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.

Kathy Carlisle art photo Original art courtesy, Ara Brancamp // Photo courtesy St. Francis High School, Johnathan V. Comer

With 2,000 handmade origami cranes, tributes of art and testimony and the powerful sounds of Taiko drums, hundreds of mourners from the St. Francis High School and Sacramento arts communities celebrated the life of the late Kathryn M. Carlisle on Saturday, Dec. 15. A memorial service for students and faculty was also held on Monday, Dec. 10.

Known to her friends as Kathy, she was a much-beloved teacher at St. Francis. She died while taking photographs for a school project on the railroad tracks across the street from the high school on Dec. 8. Carlisle was taking images of an oncoming train, when she was struck from behind by a second train. She was 52.

It is possible Carlisle was taking the photos for an upcoming project on the Holocaust. She was in discussions just days before with Holocaust survivors about the trains that took Jews and other “undesirables” to the death camps. Carlisle was passionate about using art to promote issues of social justice.

At the Celebration of Life Ceremony, Liz Irga, Central Valley Holocaust Education Network, said the last time she spoke with Carlisle, they talked about the trains. “The trains that took people to the (death) camps. And we spoke about the people who ran those trains. I will always wonder if it was that conversation that led to her being there on those tracks,” Irga said.

Kathy Carlisle taught visual arts and digital photography at St. Francis High School. She was struck and killed by a train on Dec. 8.

Every year since her arrival at St. Francis in 2008, she taught a unit on the Shoah — the Holocaust. She was deeply committed to the Central Valley Holocaust Education Network. Her students interviewed survivors of that horror, then created works that embodied the lives of those people in a contemporary way, speaking to today’s generations.

The exhibits won many awards, including a scholarship for Carlisle to study the Holocaust at the 2012 Memorial Library Summer Seminar on Holocaust Education.

Carlisle grew up in Detroit during the 1960s. As a young girl, she saw tanks going down the streets of her city. As an adult, she dedicated her life – and her gifts in the arts and in teaching – to shining light on the darkest things in life. She wanted to use her artistic gifts, especially, to bring issues of justice to the forefront.

As a teenager, she would spend afternoons at the Detroit Institute of Art, studying artists. At age 16, she was accepted into a summer art program at the prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York City. She was educated at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before earning a B.A. in Arts Education and later an M.A. in Drawing and Ceramic Sculpture from CSUS.

Carlisle began teaching at Sacramento High School as an artist in residence, where she developed a cross-cultural art curriculum. Through a grant from the Neighborhood Arts Program of SMAC, she also worked with pediatric oncology patients from the UC Davis Medical Center.

Carlisle also had a great love of Japanese drumming and culture, and was an original member of the Sacramento Taiko Dan. Founding members of Taiko Dan re-assembled to perform at her Celebration of Life service.

Carlisle was known for her huge heart, eclectic style, and sharp sense of humor. She was passionate about gatherings with family and friends, and empowering students to learn through art.

This passion for life was shared and returned by her many friends and family – and especially by the students, staff and faculty at St. Francis High School. In the wake of her passing, the school did something remarkable: all final exams for the semester were cancelled. Instead, the school community members gathered to console one another. Students created works of art in Carlisle’s memory, using her favorite colors: pink and orange.

At the Celebration of Life, Kendall Spector, a junior at St. Francis and teacher’s assistant to Carlisle relayed a message from her to family and friends: “Mrs. Carlisle always told us, ‘I can hardly wait for each of you girls to graduate, so I can see the amazing things you will do in the world. Each of you is full of color, and the world needs you. Because the world is gray, it needs the color you will bring to it.’”

Margo Reid Brown, president, St. Francis High School, said Carlisle was a “unique, colorful and passionate part” of each of their lives.

“Forever, we will be grateful for her presence in our lives. As a community of faith, we know Kathy was our gift…We trust in the Lord to lift our sister Kathy to everlasting life with Him,” Reid Brown said.

Carlisle is survived by her husband Steven Jarvis, her children Will, Bianca, and Violet, who is a freshman at St. Francis; and her mother, Sandy Carlisle of Brighton, Michigan.
A scholarship fund has been established. The Kathy Carlisle Scholarship will be awarded annually to a current student at St. Francis High School who demonstrates a passion and commitment to the arts that were so much a part of Carlisle’s life. Donations can be made via the St. Francis High School website at www.stfrancishs.org.

Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of articles about McClatchy athletes and teams chosen for its new sports Hall of Fame.
The 50 athletes/coaches and teams from 1938 to 1962 will be inducted as part of the 75 year McClatchy celebration on Sept. 20 at the Riverside Elks Lodge.
For information about the athletes and how to get tickets, go to restoretheroar.org.

At noon on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 1947, 24,000 frenzied football fans squeezed into Hughes Stadium to see the unbeaten McClatchy Lions and the Sacramento Dragons battle for the Sac-Joaquin League championship.
As a wide-eyed 8-year-old, this was my first football game and would become a Thanksgiving tradition for my family that would last until the 1970s, when the Turkey Day game ended.
Turkey Day 1947 would be the greatest sporting event in Sacramento history with more than half the city attending. After the school opened in 1937, the up-start McClatchy Lions began to chip into Sacramento High School’s athletic dominance by the mid-1940s.
One-half of the city was “Lion Red” while the other half was “Dragon Purple.”
North of Broadway, you were a Dragon; south of Broadway in the suburbs of Sacramento, you were a Lion.
In 1939, McClatchy first beat Sacramento 13-6 behind all-city running back Fred Wristen.* The only tie was in 1940, and Bob Geremia was the star of the 1942 game for the Lions.
1943 brought the Lions a close win 13-12 and the undefeated 1944 McClatchy* team slaughtered the Dragons 44-0 and 25-0. McClatchy had won the last five years, two in 1944 and 45 because there were no night games during World War II, and local teams played each other twice.

The 1947 team
In 1947, Sacramento was coached by George Relles and led by quarter-back Jack Higdon and running backs Henry Barsanti, Vic Frediani and Ed Day.
Burt Delevan and Peter Mering anchored the line. The closest game was against Grant where the team trailed 7-0 at half. The second half was led by Day, Frediani and Mering, and Sacramento ended up winning 19-7.
The Lions, coached by George Bican,* were led by the “high-stepping twins,” John Pappa* (14 touchdowns) and Del Rasmussen* (nine touchdowns).
Rasmussen had run for almost 700 yards and averaged 13.4 yards per carry. Pappa had more than 400 yards and fullback Chuck Marino had almost 300 yards.
Tony Geremia* was an outstanding passer and kicked extra points. Ends Curtis Rowland* and John Matulich were his favorite receivers.
The McClatchy line was led by all-city tackle/linebacker Leon King*, guards Sturmer White and Bill Burns*, all-city center Vern Sampson* and tackle Clarence “Tiger” Orr.
Grant Deary, Bob Farmer* and Bob Norris came in on a strong McClatchy defense that had four shut-outs during the year.
The Lions averaged 33 points per game on offense.
The winning streak
McClatchy started its winning ways on Oct. 4, with a 36-0 win over Christian Brothers with Geremia throwing touchdowns to Pappa and Marino.
The following Friday in the rain at Hughes Stadiums, the Lions beat Woodland 26-0 with Rasmussen running for 121 yards and Pappa 77 yards. At Grant the following week, Geremia threw for more than 200 yards and the “twins” each scored once for a 45-13 victory.
Bican pulled out his bag of tricks and put Leon King at fullback for a touchdown and extra point.
Meanwhile, Sacramento was rolling along beating CBS 27-0, Turlock 12-0, Stockton 12-0, Modesto 25-7, Lodi 13-6, Woodland 21-13 and Grant 19-7.
Defense was the heart of the team, and everyone expected the Lions to give a tough match when they met the Dragons on Thanksgiving Day.
Leading up to the big game, McClatchy visited the Lodi Flames, and before 5,000 fans, Pappa (94 yards and 3 touchdowns), and Rasmussen (68 yards and 2 touchdowns) ran wild for a 39-0 victory.
Rowland blocked a punt and Farmer intercepted a pass to preserve the shutout. The following week against Modesto, with Pappa having a bad heel and Rasmussen the flu, Marino was the workhorse with 104 yards and two touchdowns.
Rasmussen still had 89 yards, Rowland a TD and Deary an interception at linebacker.
Nov. 27 was here at last.

Turkey Day game
The city was in a frenzy.
The local radio station KFBK had a huge pep rally on the air at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday with Tony Koester, the Sacramento Solons announcer, as the MC. On Thanksgiving morning, people began lining up for tickets four hours early at 8 a.m.
The headline of the Sacramento Bee on Friday, Nov. 28, read: “Lions roar to 35-14 victory over Dragons before record 24,000.”
The article read: “A storming fireball C. K. McClatchy High School eleven collaborated with the greatest crowd in the annals of Sacramento sports yesterday to bust the record books wide open in the most dynamic and colorful Thanksgiving Day football game ever produced within the confines of Hughes Memorial Stadium.
While more than 24,000 gridiron enthusiasts crammed into every cranny of the arena for the first time in its history, overflowing into the aisles, hanging precariously on the rims, and spilling out on to the track surrounding the playing turf, THE RAZZLE DAZZLE LIONS cannonaded their way to the Sac-Joaquin section championship with a glittering 35-14 conquest of the Sacramento Dragons.”**
The Lions struck early and often building up a 21-0 halftime lead. Del Rasmussen* carried only nine times for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Sacramento Bee article continued: “The fair haired boy…was dashing Del Rasmussen, a swivel hipped, squirming, prancing ball packer of all-conference magnitude who broke the Dragons’ backs with two long touchdown scampers. Fronting the way for him and sidekick John Papa was a dominant offensive line led by the 220 pound Leon King…who was tremendously effective at tackle and linebacker. Geremia had an outstanding game, with fourth and goal at the three, he crossed up Sacramento with an end-around to Curtis Rowland for a touchdown and a 21-0 halftime lead.”**
McClatchy scored twice more in the third quarter with Marino scoring a touchdown in his fourth straight game against the Dragons.
Sacramento blocked a punt and scored to start the fourth quarter. Again in the fourth quarter, a missed handoff resulted in a fumble at the Dragon 22.
“Henry Barsanti caught the ball in mid air and set sail for the goal line. Pappa, however, picked himself up off the turf and, after spotting Barsanti 15 yards, amazingly overhauled him on the Lion nine. Fumbleistis set in on the second play, and Rasmussen recovered to thwart any hope of a Dragon rally.”**
When the game ended, it took Bican and Principal S. A. Pepper 20 minutes to break through the many well-wishers to celebrate the Lions’ first section title in football. When they arrived at the locker room, the team went crazy.
“The Lions coach waited for the cheering to subside. Bican tried to speak but was choked up with emotion before he finally said, ‘My 45 boys all looked good.’ My boys all blocked in excellent fashion and we were ready for this one.’”**

Great athletes
The 1948 graduating class had many outstanding athletes. Section championships were won in football and track, a tie with Sacramento for the baseball championship, and the basketball team led by Rasmussen, Dick Balfour and Matulich won the northern section, but lost to Stockton for the Sac Joaquin title.
Roger Osenbaugh* and Jim Westlake would go on to play professional baseball with the Solons.
Balfour would win the section pole vault and Pappa would win the section 100 and 220 for the third straight year.
Pappa would go on to UC Berkeley and score two touchdowns in the 1951 “Big Game” and play in two Rose Bowls.
Rasmussen would become a star running back at Santa Clara, and King would be a starter at Stanford and play in the 1952 Rose Bowl.
However, 65 years later, I think I remember Rasmussen dashing for long gains, Pappa chasing Barsanti over 60 yards to catch him on the nine, crushing hits by King and Sampson, and Geremia throwing darts to Rowland, Rasmussen, Matulich, and Pappa for big gains.
24,000 people in Hughes Stadium for one exciting, colorful, afternoon – I definitely remember that.

*Denotes Hall of Fame inductees
**Sacramento Bee quotes from sports writer Murray Olderman and Tom Kane

jim@valcomnews.com

In June of 1964, I graduated from Sacramento High School – in what seemed like a momentous accomplishment at the time.

Marty Relles

During the last week of school, I carried my yearbook around with me and solicited signatures and comments from my friends and fellow alumni.

When he signed the book, my friend Jim Edwards scrawled, “See you over at Freeport U.”

Yes, that was my plan.

During high school, other kids planned for college, earned top notch grades, took the SAT and applied to attend the best universities.

I hadn’t done that, so Sacramento City College (SCC), also called “Freeport U.,” and also called a “high school with ash trays” was my only option for higher education.

I decided to make the best of it. I enrolled in two classes that summer and earned B grades in both.

When I showed up for fall classes, my friend Mark Lazarotto collared me saying, “I am starting a new political club on campus, want to join?”

I reluctantly agreed.

The club was an ultra-conservative organization: The Young Americans for Freedom (YAF). This was definitely not my politics, but – Mark insisted – so I joined.

The club’s tenure at City College lasted one year. But joining the YAF had a good outcome for me personally. The small membership (five students) voted me vice president of the club. That qualified me to represent our organization on the Inter Club Council, the group of students which acts as a liaison between the entire student body and the administration.

Participating on the ICC affected me in ways I could not imagine at the time. It gave me the opportunity to work with the “best and the brightest” at SCC and to learn the dynamics of working on an important school organization. This experience benefited me immensely later in life.

The ICC met monthly. In addition to planning school events such as dances and the annual Pioneer Day celebration, the organization presented student’s concerns and needs to the administration. To this day, I am thankful for having that experience.

In addition to my participation on the ICC, City College had another benefit for me. I reconnected with a group of kids I knew from Christian Brothers School: Henry Aguire, Joe Cisneros, Pete Sartlidge, Michael McDermott and others such as Jim Hansen (police officer Tiny Hansen’s son) also attended SCC at the time. We hung out together at school.

We formed a bond which lasted well after college. We met in the cafeteria for lunch, had parties, went to dances, and joined in extra-curricular activities such hunting. We were a “band of brothers.” Sadly, I subsequently lost touch with most of these guys, including Mark Lazarotto, the President and founder of the YAF, but the memories of our time together at SCC remain strong.

In the fall of 1966, I transferred to Sacramento State College. My time at SCC had come to an end. It was time to take on more serious educational challenges.

Sac State would prove to be a much greater challenge than City College. Ultimately, it took me another nine years to earn my Bachelor of Arts Degree, counting a two year tour of duty in the U.S. Army.

Now my time at Freeport U. is another unforgettable Janey Way Memory.

marty@valcomnews.com

Sacramento is undoubtedly a place in which many people take pride. But when it comes to life experiences in this city, few people remember Sacramento better than Lou Bordisso, Sr.

NEARLY TEN DECADES OF EXPERIENCE. Lou Bordisso, Sr. has seen many things during his 98 years in Sacramento. His memories include playing and coaching baseball in the capital city and owning two local bars. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

For the great number of years he has lived in Sacramento alone, Lou cannot help but have many memories of the city. But his connection with the area extends well beyond simply living here.

Native son

Born in Sacramento on Nov. 17, 1913, Lou was one of the three children of Italian immigrants Frank and Maria Bordisso.

Frank worked for the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and Marie was a local cannery worker.

During his early childhood, Lou grew up with his family at 1919 14th St. The family, who also included Lou’s siblings, Bill and Katherine, moved to 2710 X St. in about 1927.

Attended local schools

Lou began making friends with many local children while he was attending William Land School at 1116 U St.

He continued his schooling at Newton Booth School at 2620 V St. and Sutter Junior High School at 1820 K St. before becoming a student at Sacramento High School in the early 1930s.

While at Newton Booth and Sacramento High, he was a classmate of Herb Caen, who would eventually become a renowned columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Baseball captain

Like many boys growing up in Sacramento at the time, Lou was very interested in the sport of baseball.

And with this interest, Lou began playing baseball at Southside Park when he was 12 years old.

Among Lou’s fondest memories in the game were his years as a third baseman on Sacramento High’s team, which was led by its coach, Edmond A. “Ed” Combatalade.

In reminiscing about these years, Lou said that the Sacramento High team included Alex Kampouris (1912-1993).

“The players named me the captain of the team and we also had (then-future Major League Baseball player) Alex Kampouris on the team,” Lou said. “I remember when we went to Berkeley to play and Kampouris – he was fussy about who he liked – picked me to stay over night. I almost fell over.”

Another notable player on the Sacramento High team was Bill Svilich, who later played for the Sacramento Senators, and Joe Bagley, who was known to practice baseball on a nightly basis at Southside Park.

Minor league player

FAMILY TIME. Lou Bordisso, Sr. and Lou Bordisso, Jr. continue to enjoy each others’ company on a regular basis. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Lou’s success in baseball in Sacramento led to his signing with the Des Moines (Iowa) Demons, the minor league affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.

And through this experience, Lou was able to practice at Chicago’s famous Wrigley Field.

“I worked out on the Cubs squad with Dolph Camilli (1907-1997), first baseman,” Lou said. “That was a thrill for a kid. I was only 20 years old.”

Camilli, who played for 11 years in the majors, later managed the Sacramento Solons.

The Winter League

Lou was also a baseball manager, as he led his Winter League team to 11 championships. At different times, the team was sponsored by Julius Men’s Shop at 1023 K St. and Matt Transfer and Storage at 851 Richards Blvd.

Local golf phenom

In addition to baseball, Lou also experienced notable success in golf.

Although he did not begin playing golf until after he retired, Lou accomplished a feat that is only dreamed of by most golfers.

Lou made hole-in-one shots on both the first and second holes at Bing Maloney Golf Course at 6801 Freeport Blvd.

Several years later, some of Lou’s friends from Joe Marty’s bar at 1500 Broadway had a bench installed and named in his honor at the 12th hole at William Land Park.

Family life

MEMORY OF CHRISTMAS PAST. The Bordisso family – Lou Bordisso, Sr, Sunny Bordisso and Lou Bordisso, Jr. – is shown in this Christmas greeting card, which was sent to many of the family’s friends in 1955. / Photo courtesy, The Bordisso Family

Another one of Lou’s fondest memories was his Oct. 30, 1938 marriage to Rose Elizabeth “Sunny” Thomas. The couple was married by the Rev. Silvio Masante at St. Mary’s (Italian Catholic) Church at 1915 7th St.

Fifteen years later, the couple adopted their only child, Lou Anthony Bordisso.

The adoption was made possible through a letter that was written by Grace “Ciss” Kennedy, who was a friend of Sunny.

The couple’s son, who was adopted through an agency in San Jose, was given the middle name of Anthony as a show of appreciation to the Kennedy family. Ciss’s son is U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Bar proprietor

While there are many people who associate Lou with his baseball days, others know him as the former owner of two local bars.

After returning from his service in World War II, Lou partnered with his brother in the ownership of Old Ironsides at 1901 10th St.

In 1968, Lou sold his interest in Old Ironsides and purchased the Flame Club at 2130 16th St.

Despite selling the Flame Club a decade later, Lou spent little time away from the bar business before accepting a part-time position as a bartender at Joe Marty’s.

Lou continued to work at Joe Marty’s for a few more years, at which time his legs became too weak to withstand the pressures of standing for hours at a time.

‘Local living legend’

During an interview with this publication, Lou Anthony said that his father is somewhat of a local celebrity.

“There is not a place where we can go to in Sacramento where my father is not recognized and approached,” Lou Anthony said. “People always come up to him to reminisce and share with him how he has influenced their lives. He really is like a local living legend.”

Man about town

Despite being less than two years away from becoming a centenarian, Lou remains active in every day life.

Lou continuously dedicates himself to his social life, which includes writing letters to friends and weekly visits to one of his favorite local businesses, the La Bou Bakery and Café at 4400 Del Rio Road, just south of the Sacramento Zoo.

He also often returns to the Old Ironsides and the Flame Club for lunch and reminiscing about his local baseball days and his other fond memories in the capital city.

When asked what his secret to success has been for maintaining a healthy and happy lifestyle for nearly a century in his hometown of Sacramento, Lou said, “My life has been very good, very good. I exercise and eat pretty healthy. I stayed out of trouble, had a good marriage, had a very good boy (Lou Anthony). I’ve had everything I’ve wanted, a nice business, a lot of fun in baseball and (other) sports and I’ve made a lot of friends. Things have been good. That’s all you can ask for in life.”

lance@valcomnews.com

Editor’s Note: This is part one of a two-part series about East Sacramento native Gregg Lukenbill’s many activities in the capital city.

For many local residents who recall the days when the capital city was introduced to major league sports through the Sacramento Kings, the name Gregg Lukenbill is very familiar.

GREGG LUKENBILL holds a basketball from the first regular season Sacramento Kings game, which was held in 1985. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Gregg was part of the group that purchased the Kansas City Kings in 1983. The team then relocated to Sacramento for its inaugural 1985-86 season.

Although it may seem surprising to many people, this is the 20th year since Gregg sold his stake in the team.

During his interview with Valley Community Newspapers, Gregg spoke about his former association with Sacramento’s National Basketball Association franchise, as well as other details about his life.

In sharing a bit of a chronological voyage of his life, Gregg, who presently resides in East Sacramento, noted that he actually grew up in the area.

“I was born right over there at Mercy (Hospital at 4001 J St.) and I lived at 44th and C (streets) for the first 10 years,” Gregg said. “We ended up with five kids in one room and it was a little crowded over there, so my dad (Frank Lukenbill) bought a bigger house on Meister Way, which is about four blocks away. I lived there until I lived on my own.”

Gregg’s educational background consisted of attending Sacramento schools, as he was initially a student at Sacred Heart School at 3933 I St. before being enrolled at Jesuit High School.

After a year at Jesuit, Gregg, who was his parent’s only son, transferred to Sacramento High School, where he graduated in June 1972.

Gregg said that he became employed for the first time at a very young age, as he began to work for his father, who was a construction superintendent.

“I always worked for my father during the summertime, so that’s just the way that it was from the time I was about seven years old on,” Gregg said. “In about 1962, I think I got my first paycheck. Back then, I was just doing labor – cleaning up the job sites. He used to build houses and commercial buildings and remodels and things like that, so there was always cleaning up to do after the work.”

Eventually, Gregg began learning how to hammer nails, dig ditches, move dirt and use a saw.

Gregg said that with this experience, he became a “mass production kind of a guy” by the time he was about 12 years old.

When Gregg was about 17 years old, he began to construct buildings and foundations on his own.

At the age of about 20, Gregg went into business with his father, who was the co-owner of the construction company, Lukenbill Bros. Together they formed Frank Lukenbill & Son.

As part of the creation of Lukenbill & Son (later Lukenbill Construction), Frank’s brother, Berkley Lukenbill, who was the other partner of Lukenbill Bros., sold his interest in the company to Gregg for about $12,000.

Among the places where Gregg and Frank worked on projects together were the California Almond Growers Exchange at 1802 C St., where the Lukenbills had established a longstanding contract, and Superior Ambulance at 1221 30th St.

Gregg said that it was also during this time that he began to construct commercial tilt-up buildings.

“I started with the tilt-ups, because I was watching Buzz Oates and Joe Benvenuti build these tilt-ups around town and I thought that was a pretty efficient and fast way to build a building,” Gregg said.

To assist with the construction of two of these buildings, Gregg hired Mike Chilimidos, a high school friend of his who was then working at Knott’s Pharmacy at 4819 J St. Chilimidos later served as the superintendent for the construction of today’s Power Balance Pavilion.

Gregg was very close to his father. Frank Lukenbill died about two weeks before his 88th birthday in 2007. Gregg said that his father was a great business partner.

“I always trusted him and he trusted me and he was a godsend for me, because he was always a natural with people and a great hands-on guy,” Gregg said.

Overall, Gregg said that he was very fortunate to have parents who made such an impact on his life.

“I was just really blessed growing up,” Gregg said. “My mom (Leona Lukenbill) was a fanatic about school and my dad was a fanatic about work. My dad was a really hard worker and my mom was a really hard worker from an educational standpoint.”

In honoring the paths of both of his parents, Gregg worked in the daytime and attended college at night.

Gregg took classes at American River College, Sacramento City College and Sacramento State University. He continued with these studies until the fall of 1978, when he was 23 years old.

Although he did not know it at the time, Gregg was on a path that would bring a major league sports franchise to Sacramento just seven years later.

Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series highlighting local baseball players who live in the publishing area of Valley Community Newspapers.

For a group of mostly Sacramento natives who grew up playing baseball in this very rich baseball city and a few other places, a tradition was born about five years ago.

The Noah’s Bagel’s Baseball Gang meets weekly at Noah’s Bagels in Town and Country Village. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

It was around this time that a group of seniors calling themselves the Noah’s Bagels Baseball Gang began meeting once a week at Noah’s Bagels in Town and Country Village.

Continuing their weekly gatherings since this time, this social group has grown to include 18 members.

The very first members of the group were Jim Westlake, Dick Alejo and the late Danny Mooradian, who are considered the founders of the group.

In speaking about the formation of the group, Dick said, “We just felt like every time we would go out and see some guy, we would say, ‘Hey, we meet here for coffee. Why don’t you join us.’ Pretty soon, here we are (as a large group).”

Joe Duarte, one of the earliest members to join the group, said that there are various ways that one can be eligible to become a member of the group.

“(To join the group, one should) know somebody, played ball with somebody (or) went to school with them and played ball with them,” Duarte said. “Some of these guys played minor league baseball. Only one – Cuno Barragan – played in the big leagues. He caught for the (Chicago) Cubs for (three) years. Almost all of them, except for two or three, played high school baseball. I never played high school baseball, because I went in the merchant Marines in 1944, when I was 15 years old.”

Duarte said that he eventually became a baker, but chuckled when asked about bagels, saying (back then, in the 1940s), I’d never heard of them.”

During one of the group’s recent gatherings, the following members of the group in attendance shared information about their connections to baseball.

Barragan: “I was born (on June 20, 1932) and raised in Sacramento. I graduated from Sacramento High School in January 1950, and I played football and baseball at Sacramento Junior College. I signed a contract with the Sacramento Solons in 1952, and I played my first year of professional baseball in 1953 for Idaho Falls and then came back and went in the service in 1954 and 1955. I did two years of active duty in the Navy. I went to spring training with the Solons in 1956, was optioned to Amarillo, Texas, Western League, and had a reasonably good year there, and played with the Sacramento Solons in 1957.”

Barragan added that after a brief retirement in 1958, he eventually was drafted from the Solons by the Chicago Cubs in 1961.

“My first at bat was (at Wrigley Field on) Sept. 1 against the San Francisco Giants and I hit a home run off of Dick LeMay on the first pitch. It was pretty exciting.”

Members of the “bagel boys,” as the group is sometimes called, enjoy a moment during a recent gathering at Noah’s Bagels. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Dick Alejo: “I was born in 1936. My professional career was not that big. I just went down to Mexico and played for a team, called Puebla, with Cuno Barragan and Sparky Anderson (who later played and managed in Major League Baseball). Besides that, I played for the American Legion Post 61, McClatchy High School and in the Winter League and at Sacramento Junior College. I did well, but I’m not going to (the National Baseball Hall of Fame in) Cooperstown!”

Nick Capachi: “I played on all the city leagues growing up – the 125-pound, 75-pound leagues – then I played for (American) Legion, high school, county leagues, the Placer-Nevada League and the KFBK all-star team,” said Capachi, who turned 77 last April. “I also played on the (Sacramento Junior) College team. We won the state championship in 1953. We beat Long Beach for the state championship right here at (William) Land Park. I also played in the Army, while I was stationed in the Presidio (in San Francisco).”

Augie Amorena: “I went to Sacramento High School and graduated in 1948. My parents (Amelia and Augustine Amorena) were immigrants from Spain. I started playing baseball when I was about 14. I played Summer League in the different weight divisions. I played (American) Legion, Sac JC and local Winter League, Spring League. We had a team in the Winter League, Julius Style Shop, and Joe Freitas was the manager. We were all young kids, just out of high school. The enthusiasm, the fun, we could hardly wait until Sunday to play ball. We did okay. We won a championship one year. And I played minor league baseball four years (including his time in the International League with the Edmonton Eskimos). I also played in the service for the Army team (in Hawaii).”

Cuno Barragan, a member of the Noah’s Bagel’s Baseball Gang, played baseball for the Chicago Cubs from 1961 to 1963. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Mike Bakarich: “I was born on Mother’s Day, 1944, at Sacramento County Hospital. When we were younger, there was no Little League. You played in the 100-pound league, got weighed.  I grew up in West Sacramento and I had to take the Gibson bus and the streetcar to go to McClatchy Park to play baseball. They couldn’t remember my name, so they called me ‘the kid from across the river.’ I played with these guys since I was in the 7th grade, probably. I went to Grant Tech (College, which was located across the street from Grant High School) and I played all three sports there. Then I played baseball in the Winter League, in the National Division, played in the County League and the Rural League and I quit playing hard ball in 1960 or 1961, because I like to play fast-pitch softball. We were playing maybe 75 or 80 ball games a summer, and trying to play baseball and softball was kind of tough. With the fast-pitch softball, I’ve been to two world tournaments and two national tournaments. I played all over the United States. I’m in the fast-pitch hall of fame and the baseball hall of fame in Sacramento.”

The group had its own T-shirts printed to wear at their meetings and to present to some of their friends. Shown above is a close-up view of the front, center part of one of the shirts. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

My father, Martin Relles, Sr., arrived at Sacramento High in 1931 with great fanfare.

Marty Relles

His brothers, George and Ross, who preceded him at the old school had outstanding athletic careers, so doubtless much was expected of Marty.

He did not disappoint them. In fact on his first day of school he had the following slogan sewn on his sweater: “Another great Relles comes to Sacramento High.”

I arrived at Sacramento High in 1962 to begin my junior year with considerably lower expectations. I had just completed two unhappy and unsuccessful years at Christian Brothers School (CBS) and had no idea what to expect at Sac.

I fact, my experience at the old school proved to be a very good one.

For starters, my best friends Mike Gilson and Al Wilson transferred from CBS to Sac with me. This eased my transition.

We all tried out for varsity football that summer and all ended up on the Junior Varsity team.

At first, I felt disappointed by what seemed another failure, but in the end, the demotion worked out well for me. I played every down of an eight-game season at left end. During that time, I caught several passes and scored a touchdown in our final game against the Woodland Wolves.

I had found the success I had longed for at CBS. By the end of the semester, I earned my first athletic letter: bravo.

My academics improved at Sacramento High too, from barely a C average to a B. That is not surprising.

By comparison to CBS, Sacramento High had much to offer.

CBS at that time, was a small all-boys prep-school wedged onto the corner of 21st Street and Broadway.

Sacramento High (one of the oldest high schools west of the Mississippi) sprawled out on a nearly one square-mile campus, which included a football field and a track, a baseball field, a men’s gym capable of seating 1,800 people, a women’s gym, an auditorium large enough to seat the entire student body, shops for technically-oriented students, and science and language labs.

In addition to these physical resources, Sacramento High had an outstanding faculty headed up by its diminutive principal Albert J. Sessarego who held a PhD from Stanford. Under Dr. Sessarego, Sacramento High flourished.

During my two years at Sacramento High, I went on to earn two more sports letters in Varsity track and to attain all the required course work for college.

In the end, although I did not prove to be “another great Relles,” at least I was a “good“ Relles. To this day, I thank Dr. Sessarago and his outstanding staff for my success.

Now my days at venerable old Sacramento High School are another happy Janey Way memory.

Marty-Relles-copy

Marty Relles

At St. Mary’s School I had excelled, attaining an almost straight-A average. How would I do at CBS?

It didn’t take me long to find out. School began anew in September.

First of all, I had to take the bus to my new school. This in itself posed a challenge. Fortunately, my good friend Dave Jurin rode the bus with me. We boarded on Folsom Blvd., bussed to 21st Street and then transferred to another bus to go the final leg to Broadway where the old school stood.

Sadly, it didn’t look quite as nice as shown in the literature. The yellowish paint seemed a little faded. On the inside, the wear and tear of years of teenage boys had taken its toll. Visible cracks showed on some of the interior walls. The Lasallian Brothers too, looked a little faded and old.

On our first day at school, Brother Pius, the principal of the school, convened an assembly of the incoming freshman. His message was simple: “Here at CBS we have high standards and expectations, so you all better shape up or ship out.”

Hmm. That sounded a little like the military to me.

And, my experience at CBS would prove to be just that, something more akin to boot camp than prep school.

My first semester I struggled. For the first time, I took home two deficiency notices: one in language and one in math. Much of that was my fault. Still somewhat immature, I had a difficult time adjusting to the rigorous educational demands of an all-boys high school.

But, CBS certainly deserved part of the blame. At that time, it offered minimal resources to its student body. It offered no music, art or science programs. Its facilities included no labs for practicing language or conducting science experiments. As nearly as I can remember, the school had only one math teacher, Brother Basil, a man in his seventies.

My first semester, I barely achieved a “C” average. Fortunately, “B” grades in English and History made up for a lower grade in Spanish. I think I made a “C” in algebra. Thankfully, Brother Basil, a truly nice man, held Saturday classes for his struggling students like me.

At the end of Fall, I tried out for basketball and did not make the team. My sophomore year, I tried out for football and was cut. I wondered out loud, if I would ever succeed at anything there.

Fortunately, during my second year, my grades improved slightly, but as the year ground to an end, I looked forward to a change of venue in my junior year. I had two choices: move up to Bishop Armstrong High School located at the present sight of Christian Brothers High School (CBHS) on Martin Luther King Drive, or transfer to Sacramento High School. I chose the latter. My experience at Sacramento High School proved a much more positive experience. There I lettered in track and football and attained a “B minus” average.

In retrospect, my time at CBS had definite benefits:

1. It helped me grow up quickly;

2. I learned how to adapt to a new more challenging environment; and

3. I made some lifelong friends.

CBS also had drawbacks. They finally leveled the old school a few years after my class graduated because the facility simply could not be retrofitted to meet current earthquake standards. I think too, that discipline at CBS might have been a little too strict. People, especially young people, need to receive some level of encouragement at school, and I, for one, did not feel that at CBS.

Perhaps, a more empathetic principal than Brother Pius could have created that type of environment. Many of the children in my extended family have attended CBHS, now a coed school. Their experience proved much different than mine.

Now, my time at CBS is just another thought-provoking Janey Way memory.

marty@valcomnews.com

The Effie Yeaw Nature Center in Ancil Hoffman Park will soon celebrate its 35th anniversary. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

But the road to reaching this notable anniversary has not always been easy for the center, which is dedicated to its mission of “bringing awareness of the beauty and diversity of the natural world to children, families and the community through education initiatives that foster appreciation, enjoyment and stewardship of the unique natural and cultural resources of the Sacramento region.”

The most difficult of these times occurred last July, when this award-winning environmental and cultural education center, which is part of a 77-acre nature preserve, was informed that it would be losing its county funding, because the county could no longer afford to operate the center.

But fortunately for the center, it has survived through the assistance of a non-profit organization, the American River Natural History Association, which obtained a temporary lease of the building from the county and presently operates the center.

Considering the challenges that the center faced last year, which included having its entire staff laid off, Betty Cooper, the center’s development director, said that it is especially gratifying for the center to celebrate its 35th anniversary.

Effie Yeaw gives local schoolchildren an up-close view of a bird at Deterding Woods in this 1960s photograph. / Photo courtesy, Effie Yeaw Nature Center

“In spite of the ups and downs and the incredible odds that we were facing last year, here we are like a phoenix, kind of rising from the flames of the budget devastation as an independent, non-profit and we’re really proud of that,” Cooper said. “We’re going to be here to stay. It’s a very important asset to the community to have our nature center here and we’re going to make sure that it keeps going in perpetuity.”

Through the recent work of the aforementioned association, which began providing assistance to the center in a lesser but nonetheless very essential role in 1981, the center has achieved much success during its transition.

Cooper said that the progress that has been made at the center has been accomplished with the labor of a dedicated “skeleton crew” of eight staff members, who have worked for lower wages and no benefits. In contrast, at its greatest strength, the center maintained a staff of 20 workers.

She added that the current staff is working to overcome one of its biggest obstacles.

“We’re fighting a bit of a public relations problem,” Cooper said. “A lot of people think that the nature center has been closed, so the teachers haven’t been booking their programs as much as they have in the past. So, we’re working on that. We’re doing big outreaches to the schools. We’re going to be offering some two-for-one-type programs to get the word out that we are open and thriving and we’re working really hard to keep the nature center and its wonderful mission going for the community.”

In recognizing the center’s 35-year-history, it is important to focus in on the name of the center itself.

Effie Yeaw, a former, local kindergarten teacher, played an instrumental role in the movement to protect Sacramento’s natural environment. / Photo courtesy, E. Stillman

The name Effie Yeaw has a strong legacy in the Sacramento region, whether one thinks of the popular nature center which bears this name or whether one thinks of the late educator and naturalist Effie Yeaw, who was thought so highly of that her name was memorialized as part of the name of the nature center.

Born Effie Mae Cummings in Chico on May 15, 1900, Yeaw, who was the daughter of schoolteachers Galen and Ella Cummings, later moved to Wheatland, then to Lincoln and eventually to Sacramento, where she attended Sacramento High School – where she served as president of the Biological Honor Society – and Sacramento Junior College (today’s Sacramento City College).

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in social studies from the University of California, Berkeley in 1922, Yeaw taught at Harkness Grammar School and Sutter Junior High School in Sacramento before moving to Hawaii, where she continued to teach, while earning her master’s degree in social studies from the University of Hawaii in 1932.

Yeaw later returned to the Sacramento area and resumed her teaching, this time as an elementary school teacher in the Carmichael School District, which was later a part of the San Juan Unified School District.

Yeaw worked to instill a love for nature in her students through the Carmichael Conservation Center, which included birds, squirrels, raccoons and a fawn.

Although the center closed in 1955, this closure caused Yeaw to turn her attention to an area along the American River, known as Deterding Woods, where she began to lead her students on nature tours.

In a creative fashion, Yeaw presented tales of animals with human names and various facts about these creatures of the wild and their environment to children of various ages.

Carmichael resident Sylvia Bringas fondly remembers participating in one of Yeaw’s tours at Deterding Woods, which would later become the site of the Effie Yeaw Nature Center.

The Effie Yeaw Nature Center is located at 2850 San Lorenzo Way in Carmichael’s Ancil Hoffman Park./ Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

“Those of us who got to meet (Yeaw) were very lucky,” said Bringas, who attended the local Marvin Marshall, Deterding and Carmichael elementary schools at separate times during the 1950s. “She was a teacher at heart trying to impart to us an appreciation of nature and the animals around us. She would take time to explain about each animal and then have us touch each one. I think she really was looking to the future and the preservation of what was around her. You felt her excitement and it made you want to pay attention to what she had to say. As you know we can be very antsy at eight years old. It takes a special person to keep the interest of children. I feel honored to have known her.”

Louis Heinrich, Jr., a member of the Effie Yeaw Nature Center’s associate board of directors, said that he participated in Yeaw’s tours from 1960 to 1965.

“I really remember Effie Yeaw as just this really kind person,” said Heinrich, Jr., who attended Marvin Marshall School at 5309 Kenneth Ave. in Carmichael. “(Yeaw’s tours) sparked an interest in the natural world that is outside your back door. A lot of people go to national parks and state parks to experience nature, but it’s right here (in Carmichael). That’s one of the things that Effie Yeaw helped develop in me as a young person is just look around and you’ll see (nature) everywhere. We are surrounded by it.”

Louis Heinrich, Jr.’s father, Louis Heinrich, Sr., a former biology teacher at Grant Technical College and later at American River College, which opened in 1955, said that he organized the Deterding Woods tours with Yeaw and another local resident, Mike Weber.

The Effie Yeaw Nature Center features a 77-acre nature preserve with scenic trails. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

The eldest Heinrich said that in addition to these tours, Yeaw had a dream of having a nature center located in Deterding Woods.

“Another reason why we had these field trips into the Deterding Woods was that (Yeaw) was hoping that the Carmichael School District would obtain some kind of a concession there that they could have it as a nature center,” Heinrich, Sr. said. “She was already planning a nature center in that area.”

Although Yeaw, who passed away at the age of 69 in 1970, never saw her dream of having a nature center at the Deterding Woods site become a reality, her legacy remains strong through both the name and mission of the Effie Yeaw Nature Center and the people in the community who she influenced through her love of nature.

For more information regarding the Effie Yeaw Nature Center and its activities, including possible 35th anniversary-related events, call (916) 489-4918 or visit www.sacnaturecenter.net.

lance@valcomnews.com