By MONICA STARK

After 26 years, Kennedy band teacher George Miles is calling it quits. But before he leaves his position, he has one last show he hopes alumni come see. It’s a combined concert with Sutter Middle and Leonardo da Vinci students on May 16 at 7 p.m. in the JFK Auditorium.
Miles has had generations of students and some have gone into teaching and other music fields. He harbors mixed emotions about his retirement as he has fond memories of his career. The Kennedy band has played at the tree lighting ceremony for Governor Brown; he’s taken students to Hawaii, Florida and other places closer to home like Disneyland.
“I love to make music and I will miss that. And I will miss the kids,” Miles said. “When you are teaching kids to make music, there is a lot of collaboration and personal investment both ways and it’s something you share with the kids. People who haven’t done music, they don’t really understand … that musical connection. That’s not something you can describe, something you can’t put into words. It’s just something you do together,” Miles said.
But while he will miss making music with the kids, he also feels like it’s time to move on. “I am old enough,” he said “and marching band gets to be physical. It’s been hard in recent years to keep up with it.”
Originally from Illinois, Miles studied at Northern Illinois University for undergrad then continued on to Western Oregon University, which was then called Western Oregon State College. “When I was in Oregon I thought I was going to stay in Oregon but I heard about an opening down here and interviewed. I ended up being really impressed with what I saw and came here instead,” he said.
Twenty-six out of the 34 years he’s taught have been at Kennedy. Previously, he taught for five years in Oregon and two years at an Indian reservation in Illinois.
Miles looks forward to having more time to play music with friends. A trombone player, Miles used to get frequent requests to play with various groups, but often had to turn them down because of work commitments. Also, he has been putting off traveling to Europe, but adds that unfortunately his wife Sheryl isn’t ready to retire. So, he said, he’ll probably have to wait a year or two before he does that.
Sheryl teaches music at Caroline Wenzel and comes to Miles’s band room during her lunch to teach drumming. Sheryl also travels all summer with the Concord Blue Devils as the band’s manager.
Miles said the Kennedy band has about 85 students, which fares quite well in size compared to other bands. “There are bands much larger but they are in areas that are densely populated and they have an elementary program which we no longer have,” he said.
“When times get tough, you can tell what they value. Haven’t seen as much money as we used to,” he said. Besides paying Miles’ salary, he said the district provides $250 for repairs and supplies. “That was about it,” he said. “Everything else was provided by boosters or stuff I’ve had to buy out of my pocket,” he said. Some of those things included drum sticks, drum heads – “all kinds of stuff,” he said.
Though Miles will be sorely missed, Jeremy Hammond, the band teacher at Sam Brannan will split his time between teaching at Kennedy and teaching at the middle school. Miles speaks highly of Hammond. Miles said he has spoken to Hammond a lot about the personal connections he has made with students before or after school and that splitting time between the two schools may make that difficult for Hammond.

“When you are a teacher, you make a personal connection. You get to talk before or after school, but with a split (schedule), you give up a lot,” he said. “That’s something Jeremy and I have talked a lot about.”
For those who may be interested in music but have not had the opportunity to play, Miles has words of wisdom: “I would just say get in there. You know — old school: try.” He said the district is fortunate in that they have a lot of instruments. For students who can’t afford to buy own instruments, the school has some for them. “I think for a lot of kids it’s one of the bright spots in the day … it’s one of the classes you really get to look forward to,” he said.
Miles has brought such joy to many students and families over the years and several of them had such nice things to say about the beloved teacher:
Drummer Alex Pfiefer said: “Mr. Miles is and always will be one of the greatest music instructors I have ever known. With him, you can always tell he understands and loves the music because of the benevolence he has towards the piece that he is teaching.  His striving to improve the band as a whole is always apparent due to the support he gives to each individual band member.  But, when those members are irresponsible, the gloves come off and his iron fist comes down and establishes order with irrefutable leadership that everyone should take note of.”
JFK senior Joseph Barrett has been in the marching band for four years. To him, Miles has done such a great job and is very committed to his work. “He keeps us motivated and inspired to thrive musically and educationally. His ever-funny jokes he cracks in class are sure reminder of his awesome personality. His best trait is that he really cares about us all in the band. I would say what really makes the JFK band is Mr. Miles. Without him, the band won’t be the same. I will miss him greatly. He is a great role model to all of us,” Barrett said.  Barrett has played the clarinet for almost 10 years and will go to Sacramento City College with plans to transfer to Sacramento State University or Chico State to work towards a history major. He wants to teach history in high school.  
Barrett’s brother, alumnus Brian Barrett (former band drum major) said: “One memory in particular is seared into my mind in regards to Mr. Miles. The memory is of a day when the schools power went down and as a result the band room was in complete chaos. Mr. Miles stood there playing half-notes on his trombone in a chromatic scale like it was any other day. That is Mr. Miles at his core, turning chaos into order through music, the results are always magnificent.”
Joseph and Brian Barrett’s father, Alan Barrett, has been involved in the band since 2001 and is former band booster president. Alan Barrett said: “George and Sheryl Miles have had a positive and dynamic impact musically, enriching the lives of thousands of kids for over two decades in the Sacramento area. Many of George’s students have gone on to major in music and teach themselves. I would like to thank George for his tireless devotion over the years, especially in teaching all three of my sons about the importance of music and a good education.”

editor@valcomnews.com

Kline Music is presently celebrating its 50th anniversary. Photo by Lance Armstrong

One of the success stories of local businesses is undoubtedly the story of Kline Music, which is celebrating its 50th year in business.
And in honor of its longevity in the music products industry, the store, which is located at 2200 Sutterville Road, across the street from the Sacramento City College softball stadium, recently received the Milestone Award from the National Association of Music Merchants.
According to a press release, “The award recognizes retailers and manufacturers who have succeeded over the years through best practices and strong community standing to reach a landmark anniversary.”
Joe Lamond, NAMM president and CEO, said, “Those that endure in the music products industry credit their longevity to providing exemplary customer service, becoming integral members of their communities, adapting over time and forging strong succession plans. NAMM is honored to call (Kline Music) a member and looks forward to supporting their success for many years to come.”

Betty Kline sits at her ivory Yamaha piano, which she purchased from a music dealer in Placerville. Although she founded Kline Music, Betty does not consider herself a musician. Photo by Lance Armstrong

NAMM is a not-for-profit association with a mission to “strengthen the $17 billion music products industry and promote the pleasures and benefits of making music.”
The association includes about 9,000 member companies in more than 87 countries.
In commenting about her family’s store, Penny Kline, one of the daughters of the business’s founder, Betty Kline, and the store’s afternoon manager, said, “I am proud to say that Kline Music employs four generations of the Kline family and continues to be family-owned and operated.”
Candy Anderson, another one of Betty’s daughters and a violin and flute teacher at the store, noted that considering that her father, the late W. Russell “Russ” Kline, was a musician, grew up in a musical family and established the Sacramento Youth Band, many people assume that her father founded Kline Music.
A year after establishing a very basic music accessories store in the basement of her Curtis Park residence at 3429 Franklin Blvd., Betty founded Kline Music at its original location at 5032 Franklin Blvd. at 26th Avenue in the Farmers Market Shopping Center in early 1963.
During an interview with this publication last week, Betty, who graduated from Sacramento High School in 1945, shared details about the pre-history portion of her business.
“Before the store front, my husband (who was a 1942 graduate of Sacramento High School and a woodwind instrument instructor) was giving private (music) lessons at home,” Betty said. “We had bought this two-story house on Franklin Boulevard, and he taught downstairs and we lived upstairs in one of those high-rise houses. People would drop their kids off and he had been teaching in our house since they were just small children in a different location (at 2511 23rd Ave.). When we moved there to (the Franklin Boulevard house), I got the brilliant idea, ‘We could have other teachers teaching here.’ So, we got a couple more teaching rooms going downstairs in the basement. And (Russ Kline) was always sending me downtown because the kids, ‘Well, they’ve got a broken reed,’ or the mother cut off the reed or whatever. And we had a guitar teacher (Zeke Nuez) right from the beginning and he would come to (teach) a lesson and he would have a broken string. So, I ended up buying a little showcase-like thing (stocked with music supplies) and kept it locked downstairs in the basement. So, I would go running downstairs, if somebody needed something. Russ would knock on the water pipe to get my attention. And so, that’s really the (unofficial) start of the store. And one day, our washing machine broke down – I had four children – so, I go down to (the FM) Laundromat (at 5036) Franklin Blvd. and there’s this place for rent (at 5032 Franklin Blvd., where Bookkeepers’ Business Service Corp. had previously operated). I figured I could lease this building, and so that’s how the store officially started.”

Betty Kline (right) and Candy Anderson are shown in this 1980s photograph. Photo courtesy of Candy Anderson

One of Kline Music’s first instructors, a trombone teacher named Bob Lindfeldt, built the teaching rooms at the first two locations of Kline Music. Additionally, Bob and his wife, Beverly, are remembered for their longtime association with the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society.
During the store’s early years, Kline Music had 10 instructors, who taught lessons in clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, accordion, guitar, drums and even baton twirling by the Satellites champion baton twirlers.
Today, the store has a teaching staff of 26 and provides instruction for nearly 700 private music students per week. Classes range from trombone, saxophone, flute and piano to guitar, violin, accordion and drums.
Kline Music’s longest term instructor is Mike Bobo, who began teaching piano lessons at the business in 1977.
The store has continuously rented musical instruments throughout its existence.
In recalling a certain day related to the store’s musical rentals in the early 1980s, Candy said, “(On one occasion), we rented out 50 instruments. That’s how busy we were. Although the store was nowhere near what it is today (in terms of renting instruments), it was still substantial.”
The current location of the store opened in 1980, following about nine years of operation at 4905 47th Ave., where the business added a musical instrument repairs department.
Betty purchased Kline Music’s present building, which was constructed in about 1956 and originally housed Capital Curtain and Rug Cleaners. The store’s previous buildings had all been rented on lease agreements.
In addition to Kline family members previously mentioned in this article, other members of the family who have worked at Kline’s Music are: Stan Kline (former trumpet teacher, Betty’s son); Paul Anderson (morning manager, Candy’s husband); Nick Meagher (piano teacher, Penny’s son); Katie Dahl (employee, Penny’s daughter); Julie Solorzano (employee, Candy’s daughter); and Anisa Solorzano (employee, Julie’s daughter).
Betty, who also has another daughter named Melody, said that she is proud of her business’s achievement of serving the public for 50 years.
“I am proud of my own ability to start the store,” Betty said. “It is nice to be celebrating 50 years in business. It’s what I have always hoped for and I hope the Kline family will keep the store as a permanent fixture in the city for years to come.”
In reaching a half-century in business, Kline Music will celebrate this milestone with a 50th anniversary party at Sierra 2 Center, Curtis Hall at 2791 24th St. on June 9 from noon to 6 p.m.
Kline Music is open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m.
For additional information about this business, call (916) 456-8742 or visit the Web site www.klinemusic.com.

Editor’s note: There will be a follow up story in an upcoming Land Park News issue about more of the details surrounding the amphitheater and neighbors’ plans to revamp it.

Besides the annual Shakespeare festival put on by neighboring Sacramento City College, the William A. Carroll Amphitheatre in Land Park plays host to not much else.

Its poor lighting, lack of bathrooms and ticket booth, make for a difficult place to hold events. And at a previous movie night, people had a difficult time finding their way out of their seats due to the lack of light. And if performers ever want to use the bathroom, they might be gone for 15 minutes, as the nearest bathroom is a couple hundred yards away.

So about a year ago, neighbors decided they wanted to start a modernization effort and they contacted then city councilmember Rob Fong.

They started meeting with City College staff and came up with some ideas, took some pictures and then surveyed The Land Park Community Association, which indicated 85 percent polled interested in improvements.

It could become a place to hold more shows and even wedding ceremonies.

But, it’s not going to be cheap, says president of the LPCA Mark Abrahams.
Mark Abrahams, president of the Land Park Community Association.

Back in February, citycouncilmember Steve Hansen said the amphitheater project is “very exciting and is a much-needed modernization so that space can be better utilized.” He said if it can work, it’s going to be a win-win for everybody.

FedEx donated a Boeing 727 to Sacramento City College through a donation program that was started around 1995 by David Sutton, of FedEx. They have received nearly 300 requests for aircraft donations, and during the life of the program have awarded 64 aircrafts for educational purposes. The plane is housed at McClellan Air Force Base, where students enrolled in the aeronautics program at SCC have class. // Photo by Paul Estabrook

A Boeing 727-200F aircraft operated by FedEx Express completed its final flight Friday, Feb. 15, when it landed at McClellan Park, where the aircraft is now housed at the nearby Aerospace Museum of California.

Sacramento City College, museum and community leaders gathered at the SCC hangar to celebrate a donation of the 727 aircraft from FedEx to the college.

On the day it was delivered it flew in from Roanoke, Virginia, but during its service to FedEx it flew packages all over the U.S. The 37-year-old plane flew for FedEx for 21 years.

The 727 aircraft is valued at $550,000 and will provide real-world training opportunities for the many aviation and aeronautics students that attend classes at Sacramento City College.  There are approximately 250 students each year in our Aeronautics, Air Traffic Control, Air Dispatch, and Flight Technology programs combined.

In addition, it can be used by the Aerospace Museum of California at McClellan for aviation-related programs for children and individuals in the community. The aircraft will be parked near the airstrip until this summer when it will be relocated to the Museum airpark where it will become a permanent training prop.

The Boeing 727-200 puts the aeronautics program light years ahead of where the aeronautics program would be without it.

According to instructor Phil Cypret, the city college program has needed an airliner like this for a number of years, but they could never have afforded to buy it because on the open market Boeing 727-200 Freighters sell for up to $2- to $3- million dollars. This will allow instructors to teach large aircraft operational procedures and maintenance practices, Cypret said.

SCC has a number of much smaller general aviation aircraft that are a valuable training resource but cannot compare to a Boeing airliner when teaching large aircraft systems and operations, Cypret said.

SCC’s Airframe and Powerplant Maintenance Program started in 1932. Graduates work in every segment of aviation, such as the major airlines, regional airlines, general aviation, helicopters, and the military.

SCC also has a Flight Technology Program for students wanting to become professional pilots, an Air Traffic Control Program for students that want to work for the FAA, and an Aircraft Dispatcher Program for students that want to assist with flight operations at major and regional airlines.

Many of graduates have gone on to flying careers with the major airlines as well as the military, Cypret said. Others have gone on to careers as aviation maintenance managers in every area of aviation.

“Our graduates tend to have a passion for the field of aviation and devote their lives to their vocation. Our alumni come by to visit on a regular basis and tell us how thankful they are to the program. As an alumni of the SCC Aeronautics Program, I feel the same way,” Cypret said.

This marks the 63rd FedEx donation of a Boeing 727 aircraft to various organizations for educational purposes since 2000. Before its final flight, aircraft 727-200 registration number  N466FE provided FedEx with 21 years’ service transporting packages to destinations throughout the United States. They have received nearly 300 requests for aircraft donations.

A former student, who presently works for FedEx, phoned Cypret and mentioned they were starting a competitive program in order to place retiring airliners with technical aviation schools such as the one at City College. Cypret completed the required paperwork and talked on the phone with a FedEx representative. He said the process was similar to grant applications that they had been involved in previously.

Also, what made this possible, he said, was the support they received from the college and the district.

“Without this management support nothing would have been possible. We are blessed with a far thinking and supportive management team that always puts the needs of students first,” he said.

Photo courtesy Celebration Arts // From left: Mericus Adams (Sound) and Patricia Coleman (Eunice Katem) in Celebration Arts' current production, "A Life."

More than 20 years ago, Pocket resident Voress Franklin began working on her passion for acting with Celebration Arts – a multicultural performing arts organization located in East Sacramento that includes theater, dance and music.

Having major in business marketing and theater arts at Sacramento City College, Franklin says she joined Celebration Arts after meeting James Wheatley who founded the organization. “We roamed around Sacramento finding places to perform,” she recalls.

Franklin worked on her craft while working as a state civil service employee for the legislature. “I retired two years ago, so now it is what I’m doing, it is what I’m seeking,” she says.

Franklin says she decided to become involved with Celebration Arts due to the teaching skills of Wheatley and its family atmosphere. “They’re really loving people and open-armed, and I learned a lot from the people involved,” she adds.

In fact, Franklin credits what she learned through Celebration Arts for her three Elly Awards, which are given annually by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA) to honor outstanding achievements of community theaters and artists in the Sacramento area. “I believe because I was taught by not just James (Wheatley) but other directors that have come through (Celebration Arts) on how to develop my talent, I now have three Ellys,” she explains. “What they taught me about going inside and learning how to develop a character as really helped me.”

A Learning Experience

According to Wheatley, who is president of the Board of Directors and artistic director for Celebration Arts, the idea for the group began in 1976 when he formed a dance company. Growing from there, Celebration Arts was incorporated in 1986 when the theater component was added.

Wheatley says the mission of Celebration Arts is to provide training and performance opportunities for community residents in the areas of dance, music and theater, so those with little or no experience could have a place to go to get some training and “explore what talent they thought they might have.”

For example, rather than teaching theater classes, everyone at Celebration Arts learn through experience. “We actually train them on the job, and we found it was more effective to be trained while they’re involved in the production then to have classes,” Wheatley says. He says everyone involved in Celebration Arts are volunteers – including himself – and everyone learns all the different facets of running a theatrical production, including lights, sound, costumes, stage management and set building.

Franklin herself has learned about all the different parts of the theater production, and says its a way to learn and appreciate the art and what it’s all about. “All of those things are all important and what makes a good rounded actor is not just coming in and learning your lines, but learning about the whole,” she says.

Celebration Arts Board Member Bonnie Bane, who has been involved with the organization since 2000, has also done time learning about what it takes to run a theater production, from the box office to housekeeping to publicity. “Whatever needed to be done, there’s plenty of work for everybody, so we all pitch in,” she says. “All the board members pitch in wherever things are needed, so it’s a community activity.”

Bane says the fact people can come to Celebration Arts with absolutely no experience is what makes them unique. “They audition, they are groomed, they grow, and I think they can realize some of their aspirations,” she explains. “Sometimes people have this little dream – oh, I wish I could do that – and here is an opportunity for them to try it out and experience that joy that they get when they perform and the people are applauding. It’s just a wonderful thing.”

Theater, Music & Dance

According to Wheatley, Celebration Arts produces six to seven plays a year, which are performed at their 50-seat theater on the corner of 45th and D Streets.

Currently playing is “A Life,” which runs through March 3. Wheatley says the play is a dramatic comedy that tells the story of a 74-year-old Jamaican woman who is recovering from a heart attack in a nursing home. “The day the play takes place, the daughter is supposed to come and get her and take her to Connecticut with her,” Wheatley explains. “The mom does not want to go – she does not want to go to Connecticut and lose her independence.”

Then opening March 22 and running through April 28 is “Agnes of God,” which Wheatley says tells the story a young nun that gives birth and the older nun and psychiatrist that try to figure out what happened.

Franklin will play the role of the psychiatrist in “Agnes of God,” and is looking forward to working with her cast mates. “The parts are all really heavy, really deep, and we’re going to have to really explore the characters,” she says. “I’m looking forward to that new journey.”

Additionally, the Celebration Chorale will be performing on February 24 at St. Andrews AME Church on 8th Street between U and V Streets, and on March 10 at Celebration Arts’ theater in East Sacramento.

Wheatley says the Chorale has 12 members and they sing a variety of music which he writes and arranges for them. “They’re learning about singing, they’re learning about music and getting experience singing chorale music,” he says.

And Wheatley says the Celebration Dance Company, which performs modern/contemporary dance, will also be performing during the Chorale concert. Wheatley recruits members for the dance company from the weekly dance class he holds on Saturday mornings from 10:45am-12:45pm at the Oak Park United Methodist Church.

Get Involved

In addition to the dance class, Celebration Arts also offers a Kid’s Time program for ages six to 12. The program is a 10-week session on Monday evenings and culminates with the kids performing an original play that Wheatley has written for them.

Community playwrights can even submit their plays to Wheatley for feedback. “Every month I read plays and meet with writers personally, talk with them and give them feedback and work with them during the drafts,” he adds.

And for community members who maybe don’t want to get on stage, but still want to help out, Bane says there are lots of opportunities to get involved from working the box office to even just helping to distribute flyers. She adds they are currently in need of volunteers to build sets, keep the theater clean, and work with fundraising and grant writing. “Not everyone wants to be on the stage, but all the other pieces are necessary in order for us to make the kind of impression that we want to make in the community,” Bane says.

Celebration Arts is located at 4469 D Street in East Sacramento. For more information, call 916-455-2787 or visit www.celebrationarts.net.

Sacramento City College and Warren Smith, founder of Sacramento Professional Soccer, LLC entered into an Exclusive Right to Negotiate relating to holding professional soccer matches at the newly renovated Hughes Stadium. // Photo by Steve Crowley

Sacramento City College and Warren Smith, founder of Sacramento Professional Soccer, LLC entered into an Exclusive Right to Negotiate relating to holding professional soccer matches at Hughes Stadium. The two organizations are actively working through the details with the intent to enter into an agreement in the early first quarter, 2013.

“We are very excited at the prospect of playing our USL Pro Soccer matches at Hughes Stadium,” Smith said.

“The College, the Los Rios Community College District and the people of Sacramento have done an incredible job in the stadium’s $13 million renovation and in bringing this community jewel back to the stature it once was for the people of Sacramento. We whole heartedly expect to announce a formal ‘use agreement’ in the coming weeks and would like to thank the Los Rios Community College District for their partnership to bring professional soccer to the Sacramento Region.”

Smith will lead the franchise with support from Mayor Kevin Johnson, Think BIG Sacramento and the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Smith, former SVP of Business Development for Clean World Partners and co-founder of the Sacramento Rivercats, is a steering committee member of Think BIG Sacramento and has been working with the organization to bring professional outdoor soccer to Sacramento.

Smith has entered into an Exclusive Right to Negotiate with Sacramento City College relating to holding professional soccer matches at Hughes Stadium. The two organizations are actively working through the details with the intent to enter into an agreement in the early first quarter, 2013.

Smith led the grassroots effort starting in 1997 to build a professional baseball stadium and attract a professional baseball team to the Sacramento area. He successfully negotiated all real estate agreements necessary for the land, acquisition and stadium development, which included the largest naming rights partnership in minor league baseball and a joint venture agreement with Savage Baseball Group that led to Raley Field’s development and the Sacramento River Cats moving to West Sacramento, California.

Sacramento’s USL PRO franchise will plan a series of exhibition matches during 2013 involving domestic and international professional soccer teams. In addition, supporter events, soccer clinics and player appearances will be scheduled leading up to the 2014 inaugural season. In early 2013, the franchise will begin the process of building a professional franchise infrastructure, including personnel and naming the team with input and engagement from soccer fans. For updates follow the team on Twitter at @SacProSoccer, “Like” them on Facebook at Facebook.com/SacProSoccer or visit SacProSoccer.com.

The Sacramento area contains one of the strongest regional soccer scenes in the United States, with some of the highest youth soccer participation rates in the country, as well as successful high school and collegiate programs. Numerous athletes from Sacramento currently play in Major League Soccer (MLS) and USL PRO. During the 2010 World Cup, Univision had higher viewership in Sacramento than ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX stations combined for the match between Mexico vs. Costa Rica. Sacramento was also consistently in the top 10 for ESPN/ABC Nielsen ratings during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

USL PRO is the strongest, best operated and most experienced North American men’s professional soccer league below MLS, both on and off the field. Focused on franchise stability and longevity, USL PRO will feature 13 teams in 2013, with over half boasting a decade or more of operational experience. Expansion teams in Phoenix, Arizona and Tampa, Florida will begin participation in the 2013 season.

The league is focused on aggressive, but deliberate, growth by adding teams fully capable of meeting USL and US Soccer Federation standards, which are located in markets that further promote regional league play. In addition to league play, USL PRO teams will continue to compete in the national Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and various domestic and international exhibitions. USL PRO is the longest standing pro league affiliate member within the US Soccer Federation.

Johnson said, “Today is an exciting day – not only for soccer fans around our region, but also for those who believe fervently in Sacramento’s potential as a vibrant and emerging market…I welcome the USL PRO to town and am thrilled to see more jobs and civic amenities heading our way.”

East Sacramento resident Mabel “Bunny” Perich will turn 100 years old on Nov. 24. Photo by Lance Armstrong

In today’s world, it is certainly not very common to encounter someone with firsthand World War I related memories. And this is just part of the reason that the life of East Sacramento resident Mabel “Bunny” Perich can be of interest to so many people.
While sitting down and at times standing inside her residence at Mercy McMahon Terrace senior residential care facility last week, Bunny shared details about her life, which began on Nov. 24, 1912.
In recalling one of her World War I related memories, Bunny, who was raised adjacent to the west side of Chicago in the village of Oak Park, said, “I remember my mother (Mabel Gearon) making fudge during the First World War. Two of my uncles were over in Germany and I remember my mother packing fudge to send to one of them (Gratton Eugene Gearon) in 1917, before the war ended. I can still see her standing in the kitchen stirring the fudge and packing it in a tin box to mail over to my uncle.”
Bunny’s other World War I related memory involves an event, which was held at Chicago’s city hall shortly after the armistice between the allies and Germany was signed in Compiegne, France on Nov. 11, 1918.
“When the war ended, they had a pageant in city hall to commemorate all the men who had been killed during the war and I was dressed as a Red Cross nurse and a little boy was dressed as a doughboy – a soldier,” Bunny said. “I remember that they gave me a sterling silver spoon with (an image of) a Red Cross nurse on the handle and they gave the little boy a sterling silver spoon with (an image of) a soldier on the handle. I still have the Red Cross spoon. I don’t know the name of the little boy, because I only saw him that one day at the pageant.”
Two years later, Bunny took dancing lessons and was involved in a dancing recital in Chicago.
In remembering the recital, which she believes was held in a theater on Ashland Avenue, Bunny said, “I was dressed like a doll in a French doll store. That was the scene. I remember I did a dance and at the end of the dance – I had an American flag tucked down into my uniform – I came to the (theater) lights and I pulled the flag out, which was a silk flag, and held it up and the audience went wild.”
Bunny, who was given her nickname by her father, Joseph S. Gearon, who worked for the Department of Streets for the city of Chicago, also recalled the days of Prohibition.
“I remember my mother and father going out on Saturday nights to a speakeasy,” Bunny said. “I didn’t know it at the time where they went, but that’s where they would go on Saturday nights, not every Saturday. People would go to speakeasies back then and hope they wouldn’t get raided.”
Although she was certainly living in the Chicago area during the days of the notorious gangster Al Capone, Bunny said she does not remember hearing any Capone-related stories during that era.
Among Bunny’s favorite childhood memories was roller skating with her sister, Helen Marie, in the basement of her family’s home during the winters.
In 1927, Bunny graduated from the eighth grade at the now historic St. Edmund (Catholic parochial) School in Oak Park, Ill. The original, 15th century French Gothic designed portion of the school, which was built as a copy of the Palace of Justice in Rouen, France, opened in 1917.
Bunny, whose partial description of 5 feet, 2 inches tall with blue eyes would cause some people to begin singing a popular song of the past, graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School in Oak Park, Ill. in 1931.
Among the notable people to graduate from that school were the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway, McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, Dan Castellaneta, who provides the voice for the cartoon character Homer Simpson, National Football League Hall of Famer George Trafton and city planner and architect Burley Griffin.
In October 1937, Bunny married William J. “Bill” Luck, who worked for the Cherry-Burrell Corp., which was known for manufacturing dairy equipment. And less than two months later, he was transferred to work in San Francisco.
The couple’s first San Francisco residence was at Chestnut and Divisadero streets. And while residing in an apartment at Francisco and Gough streets, the couple had their first and only child, Nancy, on Nov. 13, 1940.
Like many people who recall World War II, Bunny remembers where she was when she learned that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor.
“I was giving my daughter a bath and my husband came rushing in and said, ‘I just heard on the radio they bombed Pearl Harbor,’” Bunny said.
And with the United States’ involvement in World War II came the blackouts, which Bunny also remembers well.
“They blacked out the whole city and they painted all the streetlights that faced the ocean black when they had blackouts,” Bunny said. “And they had air raid wardens to tell you to turn all your lights out and we would put blankets over the windows that faced outside. And then we would go up on the roof of the apartment house and the whole city was blacked out, but we could see the outline of the ships going under the Golden Gate (Bridge).”
After the war, Bunny and her family moved to 2566 39th Ave. in San Francisco’s Sunset District.
Bunny became a Sacramentan when she moved with her family into an apartment at 2230 10th Ave., near Sacramento Junior College (today’s Sacramento City College), in 1947.
Bill, who was married to Bunny for 37 years, died at the age of 64 on June 23, 1976.
Bunny, who worked as a clerk in the bonds section of the state treasurer’s office from 1960 to 1980 and is a lifetime member of St. Patrick’s Home Guild, married a widower named Peter J. Perish (1909-1987) in 1981.
Peter and Bunny spent about seven years of their retirement lives together, enjoying a variety of activities, including traveling through Europe.
Among Bunny’s most gratifying activities during her life was her volunteer work for such places as Holy Spirit Parish and School and the Sacramento Children’s Home through her service to the Los Niños Service League, which raised funds through its assistance to the Casa de Los Niños luncheon restaurant – today’s Casa Garden Restaurant.
In January 2004, following an unfortunate incident when she fell and broke her hip, Bunny became a resident of Mercy McMahon Terrace.
Until her accident, she had been living alone and driving her own vehicle.
She said that her decision to move to her current home was an excellent one.
“I decided I would stay at Mercy McMahon, because it’s a wonderful facility for older people with nice people, good food and good care,” Bunny said.
Despite residing in this facility, Bunny, who enjoys reading historical novels and occasionally playing bridge, remains very independent, as she takes her own medicine and is still mobile on her two feet.
In reviewing her life as a soon-to-be centenarian, Bunny said, “I’ve been lucky. I’ve had a wonderful life.”

Jim Ford stands with some of his art pieces during one of his recent shows. Photo by Lance Armstrong

Editor’s Note: This is the second article in a two-part series about Land Park native and Ford’s Real Hamburgers founder Jim Ford.

Jim Ford, founder of the recently closed Ford’s Real Hamburgers at 1948 Sutterville Road, sat down last week to discuss one of the greatest loves of his life – art.
This love of art, Ford explained, began when he was about 5 years old.
“My love of art began when I was attending Crocker Elementary School on Vallejo Way, next to California Junior High School (now California Middle School), which I also attended,” Ford said. “I just gravitated naturally toward art, because I liked it, and I excelled in it, because of the deep interest (in art) I developed.”
Ford, who has spent the majority of his life residing in the Land Park area, said that he was not the first artist in his family.
“My father (John Dewey Ford), who was born in Sacramento on March 12, 1898, was a furniture maker and refinisher for Breuner’s department store and later for Scofield’s (department store),” said Ford, who resides in South Land Park with his wife, Karen DeVoe, who he married in 1993.
While attending California Junior High, Ford, whose childhood home was at 1824 3rd Ave., began taking art and mechanical drafting classes.
He excelled in these subjects through his time as a student at C. K. McClatchy High School and Sacramento City College.
And while attending McClatchy, he was in charge of the school’s advertising committee during his sophomore, junior and senior years.

During the late 1960s, Jim Ford was the artist for posters and handbills for 10 Northern California rock concerts. Shown above is his first artistic rock image for a concert at the Governor’s Hall in Sacramento. Photo by Lance Armstrong

In recalling his involvement in this committee, Ford, who was also president of McClatchy’s Art Club during his senior year in 1962, said, “The committee was my favorite non-class. I got to paint signs and banners and it was just a lot of fun.”
One of Ford’s earliest major artistic achievements occurred while he was attending city college in 1963.
A collage piece that he had created for the school’s color and design class was selected for the inside front and back covers of the school’s 1964 Pioneer yearbook.
Ford spent several years in the 1960s moving back and forth between Sacramento and Aspen, Colo.
During this time in Aspen, Ford, who described himself as having been a “ski bum,” held a variety jobs from a waiter, a busboy and a donut cook to a janitor, a maid and a bellman.
Ford became the city draftsman for the city of Aspen in 1964.
A year later, Ford joined the Air Force Reserve, and after spending six weeks in basic training in San Antonio, he transferred to McClellan Air Force Base to serve his six-month term of active duty.
After this service, Ford returned to his draftsman job in Aspen.
In 1966, he was accepted to the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.
After spending only a few weeks at this prestigious art college, which was established in 1930 and is now located in Pasadena, Ford returned to Sacramento and enrolled at city college.
Ford said that he dropped out of college in 1967 to pursue an artistic venture.
“I coerced my friends, the Schultze brothers, into promoting a concert with three bands at the Governor’s Hall,” Ford said. “I named it Simultaneous Avalanche of Psychedelic Lights. Featured at the show were the local bands, Parish Hall Blues, Working Class and Free Love, and our light show. We drove a 1956 Dodge Town Wagon with a permanent sun deck onto the wooden floor at Governor’s Hall and then projected wild, colorful, psychedelic lighting on three walls from the sun deck platform.”
To promote this May 12, 1967 show, Ford created artistic advertising posters and handbills.
Ford would eventually gain more exposure through his art during this experimental counterculture era of the 1960s, as he left Simultaneous Avalanche to Tom and Rick Schultze and concentrated on creating more concert advertising posters and handbills.
His next concert advertising posters and handbills were for the Grateful Dead/The Creators shows, which were held at Kings Beach, Calif. on Aug. 25-26, 1967.
Altogether, Ford was the artist for 10 images for concert posters and handbills.
These concerts also included the Pop Music Festival featuring Jefferson Airplane at Hughes Stadium on Oct. 15, 1967 and performances by The Jimi Hendrix Experience and The Creators at the Sacramento State men’s gym on Feb. 8, 1968.
Although Ford had created a niche for himself as a concert poster and handbill artist, he eventually left Sacramento to return to Aspen after he was asked to continue his city draftsman position.
Along with his city draftsman position, Ford worked as a freelance graphic artist and photographer.
In 1970, Ford was offered a full-time graphic artist and illustrator position with the Studio Three advertising agency, which was owned by Norm Clasen and later became known as the Norm Clasen and Associates.
After accepting this position, Ford worked for Clasen for nine years.
The most notable of the many projects that Ford created for Studio Three was his series of Aspen ski town art, which was used for the advertising campaign for the Aspen Skiing Corporation for two seasons and became the logo for the city of Aspen for more than a decade.

Jim Ford was the artist for this well-known Aspen, Colo. ski town scene, which he drew and colored in 1972. Photo by Lance Armstrong

During this same time, Ford also worked as the public announcer for many major sporting and in-town events, one of which was the Nations World Series of Skiing with the notable sportscaster Brent Musberger.
In 1977 through 1981, Ford designed and built homes in the Aspen area, after which time he returned to Sacramento and continued acquiring graphic design work.
Ford moved to Sloughhouse in 1983 and became involved in a major project of drawing scenes of 13 different areas of Sacramento and other parts of Northern California.
These drawings received much press and his limited edition prints of these scenes were purchased by Weinstock’s and Macy’s department stores in Sacramento.
Ford was once again residing in Aspen in 1985 and 1986.
A year later, as presented in the first article of this series, Ford, who was then residing in Sacramento, founded Ford’s Real Hamburgers.
After selling his restaurant in 1991, Ford continued to design logos, draw architectural plans and pursue his dream of manufacturing a removable rack for pickup trucks.
It was also during that time that he owned a 1962 Piper Cherokee 160 airplane and enjoyed flying to various small airports around the Sacramento Valley.
In 2004, Ford was the facilitator and project manager of a $5 million water treatment plant in Marysville.
Most recently, he has devoted much of his time to creating welded metal art featuring fish and birds and exhibiting his works at fine art festivals and fairs.
Ford said that he has enjoyed the many artistic-related activities of his life and that he looks forward to his future endeavors as an artist.
“My life has been full of wonderful achievements and projects and I look forward to new challenges in the art and design world, wherever they may fall,” Ford said.

The Performing Arts Center at Sacramento City College held a grand opening on Oct. 12 to show off many renovations. / Photos by Benn Hodapp

Sacramento residents are familiar with Sacramento City College for a number of reasons. One of them is Hughes Stadium, which plays host to numerous football games rich in tradition. But now another facility may just challenge the stadium as the most recognizable building on campus. The newly minted Performing Arts Center had its grand opening on Friday, Oct. 12, and while many will say that the renovations were overdue, the end result left even those clamoring for change in disbelief.

Hundreds gathered for the grand opening festivities, which included a catered buffet, commemorative key chains and entry into a prize drawing. Those in attendance were also free to roam the new classrooms in an open house setting.

The original building opened in 1937 during the Great Depression, where it became a hub for local art and social events. Time took its toll on the building over the course of 73 years.

Jennifer Martinez, a member of the Sacramento City College Chorale, spoke about the shortfalls of the old building.

“It really was in bad shape,” Martinez said. “It was old and the stage was in disrepair as well as the seats. It showed its age.”

Renovations began in June 2010 to bring the center into the new century. A pamphlet from the college outlined the work done to the old facility.

Commemorative posters fresh out of the silk screen printer sit to dry. / Photos by Benn Hodapp

“The 620-seat main auditorium now features a motorized orchestra pit, trap floor, lighting catwalks and control systems, and audio controls with various acoustic settings. The venue also has an under-floor air delivery system that enhances sound characteristics and thermal comfort.”

All of the classrooms within the center are also now connected via a network so that anything happening on the main stage can be watched on televisions in the classrooms.

Bob Martinelli, vice president of administrative services at the college, outlined the costs of the renovations.

“The total cost was $18.6 million, with $14 million coming from state bond funds and $4.6 million from local bond (measure A) funds,” Martinelli said in an e-mail. Measure A was passed in 2002, which provided $265 million for construction within the Los Rios Community College District.

Though the changes were many and undeniably spectacular, Martinez fell in love with one aspect in particular. “The acoustics are amazing,” she said. Martinez explained that during the renovations the choir was forced to hold concerts in the practice rooms. The acoustical difference between the two is, not surprisingly, quite drastic.

Chris Daubert, a professor of art at the college, said he loves the changes that were made. He jokingly added that he “misses the asbestos and lead paint.”

The open house included demonstrations of all types, including Daubert as he made posters to commemorate the grand opening via silkscreen printing.

Music teacher Kathleen Poe played classics by George Gershwin on a grand piano in the 104-seat Little Theater as people milled around the facility.

Akshay Sharma, minoring in film and play production at Sac City, was an usher for the event.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “The old building was not that great. I am very psyched up.”

After the open house there were performances by the Sacramento City College Chorale, the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival Production, the Faculty Fusion Ensemble and the City Theatre Musical Production.

Perhaps the crown jewel of the facility is the original fresco painting by legendary artist Ralph Stackpole. He was commissioned to paint it in 1937 in the lobby of the old building. The fresco was restored in the 1980s, and after being carefully protected in 2010 prior to construction, the fresco now greets patrons in the entryway of the newly named Performing Arts Center.

The new facility is packed full of future concerts and events, but it is open to be rented by those wishing to use it. The college is also offering an opportunity to purchase a seat in the main auditorium. Those who buy a seat will have their name engraved on a brass plate, which will be attached to the seat. The money raised will go to the SCC Performing Arts Fund.

Eugene Okada at the Yorozu store on Riverside. Okada died Sept. 21. He was 93. Okada was the last owner of the Yorozu, which has been family owned and operated for almost 100 years. / Courtesy photo

The longtime owner of the Yorozu Japanese gift store on Riverside Boulevard, Eugene Hirohisa Okada, died in his sleep after battling prostate cancer on Sept. 21. He was 93.
Last May, Okada was placed in hospice care, but despite that, he continued to drive to and operate the Yorozu six days a week.  He continued to work fulltime until two weeks before his death when his condition finally prevented him from getting out of bed.
His closest living relative is his older sister, Agnes Kojima, who now lives in Hyogo Ken, Japan.  His younger brother Harold Toshihisa died on Feb. 8, 2006. Okada never married.

Yorozu Oriental Gifts / photo courtesy Serene Lusano

The Yorozu store was the place in town to buy Japanese gifts, be it magazines, dishware, or origami. The store will be open until all items have been sold and proceeds will go to his estate: Okada’s older sister Agnes.
Because the Yorozu store was a landmark in the Sacramento community for almost 100 years, the Okada family quietly donated products and funds to charitable organizations and churches throughout the Central Valley.
After Eugene’s death, thousands of appreciation letters were uncovered in the back of the Yorozu store evidencing his lifelong generosity to the community.
Friends have called Eugene a very modest man who never sought attention for his generosity. They said he would give free community event dinner tickets to friends and neighbors. He would even give Christmas gifts to his tenants at his apartments.
A prime example of the unpublicized generosity of Eugene and Harold Okada was when the Sacramento Buddhist Church bell, still used to signal the beginning of a Buddhist funeral, was stolen. Church members began gathering donations for a replacement bell. When they heard of this theft, Eugene and Harold simply ordered a new bell from Japan and delivered it to the church without fanfare. That same bell now signifies the beginning of Eugene’s funeral.
Before Okada’s birth on April 3, 1919, his father Kichi Okada established in Sacramento one of four United States branch stores of the Yokohama Shoji Corporation. The name given to this store was the Yorozu.
In the early 1900s, the Yorozu was a large department type store employing many people and located on 13th Street in downtown Sacramento. It sold Japanese products and distributed Japanese reading materials to the working Issei throughout North America.  Thus, Eugene became exposed to the Japanese retail store business from a very early age.
Eugene attended Lincoln Elementary School and Lincoln Junior High School as well as Sacramento High School.  After graduating from high school, Eugene obtained his Associate of Arts degree in 1938 from Sacramento City College.  In 1940, Eugene began his studies at the University of California at Berkeley.  Unfortunately, due to the growing hostilities between Japan and the United States, he was never able to complete his studies at UC Berkeley.
In 1942, because Eugene’s father was a Japanese businessman who traveled extensively to and from Japan, Jiro Okada was seized from his family and transported to a special war camp in New Mexico with Americans of German ancestry. Eugene immediately returned home to Sacramento to be with his mother and younger brother when they were send to the Tule Lake War Relocation Center.
That year, in 1942, Eugene wrote a letter to Edward J. Ennis, Director of the Alien Enemy Control Unit for the Department of Justice, stating that he and his family decline “considerations” for repatriation.
According to the letter, which was found in Eugene’s home after his death, his father was injured in an automobile accident while en route to the San Francisco’s Bureau of Investigation.
“We understand that his leg was injured and that he finds difficulty in walking. Being that he is in such a condition, and is also aging, we would very much like to have him with us in order that we may care for him and rest assured that he is well. Also, he was injured in an automobile accident few months prior to internment …”
Eugene goes on to say that he bought a home and had intended to establish himself in Sacramento. “America is our home – the only place we call home.”
According to sister Agnes, the father was never reunited with the family until World War II ended. He was released to Sacramento and met his family there.
But before that, it’s known that Eugene and his brother Harold were granted an early release from Tule Lake and relocated to New York due to the efforts of their older sister Agnes, who lived in New York and was able to serve as their “sponsor.” While in New York, Eugene began working at a store that sold “Japanese accessories” which cultivated his skill in the retail industry.
Then, in 1946, Eugene returned to Sacramento where he joined his father and reopened the Yorozu as a branch store of Nippon Shinpan Boeki, a company that took over the Yokohama Shoji.
Initially, the parent company in Japan was extremely hesitant to re-establish another Japanese retail store in Sacramento. It did not believe that the Nisei there would buy Japanese products or read Japanese language magazines and books.  However, Eugene and his father persevered and finally convinced the main company in Japan that there was still a viable market for Japanese merchandise due to the influx of additional immigrants as well as the arrival of thousands of “war brides” from Japan.
Eugene and his father were correct and the Yorozu again flourished.  They soon resumed the sale and distribution of Japanese books and magazines throughout North America.  The Okada family also began exporting Japanese reading materials to South America for the Japanese farmers and labors residing there.
After realizing their success, Eugene’s parents leveraged the stock they owned in Nippon Shinpan Boeki in the early 1950s, and purchased the Yorozu from the parent company. Eugene, who was later joined by his younger brother Harold, continued to operate the Yorozu in Sacramento after their father’s death.
In 1968, Eugene purchased the land and reestablished the Yorozu in a new building on Riverside Boulevard where it stands today.  Even after he lost the ability to walk due to a spinal condition, Eugene continued working at the store full-time in a wheelchair six days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the same business he grew up in.
Eugene’s family was very involved in the Sacramento Buddhist Church ever since Eugene and his siblings were children.  His parents were officers and elders of the Church both in Sacramento and in Japan.
Eugene was also active in the Sacramento Buddhist church singles group and the YBA.  Even while in New York, Eugene served as the president of the New York YBA in 1945.  Later, Eugene served as an officer and sponsor of the Nisei and Sacramento Bowling Leagues.  Eugene was also the last surviving Charter member of the Senator Lions organization.