knights of Columbus in full regalia before the opening procession.

“No child in Fresno County will be unclaimed,” said Mims. “We are a community.

We do the right thing.” father’s name on one of the babies previously interred. Community members are given the privilege of naming the unclaimed children. “When I come out here to visit my dad, I also visit [the baby] Julian,” he said.

“No child in Fresno County will be unclaimed,” said Mims. “We are a community. We do the right thing.”

A Circle of Love formed by about 100 members of the public, many of whom learned of the service through Facebook posts. Each urn, bearing remains snuggled in a handmade 78 |

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baby blanket and accompanied by a Beanie Baby, and adorned with nameplate, a ribbon and a carnation, was lovingly passed around the circle.

“It touched me,” said Dora Estrada, who with her sister, Olivia Perez, was compelled to come after reading of the service on Facebook. “I thought, ‘I have to go.’”

Small children accompanied their parents, teenagers and elderly people stood side by side. A Vietnam veteran sporting a vest festooned with badges stood quietly in the circle.

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“A typical funeral is sad because you have some connection with the loved one. This burial, in a strange way, makes you smile,” said Bell, and one attendee, Sister Phoebe Grace of St. James Anglican Cathedral, in her white habit, agreed.

“You just feel the love,” she said buoyantly. “You always have a feeling of doing something really good. It’s a gift all around.”

Bell shared the story of one baby, whose nameplate had been inadvertently misspelled. He contacted the maker, who asked Bell to bring in the urn the next day for a new plate.

“My wife and I were going out to dinner that night, so we had the urn in the backseat. When we got to the restaurant, Donna put it in her purse. She said, ‘We can’t leave Malcolm in the car.’”

After prayers were said and poems for each child, written by community members, were recited, and after the vocal/guitar rendition of “You’ve Got a Friend” by Dawn Delozier and Chris Eacock; and after Stanley Mackey’s passionate a Capella gospel performance; and after Ed Mayo’s haunting “Amazing Grace” on bagpipe; and after each urn was placed, two to a grave, a basket of rose petals was produced and the mourners scattered them on the graves new and older.

A slight breeze stirred the trees and a flock of white doves was released, three flying to the east, representing the newest Garden residents, and the rest circling the cemetery.

“At the end of the day, you leave the cemetery knowing you have done something different and kind for the community,” Bell said. “It’s not about individuals. It’s not about me.” •

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I

f you love a beautiful, efficient garden that doesn’t take a lot of work, Eddie, the Lazy Landscaper’s your guy!

For sage advice on how to enjoy nature’s best while taking a rest, please “Like” Eddie’s new Facebook page at facebook.com/lazylandscaper.

Enjoy the Lazy Landscaper’s gardening tips and great sense of humus! You already know Eddie can be funny while sharing valuable gardening facts, if you’ve seen him on TV or heard him on the radio. eddie@thelazylandscaper.com TMs are marks of Paradigm Shift Marketing © 2015 All rights reserved

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Calendar of Events

Central Valley Harlem Globetrotters, Thurs., Jan. 21 7 p.m., Save Mart Center The iconic Harlem Globetrotters are coming to Fresno with their most epic tour in history, as the world-famous team celebrates its 90th anniversary world tour. A star-studded roster will have fans on the edge of their seats to witness the ball handling wizardry, basketball artistry and one-of-a-kind family entertainment that thrills fans of all ages.

Join Globetrotter stars after the game where they will stay for an autograph, photograph and high five session for fans (subject to availability). www.harlemglobetrotters.com/event/ harlem-globetrotters-save-mart-center-2 Disney on Ice Presents Frozen, Wed., Jan. 27, 7 p.m.

Selland Arena, 700 M Street, Fresno Enter a fantastical winter wonderland beyond all imagination as Disney On Ice presents Frozen presented by Stonyfield YoKids Organic Yogurt. The heartwarming Academy Award-winning tale you love is now live and skating into your town. You’ll be magically whisked away into the wintry world of Arendelle, where you will be dazzled by amazing special effects and astonishing skating.

Sing and dance along to inspiring songs, including “Let It Go.” Join royal sisters Anna and Elsa, the hilarious snowman Olaf, Kristoff, his loyal reindeer Sven and the mystical trolls as they journey to discover that true love is ultimately the most magical power of all. Hosted by Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, with special guest appearances by your most beloved Disney Princesses and characters from favorites like Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Disney’s The Lion King, this unforgettable celebration of love and friendship will leave your family with memories to last a lifetime.

Price: $23, $30, $43, $53, $68 www.fresnoconventioncenter.com

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JANUARY Moonlight and Magnolias, Jan. 2, 8 p.m. through Feb. 21 2nd Space Theatre, 928 E. Olive Ave., Fresno The mostly-true story about rewriting the screenplay of Gone With The Wind in five hilarious days. Please arrive to the theatre at least 45 minutes before performance begins.

Rated: PG-13 Price: $17-20; Students, Seniors (62plus) and Active and Retired Military with valid ID. Discount does not apply to guests of students, seniors or military members.

More Information: www.2ndspacetheatre.com Ticketing: www.tickets.gcplayers. com/2ndspace/

Central Coast Santa Cruz 2016 Bridal Expo, Sun., Jan. 31, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Coconut Grove, Santa Cruz Boardwalk Find all the information you need to plan the perfect wedding. The Bridal Expo brings together more than 100 wedding specialists and related vendors from the Monterey Bay Area. Includes bridal fashion shows, valuable door prizes, cake samples, wedding decorations, and a Grand Prize drawing! http:// beachboardwalk.com/events/ Monterey Reggae Friday, Every Friday 9 p.m.-12:30 a.m.

Cannery Row Brewing Company, 95 Prescott Ave, Monterey, CA 93940 Free Join us at Cannery Row Brewing Co every Friday for live Reggae Music at Monterey’s only Reggae hotspot. Enjoy one of the over 73 beers on tap and dance the night away!

Rio Grill’s Resolution Run, Fri., Jan.1, 9 a.m.

Rio Grill, 101 Crossroads Blvd., Carmel Live up to your New Year’s resolutions with a run to kick off the beginning of 2016! This 6.5 mile foot race and 3-mile

family fun run are set on a breathtaking cross-country course. The race begins at Rio Grill in Carmel, Calif.

PacRep presents Solid Gold Tribute Concert, Jan. 1-10, Fri.-Sat., 7:30 p.m.

Sun. 2 p.m., Golden Bough Playhouse Monte Verde between 8th and 9th Carmel by the Sea, Admission: $8 - $42 Golden Bough Theatre PacRep’s annual New Year’s Eve party and exclusive limited run of the best rock and roll classics on the Central Coast. From Little Richard and Elvis to Bob Dylan, Sonny & Cher and beyond! Audiences are encouraged to dance in the aisles as the Golden Bough is shaken, rattled and rolled by Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Cooke, Dusty Springfield and many others live onstage. And on New Years Eve, join us for champagne, desserts and dancing on the Golden Bough Stage.

2016 Big Sur Foragers Festival, Jan. 15-17, Noon-9 p.m., 46896 Highway One, Big Sur, Calif.

93920 Held in Big Sur along California’s central coast, the festival is a weekend-long celebration featuring an amazing array of wild foods, world-class wine and beer, entertainment, expert-led foraging hikes and a friendly chef competition with celebrity judges. The event has traditionally served as a fundraiser for the Big Sur Health Center. The community’s non-profit health center will receive the proceeds from the foraging events to continue to support the presence of local health care services in the Big Sur area.

Mountain Areas New Year’s Day at Yosemite National Park, Fri., Jan. 1 New Year’s Day is a time to celebrate and this year, have one awesome New Year’s holiday by taking a trip to Yosemite National Park

FEBRUARY Central Valley

Central Coast

Mountain Areas

Serendipity! Antique Show, Fri., Feb. 26-28, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Fresno Fairgrounds-Industry-Commerce Building, 1121 Chance Ave. Fresno The show will be filled with wonderful antiques and friendly dealers. You will enter the fairgrounds off Kings Canyon just East of Chance Ave. and park for free in our dedicated log right next to our new building. The customers and dealers have loved this show for 38 years, we are all looking forward to returning to Fresno. www.serendipityshow.com

Planting and Habitat Restoration at Marina Dunes Preserve!

Sat., Feb. 6, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Watershed Institute, Seaside Location: Marina Dunes Preserve Admission: Free Contact: Lauren Krohmer Since 2001, Return of the Natives has worked with community volunteers and the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District to restore and revitalize the Marina Dunes Preserve. This is a beautiful restoration site and important wildlife habitat overlooking the ocean.

Volunteers are needed to help plant native plants and remove invasive species, such as ice plant.

This is a great family activity that is free.

Tools, water and great snacks provided.

Directions: Located on Dunes Drive just off Reservation Road (Exit 410 on Hwy 1), near Marina State Beach and Kula’s Steakhouse. Look for RON Community Event Signs. *Volunteer groups of 10 or more please RSVP. *If under the age of 18 please have your parent or guardian sign a waiver prior to the event. *Weather Policy: The event will be postponed only if it is raining hard on the day of the event.

Event postponement will be posted on our website https://csumb.edu/ron, our Facebook page, and a voicemail recording on the (831) 582-3686 line by 8:30 a.m. on the day of the event.

Information: https://csumb.edu/ron Email: lkrohmer@csumb.edu, or call (831)-582-3686

Wine & Chocolate Weekend Madera Wine Trail Sat., Feb.13 Madera, Oakhurst and O’Neals Information: (800) 613-0709

World Ag Expo, Feb. 9-11, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

International Agri-Center, 4500 South Laspina Street, Tulare World Ag Expo is the world’s largest annual agricultural exposition. More than 1,500 exhibitors display the latest in farm equipment, communications and technology on 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space. Free seminars focus on a variety of topics important to dairy producers, farmers, ranchers and agribusiness professionals. World Ag Expo is a can’t miss show for anyone in agriculture. $15 at the gate Children 12 and under, free Hours: Feb.9, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Feb. 10, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Feb. 11, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

If you want to be an exhibitor, or if you wish to know more details, please contact: Phone: (800) 999-9186 or (559) 688-1030 Email: info@farmshow.org More Information www.worldagexpo.com/2013-world-

Valentine’s Day in Yosemite National Park, Sun., Feb. 14 This Valentine’s Day, do something high adventure with your sweetheart by taking a trip to Yosemite National Park in California. Tour the park and see great sights like Mariposa Grove, the Tunnel View and John Muir Vernal Falls.

Along with sightseeing, you can hike throughout the park. Biking is another way you could pass the time and after you’ve worked up an appetite, you can head to any of the restaurants in the area for a memorable meal. Book your trip to Yosemite National Park now! With the many memories you’ll be left with, you’ll be glad that you did.

Santa Cruz Clam Chowder Cook-Off Sat., Feb. 20 Costumed chefs compete for the title of best clam chowder during this popular fundraiser for City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation http://beachboardwalk. com/events/reation.

Central California Life

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Central California

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1312 W Herndon Ave, Suite 102 Fresno, CA 93711

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