More memories of Jack LaLanne, and a local attorney gives a tip of the hat to the lads of Kappa Sigma fraternity out at Cal State Bakersfield

 * ... TRASH: Normally the only reward people get from picking up litter along the side of the road is the satisfaction of knowing they've done a good deed for their city. Franklin "Woody" Allen of Bakersfield got that and more on a recent cleanup patrol with members of his Kiwanis club. The crew was tidying up an area near Calloway Drive and Hageman Road when Allen spotted a crumpled piece of green paper. Yep, a $100 bill. Nice volunteer work if you can get it.

 * ... KAPPA SIGMA: College fraternities earn their own negative attention sometimes, but they can also do a lot of good and provide kids with lasting memories and a full college experience. Local attorney Dan Clifford was a Greek (Chi Psi) himself at the University of Oregon, and he passed on this bit of good behavior involving the Kappa Sigma fraternity out at Cal State Bakersfield. Turns out Clifford and his wife Jennifer went to Deer Peak Park to hold a birthday party for their daughter, but learned the park had already been reserved by the Kappa Sigs. James Wilson, one of the fraternity brothers, responded by helping the Cliffords carry tables to another area so both groups could enjoy the park. "Jennifer and I could not have been more relieved and appreciative. Shortly thereafter the playground was filled with screaming kids and the party went off without a hitch. For the fraternity’s part, they looked like they were having fun and were complete gentlemen. Although my encounter with the guys was brief, it was an extremely positive one. It is refreshing to know that the Greek system continues to turn out well rounded, good natured adults.  Many thanks to James and the rest of the Kappa Sigs. "

 * ... RALPH: My earlier note on the late fitness guru Jack LaLanne drew yet another local connection, this one from KNZR radio host Ralph Bailey. Turns out Ralph went to high school with LaLanne's son, Jon Allen, in Sherman Oaks where they both played baseball, soccer and football.  "And we were coached by Gary Fowler, former Highland, Centennial and Golden Valley coach and athletic director. Gary recently retired from Golden Valley and Jon Allen is playing in a band and is a pool cleaner in Brentwood. His parents came to all of his games and one of my great thrills came after one of our football games in which I ran back a punt for a touchdown. Mr. LaLanne came up to me and said, 'That was a great run, Ralph.' Thought I was gonna die! I don't know what impressed me more: the fact that he admired my run or the fact that he actually knew my name!"

 * ... KUDOS: Hats off to local human resources consultant Holly Culhane for coming up with a creative and generous way to recognize her company's 25 years in business. Instead of holding an anniversary party, Culhane sent out small, pre-stamped post cards asking folks to choose from three charities who would receive a $25 donation in their name. The non-profits are Youth for Christ/USA, the Bakersfield Rescue Mission and the Houchin Blood Bank capital campaign. Kudos to Holly and her colleagues over at PAS Associates.

 * ... DUST BOWL: If you are a history buff you might consider taking in the annual "Dust Bowl Festival" at the Sunset School in Weedpatch this Saturday. It's always an interesting look back at our past and will feature the usual wealth of comfort food (biscuits, gravy, cornbread etc) and classic cars. It runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: This nugget comes compliments of longtime reader Linda Welch: You might be a Bakersfield old timer if you remember "when the freedom train came to town on Baker Street carrying the Constitution and Bill of Rights... Also the other train that carried Harry S. Truman when he was running for president. He came out on the landing of the last car. What a thrill those trains were to a very small child."

Lynda Halligan returns to KBAK TV as a morning anchor, and is Walmart headed to the old Mervyn's plaza on California Avenue?

 * ... KBAK: There is a familiar face back on the local morning television circuit. Lynda Halligan, who worked as a noon anchor and co-anchor of the evening news on KBAK TV (29) from 2003 to 2007, has returned as anchor of Channel 29's morning program. Halligan has spent more than 14 years in broadcasting, including time with QVC, Fuse and most recently the ReelzChannel. In the morning she is teamed with Aaron Perlman and Cambi Brown.

* ... LaLANNE: Did you know the late great fitness guru Jack LaLanne had a strong local connection? That's what I learned from a local couple, Herb and Rita Loken, who said they visited Jack's widow, Elaine, recently in Morro Bay. She said her husband and Jack met in the 1940s in Minneapolis and their friendship was renewed in the 1950s when Herb joined the staff at Bakersfield College. "As you may know, Jack LaLanne spent his early years in Lamont as a puny little kid but went on to be the forerunner of physical fitness. They opened their home to us on many occasions and their visits to Bakersfield always included dinner at the Woolgrowers," Rita said.

 * ... MILESTONES: It was three years ago this week that locally owned San Joaquin Bank was seized by federal regulators and shuttered during the housing and banking crisis.

 * ... OVERHEARD: One of my favorite local businesses, the UPS Store in the old Mervyn's plaza, is being forced to move because the building is being torn down. What will be built in its space? One friend was hoping for a Cabela's, and another for a Bass Pro Shop. Sorry, but one commercial real estate insider says a new Walmart will be built there.

* ... BC JAZZ: Here's a cause I could get behind. Some folks up at Bakersfield College have formed an organization devoted to the arts and culture. It's called "Friends of BC Jazz" and was the brainchild of two professors, Kris Tiner and Dr. Randal Beeman. The idea: raise an endowment of $50,000 to purchase equipment and to offer scholarships and travel for students. "We are more than pleased to announce that Columbine Vineyards in Delano has stepped up to the plate first with a $10,000 gift for the purchase of new equipment, which we hope to have on campus in time for our November concert," Beeman said. Anyone wishing to contribute a tax deductible gift can send a check to Friends of BC Jazz, in care of the Bakersfield College Foundation, 1801 Panorama Drive, Bakersfield 93305.

  * ... IRISH: Carolyn Bergman wrote to remind me of yet another Bakersfield youngster who is off to school at the University of Notre Dame. She is Nicole Madrilejo, a 2010 graduate of Garces Memorial High School who is now a junior in South Bend. She is an Irish cheerleader and is the latest in her family to attend the school. Her father, Dr. Nelson Madrilejo, graduated from Notre Dame while her mother, Nicole Madrilejo, is a nurse at San Joaquin Community Hospital.

 * ... FOOD SHOW: If you are a foodie, or even an aspiring cook, make sure you get your tickets to Savor Bakersfield, our town's most impressive cooking show set for Nov. 13 at Rabobank Theatre. It is a production of Dash (Parade) magazine and will feature English chef Jon Aston. Tickets are just $20 and available at ticketmaster.com or calling (800) 745-3000. The event will feature boutique shopping from over 40 local vendors, food sampling from 10 local restaurants (Noodle Bar, Padre, Johnny Rockets, Red Pepper, etc...) plus beer and wine sampling.

Special birthday wishes to a remarkable man and yet more remembrances of Jack and Elaine Lalanne.

 * ... BIRTHDAY: Special birthday wishes go out to a man who doesn't know the meaning of slowing down. Check out this resume Louis Kerker, who will turn 100 on February 12th, was born in Peoria, Illinois, and ended up in Bakersfield in 1936 working for Superior Oil. During World War II he became a Seabee and was attached to the 1st Marine Division. He later returned to Superior Oil and worked another 37 years before retiring in 1976. He became a school crossing guard for 10 years and in 1990 organized a volunteer Citizen Service unit at the Kern County Sheriff's Department. The Bakersfield BPOE #266 is sponsoring a lunch for Louis at the Elk's Club at 11:30  a.m. on his birthday.

 * ... JACK LALANNE: Everyone seems to have a story about the late and great fitness guru Jack Lalanne, but there are few like the one told to me by local resident Herb Loken. "Back in the 1940s," he said, "I was dating a pretty gal in Minneapolis. One day she boasted she had won an award for doing 10 men's pushups. Being a gymnast myself I had to make her prove her feat, which she did! To my surprise in later years Elaine became the wife of Jack Lalanne."

 * ... FUND RAISER: The Bakersfield Police Activities League (BPAL) does an awful lot of good work with some of our community's underprivileged youth: tutoring, community service, boxing, soccer and other special programs. Of course all that takes money and organizers have now set a major fund raiser for Saturday, February 12, at the Kern County Gun Club. They are looking for major sponsors and teams to participate in a round of sporting clays. If interested, call Lili Marsh at (661) 324-6561 or Kristi Spitzer at (661) 378-7751. 

 * ... SPOTTED: Outside the downtown Starbucks on 24th Street a clean-shaven middle-aged man, wearing nice slacks and a tie, with a sign reading "Help an American." He was holding a plastic donation cup but didn't seem to be picking up much action.

* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From reader Linda Welch: "You know you're from Oildale if you remember the brick building at the corner of Wilson and North Chester across from Standard School was the original Kern County Library."

A German POW returns to Delano to visit where he was held, and remembering Jack LaLanne

 * ... GERMAN POWS: More response on my earlier post about German and Italian prisoners of war working in local agriculture during World War II. Betty Kouklis wrote to say that her husband was working in Delano one day several years ago when he was approached by a stranger, accompanied by his daughter, son in law and grandson. Turns out the stranger had been a German prisoner in Delano and was given a trip by his family to return to Delano to visit where he was held. The camp was on 4th Avenue (now Garces Highway) across from where Delano Hospital is now located. Said Betty: "It was a small camp and he recalled the time our senior class sang Christmas carols from across the street, and hearing the music from the VFW Hall that was nearby. I have the letter he wrote after he returned to Germany and gave a copy to the Delano Historical Society. As far as I know there is no other document to verify the camp existed."

 * .... RIP JACK: Local resident Jack Skaggs, a retired California  State Patrolman, regaled some friends this weekend with a story about pulling over the late fitness guru Jack LaLanne in the summer of 1978. Skaggs was patrolling the Long Beach Freeway just north of the 405 when he noticed a pearl white Stutz Bearcat weaving. The license tag read "Reduce." It turned out to be LaLanne, who was quite sober and explained he was weaving because he was searching the radio dial for a favorite program. Skaggs said LaLanne insisted on getting out of the car and demonstrating his ability and  limberness, performing feats that were  impossible "unless you were in tip top shape and extremely flexible... mere mortals could not begin to duplicate what he did." Later Skaggs learned that LaLanne, who was around 64 then, was heading to Long Beach to swim the harbor while pulling dozens of rowboats. "He told me to stay in shape and I took those words to heart," said Skaggs, an avid cyclist and fitness buff.

 * ... FOLLIES: Robbie Bonas wrote to say how much she enjoyed reading about the "The High Fever Follies" put on by the Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. "It took me back to that wonderful experience of participating in 'the chorus line' and 'I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy' number with Phyllis Adams. I was very honored to have met, and danced, with Phyllis. I was in awe of how beautiful she was and how high she kicked those long graceful legs of hers! She was the energy and joy for all who participated in that production."

 * ... SPOTTED: Leon James "Lee" DeWyze Jr., winner of the ninth season of American Idol, was spotted at the Red Robin at Valley Plaza recently. Stephany Trevino is a server there and spotted DeWyze immediately. He was with his manager and two other men and were headed to Fresno when they stopped for lunch.

 * ... GUN CLUB: The Kern County Gun Club is hosting a "women's day" this Saturday, February 5. For $50, you get lessons in shooting trap and skeet. This includes free use of guns, all ammunition, free clay targets and lunch. Club manager Cyndi Benson told me she's trying to get more women into the shooting sports. Cyndi already runs a successful youth program at the club. The gun club is located adjacent to the Lake Buena Vista Recreation center.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From reader Al Gutierrez: "You know you're a Bakersfield old-timer "when you recall attending rock and roll dances at the Rainbow Gardens on Union Avenue. They stars performing before standing room only crowds included Chuck Berry, the granddaddy of rock and roll, Little Richard and Fats Domino. The Gardens is now the Kern County Basque Club."