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Harpain’s Dairy Farm Contribution to “The Clovis Way of Life”

ADAM RICARDO SOLIS

@Adamsoliss

Clovis high school graduate and World War II veteran Walt Harpain’s contributions to the Clovis community are still remembered after passing away.

Harpain, known for his family’s “Harpain’s Dairy Farm”, where they served their community “quality dairy products” according to an article from the Clovis Big Dry Creek Historical Society in 2009 where they recognized the dairy for its “significant nutritional impact.”

“Historically we also acknowledge the cultural impact of, 1939-1977, of Harpain’s Dairy that provided quality milk, excellent customer service and a free family zoo that delighted families and school children,” the article read.

Opened in 1939, the dairy was originally ran by Walt’s father, Rudolph, where they started off with eleven dairy heifers that were described as producing the “richest milk” according to the Clovis Big Dry Creek Historical Society article.

Raised by a father who supported the United States entering World War II, Walt enlisted and served in the 69th Infantry division in the European theater after graduating from Clovis high school in 1943 according to an article from the Clovis Big Dry Creek Historical Society museum detailing Japan’s military and community service.

The article detailed that the dairy became so popular among the community that the “private road to the dairy, east side of Cedar avenue bounded by Dakota avenue, was so well traveled that the City of Fresno displayed it on their city map.”

During his time enlisted, Walt was “near his jeep in jeep during a battle near Giescheid, Germany,” when shrapnel from a tank shell exploding near by entered his back and neck and while he survived remainders of shrapnel remained lodged in his neck for the remainder of his life.

Walt was described as “dedicated” to producing milk as “near to perfection” as possible and while serving his communi-

Photo courtesy of Clovis Museum Walt Harpain, 1925-2008.

Photo courtesy of Fresno103/lostfresno.com

Harpain’s Dairy was located on Cedar Avenues between Dakota and Ashlan Avenues in Fresno, Ca.

ty by providing dairy products, the dairy would also enter their milk into competitions.

According to the article from the Clovis Big Dry Creek Historical Society, the diary won 55 gold medals at the California State Fair and the Pomona Fair.

“The medals reflected the purity of the milk with low bacteria count and no feed flavor present,” the article read.

In a Fresno Bee article titled “Memories of manure, milk at Harpain’s”, Cathay Crosby reflected on her memories at Harpain’s Dairy Farm.

“At Harpain’s, nice young men in white pants and red-and-white-checked shirts would fill your orders and place the glass bottles in our sturdy wire carrier. Sometimes we were especially lucky and parked in what we called ‘the little place,’ a carport off the side door, and they would carry the milk right out to our car,” Crosby said.

Walt served the Clovis community in a variety of ways outside his dairy, which included serving on a variety of dairy boards, the Dairy Herd Improvement Association, the California Association of Dairymen, and the California Milk Advisory Board.

Walt was also awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his “meritorious” service, according to the Clovis Big Dry Creek Historical Society.

44% PROGRAM

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Sergeant Brian Pennings, the Public Information Officer for CHP said the name of their pilot program came about from information gathered from studies of traffic fatalities that showed that nearly 44% of traffic fatalities involved drivers that tested positive for drugs.

Pennings said CHP hopes to use the debut at Clovis West as an “example” to help this program spread across California as a supplement for the existing “Every 15 Minutes” drunk driving prevention program.

The main difference between the two programs, Pennings said, was that in the “44% Program” the scope of what students are taught is not limited to just driving while drunk, such as how the “Every 15 Minutes” program does. Instead the “44% Program” expands their scope to incorporate driving while under the influence of drugs.

There are logistical difficulties in scheduling the “Every 15 Minutes” program to visit schools, that involves coordination in acquiring an ambulance, a wrecked car, and planning the student retreat in secret over a larger amount of time. Because of this, Pennings hopes to gain final approval to move forward with his goal of making the “44% Program” a grant that would be accessible to “every high school in the state.”

Students were also surprised by guest speakers who have been impacted by the choices of people who choose to drive under the influence. One speaker was Clovis West High School Principal Eric Swain.

In his story, Swain shared how his mother passed away. When a motorcyclist, named Craig, was driving under the influence crashed into her right before Swain’s freshman year of college started.

While Swain spoke, many staff and students who may have been talking during the informational portion of the presentation, stopped and displayed expressions of sorrow and surprise.

Swain said after his mother passed he remembered the anger he felt, while driving to college because he would have to drive his mother’s car that had still had the dent in the door from the crash.

Swain said he still remembers how difficult that time in his life was and said how it breaks his heart to this day when his sister asks what their mother sounded like because of how young Swain’s sister was when his mother passed away.

“You have to make the right choice. If you drink, if you smoke, if you partake in something real you have got to make the right choice because you don’t want to put yourself in a position,” Swain said. “It could have been prevented if Craig would’ve made the right choice.”

“We got prom, you got graduation,” Swain said while on stage, “you got your life in front of you. Call someone, your good friend, don’t let someone else [who is under the influence] get behind the wheel, it’s a choice.”

Within the presentation was a video that played for the juniors and seniors who were watching from their seats in the bleachers that showed the 14 students who were selected to go through an exercise that simulated the effects of driving under the influence.

Through the use of a “drug suit” donated by Ford that simulates the effects of driving under the influences through the use of weights and braces on the legs to restrict movement in the legs and to create a “lethargic feeling” according to Pennings along with vision impairment goggles that affected the drivers sight and earmuffs to simulate impared hearing, students drove in a sectioned off area and experienced a sobriety test from CHP officers.

The students involved shared their experiences on stage in a video for other students to see and asked their peers to stand up if they agreed to take a pledge to not drive under the influence and to the surprise of Pennings, all of the students in attendance stood up to take the pledge.

“I could not have hoped for a better program. Everything went very, very well and what we’re hoping to do is create an irreversible memory hook so that these students could understand the importance of impaired driving and that drugged driving is the same thing and sometimes worse than drunk driving,” Pennings said.

As prom and graduation season get closer Pennings said that while it is an exciting time of the year it could also be a “tragic and dangerous” time and hopes that the Clovis community makes smart decisions.