Another tribute to the late Jerry Warren and the Padre gets a new general manager

* ... RIP JERRY: My post last week on the death of longtime Bakersfield businessman Jerry Warren drew this response from his neighbor, Mary Richard. "Jerry and Jennie have been our next door neighbors for almost 18 years. As Herb Benham would say, he was our go to guy! When my step son was killed in a car accident it was Jerry who drove me out to Rio Bravo Golf course to tell my husband his son had been killed. He and Jennie were there for us then and many times since. The last time I saw Jerry was when we were having heavy rains just before Christmas last year. He thought we were out of town so he went in our backyard to make sure it wasn't flooding. He was dead a few days later. I miss hearing him singing Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah from over the fence and him talking about 'my girl,' lovingly referring to Jennie. We miss him terribly and it is comforting to know that others knew how special he was.



* ... CHP: There's a special luncheon set for this Wednesday to support a fund that supports the widows and children of California Highway Patrol officers. "Tips for Chips" will be held from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Outback Steakhouse. Tickets are $25 at the door.


* .... WAYNE'S DAIRY: Reader Charlie Duran worked 20 years for Wayne Peacock at the dairy as a driver and salesman delivering milk to homes in Bakersfield. "I often see articles in the paper giving the dairy's location as North Chester Avenue. If my memory is correct the address was always 4050 Chester Avenue, not North Chester. Remember folks, North Chester begins on the north end of the Kern River bridge. We also sold hundreds of pounds of the best chocolate candy made anywhere! This was a great company to work for."

* ... JUNIOR LEAGUE: The Junior League of Bakersfield is accepting grant applications from non-profit groups for projects that will improve the welfare of women and children throughout Kern County. Applications are available at the League's 19th Street offices or at its website, http://www.juniorleagueofbakersfield.org/. The deadline for submitting applications is Thursday, December 1.

* ... SALLY SHOPPER: More on "Sally the Shopper," the service provided at the old Brock's department store downtown. Bertha Mullen said one of the shoppers was Patty Esposito, and about 1954 "she married a local businessman, Lloyd Plank. They raised a family and still live in Bakersfield. Sally, a lot of us still wish we had you to do our shopping."

* ... KUDOS: Johnny Stephens, one of the original group of San Diego-based managers who moved to Bakersfield to open the newly refurbished Padre Hotel, has been named interim general manager. The 31-year-old Stephens worked at the company's San Diego hotel (Tower 21) before moving to Bakersfield. He is now plans to purchase a home and stay in our community.

* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From my friend Al Gutierrez: "You may be a Bakersfield old-timer if you can recall the existence of 'houses of ill repute' at several east Bakersfield locations. The Sad Sack Hotel and The Tacoma Rooms operations were located on Edison Highway. A third house, known as The Green Doors, was situated on Morning Drive, across the street from where Foothill High School now stands. Sheriff Leroy Galyen, a gentleman who attended church every Sunday, shut them all down during the late 1950s."