Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
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Many veterans who signed a blank check to serve their country may not be getting a card for the holidays. Project D.E.F.T. (Don't Ever Forget Them) is designed to make sure that doesn't happen here in California. For the past fifteen years Lynda Smith and her husband have orchestrated a drive that delivers cards to veterans hospitals and state veterans homes here in our state. For the past few years Tehachapi has been the only area involved in gathering the cards which the Smiths make sure...
(Note: This is the twenty-third article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) Adam was born on November 6, 1979, in Bakersfield, California to Richard and Donna Zanutto. He spent most of his much-too-short life in Walker Basin, a valley in the Southern Sierra Nevada with magnificent scenery and spectacular sunsets that locals long ago had christened "God's Country." More specifically, he grew up outside Bakersfield in the town of Caliente,...
Mark Edward was 56 years old when he passed on September 8, 2021, in Bakersfield, California. A memorial service was officiated by Pastor Ron Smith at Victory Baptist Church in California City, California, on September 16, 2021. The graveside service was officiated by Pastor Carla Seyb-Stockton at the Bakersfield National Cemetery in Arvin, California on September 20, 2021. Mark was the son of Jack and Sharon Wood and was born on July 17, 1965. He graduated from Boron High School in 1983 and...
(Note: This is the 22nd article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) John came into this crazy, mixed-up world on January 28, 1917, born in Globe (Gila County), Arizona to John and Willhelmina Farnham Pruden. He came of age during the hardships of the Great Depression, serving for a year with the Civilian Conservation Corps building fire roads in Southern California (including in the San Gabriel Mountains). He enlisted in the Navy in 1935....
(Note: This is the twenty-first article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) Bill was born on October 5, 1930, in the little town of Cody, Nebraska. While still an infant, he and his family moved to the state capital, Lincoln, where Bill grew up and went to school. His father was a baker, his mother worked as what in those days was called a "practical nurse," providing 24-hour, seven-day-a-week care to sick and disabled clients. Bill got...
My parents were married in 1927 and lived through the Great Depression. My father learned at an early age to fix things and keep them working: tractors, cars, vacuum cleaners, washing machines or whatever. It was a work ethic that he and my mother passed on to my brothers and me, and I tried to pass it on to my children. When you have something of value, you take care of it and make it last. I remember having great difficulty in understanding the whole idea behind the "cash for clunkers"...
The Tehachapi Chapter 221 American Legion Riders is inviting all motorcycle enthusiasts to join us on Saturday, September 11, 2021 for our annual Poker Run Fundraiser event. This fundraiser benefits veterans and children. There will be a $500 highest poker hand prize and a $100 lowest poker hand prize. There will also be a 50/50 raffle and opportunity drawings for a variety of donated prizes. Registration for the event will be held from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at The Coffee Mill on 120 S. Mill...
This finishes off a thumbnail sketch of the happenings that I once jotted down. It's a mighty long "thumbnail" and I promise NEVER to do it again! Also, "sketchy" is the proper word, for it eliminates years of important happenings; just touching on a few facts. Continuing from December 7, 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor: 1942 – First casualty of World War II, Bob Fraham. Ted Hainline dies in prison camp in Philippines. Lt. Donald Griffin, Army Air Corps pilot, killed in action. A...
Charisse Rudolph first showed us her art at Cross Roads Gallery in 2010, and was the March guest artist in 2021 at Gallery N' Gifts. Charisse just got back from her most prestigious show in L.A. At the L.A. Art Show, Charisse displayed 18 paintings, sold two and donated another to Saint Jude's Children's Hospital. Charisse changed her medium in 2018, from realism to contemporary art and she hasn't looked back. She specializes in donkey, mules and horses which are painted in bright colors with a...
(Note: This is the 20th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) Michael Gillum was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on March 1, 1946. He belonged to a family of giants: his father was 6' 3" and his younger brother 6' 8" in height, while Michael himself grew to be 6' 6" tall (his older brother only made it to 6'). His father served in the Army Air Corps as an aircraft mechanic in WWII in the Italian theater of war; while Michael's...
The return to normalcy is a relative term. For the cast and crew of "Nunsense," it simply means being able to step back onto the BeeKay Theatre stage for rehearsals with actual cast members and stagehands nearby. "You don't realize how much you needed it until you get back into it," said Leslie Reynolds, who joins with a very talented cast in Tehachapi Community Theatre's performance of "Nunsense," which runs Sept. 10-Oct. 3. "I'm so happy to sing and dance with someone who is actually in the...
Please see below for updated general information on the 2021 Cooling Center Program, which will operate through September 22, 2021: For the health, safety and comfort of our residents, Kern County General Services, in cooperation with the Department of Aging and Adult Services, other Kern County agencies and/or districts and PG&E, will open Cooling Centers throughout the County when temperatures are forecast by the National Weather Service (NWS) to exceed certain highs. Cooling Centers open in...
WARNING: This article contains graphic content. Reader discretion is advised. (Note: This is the 19th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country.) Born on Dec. 21, 1947, in Red Bluff, California, Todd was the eldest of six children. His father, from a poor family, was a truck driver and a veteran of World War II (he had somehow managed to enlist at the tender age of 15!) and the Korean War. Todd's mother was a stay-at-home mom, who, no...
On June 23, Cheryl Johnson, Anna DeGraff and Maureen Kelly drove to Children's Hospital of Los Angeles to deliver 159 quilts that were made by the wonderful ladies who comprise the Comfort Quilts group. Comfort Quilts is a group of ladies that are part of the Tehachapi Mountain Quilters. These generous volunteers donate their time to make quilts to help others in need. Their quilts go to veterans, Hoffman Hospice, Shriners Hospital, those that are hospitalized or have perhaps lost a loved one...
On Saturday, July 11, the Kern County Museum in Bakersfield hosted a book signing event for authors of books on military history. Despite the stifling heat (111 degrees outdoors!), which, no doubt, had a negative impact on attendance, the event was considered quite a success by everyone involved. A big shout out goes to Brenna Charatsaris, the museum events coordinator, for her terrific support and enthusiasm. Also deserving of gratitude are Dr. David Day and his wife Kathy, who supported event...
Some years ago I was asked by the Friends of the Depot to speak at one of their meetings about my experiences in riding the passenger trains that came through our city regularly. I can scarcely believe how long it has been; some 50 or so years. I mentioned to one of my sons what I was going to do and he said when beginning a speech I should start with a joke to lighten the mood. The audience was made of friends and they were kind and cooperative. The evening went well and they laughed in all of...
(Note: This is the 18th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country. Yet, it is the first article showcasing a local veteran who landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France on D-Day.) John Grenek grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In January 1940, having just finished high school, he enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard. In 1941, the National Guard was federalized and his unit dispatched to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. Following basic...
(Note: This is the 17th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country. It is also the second article focusing on World War II. Like Bill Jasper and Henry Martinez [February 13, 2021 issue of The Loop], Mr. Hubbard took part in stopping the massive last-ditch German offensive on the Western Front that began in December 1944, and which is commonly known to Americans as the Battle of the Bulge.) Emery Hubbard was inducted into the military on De...
Major Jason E. George VFW 12114 will once again sponsor Christina’s Seventh Annual Fundraiser for Pancreatic Cancer Research for the year 2021. Over the last six years, the generosity of the people and businesses of Tehachapi, the surrounding communities, and across our great country have raised and donated $118,135 to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCan). It is impossible to find the words to express our gratitude for all that you have done to help find a cure for this horrible disease. We are deeply touched and thank you all. This y...
This is the 16th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country. Diane was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 12, 1943. When she was very young she moved with her parents to Wilmington, Delaware. Her father, an electrician, made a career with Delaware Power & Light, while her mother was a stay-at-home mom. When Diane was just 10 years old tragedy struck when her father died suddenly. "It was a tough time," she recalled, "and mom had to...
There are 108 new American flags on display throughout Downtown Tehachapi, thanks to the City's Public Works Department. Each year the City of Tehachapi places new American flags in the downtown area prior to Memorial Day. The process of properly displaying our nation's flag takes several days and is done with care and pride. The flags will remain up through Veteran's Day in November. "We honor our military veterans and are a very patriotic city, we make sure the flags are on display along the...
One of my earlier memories from the 1930s was Tehachapi's 4th of July free barbecue! It was taken for granted that everyone would be in the City Park and have a wonderful meal that included beef prepared in deep-pit style cooking where the meat is slow cooked for 24 hours in an underground pit. Word spreads fast when the term "free" is included and people from near and far came; some as far as Los Angeles. Our small community, in the 1930s, had a population of a scant 1,000 souls, including the...
Memorial Day in Tehachapi was full of ceremony, honor and a grand parade. A large crowd gathered to watch the parade travel down F Street to Central Park, where a flag raising ceremony took place accompanied by a 21-gun salute and the fly-over of a Navy biplane. The program in the park began with an opening prayer by American Legion Post 221 Chaplain Eric Purdy. It was followed by an address delivered by combat veteran Dave Reinhart, Dennis Ragsdale read the names of over 150 local veterans who...
This is the 15th article in a continuing series about local military veterans and their service to our great country. Ron was born in Wichita, Kansas, on Sept. 6, 1947. His father, just out of the service – he had fought with the Army in the Pacific Theater, at one time becoming trapped behind Japanese lines for six months until being rescued – was going to school in Wichita for the Boeing Aircraft Company, for which he would work as a machinist for several years. As a young boy, Ron moved bac...
The American Legion Post 221 and Tehachapi Valley Recreation and Park District have announced that there will be a Memorial Day Parade in Tehachapi this year on May 31. The parade units will meet at the old Kmart parking lot around 9:30 a.m. and at 10 a.m. proceed down F Street to Mojave Street., turning right to end at Philip Marx Central Park for a flag ceremony, including a rifle team and bugler. As in the past, names of local veterans who have died during the last year will be read. Legion...
