First Harvest Festival Jamboree Lights Up Shafter
Crowds packed James Street to watch about an hour of entries marching past the judges stand. Bakersfield Police Motorcycle Drill Team led with 21 riders, occupying six old Thunderbirds and a flat-bed truck with 50 to 60 family members. The park festival drew a traffic jam like Shafter rarely sees, with attractions at Manuel Park including a small terrarium and a bead snake, Kiwanis breakfast at Veterans Hall, basketball contests, a watermelon seed spitting event, and a 50s to 60s dance. The festival, now in September after years in May, settled timing against Wasco’s Rose Festival and appeared to be a success.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
James Street
Central Avenue
Bakersfield
Manuel Park
Shafter
Kiwanis
Veterans Hall
Wasco
Kern County Permits Rise in July But 1996 Totals Dip
Kern County building permits climbed 24 percent in July from July 1995 with values at 42.5 million versus 34.2 million, led by unincorporated areas and a 1.1 million Frito Lay project. Year-to-date totals fell about 16 percent to 249.5 million, while Bakersfield issued 17 commercial permits totaling 3.23 million, and Tehachapi and western Bakersfield drove most activity.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Kern County
Kern County Board of Trade
Rosamond
Bakersfield
Community Learning Center
34Th St
Chester Ave
San Joaquin Hospital
First Pentecostal Church
Tehachapi
Farmers Brace for Wet Winter Driven by El Niño
Analysts warn a potentially record damaging winter due to El Niño affecting the west coast. Hurricane Linda previously threatened California, prompting near worst‑case preparations. California and other western regions may face heavy rainfall, floods, and wind, mirroring floods of 1982 83 while regional permitting data show varied July 97 real estate activity in Arvin McFarland Shafter Taft Tehachapi Wasco Wasco and Bakersfield with year to date totals down overall.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
West Coast
California
San Diego
Los Angeles
Linda
Marked dedication set for Shafter UC research site
A historical marker dedication is planned for September 22 at the 160 acre Shafter site near the University of California Shafter Research Center. UC and USDA officials will recount the Shafter Station’s partnership with area farmers and its role in developing California’s cotton industry, noting research on irrigation, late blight, and remote sensing. The event will feature government and industry representatives and highlight past achievements.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Shafter
University of California Shafter Research and
Usda Shafer
California
Shafter Research Station
Also Mentioned on This Page
Wanda
By Roy Patrick
Seteae
Arvin
McFarland
Taft
US Department of Agriculmr of Food and Agriculture
Division ‘of Agriculture and Natural Resources
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!