209 Magazine Issue 19

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1/30/2017 9:25:42 AM

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1/30/2017 9:25:45 AM

FEATURES Since the advent of motion pictures, producers have brought cameras, crews and stars to the 209 for the making of films and TV shows both classic and forgettable.

Much of Hollywood’s interest has been sparked by the Sierra Railroad, which runs from Oakdale to Tuolumne County and features steam trains generally parked in the roundhouse of Railtown 1897 park in Jamestown.

Michael J. Fox, Kenny Rogers, Clint Eastwood and Hopalong Cassidy have worked on the historic line.

The San Joaquin Delta has also been used extensively

by Hollywood, and even doubled as the Mississippi River at times.

Most recently downtown Turlock caught the eye of actor/ producer Corbin Bernsen who desired it as the backdrop for his 2014 movie, “Christian Mingle.”

Find out more about when Hollywood came to the 209 in this issue’s feature story starting on Page

38

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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017  ISSUE 19

IN THE KNOW 10 14 16 18 22

DEPARTMENTS 16

Valentine’s Day facts McHenry Mansion wedding event Comedienne Paula Poundstone Sonora Celtic Faire Daffodil Show

18

PEOPLE IN THE 209 24

Photographer Larry Barnhizer

FLAVORS

27 28 30

Red Velvet Mug Cake Woodbridge Crossing BellaVista Cucina Italiana

LOOK BACK 34

Bear Creek Inn

BOOK REVIEW 36

NAVIGATOR 46 50

22

“Cheating is Encouraged: Hard-Nosed History of the 1970s Raiders”

50

Best Bars in the World Charles M. Schulz Museum

CHARITY CORNER 52

36

Without Permission

FULL OF LIFE 54 56

Fitness and Beyond The new jazzercise

PLACE CALLED HOME

60 62 64

Arboretum All Stars 2017 color trends Home office

MARKETPLACE 66 70 72

Alice’s Chocolates Cosmetics for College Miranda’s Thrift

56 209MAGAZINE

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62 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 9:26:23 AM

Vol. 3 No. 19 ■ February/ March 2017 ■ $4.95

PUBLISHER Hank Vander Veen

GENERAL MANAGER Drew Savage

EDITOR Kristina Hacker

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & PHOTOGRAHERS Alysson Aredas Jeff Benziger Dennis D. Cruz Teresa Hammond Angelina Martin Candy Padilla Richard Paloma Virginia Still Doane Yawger

ART DIREC TOR Harold L. George

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Sharon Hoffman

ADVERTISING DIREC TORS Chuck Higgs Taylor Phillips

SALES & MARKETING Chris Castro Beth Flanagan Evelyn Hernandez Tara Levy Colette Robison Corey Rogers Melody Wann Doreen Wynn

SPECIAL CONSULTANT Larry Dovichi

To advertise in 209 Magazine, call Manteca • 209.249.3500 • Oakdale • 209.847.3021 Turlock • 209.634.9141 209 Magazine is published 6 times a year

Welcome to the first issue of 209 Magazine in 2017. We are excited to be embarking on our fourth year of bringing you the events, people, places and ideas that make the 209 such a unique place to live, work and visit!

In this issue we look back at the times when producers have brought cameras, crews and stars to the 209 for the making of films and TV shows both classic and forgettable.

As Valentine’s Day nears — and the candy, jewelry and flower shops prepare to offer their most romantic gifts of the year — dozens of couples will soon say “I do” in a wedding extravaganza set to take place at Modesto’s McHenry Mansion.

March is traditionally the start of festival season in the 209, and in this issue we highlight two foothills events.

The cultures of Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, Brittany and Wales will be celebrated at the 31st annual Sonora Celtic Faire March 10-12, with Celtic musicians, artisans and a thrilling live action International Ultimate Jousting Championship.

The 22nd Annual Daffodil Show, sponsored by the Northern California Daffodil Society and the Calaveras County Garden Club, will be held March 18-19 at Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys. Over 300,000 of the spring flower will be on display, not including the 48 tons of daffodils planted around the grounds of Ironstone Vineyards.

Those looking for a day trip to ease the late winter blues may want to check out three San Francisco establishments honored

by Drinks International or pay tribute to the master cartoonist and story teller of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the whole Peanuts gang.

Smuggler’s Cove, Trick Dog and ABV were all selected as the best of the best for the World’s 50 Best Bars 2016.

The Charles M. Schulz museum in Santa Rosa features varying gallery areas with changing exhibits, an auditorium hosting programs, documentaries and cartoons, an education room and a replica of Schulz’s studio complete with his drafting table and small sampling of his library.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and every issue of 209 Magazine. We welcome your comments, calendar events and stories. We hope you will support the businesses and charities that have chosen to partner with us. We appreciate them and look forward to being the most relevant magazine in your home, a place called 209.

138 S. Center St. • Turlock, CA 95380 Comments: khacker@209magazine.com www.209magazine.com ©Copyright 2017. 209 Magazine All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission from the publisher of 209 Magazine is strictly prohibited. The opinions expressed in 209 Magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of 209 Magazine management or owner. 209 Magazine assumes no responsibility and makes no recommendation for claims made by advertisers and shall not be liable for any damages incurred.

209 Magazine 19.indd 8

Hank Vander Veen Publisher hvanderveen@209magazine.com

1/30/2017 9:26:24 AM

8PUB LETTER

Studio209 enters 2017 with fresh look

By FRANKIE TOVAR

N

Studio 209

is a magazinestyle, video news show shot inside The Journal’s own studio featuring community events, daily features, sports and other segments about what makes the Valley a fantastic place to live.

Check it out

ew year, new you.

This adage is typically used for self-motivation as people chase resolutions and seek change each January. I opted to apply this concept to Studio209.

After reaching the 100th episode milestone in December 2016, I started to ask myself a question: “Where does the show go from here?” The answer was forward with a facelift.

Longtime viewers will notice that the look and formula of Studio209 have been tweaked a bit. Gone are the long form intros and outros, replaced with a quick-cut style of delivery meant to accentuate the energy of host Eddie Ruiz. The backdrop behind Eddie was also redesigned to be more interactive, informative and appealing. Though seemingly small, these changes are the cornerstones of Studio209’s future.

The best of the show — our community driven segments — still remain intact, however.

We kicked off the year with a return to our Youth In Motion segment that featured the sport of gymnastics at Gymnastics Unlimited in Turlock. That episode was followed with a spotlight on the Boys & Girls Club of Manteca/Lathrop as we recognized National Mentoring Month. We continued to stay timely with the third episode of January when

we spoke with the Merced County Sheriff ’s Posse ahead of their appearance at the Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington D.C. Finally, we capped the first month of the new year with a Soundcheck209 segment that showcased up-and-coming punk band Suburban Paradise, giving them an opportunity to both share their story and perform one of their favorite songs.

February’s collection of episodes are just as eclectic as we celebrate tradition with the 70th Anniversary of the Assyrian American Civic Club, commemorate National Wear Red Day with Emanuel Medical Center, witness our very own Kristina Hacker officiate weddings on Valentine’s Day and learn the basics of Polynesian dancing.

As for the rest of the year, you’ll have to keep up with the show to find out what else we have in store, but I promise we have a lot of excitement and fun on tap. ■ Want to be featured on Studio209 or have an idea for the show? Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Contact ftovar@turlockjournal.com with segment suggestions and inquiries.

studio209.tv

Sponsored by

209MAGAZINE

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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

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intheknow

1,185

E

xpressing one’s love to another is a celebrated custom on Valentine’s Day. Sweethearts and family members present gifts to one another, such as cards, candy, flowers and other symbols of affection. Opinions differ as to who was the original Valentine, but the most popular theory is that he was a clergyman who was executed for secretly marrying couples in ancient Rome. In A.D. 496, Pope Gelasius I declared Feb. 14 as Valentine Day. Esther Howland, a native of Massachusetts, is given credit for selling the first massproduced valentine cards in the 1840s. The spirit continues today with even young children exchanging valentine’s cards with their fellow classmates. ■ — Information provided by the U.S. Census Bureau

Number of U.S. manufacturing establishments that produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2013, employing 38,717 people.

California led the nation with 129 of these establishments, followed

by Pennsylvania, with 114.

448

Number of U.S. establishments that manufactured nonchocolate confectionary products in 2013.

These establishments employed 19,308 people. California led the nation in this category with 45 establishments.

$14.9 billion

The estimated value of chocolate and cocoa product shipments for manufacturing establishments that produced these products in 2014.

Nonchocolate confectionery product manufacturing, meanwhile, had an estimated $9.3 billion in value of product shipments in 2014.

3,368

Number of confectionery and nut stores in the United States in 2013.

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23,096

The number of jewelry stores in the United States in 2013. Jewelry stores offer engagement, wedding and other rings to couples of all ages. In February 2013, these stores sold an estimated $2.5 billion in merchandise.

The merchandise at these locations could well have been produced at one of the nation’s 2,134 jewelry and silverware manufacturing establishments.

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1/30/2017 9:45:55 AM

Marry Me

29.5 and 27.6 years

Median age at first marriage in 2014 for men and women, respectively.

47.7%

The overall percentage of people 15 and older who reported being married, except those separated.

35.1

The provisional rate of marriages per 1,000 people performed in Nevada during 2012. So many couples tie the knot in the Silver State that it ranked number one nationally in marriage rates. Hawaii ranked second with a marriage rate of 17.5.

2.1 million

The provisional number of marriages that took place in the United States in 2012. That breaks down to about 5,800 a day.

Giving Love a Second Chance 19.2% The number of florists’ establishments nationwide in 2013. These businesses employed 62,222 people.

Among people 15 and older who have been married, the percentage of men and women who have been married twice as of 2014. Five percent have married three or more times. By comparison, 75.5 percent of people who have ever been married have made only one trip down the aisle.

$272,180,347

Looking for Love

14,161

399

The value of imports for cut flowers and buds for bouquets in 2014 through October. The total value of fresh cut roses as of October 2014 was $381,757,889.

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The number of dating service establishments nationwide as of 2012. These establishments, which include Internet dating services, employed 2,348 people.

11

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 9:46:08 AM

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FRIDAY

13

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1/30/2017 9:26:36 AM

intheknow

Couples invited to say 'I do' at

Valentine's Day wedding event

W

By KRISTINA HACKER

hat could be more romantic than getting married on Valentine's Day? How about sharing your special day with dozens of other engaged couples during the "Marriage at the Mansion" event in downtown Modesto.

Stanislaus County Clerk / Recorder and Commissioner of Civil Marriages Lee Lun Lundrigan and her staff will perform marriage ceremonies all day long on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, at the historic McHenry Mansion located at 906 15th St. This is the sixth wedding event the County Clerk has conducted at the McHenry Mansion since 2003.

"The first time we did this was in 2003 and we did it for five years straight," said Lundrigan. "More and more people came each time. The second time we had 61 couples and more as time went on."

The mass wedding day tradition was suspended during the recession, as the County budget tightened and mandatory furlough days for all staff was implemented.

"After this really big election we just had, we needed to do something fun," said Lundrigan about the return of the Valentine's Day tradition.

All ceremonies will be individualized and couples

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must sign up in advance. Ceremonies will start at 9 a.m. and run through 4 p.m., lasting approximately 10 minutes each.

Marriage licenses must be purchased and appointments made in advance at the Clerk Recorder’s Office located at 1021 “I” Street in downtown Modesto. Cost of the license and ceremony is $121 or $126 for confiden confidential marriage licenses. Certified marriage certificates are an additional $15 and must be paid by check. No blood test is required.

The non-religious civil ceremonies will be conducted in English or Spanish by Lund Lundrigan, her staff and invited deputy marriage commissioners. Guests are limited to 15 for each wedding, and children must be age 12 or older to attend in the Mansion.

"In the past we've had such a variety of weddings, it's been so much fun," she said remembering a time when a local fire chief arrived to the wedding on an antique hook and ladder truck.

Lundrigan said that they have dozens of volunteers to pull off the Valentine's Day wedding extravaganza and all kinds of vendors will be on hand for the newlywed couples as well. The Mansion Gift Shop will be open with a Valentine theme; and local businesses are donating gifts. Wedding photos can be purchased. There is no flash photography in the Mansion to preserve the valuable antiques.

For more information or to set an ap appointment contact the Clerk Recorder’s Office at 209-525-5250 or call 209-525-5230 for assistance in Spanish. ■

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 9:47:32 AM

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intheknow

By VIRGINIA STILL

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this book as a memoir and explained that it is a series of experiments that took her seven years to write.

“It is kind of the anti-Facebook,” Poundstone added. “You know they say Facebook depresses people. The more time people spend on Facebook the more depressed they seem to get because it is an endless holiday letter is what it is, from everybody.

“My book is the down and dirty of life. It's first job is to be funny. It tells the real story of life.”

Poundstone found it very difficult to ask people she knew to write blurbs for her book – commentaries or quotes by people who have read it – however, Dick Cavett, Dick Van Dyke, Carl Reiner, Trisha Yearwood and Lily Tomlin, to name a few, gave the book glowing reviews.

Spending time in the Bay Area, Poundstone is very familiar with Tracy and stated that she has gassed up her car there many times.

Poundstone’s performance is known to have different content each time, along with a great deal of audience interaction so the public should prepare to be amused.

“I talk about living in a house full of kids and animals,” stated Poundstone. “I try to pay enough attention to the news to cast a halfway decent vote which we all know is not an easy trick.

“My favorite part of the night is just talking to the audience; the time-honored ‘where are you from?’ and ‘what do you do for a living?’ Expect a night of healing laughter.”

To purchase tickets, visit atthegrand.org. ■

PHOTO BY MICHAEL SCHWARTZ

aughter has been known to have healthy benefits by decreasing stress and increasing the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Comedienne Paula Poundstone has a passion for making people laugh and will be dishing out a healthy dose at The Grand Theatre Center for the Arts in Tracy at 8 p.m. March 3.

Performing comedy for over 35 years, Poundstone has recorded CDs, written a couple of books and has a radio show on NPR called “Wait, wait…Don’t Tell Me!” The talented comic has also had a few comedy specials on HBO and her own series.

The radio show airs on public radio weekly and is a news quiz show with three panelists who answer questions in a comedic way. The show is recorded in front of a live audience. She has been part of the talk show for about 16 years.

“I started when I was 19 in Boston doing open mic nights,” said Poundstone of getting her comedic career started. “I was busing tables for a living so it’s not like I turned my back on a law career.

“Then I took a Greyhound bus around the country to see what clubs were like in different cities.”

After her trip across the country, Poundstone decided to stay on the West Coast and pursued standup comedy in San Francisco for a few years. She made her way down to Southern California where she currently resides with her 14 cats, two German Shepherd mix dogs, and one ant leftover from an ant farm she had.

Poundstone’s second book, “The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness” is available for preorder and will go on sale in May. She describes

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intheknow

Throw down the gauntlet at THE SONORA CELTIC FAIRE

By VIRGINIA STILL

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n a time that was lawless, chaotic and a bit ominous there was also the light that gleamed from the sword yielded by a knight in his shining armor during the medieval times. Today things are quite a bit different than the medieval period; however, in celebration of Celtic heritage and the Middle Ages, the 31st annual Sonora Celtic Faire is being staged at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora.

“I am the originator of the event. We started it 31 years ago this March,” stated Patrick Karnahan. “The Celtic Faire started out as an art show that grew.”

After living in Ireland for a few years as a landscape painter and teaching art on the west coast of Ireland, Karnahan brought the paintings that he did not sell, his knowledge of Ireland, Scotland, Northern England and the Celtic heritage back to the States.

As a member of the Sonora Chamber of Commerce and through involvement with the visitor’s bureau, Karnahan feels very comfortable hosting the event in Sonora, which is also his hometown.

“We get a lot of cooperation from our local lodging associations,” explained Karnahan. “The community is very supportive of the event.”

Celebrating the cultures of Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, Brittany and Wales, this event will transport guests to medieval times where they will be entertained by Celtic musicians on three stages and a thrilling live action International Ultimate Jousting Championship and much more.

“The jousting event, which is medieval Renaissance combat on horseback, got real popular. We

introduced it to the faire in year 12 and it was about the time we were moving to Calaveras,” added Karnahan. “We realized it was getting so popular that we had to get back to a location that had an adequate equestrian platform and Sonora has a great one. The jousting tournament this year is the best ever.”

That, Karnahan said, is because it is a true competition as opposed to a demonstration.

“It is real jousting, not something you see at Medieval Times or acted at Renaissance fairs,” he explained. “These are real competitors using real lances so when they get hit off horses they are feeling the full impact.”

The extreme sport is between two competitors on horses wielding lances in a battle to expel the other rider from his or her horse to the ground.

People of all ages and walks of life are invited to attend this threeday event that happens once a year and is the only Celtic Faire of its kind on the west coast, according to Karnahan.

“You don’t have to be of Celtic blood to enjoy it,” said Karnahan.

“There is something for everyone, for every age, from a small child to someone in their 90s. There are entertaining things to see. I think one thing that a person would find for the first time is that they are going to be mesmerized by how many activities and things that are going on around them all the time.”

There will be knights in armor from different centuries of Scottish and English history that battle as well as Vikings, Roman army soldiers, Scottish highlanders and the Irish Brigade roaming the Sonora 209MAGAZINE

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countryside for guests to enjoy.

The event will feature fencing demonstrations, Scottish highlander dancers, Irish step dancers, bagpipe bands and over 100 vendors that sell imported goods that were handmade from other countries along with an assortment of other items.

Many of the food and beverage offerings will fit the Celtic theme; however, there will also be a variety like Asian, Greek and Italian food to suit everybody’s palate.

Performers will be walking around the faire in attire fitting for the era juggling and fire eating to entertain revelers.

New this year to the Faire is the Whiskey Experience, where an entire building has been dedicated to whiskey tasting. Patrons will be entertained by live music and be able to sample a variety of single malts from Scotland and Irish whiskeys. As part of the whiskey experience there will be a workshop on how to distill whiskey as well as how you should drink it.

“To say you could see it all in one day would be difficult because there is so much to see and so much to do,” expressed Karnahan. “There is not just one stage and not one vendor hall. It is not just one arena.

“There is so much to be entertained by. Everyone is included at this event. We want everyone to have a good time.”

The festivities begin on March 10 and will continue through March 12. The event will be held rain, snow or shine and it is held indoors and outdoors. ■ For tickets, times, attractions and more information visit http:// sonoracelticfaire.com/ or call 800446-1333 for general information.

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 9:49:22 AM

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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 9:27:13 AM

intheknow

By VIRGINIA STILL

W

ith 28,000 varieties of daffodils out there, there’s plenty to be featured in a Mother Lode Show dedicated specifically to the spring flower. The 22nd Annual Daffodil Show, sponsored by the Northern California Daffodil Society and the Calaveras County Garden Club, will be held March 1819 at Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys.

The presentation begins a few miles prior to arriving at the entrance of the winery where several daffodils have been planted on the side of the road and once at the entrance, the impressive display of color all around in half barrels of these fabulous jonquils is a sight to see.

“We have actually had people think that all the half barrels of daffodils that are all around is the show,” said Bob Spotts, co-chairman of the Mother Lode Daffodil Show. “You are really invited with a tremendous display of daffodils along the way and then when you get into the show, which is in the heritage room at Ironstone, there will be table after table of cut flowers.

“It may be a little bit of a change for them to see cut flowers in test tubes arranged by color and size and the judges come in and pick the best of the show.”

“It (daffodil show) is such a remarkable and breathtaking display that I believe that everyone should experience in person,” stated Mary Watts, director of sales and

marketing for Ironstone Vineyards. “Last year we had over 300,000 daffodils on display and I know for this year we have 48 tons of daffodils that have been planted by our Master Gardener, Larry Ringland.

“Larry has worked with the Kautz family for 46 years and is extremely passionate about his work. Our colorful and vibrant gardens would not be what they are without Larry’s hard work and expertise.”

Once in the showroom, guests will find daffodil exhibits in horticulture, artistic designs and photography.

This family-friendly event will have about 1,000 different varieties of daffodils at the show that will be on display and judged in several different categories and 13 different divisions.

There will be some daffodils that were bred in the early 1900s or earlier that will be displayed in the historical varieties, or classical ones that were bred and grown in 1960, and also a modern display. All flowers will have names and descriptions on them and the ones that only have numbers are the under developed daffodils. There will also be a collection of miniatures that will be on display that are grown in a protected area.

“Some people do not believe that they are daffodils but they are,” said Spotts.

“You will see every color and size and shape that you ever thought of. There is no cost to get into the show and we 209MAGAZINE

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really encourage you to bring your family. Some kids think the flowers and all the colors are really neat and it is just a really lovely day.”

Spotts explained that global warming has advanced the time of when the daffodils bloom so they are considering moving the show to an earlier time. There are five judges and a few experts that will be on hand to answer questions.

The public is encouraged to bring in the daffodils

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 9:21:16 AM

“YOU ARE REALLY INVITED WITH A TREMENDOUS DISPLAY OF DAFFODILS ALONG THE WAY AND THEN WHEN YOU GET INTO THE SHOW, WHICH IS IN THE HERITAGE ROOM AT IRONSTONE, THERE WILL BE TABLE AFTER TABLE OF CUT FLOWERS.” — Bob Spotts

that they have grown in their gardens.

“What we are trying to do is encourage people to see that this flower grows with no problem at all,” expressed Spotts. “You can take a daffodil bulb and put it in the ground and it will grow forever in Murphys. The emphasis that I really want to make is that this is the Mother Lode Daffodil Show and it would be really nice if we could continue to increase the number of local participants.”

The passion that Spotts has for daffodils began several years ago when he lived in an apartment in the Bay Area. The idea for the show originated with Richard

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Hunt, who contacted Spotts and other friends in the Sierra to make it happen. For the first two years the show was hosted in Amador City and with its success, caught the interest of John Kautz of Ironstone Vineyards, where the show has been for the past 20 years.

Entries are being accepted up until the day of the show, including special hours the night before, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

March 17 and again until 9 a.m.

March 18.

For more information, visit www.ironstonevineyards.com or email Bob Spotts at robert_spotts@comcast.net or call 925-625-5526. ■

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 9:21:22 AM

peopleinthe209 Shown standing with the book “When It Was Big Time” is Riverbank native Larry Barnhizer, whose photographs grace many pages of the book by Rock Rims.

PHOTOGRAPHER

BARNHIZER captures WRESTLING HISTORY

By DENNIS D. CRUZ

PHOTO BY DENNIS D. CRUZ/ 209 Magazine

W W

hile there are a number of Big Time Wrestling fans in the area, many may not know the historic role Modesto has played in the professional wrestling business.

From the late 1950s to the mid‘70s, professional wrestling was a hot ticket at the Uptown Arena in Modesto. With events held on Friday and Saturday nights, names like Pepper Gomez, Ray Stevens, Moon Dog Mayne, Pat Patterson and other historic wrestlers drew large crowds on a regular basis. One man and his camera caught iconic images throughout much of that golden era, Larry Barnhizer.

Barnhizer was born in Riverbank and is currently a resident of Manteca.

He took time recently to reflect

on a career that has once again come into the limelight.

“I was always interested in photography and professional wrestling. So when the opportunity came about to cover the events at the Uptown Arena, I wanted to excel at it, and I think I did just that. The thing that drew me into the wrestling world was the interaction between the wrestlers and the fans,” Barnhizer noted with a smile. “At that time, it was always good versus bad and the bad guys would always throw insults toward the fans and the fans would react in a way that was just as entertaining; and I was at ringside for the whole thing. I really enjoyed that part of it.”

It did not take long for promoters to recognize Barnhizer’s talent behind the lens and soon 209MAGAZINE

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his photos were being featured in prestigious wrestling magazines around the globe.

“Remember, this was a time before the Internet. Wrestling fans used to get their news from these magazines and relied heavily on the content inside, including the photos,” Barnhizer said.

His images included a big 1974 battle between two World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Famers, Pat Patterson and Don Muraco at the Uptown Arena.

In 1982 Barnhizer received a call from an editor at The Wrestler magazine and was asked if he would cover an event being held in Oakland. The main event featured two more future Hall of Famers.

The American Wrestling Association was a big promotion out of Minnesota and made its way to

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 9:50:46 AM

Larry Barnhizer captured thousands of photos in his career. This battle between Pat Patterson, left, and Don Muraco saw them wrestle each other in front of a sold out crowd at Modesto’s Uptown Arena in 1974.

From the pages of the September 1982 issue of The Wrestler magazine, Larry Barnhizer captured this iconic image of Hulk Hogan, left, and Nick Bockwinkel during their bloody encounter in Oakland.

Oakland. In the main event for the Heavyweight title, champion Nick Bockwinkel took on a young Hulk Hogan in front of a sold out crowd.

“He asked if I would cover this event because they knew I lived not too far from the arena. They were interested in Hogan because he had shown promise and the AWA was making a big push with him. So I went to cover it,” Barnhizer said.

Standing in his usual spot, ringside by the turnbuckle posts, Barnhizer spent the evening shooting from different angles.

When the action went outside of the ring, he moved out of the way but continued to shoot. The image he got moments later is one of the most recognizable in The Wrestler

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LARRY BARNHIZER

REMEMBER, THIS WAS A TIME BEFORE THE INTERNET. WRESTLING FANS USED TO GET THEIR NEWS FROM THESE MAGAZINES AND RELIED HEAVILY ON THE CONTENT INSIDE, INCLUDING THE PHOTOS. “

magazine history. The photo, in the September 1982 edition of the magazine, shows a bloodied Hogan grabbing Bockwinkel by the hair and ramming him into the apron. The image was used as part of a two page spread in the magazine.

“When the magazine came out, I was blown away. I knew I had something special on my hands, but when it came out in the publication I was speechless and I am very proud of that picture,” Barnhizer said of his iconic shot.

“Less than two years later Hogan became larger than life. I am so fortunate that I was a part of the action that night. Can you imagine if I did not go that night? I would not have met Hogan and would not have gotten that shot.”

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In 2016, the book “When It Was Big Time” by Rock Rims was released. This book captures the early years of Northern California wrestling history and in the thick of it was Barnhizer. Rims includes an entire chapter on Barnhizer’s contribution to the business and features his photography throughout the book. The 300-plus page book includes wrestling greats from Pat Patterson to Rowdy Roddy Piper.

“It is an amazing book. And when he (Rims) told me that I was featured in it, it was a big accomplishment in my lifetime,” said Barnhizer. “It made me feel that my life’s work is being immortalized in a way. I had the time of my life doing it and I have zero regrets about it.” ■

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209MAGAZINE

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Directions:

For the Mug Cake, microwave chocolate chips and butter in microwavable coffee mug on HIGH 30 seconds or until melted.

Stir. Add remaining ingredients; mix well.

Microwave on HIGH 45 seconds to 1 minute or until center looks almost set. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 9:52:04 AM

flavors

By RICHARD PALOMA

A

fter a 20-plus year career in politics, which included being chief of staff for former area congressman Richard Pombo, Steve Ding took on a new venture in November 2010 opening Woodbridge Crossing on North Lower Sacramento Road, minutes away from a multitude of Lodi wineries.

Formerly the Woodbridge Feed & Fuel, located in an historic brick building in Woodbridge, the restaurant has maintained its old-fashioned Western appearance while delivering great quality steak and seafood and excellent service.

“The historic ambiance is great inside and out, but people are drawn here for our prime rib and calamari,” Ding said. “When I bought the restaurant, I condensed the menu and perfected the recipes.”

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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

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“The historic ambiance is great inside and out, but people are drawn here for our prime rib and calamari.”

— Steve Ding

To assist with fine tuning the fare into what he described as “an oldschool menu,” Ding brought back the Feed & Fuel’s former chef, Raphael Velasquez and his nearly three decades of experience.

The signature prime rib, an Open Table Award winner, is hand seasoned and slow roasted with a choice of a 14-16 ounce cut or a larger 18-ounce cut. Both are served au jus with creamy horseradish.

Woodbridge Crossing also offers a New York steak, a charbroiled Filet Mignon wrapped in bacon, and a Rib Eye steak seasoned with a secret blend of spices, broiled over an open flame, and topped with sautéed mushrooms.

Ding also gives accolades to the establishment’s Veal Oscar that is dipped in panko bread crumbs then pan seared and finished off with crab meat, asparagus, and hollandaise sauce.

Other veal dishes include Veal Marsala, a lightly floured cutlet pan seared in a rich, Marsala wine sauce with mushrooms and herbs and Veal Parmesan, a sautéed veal cutlet topped with marinara sauce, Provolone and Parmesan cheeses, then baked until the cheese is melted and golden.

“Our baby back ribs are so tender that the meat falls off the bone,” Ding said. “They’re full of flavor and finished with just the right amount of our house made barbeque sauce.”

A variety of seafood is also on the menu including their Hawaiian Mahi-Mahi that is lightly seasoned, broiled and topped with toasted macadamia nuts and mango salsa as well as the Calamari Steak Almon-

dine dipped in a light egg wash, pan fried and finished with lemon, butter reduction and thin, toasted almonds.

Bing said the Stuffed Prawns is a classic Crossing favorite consisting of jumbo prawns stuffed with crab meat and cream cheese and deep fried until golden.

One of Ding’s motivations for getting involved with Woodbridge Crossing was that he’s always been in love with the building and its history.

The 1865 building was one of the original Pony Express stops which includes a former jail cell in the basement and residential quarters in the second floor.

Over the years, the building has seen its time as a local tavern and restaurant serving historic Woodbridge.

The handcrafted wood bar was built in 1880 in London and shipped to Boston. In 1920 the entire bar was shipped via rail to Woodbridge where it has served loyal patrons since.

Ding added that various paranormal explorers have frequented the building in search of ghosts and obtaining interesting stories.

The Crossing, as the locals call it, has developed a reputation for having quality food that tastes great. With Open Mic on Wednesdays and the top local bands on Friday and Saturday nights, and the only outside patio in Woodbridge, The Crossing is a place for locals, 209 Foodies and tourists alike. ■

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IF YOU GO GETTING THERE: The Crossing 18939 N. Lower Sacramento Road Woodbridge, CA 95258 CONTACT: (209) 366-1800 HOURS: Sunday:10:00 am - 9:00 pm Monday: 11:30 am - 9:00 pm Wednesday-Thursday: 11:30 am - 9:00 pm Friday-Saturday: 11:30 am - 1:00 am

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 9:53:19 AM

flavors

Stockton’s newest downtown restaurant

By RICHARD PALOMA

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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 9:54:48 AM

S

itting at the corner of El Dorado Street and East Weber Avenue in the landmark Hotel Stockton, BellaVista Cucina Italiana is Chef Rima Barkett’s new venture bringing fine Italian dining with authentic northern Italian flair to Stockton’s downtown waterfront.

Barkett, who grew up in Tuscany and came to the U.S. in 1993, previously owned Café Luna on North Sutter Street for four years before closing in 2006 to move with her husband and daughter to Rome to spend a few years working on the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.

“That restaurant was the love of my life,” Barkett said. “Customers can expect BellaVista to be bigger and better.”

After returning, Barkett wanted to get back into the restaurant life where she took advantage of the historic building’s renovation and the need for a fine dining spot that had once been French 25 and Paragary’s.

“It’s a positive challenge and beneficial to downtown Stockton,” Barkett, a Stockton resident, said. “If I live here I need to make Stockton the best it can be.”

Barkett said she learned cooking in her mother’s kitchen where she developed the love of feeding people and sharing her amazing talent for cooking delicious, simple meals that bring people together.

“The way I give love is giving food,” Barkett said. “That’s what I do, it’s in my blood.”

Though she’s never completed a culinary academy, Barkett has taken extensive training courses through Cordon Bleu in Florence, Gambero Rosso in Rome, and locally at the esteemed Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa.

“Nobody ever gave me a piece of paper that says I can cook,” Barkett quipped. “Cooking techniques are fluid and constantly evolving with new ideas.

I like to stay current.”

Last year she spent the summer in La Spezia, Italy learning techniques from Chef Silvia Cardelli at L’Osteria della Corte.

In return, Barkett sponsors Italian

chefs at her new establishment adding to the Italian authenticity of her ristorante.

“Our food is not ‘Americanized’,” Barkett said. “There’s nothing wrong with ‘Americanized’ Italian food, but here we’re going to be Italian food from Italy.”

Barkett said one of the special menu items is her lasagna from Northern Italy.

Unlike many lasagnas made with southern recipes, the BellaVista lasagna features a meat sauce made with Béchamel sauce instead of ricotta.

Another special is the Mezze Maniche in crema di Parmigiana, a half-rigatoni pasta with Parmesan fondue, bacon bits and a sous-vide soft egg.

The BellaVista Saltimbocca alla Romma features veal scaloppini, Prosciutto and sage with seasoned vegetables.

Barkett said a popular appetizer is her Tower of Eggplant and Burrata of stacked baked eggplant slices, Pomodoro sauce, Burrata cheese, topped with extra-virgin olive oil.

“I try to work with local suppliers for everything … unless it comes from Italy,” Barkett said In addition to a wine list that offers not only many local wines and wines from Italy, the BellaVista bar specializes in handcrafted and traditional cocktails.

“We want to bring back the craft of true bartending and we’re taking care of our guests,” said bar manager Drew Reyes, a 14-year vet of the beverage industry. “What we also like to do is develop cocktails that play to people’s palates.”

To take advantage of the remarkable facility as weather gets warmer, Barkett said the upstairs “Terrace at BellaVista” will be offering an Aperitivo.

Aperitivo is northern Italy’s version of happy hour, only instead of half-priced beers and a sketchy taco bar like some restaurants, BellaVista will be offering its signature drinks, wine and complimentary appetizer plates for patrons to enjoy as they watch the sun set over the Weber Channel on warm summer nights.

“BellaVista is a beautiful place,” Barkett said. “The food is delicious, and the service is impeccable which makes for a great ambiance.” ■ 209MAGAZINE

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BellaVista is a beautiful place. The food is delicious, and the service is impeccable which makes for a great ambiance.

— Rima Barkett

IF YOU GO GETTING THERE: BellaVista Cucina Italiana 110 N. El Dorado St. Stockton, CA CONTACT: (209) 949-2104 HOURS: Monday-Thursday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Sunday: 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 9:27:23 AM

lookback

VINTAGE MERCED

MANSION TRANSFORMED INTO STATELY INN

By DOANE YAWGER

S

ince she was a little girl, Melinda Stewart has always been fascinated with the big white two-story house on M Street near Bear Creek in Merced.

Now she owns the stately1936vintage mansion with her sister Jana and offers guests a glimpse back in time.

The Stewarts have operated Bear Creek Inn, the Hooper House, a bed and breakfast establishment since they bought it in 2014 from the Jack Hooper estate.

They have visions of expanding the 5,000-square-foot and home grounds into more of an event center.

Open all year round, Bear Creek Inn has five guest rooms and mixes modern amenities with vintage touches like a spiral staircase and skylight, wooden floors throughout, original architectural touches and hexagonal-shaped white and black floor tiles in the bathrooms.

Manager Jessica Egli says the house and its two acres exudes a special charm. She has been one of the three innkeepers since September 2015 and works hard to make its guests feel special and welcome.

“It just becomes part of your heart and soul,” Egli says. “It’s just a home away from home; (guests) bring their family back. They become part of our family, they really do. They are part of me.”

Melinda Stewart, now a retired Superior Court judge, remembers gazing at the Colonial-style C. Ray Robinson home as a child and finding it mysterious and intriguing. Her sister Jana was bold enough to jump the fence years ago and do some exploring on her own. They are only the fourth owners of the landmark residence.

Jana Stewart says they had never operated a bed and breakfast inn before but just had to buy 209MAGAZINE

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it and keep it going, preserving its antebellum charm. It sits on the site of the Charles Henry Huffman mansion which was built in 1882 and burned to the ground in a Jan. 11, 1933 fire. The first home is reminiscent of the McHenry Mansion in downtown Modesto.

The majority of Bear Creek Inn guests are business travelers affiliated with the UC Merced campus a few miles north. They include guest speakers, visiting professors and researchers, traveling doctors, some celebrities, job candidates and people on their way to visit Yosemite National Park.

“We just heard it was for sale and decided it was a good time to save this house,” Jana Stewart says.

“It’s sort of like going into the past which is hard to do. We tried to keep the décor as it was, like the old days. People come in and they leave the world out there.”

Melinda Stewart credits Hooper,

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 9:57:24 AM

who died in 2013, with the yeoman efforts to bring the home back from neglect. Robinson, a prominent Merced attorney and former state legislator, died in 1974 and the home was willed to the Dominican Sisters who operated Mercy Hospital, then located just across the creek from the home.

Jana Stewart says it would be wonderful to open the inn up to more community events, including teas, wedding showers and receptions, retirement parties and other social events. She hopes it can become an event center but wants to make sure they can provide good service before it is launched.

“It has lots of great possibilities in time,” Jana Stewart says. “We can really grow, and do all age groups.

It will be wonderful.”

There are three guest rooms or suites upstairs, which offer a sitting area, desks, fireplaces, private bathrooms and WiFi Internet connections.

The master suite, the RA Paula Room, has a four-poster king bed, private restrooms and private balcony. The adjoining Yellow Room has distinctive crown molding around its ceiling, a

settee and an old-fashioned writing desk, along with a wroughtiron bed. The sitting room has an antique roll top desk.

The Blue Room has a separate, attached sitting room, with whitewashed pine walls. At some point in the past it probably was a playroom for the Robinson family youngsters.

Downstairs, there is a garden room with windows on all sides, along with a fireplace. The dining room seats 12 guests and there is a separate breakfast nook for smaller groups. There is a button on the floor in the breakfast nook where family members could summon servants for special requests years ago.

A nearby butler’s pantry now is stocked with snacks and refreshments for the guests. A gourmet breakfast is offered for all guests.

Egli says the garden has 41 trees, many of them fruit-bearing and several of the towering palm trees have been there since the Huffman days. The nearby cottage has a full kitchen and often hosts families during their Yosemite visits. The buggy house next to the main residence is 209MAGAZINE

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handicap-accessible. The outside buildings are pet-friendly for small dogs.

“We want this whole place to hug you and make you feel welcome,” Egli says. “One of the things the guests love in the great room is the game table where they can play checkers or chess. The whole process is meant to be friendly, warm and inviting.”

The guest book in the home’s entryway boasts of visitors from Italy, Germany, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, South Africa, Mexico, Vatican City, New Delhi, England, France, Israel, Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Egli says she has redone the Bear Creek Inn’s website and has a social media presence, including Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. The inn also is listed on online travel sites.

“A lot of our travelers like the history, openness and warmness of the inn,” Egli says.

For more information on the Bear Creek Inn, at 575 N. Bear Creek Drive, call Egli at (209) 723-3991. ■ Doane Yawger of Merced is a semi-retired newspaper reporter and editor.

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 9:57:37 AM

bookreview

Authors provide glimpse into

‘hard-nosed history’ of the Oakland Raiders

By RICHARD PALOMA

W

hen 209 area football fans think back to the 1970s and the days of Oakland Raider football, one can’t help to remember the amusing cast of outlaws, misfits and anomalies that made up one of the greatest pro football teams of that era.

Regardless of whether you loved or hated them, the Raiders’ roster consisted of a collection of mavericks and rebels who were passed over or disregarded by other NFL teams. To say that this group of outlaws had “attitude” would be a gross understatement. They were the Oakland Raiders with Al Davis’s instilled mottos of “Just win, baby” and “Commitment to Excellence.”

But the Boys of the Silver & Black had another saying, one that was posted on the locker room at the Oakland Coliseum and at training camp in Santa Rosa: “Cheating is Encouraged.”

It was an adage that led to a run of success from 1970 to 1977 where the team won six division titles and reached the AFC Championship Game six times with a .776 winning percentage.

In the decade they won the Super Bowl in SB XI and SB XV after the 1980 season.

The book “Cheating is Encouraged: Hard209MAGAZINE

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Nosed History of the 1970s Raiders” by Dr. Kristine Setting Clark and Mike Siani is straight from the mouths of Raider legends and recapitulates the many infamous stories from the last team to play “outlaw” football.

Clark, a San Francisco State University and University of San Francisco graduate who now lives in Stockton, has collaborated for other books with NFL greats such as NY Giants and 49er QB Y.A Title, Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Bob Lilly, and ‘60s Packers running back Jim Taylor as well as members of the undefeated University of San Francisco football team from 1951. She also was feature writer for the San Francisco 49ers’ and Dallas Cowboys’ Gameday Magazine.

“This book is not just for Raider fans,” Clark said of her latest gridiron publication, “but all fans – especially the ones that haven’t got to see these guys. Football is so different now.”

Clark said she was contacted by former Raider wide receiver of that period Mike Siani to write a book about the team once classified as “The Winningest Team in Football.”

“I didn’t tell him I didn’t like the Raiders,” said FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 8:58:21 AM

This book is not just for Raider fans, but all fans – especially the ones that haven’t got to see these guys. Football is so different now.

— Dr. Kristine Setting Clark

Mike Siani played six seasons with the Oakland Raiders and gives a first-person account in the book, Cheating is Encouraged: Hard-Nosed History of the 1970s Raiders.

209MAGAZINE

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PHOTOS BY RON RIESTERER/ Photoshelter

Clark, a longtime San Francisco 49er fan with roots back to the days of a 1958 Kezar Stadium team as she rattles off her heroes of Bob St. Clair, Y.A. Title, Joe Perry, Hugh McElhenny, and Leo Nomellini.

“But I did remember the players, all who were fun and crazy, and Mike did have some great stories of the bunch.”

Dr. Clark and Siani paired up to give the reader an intimate, rough-and-tumble look at a bygone era of professional football in Oakland lore.

Relying on first-person interviews with key members of the ‘70s Raiders, including John Madden, Phil Villapiano, the late Ken Stabler, and many others, the 1977 Super Bowl champion Siani tells firsthand in the book the rough tales of players like John Matuszak, Fred Biletnikoff, George Blanda, and others who helped make Al Davis’s dream of “Just win, baby” come to life.

“As I’m writing this stuff, I’m laughing and tears are coming down my cheeks,” Clark said. “I did have to leave out some of the more colorful and ‘X-rated’ scenes.”

Last year the book was published by Sports Publishing, a division of Skyhorse Publishing in New York.

From the publisher: “Cheating is Encouraged defines an era that can only be considered as the last of the glory days of ‘real football played by real men’; a game where hurt players kept playing and the injury as turf toe had yet to be defined.

“So belly up to the bar, gents, and read about the good ol’ days of Raiders football. It is as close as most of us will ever get to sitting in the locker room, opening a few cool ones, and listening to these gridiron greats talk about famous and infamous legendary wars and warriors of Oakland’s glory years.” ■

37

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017

1/30/2017 8:58:36 AM

feature

D

in the 209

espite Central California’s 300-mile reach from Hollywood, stellar filming locations in Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Tuolumne, Merced and Calaveras counties have, for over a century, drawn a myriad of movie producers to the 209. Since the advent of motion pictures, producers have brought cameras, crews and stars to the 209 for the making of films and TV shows both classic and forgettable.

Much of Hollywood’s interest has been piqued by the Sierra Railroad, which runs from Oakdale to Tuolumne County and features steam trains generally parked in the roundhouse of Railtown 1897 park in Jamestown. Michael J. Fox, Kenny Rogers, Clint Eastwood and Hopalong Cassidy have worked on the historic line. But other aspects of the 209 – such as its foothills found perfect by Michael Landon for filming the pilot for the “Little House on the Prairie” TV series – also command movie company attention. Columbia State Historic Park stands by as a virtual Hollywood set for westerns taking place in the mid- to late-1800s.

Hollywood has also appreciated the Delta, our rivers, mountains, meadows and streetscapes.

Turlock basked in Tinseltown glamour for two weeks in 2014. Downtown Turlock caught the eye of actor/ producer Corbin Bernsen who chose it for the backdrop of his 2014 movie, “Christian Mingle.” Lacey Chabert and Jonathan Patrick Moore filmed at Footers on Turlock’s Main Street and on the block where the Dust Bowl is located.

A review of Hollywood activity in the 209 since 209MAGAZINE

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By JEFF BENZIGER

1914 and the countless films shot here proves mindboggling. Silent film stars William S. Hart, Tom Mix, Jack Hoxie, Douglas Fairbanks and Buck Jones trekked to Jamestown to use the steam locomotives in the first decades of movie making.

Legendary actor Gary Cooper made at least six movies in the 209 during his illustrious film career.

Cooper spent May 20-21, 1929 here filming “The Virginian” – the first talkie shot on the Sierra Railroad.

Scenes were shot at once active Cooperstown in eastern Stanislaus County. There is no trace of it today.

In April 1930 Cooper filmed “The Texan” in Tuolumne County and a year later filmed “Fighting Caravans” in the snow-blanketed area of Dardanelle. The cast became snow-bound in cabins near Kennedy Meadows. The movie includes scenes on Phoenix Lake near Sonora. According to the late Sonora resident Leonard Ruoff, Cooper was known to frequent an establishment in Confidence – possibly the recently razed Confidence Inn – serving alcohol during Prohibition. Ruoff said there was a rule for the last film crew member driving downhill from a day of shooting to check for Cooper there.

A publicity still from the “Traveling Salesman,” showing Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle waving from the back of a railcar, shows how little Railtown has changed since 1921. The film was Arbuckle’s last as his career ended with a sensational rape and manslaughter trial resulting from a raucous night of drinking and carousing at a San Francisco hotel that September.

38

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Dashing actor Errol Flynn came to the 238acre Ratto Ranch (10500 Ratto Road, Sonora) for the 1936 filming of “Charge of the Light Brigade.” Flynn also rode a horse alongside a moving steam train near the StanislausTuolumne County border for the 1939 film, “Dodge City.”

Phoenix Lake and the Jamestown foothills attracted cowboy matinee idol Randolph Scott for the 1934 movie, “Wagon Wheels.”

William Boyd, (AKA Hopalong Cassidy), with sidekick Gabby Hayes filmed on the Sierra Railroad for “North of the Rio Grande” in 1937. Cassidy returned to make his TV series there. Boyd shot scenes for “The Eagle’s Brood” at Kennedy Meadows, where incidentally Buddy Ebsen, Keir Dullea and Lois Nettleton filmed “Mail Order Bride” in 1964.

Groucho, Chico and Harpo Marx shot train scenes in the Red Hills in 1940 for “Go West.”

Railtown is also seen in the opening credits of “Petticoat Junction,” the 1960’s TV series.

Twain Harte provided the backdrop for the 1930 film, “The Storm,” starring Lupe Velez.

Before she became a Hollywood sex symbol, child actress Natalie Wood filmed 1948 scenes near Twain Harte for “Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!” June Haver also appeared in the film along with veteran actor Walter Brennan. Wood also appeared in "The Great Race," which was filmed in part in Jamestown in 1965.

In 1941 Jimmy Stewart and Hedy Lamarr filmed “Come Live With Me,” partially in Tuolumne County. The sultry Lamarr had another connection with the 209 when she married Turlock native and Los Angeles attorney Lewis W. Boies Jr. in 1963. They stayed at his parents’ home at the corner of Sierra and Shasta streets in Turlock, and were the talk of town before it all ended with their 1964 divorce.

“For Whom the Bell Tolls” brought Cooper to Kennedy Meadows on the Sonora Pass in the summer of 1942 – this time joined by Ingrid Bergman.

A crew of 25 craftsmen built a cave set of plastic material in Blue Canyon, near the summit of Sonora Pass, and a sawmill set 20 miles away on Clark's

Pg 38: “Back to the Future III” – Michael J. Fox on the Red Hills set in 1989.

Left, top to bottom: “Oklahoma Crude” – Jack Palance at the Ospital Ranch near Jenny Lind in 1973; “Christian Mingle” –Corbin Bernsen directs Lacey Chabert on Turlock’s Main Street; “Another 48 Hours” – Andrew Divoff and David Anthony Marshall ride on Highway 120 east of Knights Ferry; “Dirty Mary & Crazy Larry” – Susan George and Peter Fonda drive around near Farmington in 1974.

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feature Right, Top to Bottom: “All the King’s Men” – Broderick Crawford makes a speech from the balcony of the Hotel Stockton in 1946; “Highway To Heaven” – Michael Landon and Victor French on the old La Grange Bridge in December 1984; “High Noon” – Lee Van Cleef, Robert “Bob” Wilke and Sheb Wooley on the Sierra Railroad set at Warnerville Road; “Bound for Glory” – David Carradine hitchhikes on Kennedy Road in Knights Ferry in 1976.

Fork. Production was hampered that July when rain and high winds played havoc with sets and drove them back to the comfort of the Sonora Inn. In 1948 Kennedy Meadows hosted a very young Frank Sinatra for a role in “The Kissing Bandit,” which he despised. The same meadow also is where George O’Brien prospected for gold in “Thunder Mountain” in 1935.

Cooper returned in July 1952 for the filming of the classic western drama “High Noon.” Scenes were filmed in Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties while town scenes were blended between Columbia and the Warner Brothers backlot in Burbank. Scenes of Cooper and Grace Kelly riding aboard a horse-drawn buggy were shot on the oak tree dotted landscape of the Brooke Ranch near Cooperstown. Not far away was the fake train station built at Crabtree and Warnerville roads northeast of Waterford. The Stanislaus County location looks virtually the same as it did in the 1952 – minus the station and the working water tank which fell in the 1990s. Only one structure seen on screen with movie bad guys Lee Van Cleef, Robert “Bob” Wilke, Sheb Wooley and Ian McDonald stands today.

Roberts Ferry resident Bill Crabtree remembers his parents taking him to the set and marveling at Grace Kelly’s beauty in that white dress, as if she were a princess. Four years later Kelly became a princess when she married Prince Rainer of Monaco. Mexican actress Katy Jurado was also on location.

The church scenes of “High Noon” were shot at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Tuolumne City at 18473 Gardner Avenue. The historic Wilson-McConnell House in Columbia looks the same as when Cooper (Marshall Will Cain) visits to recruit Harry Morgan as his deputy. Eve McVeagh answers the door to cover for her cowardly husband, played by Harry Morgan. Incidentally, McVeagh came to La Grange to film a 1983 scene with Michael Landon in “Highway to Heaven.”

David Carradine of “Kung Fu” TV show fame came to Oakdale to ride the rails atop a moving boxcar as Woody Guthrie in the 1976 movie “Bound for Glory.” Also on the set in south Oakdale was Randy Quaid, best known as Cousin Eddie in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” Kennedy Road in Knights Ferry doubled as the New Mexico border where Carradine hitchhiked in the film.

Knights Ferry hosted movie activity more than once. In 1982 Tom Selleck, Katherine Ross, Sam Elliott and Ben Johnson filmed a scene on the north side of the Stanislaus River just east of the covered bridge for the made-for-TV movie “Shadow Riders,” based on the Louis L’Amour novel. Selleck was impressed with the number of rattle snakes at Knights Ferry as he mentioned them while filming in Columbia’s town block of exposed limestone rock. Ranch house scenes in209MAGAZINE

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volving Jane Greer and Harry Carey Jr. were shot at the Ratto Ranch west of Sonora.

Viewers of the movie “Another 48 Hours” starring Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy may recognize the scenery in the prison bus attack scene. It was shot on a closed-off section of eastbound Highway 120 east of Knights Ferry. The 1950s Roadhouse Restaurant on Kennedy Road was the diner where Nolte had sat down inside only to be shot at through the window by bad guy actor David Anthony Marshall.

Knights Ferry played a starring role in the TV movie “River Raft Nightmare,” shot in April 2014. The movie starred “Army Wives” actress Brigid Brannagh as well as aspiring young Turlock actress Leah Bateman.

Ryan and Tatum O’Neal, Burt Reynolds and John Ritter, spent weeks at a movie set constructed in a field south of the Sierra tracks south of Cooperstown Road for “Nickelodeon.” The 1976 comedy about the early days of movie making was a box office flop. The stars stayed at Modesto’s Holiday Inn (now the Clarion) during filming. In her autobiography, “A Paper Life,” Tatum O’Neal recounts her misery during shooting, mostly because of her father’s drug use and his treatment of her.

“We were shooting near Modesto, which was hot and desolate and poor,” wrote O’Neal. “I was reading ‘Of Mice and Men,’ and being in a setting so similar to Steinbeck’s just broke my heart. I remember crying a lot.”

Tatum was also upset because ostriches were ridden and wires were used to trip horses. The actress admitted a secret crush on Reynolds, who also didn’t like the experience. He kept botching one scene in which he had to carry Tatum on his shoulders and reportedly cried: “No more takes. This is killing me.

I hate Modesto, and I’ve had it with this movie.” She was drawn to John Ritter’s warm nature; he had a great sense of humor and let her drive his Karmann Ghia.

A major sequence of the 1968 film “Love Bug” was shot at a Chinese Camp gas station in Tuolumne County.

A small snippet of the ultralight flight scene in “Howard the Duck” was shot on Wamble Road east of Oakdale. During a police chase, Howard haphazardly flies an ultralight through a narrow opening of a moving box car on Sierra Railroad tracks and clips the wings. The 1986 film met with terrible reviews.

In 1974 Peter Fonda was here shooting scenes for the car chase film, “Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry” starring himself and Susan George. Locals may recognize the scenes shot in front of the white two-story building in 209MAGAZINE

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Farmington still at the southeast corner of Escalon-Bellota Road and Highway 4 in Farmington; and the Sonora Save Mart store which Fonda robs. However, the robbery itself was shot inside the former Don Quick Market, now Fitness Evolution at 1275 East “F” St #1, Oakdale. The apartment in the film was shot off of Fairview Avenue in Sonora.

The near collision with a Greyhound bus was at Highway 26 at Witmer Road near Linden. The drawbridge scene was shot on Tracy Boulevard while other scenes were also filmed at The White House on Charter Way, a French Camp fruit stand, on rural Stockton and Delta roads and a swap meet in Clements. The final scene – in which the fleeing felons meet their fate in a fiery crash into a passing train – was shot on Archerdale Road at Ketcham Lane. Pete Mohl, Linden’s fire chief at the time, stood by with his crew in the event of an emergency.

Cicely Tyson starred in the TV mini-series “A Woman Called Moses” partially shot at a ranch house near Oakdale in 1978 to illustrate the life of Harriet Tubman. Scenes were also shot in Columbia and at Railtown – which was billed as a Rochester, New York train station.

More recently, a mansion near Woodward Reservoir north of Oakdale was used in filming the 2010 independent romantic comedy “Chateau Meroux” starring Christopher Lloyd. The film is about a girl who, after living in the city, returns to Oakdale after inheriting her father’s winery. However, trouble brews when she falls in love with the competitor’s son. Oakdale resident Sean Gnekow and actor Daniel Bastreghi wrote the story around the home and location.

Oakdale’s A.L. Gilbert Feed & Seed hosted Richard Dean Anderson and Peter Horton for the “The Man in the White Hat” episode of the 1982 CBS-TV series “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.”

The series was based in Murphys and featured a young River Phoenix. Interior

Stars who have worked in the 209 include: (top to bottom), John Ritter, Errol Flynn, Clint Eastwood and Grace Kelly.

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house scenes were shot in a set constructed inside a building at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds in Angels Camp while outdoor scenes were shot at a 1897 ranch house on Pennsylvania Gulch Road. Too corny for audiences, the musical was cancelled in March 1983.

The area between Oakdale and Jamestown contributed to some early films, including “In Old Chicago,” a 1937 film starring Tyrone Power and Alice Faye. The terrain around Oakdale is also visible in the 1922 film “The Half Breed.”

Clint Eastwood spent considerable time in Tuolumne County filming “Pale Rider” in 1984 and “Unforgiven” in 1992. Eastwood walks into the Wells Fargo building in Columbia in one scene. A main actor in “Pale Rider,” Richard Kiel (best known as “Jaws” in the James Bond film), made his home in Coarsegold near Oakhurst. Eastwood stayed in a bungalow at the Royal Carriage Inn in Jamestown.

Eastwood filmed his 1982 movie, “Honkytonk Man,” in Calaveras County, using Main Street in Mountain Ranch and the Pioneer Hotel in Sheep Ranch for period authenticity.

No 209 movie production has occurred on such an epic scale as the one for “Back to the Future III.” The last of the film trilogy required the building of a “false front” town set to represent early-day Hill Valley. The set and a fake depot were built in 1989 near the Keystone Ranch in the Red Hills area west of Chinese Camp. It was there that Michael J. Fox had an accident while filming the hanging of Marty McFly by villain Buford Tannen (Tom Wilson). The rope was too tight and Fox passed out. Fox wrote in his autobiography: “I swung, unconscious, at the end of the rope for several seconds before Bob Zemekis, fan of mine though he was, realized even I wasn’t that good an actor.” A 4,000-square-foot saloon building was used for scenes with Fox, Christopher Lloyd, bartender actor Matt Clark and character western actors Dub Taylor, Pat Buttram and Harry Carey Jr. After each day of filming, Fox quietly tucked himself into bed at the Gables Inn in Twain Harte.

The BTTF set also was used for “Bad Girls,” which placed Andie McDowall and Drew Barrymore in Sonora during the summer of 1993, at which time they visited the Mother Lode Fair.

The set was completely destroyed during an Aug. 12, 1996 wildfire.

Also removed from the scenery along Highway 120 was a grist mill set used in an episode of the "Columbo" TV show as well as "The Gambler II" starring Kenny Rogers. It was located along the tracks near Keystone.

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with black plastic to form a pond which stuntmen landed in while bailing from a moving steam train. A dirt road opposite the Keystone Ranch is where actor Dean Stockwell filmed a scene for “Return to Bonanza” in 1993.

Starting from his early days as an actor, Landon was a frequent visitor to the 209. With Tina Louise, Jack Lord, Robert Ryan and Buddy Hackett, Landon came to Stockton in 1958 for the filming of "God's Little Acre.” The production used a ranch in rural Stockton and Washington Street.

Landon came to Tuolumne County for the 1972 shooting of a Bonanza episode. Landon directed the episode dealing with the death of TV brother Hoss Cartwright (actor Dan Blocker) which was shot at the Donnell Vista overlooking Donnell Lake on Highway 108. Ironically, Blocker filmed on both the Sierra tracks and in Columbia for the TV movie, “Something For a Lonely Man” in 1968.

The Donnell Vista is also where Johnny Mack Brown filmed part of MGM’s “The Great Meadow” in 1931.

In 1974 Landon filmed the pilot for the “Little House on the Prairie” series with the first Ingalls prairie home on the Orvis Ranch northeast of Woodward Reservoir on Highway 4 and east of Milton Road. Landon took time from his schedule to visit with students from Valley Home School, an event which made the Oakdale Leader.

In the “The Lord is My Shepherd” episode, Landon directed Melissa Gilbert and Ernest Borgnine at the Donnell Vista. Landon and Victor French also shot scenes at Iceberg Meadow near Clark Fork.

In the “Someone Love Me Please” episode, Landon is seen walking from the Columbia Gazette office to a “saloon” inside of the Fallon House Theatre lobby in Columbia.

During the 1980s production of “Highway to Heaven,” Landon often flew into the Columbia Airport (also where airport scenes in “Radio Flyer” were filmed in 1992).

Landon and French filmed at the Tulloch Lake lodge and the filling station on Main Street in Copperopolis for the “One Winged Angel” episode. A week later, in December 1984, Landon was in La Grange filming the “Going Home, Going Home” episode on the Old La Grange Bridge and in town for the doctor’s home visit. Landon filmed the “Plane Death” episode of “Highway” (it aired in January 1985) at the building at the northwest corner of Bay and Pine streets in Tuolumne City as a sheriff ’s office as well as the nearby cemetery.

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Right, top to bottom: “Bound for Glory” – David Carradine strums and sings atop a train east of Crabtree Road northeast of Roberts Ferry; “Little House on the Prairie” – Melissa Gilbert, Melissa Sue Anderson and Karen Grassle on the Orvis Ranch north of Milton in 1974; Michael Landon and TV family at Orvis Ranch; “Man of the West” – Gary Cooper takes a cigarette break near Chinese Camp in 1958; “Big Stan” – Rob Schneider hugs Jennifer Morrison at the Northern California Women's Facility on Arch Road near Stockton.

fiti.” Petaluma had the honors. Modesto did, however, give the world George Lucas, and actors Jeremy Renner, Harve Presnell and Robert Ulrich.

Eagle Field, a private airfield in rural Dos Palos, was the location of the airport scenes in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” The location doubled as an airport in Nazca, Peru in 1957. On scene in October 2007 were director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas. Harrison Ford flew himself to the site west of Madera in his Cessna.

SAN JOAQUIN LOCATIONS Film production crews took advantage of a Tracy High School Homecoming Parade down 11th Street for scenes in the Robert Redford film “The Candidate.” Locals, including Tracy High staff, played parts such as Secret Service agents.

The San Joaquin Delta has been used extensively by Hollywood, and doubled as the Mississippi River in the 1935 Will Rogers movie, “Steamboat Round the Bend.” The 144-foot sternwheeler Leader was transformed into the Claremore Queen for the movie.

Broderick Crawford and John Ireland came to Stockton in 1946 for “All the King’s Men.” A night scene was filmed on the steps of Stockton’s City Hall. After his election as governor, Willie Stark (Crawford) makes a speech from the balcony of the Hotel Stockton, 133 E. Weber Avenue, which closed in 1960 and is now private apartments. The old San Joaquin County courthouse, the city jail, Atherton Island, McLeod Lake, the waterfront area and sections of Lower Sacramento Road were also used.

The Delta was also the location for scenes shot for the 1955 “Blood Alley.” Actor John Wayne and actress Lauren Bacall stayed at the Hotel Stockton where hundreds of autograph seekers awaited them after a long day of filming.

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Right, top to bottom: “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” Ingrid Bergman and Gary Cooper on the Sonora Pass in July 1943; “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” Harrison Ford, with Jessie Soriano, at Eagle Field near Dos Palos in October 2007; “Traveling Salesman,” Fatty Arbuckle waves from a Jamestown train in 1921; “Shadow Riders,” Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott in Columbia in the summer of 1982; An old movie set once located along the Sierra Railroad tracks near Keystone seen in “The Gambler II” starring Kenny Rogers.

One year later Eve Arden and Richard Crenna came to the Delta to film “Our Miss Brooks.” That was the same year that Karl Malden and Carroll Baker filmed “Baby Doll” in Stockton.

Sammy Davis Jr. partook of the big picnic sequence in the 1959 movie “Porgy and Bess” which was filmed on a Delta island and other scenes on the surrounding rivers.

The 1958 movie “The Big Country” was partially filmed near Snow Ranch, headquarters of the Orvis Cattle Company on Highway 4 between Farmington and Copperopolis where a set of a hotel, livery stable and house were built. After filming, the structures were moved to Stockton’s Pollardville on Highway 99 for its Tule Flats Ghost Town. (The tourist attraction closed in 2007). Gregory Peck and Jean Simmons shot scenes riding the ranch’s range. Chuck Connors was involved with a number of ambush scenes shot on the ranch. Part of the stage coach run at the beginning of “The Big Country” was filmed along Copperopolis Road near Farmington Road, achieved by the crew removing a fence and constructing a dirt road parallel to the highway where the camera car traveled.

The Orvis Ranch was the destination for producers of the 1969 film “Sam Whiskey.” Burt Reynolds and Clint Walker appear in scenes shot in the foothills as well as at Lake Camanche near Ione.

University of the Pacific, Stockton Junior High School auditorium and Amos Alonzo Stagg High School were three of the locations for the filming of Bing Crosby’s comedy “High Time” in 1960.

Crosby, Fabian and Tuesday Weld appeared on location.

Actor Paul Newman spent some time in the fall of 1966 on Davis Road in and around what is now Dentoni Park in Stockton for “Cool Hand Luke.” Oak trees near the “southern” prison camp were draped with truckloads of Spanish moss shipped in from Louisiana to add realism. The north Stockton set consisted of barracks, mess hall, warden’s quarters, guard shack, and dog kennels. It was reported that a San Joaquin County building inspector drove by and mistook the set for a recently constructed migrant worker’s complex and posted notices on the buildings to condemn them for not being up to code.

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The opening scene, where Newman is removing & the Gypsy” at St. Basil’s Greek Orthodox Church on March the heads of parking meters, was filmed in Lodi. The Lane. Filming also took him to Sonora. city did not replace the meters, and for many years, The airport was one of many shooting locations for the 1979 one could see a long row of metal posts missing TV film “Friendly Fire.” Scenes with Carol Burnett were also shot meters. Cool Hand scenes were also shot on rural at O.K. Monument. Timothy Hutton also appeared in Stockton.

Stockton roads, on the Roberts Island side of the In 1978 Nick Nolte came to rural San Joaquin County – mostly San Joaquin River – where a chapel and some other at a park along the Stanislaus River and the foothills to film structures were built “Who’ll Stop the Rain?” near the old Brandt Mall scenes in the Bridge – and at an movie “Valley Girl” unidentified Lodi site. brought a young Nicholas The bridge and chapel Cage to the Weberstown are gone. Ralph Waite Mall in 1983. (best known as John In 1991 the movie Walton on “The Wal“Shout” was partially shot tons” TV series) also at the Orvis Ranch. The filmed in Stockton. bunkhouse is now being The 1970s brought used for storage on the loads of Hollywood property. activity to Stockton.

The Northern California “The Moonshine Women’s Facility on Arch Paul Newman filmed “Cool Hand Luke” in the Stockton area.

War” was filmed in the Road southeast of StockFarmington area and ton took Rob Schneider the foothills, which had turned brown for the season, as a prisoner for “Big Stan” in June 2006. Jennifer Morrison also were spray-painted green for the desired effect. filmed at the fictional Oaksburg State Penitentiary.

The 1971 “The Name of the Game” TV series was shot at the downtown Holiday Inn pool and at the San STARS AMONG US Joaquin County Hospital in French Camp, where acHonestly, this only scratches the surface of movies shot in the tress Jill St. John visited actor Gene Barry and charmed 209, which has also been the stomping ground for some notable onlookers. actors. Jack Elam once attended Modesto Junior College where Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges, Susan Tyrell and Candy he met his wife. Cowboy actor Ben Johnson was a cowpoke in Clark were involved in the filming of “Fat City,” a 1972 rural Escalon. Happy Days actress Erin Moran lived in Stevinson boxing movie which filmed at the El Dorado Hotel, in Merced County to raise horses. Clayton Moore, TV’s Lone Red Men’s Hall, Stockton Civic Auditorium and rural Ranger, married Connie Moore, whose parents lived in Turlock. areas including Zuckerman’s Family Farms northwest They visited the Stanislaus County Fair once in the 1980s. of Stockton. An old macaroni factory near Gleason Western actor Slim Pickens lived in Columbia and even Park is in the film for a boxing ring scene. did business in Modesto, even renting a tuxedo at Sears in the Jan Michael Vincent filmed “The World’s Greatest Vintage Faire Mall for his daughter’s wedding. Pickens died in Athlete” in 1973 on the tracks at the University of Modesto at Evergreen Convalescent Hospital on Dec. 8, 1983. the Pacific and the old San Joaquin Delta College.

Robert Conrad, known for his 1960s “Wild, Wild West” TV The same year, George C. Scott, John Mills, Jack series, lived in Bear Valley near Arnold and in 1987 filmed the Palance Faye Dunaway and visited the Ospital Ranch football movie, “Glory Days” at UOP. One undesirable role for on Highway 26 near Jenny Lind to film “Oklahoma Conrad was his real life March 31, 2003 drunken driving acCrude.” Director Stanley Kramer created his Oklacident on Highway 4 which sent him Medi-Flight bound for a homa oil fields in the hilly region east of Stockton.

Modesto hospital. Conrad moved to Thousand Oaks in 2006.

The Stockton Airport played a starring role for Carol Channing lived in Modesto after marrying a second time the 1976 TV movie “Raid on Entebbe.” Charles to Modestan Harry Kullijian in 2003. She left the Rumble Road Bronson, James Wood and Peter Finch were on home for Palm Springs after his death in 2011. location at the airport, which underwent an expenWhile he didn’t film anything in the 209, Stanislaus County sive façade remodel to transform it into an African is the final resting place for actor Dean Jagger, best known as airport. Finch died on Jan. 14, 1977 shortly after General Waverly in the movie classic “White Christmas.” Jagger leaving Stockton. married Modesto native Etta Jagger, who is by his side at LakeWood had been in Stockton previously to film “Alex wood Memorial Park near Hughson. ■ 209MAGAZINE

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HOME TO

By TERESA HAMMOND

I COCKTAIL PHOTOS COURTESY OF SONYA YU

t’s no small feat to select The 50 Best Bars in the World, yet each year for the past eight, a survey produced by Drinks International has done just that.

For the 2016 list, the group reached out to 476 bar experts, considered to be the strongest and most diverse to weigh in with their views and input for the best in the world. Those included in the academy of voters were asked to select their five best bars in order of preference.

A total of 652 bars received votes from the esteemed panel. The academy was then asked to vote from the final list.

Fourteen of the top 50 selected happen to be in the good ol’ U.S. of A, scoring second only to Europe, which hosts 22 of the esteemed bars.

While none of the top 14 in the U.S. will be found in the 209, three of the 14 call the city of San Francisco home. Offering unique décor, menu choices, as well as experiences, the trio of Smuggler’s Cove, Trick Dog and ABV were selected as the best of the best for the World’s 50 Best Bars 2016.

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BAR AREA PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALLISON WEBER

TRICK DOG

SMUGGLER’S COVE Smuggler’s Cove is made to order for the cocktail enthusiast with a fancy for rum, umbrella drinks and all things tiki. The discreet 985 square foot space appears to be nothing special from the outside of its 650 Gough St. location. Upon entering, however, visitors find themselves aboard a triple décor pirate ship complete with barrels, ropes, Polynesian antiques and hundreds of bottles of rum.

“My favorite thing about Smuggler’s Cove is knowing that people love to come through our door,” shared longtime bartender Christopher Ward. “People are genuinely excited to come see us. It’s like an amusement park without the crying children.”

And just like an amusement park, the local bar offers its fair amount of thrills in the way of cocktails. One drink in particular which delights guests is the Top Notch Volcano. The combination of rums, pineapple, fresh lime, passion fruit, maraschino liqueur and fiery cinnamon alone give it a unique taste. It is the pyrotechnic feature of this cocktail for four, though, that is an undoubtable show stopper.

“I think our typical customer is 25 to 55, professionals, many in tech,” founder and owner Martin Cate said of Cove clientele.

“Pretty equal split in men and women. The crowd gets younger as the night goes on.”

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Rum and Polynesian culture not your thing? Not a problem. The team at Trick Dog located at 3010 20th St., may be just the right fit. The team behind the counter and on the floor (and sometimes bar top) are esteemed professionals when it comes to serving up a cocktail.

Now celebrating its fourth year as a neighborhood bar by day and destination bar by night, Trick Dog offers a little something for every taste bud and their pours do not disappoint even the pickiest of palates.

If there is one thing co-owner and founder Josh Harris wants people to know about Trick Dog, it would be that it is a bar first, that just happens to also offer food.

“The cocktails are extremely important to us, because that’s where we came up,” Harris said of himself, as well as partners Scott Baird and Jason Henton.

The three men began in the business as bartenders.

“Scott always had one foot in the bar and one foot in the kitchen,” Harris said.

He also confided that while the food offerings are equally top notch it is the focus of the cocktail menu which drives the bar and its offerings.

Trick Dog offers a unique take on the cocktail menu, by recreating itself via theme every six months.

“We’re pretty confident that San Francisco only has two seasons,” Harris said of the six month rotation, noting that the bar shuts for one week at the start of the year, as well as summer to refresh the space and retrain the staff on the coming cocktail menu.

“The idea as it stands today was definitely not a premeditated thing,” he said of the menu periods. “We set out to build a bar that was the type of bar we wanted to go to.”

Past menu themes include: Pantone, inspired by their journey to open the once barren space; Chinatown, paying homage to a San Francisco icon; and Election, in observation of the 2016 Election. The newly released menu is themed Mural Project, featuring drinks inspired by work from 14 local artists.

“Fast forward to now,” Harris continued, “the fact that we still feel that way and to see that people come in and experience the same thing … that’s the best part.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 48 

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ABV Rounding out the three best of the best is ABV located at 3174 16th St., with outside seating and a simplistic interior, the location gives the feel of a neighborhood bar by day. A place one may sit and enjoy some finger food with family or friends on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

If finger food is not your thing, this would not be your stop as the staff prides themselves on the eating experience being ‘fun’ and perhaps unpretentious. Not to worry, diners are treated to finger bowls of hot water and expandable towels at the end of their meal.

Like the other two named bars, this location offers unique and well poured cocktails, made with precision, care and fresh ingredients. The counter to ceiling back bar hosts a variety of budget brands, as well as top shelf liquor.

The industrial rustic interior is both inviting and welcoming, making it common for visitors to settle in and stay for a few.

The bartenders are both friendly and informed, prepared to aid clients looking for a bit of fun in the way of drinks or an old stand-by. ■

For hours, menu and additional information on three of the World’s Best visit: www.smugglerscovesf.com; www.trickdogbar.com and www.absf.com.

For the complete list of 50 visit www.worlds50bestbars.com.

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HELPING VALLEY BUSINESS GROW

Deep Roots ~ Strong Branches

866.844.7500 • ovcb.com

Grupe Commercial Company Senior VP, Dan Keyser and President/CEO, Kevin Huber, pictured with World Peace Rose Garden Director, Sandy Huber and Oak Valley’s SVP/Commercial Real Estate Cathy Ghan, 209.320.7867 and VP/Stockton Branch Manager, Karrie Johl, 209.343.7605

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Time and time again, they have shown their support for us and the community by crafting customized financing solutions at every stage of the University Park Development.”

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placecalledhome

ARBORETUM T

he horticultural staff of the UC Davis Arboretum have identified 100 tough, reliable plants that have been tested in the Arboretum, are easy to grow, don’t need a lot of water, have few problems with pests or diseases, and have outstanding qualities in the garden. Many of them are California native plants and support native birds and insects.

Most All-Star plants can be successfully planted and grown throughout California.

Below are just a few of the All-Stars. For a complete list, visit: http:// arboretum.ucdavis.edu/arboretum_all_stars.aspx. â–

Cascade Creek California Goldenrod Latin name: Solidago californica This medium sized perennial is a California native plant that bears bright yellow flowers in summer and fall. The Cascade Creek attracts butterflies and beneficial insects and is ideal for native grass meadow.

The Cascade Creek has very low to low water needs with full sun and part

Evergreen Currant Latin name: Ribes viburnifolium This California native plant offers good shade-tolerant groundcover under native oaks and in other dry, shady areas. Its shiny and fragrant foliage looks attractive all year and attracts hummingbirds and beneficial insects.

The Evergreen Currant has very low to low water needs with part shade and shaded areas.

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Island Pink Yarrow Latin name: Achillea millefolium This medium sized perennial is a California native plant with colorful pink flowers in spring, summer and fall. The Island Pink makes good cut flowers and has ferny green foliage that will spread. Its flowers attract butterflies and beneficial insects.

The Island Pink has low to medium water needs with full sun with part shade.

Bladderpod Latin name: Isomeris arborea This medium sized shrub is one of the only native shrubs that blooms year round. It has yellow flowers that attract beneficial insects and hummingbirds to the garden and then develop into attractive seed pods.

The Bladderpod has very low water needs with full sun and part shade.

Ray Hartman California Lilac Latin name: Ceanothus ‘Ray Hartman’ This small tree is a California native plant and one of the best ceanothus cultivars for gardens because it can tolerate some summer irrigation. It also makes a good screen or small garden tree.

The Ray Hartman California Lilac has very low to low water needs with full sun exposure.

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placecalledhome

NEW NEUTRALS DOMINATE THE COLOR TRENDS OF 2017 F

rom furniture to walls, new homes to remodels, cool grays have dominated home design palettes for the last five years. Look to 2017 to gently shake things up with a focus on fresh neutrals that bring warm and cool tones together to create versatile color with timeless appeal.

One of the most notable trends of the year is the transition of neutrals from monochrome gray to warmer hues, including complex taupe, beige, khaki and brown colors. These warmer tones create an inviting feeling, and while grays will continue to be popular, look for hybrid hues that blend the best of gray with warmer undertones for colors that are unique, yet familiar.

The perfect example of this trend is Poised Taupe (SW 6039), the Sherwin-Williams 2017 Color of the Year. Earthen brown combines with conservative gray resulting in a weathered, woodsy and complex neutral that fits well in virtually any room.

“Poised Taupe celebrates everything people love about cool gray as a neutral, and also brings in the warmth of brown, taking a color to an entirely new level,” says Sue Wadden, director of color marketing for Sherwin-Williams. “Not cool or warm, nor gray or brown, Poised Taupe brings a sense of coziness and harmony that people are seeking.”

If you’re looking to refresh your space with this new color trend, there are countless opportunities.

Here are four stunning home decor themes using this up-and-coming color CORNFLOWER HUES With its cool-yet-warm vibe, Poised Taupe is an ideal complement to cornflower hues. For example, 209MAGAZINE

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when paired with the faded indigo of Stardew (SW 9138), it creates a charming palette ideal for French countryside aesthetics. This fun twist on a classic is sure to produce timeless results in the kitchen or living spaces.

ORGANIC RE-IMAGINED Create an updated nature-inspired palette in your home with citrus green, weathered bronze, mustard yellow and light, cool-toned blue paired with earthy neutrals like Poised Taupe. This contemporary organic look is perfectly re-imagined for the modern world with just the right amount of visual appeal.

Wine and taupe Saturated color pairings that evoke deep moods are gaining popularity. Taking cues from baroque and romanticism designs, the Sherwin-Williams Noir palette is rich with colors that are reminiscent of vine-ripe fruits, dramatic wine colors and deep blues. Balance this mysterious palette with a neutral like Poised Taupe and you’ll have a look that is unexpected and gorgeous.

YELLOW POP Gray tones always provide a clean, modern base, but contrasting these hues with vivid colors allows you to transform any room into a contemporary paradise. Try using the deep teal of Marea Baja (SW 9185) and sunny hued Bee (SW 6683) alongside Poised Taupe to create a graphic look perfect for the office or kids rooms. ■ 62

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placecalledhome

ALWAYS WORKING

By JOSEPH PUBILLONES

Almost any place can make for an office, as long as there is some natural light, and some peace and quiet so you may take a phone call.

T

oday more and more people throughout the world are making the commute from their bed in their favorite pajamas and slippers to their makeshift office at the dining table. No doubt many perceive working from home as the ultimate perk, but working from home can mean a good portion of your home will be in a constant state of disarray. Losing message memos or getting important documents oil-stained are just some of the perils of working from a temporary workspace. Even the smallest home can have a dedicated home office.

Almost any place can make for an office, as long as there is some natural light, and some peace and quiet so you may take a phone call. Your home office can occur even in spaces such as an entry hall or underneath a staircase, or a corner of a guest bedroom.

Placing a desk near a window or where some natural light is important, but we shouldn’t forget to add a desk lamp for task lighting. Overhead lighting is rarely enough for a working environment. This combination of natural and task lighting is the best for avoiding eye fatigue.

Invest in a good chair for ergonomic support. Your dining chair will just not do.

Good posture is important for your body, especially when working for several hours at a desk or in front of a monitor. There are good stylish chairs to mix with almost any decor in a variety of materials from plastic to fabric to leather. Your desk should be ample enough for your work stuff, papers, 209MAGAZINE

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computers, etc., and why not enough space so you can prop your feet up for a catnap... after all, you are at home.

Storage is important so you can tidy up.

There should be plenty of drawer space for office supplies, and at least one filing drawer to help keep you organized. An at-home office comes with the burden of organization at the end of the day.

Personalizing or decorating your workspace at home is important, but a bit of restraint — perhaps even more than when in an office cubicle — is recommended. It’s ok and even encouraged to surround your work area with plants, photos and candles that make your work a soothing environment. Just remember not to overload the area, otherwise those items will distract you and create clutter, which can keep you from performing your best work.

Technology is a part of most work environment, and we should embrace it. Your home office shouldn’t look like the cockpit of an airplane. There are ways to conceal printers by placing them behind doors or in adjacent closets so as to not overload your home. Another area of concern come with the cables and power surge cords — cable control is essential. If you are not capable of controlling this aspect of your office, contact a professional at a computer store to help you, otherwise your office will look like the cockpit of an airplane that has crashed! ■ — Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Fla. His website is www.josephpubillones.com.

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marketplace

sees sweet success with home business

By KRISTINA HACKER

M

anteca resident Alice Johnson is living an entrepreneur’s dream. She took something that she is passionate about and turned it into a successful business venture with sweet rewards — and it’s not just the taste of Johnson’s award-winning chocolates.

It all started 12 years ago when Alice’s husband gave her a book about making chocolates. She soon immersed herself into everything chocolate, coming up with different recipes and sharing them with friends and family.

When her husband went back to school to get a teaching credential two and half years ago, she thought it was the perfect opportunity to turn her hobby into a business. The homemaker and mother of five turned a playroom next to the kitchen into a dedicated “chocolate room” and obtained a Class A Cottage license — and thus Alice’s Chocolates was born.

“The reason I started doing this as a business is because working with chocolates makes me happier than anything else. And when I give people chocolate, they get happy eating them,” said Alice.

She said making the leap from hobby to business venture was relatively easy as the friends and family members who had enjoyed her chocolate gifts throughout the years were all too willing to recommend her chocolatier services for corporate events, weddings and holiday presents.

Alice also has a sure-fire marketing strategy —free samples.

When Alice entered one of her chocolates into the California State Fair competition in 2016, she spent her days at the fairgrounds walking around and of of209MAGAZINE

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fering fairgoers free samples.

She’s currently trying to come up Alice left the Sacramento fairwith a marshmallow and caramel grounds with a Best in Show mix. award for her dark chocolate “It’s not as simple as it sounds,” raspberry confection and she said. dozens of new fans.

Her children enjoy her creative While the busiest time of bouts, she said, as there is a “bloopyear — November through er” jar just inside the door of the Valentine’s Day — is almost chocolate room where the delicious behind her now, Alice stays rejects are available for anyone to pretty busy with orders yeargrab. She also tries to have a day round and also takes her every couple of months where her chocolates to different fairs kids can come in the chocolate and festivals in the area. room and have some fun dipping She said it’s a juggling act to marshmallows and pretzels to make stay busy, but not too busy as their own chocolate creations. she only makes her choco“My youngest introduces me as late orders one week before ‘This is Alice, she makes chocodelivery so they stay as fresh lates,’” said Alice. as possible. While a storefront The most difficult part of having may still be years away, she a home business, she said, is time is considering investing in a management. There are many steps larger production area and in in the chocolate making process better equipment. that cannot be put on hold at a “I get excited about the moment’s notice and sometimes machinery,” said Alice, who running a busy household at the remembers when she used same time can be a challenge. to heat chocolate up with a “The most rewarding is the toaster oven before purchassatisfaction of doing something I’ve —Alice Johnson ing a tempering machine. She dreamed of for so long and the Cotstill can be seen stirring the tage law came around and made it a fudge centers of her chocolate reality,” she said. treats for an hour at a time.

For more information about Alice’s Chocolates, visit She also spends a lot of time creating new recipes. aliceschocolates.com or call 209-483-1190. ■

“The reason I started doing this as a business is because working with chocolates makes me happier than anything else. And when I give people chocolate, they get happy eating them.”

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marketplace

MOMANDDAUGHTER

COSMETICS BUSINESS helps pay for college

By ALYSSON AREDAS

M

anteca resident Lizzy Sauers did not let the fact that she was denied financial aid for nursing school stop her from pursuing her dreams of finding a career in the medical industry.

Instead, she and her mother Wendy Sauers lathered up a way — literally — to offset her tuition fees at the Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts themselves by making affordable, handmade and natural health and beauty products with their business, Cosmetics for College.

“My mom had been making bath bombs and sugar scrubs as Christmas gifts and people were asking for them year round,” said Lizzy. “We started out just doing bath bombs and people started asking for sugar scrubs, so it progressed from there.”

Through Cosmetics for College, the mother-and-daughter duo offers sugar scrubs, body butter, essential oil blends, lotion bars, all-natural bug spray, foaming acne wash, pillow sprays and bath bombs — many of which are available in about 20 different varieties.

The sugar scrubs, available in four and eight ounces, are made with organic sugar, shea butter, apricot oil and essential oils. Customers can get choose from different scent combinations, including lemon mint, which combines lemon and peppermint essential oils, tangerine dream, which infuses tangerine and benzoin essential oils, and Walk in the Woods, which is a combination of camphor, cinnamon leaf, clove and scotch pine essential oils.

“Our sugar scrubs are really popular year round,” said Lizzy.

“What they do is they fluff off the dead skin and they leave a nice, silky finish.”

Available in the same scent combinations as the sugar scrubs, Cosmetics for College also offers three-ounce body butters, which are made using shea butter, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, essential oils and witch hazel.

“Our body butter is really strong, you only need a dab to put on your whole arm,” said Lizzy. “It’s really good if you use it right after the shower, right after you’ve had all that heat on your body, because it just absorbs right into your skin and you don’t need anything else all day.”

Customers can choose from an array of essential oil blends in two ounce dropper bottle or one ounce rollerball bottle as well, such as beard oil that leaves both beard and skin feeling soft, sleepy oil that

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is made with cinnamon leaf, lavender orange, peppermint and scotch pine essential oils, and congestion oil that is made with camphor, eucalyptus peppermint and tea tree essential oils. Lizzy said that a customer favorite is the My Aching Bones essential oil blend, which is made with camphor, cinnamon leaf, eucalyptus, and scotch pine essential oils.

“These are all anti-inflammatories, so it’s a customer favorite and one of my personal favorites,” said Lizzy. “You may have to apply it a few times if you have a sore back, but it really does relieve pain and it’s a great alternative to taking an ibuprofen.”

Cosmetics for College also offers fizzy bath bombs, made with epsom salt to help relax muscles at the end of a long day, or 1.5 ounce lotion bars, made with shea butter, coconut oil, beeswax and essential oils.

“The lotion bars are excellent for just keeping in your pocket especially if you’re in the cooking industry or you’re in nursing or any other industry where you wash your hands constantly because it just leaves a nice coat of protection on your skin,” said Lizzy.

“We make a great gift because we offer custom labels on our products at no additional cost,” said Lizzy.

For more information on Cosmetics for College, visit cosmeticsforcollege.com. ■

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My mom had been making bath bombs and sugar scrubs as Christmas gifts and people were asking for them year round.

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marketplace

VALLEY THRIFT STORES OWNER FOCUSES ON CUSTOMERS

By DOANE YAWGER

steban Miranda doesn’t want you to think about his thrift store as just another second hand shop but rather a legitimate retail establishment. It’s the vision of a recent college business graduate who is embracing the role of entrepreneur with bigger things in mind.

Miranda, 26, of Merced, owns Miranda’s Thrift Shop stores in Turlock, Merced and Atwater, with plans to open another store soon in Modesto when details are worked out.

“We are trying to change the environment of the stores you walk into,” Miranda explains.

“It’s important that we know what the customer wants. I see a potential if you do it the right way.”

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appliances, home décor, clothing and accessories, sports equipment, toys and video games, CDs and DVDs, shoes and popular home entertainment devices. Kitchen utensils, dishware, figurines, lamps, wicker, canvas paintings and tools also are up for grabs at Miranda’s stores.

Miranda says as he opens new stores he learns new things. He says he has discovered how important it is to have the correct management and staff members.

His company has 16 employees.

He says it’s a matter of “educating ourselves on styles and trends, types of inventory and how it’s displayed.” The emphasis is on what the customer really wants — and what they don’t like.

At least one or two aisles of his stores are devoted to home décor. It’s part of his effort to attract people with education and higher incomes. He says he has noticed more young people coming to his stores to decorate their homes.

For instance, some customers may prefer their merchandise clean and shiny. But many others are attracted to older-style furniture and don’t mind that these pieces are scratched and worn-looking.

Miranda is thinking about adding a DYI (do-ityourself) section which could change the perception of customers about vintage, well-worn but still usable items just sporting a little extra patina and begging for a personal update.

Miranda says many of his customers want to relive their childhoods and maybe own something they used to have, sold years ago or couldn’t afford way back when.

As part of his learning curve, Miranda says he is trying to hire experts knowledgeable in antiques, vintage clothing and furniture. He concedes it’s not easy to teach people all these things but says he has created a system that makes it easier.

Miranda hopes to open his Modesto store near Orangeburg and Coffee avenues. But he wants to restructure everything from the business systems to the form of the store before launching it.

Miranda graduated from California State University, Fresno, in May 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an option in entrepreneurship. He won a $5,000 grant at CSUF while going to school, which he says definitely helped him starting out his business.

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He opened his first thrift store in Merced at Main and M streets in May 2013, moving that November to a store near G Street and Yosemite Avenue before relocating it to West Olive Avenue. He opened his Turlock store on Countryside Drive in July 2014 and his Atwater store on Bellevue Road in 2015.

Miranda says he enjoys what he does, especially if the stores are well-structured with good employees.

If a store is built the right way, he will have more time to oversee and head off problems and go in new directions.

Ultimately he would like to become a real estate developer and start a moving service.

“I’m the visionary but I don’t know everything. A smart person knows how to get help from the right people,” Miranda says. “I hate depending on other people. Eventually I want to have my own buildings.

Rent definitely is not cheap.”

Michael McMinassian of Fresno has known Miranda since college days and says his friend “thinks outside the box” and has a different mentality about business. He is always thinking about his customers.

Despite his success, Miranda is very humble, McMinassian says.

What doesn’t sell? Miranda says people don’t want most old kitchen items and outdated technology.

Clothing that’s not branded or isn’t in style doesn’t sell and most eight-track and VHS tapes are “dinosaurs.” They don’t want garage sale leftovers either.

“I am marketing to families. I want a little bit of everything for everybody and want to focus on what sells best,” Miranda says.

Miranda uses social media regularly, particularly Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Craigslist. Pictures of sale items are posted online. He has a website, mirandasthriftshop.com, and is in the process of updating it now.

He talks to high school students at their career days and in business classes, saying teens can relate to a younger person.

“At the end of the day what keeps me motivated and inspires me to open my business is seeing a lot of kids look up to me. How bad do you want to make it through school? There is a lot of pressure today and nobody is going to push you. You need to be surrounded by the right people.” ■ 73

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