Bakersfield Life Magazine December 2010

Made In Kern 11 companies to love

Holiday gift guide Your guide to get through this season

Colby Lewis

Exclusive interview with the local Texas pitcher TM

December 2010

www.bakersfieldlife.com

s e p i c e R y a d i l o H Readers share their favorites

T HE B E S T L O C AT I O N S

T HE B E S T VA L UE

T HE B E S T PA R K S

T HE B E S T P O O L S

VILLAGE GREEN

Homes from the low $200’s Stockdale Hwy. & Renfro Rd. 661-387-6427

UNIVERSITY PARK

LIBERTY

Homes from the high $100’s Ming Ave. & Gosford Rd. 661-663-3810

BRIGHTON PARKS

Homes from the low $200’s Stockdale Hwy. & Jewetta Ave. 661-829-1775

Homes from the mid $100’s Panama Ln. & Ashe Rd. 661-836-6623

THE VILLAS at Seven Oaks

Homes from the mid $400’s Ming Ave. & Grand Lakes Ave. 661-665-0683

Ca s t l e Co o k e H o m e s. c o m

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Life...

isn’t always predictable. … the climbing trip everyone said you would love … the day your youngest thought he could fly … the morning your mom woke up and just didn’t feel well Life has a way of catching us off guard. When the unpredictable happens, it’s comforting to know there are some things that are just always there. For the past 100 years, Mercy Hospitals of Bakersfield has provided compassionate healthcare for this community. People like your family, your neighbors, your friends, and you. , When life has you asking “What now?” the answer is simple:

D E C E M B E R

2 0 1 0

F E AT U R E S

Extraordinary Pizza and No Compromise

Photo by Jessica Frey

Visit Our New Location

“Tony’s Pizza really piles it on!”

-Pete Tittl

2 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU

4750 Coffee Road (661) 588-4700

Made In Kern County

40

SPECIAL SECTION

Kern County produces more than just the agriculture for which it's known — and we proved it. Read about the 11 local companies we profiled and who knows, these products may make the perfect gift for that hard-to-buy-for relative.

This issue is jam-packed with holiday cheer! Not only is there a gift guide, but within this special section are stories on how to deal with the holiday blues and stress and how to not over-indulge on those yummy treats.

54

Colby Lewis

82

4130 California Ave (661) 325-4717

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 10AM – 10PM

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

In an exclusive interview, one of Bakersfield's success stories and Texas baseball star dishes what it was like playing his biggest victory game in the World Series and what he has planned for the offseason.

2010 Gift Guide

Personality: Becca Green

This 17-year-old ballerina has her sights set on attending one of the "cream of the crop" dance programs in the country. Find out what steps this talented dancer has taken to get where she is today.

Photos of Emily by Ryan Jones

Photo by Thomas Milne

Most kids stay healthy, but all kids need a doctor. Sometimes a kid needs a hospital. And sometimes that doctor or hospital says they need something more. When that happens, Children’s is ready to help.

We’re a hospital with child-specific doctors and nurses, equipped with the tools and technology to treat kids who need advanced care. We are one of the biggest children’s hospitals in California, and we’re one of the ten-largest hospitals of our type in America. Our doctors and nurses have won some of the top honors in the nation, and we’re right here in the Valley, on the river bluffs just north of Fresno.

ChildrensCentralCal.org

facebook.com/childrenscentralcal

TM

CareForKids

California Children’s

D E C E M B E R

2 0 1 0

D E PA R T M E N T S

18 On the Road

Photo by Jessica Frey

12 It’s Named After 16 Happenings 18 On the Road 20 Our Town 22 History 24 Real People

26 Food Dudes 30 Food & Wine 36 On the Red Couch 58 Going Green 60 Home & Garden

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

62 It’s a Guy Thing 67 Tech Watch 68 Community 74 Entertainment 76 Pastimes 78 Why I Live Here 80 Health & Wellness 84 Trip Planner 90 Snap!

102 The Last Word

Photo by Felix Adamo

hols

ic reg N

by G Photo

Photo by Tanya X. Leonzo

TM

Bakersfield’s Premier City Magazine December 2010 / Vol. 5 / Issue 3 Bakersfield Life™ magazine is published

by The Bakersfield Californian.

The magazine is inserted into The Bakersfield Californian on the last Saturday of every month.

To subscribe, please call 392-5777.

Publisher Ginger Moorhouse President/CEO Richard Beene Senior Vice President Revenue and Marketing John Wells Advertising Director Bryan Fahsbender Editor Olivia Garcia Assistant Editor Stefani Dias Features Associate Hillary Haenes Art Direction Glenn Hammett Photography Felix Adamo Dior Azcuy Henry A. Barrios Alex Horvath Nancy Chaffin Casey Christie Kris Delano Jessica Frey Max Faulkner John Harte Greg Nichols Tanya X. Leonzo Michael Lopez Dan Ocampo Jan St. Pierre Carla Rivas Karissa Scatone Jose Treviño Contributing writers Gene Garaygordobil Lisa Kimble Stephen Lynch Dana Martin Jeff Nickell Melissa Peaker-Whitten Luz Pena Gabriel Ramirez Caroline Reid Intern Allie Castro Advertising Lupe Carabajal lcarabajal@bakersfield.com 395-7563 Reader Inquiries Bakersfield Life Magazine P.O. Bin 440 Bakersfield, CA 93302-0440 BakersfieldLife@bakersfield.com 395-7492 On the cover The holidays bring out our special recipes.

Check out what our readers decided to share on page 30.

Photo illustration by Glenn Hammett

10

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

EDITOR’S NOTE

’Tis the season for traditions, family and giving The fall and winter holidays always bring out the best in us.

Whether you are looking forward to cooking, decorating, reuniting with oftenmissed relatives and friends, or volunteering for a charity project, the holidays make these moments all the more meaningful.

Now that we have celebrated Thanksgiving with plenty of good food, conversation and traditions, we can look to the next big day: Christmas.

In this issue of Bakersfield Life, we decided to give our readers a head start by sharing tips on how to make this holiday even more special.

Jeff Nickell explored the first Christmas parade for our community while Hillary Haenes visited with some locals who pour lots of love into decorating their homes for the season.

Don’t want to cook and prefer catering or maybe you’re looking for a designated driver for one of your many scheduled holiday parties? We have answers inside.

And what about ways to master the art of eating without overeating? Writer Gene Garaygordobil talked to some local experts who have great tips for us. (I know I’ll need it!)

With all the shopping, decorating our homes, preparing for guests, attending social events and writing to Santa, it’s no wonder that some of us will run into stress. But we've got you covered.

And let’s not forget about tips to finding the perfect tree for your home. Jere White of White Forest Nursery has some great advice for us.

What’s even more special is that some readers shared recipes with us that you may want to include at one of your holiday gatherings.

I’m not the family chef but I definitely want to try some of these recipes!

In a tribute to what makes our community truly special, Hillary Haenes profiled 11 “Made in Kern” products. You get to read the history behind these businesses and their dreams and plans. Plus, these places might be worth checking out as a

Photo by Tanya X. Leonzo

TM

source for a possible holiday gift.

And for the baseball lovers, writer Stephen Lynch caught up with the great Colby Lewis, who shared what it was like playing in the World Series.

The Bakersfield product and Texas Ranger star will be spending some time at home with his family. But I don’t want to give away all the details. Check it out for yourself.

For another tale of locally grown talent, read up on Becca Green, the local ballerina who is poised for collegiate success.

The Bakersfield High School senior, who has been dancing since she was 4, will be starring in upcoming local performances.

There’s plenty of other great photography and articles in this special holiday issue. Another favorite of mine is the technology review with The Bakersfield Californian Executive Editor and Vice President John Arthur, who joined the newspaper family not too long ago, and we are fortunate to have him on board.

Enjoy.

Olivia Garcia Editor 395-7487 ogarcia@bakersfield.com

© D. YURMAN 2010

UUPP FRONT FRONT

It’s Named After

By Lisa Kimble

TAFT, CA Celebrating its 100th anniversary, the westside community of Taft with a history as rich as the crude that pumps through its wells remains one of Kern’s most colorful whistle-stops, still living up to its own billing as "the best of places" after a century of oil gushers.

Oil was first discovered in the late 1800s several miles away in Maricopa, and numerous rich oil fields were tapped in the region, most notably Midway Field.

Named after the 27th president of the United States, William Howard Taft, the land whose hopes for prosperity and fears of peril have risen and fallen like a wooden oil derrick, did not immediately settle on the presidential namesake. There were a few early missteps.

Nestled in the foothills about 30 miles west-southwest of Bakersfield, along the southwestern hem of the San Joaquin Valley, Taft was first known as Siding Number Two on the Sunset Railroad. At the time, the businesses there were called Moro.

When the rails arrived, residents asked Southern Pacific Railroad if the tiny town sandwiched between the major oil fields of MidwaySunset and Buena Vista Hills, could be called Moron so as to avoid confusion with another Moro — Morro Bay. After fire destroyed much of the town in the 1920s, the town was renamed in honor of the president in office at the time of the town’s birth.

Cushioned in one of the country’s major oil and natural gas

production expanses, Taft’s Gardner Field was used to train pilots during World War II. Today the community is home to Taft College and the West Kern Oil Museum, and the every-five-years Oildorado celebration, which salutes the town’s oil history.

Even Hollywood has enjoyed a warm relationship with Taft through the years, using the community as the backdrop for such films as “Thelma & Louise” and “The Break-Up.” But whether the local legend that the town was actually named by someone who suggested Taft after seeing the president’s picture on a calendar at the post office during a meeting there, or that residents were simply uncomfortable with the references to intelligence, is true, it is indisputable that the black gold in them ‘thar hills has immortalized Taft for the ages.

The Pulse: What’s hot and what’s not this month in Bakersfield

WHAT’S HOT

WHAT’S NOT

Litter campaign

Hugging at middle school

The city is preparing to launch an anti-littering campaign, which, according to Dianne Hoover, city and parks recreation director, could include bus billboards, public service announcements and maybe even fines for those who use Bakersfield streets as their personal trash can.

'Tis the season

It’s the time of year to spread holiday cheer. There are lots of events happening this month you won’t want to miss! Many local charities are stepping up to help needy families.

Holiday sales

This is the busiest time of year for shopping and getting those great deals. Support small, area businesses and shop local! Check out the Made in Kern County story inside to read about 11 local companies. Who knows, maybe you’ll get an idea for a present.

12

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

No more PDA at Ollivier Middle School. Parent of teens and Ollivier Principal Sheila Johnson decided to crack down on hugging, kissing and other forms of affection by punishing students who break the policy.

Holiday burglaries

With a tough economy that has left many out of work, this is the season people are desperate. There have been reports throughout town of an increase in burglaries and break-ins. Be on your toes and if you notice anything suspicious, warn your neighbors and set your alarms.

Another “fee” Increase

Students attending Cal State University schools are in for yet another increase in tuition “fees” — a 5 percent mid-year increase and another 10 percent next school year.

Short Takes

BY THE NUMBERS: Christmas trees 22,000: average number of Christmas trees sold during one season

7 foot: average height of purchased tree

2 foot: shortest tree for sale

25 foot: tallest tree for sale

2,500: number of trees flocked each season

1,000: number of trees

sold the day after Thanksgiving

$29.95: average price of tree up to 8 feet (at Alpine

OVERHEARD

“

Pulling together and helping ourselves and each other — that’s what we’re really good at as a community. Let’s do what Kern County does best.

”

— Matt Constantine, Kern County public

health director on “Kern County Call to Action: Chronic Disease and Obesity Action Plan.”

Christmas Trees)

Source: Chris Maretich, owner of Alpine Christmas Trees in Bakersfield

Peace of Mind for Uncertain Times

CALL TODAY TO LOCK IN YOUR RATE UNTIL 2012 AND WE WILL PAY FOR YOUR MOVE!

Home maintenance, landscaping, utility bills, rising prices for food and fuel: Don’t let the burdens of uncertain times turn your life upside down. Make the move to Glenwood Gardens now and you will find peace of mind today, tomorrow and always.

At Glenwood Gardens, you can do everything you want while we take care of everything you need: maintenance, landscaping and cooking, local transportation and more. We’ll also provide opportunities to maximize your wellness and pursue an Optimum Life®. You will even have access to various levels of care, should such services ever be required. And it can all be yours now at Glenwood Gardens.

Call or visit us today to find peace of mind in these uncertain times.

Independent Living Personalized Assisted Living Alzheimer’s & Dementia Care Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Exceptional Experiences Every DaySM 350 Calloway Drive, Bakersfield, California 93312

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www.brookdaleliving.com www.BakersfieldLife.com

13

UP FRONT

Short Takes

Ornaments for a good cause With Christmas just around the corner, you’re probably already busy working on your shopping list. If you want something unique and Bakersfield-inspired, consider the Bakersfield Inn ornament from the Exchange Club of Bakersfield. Inspired by the success of a similar effort by a club in his hometown of Frostburg, Md., club member Rob Rephan suggested a locally themed ornament for a fundraising effort. The ornament, depicting the Bakersfield Inn with its landmark sign and packaged in a red velour storage box, sells for $19.95 plus tax and is available through club members as well as a variety of area locations. Buy it at Russo’s

Books, Tangerine Clothing, Dewar’s, Rambling Rose Interiors, Kern County Board of Trade, Pay It Forward Gifts, Beads Unique, Confidential Bookkeeping Service, Raymond’s Trophy & Awards or online at bakersfieldchristmasornament.com.

Active since 1939, the local exchange club is part of an all-volunteer, national service organization for men and women who want to serve their community and develop leadership skills. Proceeds from the sale of these ornaments will go to help support the club’s programs. For more information about the club, visit bakexchange.com.

Letters to the Editor Dear Editor,

Dear Editor,

You sure get to drive some cool cars!

Wasn't it last month you got the Caddy?

You must be a real "car" person! Loretta and I have been in Bakersfield since '96, and we have really enjoyed The Californian over the years. We think being independently owned gives the paper a lot of freedom. We like all your reporters and columnists, and we really enjoy Lois! She really does her homework and has great style! We're really tickled she is now a Diva! Great rundown on Joseph's. We will try it. We were also very happy to see Ethel's as a background for all the cool cars in "Head out on the highway" (by Dana Martin and Jessica Frey). Natalie Mears is the owner and a real special friend. It’s great to see her getting some "background" publicity! Keep up the great work!

— Mike and Loretta Schield

I would like to commend Jeff Nickell on his outstanding article on Bakersfield College wrestling (November 2010) and his great stories on Bakersfield/Kern County history are very enjoyable.

I wanted to clarify the following: Harry Kane, 1960-1963; Vic Lindskog, 19631964; and Bruce Pfutzenreuter, 1964-1985.

Best wishes.

— Mike Stricker Coyote Club Amateur Wrestling

P.S. I was in The Californian building for the first time not long ago. What a beautiful, historical and well-maintained place to work!

14

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Dear Editor, I enjoyed Jeff Nickell's article on Bakersfield College wrestling (November 2010), but I must correct an error in the article. There have been five head coaches at BC. In the 1963-1964, then-assistant BC football coach and former NFL star Vic Lindskog coached the 'Gades wrestling team to a seventh place finish at the state championships.

— Larry Errea (Editor’s note: Vic Lindskog was mistakenly omitted in the editing process. We apologize for the inconvenience.)

The Bakersfield Californian publishes Bakersfield Life Magazine monthly. If you have any questions or comments regarding our magazine, write to us at Bakersfield Life Magazine, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302, or e-mail us at bakersfieldlife@ bakersfield.com. We’d love to hear from you.

To submit material

Letters to the editor: We publish all letters that are signed and deemed appropriate for our readership. Letters must be signed to be considered for a publication. Please type or print your name, as well as an address and a daytime phone number. E-mail should include the writer’s full name and city. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity and space. Please submit letters to Olivia Garcia, Editor, Bakersfield Life Magazine, P.O. Bin 440, Bakersfield, CA 93302. For e-mail, send letters to the editor to bakersfieldlife@ bakersfield.com.

Calendar events: Please submit information in writing to Marisol Sorto, no later than the first of the month, two months prior to the month in which the event will take place. Contact her at bakersfieldlife@bakersfield.com.

Snapshots: Please submit event information for coverage consideration to Olivia Garcia and Glenn Hammett at least one month prior to the event.

Send event name, date, location, time, name of contact person and phone number to bakersfieldlife@bakersfield.com.

To advertise

Please call Lupe Carabajal, retail advertising sales manager, at 395-7563 or lcarabajal@bakersfield. com or bakersfieldlife@bakersfield.com.

Christmas around the world Travel the world at Christmastime but stay in Bakersfield by visiting “Christmas Around the World,” a magical holiday event on the second floor of Timeless Furnishings. The historic Brocks Building is transformed into an elegant tour of Christmas traditions and customs that are observed in 30 countries.

Upon entering Germany, one is captivated with more than 700 nutcrackers from the collection of Bob Lewis, gingerbread houses and a German Christmas parade contributed by Peggy Darling.

Travel through Mexico and learn about the traditional Posada, piñatas and poinsettias. Befana, the Italian Santa, flies over Italy. Wooden shoes are under the tree in Holland filled with carrots and hay for St. Nicholas’ horse. Spiders and spider webs are among the decorations on the Russian tree. The tour continues through

many other countries of Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia. Several local individuals who have traveled the world share their museum quality artifacts.

Lee Clark shares his Mexican folk art and Elizabeth Waite displays her antique Bible collection.

“Christmas Around the World” takes you on an inspirational journey surrounded by lavishly decorated Christmas trees, dazzling displays and artwork that captures the spirit of Christmas. This holiday event is California’s largest Nativity display with more than 2,000 Nativity scenes and ornaments from around the world.

Highlight your holiday season by attending and experiencing the magic! The event runs until Dec. 30, and it benefits the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County.

The hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 1918 Chester Ave. It’s closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Tickets are $5, children; $7, seniors; $8, adults; $20 for a family of four; children 8 and under are free. For more info and a short video tour, visit christmasworldevent.com.

— Sherrie Lewis, designer of Christmas Around the World

So You Want To ...

Buy the right Christmas gift Look for things they wouldn’t buy for themselves

Some of the best kinds of gifts are things that the person would never just buy on a trip to the mall but would still love to have.

This can be anything from indulging in a pricier perfume, to that gadget he’d love to play with but would feel guilty buying, to a Starbuck’s gift card for the closet Starbucks lover who won’t allow themselves to pay $4 for a coffee.

Ask them

Though this may not be the best option if you’re going for the element of surprise, try asking if there’s anything they may want.

That way, you know you’re giving them a gift they truly like without the agony of reading facial expressions as they open your gift.

— Allie Castro, Bakersfield Life intern

Go for the gift card

Although gift cards may seem impersonal, they certainly don’t have to be. For example: Buy a gift card to a bakery you know is his or her favorite or a pair of tickets to a movie theater. These gifts show you are aiming to make them happy and not just to get off the present-giving hook.

Give something you can do together

It’s the gift that keeps on giving. There’s the initial thrill of opening a gift, plus the excited anticipation of getting to go to that concert/play/sporting event with you. www.BakersfieldLife.com

15

HAPPENINGS

WEEK 3

WEEK 2

WEEK 1

Can’t-miss events in December Wed. 1

Thur. 2

Fri. 3

Fri. 3

“Holiday Mail for Heroes,” holiday cards are sent to service members, their families and veterans. Cards must be received no later than Dec. 10. 324-6427 for address and mailing instructions.

28th annual Bakersfield Christmas Parade, “A Magical Christmas,” parade will begin at 6 p.m., at 22nd and L streets.

325-5892.

“The Holly Follies,” 8 p.m. Dec. 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23; 2 p.m. Dec. 5, 12, 19, Intimate Theatre & Music Hall, 2030 19th St. $10 to $25.

323-1976.

Chez Noel 2010, presented by the Assistance League of Bakersfield; three homes will be open for self-guided tours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Friday and Saturday. $35, includes map to homes. 861-9223.

Sun. 5

Sun. 5

Sun. 5

Tues. 7

Thur. 9

Sat. 11

Annual Public Menorah Lighting and Celebration, with raffle drawing, Hanukkah doughnuts, live music, dreidel, 6 p.m., The Marketplace.

Free. chabadof bakersfield.com or 835-8381.

CSUB Concert Band, presents a Christmas Concert with all the “fixin’s,” 3 p.m., CSUB, Dore Theatre. $10; $6 seniors; CSUB students with ID are free.

654-2293

Mariachi Holiday Concert to support the youth mariachi program of the Delano Elementary School District, 1 p.m., Robert F. Kennedy High School in Delano.

Pre-sale tickets $25; $15 for students. 2298180.

Rosie Flores Rockin’ in Christmasville, 8 p.m., Fishlips Bar & Grill. $10 plus fee. vallitix.com or 322-5200.

HolidayLights @ CALM, 5:30 to 9 p.m. daily through Dec. 30, CALM. $6 to $12. vallitix.com or 322-5200, 872-2256.

Bonfire, a tribute to AC/DC, 9 p.m., Fishlips Bar & Grill. $15 plus fee. vallitix.com or 322-5200.

Wed. 15

Thur. 16

Ho Ho Hoey Rockin’ Christmas Show, featuring Gary Hoey with Lukas Nelson, doors open at 7 p.m., show begins at 8 p.m., Bakersfield Fox Theater. $20 plus fee. vallitix.com or 3225200.

Moscow’s “Great Russian Nutcracker” Ballet, doors open at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m., Bakersfield Fox Theater. $27.50 to $67.50 plus fee. vallitix.com or 322-5200.

Wed. 23 Fri. 25 WEEK 4

Find more community events at BakersfieldLife.com or submit yours via email: bakersfieldlife@bakersfield.com

Neighborhood Merry Christmas!

Christmas lights.

Drive around town to admire Christmas lights in Haggin Oaks, Westchester and Rosedale neighborhoods.

WEEK 5

Fri. 31 New Year’s Eve Bring in the new year at your favorite local hotspot like the Padre or the Crystal Palace.

16

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Thur. 16

Winter Playground, ice skating, train rides, arts and crafts, snow play area, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, 5:30 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Bakersfield Ice Sports Center, 1325 Q St. $10.

852-7400.

2011 Edge

27

MPG/HWY

Revolutionary new technologies.

Smart new engines.

Striking new look.

Behind the fresh face, a new 3.5L Ti-VCT V6 engine delivers 285 horsepower – the best standard horsepower in the class.1 It also gives you 27 mpg

hwy2 – maximum V6 mileage no one else can beat.

Available all-new, industry-ďŹ rst MyFord Touch driver connect technology fully integrates your digital world with your vehicle. And the available new BLIS (Blind Spot Information System) and class-exclusive adaptive cruise control help you maneuver smarter. A crossover that does all this – with inspiring handling and sportier looks than ever? Must be the new Ford Edge.

AUTOMALL 5300 Gasoline Alley 837-6400

DOWNTOWN 2001 Oak Street 328-3600

0QFO FWFSZEBZ XFFLOJHIUT AUJM QN t #VJMEJOH MBTUJOH SFMBUJPOTIJQT UISPVHI HSFBU DVTUPNFS TFSWJDF TJODF t XXX CVSLFBVUP DPN $MBTT JT .JETJ[F $SPTTPWFST WT DPNQFUJUPST 5IF 'PSE &EHF XJUI UIF - FOHJOF IBT VOTVSQBTTFE NBYJNVN 7 IJHIXBZ GVFM FDPOPNZ 2 &1" FTUJNBUFE IXZ NQH 4FMFDU4IJGU NPEFMT '8% $MBTT JT .JETJ[F $SPTTPWFST WT DPNQFUJUPST

1

ON THE ROAD

Olivia Garcia and sons Diego and Mateo arrive at Bakersfield Christian High School ready for football fun. A crossover that has it all, the 2011 Ford Edge features a new 3.5L Ti-VCT V6 engine that delivers 285 horsepower.

Safety in sensors

Plenty of perks with the Ford Edge crossover

18

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

O

By Olivia Garcia

ne of the perks of being married to a cop is that you always feel safe.

Who wouldn’t feel that way with a guy who knows defensive tactics galore?

Plenty of women like to feel protected. It’s all about the safety.

That was one of the leading factors I used to convince my hubby that it was time for us to buy a SUV a couple of years ago. It’s big, strong — basically, a car on legal steroids (if those exist).

I never thought I’d feel that way with anything smaller than a SUV. Then I was recently introduced to the 2011 Ford Edge.

I’ve always been curious about crossovers. They are right in the middle as far as size. Of course, for me, I’m still one kid short as far as fitting everyone in, but that’s another story.

The Ford Edge may not have bulked up in size like its SUV big brother, but it did have other “smart” ways to make an on-the-go mommy feel safe. And it came in the form of small sensors.

Some of the newer cars come with built-in LCD touch screens that give you

Photos by Tanya X. Leonzo

a glimpse of what you are backing out to once you are in reverse.

What I liked about the Ford Edge is that the side-view mirrors had built-in sensors to cover those pesky blind spots.

Now I am pretty good driver (my husband will argue otherwise), but there have been a few times when I was about to turn into another lane, and I had to do a double-take because I didn’t see the car in my blind spot. Again, just a few times.

These sensors will blink automatically if there are motorists in your blind spot before you even make your move.

Now that’s nice.

Another thing about reverse, there’s a sound sensor that will alert you if you are going to hit something as you back out.

(This could have come in handy when I accidentally backed out into an '80s-era Camaro outside a shopping center parking lot about eight years ago. It was a minor ding, but my insurance provider was not happy.)

As I backed out of my driveway the other day, the Edge sound sensor went off. I braked and looked back, and there it was: the Garcias' huge trash bin that I was seconds from knocking over. (My oldest

The eight-inch LCD touch screen comes with the all-new Ford MyTouch driver connect technology.

It's all in the details: What are the five best features of Ford Edge?

On the practical side, every Ford Edge gets a 60/40 split reclining rear seat that folds flat. This can come in handy for traveling items or gear.

Only five? Let's see... the all-new Ford My Touch system, easy-to-use navigation, Microsoft SYNC, Blind Spot Information System (BLIS), and Cross Traffic Alert (CTA) .

What is the city and highway mileage?

What is the price tag?

19, city; 26, highway. The starting price is $27,995.

Finish this sentence: The Edge is perfect for … everything from everyday routines to sophisticated forgot to tell me he had placed the trash bin right behind the Edge. “Oh yeah, it’s trash pickup day, Mom,” he later tells me.). I’ll admit, I have accidentally tipped the bin over a few times before in the SUV. Not a pretty sight.

There’s also a blinking sensor near the windshield wipers that will alert you of a car that isn’t moving while you are. I learned this while driving downtown behind a motorist who had just nearly passed a gas station then suddenly decided it needed gas and abruptly stopped to turn into the ampm. I was pulling up behind that vehicle, but luckily, the sensor gave me enough time to adjust and slow down. (You know those moments, when the “road rage” alter ego wants to jump out of you? Or maybe it’s just me. The good thing: I didn’t experience that transformation, thanks to the sensor).

I did have fun transporting my oldest sons, along with their teammates and gear, to and from football games at Liberty Park and Bakersfield Christian High School. We play through the wonderful North of the River football league, and my husband is on the coaching staff for our teams. The kids dug the panorama Vista Roof, which slides open to nearly 40 percent of the top. For parents with active kids or couples with outdoor-loving pets, the Edge works great.

For me, I loved that the Edge cared about my iPhone as much as I did (it showed my phone’s battery life on the screen). And my thanks to Jim Burke Ford salesman Pete DeJesus who showed me how to set up my iPhone for Bluetooth and use the voice commands to operate the radio and satellite and make calls. I also appreciated that the Edge alerted me on exactly how many miles I had left before I needed to get gas. OK, so, I tend to put off gas pumping at times. At least, someone was on me about it. Wait, two, if you count Mr. Deputy Sheriff.

nights on the town to towing your ski boat for some weekend fun at Buena Vista Lake!

What makes the Edge stand out from its older version?

The 2011 Edge received updated styling cues, My Touch, BLIS, CTA, and an all-new engine for the sport model, as well as being available in a handful of beautiful new colors.

Who’s the target consumer for this car?

I think the 2011 Edge has something to offer everyone, from college students to my grandma. It can handle hauling the kids around. It was named Pet Safe Vehicle of the Year by Bark Buckle Up, so it's great for people with pets, long road trips, sporting trips, or towing your boat or small trailer. The list can go on forever!

Three words that define the 2011 Edge?

Captivating. Elegant. Stylish.

What do you like the most about the Edge?

I love the versatility and the fact that you don't have to compromise style for safety. It comes with six standard airbags, traction control, adaptive cruise control, the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system, and roll stability control! It makes safety look good!

Source: Nicole Martinez, Sales, Jim Burke Ford

www.BakersfieldLife.com

19

OUR TOWN

Santa Claus, cookies and crafts, oh my!

Museum prepares for annual Cookies at the Clock Tower

By Gene Garaygordobil

20

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Kids have their choice of up to 15 crafts at the event.

Photo by Dan Ocampo

Kern County Pirate Guild, whose members dress in costume; a magician; and, of course, main guest Santa Claus.

There will be hot cocoa and cookies, provided by Subway Restaurants.

Woodman has helped out with the event since joining the Kern County Museum staff about three and a half years

Photo courtesy of the Kern County Museum

C

ookies, crafts and Santa Claus are a combination guaranteed to put a smile on any child's face.

Throw in the reasonable $5 admission price, and parents will share the joy at the annual Cookies at the Clock Tower event Dec. 12 at the Lori Brock Children’s Discovery Center.

The Kern County Museum has been putting on the event for the past 10 years or so, said Sarah Woodman, the museum’s public program manager and acting education and volunteer services manager.

“It used to be a night of having cookies under the clock tower,” Woodman said. “Now we’ve moved it over to the Discovery Center and added crafts and activities.”

Hundreds of children and their parents attend the cookie event every year, she said.

“It morphed into a daytime event with lots of families,” Woodman said. “They come out because it is a low-key and fun event during the holiday season.”

The event is geared toward children 3 to 12 and usually features between 12 and 15 crafts, along with performances by the

Holiday Lamplight Tours Saturday, Dec. 4 Hours: 3 to 8 p.m.

Admission: nonmembers: $10, adults; $5, children. Members: $5, adults; $3, children.

Cookies at the Clock Tower

Members of the Kern County Pirate Guild make things fun for the kids.

Photo courtesy of the Kern County Museum

Sunday, Dec. 12 Hours: 11 a.m to 2 p.m.

Admission: $5, adults and children 3 to 12; free for children under 3 and museum members.

ago. She moved into her current postition three months ago.

So what’s the most popular part of the event?

“The pirates are quite popular, and Santa is always popular," Woodman said. "He’s pretty much the big draw for any Christmastime event.

“The crafts are too, because the kids get to make quite a few things to take home to their parents and hang on the tree,” she said.

“So it depends on the kid, but there is a lot to choose from.”

And don’t forget the cookies, Woodman added, which are always a hit.

She points out that the $5 admission will also get you into the Kern County Museum’s other attractions, such as Pioneer Village.

“Come out and have some cookies with Santa, do some activities, and then go explore the village,” Woodman added.

Kern County Museum director Jeff Nickell said there are quite a few holiday events going on at the museum this season.

Clock Tower Holidays is one of Kern County's holiday musts. It includes the Wrapped Up in Giving tree exhibit, which features 10, 12-foot-tall trees sure to get everyone in the spirit of the season. The exhibit is open to the public until Dec. 29. (The museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.)

“Last year, Renee Goodwin, a museum foundation board member, came to me with the idea of re-tooling our tree exhibit that is hosted in our main gallery — the original Chamber of Commerce built in 1928,” Nickell said. “Her idea was to have high school students design and decorate the 12-foot trees with objects they will give to a local nonprofit after the holiday season.”

In addition, the Interact students will research the nonprofit of their choice thus gaining a greater understanding of our community, he said.

Holiday Lamplight Tours, which has been taking place for more than 20 years, also underwent a change. This year, the museum has formed a new partnership with the Kern Adult Literacy Council to help decorate some of its historic structures.

During Clock Tower Holidays, the historic homes are beautifully decorated in seasonal splendor. On the special night of Holiday Lamplight Tours, visitors take a ride on a horse-drawn wagon and see the soft glow of lanterns throughout the village. More than 150 costumed villagers welcome visitors to the homes and businesses, taking folks back to a simpler era when family and friends gathered together to celebrate this special time of year. In the Bandstand Green, local entertainers provide a magnificent array of holiday music. There will also be organ music in St. John’s Episcopal Mission, a hand-bell choir at the Woody General Store, and piano music in the Howell House. Visitors each get a delicious Subway cookie on the way out of the Howell House.

Along with the festivities, the museum's outstanding collection of horse-drawn and early auto vehicles will also be on display.

www.BakersfieldLife.com

21

HISTORY

Bakersfield’s Christmas Parade Holiday tradition has gone through changes over the decades

By Jeff Nickell, Kern County Museum director

22

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Photo courtesy of Kern County Museum

B

akersfield, and Kern County for that matter, has a long, rich tradition when it comes to parades.

There have been cotton parades, Fourth of July parades, the Frontier Day parades, and of course, the ones we still have today like the Veterans Day parade.

But, one parade has captured the imaginations of young and old for years — the Bakersfield Christmas Parade.

Those of you who go to this year’s parade, make sure to take a look around. Look at the floats, Santa Claus, the wonderful bands and especially the shining faces of all the youngsters filled with the imagination of the holidays.

I don’t think there are many things better than a smiling child. After consulting with some of my historian friends, I was not able to find out when the first Christmas parade was held. However, I can tell you photographs in the museum’s collection show other celebratory parades back to the late 1800s.

The earliest parades that we know the most about are those from the 1940s and 1950s. That’s because of the museum’s photo collection and the research done by Gilbert Gia, who found several articles related to Christmas parades of those decades.

The Bakersfield Californian on Dec. 2, 1948, indicated that “In welcoming Santa Claus to town, Bakersfield's parade makers last night set two records — they staged the biggest, most colorful Christmas parade in

Chester Avenue from the Beale clock tower at Truxtun Avenue in 1947.

local history and jammed downtown streets with the greatest crowd ever to witness a parade of any kind in this city.”

The article further stated, “It was a noisy, gay, happy crowd. Youngsters were everywhere, on cars and underfoot. Before the parade came — they pranced, leaped, laughed and shouted. After all, it was their parade and they made the most of it.”

The story revealed the highlights: the DeMolay float, which was the gold cup winner for its originality, the Bakersfield High School “High-Stepping” Majorettes; and 90-person strong Driller Marching

Band.

DeMolay is an organization dedicated to preparing young men to lead successful, happy and productive lives. Basing its approach on timeless principles and practical, hands-on experience, DeMolay opens doors for young men age 12 to 21 by developing the civic awareness, personal responsibility and leadership skills so vitally needed in society today.

The Dec. 2, 1949, Bakersfield Californian indicated that year’s parade was the “biggest and best Santa Claus parade ever held — and that’s no exaggeration.”

Thousands of people lined the streets to get a glimpse of floats such as the Arvin Businessman’s Club’s Santa’s Toyland, which featured a Ferris wheel, and the East Bakersfield Progressive Club’s float, showing a winter scene with youngsters sledding through the pines. But, the paper declared that the “most magnificent float of them all, however, was the one bearing Santa Claus."

The float depicted Santa flying down a hillside in his red sleigh drawn by eight snow-white reindeer, while a pair of little girls swung from candy canes on either side. The float did not win a prize because it was put together by the Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce – the sponsor of the parade.

Jumping to the parade of 1951, The Californian noted, “It didn't take much to learn which float in the Bakersfield Christmas parade was the most popular with the small fry last night. The gleeful shouts and cries when the Santa Claus float went by indicated who was the big hero to the younger set. Santa and his gaily decorated float lead off the longest and best parade in the city's history.”

(The question I have was every parade the biggest and best?)

The 1952 Bakersfield Christmas Parade was known for more than just fancy floats, great bands, carolers and such. This was the year Police Chief Horace Grayson announced that parking along the parade route would be banned. It was indicated it would reduce hazards and also give parade-goers a better look at the parade. The 1954 parade had an entry from the Kern County Shrine Club plugging their upcoming Potato Bowl game between Compton and Boise Junior colleges. The latter is now Boise State … imagine that!

After the heyday of the '40s and '50s, the parade appeared to become a thing of the past. According to the Bakersfield Christmas Parade website, the parade was in hiatus from 1971 through 1983 (that explains why I never marched in it).

For many years, the parade started at 22nd and Chester south to Brundage Lane. When the parade was brought back in 1983, it was shortened to Truxtun Avenue.

Mayor Mary K. Shell, with her Beautiful Bakersfield Committee, along with the Downtown Business Association, and Bakersfield Jaycees brought the parade back. Ilo Scatena was chairman and also served as coordinator of the Veterans Day

Parade. Others who were active in bringing the parade back were Everett Goodwin (aka Santa Claus), Cathy Butler of the DBA and J.P. Auer (Crippled Children/Police Reserves).

But it would not be the parade it is today without the active involvement of Harvey L. Hall, owner of Hall Ambulance and now mayor of Bakersfield. Hall was long involved with the event, entering the best floats in the parade for years. Then Hall became chairman and assembled an awesome committee consisting of his staff and community leaders that each had their own special responsibilities, therefore improved the quality and safety of the parade.

New this year are a few newly formed programs this year, including “Christmas Square” Marketplaces, Children’s Activity Centers and Christmas Choir Corners.

Also part of this year's festivities will be the CSUB Carolers. Under the direction of CSUB music professor Dr. Robert Provencio, the students will provide seasonal music commercial segways during the live broadcast of the parade.

So come one, come all and enjoy a true Bakersfield tradition on Thursday, Dec. 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. starting at 22nd and L streets.

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23

REAL PEOPLE

Made with love Local bakery owner stumbles into life’s passion and ends up on national TV show

By Dana Martin Photos by Felix Adamo

L

ocal bakery sensation Sweet Surrender may be known for its decadent desserts, high-end fashion, handbags and seasonal decorations, but off the record, owner Kim Fiorini said her delightful shop is known for something more: a taste of home.

“People like tradition — pumpkin cheesecake, oatmeal raisin cookies, snickerdoodles. They like old-fashioned foods that they grew up with, desserts that their grandma or aunt made,” said Firoini, who has owned the Sagepointe Shopping Center shop since 1989. “They don’t want to risk trends; they always go back to the staples.”

But catering to her clients’ traditional tastes doesn’t stop Fiorini from trying more trendy recipes, too. There’s always something on Sweet Surrender’s menu to tempt the most discriminating of palates, as the Food Network’s Giada De Laurentiis found out in fall 2008.

“Unbeknownst to us, our goodies were being taken down south to Giada. She ended up trying the Matterhorn cake and apparently loving it. We did not find out until we received a call from her office, wanting to place an order for the cake, that she would be picking it up while in town to do a Williams-Sonoma book signing of her newest cookbook (Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites),” Fiorini said.

And pick it up she did. De Laurentiis showed up personally at Sweet Surrender and “was as darling and sweet as you would think,” said Fiorini, who enjoyed the experience of having the famed food celebrity make an appearance in her shop. However, Fiorini said she had no idea that the real surprise would come a year later when, in 2009, she received a call from the Food Network announcing that Sweet Surrender’s Matterhorn cake would be featured on an 24

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Kim Fiorini, owner of Sweet Surrender.

episode of “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” De Laurentiis had loved it.

What’s so special about a cake that it would make a national food show? Fiorini said the Matterhorn is three layers of dense rich cake — a moist chocolate cake with delicious white buttercream frosting and white and chocolate shavings on top. Then, there’s its mass.

“It’s bigger than a baby,” said Fiorini, laughing. “It weighs almost 10 pounds.”

In July, Food Network cameras and crew converged on the immaculate bakery and asked Fiorini to prepare the famed cake while they filmed for the November episode.

“I was a nervous wreck,” admitted Fiorini, who said she felt like she had no idea what she was saying as she was moving

to the oven or preparing the frosting.

See, Fiorini hasn’t always been a baker and has never had any formal training. “I am not professionally trained. I’ve done things that I think are yummy and traditional. I never said, ‘Oh, I want to grow up and own a bakery,’ but I baked for friends and relatives,” she said.

Fate had big plans for her, though. While working in a local law office, Fiorini took a second job working at Sweet Surrender, mainly a chocolate shop and soda fountain at the time, and loved it so much that even after she moved to Los Angeles to work for Guess Jeans, she still returned to Sweet Surrender for the holidays. And when the owners decided to sell, Fiorini was the first person in line to buy.

“I bought it after three years. I removed the ice cream and spent all the money I had to buy an espresso machine instead of a car!”

Fiorini said, still clearly amazed by how far the shop has come since that time.

Today, Fiorini sells cakes and goodies throughout the year but she is busiest during the holidays. “We take orders, but sometimes we get so many that we have to stop,” she said, grateful for such a problem. “It’s crazy! You want to take all the orders, but at some point, you have to say no and do the orders you have well.”

Based on popularity, some of the goodies Fiorini does “well” are her Christmas cranberry-orange-pecan bread budding, white chocolate bread pudding, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and the pumpkin bread pudding and cake.

Fiorini credits Sweet Surrender’s baking methods for their return business and ongoing popularity. “We use really good ingredients — butter, high quality chocolate, and everything is made with love.

Even my bakers say that: Love is in each cake.”

Kim Fiorini’s Matterhorn cake

www.BakersfieldLife.com

25

FOOD DUDES

BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse

The Food Dudes, from left: Chris Hanson, David Luter, Kevin McCloskey and Bill Trivitt.

26

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Enjoying brews and bites at BJ's

and soda. Nice job, Shannon! We also sampled the Captain's Mug with BJ’s handcrafted root beer. Think of it as a spiked root beer float, and you’ll enjoy every last drop.

Chris Hanson on the appetizers

Appetizers are my kind of eating, and BJ’s has a broad menu of “yum” available in both their Shareable Appetizers and Snacks & Photos by Greg Nichols Small Bites sections. We sampled from both menus and found all the selections impressive and awfully satisfying.

David Luter on the beer We started with the Thai shrimp lettuce wraps and the mini brusWell, the Food Dudes are hungry once again, and a trip to BJ’s chetta. The wraps were chock-full of small shrimp, cabbage, carrots Restaurant and Brewhouse is just the ticket. and onion, and carried enough spice to stand on their own, but when I remember the first time I ate at a BJ’s. I was with friends in coupled with the spicy dipping sauce: “Aroi!” (Thai for "delicious").

Balboa during the late 1980s, and we found a place that billed itself The mini bruschetta was a great representation of the Italian clasas a “Chicago pizzeria.” One bite and I fell in love with that pizza. sic, using BJ’s own thick-cut focaccia bread. We all found the pesto Unfortunately, they weren’t brewing beer back then, but lucky for us, vinaigrette a surprising and appealing addition.

20 years later, they are now.

Continuing with our appetizer gluttony, we noshed on an If you’re in the mood for a beer — somewhere between a silver excellent California club flatbread pizza. It has everything a great train that freezes everything around it, to one that’s dark enough California club sandwich should have on a crispy and generous to blot out the sun — BJ’s is your brewhouse. To start things off, piece of flatbread with a great garlic aioli sauce. (Incidentally, I we had the eight-beer sampler, with all the beers lined up from the scored some big points with my wife by bringing one lightest (LightSwitch) to the darkest (Tatonka Stout). The lagers of these pizzas home after our excursion!) Mac and — LightSwitch, Blonde, and Hefeweizen — were Cheese is becoming a trendy comfort food across crisp, fresh and great for a warm the U.S., and they should all take a page from afternoon. The Piranha, a light BJ’s gourmet mac and cheese. Three different ale with that distinctive red hue, cheeses, bacon, chipotle and crushed Goldhas a great hop flavor and goes fish crackers — yeah, you read that cordown easy — almost too easy. rectly! — make it delicious and different.

The Jeremiah Red is akin to an My only problem with this appetizer English strong ale that tastes great, is that it is served in a small bowl. I and compliments much of the menu. wanted more! At that price though, I The Tatonka Stout and the Nutty could certainly buy more.

Brewnette, while similar in color, The most surprising appetizer are different in the spectrum of taste. was the avocado egg rolls. I wasn’t Where the stout has that “bitter hops” looking forward to this particular selection, but flavor, the Brewnette is sweeter and, yes, Mini bruschetta after a few bites, they made an impression I nutty. They also have specials on tap all won’t soon forget. The avocado was fresh and during the year, including the seasonal the skins were fried perfectly. And after all this, we still had our main IPA, Oktoberfest and Pumpkin Ale. entrees to taste. “Oh waiter, another beer please!”

Now, BJ’s does serve mixed drinks. As a matter of fact, the company has an annual contest for their mixologists. Shannon, one of the Kevin McCloskey on the entrees talented Bakersfield bartenders, created an award-winning cocktail.

BJ's began making pizzas back in 1978, and while they dropped That Berri Delicious, now served in all of the BJ’s across the coun"pizzeria" from their name in 1996, their tasty pizza is no doubt a try, is a cool, refreshing drink combining berry vodka with fresh fruit

Continued on page 28

Pizookie Trio

www.BakersfieldLife.com

27

BJ's appeals to beer aficionados and families alike.

Continued from page 27

Thai shrimp lettuce wraps

BJ’s bacon cheeseburger pizza

Baby back ribs 28

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

large part of their successful expansion. For my money, they have the best deep-dish pizza in town. With that in mind, I felt we should give other entrées a try from their extensive menu. But as my diminutive Food Dude mentor once taught me, “Dude or Dude not, there is no try.”

The parmesan crusted chicken with a lemon chardonnay butter sauce is light, crisp and delicious. I picked this particular item to see if it was good enough to topple my wife’s current favorite, the old-fashioned pot roast, and I think it just might.

Next across my plate were the baby back pork ribs. Slathered in a barbecue sauce made in part from their Jeremiah Red ale, the way the meat falls off the bones speaks to the kind of care and preparation — very unusual in restaurants today.

If you are a fan of ribs, BJ’s ribs will not disappoint, and if you aren’t, they could very well change your mind. For a pizza selection we chose the BJ’s bacon cheeseburger pizza. As a pizza traditionalist, I was really unsure about this one, but every time I’ve doubted an item on the menu, BJ’s has proven me wrong, and this one is no exception. The BBC (my nickname not theirs) will surprise you, and may well be proof that they don’t make a bad pizza.

Our final choice was the New Orleans jambalaya. This one has a kick to it, so be prepared to order another beer when they drop it off. The blackened chicken, shrimp and chicken-andouille sausage were superb and the portion was big enough to take home for a fiery midnight snack and still

have leftovers for lunch.

Bill Trivitt on the desserts The best way to finish a meal at BJ's is with one of their signature desserts. You can choose from several selections: old fashioned apple crisp, BJ's brownie, BJ's handcrafted root beer float, vanilla bean ice cream and the Pizookie.

We all knew what we wanted. The Pizookie is a freshly baked deep-dish cookie with large scoops of ice cream on top, and you can select from chocolate chunk, white chocolate macadamia nut, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin walnut, cookies ‘n' cream or the triple chocolate made with Ghirardelli chocolate. Trying to pick just one or two could end a 10-year friendship, but BJ's has you covered with the Pizookie trio. Three mini Pizookies served with a single scoop of ice cream on each. We tried chocolate chunk, cookies 'n' cream and triple chocolate along with a full-size peanut butter. All were great, but my favorite is peanut butter with vanilla ice cream.

If you’re free Saturday or Sunday morning, try BJ's weekend brunch. The menu is small, but covers all the bases.

We sampled the French toast, granola with yogurt and fresh fruit, and my favorite, the kids' Cap’n Crunch French toast. I love Cap’n Crunch and these French toast sticks are rolled in the cereal crumbs then lightly fried. Delicious! With such a great menu that gets updated three times a year, bring your whole family down to BJ’s Brewhouse. And don’t forget to tell them the Food Dudes sent you!

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29

Photo by Felix Adamo

FOOD AND WINE

Hot wassail

Holiday recipes From our family to yours

By Hillary Haenes

E

very family has at least one special recipe that is prepared for holiday get-togethers, parties or office potlucks. Whether that recipe has been passed down from generation to generation, found in a cookbook or seen on the Food Network, these recipes hold special meanings.

Here are several recipes (including drinks and desserts) that our readers have decided to share with the community. We hope you enjoy these tasty treats and what the makers had to say about them.

Contributed by Susan Cortez, account executive at The Californian

The wassail recipe has been in my family for about 15 years. It was passed to me by a friend from Texas who shared this from her family cookbook. She had been using the recipe for 20 or more years. The rum is optional. For the past 15 years, my family has enjoyed this drink as non-alcoholic every Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is a mandatory item on the menu just like the mashed potaBakersfield Life

Ingredients 1 ½ qts. cranberry juice 2 qts. apple cider ½ cup brown sugar ½ tsp. cloves 4 whole cinnamon sticks 1/3 cup of Red Hots or cinnamon imperials candy Rum to taste (optional) Directions Put the dry items on the basket of a large percolator; do not use a paper liner. Put the liquid ingredients on the bottom part of the percolator and simply plug in. As the hot liquid perks through the dry ingredients, it will melt them completely.

White peppermint mocha

Contributed by Abriana Frith, manager at Caffeine Supreme (the original Supreme Bean on F Street)

Hot wassail

30

toes. I have shared this drink at company potlucks and every time someone experiences this for the first time, the recipe is always requested.

December 2010

Supreme Bean was known for its yummy, creative, specialty drinks and at Caffeine Supreme, we have kept with this tradition. As the manager, it’s my job to keep things new and fresh around here. So with the holidays upon us, I took an old favorite, peppermint mocha, and gave it a rich, new makeover with some White Ghirardelli Chocolate Sauce.

This will be our first year serving it.

I’m hoping to make some memories with

it. When I was creating it, I had more volunteer taste-testers then I knew what to do with. It wasn’t until everyone left when I actually was able to sit back, sip and enjoy a cup of my own. It’s already a favorite among the Caffeine Supreme staff and owners. A few customers have had the chance to try it and are hooked. Try it — you’ll see!

Ingredients 2 shots of espresso 1 oz. Ghirardelli White Chocolate 1 ½ oz. Torani Peppermint 12 oz. steamed milk Directions Combine ingredients in a mug, stir and enjoy. Yield: 16 oz.

Champagne Christmas cocktail

Contributed by Milan R. Shah, M.D., Aesthetic and Laser Medicine at Beautologie Cosmetic Surgery and Laser Center

Wishing all of Kern County a very happy, joyous and prosperous holiday season.

Ingredients 3 parts champagne (he prefers Schramsberg or Veuve Clicquot) 1 part Chambord 1 part orange juice 1 sugar cube Ice cubes Directions Mix all the ingredients together in a shaker with ice. Serve in a champagne flute and

Photo by Henry A. Barrios

Photo by Felix Adamo

White peppermint mocha

Lemon bars

decorate with cranberries or a slice of orange or tangerine garnish.

Luscious lemon bars

Contributed by Milan R. Shah, M.D., Aesthetic and Laser Medicine at Beautologie Cosmetic Surgery and Laser Center

I have always had a love for tart desserts.

As a kid, I loved Hostess lemon pies, and I grew up loving lemon meringue pie. Lemon bars seemed to follow suit for my taste buds.

I love lemon bars, and my friends and family know that. This is a recipe that came out of years and years of tasting and trying some of the best ones out there.

For Christmas dinner three years ago with friends and family, we made these along with a few other desserts. These went so fast that I didn’t even get a chance to have one. But, thanks to my loving wife who knew how much I was looking forward to having them, she saved me two to have as a midnight snack.

Ingredients 1 ½ cups whipped butter 2 cups white sugar or Splenda (divided) 2 ¼ cups flour (divided) 3 to 4 eggs or Eggbeaters substitute 2 to 3 lemons, juiced Directions Preheat oven to 375 F. Blend together butter, 2 cups of flour and a half cup of sugar.

Press into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch pan.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. In another bowl, whisk together 1 ½ cups of sugar and ¼ cup of flour.

Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust. Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Bars will firm up as they cool.

Sugar cookies

Contributed by Dennis Swatzell, owner and

Sugar cookies operator of L’Amour Cake & More

After so many years in the industry, my list of tasty recipes is pretty extensive.

Some have been past down through family, others have been products of experimentation, and some have origins that I cannot put my finger on. Our sugar cookie recipe is one of those with unknown origins, but given the age of the paper this recipe is written on, it may have come over on the ark.

As a person who found my passion for baking in my parents' bakery, I think that Continued on page 32 www.BakersfieldLife.com

31

Photo by Felix Adamo

No Bake Fruitcake

No bake fruitcake

the most memorable moments around these cookies would have to involve my family.

It is the one time of the year when members of my family come into the bakery and help decorate cookies and share in my passion. As my children grow older, we have found our family spread across the United States. This past year, we decorated a couple of special cookies with special holiday messages for those who were not near us. It made for a very memorable and tasty Christmas card.

Ingredients 1 1/3 cups sugar 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 ½ tsp. vanilla 3 eggs 5 ½ cups flour Frosting Nonstick spray Directions Take the sugar, shortening and butter and cream them together until they are light and fluffy. Beat the eggs until they are also fluffy then add the eggs and vanilla in the shortening mixture. Add the flour and mix to combine your ingredients. Chill the dough in a covered bowl overnight. After the dough has chilled, roll out the dough on a floured surface to desired thickness. Use assorted holiday cookie cutters to create your desired shape.

Reuse the scraps of dough to make more cookies. Bake on a greased cookie sheet in the preheated oven at 350 F for 10 to 12 minutes.

Ice with frosting and add sprinkles as desired.

Yield: Approximately three-dozen cookies.

32

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Contributed by Janet Gamache, Kitchen Table coordinator at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market

This recipe always reminds me of Christmastime growing up. It was originally passed from my aunt in Arkansas to my grandmother to my mom many years ago. Since my mom doesn’t make as many holiday treats anymore, when I make this fruitcake, I always send a small one to my dad in Indiana. Everyone always says they don’t like fruitcake until they’ve tried mine.

Ingredients 10 oz. marshmallows 1 cup sugar 1 cup evaporated milk 1 lb. graham cracker crumbs 1 lb. chopped pecans 1 lb. coconut 1 lb. candied cherries ½ lb. candied pineapple Directions In a double boiler, melt marshmallows with sugar and milk. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl combine rest of ingredients. Pour in marshmallow mixture and combine. Place in large holiday tin. Store covered in refrigerator.

Tourtiere (meat pie) pronounced tour-tee-air Contributed by Mark Gamache, associate oil and gas engineer for the Division of Oil, Gas

Photo by Felix Adamo

Continued from page 31

and Geothermal Resources

This dish is a reminder of my French heritage.

My mom made it on holidays, and we would have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Mom would make extra pies, freeze them and take them out for any special occasion. This recipe was passed down from my Meme (grandmother) to my mom, but it goes back generations to Quebec in the 1700s. My favorite time making this recipe was the first time I made it for my family

Fabious’ BBQ Cajun deep-fried turkey

Photo by Henry A. Barrios

Contributed by Fabious and Elvira Worthy, owners and operators of Fabious’ Corner Best BBQ

Fabious’ BBQ Cajun Deep-Fried Turkey

on a Christmas. It was so good to give them the experience of what I had growing up.

Fabious frequently experiments with recipes and decided to create a combination of his Cajun and barbecue sauces. The result was a great — a tangy sauce that he used to inject some of his turkeys before deep-frying.

Ingredients 15 to 17 lb. fresh turkey or thoroughly thawed, if you purchase frozen. (Remove neck and giblets from cavity.)

16 oz. Italian dressing (strained) 8 oz. barbecue sauce

Continued on page 34

no longer pink. Drain, if necessary, and return to stove. Add salt, pepper and allspice to the cooked meat. Tear up the slices of bread and add to the hot water. Fluff the bread with a fork and pour off the excess water. Add the fluffed bread to the cooked meat. Line a deep, nine-inch pan with one of the pie pastries.

Place the meat mixture into the pie pan. It should generously fill to the top. Add the second pie pastry top and crimp the edges. Cut a few openings in the top. Bake at 400 F until brown, about 30 minutes.

Ingredients 2 lbs. ground pork 1 tsp. salt ¾ tsp. pepper 1 ¾ tsp. allspice 1 onion, chopped fine 1 cup of hot water poured over 2 slices of bread 2 store-bought unbaked pie pastry crusts Directions Cook pork and the onion until the pork is

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Mexican pork tamales

Contributed by Sophie Jimenez, Work Force Staffing Accounting

When I think of tamales, I think of being together with my family, laughing, cooking and sharing stories. Making tamales is not an easy process. You could easily spend a full day preparing them, but the time you get with your family in the process is priceless. And that’s not count-

Photo by Henry A. Barrios

3 tsp. brown mustard 3 tsp. Worchestire sauce 1 tsp. seasoning salt 1 tsp. garlic salt 5 gallons peanut oil Directions In a saucepan, combine all ingredients. Stir well. Bring to a boil, and then allow sauce to cool. Purchase a turkey injector kit and turkey fryer. Fill your syringe with sauce. Inject one full syringe of sauce in each drumstick and each wing. Flip turkey over and inject one full syringe on each side. Inject remainder of sauce in different parts of the breast area.

Bring five gallons of peanut oil to temperature at 310 F. Submerge turkey slowly using turkey hook include in your fryer. Cook three minutes per pound at temperature of 300 F to 305 F. (The temperature decreases from the original 310 F when cold turkey is submerged). Remove turkey from oil using turkey hook.

ing when we invite friends who have never made tamales in their lives. One thing about tamales is that you can freeze them and they will last for about three months, and you can then share the love with other friends and family.

Ingredients 7 pork butts, generous amount of meat (3 to 4 lbs. each) 25 lbs. of “Masa Preparada” (It’s flour that’s

already prepared. You can find this at Vallarta, Ranch Market or FoodMaxx) 1 bag of California chili powder 1 tbsp. pepper 3 tbsp. salt 2 tbsp. cumin 2 tbsp. garlic powder ½ cup cornstarch 1 to 2 cans of 19 oz. Las Palmas Red Chile Sauce (or 1 bag of chili pods) 4 bags of cornhusks

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December 2010

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Yield: About 20 dozen Equipment Big bowl to knead the flour Pot to boil the meat Tamale spreader or large spoons Square or rectangle container to place the tamales in Tamalera (tamale steamer) Directions Meat Place pork butt into a large covered stockpot. Fill with enough water to cover pork. Bring water to boil. Reduce heat to a medium simmer.

Add water, if necessary. Simmer until meat begins to shred.

Once meat begins to shred, add salt, garlic, cumin and pepper to stockpot for flavoring. Continue to simmer for 30 minutes. Add additional spices to taste. Drain broth into separate bowl. Remove pork from stockpot, set aside.

Then, add four to five cups of pork broth back to stockpot. You will use this to make the tamale sauce. Warm broth on low heat.

To thicken broth, add half-cup of cornstarch.

Add more broth or cornstarch as needed to create a smooth paste. Once broth has thickened, add one can of Las Palmas Red Chile Sauce.

Use your hands to shred the pork or use a knife to cut into small pieces. Once that is finished, you are going to add the meat back into the stockpot with tamale sauce. Turn heat to medium. Let filling simmer until mixture thickens. Remove from heat.

Masa (tamale dough) Place prepared Masa in a large bowl. Pour in half of California chili powder mixture to dough. This will add the red coloring. Begin kneading. However, if you are using California chili pods, you will need to boil them first and then place in a blender. Afterwards, you will strain your chili pods. This can be used for your meat and your dough, in place of your Las Palmas Red Chile Sauce.

Cornhusks Remove cornhusks from packages. Fill kitchen sink or large bowl with warm water. Carefully separate cornhusks and rinse under cold running water. Submerge husks into warm water. (Husks will float in water. Use another heavy bowl to keep husks submerged.) Remove cornhusks from water then dry the husks. (Sometimes, paper towels can help).

Before you begin spreading the dough, you will need to pair up two to three cornhusks so that it’s wide enough to hold dough and some meat. Imagine making a triangle. Typically two cornhusks will do, some may be smaller. Using a spreader or spoon, spread the dough onto the cornhusk, start from the middle of the cornhusk. Focus on the wider portion of the husk and away from the narrow tips. Think of it as spreading peanut butter on a piece of bread. Spread evenly, and then apply the meat, about three spoonfuls.

Once you have the dough spread evenly and have added meat in the middle, you will begin folding the tamale. First fold both sides, then the top of tamale (which becomes the bottom). Next, place tamales standing up in a square or rectangle container until all tamales are prepared. The spread is time-consuming so if you have friends or family over, get them involved in the process.

Steaming When you have made all of your tamales, place your tamales standing up in the tamalera. To steam, fill with water. Line the tamales up in the pot until the pot is full, then repeat. You want the meat to be facing the top while the folded end should be at the bottom. Place moist paper towels on top of the last tamales before closing the lid.

Boil water for 15 minutes. Lower heat and steam tamales for a one and a half hours. Sometimes, it may take up to two hours depending on firmness of tamale. (Don’t open tamalera while steaming. To test if the tamales are ready, open the husk. Tamale should be firm. If the dough sticks to the husk or is mushy, it’s not ready). Cool tamales for one hour before eating.

www.BakersfieldLife.com

35

ON THE RED COUCH

Labor of love Four nonprofit leaders find true meaning in their community service Carmel Hicks

Photos by Felix Adamo

Executive director, Love In the Name of Christ

Jennifer Perfect

Public support officer of the American Red Cross Kern Chapter

What inspired you to enter your field of work?

Della: It wasn’t inspiration so much as happy coincidence.

I had volunteered in various capacities with different organizations over the years. Working as a public relations and marketing consultant, I found the greatest satisfaction in working with nonprofits. So when the opportunity arose to join United Way, it seemed like a natural fit with my personal and professional goals.

Jennifer: I had just moved to a new city and knew no one. One night, the smoke alarms began to sound in the hallway of the apartment complex. Thinking it was a false alarm, I left with only the clothes on my back. Once outside, I saw the smoke bellowing out of the apartment next to mine and within an hour, the complex was destroyed. I was cold, lost, and scared with no where to turn to at 10 at night. The Red Cross was called out during the fire and was on scene immediately. I will always remember them saying “Don’t worry, we are here to help you” and the instant relief I felt.

They assisted the families in the complex with food, clothing, shelter, and much need guidance to get through the scary days to follow. After that, I began to volunteer and within months was working for the local Red Cross.

Carmel: I come from a large family of eight children, mom and dad plus grandparents. I was brought up in generational poverty. Through higher education, my husband and I live in a middle-class American family. I wanted to be able to turn around and help my family members as well as other people in need. Like with most prayers that are spoken to God on how to help, I needed to be willing to be a part of the 36

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Erin Henderson

Board member, Bakersfield Homeless Center & Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault

Della Hodson

President, United Way of Kern County

solution when given the answer to that prayer. The church I attended (Olive Knolls Nazarene Church) started a clothing and food pantry called the Hope Center. The church asked for a volunteer to assist the director at that time. I spent almost two years helping to organize and learn what compassion ministry looked like. I met the executive director of Love INC at the time, Charlene McNama. She invited me to become her assistant in a part-time job. I took the job because Love INC was not just about meeting the immediate needs but also working with families and individuals to learn how to be self-sustaining.

After serving as the assistant for six years, I was asked to step into the role of being the executive director for Love INC. I have been working in this faith-based nonprofit for nine and a half years. So what started out as a way to help the family of my youth to move out of being dependent on others became a way to give back the blessings of what God has blessed my own family in my community.

Erin: Helping people achieve their goals has always been a passion of mine. The advertising and marketing industry was an avenue through which I could help business owners reach their goals of creating or maintaining a successful business. Now, as a board member of the Bakersfield Homeless Center and the Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault, I am able to assist less fortunate individuals in achieving their goals by helping to provide food, shelter, self-improvement, education and counseling.

Continued on page 38 www.BakersfieldLife.com

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Continued from page 37

What is your favorite part about your job?

Della: Seeing families and individuals in our community achieve real, lasting change in their lives as a result of the generosity of our community and the hard work of our nonprofit partners.

Jennifer: I love my job. Every day, I wake up feeling very lucky that I get to go to work somewhere I love. Every day is different, exciting, and never a dull moment in the disaster business. Every day, we help families prepare, prevent and respond to emergencies, and we are the only organization that does that. My favorite part is that we are impartial, and we help everyone, therefore we are an organization for everyone no matter who you are.

Carmel: When a family is helped, a life is changed or information given that brings hope to a family in crisis is what makes this job a blessing. To move a family that was homeless into a home as well as giving used furniture, food, personal needs and other items that were left behind when they moved to Bakersfield. When a family or single mom comes to an understanding of how they can use there own funds to pay an electric bill with the combined resources from Love INC — diapers, wipes, portable crib, food — that helps free up their income.

Erin: Most definitely the children. Seeing the smiles on the kids at the Discovery Depot, our licensed child-care facility, is truly inspiring. Those smiles tell me they feel safe, warm and loved.

What exciting events are happening with your organization this year?

Della: In 2011, United Way of Kern County is looking forward to expanding our work to improve the financial stability of working

Jennifer Perfect 38

Bakersfield Life

Carmel Hicks December 2010

families. Working with a network of nonprofit agencies, financial institutions and other community partners, we will expand program offerings in financial education, free income tax assistance and savings programs.

Jennifer: The next event the Red Cross has coming up is one of my favorite. It is our “Real Heroes” luncheon. Good people are doing remarkable things in our community and often their lifesaving deeds are done quietly, far from the spotlight. They are the “Real Heroes” - the kind of people who watch out for others. They are ordinary people whose actions demonstrate the potential that is in everyone. Individuals can nominate individuals from Kern County for actions that they have done in 2010. Last year, we presented awards for individuals who rescued children from a burning home, replaced a piece of a man’s skull when he didn’t have the money do so on his own, went over and beyond for special-needs children, and many more amazing individuals. We are accepting nominations till the middle of January; people can go on our website to download the application or to find out more information, KernRedCross.org.

Carmel: We collect diapers, wipes and other baby items needed to supply the three baby pantries that work towards helping families, single parent homes and grandparents raising grandchildren.

There is a large need to help supplement items so infants and toddlers living in poverty circumstances can have a healthier and safe environment. We are looking for and working with a local television station to possibly sponsor this drive.

Erin: We have recently been awarded funding from First 5 Kern to begin a licensed child care facility for the children at the emergency shelter for the Alliance Against Family Violence and Sexual Assault. The children from the Alliance have experienced and witnessed the absolute worst things imaginable. I am proud that they will now have a safe place just for themselves. “Small Steps” will be modeled after our child care facility at BHC but will specialize in the needs of children that have experienced trauma. They deserve quality child care supervised by staff that will love them and help them heal and that is exactly what they will get.

Della Hodson

Erin Henderson

www.BakersfieldLife.com

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40

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Photo by Jessica Frey

Heather Dewar Cook and Michael Dewar with some of their best-known products.

11 thriving companies with local roots

By Hillary Haenes

Dewar’s

Founded: 1909 Employees: Usually 50 employees, but during the holiday season, 20 more people are added to the Dewar’s crew to help make and package the chews as well as take mail orders and process them.

Production in 2009: Dewar’s produced nearly 120,000 pounds of chews in 2009, but more than half of those pounds (80,000 pounds) of chews were made in a 10-week period from October to early December.

And 49,000 gallons of ice cream was prepared last year.

What’s next: The Dewar’s family hopes to open two new locations by the fall of 2011 and develop a tasty sugar-free ice cream.

Photo by Jessica Frey

here is much to be proud of within the borders of Kern County besides what we’re best known for — oil and agriculture. For this issue, we profiled 11 local companies that have extended their reach throughout Kern and beyond.

From ice cream and breweries to a farmer’s wife with a catchy business name and kids with a passion for skateboarding, most of these businesses have blossomed into well-known names heard far away from our county lines.

So what are you waiting for? Explore these companies to discover how they got started, how they’ve grown over the years and find out the next steps they’ll take. You may even get Christmas gift ideas for those relatives and friends who make it difficult to buy for because they live miles away!

What originated as a downtown candy company in 1909 is now an iconic ice cream parlor that is currently owned and operated by the fourth Dewar’s generation.

James H. Dewar opened up shop with the famous Dewar’s candy chews, but it wasn’t until the 1930s that he started to sell handmade ice cream. James A. Dewar took over the business for his father in 1948, while the third generation, George Dewar, went to work in 1965. Then Heather Dewar Cook and her brother, Michael Dewar, stepped into the business and have been helping their Continued on page 42 www.BakersfieldLife.com

41

father, George, since 1992, a couple of years after property was purchased to use as a manufacturing establishment.

In 2001, the Riverlakes parlor, next to the golf course in the northwest, opened. After nearly a decade in business, the shop is scheduled to close around the time two more shops are slated to open in either next summer or fall. The colorful sign south of the Riverlakes location on Calloway Drive advertises one of the new locations, while Dewar Cook said the other spot will be off of Ming Avenue and Buena Vista, which will be a Dewar’s drivethrough express.

Not only has the business physically expanded, but it has virtually as well. During the summer, Dewar’s hired someone to advertise for its website, so a Facebook page was created to network those delicious chews outside of California. Since June, more than 13,000 people have added Dewar’s to their list of “likes.”

“We increased our Internet sales by 40 percent. The only thing we’re doing different is doing Facebook. It’s obviously a lucrative way to go and the majority of our friends are outside of California,” Dewar Cook said.

She never guessed it would have snowballed so fast within a six-month period. Their page has received lots of positive comments about the innovative flavors of chews and ice cream that have been introduced throughout the years. The five original flavors of chews have inspired 10 anniversary and three sugar-free flavors to total 18 delicious chews. There are 30 regular flavors and two seasonal ice cream creations.

“What we’re trying to come up with now is a sugar-free ice cream. It is definitely something people want,” Dewar Cook said.

This will allow people with health concerns like diabetes or those who need to be conscience of a high sugar intake to indulge in a sweet treat.

“We probably did six to eight months of trying products. I would love to have sugar-free ice cream produced by the time we open our new location. We have to find something that is health conscious and good for the body, but we want to produce a product that tastes good and has a good consistency,” Dewar Cook said.

Grimmway Farms

Founded: 1968 Employees: About 4,000 Production in 2009: 40,000 acres for carrots What’s next: Continue on the same path to take care of their customers around the U.S. and follow the guiding principles established by the founding Grimm brothers.

Fun fact: "A couple of years ago, we licensed SpongeBob. We were the first vegetable company to do character licensing, and we had SpongeBob on our packaging,” said Phil Gruszka, vice-president of marketing.

The Grimm brothers, Bob and Rod, arranged their first roadside produce stand in 1968. More than three decades have passed since then, and the company has flourished to one of the largest produce operations in the world. The two popular products Grimmway Farms produces are carrots and potatoes. The carrots come packaged in an assortment of ways, such as baby carrots, carrot chips (ideal with dips), crinkle-cut coins, shredded, petite carrots in microwaveable bags and the country’s best-selling multipacks, which are convenient for traveling, picnics and school or office lunches.

“When you’re looking at carrot companies, people who eat the 42

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Paul Gruszka

Photo by Jessica Frey

Continued from page 41

most carrots are in the Northeast. The time of most consumption is between Thanksgiving and the Super Bowl,” said vice president of marketing Phil Gruszka about the company’s timeframe of the highest sales of the year.

In 1995, the company purchased Mike Yurosek and Sons, and with that came the Bunny Luv brand. In 2001, Grimmway bought King Pak Farms, a thriving potato growing, packaging and shipping business. Another area of produce Grimmway is recognized for is its citrus. Each and every Grimmway grapefruit, lemon, orange and tangelo is picked at its peak of tasty perfection so the fruit bursts with fresh and tart juicy flavor.

My Husband’s Nuts Founded: 2003 Employees: Jennifer Rogers-Etcheverry’s business is still a family venture so during the holidays, she asks friends to help, but she also hires three to five seasonal part-timers to make Bakersfield gift baskets.

Where you can purchase My Husband’s Nuts: Luigi’s Deli, Green Frog markets, Russo’s Books at The Marketplace, Napa wineries, gourmet food shops, university bookstores, mini-marts and the Palms Casino in Las Vegas to name a few.

What’s next: In 2011, Rogers-Etcheverry wants to get more exposure outside of California, such as participating in trade shows in Chicago and expanding to the East Coast.

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The Etcheverry family started farming almonds in 1992. After several years of economic hardships and having to keep an eye on the family budget, Jennifer Rogers-Etcheverry (the farmer’s wife) teased her husband and asked, “Do we have to sell your nuts for you?”

“My brother was in town, and we started laughing and throwing names out there. To make a long story short, that was kind of it, he said, ‘What about My Husband’s Nuts?’ It started out as a joke, and now we’re in over 20 states,” Rogers-Etcheverry said.

The nuts are prepackaged in five-ounce bags and come in flavors like butter toffee, natural smoke, onion garlic, chili con lemon and naturally raw. What put My Husband’s Nuts products on store shelves was the company’s appearance on the talk show “The View.” A food critic found out about the company and asked Rogers-Etcheverry if she would ship 350 bags to the New York audience. Luckily, she had the inventory. Otherwise she would have had to pull from local stores to send the supply.

Besides wearing a lot of hats for her company, Rogers-Etcheverry travels as a public speaker to share her story. Although Continued on page 44

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Derek Yurosek and Bryan Reese

Continued from page 43

she doesn’t like the term “motivational speaker,” her story is quite inspirational. The public speaking began a little more than a year ago when a marketing professor at Cal State Bakersfield asked if her class could use My Husband’s Nuts as a marketing project, so Rogers-Etcheverry went to speak to college students.

“A couple of rotaries found out about it, and it just started taking off. It’s been crazy. That’s how Mrs. Fields got started, and she was one of the highest-paid speakers there was for a woman, so hopefully I’ll be the next Mrs. Fields,” Rogers-Etcheverry joked.

Requests from rotaries and universities keep Rogers-Etcheverry busy traveling across the country speaking of her entrepreneurial achievements and — to keep it interesting — weaving in that her great-grandfather was the late Will Rogers.

In the beginning, she had no idea about nutritional labels, almonds or bar codes, so learning how to be a savvy businesswoman was a gradual process. With each trip out of town, she continues to scout new locations to sell her products.

“We’re not consistent. It’s fun for me because I’m constantly looking for the next spot. We’re all over — it’s weird,” she said.

Her busiest time of the year is quickly approaching, and Rogers-Etcheverry will soon begin constructing the custom Bakersfield baskets that get shipped all over the country. She supports small, local businesses, such as Chipper’s Seasoning and Salsa and Dewar’s chews. And last year, she teamed up with local author and lecturer Dr. Chuck Wall, the man behind the “Random Acts of Kindness” campaign and who makes ceramic bowls in his spare time. The bowls were filled with products from My Husband’s Nuts and more than 300 Nuts & Bowls were sold online. With an updated website and social networking accounts, Rogers-Etcheverry said she is “stepping into the world of technology” she knows nothing about. But, that is a gradual process she will most likely be successful at, too.

44

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Bolthouse Farms Founded: 1915 by William Bolthouse in Michigan; 1972 in Bakersfield Employees: Approximately 2,000 2009 production: Nearly 25,000 acres of carrots were harvested and more than 55 million bottles of beverages and dressings were produced, according to Bryan Reese, chief marketing officer.

Fun facts: More than 50 million pounds of carrots are processed each week, and Bolthouse designed and built its own carrot harvesting and farm equipment.

It’s one of the largest carrot operations in the world that began selling commercial vegetable farming in Western Michigan in 1915. Today, the family-owned business located in Bakersfield ships more than 35,000 tons of carrot products every month, which is equivalent to one pound per family in the U.S. In the early to mid-20th century, local canneries like Gerber, Campbell Soup Company and H.J. Heinz relied on the mega carrot supplier for other produce like celery, spinach and onions. In the early 1970s, the founder’s son, William H. Bolthouse, searched the nation for an ideal place to grow carrots since consumers wanted carrots year round. It was determined that farmland in California’s San Joaquin Valley was the perfect location, due to the combination of sunlight, soil and the climate.

With innovative creations like the introduction of the ready-toeat carrot sticks that are cut and peeled before packaging in 1990, it’s no wonder why Bolthouse supplies 80 percent of all fresh carrots in the United States and Canada. In spring 2003, a new line of premium fruit and vegetables juices entered the market. The products resulted in Bolthouse constructing a state-of-the-art juice plant that patented a cold-aseptic bottling process to guarantee the contents are safe within the bottles seconds after it has been flashpasteurized. Four years later, the super-premium, yogurt-based salad dressings were introduced.

Bolthouse Farms products are sold around the world including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, France, Germany, Great Britain and many more, said chief marketing officer Bryan Reese.

La Rosa Fruit Bars & Ice Cream

Fruit bars are really popular throughout Mexico City, the native home for couple Jesus and Rosa Diaz. After hearing about the success of their friends’ fruit bar business in Chicago, the Diazes thought it would be a great idea to open a business like that in the dry, hot heat of Bakersfield. And that’s just what they did 30 years ago.

In the beginning, they did almost everything themselves from the packaging to finding customers. Having street vendors push around the La Rosa carts with the bell helped the Diazes add

Photo by Jessica Frey

Founded: 1980 Employees: Norma Diaz basically runs the family business herself, but she typically has four employees.

2009 Production: 643,000 bars Projected 2010 production: close to 800,000 What’s next: La Rosa would like to continue fundraising with the schools (the fruit bars meet nutritional guidelines) and get into more stores in and outside of Kern County. The company already sells an 18-pack of ice cream bars in Costco, but it is working on supplying a 24-pack of bars to Costco next year.

Fun fact: The top three La Rosa flavors are lemon-lime, coconut cream and strawberry cream.

Jesus and daughter Norma Diaz

Continued on page 46

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45

Photo by Jessica Frey

Jeff Williams and Darin Schwicker

Continued from page 45

clientele.

“Back then, there wasn’t any competition. There was really nobody else. My parents started small and started making the bars themselves. Now it’s very difficult to get into grocery stores,” said Norma Diaz, the couple’s daughter who now runs the business for her parents.

About 14 years ago, Norma quit her 17-year job at Pac Bell to work for the family business. She has been instrumental in getting La Rosa bars into the local Walgreens and Costco stores. However, during the winter months, the stores don’t carry the bars because they need to make room for holiday products. But, if you get a hankering for one, you can always stop by 1317 Niles St. to make a purchase. You will also find the bars outside of Bakersfield in convenience stores in Taft, Tehachapi, Lancaster and Palmdale.

Norma shops at Costco to purchase the fruit for the bars. When she buys in bulk, she’s been asked what she does with all that fruit.

Her reply? “I tell them I have a monkey.” When she lets people know the real reason, some people look shocked that she uses fresh fruit and natural ingredients for the bars.

“They ask, ‘You use real fruit?’ and I’m like, ‘Hello, yeah.’ So many people don’t know we’re local unless you were born here or raised here,” Norma said.

There are currently 27 flavors with the recent addition of monster cookie for the kids. If you think of a flavor, chances are it has already been made. From cantaloupe (Norma’s favorite fruit bar) or pineapple to arroz con leche (Norma’s favorite ice cream bar) or mocha chip, there are various delicious flavors to choose. Bubble gum is a hit with the kids while root beer float was suggested from a friend.

“I just think of stuff I like. ‘What do I feel like having,’” Norma said.

She has experimented making festive treats such as pumpkin pie and chocolate-covered peppermint bars in her spare time. In an hour, 800 bars can be produced if all goes well, which means in an 46

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December 2010

eight-hour day, up to six batches of bars can be made.

“It’s just like you think. We have to peel everything and chop everything. We invested in a wrapping machine and that’s like our prized possession. The guys used to wrap them by hand and they were faster than the machines,” Norma said.

Lengthwise Brewing Company Founded: 1998 Employees: 13 2009 sales: $1.2 million 2009 production: 39,000 gallons What’s next: “We are actively planning a second location here in Bakersfield,” said co-owner Jeff Williams.

Childhood friends Jeff Williams and Darin Schwicker created their American Dream more than 10 years ago by turning their passion for brews into a product that is popular among local beer drinkers. The pals split time between working their day jobs and logging long hours at what has become a microbrewery hotspot.

Williams’ knowledge of designing and setting up breweries worldwide in places like the Caribbean, Japan and Russia helped him envision the Lengthwise pub, while Schwicker’s experience of brewing more than 1,000 batches of beer and working at Bootlegger’s Brewing Co. prepped both of them for their own company.

The duo often gets asked what Lengthwise means and how the name came about. The acronym for Lengthwise stands for: “Live Experiences Now! Great Things Happen When Inspiration Silences Excuses!” This philosophy that they live by is conveyed in the friendly, laid-back atmosphere of Lengthwise, where friends gather to eat (burgers and “stinky” fries — garlic fries with melted gooey gorgonzola), drink and chat.

The brewery offers everal standard beers on tap and a party pig (2.25 gallons), growler or keg to take home. The growler holds a half-gallon of beer and sells for $12.50, but if you save the glass jug and rinse it out, the next time a refill is only $8.50. This may catch some off-guard, but besides freshly brewed beer, Lengthwise

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“We love coffee just as much as beer. We utilize a small batch roaster and roast our own coffee in-house. We don’t sell many cups of coffee, but we sure sell a heck of a lot of fresh-roasted coffee beans,” Williams said.

La Bonita Founded: 1958 Employees: 49 (Some have been with the company for 25 years.)

2009 production: 2.3 million dozen tortillas What’s next: “We have recently expanded into other counties and are looking forward to continue growing. Our hope is that our children’s children will grow up knowing the face and name of La Bonita,” said co-owner Denise Ornelas.

The tortilla company that has been around for more than 50 years was initially founded in Los Angeles in the 1940s after YB Quezada returned from World War II. He named the company after the nickname he gave his daughter, La Bonita — “the pretty one.” In 1958, Quezada and his sister moved to Bakersfield to branch out and begin a small manufacturing and retail business of their own.

The brother and sister team decided to retire and sell La Bonita, which was incorporated in 1971 by nephew Edmundo Quezada and his friend, Juan Ornelas. Back then, it was only the two friends who worked full time and one part-time employee. The three were responsible for seven-day workweeks that sometimes meant working 16-hour days. The company had only one means of transportation — a van they bought for $300 — which meant Quezada and Ornelas drove their personal vehicles to get the job done.

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47

Photo by Jessica Frey

John White

Continued from page 47

With the invention of automated machinery, La Bonita has more than quadrupled its production and, over time, the business grew to include corn and flour tortillas, chips, taco and tostada shells and an extensive line of herbs and spices. In 2005, the friends passed the company to Ornelas’ oldest son, Albert Ornelas, who currently runs the company with his wife, Denise.

“Business has been tough due to the economy, but we work very hard on a daily basis in order for La Bonita to continue to service our county’s families,” Denise said.

This company carries on the hard-working tradition of producing quality products at affordable prices. Each day, a lot of effort goes into making each tortilla.

“After an eight-hour process of cooking the corn, it usually takes about eight more hours for the company to produce 15,000 dozen tortillas,” Denise said.

La Bonita products can be found at all major grocery stores such as WinCo, Vons and Albertsons.

Insect Lore Founded: 1969 Employees: 30, but 55 altogether, which includes the Europe division Projected 2010 sales: close to $12 million What’s next: “We’re working on other nature and outdoor-related toys that are really not insect-related and those will be available next year,” said president and co-owner John White.

Fun facts: Insect Lore partnered with NASA in the 1990s to put butterflies on the space shuttle. Throughout the years, the company has sent more than 10 million caterpillars from its facility and half a million catalogs a year get mailed to customers all over the United States.

Known worldwide, Insect Lore was founded by Carlos White, an entomologist who thought to create a kit where people could watch the metamorphosis of a butterfly. As part of his great idea, White came up with the proper diet to feed the Painted Lady 48

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

butterfly caterpillars so they would get the proper nutrition to complete their transformation. After three years of trial and error, Carlos created Butterfly Garden in 1969, which allowed butterfly lovers to go into a store and purchase this new kit with a certificate that could be mailed to the company’s butterfly nursery where caterpillars were shipped out.

“I grew up with this business, and I never imagined I would be working here. I remember every Sunday after church, stopping by and feeding the butterflies and complaining about it. I’m glad he made us go along. I feel very fortunate to do what we do — it’s a nice family business,” said Carlos’ son, John White, president and co-owner.

Initially, the primary target market was schools, but the company branched out and sold to educational supply stores, gift shops, zoos, museums and toy stores. Other retailers now include Toys R Us, Amazon, Target, Costco and Lowe’s. Insect Lore is close to doing business with Wal-Mart, which should happen next year.

Meanwhile, as the company grew, they received requests from teachers for items like ant farms, frog-catching kits and other nature-related products. This international business has been in Europe for 12 years where John’s sister runs the overseas division.

“We have a full-time showroom in Hong Kong, so international buyers come there and make purchases all over the world. We do business on every continent except Antarctica,” said John who has been at the company for 23 years.

The “bugs by mail” company has more than 100 of its own branded items and in November 2009, a museum opened in Shafter. It’s free to the public and people can view all kinds of living insect displays, participate in hands-on activities and get peeks inside the ladybug lab.

“The store really has a lot of great, reasonably priced Christmas presents for kids. It’s amazing how much stuff people buy when they come out here,” John said.

Continued on page 50

Continued from page 48

Haggard Longboards Founded: 2007 Employees: 7 Total production: About 100 boards sold What’s next: “Our goal is to get our boards into different skate shops and that’s slowly taking place. I’m trying to work something out with different skate shops in Portland right now,” said co-owner Daniel Scheidle who recently moved to Oregon.

Fun fact: “At skate shops, we get, ‘Are one of you guys Merle Haggard’s son or something?’ I wish,” Scheidle said.

Haggard Longboards is run by a group of college-age guys who took a hobby of skateboarding and turned it into a small company. Daniel’s younger brother Richard Scheidle was in a dorm at Cal Poly watching somebody make a longboard when he decided to make one for himself. Richard showed his brother the board and Daniel thought he could make better boards and make a profit from them.

“I thought, ‘Who wouldn’t want a custom board with their name or personal logo on a skateboard or longboard.’ I thought it was a great opportunity to make a couple bucks and it kinda went from there,” Daniel said.

He made them for himself and friends and sold them to relatives, then things slowly started picking up as soon as they made the cover of Bakotopia Magazine. While the crew may not all live in the same town anymore, Haggard Longboards can take an order and produce a board within two weeks.

The name of their company has caused a rumor that Daniel wanted to clear up about Haggard Longboards.

“People have always expected the word ‘haggard’ comes from 50

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Clete and Shirlee Harper

Photo by Jessica Frey

Photo by Kris Delano

Haggard Longboards is known for its custom designs.

Merle Haggard, and that is definitely a rumor. That is not true. I think one time I was asked in an interview. They asked me (about the rumor) and I said, ‘Well no, but I do love his music,’” Daniel said. “It came from the word we used when we were kids. We would just say, ‘Look at that guy, he’s haggard or that car is haggard.’ But it really means off the wall or different so that’s kinda where it came from.”

Haggard Longboards has been featured in the worldwide skateboarding and surfing magazine Concrete Wave. The publicity scored them an invitation to a big skateboard show in San Diego that allowed them to promote their boards. They have even added artist Buster Beck, who designs murals on the boards.

“As we added our artist Buster, that kind of made it more awesome because none of us are professional artists. It made our boards just ridiculous with the art,” Daniel said about the pro tattoo artist.

Customers give the Haggard guys drawings they drew in class or pictures of something and those are either burned into the wood or Buster will paint on the design or logo. Boards have been sold around Kern County and a few were sold in San Francisco, Fresno, Los Angeles, and beach towns like San Luis Obispo and Pismo.

One has been sold in Portland so far.

Redneck Wines Founded: 2001 Employees: 4 — “It’s basically just the three of us, and we have somebody who distributes the product locally. There’s really nothing to do on the manufacturing side. The label just comes to us and we distribute the product,” said co-owner David Higdon.

Continued on page 52

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It began almost 10 years ago as a joke between founder and current co-owner Clete Harper and his pal Terry Hill. Now, this redneck label has become a well-known gag gift around town.

“We were sitting around drinking some wine, and I happened to mention that I’d like to make some homemade wine sometime and put a label on it and give it out to friends for the holidays,” Harper said.

That’s exactly what the Oildale boys did. Harper and Hill found a private label in Northern California to manufacture the wine and thought it was amusing to slap a label on a cheap bottle of wine.

During the first couple of years, the company sold a few other wines, but they were discontinued, so the two bestsellers remain Redneck Red (merlot) and White Trash White (chardonnay).

“It’s not real palatable, but the phone started ringing and people asked, ‘Where did you get this wine? I have a brother who is a wine snob and I want to send him some.’ Then I thought maybe we’re onto something here,” Harper said.

Though the creators never intended it to be a serious wine, they have held downhome wine tastings where bluegrass music plays and Harper arrives dressed in his overalls. One of the pranks Harper and his buddies like to pull during those tastings is making the crowd believe there’s a hint of a peach at the very finish of the wine. Harper laughs as he watches the crowd’s reactions and head nods in agreement. One time a lady mentioned she couldn’t taste that sweet aroma and Harper congratulated her for being the first honest person to speak up and disagree.

“Everyone likes to act like they know something about wine — it’s palatable — everyone’s different,” Harper said.

After a few years, it became difficult to market the product, so the founders looked for partners to come in to help with their business. In 2005, David Higdon and his business partner, Stan Ellis (they co-own the Bakersfield Jam) sought out the private wine label since it was a unique product, and Higdon and his father-inlaw, Pat Fitzsimons, have shared the label with Harper since.

The Redneck Wines can be found at a handful of local liquor stores as well as on their website that sells to any state allowing wine to enter. It makes a great corporate gift people can have fun with and set on a shelf.

If people find this wine label offensive, Harper can simply mutter, “I was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma and was raised in Oildale, and my name is Cletus. It don’t get any more redneck than that.”

Kern River Brewing Co. Founded: 2005 Employees: About 20 2009 production: 750 beer barrels Projected 2010 production: Around 1,000 beer barrels What’s next: “We’re trying to find a way to increase production and at this point, it would be another facility — that would be a big investment. We’re just kind of toying with the idea, but we’re keeping our options open. You never know, maybe we’ll be all around the U.S. some-

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December 2010

Kern River Brewing Co. brewmaster Kyle Smith, left, and owners Rebecca and Eric Giddens

Photo by Casey Christie

Projected 2010 sales: They hope to do $100,000 in revenue.

What’s next: Higdon’s father-in-law, Pat Fitzsimons, who comes from the produce side of business, (an executive for the salad-in-a-bag company Fresh Express) is trying to get national distribution with the Redneck Wines product. He recently retired and has more time to commit to the business. Also, co-owner Clete Harper said the company wants to start doing wine tastings for fundraisers again like they have in the past.

day,” said co-owner Rebecca Giddens.

Before the 2004 Olympics ended, Rebecca Giddens knew it was going to be her last season (she ended up with a silver medal) and that she would retire from her kayaking career. She was trying to figure out the next step in her life and career with husband Eric Giddens.

“The most important thing was living in Kernville with all the outdoor activities and the people. We wanted to incorporate that into our job, whatever that was going to be,” Rebecca said.

The couple knew Kernville was where they wanted to spend their lives, so they started looking for breweries in the San Diego area and up north to see if they could lure someone down. While they were on the lookout for business partners, a gentleman mentioned to the Giddens’ that his son who was a Forest Service firefighter had a hobby: brewing beer locally out of his garage. A couple of months went by and more people mentioned they had sampled Kyle Smith’s beer at parties, and it tasted good.

“We went over to his house, and he had the most amazing set up. The first sip of his beer was amazing — it was too good to be true. We thought, ‘There’s no way he’ll stop doing that for a living up here in Kernville,’ but he was obviously into making beer,” Rebecca said.

The Giddens proposed that they would deal with the business aspect if Smith would deal with the beer, and that’s how the Kern River Brewing Co. opened for business in 2006. The brewing company has several beers on tap, four standard beers to purchase online and a couple of seasonal beers like the popular Pumpkin Ale that Smith (aka the Master of Brewing) makes for the holidays.

As far as local distribution, you can find the KRBC beer in Kernville, Tehachapi, Ridgecrest and Bakersfield stores, including Lengthwise and BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse. The trio also sells their brew in Los Angeles and San Diego, which has been doing well.

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Colby Lewis pitching his Texas Rangers to their only win of the 2010 World Series against the San Francisco Giants.

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Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Rising to the

TOP

Bakersfield's Colby Lewis shines in World Series appearance

By Stephen Lynch

N

ot only were the eyes of Texas upon Colby Lewis during the recently completed Major League Baseball post-season — so were those of seemingly the entire city of Bakersfield.

The former North High and Bakersfield College standout gave local sports fans plenty to get excited about in October as he led the Texas Rangers to their first-ever World Series appearance.

Armed with a 95-mile-per-hour fastball, the 6-foot 4-inch, 230pound right-handed starting pitcher was 3-0 with a dazzling 1.71 earned run average in four playoff starts.

All three of the wins, including two against the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series, came after a Texas loss.

The pressure of pitching in such important games didn’t seem to bother Lewis at all.

“The most nervous I was happened when I faced the first batter, (Carl) Crawford, in my first post-season start against Tampa Bay,” Lewis said. “After that, it just felt like another start.”

Lewis’ biggest victory came in game 3 of the World Series when — with a record crowd of 52,419 on hand in Arlington, Texas — he held the San Francisco Giants to two earned runs on five hits, while striking out six in 7 2/3 innings pitched.

“For me, it still hasn’t hit home,“ said the 31-year old Lewis of playing in the World Series. “It’s one of those situations that you grow up watching on TV… When it happens, it feels like it kind of goes by quick. You’re having so much fun. It’s an experience that

you definitely want to have every year. That’s for sure.”

Unfortunately, for Lewis, it was the Rangers only win against the Giants, and he didn’t get a chance to pitch again in the series.

“It's definitely disappointing,” Lewis said of the Rangers losing the World Series. “But the biggest thing we took out of it is we’re the best team in the American League and everybody is still looking up to us,” he said.

All of Lewis’ post-season success followed a regular season in which he won a career high of 12 games and was ranked No. 7 in the American League with 196 strikeouts, while posting an ERA of 3.72 in 201 innings pitched.

“It was very exciting for not only me, as his former coach, but I think it was exciting for Bakersfield,” BC coach Tim Painton said.

“It was just great to watch his entire season. To have it culminate with a World Series victory was pretty exciting.”

Despite how quickly he emerged into a 2010 post-season ace, Lewis’ road to baseball glory didn’t come without difficulties.

An injury during his junior year at North High forced him to have ligament replacement surgery (aka Tommy John surgery) on his right arm.

Still recovering from that, Lewis wasn’t able to pitch again for the Stars until the very end of his senior season.

Unable to showcase his talents for college recruiters or pro scouts, he went to Bakersfield College after graduating from North High School.

“You could see talent in him,” Lewis’ coach at North High Continued on page 56 www.BakersfieldLife.com

55

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While pitching at Bakersfield College, Lewis’ strong arm caught the attention of Major League scouts.

“The most nervous I was happened when I faced the first batter, (Carl) Crawford, in my first post-season start against Tampa Bay. After that, it just felt like another start.”

Photo by Dan Ocampo

Tony Silver said. “But because of the injury, junior college was the really probably the next thing for him to do. If he’d been healthy, he would have been recruited because he was a good student and he could throw hard.”

By Lewis’ sophomore year at BC, he had finally completely recovered from the surgery and was throwing harder than ever.

With that came the attention of Major League teams and Lewis was selected 38th overall in the 1999 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Rangers.

“He was a very special player at this level,” Painton said. “We knew because of his velocity and size and strength that he had a chance to be a very special pitcher.”

In 2002, Lewis made his big league debut with the Rangers. The following year, he went 10-9 with Texas. But a shoulder injury forced him to miss most of the next four seasons, which included stints with Detroit in 2006 and Oakland in 2007.

From there, Lewis headed to Japan where he pitched for the Hiroshima Carp in 2008 and 2009.

“Financially it was just a better way to go,” Lewis said. “Plus, I didn’t want to take the chances of moving between Triple-A and the big leagues and move my family around that much.”

While in Japan, Lewis harnessed better command of all four pitches in his repertoire leading to a triumphant return with Texas this past season.

“You can give it up along the way when things aren’t going good but he fought and fought and stayed in there and got better,” Silver said. “Now he’s on top of the world you could say.”

After the World Series ended, Lewis and his wife, Jenny, along with young son Cade returned to Bakersfield and are currently remodeling a house they recently bought on the west side of town. The couple is expecting their second child this spring.

Lewis has plenty of other stuff to keep him busy during the offseason. He is scheduled to be a guest speaker at a North High alumni dinner slated for the end of January. And every winter Lewis spends time at the BC baseball complex.

“He’s somebody we welcome back each year because he’s so good with our play-

— Colby Lewis, on the pressure of pitching in the post-season

ers,” Painton said “Most of them were in kindergarten or first grade when he was actually playing here. So it’s been a long lapse. He’s just a name to them. And when he comes back it’s a neat deal because they find out he’s somebody who has gone through the same things they’re going through right now. He’s just a first-class person and somebody we always enjoy having back around our program.”

Lewis’ willingness to continue to give back to the community along with his

Photo by Casey Christie

Continued from page 55

Lewis the day he was chosen 38th overall in the 1999 Major League Baseball draft. recent pitching heroics make him a source of pride for all of Bakersfield.

“It was great to watch to watch his performance on the biggest stage there is in baseball,” Painton said. “And to have him go out and excel the way he did was really, really something special.”

During the Holiday Season more than ever, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible. And in this spirit we say, simply but sincerely: Grant Armstrong

Thank You and Best Wishes for the Holiday Season and a Happy New Year

Diana Aronson

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The Anatesco team with their solar-powered steam generator. From left: Jeremy Denesha, Doug Denesha, Yessica Lopez, Jesse Mendoza and Ben Pierce.

Anatesco’s portable solar steamer Process could bring orphan wells back to life, while keeping costs down

By Melissa Peaker-Whitten

L

ocal company Anatesco Inc. was started back in 1976 by Doug Denesha, as a means of implementing new technology to increase efficiency within the oil industry.

Today, some 30 years later, his company is still revolutionizing the industry by offering the first solar-powered steam generator, the Portable Anatesco Solar Steamer or PASS. This cutting-edge green technology has been in the works for more than eight years, and after several prototypes they now have a viable model appropriate for the environment, according to the

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Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Photo by Felix Adamo

G O I N G G R E E N

company website anatesco.com.

“We make green steam (because it) requires no power, no fossil fuels, no gas, oil, nothing,” Denesha said. “And it’s designed specifically for the oil fields because it’s portable.”

Theirs is a closed system without emissions, meaning no smoke, steam, or anything else is emitted into the air. This is important not only for the environment, but it is also more costeffective, so that orphan wells — wells that have been abandoned because they cost more to operate than they produce — can now be put to use again, Denesha said.

“We’ve got a system that works — to get a larger system running and make it commercially viable is going to take a bit longer,” he said. In working to re-establish orphan wells, Anatesco will also be able to perform tests and glean information necessary to publish a paper on their research and the science behind the generator, and he estimates that will be completed around this time next year.

“One of the big advantages of the PASS is that you can move (it) in and start becoming economic right from the beginning, Denesha said. So "the cost of lifting a barrel of oil is going to be a lot less, which is especially advantageous to small operators.”

Another advantage is it can be used in areas such as Santa Barbara County, where you can no longer get an emissions permit.

This new technology can be applied to the existing infrastructure, replacing the oil-fired burners used to heat the bottom of the tanks so oil can be transported. This basically uses the same process without having to burn anything, which offers them both an economic and environmentally sound solution, Denesha said.

“The technology is not new, but it has been, historically, relatively expensive in terms of materials required, system fabrication, and startup costs," he said. “But that will change with the arrival of the PASS.” “Once in place, a solar plant is very inexpensive to operate. It is also safe and easy to operate, Denesha said. This type of technology has several interesting oil field applications such as boosting current system steam quality, providing short lead time heat for new wells or wells in outlying areas — away from centrally located steam generating facilities, as well as in lowering carbon footprints in emission-sensitive areas.”

In simple terms, the generator works by using two pipes to generate steam. For example, if you had a bathtub full of hot oil and inserted a metal hose into the fluid, then pumped water through the hose, because the oil in the tub is three times hotter than the boiling point of water, the water in the hose comes back out as steam.

And as the water in the hose heats up, it actually cools off

the oil. In the same way, the heat transfer fluid used in the steam generator is pumped in a circle, and as it cools off it is sent back through the solar field to heat it up again, continuing the steam generating process.

The PASS system will initially be made available on a lease basis and will be available for purchase in the first quarter of 2011.

The systems will be operated and maintained

by Anatesco’s trained technicians and built to the specifications of — Anatesco founder Doug whatever environment it Denesha, touting his compawill be used in. ny’s new Portable Anatesco Solar Steamer.

Ultimately, it will "give the small guy a chance of becoming more economic (as well as) bring back some dead wells that are very substantial when you put them all together," Denesha said. “The initial cost is up front, but once you have the system, it is relatively inexpensive to operate.”

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59

H O M E & G A R D E N

Turning up the heat Tankless water heaters offer an efficient option

By Gabriel Ramirez

W

inter is fast approaching and many of us are already bringing out the warm layers of clothing and warmer

blankets.

Of course that also means water heaters will be working double time and might be in need of maintenance.

Maintenance is a way for people to keep their water heaters in top shape and save money because of good performance, but another method of cost saving is to switch out that traditional water heater for a tankless water heater.

According to Phil Oehler, project manager of HPS Mechanical Inc., tankless water heaters are on average 22 percent to 40 percent more efficient than storage tank models.

“Some of the benefits of a tankless water heater, include endless hot water, energy savings that can be as much as $70 to $80 a year, flexible installation, significant space savings, reduced risk of flooding and a life span of 15 to 20 years,” Oehler said.

Tankless water heaters only use gas when there is a demand. For instance, when the hot water is turned on a faucet or shower is turned to hot, the heater has a flow sensor that sends a signal to turn on the burners and begin heating the water.

The cost for the installation of a tankless water heater depends on whether the installation is in a new home or if it is replacing a storage tank heater.

Oehler said that with new construction, you would be paying $500 to $1,000 while 60

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Tankless water heaters can be installed indoors or out.

replacing a tank heater with a tankless unit can cost between $3,000 to $4,000.

“People should know that tankless water heaters do not deliver hot water instantaneously. It takes time to heat the water to the target temperature, and just like storage

water heaters, any cold water in the pipes needs to be pushed out,” Oehler said. “And tankless models' electric controls mean you'll also lose hot water during a power outage. If you want hot water to a shower or faucet quickly, a re-circulation system

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Oehler said tankless water heaters also need more care and should be serviced once a year to prevent calcium buildup that can decrease efficiency, restrict water flow and damage the model.

“Installing a water softener is recommended if your water hardness is above 11 grains per gallon. Ignoring this advice can shorten your warranty,” Oehler said.

And there are other incentives as well.

“There are federal tax rebates available … and there is less chance of flooding due to a leak with a tankless water heater,” Oehler said.

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I T ’ S A G U Y T H I N G

Blazin’ off road

There’s nothing like the off-road racing.

Four motocross aficionados tell us why it’s sublime Photos by Jessica Frey

Q

How long have you been riding?

Brian Campbell: 42 years Larry Collins: 38 years. I started when I was seven.

Lance Horton: About 40 years. I’m 49 years old Larry Brown: I have been riding since 1968: 42 years.

Q

How did you get into dirt biking?

Brian: My dad started taking my younger brother, Kirt, and I riding with him when we were little. We would ride north of Bakersfield.

Larry Collins: My parents bought me a Kawasaki 75 when I was 7 years old. As I look back on it, I think they were trying to get rid of me. I had some friends in the neighborhood, and we would ride from sun up to sun down right from my family’s home on Olive Drive. By age 9, my brother (Gary) and I were racing on the weekend’s traveling to different parts of the state nearly every Sunday. My dad (Marion) was racing cars during that same period, so we would travel to his race on

Larry Collins Managing director, SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour (Stock Car Racing) Series; partner, Mesa Marin Raceway Inc. 62

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Saturdays, get back home well into the morning hours, reload the van and head out to the motocross races for my brother and I to compete.

Lance: My parents bought motorhomes and we would spend weekends and holidays going to the Mojave Desert with all the neighborhood families. It was a great childhood.

Larry Brown: When I was young, I read about the Baja 1000 and Mint 400 events and wanted to experience them. And riders like J.N. Roberts inspired me to start.

Lance Horton

Vice president, wealth adviser, portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

Q

What kind of bike do you ride?

Brian: KTM 450.

Larry Collins: Currently, I ride a Honda CRF450x in the mountains and a Honda XR650R for the trips across the desert.

Lance: I’ve owned many, but seem to go back to the HONDA CRF450x.

Larry Brown: KTM 450EXC, Honda CRF 450X, and Honda XR650R.

Q

How does your family feel about you having such a high-speed hobby?

Brian: My son, Chad, who is 14, loves it. Sometimes, he rides with me. Ann, my wife has come to accept it (on most occasions)!

Larry Collins: They know that there’s no stopping me. There are so many aspects of the sport I enjoy: the physical challenge, the sense of adventure and the fact so many of my closest friends ride and race. It’s great just spending time with the guys and doing what we enjoy. My two boys — Tanner, 7, and Carter, 4 — have started riding so that’s an entirely new

adventure and appreciation for off-road riding. My boys really enjoy riding, and it’s great way for our family to spend time together.

Lance: My son Blake absolutely loves it. He rides as well when he returns from college in Oklahoma. My daughter, Nat, she has nothing to complain about. She plays college ice hockey in New York.

My wife, Lynette, has accepted it after 25 years. Even though it’s very dangerous and expensive, she knows it’s my passion.

I appreciate that.

Larry Brown: They support me 100 percent.

Larry Brown Brian W. Campbell President, Advanced Gunite Inc.

Owner TCR Performance, Inc., real estate investor

Continued on page 64 www.BakersfieldLife.com 63

Continued from page 63

Q

What’s your favorite event to participate in?

Larry Collins: The Baja 1000 would have to be my favorite event. It has a mystique about it, and it’s hard to put into words to describe it unless you’re talking with someone who has also raced Baja. Baja has such a sense of adventure, and the Baja 1000 is such a big event for the people of the Baja peninsula. I rode the night section for our team in 2006, and that was truly an adventure of a lifetime. At times, you are all alone, trying to stay on course and go as fast as possible. Passing tens of thousands of people on the roadside at two in the morning as they’re cheering you on.

And again, experiencing the event with your close friends makes it all the more special.

Lance: The Score Baja 1000 without a doubt. I love the night section.

Larry Brown: The Baja 1000.

What’s the fastest you’ve ever gone on your bike?

Brian: 105 mph on a dry lakebed, racing during the Baja 1000 in Mexico.

Brian W. Campbell 64

Bakersfield Life

Lance: As fast as it will go, 100 mph plus.

Larry Brown: I would estimate 110 to 120 mph.

Brian: The Baja 1000.

Q

Larry Collins: 123 mph in the draft of another motorcycle across the Diablo dry lake in Baja. If I’ve ever gone faster, I didn’t have time to look down to check the speedometer.

December 2010

Lance Horton

Q

What is your biggest off-road accomplishment and/or your most memorable off-road moment?

Brian: Without a doubt, it would have to be winning the Baja Series Championship in 2009, along with my teammates Bill Cotton, Brian Sweaney (both Bakersfield boys), and Pete Cochran from Laguna Beach.

Larry Collins: Winning the 2009 edition of Vegas to Reno (Over 40 Pro) is our biggest accomplishment. It’s the most prestigious and longest off-road race in America. I say “our” biggest accomplishment because long distance off-road races take a team of both riders and support staff to get the job done.

Lance: Recently winning the over 40 expert class Vegas to Reno off road race. The longest point-to-point race in America. 580 miles of the dustiest, rockiest, desert in the world.

Larry Brown: The 2009 Vegas to Reno class win and backing it up this year, 2010. Also memorable was finishing my first Barstow to Vegas event in 1972 when I was 14 years old and being happy to survive.

Larry Collins

Larry Brown

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Bakersfield gives back through annual toy drives Choosing the right Christmas tree Tips to make your Christmas display shine

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The giving tree Tips will keep your Christmas tree thriving for weeks

By Gabriel Ramirez

You're probably already shopping for the holidays, but before you start wrapping gifts, make sure you pick up a Christmas tree to put them under.

There are a few factors to consider when you are looking for the right Christmas tree for your family. Jere White, owner of White Forest Nursery, said when selecting a tree, people should not only think about the variety but also whether that tree will fit in the house.

“It is very common that a tree that looks small on the open tree lot grows greatly when taken into the confines of a home,” White said.

White said during the past 15 to 20 years, the noble fir has taken its place as the traditional Christmas tree because of its symmetrical branches that allow ornaments to be hung and displayed individually.

“This tree is the sturdiest and does have the longest life of any cut Christmas tree,” White said.

While the noble fir stands strong as the traditional Christmas tree, many people still lean toward the Douglas fir for its thicker more fragrant branches or the grand fir for its sweet fragrance that will diffuse throughout a room for weeks. Some are defying convention by choosing living trees with roots as a more environmentally sound and economic choice.

The most expensive of the three types of trees is the noble fir because of the time it takes to grow the tree: seven to 10 years.

“After selling Christmas trees for over 50 years, I have learned that there is no single best Christmas tree,” White said. “The beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. A lot depends on the tree that you have grown up with. Almost always, this becomes the favorite type of tree.”

White said cut Christmas trees will be good for about two to three weeks in a home.

“If you need to have the tree up longer, it is necessary to pay attention to its environment,” White said. “Good light, cool air below 65 degrees and a continuous water supply all help make a longer lasting tree.”

Don't forget that Christmas trees are a living plant and require a few considerations to maintain a longer life.

“If possible, find a place that is by a window, away from heating vents or fireplaces and in the coolest room possible,” White said.

“Our family usually chooses a spot in the corner and we close off the heating vent to the room during the Christmas season. This increases the life of the tree by about double. We know that the cut trees will

die, but a longer shelf life in always the goal.”

The main factor in helping a tree last the longest is to provide water.

White suggests a tree be placed in water within an hour or two after a fresh cut is done to the trunk of the tree.

“A water stand is a must,” White said. “It is just as important to maintain a supply of water into the stand. Once the supply dries up, the trunk is sealed with sap and will not take up water again.”

After the Christmas season ends, you might be asking what you should do with your tree. White recommends live trees be planted in your yard, given to a friend or donated to a favorite school or park.

“Cut Christmas trees should always be taken to the recycling yard,” White said.

“It provides great compost that will aid in the health and growth of other plant life.”

2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

Photo by Felix Adamo

Gearing up for the Toys for Tots program are Marines, from left, Sgt. Jonathan Cadenas, Sgt. James Ehrie and 1st Sgt. Nichelle Mason along with Jayla Mason, center, and Ivy Crouch.

T giving The joy of

Local community groups prepare for annual charity toy drives

2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

By Hillary Haenes

he spirit and magic of Christmas is instilled in our hearts during childhood and as we get older, the gift of giving fills us with great joy. But for numerous families living in Kern County, that joy may not illuminate inside their home this holiday season. With the tough economic times that many are facing, parents cannot afford to give their child a toy from Santa. This is something that Sgt. James A. Ehrie experienced as a child, which is why he gives back through the Toys for Tots program sponsored by the United States Marine Corps.

“Back when I was a kid, you don’t understand why you aren’t getting the toys or why you don’t have a Christmas. One year we didn’t have a Christmas tree. We didn’t know about this growing up until my brother joined the Marine Corps,” Ehrie said.

Last year, the program collected 25,525 toys and distributed them to 10,758 kids whose parents cried, screamed, and jumped up and down like they had won the lottery. A majority of the new, unused and unwrapped toys that are collected cost an average of $10. There are also several handmade toys that get donated, which is how Toys for

Tots began in 1947. A Marine’s wife handcrafted a doll and told her husband to deliver it to an organization that would present it to a child in need on Christmas Day. What most people don’t know is that this is a year-round program that kicks off on Oct. 1. More and more drop-off locations will gradually pop up around town as it gets closer to the holidays.

Throughout the year, Toys for Tots looks for people and businesses in the community to partner with like they did with Maya Cinemas when “Toy Story 3” was released last summer. The theater called to ask if Ehrie and his Marines would be interested in having an event in conjunction with the release of the movie. Ehrie arranged for a military vehicle to be parked in front of the theater and for a couple of Marines to be dressed in uniform.

“The kids see us dressed up like G.I. Joes and they said, ‘We just saw you in the movie.’ And they asked, ‘How did you get here so fast,’” Ehrie said.

That summer event collected about 150 toys to put toward their goal, which is three toys per children this year.

“The feeling you get from giving these toys to either the parents or the kids and seeing the joy and sign of relief from the parents is a wonderful feeling,” said Sgt. Jonathan Cadenas, who helped out his first time last year.

Another major toy drive is the 27th annual Bakersfield Toy Run that is made possible with the good will of motorcycle riders to benefit the Salvation Army. The charitable ride was started in Bakersfield by a couple of local bikers who had attended toy runs in Los Angeles and wanted to bring it back home. Last year was a blessing to committee president John Mullin because there were a record number of 4,000 bikers, several hundred cars and nearly 100 ATVs that rode in the parade, and about $12,000 in cash, two and a half tons of food and nearly 3,000 toys were collected.

The ride begins at Beach Park and the parade’s destination is the Kern County Fairgrounds where the toys are collected. People get in with either a contribution of $20 or an unwrapped toy and nonperishable foods that are equivalent to a $20 value. Both exhibition halls are rented out where vendors set up inside and there will be food, beverages and live music.

“It’s a chance for people who come regularly to see old friends, visit with other bikers and meet people who they haven’t met

before. It’s really a family event and a place that is safe for all bikers, regardless of what goes on in the outside biker world,” Mullin said.

A couple of smaller-scaled toy drives include Operation Soulwinner to benefit children in the Oildale community, which collected 3,000 toys and had 1,500 guests show up last year. Ray Ballard, founder and Evangelist, started the organization six years ago. The other toy collection is held by the Outlawz Car Club that gives the toys to the Kern Medical Center Pediatric and ICU departments. This is the club’s fourth year and president Bill Araujo said toys are delivered a couple of days after the toy drive and are given to the kids in the hospital, with the rest used in the kids’ play therapy room to help reduce stress. Both toy drives collect for children of all ages, from infants to teens.

This may be not constitute as an official “toy drive,” but Children Joining Children For Success, an organization that enriches the lives of foster kids, is holding an event on Dec. 11 that will introduce a wide spectrum of opportunities to increase the potential of success in Kern County’s foster kids. There are several categories the foster kids have signed up to be mentored in like music, business and sports.

CJCFS collects items such as slightly used or new musical instruments, chess boards, soccer cleats and equipment, ice skates, jackets and gloves to provide the kids with at this event as well as throughout the year.

“We collaborate with existing organizations and other programs out there. We provide the support through equipment or any type of need they may have. Sometimes it might be a fee to participate because their foster parents may not be able to afford it,” said CJCFS president and chairwoman Linda Quinones-Vaughan.

Suggestions for toys from all of the drives include: plush stuffed animals, baby blankets, children’s coloring books, dolls, musical toys, puzzles and art supplies, backpacks, CDs, gift certificates, costume jewelry, board games or sports equipment.

Also, be wary of products that require batteries. This Christmas, give the gift of happiness to the children of our community with a toy that will not only make their holiday brighter, but also their parents who work hard to try and provide their child with the magic of Christmas.

Local toy runs 63rd annual USMC Toys for Tots When: Throughout the year, but the official kickoff was Oct. 1 and toys will be distributed in Bakersfield on Dec. 18.

Location: Various locations around town like the Valley Plaza Mall, but check the website for one nearest you.

Cost: A new, unused and unwrapped toy that costs an average of $10.

Information: Bakersfield-ca.toysfortots.org 27th annual Bakersfield Toy Run When: Vehicles line up at 7 a.m. at Beach Park, the parade will leave at 10 a.m. and should arrive at the Kern County Fairgrounds around 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 12.

Location: Beach Park to the Kern County Fairgrounds Cost: Entrance fee is an unwrapped toy and nonperishable food item of a $20 value or $20 per person.

Information: John Mullin at 747-9309 or visit www.motorcyclemonster.com/events/ bakersfield-toy-run-2010-12-12-BakersfieldCA.html Operation Soulwinner Christmas Joy Ride & Toy Run When: 10:30 a.m. parade; 11:30 a.m. car show; 12 to 3 p.m. children’s carnival, program and toy giveaway on Dec. 18.

Location: Toy drive at Sonic Drive-In on the corner of Olive Drive and Roberts Lane; car show and carnival at North High School.

Cost: A toy valued at $20 or a donation of $20 gets you into the parade; $10 for barbecue plate.

Information: operationsoulwinner.org/ Fourth annual Outlawz Car Club Christmas Toy Drive 2010 When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 4.

Location: The Rocket Shop Café, 2000 S. Union Ave. Cost: New and unwrapped toy.

Information: Bill Araujo, 912-4037.

CHiPS for Kids When and what: Various drop-off locations until Dec. 15; toy drop-off event 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Motor City, 3101 Pacheco Road inside the Auto Mall on Dec. 10. Collecting new and unwrapped toys for children up to age 16.

Location: Any local CHP offices, New Car Dealership in the Auto Mall, North Kern Toyota Dealership, both Costco locations.

Information: Visit drop-off locations or website at motorcitywest.com/community.

Bakersfield Homeless Center Toy Drive When and what: Starts Dec. 1 . Collecting new and unwrapped toys Location: At the center, 1600 East Truxtun; KGET TV 17 first floor at 2120 L St. Information: 322-9199 Second annual CJCFS “Windows Into the Future” When and what: Collection of items year round, but the event will be held on Dec. 11.

Accepting new or slightly used musical instruments, soccer balls, cleats, chess boards, ice skates, jackets, gloves, etc.

Location: 330 H St. , Suite 1 Information: 631-2904

2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

Holiday blues Local therapists say treating holiday blues is first step in dealing with depression

By Gabriel Ramirez

Remembering her son waking up early Christmas morning to remind her not to add garlic or onion to any of his favorite foods brings a smile to Juventina Leyva’s face. But the fond memory is tinged with sadness.

Leyva lost her son, Steve Martin Leyva, on Sept. 13, 2006. He was on vacation with friends in Europe when he died in a tragic accident.

“The holiday seasons, even now after four years, are the hardest for me because Steve was always very festive — especially during the holiday season,” Leyva said. “That first Christmas was the hardest because we were all trying to be as festive as possible for each other, but we could just tell a part of all of us was missing.

“Christmas felt like a big blur due to the depression that I went through in the months following my son’s death,” she said. “But what kept me going was my family and trying to stay strong for them.”

Leyva is among many Bakersfield residents who suffer “holiday blues” during Thanksgiving and Christmas each year.

“Grief never completely goes away,” said Janet Millar, licensed marriage and family therapist and counselor at Cal State Bakersfield. “Naturally, life takes over at some point and the grief moves out of the immediate focus of the people remaining.”

Millar said sometimes people think if they are not in pain about it all the time then they are forgetting about the person.

“Nothing could be further from the truth, the memories and experiences they have had with the person who is gone will live in them forever,” Millar said.

Sarah Appleton, licensed marriage and family therapist with Sarah Appleton Family Therapy, said feeling stressed during the holidays is common, but facing

2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

the holiday hustle and bustle without a special loved one can feel overwhelming.

“The most important thing is to surround yourself with those who love you,” Appleton said. “Surround yourself with family and friends, honor your loved one, take it easy when needed and focus on what really matters to you.”

Millar also recommends these tips for combating depression during the holidays: Rethink the demands of the season and where possible reduce some demands.

Keep from isolating; sometimes the pain of the loss is so much the person wants to be alone.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle making sure to get enough rest, adequate hydration and nutrition and limiting consumption of alcohol or other drugs as well as sugar.

Rethink expectations, sometimes we expect others will feel the same as we do about our loss leading to disappointment, which may add to depression or grief.

Leyva said surrounding herself with positive people and remembering the loved ones that are still with her helped her combat her depression during the holidays.

“Now that a few years have passed, I can’t necessarily say that it’s easier because suffering the loss of a child is a pain that never goes away,” Leyva said. “Even though I suffer his loss, I try to be as happy as I can be now in order to have his joyful spirit resting in peace letting him know he is still a part of me and his mother is OK.”

A good way to help someone who has lost a loved one is to watch for signs of depression.

Millar said signs to look for include: loss of interest in pleasurable activities, blue mood, irritability, change in appetite or sleeping patterns and an increase in anxiety.

“When these symptoms persist over time and or cause the person to become isolated, stop attending to their hygiene or environment or become physically sick then it might be time to help the person find a therapist or group to help them move through the depression to an acceptance of the loss and learning to live with it,” Millar said.

Appleton said there are an abundance of resources in Kern County for people needing help coping with depression.

“Private practitioners, such as me, along with churches, Griefshare groups, college community services and Kern County Mental Health are great resources,” Appleton said.

One is the Blue Christmas Service offered by First Congregational Church.

The Blue Christmas Service began as an idea for a small informal gathering, but now the service led by Pastor David Stabenfeldt is more structured and covers several contrasting stages of grief: despair and hope, want and love, control and faith and memory and joy.

The third annual service will be Dec. 20 at the First Congregational Church at 5 Real Road.

For more information about the service, call 327-1609.

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2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

Thanksgiving is behind us, which means it’s time to get serious about holiday shopping. As you prepare to hit the stores, check out the 2010 Bakersfield Life Gift Guide for perfect ideas from businesses located right here in Bakersfield.

It is chock-full of ideas for men, women, children, friends, co-workers — even the person who seemingly has everything.

Guarantee Shoe Center 2101 Chester Ave. • 325-8751 guaranteeshoecenter.com The Dakota from UGG Australia is an oldfashioned moccasin but with an Ugg twist: soft suede leathers, genuine sheepskin lined, an adjustable lace and a great outdoor sole. New colors have made this a must for schoolkids and adults alike. Find these and other UGG Australia slippers and boots for men women and children at Guarantee Shoe Center downtown.

Ellie Jaye’s Divaz Desirez Boutique 4560 Coffee Road (Coffee and Hageman) • 679-7278 divazdesirez.com Divaz Desirez has great gift ideas to make your holiday shopping easier. Whether it’s a complete outfit, handbag, pair of shoes, jewelry, or one of our signature lotions and creams, Divaz Desirez has that special gift for the lady in your life. We also have gift certificates.

2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

1608 19th St. • 631-0473 elliejayes.com Stay completely organized with Baby Kaed Dhara diaper bag. It has 11 pockets to keep you on track: five interior pockets, two side bottle pockets, back pocket with separate cell phone pocket, one zippered pocket under the flap, one open pocket under the flap. Accessories include a changing mat, zippered pouch, drawstring bag, pacifier pouch, clip keys, wipes case and duster bag. The bag measures 13 inches high by 13 inches wide and 6.5 inches deep.

Sniders Cyclery 2700 New Stine • 833-2700 2700 Union Ave. • 324-4759 Bikes for kids of all ages. Kids of all ages will be pleased with the quality selection of children’s bicycles at Sniders Cyclery. For younger ones on your gift list, pick up a pedal car ($154.95) or one of our children’s bicycles, like the Schwinn Tigress ($109.95). That’s a sure bet for happiness when found under the tree.

Impact Streetwear 2701 Ming Ave. in the Valley Plaza • 835-7323 impactstreetwear.com Give twice this Christmas season with Toms shoes! For every pair of Toms purchased, a child in need also receives a pair. We have the largest collection of Toms in town — classics, wedges, botas and cordones, for both men and women — with prices starting at $44.99. Many styles will sell out, so shop now! Head to Impact Streetwear in the Valley Plaza or click our Toms link at impactstreetwear.com.

River Rock Creations Available at Stockdale Florist and Bear Mountain Sports • 1-877-548-ROCK RockRabbits.com or RockGolfers.com Check out our uniquely handcrafted golfers, stone animals and cairns (used as garden monuments, indoor décor, meditative enhancements, aesthetic symbols and good luck charms).

Our patent pending assembly process of drilling, pinning and gluing each component of each piece assures joint strength and longevity of the pieces. Start your collection today!

In Your Wildest Dreams 1723 18th St. between G and H streets 324-6484 With new arrivals daily, In Your Wildest Dreams offers an assortment of goods: quality consignments; designer label clothing, purses and shoes; vintage clothing and costumes; estate and fine jewelry; antique furniture; vintage linens, china and glassware, collectibles, unique gift ideas and more.

2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

Natural Healing Spa and Detox Health Center 400 Truxtun Ave., Suite 104 342-5033 naturalhealingdetox.com Natural Healing Spa and Detox Health Center not only offers a number of wellness services — including cell rejuvenation facials, infrared sauna therapy, massage and many more — it also carries a variety of products focused on wellness and detoxifying, including Thai Go – a delicious antioxidant drink. Nature Sunshine products include Silver Sol, Silver Cream and many others that will make great gifts that truly communicate how much you care about the wellbeing of the recipient.

Harmony Road Music School 665-8228 harmonyroadbakersfield.com The gift of music! Harmony Road Music School offers music classes for all ages. Do you have a toddler or preschooler?

Enroll them in one of our music and movement classes for ages 16 months to 4 years. We also offer group piano classes for students 5-12, as well as classes for adults. Come and see why we were voted "Best Music Lessons" in the 97.7 The Breeze Radio's Mom's Choice Awards!

Art Express 1607 19th St. 324-7112

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2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

This holiday season enjoy shopping at Art Express, located downtown in The Curiosity Shop near the corner of 19th and Eye. This month we'll feature unique and vintage holiday gifts and decorations. Custom framing is now available, with a nice selection of frames and mats. Framed photography by artists Leslie VoVilla and Peter Torres are always great gift ideas for Christmas. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Pappagallo 4817 Stockdale Highway 832-9054 Pappagallo has a wide selection of traditional, classic, contemporary and fashion handbags. Brighton is the perfect gift! Visit Pappagallo for the best selection of Brighton jewelry, accessories and handbags.

Jane’s Jewelers 9530 Hageman Road, Suite F 587-6242 www.janesjewelers.com Fashionable Black Diamond Accents White and black stainless steel bracelets ($149) are a stylish choice.

Diamonds By The Yard These elegant 14 kt gold necklaces are available in various lengths and gemstones ($399).

Interior Accents 6801 White Lane Suite B-2 833-1650 Interior Accents not only carries a wide selection of framed artwork, floral and home accessories, but also a wide array of gift items. If you’re looking for that unique hostess gift, for the person who has everything, for someone special, or for yourself, look no further. Come in and see our newest collection of hammered glass and natural bamboo trays and bowls featuring exquisite pewter accents that are sure to be the hit of any holiday event. And don’t forget we also have gift certificates!

Essentials Spa 9000 Ming Ave. at The Marketplace 654-0321 EdaySpas.com Winter Bliss Promotion. The ultimate beauty package for $179 ($100 savings!) The perfect gift for your special someone this holiday. Offer is limited, so don’t delay. While supplies last.

JM’s Just for Children 930 Wible Road 834-7277 jmsjustforchildren.com With a bit of shimmer, the new girls dress by Kate Mack is great for holiday parties! Silver poly satin ruffles alternate with ruffles of nylon tulle and lurex, and a fabric flower accents the sleeveless styling. Available in sizes 4 to 7, this dress includes a back zip and is machine washable. Don’t miss this stunning find at JM’s Just for Children.

2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

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Johnston Farms 4817 Stockdale Highway • 365-3201 JohnstonFarms.Com Johnston Family Farms offers you a sweet taste of California! Enjoy sweet, seedless, tree-ripe naval oranges and Satsuma Mandarins, which are easy to peel. Order your gift pack today. Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and closed on Sunday. A sweet taste of California from Johnston Family Farms.

Fashionista 2001 H St. 327-4466

Bobbi’s Hallmark 8200 Stockdale Highway • 834-7467 Hallmark Recordable Storybooks are a holiday favorite. Read to a loved one, even when you can’t be there! Add your voice — or Grandma’s, the little one’s, an aunt’s or a friend’s — to every page with our growing collection of Recordable Storybooks. A perfect gift for every age!

Muubaa is a London-based label that opened up to much acclaim, with a well-received collection of leather designs. The in-house design team specializes in experimental leather treatments, consistently looking at new ways to mold, cut and color the high quality leather for an instant stylized and cool factor that is undeniable.

Sought after by women around the world and Hollywood stars such as Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, Rachel Bilson and you! Come visit us, we have many other styles and colors trom which to choose.

Don Lucas Fine Silver Jewelery Pappagallo 4817 Stockdale Highway • 832-9054 Trollbeads are the collectible jewelry you can personalize.

Choose individual beads that remind you of special people, times and memories in your life. Get inspired! Browse our collection of completed bracelets for inspiration to create your own unique Trollbeads keepsake.

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2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

1730 Oak St. • 323-9457 donlucas.com Don Lucas has been designing traditional Southwestern and contemporary jewelry since 1974. The collection is handmade using sterling silver and genuine stones. Intricate details and vibrant color combinations make every piece of the collection unique. Wearing a Don Lucas piece is to bring to life a melody of traditional craftsmanship and unique design. All Don Lucas jewelry is made right here in Bakersfield in his studio workshop.

Urban Oasis Spa 1910 19th St. • 873-4001 Perfect for holiday gift giving, our new holiday candles release the festive scents of the winter holidays. The success of the Trapp candle brand is built on a simple, clear premise: wonderful fragrance experiences will create a lasting impression. "A Bottle of Perfume in Every Candle." Trapp candles, like the 50-hour hand-poured candle, are known for their high fragrance content and superb burn quality.

These great gifts for the candle lover in every family can be found at Urban Oasis Spa.

Lashes & Mustaches 5060 Californian Ave, #100 in Stockdale Tower 836-9775 The best place to shop. Do your Christmas shopping for that favorite lady in your life at Lashes & Mustaches. BareMinerals has everything she needs for a flawless complexion.

BareMinerals SPF 15 foundation feels like a cream, buffs on for a 100 percent natural, no-makeup look and is clinically proven to improve the appearance of her skin!

Hungry Hunter 3580 Rosedale Highway • 328-0580 Make your reservation now for Christmas Eve and New Year's (closed Christmas Day). Gift certificates are a delicious idea for the ones you love. If you're planning a holiday party, call us today. Private banquet room is available for up to 80 people.

Lil B’s Sweet Tooth The Marketplace, 9000 Ming Ave., Suite H4 665-8500 Yuletide yummies. Whether they’ve been naughty or nice, why not treat your family and friends to a delicious gift from Lil B’s Sweet Tooth. Choose from an assortment of Choclatique’s delectable holiday-themed fine chocolates like Christmas Crunch Brittle and Holiday Egg Nog. We also have an assortment of great stocking stuffers from tasty ribbon candy to hand-crafted lollipops.

2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

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Tangerine Located in The Marketplace • 664-9500

Cezanne Gallery 420 H St. • 325-1336 For all things beautiful. Visit Cezanne Gallery for one of our unique gifts this holiday season. Choose from one of our collectible Lladros (we have the most extensive collection from Los Angeles to San Francisco!) or one of our collectible boxes featuring such artists as Klimt, Van Gogh or Matisse, to name a few (starting at $45). Gift ideas are endless and pricing for these unique gifts starts as low as $6.

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2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

Make a statement. Accessories are essential in every complete outfit, and when style icon Nicole Richie developed House of Harlow, she created a collection that’s easy to mix and match. With items you can wear alone as an everyday piece or stack to make more of a statement, House of Harlow is just one of many brands available at Tangerine, where building a wardrobe you love is not about quantity, it’s about quality and versatility of the pieces you purchase. Love what you wear!

Plan an unforgettable, but safe holiday celebration will be a 30- to 45-minute wait. Grasty said be patient or call a little When it comes to the holidays, especially New Year's Eve, bit earlier than you expect to leave. there's plenty of things to celebrate with — food, laughter and the DDI also offers a party rates for private, office or large parties. constant flow of bubbly and other alcoholic beverages.

Grasty knows with the tough economy or inconvenience some Like most local residents, you want to have a good time but will not choose DDI, but he recommended scheduling a ride with a still keep yourself and others safe while driving on the road. Plus, if friend or family member or call a taxi. you're smart, you also want to save yourself the headache and loss “I know for some $45 may be pricey, but think of the risk of getof time and money by receiving a DUI. ting of a DUI, you'll easily pay $1000 to $1,200 and spend time in Designated Drivers Inc. (DDI) has been around since 2007 to jail. Just send a text to someone for a ride,” he said. “Some people help get you and your car home safely after a night of drinking. will select a designated a driver before they head out. Sometimes, Owner James Grasty and his staff can give you and your car a ride it's their 17- or 18-year-old kid picking them up.” home for up to 10 miles for $45.

The Automobile Club of SouthThere's an additional fee for every ern California, an affiliate of the Other safe holiday driving tips from AAA mile after 10 miles.

American Automobile Association, • If you're hosting a party, select a group of des“We opened in 2007, and we're will be offering free rides home ignated drivers and be sure to have a variety of doing really well with the support beginning on New Year's Eve. nonalcoholic beverages handy. from the community,” he said. “BusiThe free rides will begin on New • Reward your designated drivers with a a gift to ness has been great, so great we have Year's Eve from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. acknowledge their good deed. opened a location in Fresno.”

New Year's Day. AAA will offer free • If you're going out, keep a number of a taxi serGrasty said business picks up towing of you and your car home for vice in your wallet or purse. around Halloween until after the up to seven miles. After seven miles, • If you don't want to take a cab, be sure to ask a New Year. Customers can call DDI the towing contractor will charge friend or a family member for a ride home. to schedule an appointment for pick you for their services. For towing up in advance or during their night of services, please call 1-800-400celebration, but keep in mind, there 4AAA.

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2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

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Holiday catering Local businesses provide endless options for your holiday meals

By Gene Garaygordobil

Holiday catering conjures up images of a bright ballroom with well-dressed guests mingling while awaiting a traditional sit-down meal with all the trimmings.

But nowadays, holiday catering means getting whatever you want, said Harlan Shanklin, catering manager at Café Med Gourmet 16

2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

Shoppe and Restaurant.

“We can provide steak and lobster to a traditional turkey dinner, depending on what the customer wants, said Shanklin, who has been at Café Med for 15 years. “It gives us the opportunity to go into people’s homes and provide a nice party for the family or the office staff.”

Shanklin enjoys the home parties because it takes people away from the workplace, “and that always makes it nice.”

“We customize their meal, depending on the size of the party,” he said. “If we are talking about 200 guests, we’d likely have more appetizers, and people will be in and out. With a smaller group, it could be more of a sit-down dinner, which we can do as well.”

December is the busiest month during the catering season, he added.

So what is Café Med’s holiday specialty?

“Well, our pastry chef Jonell Cleveland makes extraordinary pastries,” Shanklin said. “So desserts are certainly a strength of our holiday parties. But we can pretty much make up anything from Beef Wellington to quail eggs and caviar.”

If you go to Café Med’s website, cafemedrestaurant.com, you’ll see all kinds of catering menus, Shanklin said. “The majority of people who know Café Med know the types of things we do, and

that’s why they want us to do their party.”

“There is no party too big or too small,” he said. “We can do a party of 1,500 people to catering a cozy meal for two.”

Unlike Café Med, Catering Affairs focuses solely on catering, said chef Jarrod Wright. “It’s all we do, we don’t have a restaurant.”

But that’s not to say they are not busy.

November and December are the busiest months of the year, Wright said.

“We offer what we are good at: home-style, homemade food,” he said. “We make all sauces and our desserts in-house. Our menu is not set. Whatever people are interested in, we make.”

For Thanksgiving, people want turkey, and for Christmas, people want beef, Wright said.

“We sell a lot of tenderloin, rib-eye and standing rib roast for Christmas,” he said.

Headquarters for Catering Affairs is a 2,000-square-foot catering kitchen at 916 18th St. — between O and Q streets. There is no office per se, as business is done by phone and online at catering-affairs.com.

The company has been cooking people’s meals for 34 years, and its most recent owner, Brenda Wright, took over 12 years ago.

“We will build a menu based on what you are interested in,” Jarrod Wright said. “We are a customizable catering company, that’s what we do.”

Because Catering Affairs mass-produces food on a bigger scale, they offer cheaper per-person rates, so a smaller event may cost $15 a head, while a much larger one could drop that price to $12 a person, he said.

Joe Coughlin, owner of Coconut Joe's restaurant and catering, is gearing up to defend his title as the favorite local caterer, according to The Californian's Best of readers' poll.

And he won’t be using pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce to do it.

His tools are simple: chicken and tri-tip, the staples of his restaurant business as well.

“We provide food for the masses,” Coughlin said. “We have had the same clients for years and years, including quite a few doctors who want to recognize their customers, staff and resource teams.”

He said it’s not unusual to have three or four different catering events happening at the same time, every day, during the busy holiday season.

“We take plenty of food and get there on time, which is very important in our business,” Coughlin said. “Sometimes, we hit six to seven offices in a day, days on end. We have one of the best teams that can crank it out.”

He stresses that each catering assignment gets careful attention.

“We built a system that can handle it,” he said. “Ours is computerized, which is quite unique for a business our size.”

“We have our customers put a list together and e-mail us, we process it through and charge it to them at the end,” Coughlin said.

“Once they e-mail to us, they don’t have to worry about it, it’s all taken care of.”

Coconut Joe’s offers two very popular catering options with their “Belly-filler special,” which lives up to its name and offers great value. A step-up is the “Gut-buster,” which features double tri-tip portions.

With rice, salad, beans and rolls, even a vegetarian can make their meals work, he said.

Coughlin also runs a banquet hall where many holiday parties are held almost nonstop. Many churches and schools have holidaycentered events, he added.

So how many meals have they served in one day?

“Our record is 3,700 meals in one day, during one Mother’s Day weekend,” Coughlin said. “We find a way to get it done, and we do tons of it.”

Meanwhile, there’s a new family-owned catering business that is hoping to earn its mark in the community for great taste and service.

Patt and Robert Sandrini are the owners of That's Amore Pizza Co., which features a mobile wood-fired pizza oven.

“We come to your location to do weddings, parties of all kinds, store openings, etc., any occasion,” Patt Sandrini said. “We have been in business since April 2010. We will do a full-service dinner or just pizza. Whatever the client wants, we can do. We are very flexible.”

Patt Sandrini said her husband always wanted a restaurant, but the portability of this business suited them better.

“We use local products,” she said. “We also wanted something to involve the whole family.”

The Sandrinis are partners with Bryon and Chyrill Sandrini (their son and daughter-in-law). “They have three daughters that work in the business as well as our daughter and son-in-law's three daughters,” said Patt Sandrini. “It is something that the whole family comes together to do. Very important in this day and age. It is totally a family affair with help from some dear friends as well.”

2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

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Photo by Dior Azcuy

The Haggin Oaks neighborhood draws lines of cars to see their Christmas displays.

Christmas

lights that twinkle

bright 18

2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

By Hillary Haenes It’s become a tradition around Bakersfield — piling in a limo with friends or loading the family in the car a couple of days before Christmas to admire the holiday lights in the Haggin Oaks and Westchester neighborhoods. The houses that stand out among the rest are the ones that are either over-thetop decorated or those that are simpler, yet neatly adorned with festive colors.

One house known as “the Christmas house” located downtown on Elm Street was given the nickname years ago with its previous owners Ed and Cathie Hopple. What began as a bet from Ed’s friend who didn’t think his buddy could decorate the huge pine tree in the yard became an impressive, full-blown decorating tradition. When the Hopples sold their home to current owners Billy and Leslie Thompson in the mid '90s, there was no contract that said the Thompson family had to continue the tradition, but they did anyway.

“We did it because our kids were young, and it was fun.

Plus it was our gift to Bakersfield as far as entertaining them,” Billy Thompson said.

And they have entertained since their first Christmas in 1994 when the theme was the Flintstones. With massive eightfoot tall, hand-painted characters and strands of lights galore, the Thompsons have used their creative nature to wow the city.

Photo by John Harte

The Thompson home at 2131 Elm Street has had some of the best Christmas displays over the years. In 2001, in honor of 9/11, they adopted a patriotic theme.

Two years ago, the “Christmas Vacation” theme was a memorable one, not only for passers-by, but for the family because they watch the movie every Christmas Eve. People enjoyed stopping in front of what looked like the Griswolds had moved in — 40,000 white lights entirely covered the large house, mannequins dressed like the characters in the Chevy Chase film stood in the yard and a beat-up motor home was parked in front.

Each year has been a different theme, but with a combination of the Thompson children away at college, the loss of help from their kids and their friends and hard financial times, it’s been difficult for the Thompsons to find the motivation to decorate like they have in the past.

“Last year was the first year I didn’t go all out. I put some lights out, and it looked nice. Something will come and hit us and inspire us, but getting there — it’s a lot of work,” Billy said. “The years people are financially struggling are the years they need it the most.”

While they may not do something extravagant this Christmas,

Billy and Leslie said they feel obligated to decorate, especially since people drive from out of town to admire their displays and they don’t want to let others down.

Someone who has taken the more traditional red, green and white light route for her Westchester home is Linda Sullenger. Over the past few years she has hired Blair Budai, owner of Christmas Lights Anytime, to string her lights up outside.

“I have a lot of lights, and I have animal topiaries. I have a chimpanzee that gets lit up, a Winnie the Pooh Bear and a reindeer. I tend to focus on my landscaping rather than have lollipops, gingerbread houses or candy canes. Everyone does it differently,” Sullenger said.

Budai has been professionally decorating for three and a half years. During one holiday season, he may install only 20 houses with Christmas lights, but the size and complexity of the largest jobs have grown from 2,400 lights to more than 150,000 lights.

“I began helping my dad at the age of 11 — just simple house lights. We had a family tradition of driving around to see the nicest Christmas lights in town,” Budai said.

His background in electricity and combined joy for Christmas lights has helped Budai find more visible work around town such as the trees that line Chester Avenue, lights at Luigi’s and Red Door Interiors, but his favorite job has been transforming two large, 50-foot trees into giant Christmas trees in Bakersfield Country Club.

To ensure his customers are satisfied, Budai sits with them to find out what they want and where they want to decorate, the types of lights they want to use (Budai provides the lights), the design style and their budget. After that, he finds the power sources, ways to mount the lights safely and neatly while finding the main features to highlight. When the holidays are over, he will come back to take the lights down, which is what Sullenger appreciates.

Blair Budai’s advice to make your house shine among the others “I like to use lights to complement the style of the home and focus on its best features. Bakersfield has many mission-style homes, which looks good with lighted roof lines and entryways.

Get ideas from the neighborhood and magazines. Shop around at local stores for types of lights or ornaments that complement each other.”

Dos and don’ts • Use a steady ladder; don’t go up and down the ladder too often • Install safely; don’t reach too far • Use clips for lights and fasteners for power cords; don’t install too many strands together • Test the lights; don’t use damaged or frayed lights • Use lots of lights; don’t overload the circuits • If you hire a professional, skip directly to the best part: Enjoy your Christmas lights

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2010 Bakersfield Life Holiday Gift Guide

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John Arthur

Photo by Alex Horvath

Executive Editor, The Bakersfield Californian

Smartphone or regular cell phone?

I should probably skip this question. I barely know what a smartphone is. I think I have one, though.

What kind of phone do you have?

I have an 18-month-old BlackBerry Curve. I hope to upgrade at the two-year mark, if not sooner.

What is your favorite app or program on your phone?

I bookmark many news and sports sites. I use Twitter and Facebook. I recently installed the new app for The Californian’s 661411 site.

Facebook or Twitter or both?

I’m on both but I’m mostly a Twitter person. Someone described Facebook as the high school friends you used to know while Twitter is a new group of friends you want to know. For me, that’s apt.

What is one piece of technology you can’t do without?

XM Radio in my car and home.

What’s your daily tech routine?

Get up and check my e-mail and text messages, first thing. I spend so much time in front of my computer at work that I rarely use my laptop out of the office. I try to avoid it, frankly.

How do you use technology stay up-to-date on the ins and outs of a daily paper?

I pay a lot of attention to breaking news and look for trends. I can communicate with the newsroom at night and on weekends.

How has technology made your work and personal life easier?

It certainly tends to clutter up your life but, on the bright side, my phone and e-mail

device is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family and the office. In some ways, it allows me to leave work earlier. I much prefer typed messages over phone calls, by the way.

The holidays are around the corner, got a tech gadget on your wish list?

I’ve been greedily eyeing and researching the Kindle, the Nook and the iPad. We’ll see. I’m gradually realizing one of these might be helpful.

The upside and downside to technology from the executive editor’s standpoint: Tech keeps me informed in short bursts and on breaking news. It’s a negative when it pulls me away from pondering more thoughtful stories that need to be in the paper. www.BakersfieldLife.com 67

COMMUNITY

Youth For Christ/ Campus Life Group uses message to help those youth who need it

By Melissa Peaker-Whitten Photos by Felix Adamo

P

erhaps the true mark of a great organization is its ability to evolve over time. By that standard, Youth for Christ, or Campus Life (as many know them by), has been doing just that for more than 50 years.

What initially began as a campus outreach in the 1950’s, has become a multifaceted program whose objective is reaching youth in any situation.

Although Campus Life began on high school campuses, it eventually expanded to include juniorhigh and middle-school students. Last year, Kern County’s Campus Life had meetings on 26 campuses and it hopes to increase that number to 31 campuses this year, said Jerry Buzzell, church and community relations director for Youth for Christ.

Kern County has 79 high schools, junior highs and middle schools.

The faith-based club meets during students’ lunch hours and is open to anyone who wants to attend. The presence of Campus Life is based on student initiation and the support of each school’s administration. On high school campuses, the meetings are student-led with the help of a faculty adviser and on the junior high and middle-school campuses, the meetings are adult-led.

“This fall we’re going out to the Rosamond community and beginning our Campus Life programs out there, which is quite exciting because we haven’t had activity in the east county (before),” Buzzell said.

Youth for Christ works with more than 6,000 students per year, averaging 1,100 per week, which makes it one of the largest youth agencies in Kern County, he said.

One branch of the ministry is the outreach done through the juvenile justice system. The group is involved in all five juvenile facilities in Kern County, including Pathways Academy for Girls, Crossroads Facility and Camp Owens.

“We have partnered with juvenile probation for more than 50 years in bringing hope and care to

68

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Brad Hinsley acts out reading the paper while going to the restroom during a game of charades at the Campus Life meeting at Centennial High.

Kailyn Feola,17, right, and Nikki Cabral, 17, listen to the discussion.

(youth) in their facilities,” Buzzell said. “We provide a total of 13 programs, from life skills, chapels and bible studies, to relationship growth.”

One way the organization is hoping to expand in the coming year is through a mentoring program for youth after they are released, he said.

Mike Tamargo, juvenile justice minis-

tries director for the past 19 years, said their involvement plants a seed in the kids.

“Most of the kids we deal with are searching for something and we offer them Christ,” Tamargo said.

Another branch of outreach they hope to expand this year is their Teen Parent program, Buzzell said, who like to add more locations. Last year, they offered programs at

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This year they will be on the East High campus as well, working with their Positive Futures club. And the program is already in place Taft, awaiting referrals.

“Kern County has the highest-per-capita pregnancy rate in the state of California,” Buzzell said. “So we give support and encourage them to stay in school, (we) teach parenting and life skills and provide the information and knowledge to prevent future pregnancies. We want to meet their physical, social, mental and spiritual needs.”

One unique way they meet the physical needs of teen parents is through a resource room that provides things like diapers, clothing, strollers and furniture. When these young women participate in certain activities, they receive "baby bucks" that they can exchange for things they need, said Terri Capehart, Teen Parents director.

They are also rewarded for things such as keeping doctor’s appointments or bringing in their report card from school. The space

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Martyn Gross, Campus Life volunteer and youth minister at Riverlakes Community Church led the Campus Life meeting at Centennial High.

Continued from page 69

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Bakersfield Life

December 2010

for the resource room is provided by Crossroads to Recovery Church on Brundage Lane and is furnished by community donations.

Another big part of the outreach to teen parents is the mentoring program. The program currently has 15 mom mentors. Mentors include mothers of all ages — some still have young children, some have grown children. This gives the girls someone they can do things with as well as someone to keep in touch with throughout the week.

Together they set goals and then encourage the nearly 40 young mothers to reach those goals, Capehart said.

“The girls find support with one another — girls in the same situation,” Capehart said. “When they’re doing school all day and have children to deal with this is an avenue to get away and talk and be encouraged.”

The program also has monthly meetings where speakers cover a variety of topics relative to the young parents’ needs. Many girls start the program between the ages of 13 and 19, and sometimes continue their involvement into their early 20s, as they How to help pursue college.

To volunteer or provide financial gifts “Our focus has or prayer support, contact Youth for always been youth,” Christ at 323-9041 or visit their website at yfckern.org.

Buzzell said. “There’s an older (Youth for Christ) motto that we’re geared to the times but anchored to the rock — our evolvement has been that (youth) used to come to us, but now we go to them.

Increased involvement by schools and communities has allowed for the group to continue to meet the needs of local youth as they’ve been represented, Buzzell said. It’s a collaborative partnership.

“We can’t go to new places or do new things without the human resource, financial resource and prayer resource and relationships,” Buzzell said. “I want others to join with us in reaching the 83,000 (youth) in our community.”

The program has 146 volunteers, representing about 50 different community churches. However, Youth for Christ is nondenominational, and simply the program’s facilitator.

“We have credibility, resources, strength and stability — we’ve been around awhile,” Buzzell said.

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COMMUNITY

Vikki and Bob "Boomer" Montgomery honor veterans through the American Legion Riders, Chapter 26.

Motorcylists help local veterans Two groups put aside negative stereotypes to help people who keep our freedom alive

By Gabriel Ramirez

V

Photos by Michael Lopez

eterans and motorcycles have gone hand-in-hand for decades.

So it is no wonder that two local motorcycle groups spend a lot of time helping local veterans and their families.

The groups, Patriot Guard Riders and the American Legion Riders, Chapter 26, conduct rides, events and fundraisers — all in service of local veterans.

“Our group is very important to the community in support of veterans because of what we provide for them,” said Larry Gillette, ride captain for the Patriot Guard Riders, which boasts more than 200 members.

Gillette, who is retired and rides a Honda 1997 Valkyrie, said his

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group supports veterans in many ways including send-off rides for local men and women to boot camp and welcome home rides.

“We also support our wounded heroes through Homes for our Troops by providing escorts to their new homes,” Gillette said. “We also provide escorts for our local veterans when they pass away to Bakersfield National Cemetery and other local cemeteries.”

Gillette said that they are not a motorcycle club so they don’t have meetings or get-togethers.

“We are a group of men and women that ride and care about our veterans,” Gillette said. “It is important to help out our community to make it a better place to live for all.”

Another local motorcycle group is the American Legion Riders, Chapter 26. President Bob “Boomer” Montgomery, a retired highvoltage lineman, rides a 2005 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic. He calls the group extremely important to the community.

“We honor our veterans on many different levels,” Montgomery said. “We attend escorts for new recruits, welcome homes for returning servicemen and women and escorts to the National Cemetery.

“We support the Wounded Heroes Fund, and we also participate in the many motorcycle rides that raise funds for all types of charities, from the veterans runs supporting the National Cemetery, to cancer charities and diabetes awareness,” he said.

Montgomery’s 72-member group meets monthly for a general membership meeting and usually do a monthly ride just for fun.

Ride captain Larry Gillette said his group, Patriot Guard Riders, has grown to more than 200 members.

“We also get together at our American Legion Post on Friday nights for dinner,” Montgomery said.

Chapter 26’s main fundraiser each year is to send World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to see their memorial firsthand.

“We put on a Poker Run to raise these funds and give the money to Honor Flight, an organization that sends WWII vets and terminally ill Korean and Vietnam veterans to D.C.,” Montgomery said.

“We also participate in the other local and statewide events put on by other chapters of ALR, such as Christmas in July, which benefits the VA hospitals, and the Legion Legacy Fund, which is a scholarship fund for children of fallen military.”

Montgomery said the group has made and delivered handmade blankets to every resident of the Barstow Veterans Home at Christmas and has collected donations to send to active-duty troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“It is important to help out the community because it is the place where we live and to make it a better place,” Montgomery said. “It is important to teach the young ones that someone somewhere gave their all in order for us to live in this great country of ours. All gave some, but some gave all.”

Montgomery and Gillette agree that motorcycle groups often get a “bad rap” because of the prejudices of many people.

“Like everything else there is good and bad, sometimes you have to look for the good because it is not always in front of you,” Gillette said.

Both groups hope to continue to grow and serve our local veterans in any way they can. www.BakersfieldLife.com

73

E N T E R TA I N M E N T

The Rockettes will entertain Bakersfield Dec. 13 for two shows at the Rabobank Arena.

Rockettes kick into Bakersfield Glamour, style and Rockettes tradition make holiday show a family favorite

By Melissa Peaker-Whitten

I

f you’re looking for a unique way to celebrate this holiday season, look no further then the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular.

The Rabobank Arena event comes just in time for the 12 days of Christmas. So leave that partridge in the pear tree, and come out to see these famous ladies dancing, Monday, Dec. 13, for two shows at 4 and 7 p.m.

The show, which features scenes from the Nutcracker, and the appearance of more than 40 Santas on stage at once, offers all the timeless traditions of the holiday season, wrapped in a New York City package.

Adapted from their 75th anniversary spectacular, the show has never before been performed on the West Coast.

“It takes the history and tradition of something iconic and marries it to the technology available to us today,” said Jeffrey Capitola, vice president of touring productions, who has been with the Rockettes since 2001.

The group travels with a 40-foot-by-60-foot LED screen, which

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December 2010

The show’s ensemble has more than 55 performers.

allows them to create a variety of backdrops.

Not to mention hauling around a replica of a double-decker bus the Rockettes ride on across the stage as the screen recreates New York City for audience members, taking them from Manhattan to Times Square.

“I think that it’s all so amazing to watch,” said Capitola, who described the disco ball that hangs above the audience, creating the illusion of a snow storm as the Rockettes make their first appearance as reindeer.

To say that Rockette Lindsay Howe gets a kick out of her job would be an understatement. In her eighth season with the Radio City Rockettes, she first auditioned for the group when she was just 18 years old. Although she grew up dancing in Sacramento, it wasn’t until she and her mother took a trip to New York after her high school, that she considered becoming a Rockette. After going on a backstage tour of Radio City Music Hall, she says she was romanced by the idea. “(I thought) to be part of an American legacy would be amazing and something to tell my children about,” Howe said. She asked the Rockette on the tour lots of questions and came back less than two months later to audition herself.

“In my wildest dreams, I would’ve never

thought I would have ended up as a Rockette,” Howe said. “I went to N.Y. when I was 18 and stood in line with over 500 women at Radio City Music Hall, in my tights and leotard with my headshot. I didn’t know the grandness I was stepping into.”

The show’s ensemble has more than 55 people, including 25 Rockettes, who perform seven numbers throughout the 90-minute show, according to Howe.

“I think this is just a really neat thing that we get to bring the history and tradition of the East Coast to the West Coast,” Howe said.

“I’m so happy to be a part of it. It’s so great to be able to come into new cities and be in a new place almost every day.”

Her favorite scene is toward the end of the show, where there is a movie montage narrated by Tony Bennett talking about the history and magic of the Rockettes.

“The costumes are beautiful,” she said.

“They’re dripping in diamonds and it really embraces the power of women and the Rockettes’ style, grace and elegance.”

She is also excited to get to perform in her hometown for the first time as a Rockette.

This one-of-a-kind experience is a gift you can give yourself this season, as well as all the special people on your Christmas list.

The Rockettes • For more information or to buy tickets, visit rabobankarena.com.

• For more information on the show itself, you can go to their website at radiocitychristmas.com/ • Or visit the Facebook page atfacebook.com/radiocitychristmas

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PA S T I M E S

Unique works in wood Former petroleum engineer’s pieces often take people’s breath away

By Caroline Reid Photos by Tanya X. Leonzo

O

il and wood don’t seem to mix.

But for local wood artist Tom Christenson, his engineering degree and petroleum career has laid a solid foundation for what he does now so well.

Before his retirement from a 30-year career in the oil business, he was an engineering manager and supervised a large group of petroleum engineers, geologists and operations personnel at Shell and Aera.

He’s still busy, as he has turned a woodworking hobby into a second career.

“I hope that I can combine a bit of talent with some spectacular woods to create beautiful furniture that people will enjoy for a lifetime and pass on to their heirs,” Christenson said.

He said it is particularly satisfying to work with clients to create a one-of-a-kind piece that will become a family heirloom.

His petroleum engineering degree is helpful in the designing and planning phases of new pieces of furniture.

“I have to be careful so that I don’t over-engineer my designs,” he said. “That can take the creativity out of the planning process.”

Christenson’s woodworking skills are essentially self-taught, but he has attended occasional one- to two-week workshops led by renowned wood artists.

“When woodworking was just an occasional change of pace, I made a bed and dresser and other pieces for my young son’s bedroom,” Christenson said, “And today my grandson sleeps in the same bed and puts his clothes in the same dresser.”

Obviously, not only is Christenson’s furniture beautiful and unique, it is also durable.

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After a 30-year career in the oil business, wood artist Tom Christenson has transformed his wood-working hobby into a second career.

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pieces as far south as San Diego and as far away as Wyoming. He tries to make pieces that he can break down to fit into his SUV and reassemble when he reaches the client’s home. Occasionally he has rented a U-Haul and willing friends and helpers join him to deliver large pieces.

More can be learned about Tom Christenson and his creations at his website: tacwoodesign.com. He can be contacted by e-mail at tchristenson@bak.rr.com.

He has won honors for his work entered in juried exhibitions, woodworking magazines and Fine Woodworkers Association exhibits. Pictures of his prize winners can be found on his website.

Samples of his work can be seen at Metro Galleries in Bakersfield and Gallery M in Half Moon Bay. Beautiful, handcrafted wood furniture is Tom Christenson’s contribution to the Bakersfield art community and is a rare and exclusive talent.

His work has to be seen to appreciate the intricacies and the quality of the work he produces. Those who appreciate fine-art creations will be fascinated by the work of an engineer turned artist who crafts raw wood into pieces of furniture that take your breath away.

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When Christenson designs a custom piece, he frequently makes a miniature model so his client knows exactly what the end-product will look like, much like a professional interior designer does when preparing to design a home interior. Christenson’s fine wood suppliers are located in California, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. They know him and will respond quickly to orders — eager to help him find exactly what he needs.

He uses mahogany, maple and walnut, as well as exotic variations. When asked what wood is his favorite, he smiled and answered, “the last one I used.”

In the home he shares with his wife, Mary, a Realtor with a passion for decorating, he has designed and created several pieces that blend perfectly with her MacKenzie-Childs collection.

He painstakingly inlays dyed wood roses and grapes, piece by piece, into some of his creations. A beautiful nook table in their home has inlays of roses and mother of pearl. Their lighted curio cabinet is enhanced with grapes and grape leaves that Christenson designed, dyed and inlaid to add to the beauty of the cabinet.

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WHY I LIVE HERE

The Emslies — from left: Alex, Bonny and Robbie — with their two Yorkshire terriers, Snickers, left, and Hayley, in front of their home in Haggin Oaks.

There’s so much to love about our town. From Rio Bravo to Rosedale, each neighborhood has its supporters. This month, Bakersfield Life asks the Emslie family what makes living in Haggin Oaks so special.

Who makes up the Emslie household?

Robbie and Bonny Emslie; our son, Alex; and our dogs, Hayley and Snickers.

How long have you lived in Haggin Oaks?

Three years.

Three words that describe your neighborhood?

Grand, family-oriented and elegant.

Best neighborhood memory?

Photo by Casey Christie

Haggin Oaks

wonderful Christmas light displays and holiday festivities.

What attracted you to the neighborhood?

We loved the older, elegant homes with large well-maintained lots and mature landscaping.

And the neighbors?

Everyone is friendly, fun-loving and a dependable neighborhood watch. We always feel safe here.

Best part of your home?

Everything. We were driving through the neighborhood one day and saw this house and knew immediately this was going to be our next home. The house was built to perfection from inside and out. We are collectors of antiques, and our home has a wonderful Victorian flair with a warm, inviting feeling. It was like it was built just for us.

Our first Christmas in Bakersfield, we visited Christmas Tree Lane (aka Haggin Oaks Boulevard) and we saw all the beautiful, mature homes with the dramatic light displays. We fell in love with the neighborhood and decided this is where we wanted to live.

What is your neighborhood like during the holiday season?

Anything you would change?

Any pressure to decorate?

Nothing, we love it just the way it is.

Favorite neighborhood activity?

There are quite a few fantastic activities that go on in our neighborhood throughout the year. On Halloween, all of the neighbors in our cul-de-sac get together for a huge block party. During the Fourth of July, almost everyone in the neighborhood gathers for a patriotic party and fantastic fireworks on Haggin Oaks Boulevard — a tradition that has been going on for many years. And, of course, the 78

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Very busy — there are horse and buggy rides, people come through in limousines and carolers go from home to home. It is very exciting and fun.

We don't feel pressured at all. We love to be a part of this tradition.

It is very exciting to see groups of families come from all around to see all the wonderful lights. We decorate all the eaves and trees with lights and add other holiday displays throughout the yard.

Best kept secret about your neighborhood?

I recently found out that our home was the original Dustin's Diner.

(Dustin’s Diner collects money for the homeless every year at Christmastime.)

H E A LT H & W E L L N E S S

Holiday meals with no New Year’s guilt

Pecan pie has appoximately 500 calories per slice. Pumkin pie is a better choice.

Local experts say you can can enjoy your cake and eat it too — just a smaller slice!

By Gene Garaygordobil

D

iets are not the most popular topic during the festive holiday season.

You have all that tempting, succulent food from Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Year’s Day. And no one thinks to count calories or skip dessert until the calendar flips to 2011.

So what do you do in the meantime? Several local nutritionists and dieticians say it’s not necessarily what you eat, but how much you eat that can keep you and your waistline happy.

Dr. David Mongold, owner of Alpha Omega Wellness Center in Bakersfield, said it is easy to throw nutrition out the window when it comes to the holiday season.

“There is so much food everywhere that it's hard to say no,” Mongold said. “But, it's not about saying no all the time. You can enjoy the holiday foods of the season, as well as the big family meals, if you use common sense and don't forget to keep your body moving!”

Registered dietician Bernadette Parrish, who is also the Clinica Sierra Vista WIC assistant program director, says her overall philosophy is a simple one: everything in moderation.

“You can eat a good variety of traditional holiday food, but making sure that it’s a few bites of something, instead of a whole plateful of something,” Parrish said. “It’s all about balance, variety and moderation.”

Parrish sees quite a few high-risk patients at the Bakersfield clinic.

The easiest way to break it down to people is using what they call “the plate method” in the nutrition business.

“It refers to the plates we use to eat our meals,” she said. “You divide the plate into quarters, and half of that plate should be filled with vegetables, a quarter of it with proteins, such as meat and fish, and the remaining quarter should be your starches, like potatoes and rice.”

“It works very well for the patients we see,” Parrish said, “because it is a very visual plan. They can still eat the food they want to eat, just in a more balanced form.”

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A light, healthy snack before the holiday meal will keep you from over-indulging.

Drink eight ounces. of water before a big meal to increase willpower.

Turkey, minus the skin, is one of the lowest calorie protein sources.

Even when choosing healthy foods, she says people need to be careful with portion sizes to ensure they are not eating too many calories, grams of fat or sodium.

Parrish also offered up these healthy holiday-eating tips: Eat some healthy lower-calorie foods before you head over to the family gathering.

Eating light foods such as low-fat yogurt, fruit, carrots, celery, or a small handful of almonds allows you to fill up on low-calorie foods before diving into the holiday meal. This way you are less likely to overindulge when at the holiday celebration, but you can still enjoy your favorite foods.

Leave meal preparation dishes, such as pots and pans in the kitchen.

Serve your plates in the kitchen and leave them on the counter.

Avoid bringing the serving plates to your table where you will be eating. You will be more likely to go for seconds if the extra food is sitting on the table. The extra trip to the kitchen counter may be enough to deter you from going for seconds!

Choose to serve yourself on a plate no larger than 9 inches in diameter.

Our eyes tend to determine how much food we need. If we see a full plate, our eyes feel this is enough. Let's try to trick our eyes by using the smaller dinner plates as opposed to the typical 11-inch plate.

Avoid creamy or cheesy sauces.

Anything with cream or cheese sauces is loaded with butter and other fats, which equals high calories. For instance, instead of green beans drowning in butter, steam the green beans and top with diced garlic and a teaspoon of olive oil. For a little kick, sprinkle red pepper flakes on the beans.

Desserts are OK to have, but keep portions in moderation and choose the lighter dessert options.

For instance, pecan pie holds a whopping 500 calories per slice, whereas pumpkin pie contains about 230 calories. Better yet, why not split a piece of pumpkin pie with one of your family members!

You get the satisfaction of having the pie without the excess in calories.

Offer to bring a healthy item to the holiday gathering.

This way, you know there will be one healthy item, and your family members might enjoy a little variety and having something new at the table.

Turkey is one of the lowest calorie protein sources out there. Just make sure to trim off the skin before eating. That's where you will find the fats and high calories.

Mongold agreed that by adhering

to a holiday-meal eating plan, you can avoid the frustrations that often come after the huge family celebrations and meals.

“It is so easy to succumb to the temptation to eat it all, and rely on that old standby, the New Year's resolution, to lose any weight you have gained after the first of the year,” Mongold said. “But, it doesn't have to be that way. You can have your cake and eat it too, so to speak, and not find your clothes not fitting afterward!”

Mongold has been in practice for 16 years and owns the Alpha Omega Center, 7950 White Lane #2E in Bakersfield, which offers chiropractic, postural correction, nutrition, massage and pediatric care.

Here are some additional tips to avoid holiday overeating: Drink water.

Medical research shows that hunger pangs are often the belly’s cry for water. Yes, a sign of dehydration is a feeling of intense hunger. So curb your appetite by drinking lots of this liquid. Prior to an event that will celebrate all of the delicacies you love to eat, drink at least eight ounces of water. Then, once you are at that party, carry a glass with you and take at least three sips prior to putting anything into your mouth. You’ll be surprised how high your willpower will soar and how much food you’ll avoid eating.

Don't stop exercising!

The stress of the holiday season, as well as all of the travel, makes it easy for some of us to put regular exercise aside. Just because you might not have access to the gym doesn't mean you can't get in some exercise. Take lots of walks (an hour after meals, it helps digestion, and before meals, it helps control those rampant cravings), do push-ups or abdominal exercises, or just throw a football in the backyard with your family.

Do not deny yourself.

Holiday eating does not have to be an all-or-nothing deal. You can still indulge, but just don't overindulge. Completely denying yourself of the foods you love will only lead to overeating.

Don't “under eat” or miss meals so you can eat later or at a party.

Stockpiling calories does a number on your metabolism and energy levels, and leads to voracious hunger and overeating. Not to mention guilt later on.

Try not to focus on the food so much.

Remember holidays are about family and friends, not necessarily food. Play board games, get outside and play with the kids, and don't hover around the dessert tray!

“Remember motion is life, and the less you do the less you can do,” Mongold stressed.

A smaller plate equals smaller portions

www.BakersfieldLife.com 81

Photo by Tanya X. Leonzo

PERSONALITY

Bakersfield High School senior and ballerina Becca Green has her sights set on Juilliard, among other “cream of the crop” schools.

Becca Green Ballerina poised for collegiate success with all the right moves

By Lisa Kimble

A

s assignments go in the ballet world, the Sugar Plum Fairy in Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite is a pretty plum role.

For Becca Green, one of Civic Dance Center’s two fairies this year, the experience will be a dream come true. Green has danced her way up the ladder as everything from the wind-up doll to a naughty Bon Bon before snagging the most coveted of roles.

“I remember being little and looking up at the Sugar Plum Fairies all those years ago and wishing I could be one someday, and now it’s here and that’s me,” she said, delighted.

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It will also be curtains on her career with Civic when she takes her final bow in a few weeks, after 14 years with the local dance company — 12 of them performing in the annual holiday classic.

The 17-year-old has been dancing since she was 4. As a young girl, she also tried soccer, softball and baseball before reaching the inevitable point of having to choose. Dance won.

“I love performing and I am trying to tell a story better with my performances,” she added. “My goal now is to move the audience.”

Off stage, the Bakersfield High School senior’s goal these days is also to be accepted into some of the prestigious ballet programs around the country to which she is applying.

The youngest of three children and only daughter of Kern’s next District Attorney Lisa Green and her husband, Jeff, general counsel for Grimmway, Becca does not plan to go into the family business of practicing law.

Instead she has set her sights on Juilliard, Boston Conservatory and Butler University, among others. The dance world is a small orbit, she said, and by her own admission, she is applying to the "cream of the crop" dance programs.

“We’ll see,” she said about the uncertainty of where she’ll

“Rehearsing takes up all of your time. But everyone is like a family, and you are doing what you love.”

‘TIS THE SEASON TO LOOK YOUNGER!

CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE

— Becca Green, on preparing for her role as the Sugar Plum Fairy in this year’s Nutcracker Ballet

study after graduation.

But Green credits her intensive summer training around the country the past five years for helping put her on strong, competitive footing alongside other applicants.

“Going away to the summer programs has shaped my dancing,” she added. “You learn quickly how far advanced other dancers are and I had to catch up, which helped me improve so much.”

Her first summer away from home, at age 13, was a turning point for her as a dancer, she said.

“I was all alone in San Francisco, and that was when I first saw how serious the dancers worked and I knew I wanted to be like them,” she added.

State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara, another summer with San Francisco’s Ballet, the Harid Conservatory in Florida and Boston Ballet this past summer have all provided Becca with what she considers to be invaluable preparation.

But before she could dance with those companies, she first had to audition.

“It is so nerve wracking. You are compared to other dancers,” she said of the prerequisite drill. “But now I am auditioning for colleges, so it has been good practice.

That she has managed a grueling training and rehearsal schedule in and out of town while maintaining a 3.6 GPA and active involvement in student government, clubs and the national honor society is a feat in itself. Twice a week, she takes classes and private lessons in Santa Monica after school.

Here in Bakersfield she attends classes at Civic, and the weekends are spent in Nutcracker rehearsals.

“Rehearsing takes up all of your time. But everyone is like a family, and you are doing what you love,” said the tall and slender brunette who, like a young filly, imbues joy and passion through her graceful dance on stage. “It is sad that you rehearse for four months and it only lasts for one weekend.”

Becca has also relished the sought-after role of Clara twice, and enjoyed Nutcracker experiences with one of her biggest fans — her father, who has donned tights to dance with her as an extra in the local production.

This year, though, Jeff Green will sit out the dance, instead admiring his favorite ballerina from the audience.

“I am so happy and lucky that my parents support me, and that they never pushed me to do this,” she added.

These are bittersweet days for Becca. She’s as disciplined and dedicated a dancer as they come, poised to leap to the next chapter in her ballet career.

“It is a little weird knowing this is my last show, but yet very exciting at the same time. You have to have a passion for (ballet) early. I discovered it early and am running with it,” she said, with a lift in her voice and twinkle in her big brown eyes.

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TRIP PLANNER

I left my heart in San Francisco Photos by Tanya X. Leonzo

The holidays are here, and many of us are likely planning special getaways with loved ones.

There are myriad choices thanks to Bakersfield’s proximity to so many great spots. But one that stands out is San Francisco.

Within a few hours, Bakersfield residents can explore a beautiful city known for its Golden Gate Bridge, the 49ers and World Series champs the Giants. San Francisco has plenty to offer tourists, including Fisherman’s Wharf, Alcatraz, beaches, a cable car ride, art galleries and museums, and nearby vineyards and wineries.

Want to know more? For details, visit sfchamber.visitortouristinfo.com.

The popular Golden Gate Bridge introduces a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean for motorists.

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The artwork “Michael Jackson and Bubbles,” by Jeff Koons, was in display earlier this year at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Livermore Valley's Steven Kent Winery offers a Collector's Circle wine club that provides a collection of Rhone and Italian varietals.

Bakersfield resident Karina Garcia admires Mark Rothko’s oil on canvas piece “No. 14, 1960,” which was on display at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The vineyards of Steven Kent Winery in nearby Livermore offers tasting room hours between noon and 4 p.m.

Continued on page 86 www.BakersfieldLife.com 85

Continued from page 85

The nightlife of San Francisco has plenty of choices — including restaurants, lounges and nightclubs.

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We have treats, collars, toys, sweaters, T-shirts, and much more! Come and visit us to see everything we have to offer. 1617 19th St., 321-9602, biscuitboutique.com.

Choose how you use!

Purchase four shows and enjoy a fifth show free for use at any Spotlight Theatre production. Use your Flex Pass one punch per show for yourself or you can use one punch for yourself and one for each friend you bring along. Flex Passes are valid for the entire season. With the Flex Pass you save, and it’s the perfect gift for family and friends. Purchase online or at the box office. 634-0692 or thespotlighttheatre.com 1622 19th St.

The Spotlight Theatre

Handmade English toffee

Biscuit Boutique and Doggy Spa

Serving Kern County for 50 Years Wire Coils

New & Used Pipe

Antonette and Diane started out making Aunt Mae’s fine handmade English toffee for close family and friends, and once friends tried it they were hooked. The special combination of ingredients and the cooking process results in a rich candy that is mouth-watering, delectable and crunchy. This delicious English toffee can be found at Luigi’s, Flourishing Art and Sweet Surrender in Bakersfield. Open from October to May. Call 725-5200 or visit auntmaessweettooth.com for direct orders, other locations and information. Gorgeous gift boxes are available in various sizes.

Aunt Mae’s Sweet Tooth

Personalized notecards • Steel Service Center • New & Used Pipe • Livestock Equipment

• Vineyard & Orchard Supplies • Agricultural Fencing

Steel Service Center

Authorized Dealer of

3530 BUCK OWENS BLVD 661.324.6514 • 800.423.8016 WWW.JIMSSUPPLY .COM

Flower Bar is featuring a new line of personalized thermography and embossed notecards that are high quality and economical. A great gift for the person who seems to have everything. Flower Bar can also help with holiday cards and invitations. Choose from their large selection, which can be printed in-house and completed within two days. Addressing and mailing services are available. Located at Allen Road and Stockdale Highway. 587-6181. bakersfieldflowerbar.com

Flower Bar 88

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

THE PROMENADE Music School

• Seat Covers • Medical Products • Moccasins • Rugs

Voted Best Music Lessons by 97.7 The Breeze Radio Station In The Mom’s Choice Awards!

• Music & Movement Classes (Ages 16m-4)

• Group Piano Classes (PreK-12 Years)

Enroll Online or Call Us Today!

19th & N Street, Downtown Bakersfield (661) 325-8476

(661) 665-8228

Me

5381 Truxtun Ave.

(1 block East of Mohawk St.) www.HARMONYROADBAKERSFIELD.com

rry Christmas

6723 Meany Avenue, Suite B • (661) 589-0606

To advertise in The Promenade, please call Lupe Carabajal at 395-7563

Sarah Appleton Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist 1412 17th Street, Ste. 258 (inside the Haberfelde Building)

661-809-9363 www.SarahAppletonTherapy.com www.BakersfieldLife.com 89

Luigi’s 100th Anniversary Celebration Oct. 3 Held at Luigi's Restaurant & Delicatessen Photos by Carla Rivas View these photos and more online at BakersfieldLife.com Kristen and Justin Ritchie and Briana Hancock

Natalie and Maria Steele

Laurie and Johnny Clerou

Andrea, William and Maya Rivera

Sal Ortiz and Cindy Thorp

Dr. Curtis and Chris Cross

Vincenza and Gemma Eddy, Angelina Valpredo and Natalia Eddy

Stacie, Whitney and Lydia Nicholson

Greg and Sheryl Gallion and Marlena and Ron Ray 90

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

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By Alex Lechtman, M.D., F.A.C.S. Board-Certified Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon

A glowing new you for the holiday season...

• Browlift/Facelift • Eyelid Surgery ALSO ASK ABOUT… • Breast Augmentation • Breast Lift • Breast Reduction • Tummy Tuck • Ultrasonic Liposuction • Laser Resurfacing • Lip Enhancement • Complete Skin Care Line • Botox, Radiesse, Juvederm and Sculptra

Be Well

Visalia Medical Clinic The Aesthetic Center alechtman@vmchealth.com 800-4VMCDOC | 5530 Avenida De Los Robles, Visalia (Hwy. 198 to Akers off-ramp, north)

Bakersfield’s own Dr. Russell Stokes is referring his patients into the skilled hands of Dr. Alex Lechtman, F.A.C.S. Dr. Lechtman, a trusted colleague, practices at The Aesthetic Center of the Visalia Medical Clinic.

ASPS CareCredit Financing accepted.

Girl Scouts “Women Inspiring Girls” Oct. 7 Held at Stars Theatre Photos by Felix Adamo View these photos and more online at BakersfieldLife.com

Hilda Klein and Tracy Peoples

Carolyn and Dennis Wilson

Charlotte Brandt and Staci Apsit

Teresa Burgess and Elena Perez

Chuck and Di Wall

Joann Merritt, John Hefner and Leyla Santiago

Cindi Dias, Junie Webb and Holly Lazzerini

Sinaloa NT RESTAURA MEXICAN

910 20th St. Downtown

327-5231 Open Tues. - Sun. at 11:15 am

CLOSED MONDAYS

Painting by Charlotte White

92

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Caryl Schweitzer, Brooke Antonioni, Sheri Horn-Bunk and Sharon DeRossett

Via Arte Oct. 9 and 10 Held at The Marketplace Photos by Carla Rivas View these photos and more online at BakersfieldLife.com

Gary Barber, M.J. Smith and Robert Mayo

Georgina, Pearl, Kaylie and Saidee Banuelos

Taylor and Faye Herndon

Krista, Cindy and Jaclyn Rymer

Patty and Peter Wonderly

Paige, Rueben and Riley Alvarez

Pat Suender and Joyce Myers

Tricia, Anthony, Haley and Eric Saba

Rares Grigoras, Edi Stefanescu, Maria Stefanescu, Dana Grigoras and Denisa Stefanescu

• Bio-Synthesis™ Light activated rejuvenation system • Oxygen Facial Treatments • Youth Enhancement treatments • Microdermabrasion • Body Polish • Facial & Body Firming Treatments • Cellulite Treatment • Expression Line Therapy • Waxing • Scar Therapy 1405 Commercial Way, Ste. 110 661-324-7848 www.BakersfieldLife.com

93

Theater on the Kern Sept. 26 Held the home of Timothy and Margaret Lemucchi Photos by John Harte View these photos and more online at BakersfieldLife.com

Betty Younger, Milt Younger and Cathy Butler

Susan and Scott Begin

Susan McCracken, Marilyn King and Kelly Donovan

Tim and Sandy Ryan

Andrea Jones and Lorraine Gonzales

George Ann DeMarco and Suzanne Guest

Timothy Lemucchi and Ira Cohen

Deborah Iger, Huguette Jennings and Nancy Ayotte

Bronze

Choose from:

$999

New vanity, vanity light, faucet & paint.

Silver

$2499

Gold

$3199

Bronze package, plus re-tile tub surround Silver package, plus floor tile & new toilet

Platinum

$4499

Gold package, plus new bathtub

LK Home Improvements (661)345-4047 LKHomeimprovements.com

94

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Lic. 945537

Aspiranet Murder Mystery Fundraiser Oct. 16 Held at the Petroleum Club Photos by Greg Nichols View these photos and more online at BakersfieldLife.com Tina Dixon and David Cooper

Amberly and Bret Haney

Charles Jenkins and Magaly Maitlin

Vernon Brown, Jana Davis and Art Chaparro

Dean and Denise Bishop and Cat Webb

IN-HOUSE FINANCING

Good Cars starting at only

Matt Brittian, Valerie Moses and Maria and Mike Lewis

2,995

$$

978-5621

23rd and Chester Ave. Stella Greenhalgh and Sophia and Anna Hackler

MICHAEL STUART 661-978-5621

(Downtown)

www.goodguysbakersfield.com

JERRY HERNANDEZ 661-331-5952 Hablo Espa単ol

www.BakersfieldLife.com

95

Light the Night Walk Oct. 16 Held at The Marketplace Photos by Greg Nichols View these photos and more online at BakersfieldLife.com

Karla Delgadillo, Anaizabel Uribe and Jessica Valdovinos

Jennifer Elmore and Audrey Lucay

Chris, Ryan, Holly, Lauren and Alex Wilson

Lisa Cooper, Jennie Allison and Chico Cooper

Alex Villanueva and Casey Gholston

Cecil, Joseph and Sadia Parson

Robert Phillipe, Jennifer and Jonathan Tracy

Deena, Sara and Sean Dai

Nimisha Amin, MD, FAAP Robert Limpias, Ashley Glover, Lauren Able and P.K. Zander 96

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

M.A.R.E. 20-Year Anniversary Oct. 16 Held at M.A.R.E.’s Riding Facility Photos by Jan St. Pierre View these photos and more online at BakersfieldLife.com

Debi and Phil Roberson and Carolyn Cox

John and Ginger Moorhouse and Diane Hopkins

Judith Harniman and Lena Franzen

Chris and Michael Olague

Jill Ogilvie, Heather Jordon and Francis Moore

Robin Cook, Helen McKee, Patrick Plugge and Glenna Pearee

Laura Valenzuela, FNP

Personal care in a family-friendly atmosphere Se habla Español

3941 San Dimas Street, Bldg 101

(661) 327-3821

Haley McGlasson, Heather McKee and Danielle Yeager

www.johnowensmd.com

www.BakersfieldLife.com

97

Read to Succeed Oct. 21 Held at Aera Energy Photos by Karissa Scatone View these photos and more online at BakersfieldLife.com

Alex Neal and Steven Littles

Janet Hopkins, Adam Hopkins and Donna Hylton

Lisa Price and Ashley Conway

Bob Meadows

Bart Hill

Caren Floyd, Willis Hill, Donna Hylton and Curtis Floyd

Special Services Include: • Colonoscopy • Endoscopy • Video Capsule Endoscopy • ERCP • Cancer Screening Esophageal pH & Motility Study • Treatment fo Liver Diseases • Ambulatory Endoscopy Center 9870 Brimhall Rd. #100 Bakersfield, CA 93312 (661)588-8725 Fax (661)588-8749

20041 Hwy 202, Valley Blvd., Unit 3, Tehachapi, Ca 93561 (661) 822-0377 Fax (661) 588-8749

www.bakersfieldgi.com 98

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Leadership Bakersfield Sept. 17 Held at CSUB Dezember Leadership Development Center Photos by Nancy Chaffin View these photos and more online at BakersfieldLife.com Patricia Marquez, Patty Keefer and Michelle Humecky

Ricki Foster, Summer Cunningham, Ken Beurmann and Carrine Cowell

Kimberly Brown, Andrea Mobley, Lois Onsum and Jeff Burdick

Bill Taylor, Jeff Roberts and Brian Conner

Jean Jaymes West, Janine Hines and Mariel Mehdipour

Nancy McKinley, Tonya Sterling, Bryan Burrow and Holly Culhane

Alan Doud, Wendy Wayne, Mike Grover and Tunde Deru

Charles Brown, Jeanne Tunnicliffe, Michele Hatfield and Scott Black

Jason Meek, Michele Newell, Sara Stratton, Mickey Gharzian and Tim Maples www.BakersfieldLife.com

99

Veterans Day Parade Nov. 11 Held in downtown Bakersfield Photos by Jose Treviño View these photos and more online at BakersfieldLife.com

Daniel Garza and Joee Simcox

Peggy Schrader and Jim Dill

Ryan, Beth and Brett Gallagher

Sherie Williams and Shante Flores

Robert Seilby and Daniel Bonillo

Gilbert Ybanez and Bobby Marrufo

Bryn Rinker and Elias Ramsay

Jasmin Perez and Maria Stout

Pilates

Pilates Reformer

Give The Gift of Beauty, Health, & Fitness • Improve Flexibility • One On One Personal Instruction • Relieve Stress • Create A Strong & Lean Body • Develop A Strong Core

1405 Commercial Way, Ste. 110 • 661-324-7848 100

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

Casandra Flores, Cheyenne Sanchez and Selena Valenzuela

% 3.85 *

A mortgage rate this low has gotten some lively reaction:

.

“Are you kidding me?” “What the ...?” “Is this some kind of sick joke?” “Towery Homes?” “ I’ve been punked!”

“You feeling okay?” “April fools!?” “Is that for real?”

To which we responded: Yes, it’s for real.

3% Broker co-op available.

*Income and credit restrictions may apply.

3.85% interest rate (4.762% APR) for this program. Appraisal cost not included.

See sales agent for details.

Yes, it’s Towery quality, with all the stuff we put in. Yes — in great neighborhoods, with a 3-year warranty. But, it can’t last long. Our best advice is to jump on it now. Oh, and we pay your closing costs. Dang, that’s a deal

Matt Towery, President

Follow us on facebook.

Mountain Gate (northeast) starting at $159,990 s Copper Leaf (southwest) starting at $179,990

TOWERY HOMES

Westfield (northwest) starting at $184,990 s Northwood Ranch (northwest) starting at $184,990

OPEN HOUSE AT COPPER LEAF, SAT & SUN 11-4

ph 661-587-4665 Directions and floor plans are available online at The Local Choice

toweryhomes.com

Photo by Felix Adamo

THE LAST WORD

Linda Hartman

sister living here in town with me. I love our family time together.

It is the best of the very best.

Favorite part of your job: The best thing about my job is that I look forward to going to work.

BARC is an amazing place to work, and it gives so much back.

Something few people know about you: I am a container junkie. Love all types of containers for food, nuts and bolts, toys, makeup, you name it. Love having just the right container to put stuff in.

Best piece of advice you’ve received?

I have gotten some great advice over my lifetime, but I guess my favorite is “You are only as happy as you make up your mind to be." Keeping that simple concept in mind can make a major shift in your thought process and how you play out your life.

What’s on your bookshelf?

I have a wide assortment of reading material — help (for myself and others), fiction, nonfiction, biographies, how to and not to, landscape books, home décor. You name it, and it’s likely to be on the shelf.

First job: The day I turned 16, I got my car and first job. I raised and lowered the American flag every day downtown at what used to be the 4 C’s Business College.

Where could you be found having lunch on the weekend?

I love most food and you never know where I may land for lunch.

It’s all about the mood at the moment and the adventure.

Favorite getaway?

I love the beach. It is peaceful and recharges my energy whether I go alone or with family and friends.

What made you want to be a part of BARC? I am not sure; all I know is from the moment I took a tour of the BARC campus I knew that this was where I belonged. BARC has an amazing way of putting things in perspective. You walk out on the campus and are greeted by clients with the best attitudes and smiles. How great is that?

Executive director, BARC Foundation

What you love to do the most: I am very fortunate to have my two children, six grandchildren and 102

Bakersfield Life

December 2010

When “Better” Isnʼt Getting it Done,

Call A

RE/MAX

Main Office: 661-487-1812 Fax: 661-616-4041 201 New Stine Road, Suite 300 860 Price Street, Pismo Beach

www.bakersfieldmagic.com

Department of Real Estate License #01787804

RE/MAX

Agent Today And EXPECT THE BEST!!!

Great Gift Ideas for Under $200 Per Month!

Lease the New 2011 Accord LX AT

199

CP2F3BEW

$

0.9% APR

/mo* 36 month lease

*

up to 60 Months on all New 2010 & 2011 Accords!

FEATURED SPECIAL LEASE: Closed-end lease for 2011 Accord Sedan 5 Speed Automatic LX (Model CP2F3BEW) for $199.00 per month for 36 months with a $2,200.00 capitalized cost reduction available to customers who qualify for the HFS Super Preferred or Preferred credit tier. Other rates/tiers are available under this offer. $2,399.00 total due at lease signing (includes first month’s payment and capitalized cost reduction with no security deposit; total net capitalized cost and base monthly payment does not include tax, license, title, registration, documentation fees, options, insurance and the like).

Not all buyers may qualify.

Special HFS A.P.R. financing available on all new 2010 & 2011 Accord Sedan models. 0.9% APR financing for 24-60 months available to customers who qualify for the HFS Super Preferred or Preferred credit tier. Example for 2010 Accord: 0.9% for 36 months financing at $28.16 a month for every $1,000.00 financed. Dealers set actual vehicle sales prices. See participating dealers for details.For well-qualified buyers and buyers that qualify for the Honda Graduate Program criteria. Not all buyers may qualify. Higher rates apply for buyers with lower credit ratings. Offer valid from 11/2/2010 through 1/4/2011.

Lease the New 2011 Civic Sedan LX AT

169

FA1F5BEW

$

0.9% APR

/mo* 36 month lease

*

up to 60 Months on all New 2010 & 2011 Civics!

FEATURED SPECIAL LEASE: Closed-end lease for 2011 Civic Sedan 5 Speed Automatic LX (Model FA1F5BEW) for $169.00 per month for 36 months with a $1,830.00 capitalized cost reduction available to customers who qualify for the HFS Super Preferred or Preferred credit tier. Other rates/tiers are available under this offer. $1,999.00 total due at lease signing (includes first month’s payment and capitalized cost reduction with no security deposit; total net capitalized cost and base monthly payment does not include tax, license, title, registration, documentation fees, options, insurance and the like). Not all buyers may qualify.

Special HFS A.P.R. financing available on all new 2010 & 2011 Civic Sedan models. 0.9% APR financing for 24-60 months available to customers who qualify for the HFS Super Preferred or Preferred credit tier. Example for 2010 Civic: 0.9% for 36 months financing at $28.16 a month for every $1,000.00 financed. Dealers set actual vehicle sales prices. See participating dealers for details.For well-qualified buyers and buyers that qualify for the Honda Graduate Program criteria. Not all buyers may qualify. Higher rates apply for buyers with lower credit ratings. Offer valid from 11/2/2010 through 1/4/2011.

Happening for a Limited Time at 4500 Wible Road

at the Entrance to Bakersfield Automall

834-6632

WE SPEAK SPANISH, ARABIC, TAGLOG, FARSI AND OF COURSE ENGLISH

barberhonda.com

55

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