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Eye editor Jennifer Self • Phone: 395-7434 • email jself@bakersfield.com
EYE ST.
SUNDAY DECEMBER 9, 2012 • THE BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN
Herb Benham CALIFORNIAN COLUMNIST
Love in the time of tuberculosis A
few days ago, a sweet woman called and reminded me why I like Bakersfield. She has loved one man, lived in one house and her life is full of stories. Her name is Ethelene Wyatt Graham, “Polly” to some people because she helped them with her first name by referring to polyethylene, and they found “Polly” easier than “Ethelene.” Ethelene had a question about the late doctor Hans Einstein and a story about Buddy, the boy who did not get away. “Do you think anyone is going to write a book on Hans Einstein?” Ethelene asked. “In 1954, I had TB and spent six months at the Stony Brook Retreat in Keene. He was my doctor.” Einstein died in August, and the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Keene was dedicated in October. Before the property in Keene was a national monument, and the UFW headquarters, it had been the Keene Hospital and the Stony Brook Retreat, Kern County’s tuberculosis facility. The 31-year-old Einstein, who had recently moved to Bakersfield from New York, was the assistant medical director of the sanitorium. Sixteen-year-old Ethelene Wyatt was one of his patients. “I was a sickly child,” Ethelene said. “My father Please see BENHAM / D11 HENRY A. BARRIOS / THE CALIFORNIAN
These are Herb Benham’s opinions, and not necessarily The Californian’s. His column appears Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. Call him at 395-7279 or write hbenham@bakersfield .com.
Custom knife maker Larry Lehman displays a knife from his personal collection that is crafted of Arizona desert ironwood. The 3-inch blade is made of high-carbon, high-chrome stainless steel. All the knives he makes are one of a kind.
Kern County flair: Our 2012 gift list Home for the holidays is a wistful Christmas wish, but shoppers also can apply the sentiment to their gift lists. The staff at Eye Street has come up with dozens of very cool products and services — some fairly new, some perennial favorites — that should impress even your pickiest loved one. And all recommendations on our list — from hand-crafted items, to books, to music, to spa treatments — have some tie to our unique spot here in the great Central Valley. While our gift guide by no means encompasses all the wonderful goods available in Kern County (what list could?), these are things that stood out to us in 2012.
Hand-crafted Knives Some Christmas gifts last a season, while others can last a lifetime. Bakersfield custom knife maker Larry Lehman of Lehman Custom Knives handcrafts products so unique they definitely belong in the latter category. Lehman, 62, has been operating full time from his home workshop for five years after retiring from the real estate INSIDE appraisal business, More recompersonally handcraftmendations ing and detailing on music, knives for daily use or books, art, for admiring inside a outdoor fun favorite display case. and pamperSeated proudly in ing, D6, 7, 8 front of his latest collection of knives of varying shapes and sizes, Lehman offered up a verse from the John Keats poem “Endymion” to describe his works. “‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever,’” he said, holding up one of his latest prized pieces: a small stainless steel blade with heavy hollow grind. The handle is crafted out of water buffalo horn with streaked scales, nickel silver pins and red liners. “These are also meant to be used.” Customers can visit Lehman’s website — lehmancustomknives.com — to become acquainted with his independent knife-making history, crafting techniques, and to view photos with description and stock availability. (At the present time, Lehman has 14 completed knives available for purchase.) “Some knife companies have model lines, which mean there are more than just one. What makes these ‘custom’ is that no two blades are alike, and all are one of a kind. I only sell what’s ready.” Lehman said it can take up to 40 hours to craft all necessary raw materials into each final product. From a small cutting knife to a larger blade meant for hunting and outdoor life, each is made with only the highest quality U.S. and Japanese steels and woods and animal horn handle materials purchased under strict guidelines to ensure Please see GIFTS / D6
Dining Out
Doing it right means doing more of it BY PETE TITTL Contributing columnist
I
t’s always good for a city’s restaurant scene when local entrepreneurs find a concept with promise and tweak it until it’s successful. Two popular casual operations, Juicy Burger and Lengthwise, just opened their second and third stores respectively, and both look like a Something to dish? continuation or even Do you have a tip, an enhancement of question or recomthe things that helped them succeed mendation on Bakersfield restaurants, in the first place. trends or food news in Juicy Burger general? Email thedish opened in the old @bakersfield.com and Dewar’s location at your input might wind the corner of Hageup in a future column. man and Calloway, in a shopping center that’s already busy with successful food operations such as Cubbie’s and RJ’s. Like its downtown version, it has a Dreyer’s ice cream counter, though here it seems more natural, located near the door rather than on the other side of a wall. The atmosphere is ’50s diner, though the free jukebox in the corner was not yet operational when we visited in midPlease see TITTL / D9
CASEY CHRISTIE / THE CALIFORNIAN
Pepper Delight owners John and Terri Sprotti pose with their pepper jellies.
Edible delights Sweet treats If you feel like you’re in a gift-giving jam, a couple of local businesses are ready to help you out with a selection of jams, jellies and more. Pepper Delight has been in operation for about a year, but its roots are a decade old. Before Terri Sprotti moved to Bakersfield with husband, John, and son, Christian, she started making jam from the fruit of the plum tree in the backyard of their Bay Area home. Turning out a bounty of jam, she struck gold when she decided to spice it up. “We had so much, and I got sick of it. To mask the flavor of the plain plum jam, I tried habanero plum. “We use only habanero because of the flavor and the taste and the way the pepper reacts with the jam. It allows you to enjoy the jam, then you get the warmth of the
Coming in Eye What’s a gift that can be redeemed all year? Season passes to the many cultural and sporting events in town. Check out our guide Thursday.
pepper.” The company currently offers eight flavors: roasted red pepper, raspberry, harvest peach, strawberry balsamic, cranberry and pomegranate, which are seasonal; and pineapple pepper and peach mango (both in regular and extra hot). Uses for the jellies run the gamut, from a topping for ice cream or cheesecake to a glaze for meats (try John’s favorite, raspberry, on ribs). Sprotti includes recipes along with each jar and gift pack. Sprotti, who works part time as a cook for St. John’s Lutheran School, stays busy publicizing the product locally (Saturdays Please see FOOD / D6