Yesteryears 2020

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Wednesday, February 26, 2020 TURLOCKJOURNAL.COM

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YESTER

PUBLISHER

YEARS

Hank Vander Veen EDITOR Kristina H. Hacker

C O N T E N T S

ART DIRECTOR Harold L. George

TURLOCK’S RAIL HISTORY.............................................. 6

DESIGN

FORGOTTEN PHOTOS.................................................. 7

Sharon R. Hoffman

TIME CAPSULES MEMORIALIZE LIFE IN TURLOCK ������������ 8

ADVERTISING

NEW LIFE FOR TUSD FOUNTAIN................................. 11

Charles Webber

CENTURY OF SERVING THE VALLEY............................. 12

WRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS

MEMORIES OF TURLOCK............................................. 13

Sabra Stafford

50 YEARS OF KEEPING TURLOCK GREEN.................... 14

Beth Flanagan

Angelina Martin

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Turlock’s life on the rails

As a modern American, it is rather difficult to imagine the sorts of things that might concern the first settlers of the Turlock area back in the distant year of 1867. It may seem as though there would be countless problems with forming a town from nothing, but two issues dominated the thoughts of those struggling to farm their land: water, and the railroad. While the water supply was certainly a concern, Stanislaus County residents had managed to find ways to survive with the amounts that they had. The county had grown to become the largest graingrowing area in the entire country through the use of dry-farming techniques during the late 1860s. A greater concern was how to get the grain out of the county to Stockton, the major shipping area of the time. The procedure of the time, river shipping, was slow, expensive, and required riverside warehousing that could damage grain. Economists then believed that farmers missed out on at least one-fifth of their potential profits due to problems associated with river shipping. When state legislators took into consideration the potential for the further growth and production that a railroad through the Central Valley would provide, a comprehensive railroad bill became a priority. Legislators backed a plan that permitted county aid to the construction of a railroad in 1869, leading to the commencement of the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad's San Joaquin Valley line on Dec. 31, 1869 in Lathrop. The four businessmen from Sacramento responsible for the formation of the Central Pacific Railroad — Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins — had just completed the nation's first transcontinental railroad, connecting California to Nebraska and all the railways of the eastern United States. Stanford and Hopkins saw the possibilities for growth in the then-desolate valley, marked by few, scattered homes, as they rode on horseback through the area plotting the course for their railroad. By early 1870 the San Joaquin line reached the Stanislaus River. Construction was put on hold until August due to consolidation in the railroad industry, but by 1872 the rails stretched all the way down to Goshen.

Interestingly, the whole of the construction was done without land grants or government loans. Early valley residents granted the railroads right-of-way mostly free of charge due to their desire to see the railroad come to the area. John Mitchell, who would go on to found Turlock, owned all of the land that the railroad would cover from Keyes to Merced and freely granted usage to the Central Pacific Railroad. The rails that covered his land were built rapidly during 1871, using 12 carloads of timber on the bridge across the Merced River alone.

California State University, Stanislaus Library

Southern Pacific Railroad station in Turlock, circa 1910. Two men wait under a tree, next to the water pump at the end of the station building. The sign identifying the station’s location as Turlock is on the wall, visible to people on a train as it came down the tracks.

All of the difficult work of laying miles of track was done entirely by the hands of Chinese laborers working for $26 a month. Neither horses nor machines of any kind were used for this construction. Representatives from the Central Pacific Railroad wanted to name Turlock's first station after John Mitchell, but he declined.

Instead, he asked that the new station, around which the city of Turlock would grow, be named after Turlough, a city in Ireland. The city did not immediately prosper after Turlock's first station was built in a location known as Henderson's Crossing, however. The station featured no buildings and the most notable feature was, indeed, a mud hole that soiled much of the baggage offloaded from the freight and emigrant trains that journeyed into the valley. Less than a year later the station was moved a mile north to a less soggy piece of ground and the first Turlock depot was constructed. After the San Joaquin line came to Turlock it seemed as though railroad fever caught the region. A Southern Pacific line was extended from Oakdale to Turlock in 1891 and an Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Company line funded by sugar baron Claus Spreckels came to town less than five years

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later. It was the agricultural prominence of Turlock that led to the rapid growth. As early as 1878 several train cars carrying as much as 24 tons of grain each were leaving Turlock every single day. In the early 1920s a fourth line, the Tidewater Southern Railroad, built track to Turlock from Hilmar in hopes of profiting from shipping the large and successful melon crop, made possible by the new addition of irrigation. In less than 40 years the railroad transformed Turlock from little more than a muddy station with no buildings into a growing city serviced by four different railroads. The rise of automobiles and paved roads spelled the end of the railroad's importance. A combination of bus lines, removing passengers from the rails, and trucks, handling agricultural transport, cut drastically into the railroads' profits. Passenger service to Turlock was finally eliminated in 1971 after 100 years of railroad service. Despite the lack of passenger service, the railroad still plays a vital role in Turlock's economy. The main lines, now owned by Union Pacific, provide for private shipping and support many local businesses.

— Article originally published in the Centennial edition of the Turlock Journal, Feb. 13, 2008.

Forgotten photos showcase Turlock of old

BY SABRA STAFFORD Turlock Journal

You never know what you are going to find on an undeveloped roll of film, especially nowadays when so few people actually use film. For the Turlock Historical Society, the discovery of some old negatives was a find that harkened back 90 years ago and reflected some of the daily activities in Turlock, plus a few gruesome images.

It’s unknown who was the photographer behind the pictures. At some point the film came into the hands of Richard Soderquist, who was the founder and owner of Main Street Antiques.

“The Soderquist family has been in Turlock since early Turlock days, so it could’ve been in the family or maybe was something he purchased while owning the antique store,” said Lori Smith, a Turlock Historical Society board member and current co-

owner of Main Street Antiques.

As Smith describes it, the film was “shoved into storage and sat on a shelf back there for 24 years” until recently when it was re-discovered and given to Turlock Fire Historian Scott Wejmar to develop.

The end result was around 25 pictures of Turlock. Some were of the downtown area and other activities happening in Turlock from the 1930s. Others were a bit more gruesome in nature, including car wrecks, a corpse and a train derailment.

“It’s believed that they were from the police or coroner because most of the pictures are pretty graphic,” Smith said.

Some of the tamer ones have been shared on the Turlock Historical Society’s social media and eventually the photos will be part of the Society’s catalogue of images, which the group is just now undertaking.

Photo contributed by the Turlock Historical Society

Recently found and developed film reflect some of the happenings in Turlock during the 1930s, including some of a more gruesome nature. This photo is of East Main and Center streets, facing East. The Turlock Historical Society said it was taken in 1930 because the Fox Theater marquee is advertising Gary Cooper’s “Only the Brave,” which was released in 1930.

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Turlock time capsules

Celebrating the city’s past and future

BY ANGELINA MARTIN Turlock Journal

Turlock residents have been able to keep up with the city’s history over the years thanks to various time capsules that have shared stories of decades past.

Defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “a container used to store for posterity a selection of objects thought to be representative of life at a particular time,” time capsules capture the curiosity of citizens both young and old by serving as valuable reminders of one generation for another. While there are between 10,000 and 15,000 time capsules worldwide that have been registered with the International Time Capsule Society, there are likely thousands of others that were created and hidden by groups, schools and other entities on a whim in an effort to preserve a moment in time — many of which have been found in Turlock.

Most recently, memories and relics from 1990 were unearthed at Dutcher Middle School in September 2019. The time capsule was put together and buried by Dona Snell’s 7th grade 4th period science class on Jan. 19, 1990, when the campus was still Turlock Junior High School.

The find came while crews worked to replace the campus parking lot and unearthed a treasure trove of letters, predictions, cassette tapes, Turlock Journal clippings and more. A majority of the items were somehow preserved over the years despite their only protection coming from the two coffee cans they were buried in.

Dutcher principal Scott Lucas said the two cans were discovered behind the student services office, which was the school’s main office in 1990.

“I brought the items to my office and started opening up stuff that wasn’t destroyed,” Lucas said, noting that the use of Ziploc bags helped save many of the contents from water damage.

The cassette found in the time capsule was still functional and played songs by the group Milli Vanilli, while a list of popular shopping stores at the time showed students loved to shop at Miller’s Outpost, Macy’s, Winstock’s and JCPenney, among others. New Kids on the Block was the hottest pop act that year and “hip words” at the time included “that’s tight” and “groovy.”

“In the future I think I’ll be married and have 4 kids.

I want to be a doctor. It doesn’t matter what kind just as long as I help others,” wrote student Jennifer Acha.

The contents of the time capsule are still at Dutcher, and former students connected and reminisced with each other when photos of the items were posted to Facebook by Turlock Unified School District. According to Lucas, anyone who was part of the project is invited to stop by the school and view the time capsule.

During the City of Turlock’s centennial celebration in 2008, a time capsule buried in 1958 was opened to reveal a bonnet, items from churches and fraternal organizations, fliers from the Turlock Golden Jubilee (the event where the capsule was originally buried), a politi-

Journal file photo

Items recovered from a time capsule at Dutcher Middle School last summer included a cassette tape, predictions for the future and newspaper clippings.

Journal file photo

Journal file photo

A showtime list from Valley Cinemas, now In-Shape Health Club, shows the films that were playing at the theater in 1990.

A list written by Michelle Harrison names some of Turlock’s most popular restaurants in 1990.

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Journal file photo

Dutcher Middle School principal Scott Lucas holds the time capsule buried by Donna Snell’s 7th grade science class on Jan. 19, 1990.

cal button, wooden currency, a telephone directory, a bumper sticker and a hat, all of which are now at the Turlock Historical Society Museum.

Though the 3-feet-by-18-inch metal cylinder was unearthed and opened during the 2008 ceremony, it was accidentally dug up by city employees with a backhoe in 1999 during the installation of a water fountain.

Prior to that, the only indication of where the capsule rested was a small plaque.

At the time, then-mayor John Lazar reflected on what it must have been like to bury the time capsule at the Turlock Golden Jubilee and marveled at its contents.

“I actually got goosebumps because it was a moment in history. They were gathering for a moment just like this…Looking through what was in the time capsule made me proud to be a Turlocker,” Lazar said.

Sometimes time capsules are found and opened, but we also often celebrate their creation. In 2016 the Carnegie Arts Center commemorated its 100th anniversary with a time capsule, which holds a number of items chosen to represent what life in Turlock was like that year. The time capsule will stay sealed at the Carnegie until 2116, when a new generation of Turlockers will open it and receive a glimpse into the past.

The Carnegie time capsule was built from high-gage steel to prevent elements from rusting the box or harming the items inside, which include a penny collection, photos of the center’s groundbreaking, newly-minted coins, digital photographs, shirts from the local high schools and a keychain from Stanislaus State. A flash drive with student artwork imagining the future was include, too, as well as a Dustbowl Brewing Co. growler and an envelope with the day’s stamps.

“The building itself is a bit of a time capsule since there are so many memories here,” said Carnegie Director Lisa McDermott. “This is our way of putting stuff

Journal file photo

Dennis Nichols removes the face plate on the arch gate post to reveal a much-anticipated time capsule in 2011.

to go along with those memories so people can make sense of them.”

Other time capsules have made their mark on the Turlock community throughout the years, like those unearthed from the posts of the American Legion arch gate at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds in 2011, over 80 years after its construction. Local lore had always hinted there was something hidden in the historic gate pillars, and on April 16, 2011, the two American Legion plaques were removed to reveal two jars filled with rolled up papers.

One of the jars contained signatures of the Turlock American Legion members, and in another was a 

Journal file photo

Local dignitaries including Centennial Committee co-chair Rob Santos, Bob Endsley, former mayor Dale Pinkney and former mayor Brad Bates help to unearth the Turlock time capsule in 2008 that was buried in Central Park during Turlock’s Golden Jubilee in 1958.

Photo contributed

The Friends of the Turlock Public Library collected items for a time capsule during the library’s expansion and renovation groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 22.

ANGELINA MARTIN/The Journal Photo contributed

The Stanislaus County Fairgrounds arch gate has greeted visitors to the fair since it was constructed by the Turlock American Legion in the late 1920s. In 2011, time capsules were unearthed from its pillars.

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A time capsule was buried in Central Park on March 20, 1997, as part of the Journal’s “Pride ‘97” special section and is set to be opened in 2097.

list of the members of the Legion’s Auxiliary members.

Stanislaus County Fair spokesperson Adrenna Alkhas said the contents were donated to the Turlock Historical Society Museum. The fair is planning to create another time capsule, she said, either this year or next to celebrate the fairgrounds’ 110th anniversary.

“When we unearthed the time capsule and saw that there were actually things in there, it was one of the best experiences ever at the fair for me and a lot of staff members. We were able to physically hold and see the names of the people who worked on the gate,” Alkhas said. “To be able to do something like that for the next generation would be amazing, because God knows how the world will be in 100 years. Whatever we put in there, it will be a memorable experience for us and the next ones who open it.”

There are still countless time capsules in Turlock to be opened, but not for quite some time. In 2014 the Free Masons of the Turlock Lodge joined the Turlock Police Department and City Council to dedicate a cornerstone at the Public Safety Facility and included a time capsule to be opened in 2064. The capsule includes an invitation and program to the day’s ceremony, a badge and patch from the police and fire departments, as well as photos of the safety center’s construction.

At the groundbreaking ceremony for the Turlock Library expansion and renovation on Feb. 22, the Friends of the Turlock Library gathered written notes from attendees to place in a time capsule for the new

THEN

space that will be sealed and buried when the project is complete. Also included in the time capsule are the agenda from the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors meeting where the project was approved, a program from the library’s grand opening celebration in 1968 and a program from the recent groundbreaking ceremony.

Another capsule was buried downtown in Central Park in March 1997 and won’t be opened until 2097.

The capsule was created in conjunction with the Journal’s “Pride ‘97” special section, which celebrated

taking pride in the city.

A plaque marking the time capsule’s location in Central Park capture’s Turlock commitment to not only looking forward to the future, but celebrating its past.

“Turlock: A story to tell,” the plaque reads. “A City of tradition and progress, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.”

Photo contributed

Journal file photo

Found inside of the arch gates were lists of members of the Turlock American Legion and Auxiliary units.

Artifacts found inside of the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds time capsule were sealed in 1929 and include lists of the Turlock American Legion, who built the gate, pictures of members and an image of the gate upon completion.

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NOW

Fountain finds new life STAFF REPORTS Turlock Journal

Since 1927, the District Office Fountain has welcomed Turlock students, parents, teachers and visitors alike to the epicenter of Turlock Unified School District. The historic water feature was originally a gift from the Turlock High School Class of 1922, Class of 1923 and Class of 1927, but decades of use and exposure left the fountain in need of restoration in recent years. Following a decade of community-wide support and donations — spearheaded by the Turlock Historical Society Board of Directors — fountain sculptor Ira Kessey worked tirelessly over the summer of 2019 to bring the District Office Fountain back to its former glory.

Approximately 200 donors contributed to the fountain’s restoration, which is once again topped with a boy and a dolphin carved out of pink granite — an element to the fountain that’s been missing for over 10 years.

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Winton-Ireland, Strom and Green

Century of serving the Valley

BY ANGELINA MARTIN Turlock Journal

Winton-Ireland, Strom and Green Insurance Agency is one of the area’s oldest businesses, having served the Central Valley since 1913. Many of those years have been spent in Turlock, where the company has dedicated countless hours giving back to the community.

WIS&G originally began 107 years ago as the G.H. Winton Insurance Agency. The company’s founder, G. H. Winton, was a cashier at the First Bank of Livingston and opened the insurance business as a side job.

That notion was short-lived, however, as Winton eventually left the bank in 1924 to dedicate all of his time and effort to the insurance company. Little did he know, 30 years later he would again be working in the First Bank of Livingston building — this time, however, owning the space and his own business.

The bank building at 503 Main St. still houses the WIS&G Livingston office, but much has changed for the company since then.

“WIS&G has evolved and grown with the changing insurance industry,” WIS&G Executive Assistant Anna Stewart said. “We started small in 1913 when Mr. Winton founded the business in Livingston.”

What started small has now grown into a company with three locations and 115 employees, and the agency has an extensive history.

Upon returning home from service in World War II, Keith Winton joined his father’s business and they changed the name to Winton Insurance Agency in 1954.

Two years later, he purchased his father’s interest in the company. At that time, the agency also sold real estate, completed income tax returns, acted as a Notary Public and even collected consumer payments for PG&E and the City of Livingston.

Mike Ireland, Sr., joined the company in 1973 and became a partner a year later. In 1975, the partnership purchased the F. W. Andrew Insurance Agency and opened a second office in Turlock.

Keith Winton passed away in 1983, but not before he saw the company enjoy an increase of 650 percent from the time he started with WIS&G. After the loss of Keith Winton, the company ultimately joined forces with Marvin Strom and Ted Green of Strom & Green Insurance Agency in 1988 to form Winton-Ireland, Strom and Green Insurance Agency.

For over a year, the combined companies endured cramped quarters at 116 S. Center St. in Turlock. It didn’t take long to realize a much larger building was necessary, and after a long year of planning, construction and remodeling, the old Church of Christ property at 627 E. Canal Dr. became the company’s new home.

Currently, the Turlock office is home to WIS&G’s main building and a total of 85 employees. WIS&G also has its first office in Livingston and another in Modesto, which came in 1993 through a merger with

James Quinn & Sons Insurance Agency.

“A lot has changed since 1913, but the principles upon which WIS&G are based have not. We remain dedicated to building a thorough understanding of our client’s individual insurance and risk management needs and are committed to providing customized services to assist them,” Stewart said.

Technology has changed throughout the years, Stewart added, and WIS&G has grown and evolved with it, incorporating sophisticated underwriting techniques to their practice. Coverage forms and even the different types of coverage have evolved, too.

“For example, there was little need for businesses to have a Cyber Liability policy 20 years ago. Today, every business has a Cyber liability exposure,” Stewart said.

Since settling in Turlock, WIS&G has committed to completing charity work in the community. Over the years WIS&G has helped fundraise or directly financially supported over 750 local programs, some of which include: Boys Scouts of America, Future Farmers of America, Carnegie Arts Center and the Turlock Com-

munity Theatre. Their annual event Cars and Coffee has been going strong for seven years, bringing together car collectors, hobbyists and admirers to their Turlock location for a morning of mingling, and in the past the event has been known to raise funds for different causes.

This month, the agency also held a bone marrow drive for a local eight-year-old girl in search of a donor.

“If everyone just gave a little! We love our community and our work, and we will continue to do our part to make a positive impact,” Stewart said.

Thanks to their many years in the Valley and Turlock community, WIS&G has forged relationships in the community and doesn’t plan on stopping soon.

“Our tenure in the Central Valley speaks volumes to the need for customizable insurance programs. We are not cookie-cutter. We are TeamWISG with 100+ employees who all live in, contribute to and help grow our community,” Stewart said. “We are 100% invested in the Central Valley and have no plans to change that.

“Turlock is a generous and involved community; we’re proud to be a part of it.”

Photo contributed

Serving the community for over 100 years, Winton-Ireland, Strom & Green’s Turlock second location opened at 116 S. Center Street in 1989.

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What is one of your favorite memories of living in Turlock?

BROOKS JUDD Going out to Don’s Wharf was really important to us, because that was like the restaurant to go out to out on Golden State. It was quite the place.

One thing that was really special was that they would have Christmas in July. It would be hotter than heck, but they’d have all the ornaments out.

WAYNE “GUNNER” BRUCE Everywhere you go people are really nice here and everyone says hello and smiles.

PATRICIA THREET It was open campus when we went to Turlock High and we would always walk down to the Foster’s Freeze and make dedications to our boyfriends. That was a fun thing we did on our lunch hour.

PROUDLY SERVING YOU FOR 70 YEARS! We are proud to have generations in our family furniture business serving Turlock and the surrounding towns.

We appreciate your business!

From the entire Woods family to your family we thank you for keeping our doors open for 70 years.

Darryl Woods with Grandpa Thurman Woods

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Original store at 433 E. Main St. (shown with Foster Freeze building)

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2020 13

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The Greenery celebrates 50 years

BY ANGELINA MARTIN Turlock Journal

In 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon, American troops began to exit Vietnam and the Flower Power era was alive and well at Woodstock — and in Turlock. The community received the gift of plants, garden décor and unmatched knowledge when The Greenery Nursery opened its doors 50 years ago, and the horticulture haven is still thriving a halfcentury later.

“It’s pretty humbling,” The Greenery owner Jay De Graff said of his business’ milestone birthday in November 2019. “I never expected to do this or be here or anything like that…but it’s our customers who have built the thing. We wouldn’t be here without them.”

Turlock residents George and DeaAnna Schumacher founded The Greenery in 1969, converting a small piece of downtown land into a one-stop shop for trees, flowers, vegetables, houseplants and more. Though George passed away in 2017, his longtime employee and partner De Graff continues the nursery’s legacy as the city’s go-to location when they want landscaping that will leave a lasting impression.

De Graff first began working at The Greenery in 1982 as a Turlock High School senior. He would walk to work after class, he said, where he could often be found picking up fallen camellia blooms and pulling weeds.

De Graff was one of just two employees at the nursery back then, and decades later the business has grown to employ over 20 — but that’s not the only thing that’s changed throughout the years.

“People have gone from being horticulture hobbyists into much more visual shoppers,” De Graff said.

“We’ve gone from our customers being collectors of plants to people now saying, ‘Oh, that’s a pretty flower.

I want that.’ They don’t know it’s a geranium, but they want 10 of them for a big splash of color.”

In addition to changes in the types of gardeners they see, plenty of other things have evolved at The Greenery since 1969. The shop sells more than just live plants now, with a gift shop that offers garden pieces like birdbaths and outdoor artwork, and even the type of shrubbery offered has been changed to a more drought-friendly inventory in light or the state’s recent water woes.

De Graff said he still remembers the day then-Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency because of the dry spell, which was one of two droughts The Greenery has seen and one of many setbacks the nursery has experienced over time.

“It really affected us. From the day (Brown) uttered

ANGELINA MARTIN/The Journal

The Greenery owner Jay De Graff (center) stands with staff members Nacho Tafoya, Julie Christenson, Adria Afferino and Lauren Hassett. The Greenery is celebrating 50 years in business.

those words, it was like someone went and flipped a switch and business stopped,” he said. “The drought changed people and it changed how some people landscape.”

The nursery has also overcome the arrival of countless big box stores in town, like Home Depot, Lowe’s and Wal Mart, which arrived in 1993 and sent The Greenery employees into a panic. Meetings with the Turlock Chamber of Commerce were held to discuss what the nursery would do in light of another garden option moving into the city, but customer loyalty never wavered and the store continued to prosper.

De Graff gave credit to his staff ’s expertise and helpfulness as a draw for most customers.

“We give advice here,” he said. “Even though hor-

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2020 14

YESTERYEARS

ticulture is a diminishing industry, I still have several people that have great information and can answer your questions versus going out to Home Depot where yeah, there’s a guy there, but he’s a stocking person and he’s not there to give you advice.”

Business remains so good, in fact, that The Greenery just completed an expansion into its neighboring lot in 2019 that houses a classroom for informational horticulture workshops, provides more storage space and doubles the nursery’s parking.

“This is all thanks to those people who have been loyal and patronized us over the last 50 years,” De Graff said. “There are a lot of other options out there that you can go to, but it’s nice that people still want to come to a place like this.”

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