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Baker Street Branch Celebrating 100 Years

By Nick Fequiere

When the Baker Street Library in downtown Bakersfield first opened in 1915, the Morning Echo paper referred to it as “a monument to the civic progress and culture of Bakersfield.” That statement still rings true to this day, 100 years later. Many Kern County residents grew up making regular visits to this library and making memories there that would last a lifetime.

The Baker Street Library has enjoyed a long and storied history and will be celebrating its 100 year anniversary on Saturday, the ninth of May. The building took roughly two years to finish, from approval for its construction to its physical erection and cost about $26,000.

Although the library was opened on July 8th, the celebration is taking place this month in order to avoid the extreme summer heat. As much as Saturday’s event will be a birthday celebration, it will be a time to remember a national landmark and a toast to Baker Street Library’s survival over the past century. The structure has withstood budget cuts and the Kern County earthquake of 1952. The library was even closed at one point in its long history. Despite all of this, the building is still standing and still serving thousands of residents each year.

This Saturday will see Kern County residents from far and wide visit Baker Street to partake in the festivities from 12 PM to 3 PM. There will be activities and all manner of fun events for children. The best part? It’s all free for the community. Here’s to another 100 years.

A Sharp Piece of Awesome Book Release Party

A Sharp Piece of Awesome Release Party–Saturday, May 16, at 3:00pm at Dagny’s Coffee, located at 1600 20th St. in Bakersfield. Authors published in issue five of our annual student-edited literary publication A Sharp Piece of Awesome will read their works to celebrate and launch the release of the issue. Copies will be available for ten dollars, but the event is free.

Creative Writing Class Reading

Creative Writing Class Reading–Thursday, May 14, at 6:00pm at Black Gold, located at 508 Center St. in Taft. Students of our creative writing classes will read selections of their original poems, short stories, and memoirs. This is always an exciting event in which students gain experience reading their work to the public. Students will also present their original collections. The event is free.

Dr. John Eigenauer Publishes Article for NISOD

Dr. John Eigenauer is one of the top professors at Taft College, but what many people don’t know is that he is also the author of many different articles about the dispositions of teaching critical thinking.

NISOD is an organization that specializes in enhancing teaching strategies for Community Colleges as well as the overall improvement of curriculum. On top of publishing his article, NISOD asked Dr. Eigenauer to do a “webinar” in which he did a presentation from his office here at Taft College that was broadcasted to over 150 people nationwide. Dr. Eigenauer has presented awards at the NISOD conference in Austin, Texas, twice and has also received an Excellence In Teaching Award himself.

The Article, which is titled ” Teaching Critical Thinking Dispositions” can be received on request from Dr. Eigenauer by contacting him at jeigenauer@taftcollege.edu.

Art Classes Visit Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The Museum

By Brenda Magana
The Los Angeles County Art Museum is a great place to be at one with art. It’s located by Wilshire Blvd and Fairfax Av in Los Angeles.
Anything one can think of as art can be found at LACMA such as sculptures, pottery, architecture, film and much more.
It holds over more than 120,000 art works. The museum contains works from the very famous: Picasso, van Gogh, Diego Rivera, and many more well-known artists.
Without a doubt, visiting the museum should be a must if one ever happens to be around Los Angeles.

Sculpture on display

Paintings in the museum

CSUB Campus Celebration

CSUB celebration

By Brenda Magana
California University of Bakersfield held is annual Campus Celebration. Even though it was sprinkling, that did not put an end to the festivities. On the campus grounds were booths set up with information about different degrees and also clubs offered at CSUB.
Also, there was delicious food, and entertainment. The event attracted people from all ages. Anyone who went to the event could agree that it was a success!

Something for the children

CSUB staff with info

The Aviators are Taking Flight

By Nick Fequiere

The Aviators, founded in the Fall of 2008, are a rock band out of Bakersfield, CA. Citing influences such as Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and the Rolling Stones, they have blended many styles and sounds into one uniquely their own. They epitomize the tenets of rock and roll and are garnering some major attention, helping to put their hometown on the map with a slew of live performances throughout California. The band is continually looking to aim even higher and they have even begun to venture into international performances.

The original members of the group, Daniel Reynoso and August Young, have remained the core of The Aviators over the past six years and counting; those two are the heart and soul, if you will. Young was a natural fit for the band given his impressive vocals and the fact that he and Reynoso have known each other since 2003, when the duo were in the seventh grade.

As told by Reynoso, the band started as a joke for his Aunt Bernice’s Halloween party. Bernice suggested that Reynoso get a group together to play a set out at her hangar in Shafter. From that night on, the rest was history. “We played two nights in a row out there… somebody was there that wanted to see us for a Toys for Tots Christmas and we played that show and ever since then, it’s been people seeing us and wanting us again,” says Reynoso.

Over the years, the group has certainly seen its ups and downs, losing certain members and gaining others. Two recent additions include Sherwin Smith-Raggio and Will Slikker. For their part, the two more recent members are all in on The Aviators and their enthusiasm was palpable as they spoke about their experiences since partnering with the two mainstays of the group. Smith-Raggio brought his talent on the drums to the group about three years ago, in April 2012. Slikker joined in on the fun a year later when he was just 17 years old and still in high school. He looks back on the past two years of his life with The Aviators as a period where he experienced a lot of growth and as he stated “everything’s been going good.”

The most recent addition is bass player, Matt Reid. Reid joined The Aviators last April and has greatly enjoyed his time with the group, consistently engaging fans on social media and even taking time to shoot an Instagram video or two during a live performance.

When asked where the group saw themselves headed in the not too distant future, as well as long term, they answered without hesitation; “more countries, more shows, more states, more money, more records, more people, more beer, more whiskey, more scotch, more bourbon, more cigarettes.” As far as countries go, The Aviators can make the claim that they have performed internationally, as they recently enjoyed a trip to Canada to perform for our neighbors to the North. However, Kern County residents can still catch the band at local venues like B Ryder’s and Trout’s. It is clear that the group is showing no signs of slowing down and these Aviators will be flying the friendly skies for the foreseeable future.

A Look at Our Past

By Josiah Birkbeck

California has an interesting an enthralling past that may be found if it is sought out especially in a classroom or a library. An additional place where a student of history might discover introductory information about the events surrounding Mexican-American history is surprisingly located in the Taft College cafeteria.

Dr. Altenhofel requires her students to create and give a lecture every semester on different ethnic groups. Students have used plays, monologues, and standard powerpoints in the past, but interestingly enough, a few students this year  decided to make a documentary.

Daniel Contreras, Alejandro Carillo, and Fernando Flores collaborated to create a documentary on the Mexican-American history in the era of 1848-1975. This period covers from the signing of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the later years of Cesar Chavez, and the driving force of the League of United Latin American Citizens (L.U.L.A.C.).

The documentary is in a style reminiscent of Ken Burns with voice-over and a compilation of photos. It is well made, and the history is explained clearly in the time available with the overall length being about twelve minutes. Sadly though, the audio is hard to hear in a busy cafeteria, but if a student wanted to view it, it may be good to visit the cafeteria between classes not during meal times, take a load off, and lend ear and eye to our South-Western American history.

TC Art Exhibit

The annual Art Department Faculty exhibit is currently on view in T-11 M-R 9-4, Friday 10-12. You will love the variety of this year’s exhibit. We have work from Anna Dimayuga, Jon Elsdon and Erin Kaczkowski who are the newest members of our team. Suzanne Acosta is not new, but has returned to teach online sections of ArtH 1500 and you would remember her as Suzanne Bothwell when she taught studio classes for us before. We have some video clips by Jon and some samples of work for Ann’s clients so you can see what working artists create for your viewing pleasure.

Please join us for the reception for the artists Monday, May 4th for the reception. At 3:30 Brian Jean will play the guitar as if it were a piano and Leigh Golling will do a dramatic reading about 4:15.

Taft Ability Partnership Wine Tasting

Dr. C mans one of the tasting tables

Patrons sample various wines

Taft High Jazz Band performs.

The Taft Abilities Partnership Team (TAPT) held its annual Wine and Cheese Tasting event at the Fort, a Taft landmark, on April 30. The charity event benefits the Fort Preservation Society and the Transition to Independent Living program at Taft College.

The event was catered by Taft College’s own Chef Geoffrey Dunham. Featured were hot dishes including meatballs, ribs, and mac and cheese bites, cold items including bruchetta, quiche, veggies with dip, and much more. The dessert table featured white and milk chocolate covered strawberries, crème puffs, churros, and fruit.

Entertainment was provided by the Taft Union High School Jazz Band who performed classic jazz favorites throughout the evening.

Various wineries provided wine for tasting offering a variety of wines allowing patrons to sample their wares. Soft drinks and water were also available

The event also had a silent auction and a bidding auction. Many items were donated by local people and businesses. The evening was relaxing and enjoyable allowing goers to partake of good food, good wine, good conversation,  and good company.

TUHS Jazz Band

Ken Knost tries Chef Geof’s famous meatballs.

Billy White, Darcy Bogle, and Cal Vaughn enjoy the event.