Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
Sorted by date Results 1 - 11 of 11
The Shafter Historical Society will cut a ribbon to officially open its newest exhibit, the Santa Fe Caboose, on Saturday, Oct. 21, 11 a.m., at the Shafter Depot Museum. A short program will precede the ribbon cutting, with songs by Randy and Cheryl Toews, and comments by Curator Stan Wilson and Mayor Chad Givens. Also showcased will be maintenance-of-way rolling stock received with the caboose. All are invited to come see the new exhibits, and fellowship around refreshments, which will be provided....
Robert Price, long time Bakersfield Californian columnist and currently a commentator on KGET, Channel l7, will introduce his latest book, “Images of Bakersfield,” at the annual meeting of the Shafter Historical Society. The meeting will be held at the Shafter Police Station conference room on Thursday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend. There is no admission charge....
The Shafter High Class of 1963 had their 60-year reunion at Hodels Saturday, Sept. 23. Senior Class President Tom Ware chaired the event. Planning the event were Sharon Hair, Marcia Krause, Anneita Kadel, Ben Laverty and Tom Ware. A special treat was a live phone interview with Coach Claude Gilbert, age 91, who coached the Shafter High Generals to a championship in 1962. Coach Gilbert still remembers the players of that 1962 squad and remembers them as one of the greatest teams of his coaching...
This past week we have seen a vast change in the landscape alongside Central Valley Highway between Lerdo and Central Avenue, with the removal of the green belt of trees and grass planted a number of years ago by the city. That area was originally the Santa Fe Railroad yard, where the depot formerly stood, as well as tracks for loading and unloading equipment and produce, railroad maintenance equipment and a railway bunkhouse. The rails uplifted this last week were manufactured in 1911. When the city purchased this property from the railroad...
The California High Speed Rail project is moving along through the area, according to officials briefing the public in a virtual community meeting recently. At a Sept. 22 online event, the Rail Authority’s regional director, Garth Fernandez, gave a review of Phase 1 of the project, the 520 miles between San Francisco and Los Angeles. There is currently 119 miles under construction between Madera and Poplar Avenue (between Wasco and Shafter). He said in this section 72% of the structures have been completed, 73% of the right of way built and 9...
A Baccalaureate service was held for the graduating seniors of Shafter High School on June 1 at the high school auditorium. The service was sponsored by the high school's Fellowship For Christian Athletes Club. The faculty advisor for the club, Jerald Perrucci, welcomed the graduates in attendance and their families and friends. Alex Gonzales, Class of 2009, led in the singing of several songs. The speaker was Ken Gross, retired music and band instructor, from Richland School. Gross's message wa...
High Speed Rail conducted an open house to update the public on current progress of the project's construction through the Central Valley on Tuesday at the Wasco Community Center. Toni Tinoco, information officer for High Speed Rail, said the 2020 Business Plan was released in mid–February and is available for public review on the HSR website, hsr.ca.gov. There is a 60-day opportunity for public review, and comments can be made on-line. It is anticipated that electric-powered trains will be runn...
Last Thursday, about 275 guests participated in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of Kern Machinery, the local John Deere dealer, which is owned by the Don Camp family. Held at the old Camp Farms headquarters on Merced Avenue, guests were treated to lunch under a huge tent. The private Camp Family Museum, which features about a dozen restored John Deere tractors of various vintages plus many mementoes of the dealership, was open for viewing on the grounds. Among the items...
The Board of Supervisors adopted the fiscal year 2019-20 budget on Tuesday. In addition, we also adopted a resolution declaring the end of the County of Kern’s fiscal emergency. By the end of this fiscal year – June 30, 2020 -- the county will have addressed the structural deficit in the General Fund that occurred with the large drop in the price of oil in 2016 which, in turn, resulted in a large decrease in the property tax from oil-producing properties. Progress has also been made in addressing and mitigating the deficit in the Fire Fun...
Behind every artifact in the museum is a story. We have in our collection several red silk or paper poppies sold by the VFW or the American Legion. As we approach Memorial Day I thought it well to tell their story. For many years I remember, Cathy Morgan as the local poppy lady. Now I am sure they were many others distributing poppies as well, but it was Cathy who always seem to find me in a restaurant or on the street, and for a small donation I was given a poppy to wear on my person to...
Behind every artifact in the museum is a story. We have in our collection several red silk or paper poppies sold by the VFW or the American Legion. As we approach Memorial Day I thought it well to tell their story. For many years I remember, Cathy Morgan as the local poppy lady. Now I am sure they were many others distributing poppies as well, but it was Cathy who always seem to find me in a restaurant or on the street, and for a small donation I was given a poppy to wear on my person to...
