DON'T BUY FISH ON A HOT DAY.

I’m used to  good mileage in my Prius and filling up the tank of my old 1994 Ford Ranger put a good-sized dent in the wallet. I made it to the Bay Area with nary a hint of a leak and it was certainly worth it to drive my truck and let it know I still cared about it. It responded by purring  all the way to the Bay.  I expect a lot from this truck when I need it.

I founded the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department Archive Association and worked hard over the intervening years to get it up and running, along with a lot of volunteer help, of course.  When I turned it over to Bill Rhodes, top left, it was the right decision. He has made so many positive changes that every time I do attend a meeting, I hardly recognize the place. He has expanded our buildings, is having a new one built and is rebuilding our old  guard tower. Next to him is Vic Agapalo and attending with a broken foot is Rich Barlow.

Al Ianarelli checked in as did Bud Harlan, not pictured.)  New is a case made for this missing child’s bust  that came out of evidence.  The new building will hold a mock cell with old style jail doors we have stored, along with other heavy equipment.

We will go from three large rooms and three storage rooms to one-third more space and we have enough stuff to fill it.  It is a great project and my contribution since being on the road with Jim is to interview deputies about the history of the department. I spent my time interviewing Rich Barlow, yesterday.

A recent donation to the archive was business cards and a shield that once belonged to  Hell’s Angel Berdoo. The Angels have changed their image from the old days.  When my husband was a detective, he arrested Sonny Barger and confiscated his stolen motorcycle and put it into evidence at the County Garage Impound Yard. The way it worked, when someone came to pick up their vehicle, he  took the elevator down to the garage, the civilian clerk  would ask for their  release order, then he would open the locked  gates to drive the vehicle out. Sonny, out on bail, with a friend, went to pick up his vehicle. He had no release. The friend distracted the clerk and Sonny got  into the yard rolled his motorcycle into the elevator and went out with it through the building. My husband couldn’t make his case without the evidence and Sonny went free.  The clerk, of course, was not a cop.
On the way home I stopped at a Costco to buy some batteries and refill on cheaper gas, at $3.93.  Murphys price is $4.29. I found some beautiful U.S. wild caught cod and bought it, figuring my air conditioning would keep it cool enough to get home. Well, long story short, my newly cleaned truck smells like fish; I had to poach the whole package when I crawled through the door at about 6:30 p.m. I can’t possibly eat all that fish.  I’ll have to be creative and invite company over. I had six messages on my phone. One an emergency call from a friend who was in an accident. It took me two hours to locate him. He was so drugged he was practically incoherent, one arm in a sling, and a whip-lash collar. His car totaled.  Another cold beer night.

ALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFF'S ARCHIVE ASSOCIATION

Since my gypsy lifestyle developed, I have been unable to properly serve as President of the Alameda County Sheriff's Archive Association, a project that I care deeply about. Bill Rhodes was elected to replace me and what a breath of fresh air. Enthusiasm, a no non-sense, get-the-job-done, attitude. I was amazed at the wonderful changes in the facility he has accomplished in a few short months. 

Bill, right with Al Iannarelli, discussing a project with Gary Lindsay and Rich Barlow.

Gary is our Media expert. Ianarelli, the author of three books, is invaluable for organizing career books. Bud Harlow, (not pictured) has undertaken to have our Old Santa Rita Jail Doors sandblasted and refurbished.
Rich was interested in knowing if the Archive contains any copies of  The Rap Sheet, a newsletter published by the Deputy Sheriff's Association during the 1970's. We have none that I'm aware of. So, another plea. If anyone knows where copies of The Rap Sheet are hiding, please consider donating them to the Archive.
We had an interesting story surface. A retired deputy with a bunch of interesting old clippings and artifacts from his career stored in his garage had a fire. He immediately realized how endangered those materials were and brought them to the archive. Another danger was cited by my cousin/friend Richard Cardoza.
A neighbor of his who built the Bay Bridge had photos, and memorabilia by the box full that was tossed out by his kids when he died. And pictures his Highway Patrolman neighbor accumulated over a lifetime, huge black and white photos of his early career in Contra Costa County, were likewise tossed. DON'T DO IT. Find a museum and donate before tossing. They are history.
Over the past years, when I attended archive meetings, I  stayed overnight with my cousin, Terri Cardoza from Danville.

She and Richard kindly provided me Bed and Breakfast and made my service to the archive possible. She feeds me and the neighbors rabbit, and a half dozen feral cats she has had fixed, plus four of her own. I am grateful for HER service, and donations to the Archive.

I will still attend meetings when I'm in town, and I intend to continue to do interviews for the archive.

ALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFFS ARCHIVE

Above is the molded likeness of a young girl who was murdered and no one reported her missing. It took detectives months of searching to find out who she was and who killed her. Her sad story is part of the Archive.

 The Alameda County Sheriffs Archive is run by volunteers. Last Tuesday, we had Vic Agapalo, an expert on Police Olympics, Donna Boyer, who knows EVERYONE in the department and can identify people in pictures for us. Al Ianarelli, a published writer, who organizes career books for us, Jim Knudsen, also a master book maker and historian, Gary Lindsey jails expert and archive coordinator, and myself. A talented crew. In our workroom above, we have the old neon sign that once hung at Eden Township Substation in Hayward that Bud Harlan, who was absent Tuesday, had refurbished for us.

Donna was NOT identifying the above gents who were once incarcerated at San Quentin. In the 1920's and 1930's most men wore hats. Thus someone decided that every man should have his mug shot taken wearing a hat. Those that didn't have a hat were given one, whether it fit properly or not. His crime and sentence were handwritten on the front of his picture.

While crime was mostly the enterprise of men, a few women were active such as this fancy dame whose specialty was GUN MOLL.

And this SHORT CHANGE ARTIST.
In the books, an occasional woman was arrested mostly for killing her husband (who probably mistreated her) or for prostitution, which was one of the only jobs open to her that paid decent money. The jail history reflected society then,  just as it does today.Its an interesting place.

 Working Deputy, Bill Rhodes, stopped by to make sure we all knew about the ACSO/DSA 2010 Reunion he has planned for many months to be held at he Nugget Hotel/Casino in Sparks, Nevada Friday Oct. 8th through Sunday, Oct. 10. Many pictures and artifacts from the archive will be on display at this event. Reservations can be made online at www.acsodsa.org and clicking on the Nugget Hotel Casino link.
 

ON BECOMING A BLOGAMATIC

At one time I worked as a feature writer/journalist, took decent pictures of people and events of interest and enjoyed it very much, plus,  I got paid for it. Now I call myself a "blogamatic". I photograph everything I do as though the whole world might be interested in my road trip from Mendocino County to Alameda County, the sculpture I saw at the Solar Living Center in Hopland, or that I had lunch at Mimi's in Dublin. I blame and thank my partner, Jimmy the Rat,  for my addiction to blogging. Life is more fun this way, and I tend to keep in touch with people more than I used to.

I've visited the Solar Living Center several times in the past though I didn't stop this time.  Finding an artistic use for rusty metal  makes an eye-catching attraction on Highway 101 at Hopland. . If you've never gone, the center has fascinating features, including prescription bottle bathroom doors, trees growing through cars, a solar fountain that kids can operate, a straw bale building which uses no air conditioning or heating to keep the temperature comfortable. Its all about sustainability, positioning, the sun and breezes. A solar power plant, electric vehicle recharging stations, sewage treatment, natural fertilizers, all organic fruits and vegetables... the whole place is fascinating. Classes in solar installation and other sustainable practices are available. Visitors are always welcome, just drive in. You will never look at the earth in quite the same way.

My friends are a core part of my life. Joan Dailey is just a face to you but to me she is a great mother, grandmother, teacher, and friend. We trade book titles so fast and furiously, I'll probably never get to read them all.  We fondly share memories of raising kids together. Joan is a cancer survivor and taught me about her appreciation and changed perspective on life after cancer. I hadn't seen Joan in five years when we went off to see a male strip show in Tahoe, totally out of character for Joan. I guess I was always the wild one.

Faye Gebo, my high school buddy and her wonderful partner, Dave Goodwin,  always welcome me for a nights stay when I'm in the Bay Area. Faye and I lived in the same apartment complex after marriage; we bought houses in the same neighborhood until the military caused our paths to diverge. Dave and I discuss how to make the world a better place as we harangue the banks that borrow money from the Federal Reserve at one-half a percent then buy treasury bonds at 3 percent with OUR money, instead of providing loans to consumers with it.  We learn from each other about dealing with aging parents and the task of becoming the older generation.  Can we reduce lifes inconsequentials, our addiction to materialism  and make our time count? Friends are stimulating.

I left the archive to have lunch with my cousin, Terri Cardoza who is a best friend as well as a cousin. She is, always helping others, neighbors, former in-laws, me, you name it. She volunteers for animal rescue and has taken in, surgically altered, and fed innumerable strays. She taught me that stray cats are territorial. You can't adopt them all but you can alter them;  they keep and defend their territory preventing new strays from coming in. It provides a more stable population with less disease and less litters in your own neighborhood.

Life is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings. .

WEST COAST WAR

I volunteer for the Alameda County Sheriff's Archive, and when I arrived at Santa Rita on Thursday, I found the book The West Coast Goes To War by Don De Nevi. It was donated by Jay Friberg.
Deputy Marc Lakner , retired, was present, and he donated a piece from the Berlin Wall that was given to him by a relative who was once stationed at Checkpoint Charlie.
The Sheriff's Office has been described as a "semi military organization." Veterans are given five preferential points on exams to enter and promote through the ranks. Many veterans serve in the department, only now they are Viet Nam or Iraqi vets. Since we haven't had a war on American soil since the Civil War, I was surprised at the title of this book until I opened the pages and realized it was an apt title. Not the killing, bombing and bullets we see visited upon civilian populations that all war brings in the occupation, but a war even so, in stark contrast to today's conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Civilians volunteered to man watch towers to spot airplanes all over the Bay Area. Signage like those above were made, paid for and erected by civilians.
My husband lamented the taking of the Japanese as he watched half his friends from his high school basketball team be deported to concentration camps. It was personal ugliness. The evacuations were handled by the Sheriff's Department in Alameda County. I interviewed one Deputy, now deceased, who was part of that. The record is in our archive.
The Japanese family above were required to report to the Sheriff's Department and every car carrying a Japanese person was stopped and searched when traveling over the Bay Area Bridges.
People bought bonds to support the war; canteens were organized for soldiers returning or leaving. Dances were held for them. Women went to city hall and wrapped bandages for the war effort. They had victory gardens and rationing of sugar, gas, and other needed war materials. There were blackouts and curfews and radio silence to be obeyed and enforced by Sheriff's deputies. They covered the patrol cars headlamps with a black cloth that barely allowed them to see the road they were driving on. Production jobs, making bullets, ship building and so on were taken over by women. Many were married women who did it for the cause, and then returned to family duties after the war. (An interesting black note here, only white women were provided with child care while working the war industry. Women of color had to arrange their own child care.)
An escape route was built across the mountain tops of California in the event of bombings and there were various skirmishes in American territory, (subs, air breeches, one firing on a West Coast fort, and an altercation in Alaska)
For all of its support, let us never forget, war is about killing people.

Alameda County Sheriff's Archive Association and Escapees

This very authentic Public Works produced sign was installed on the freeway next to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin during a time, long ago, when the old facility was "leaking" prisoners. They had 150 escapes in one year. In defense of the County Sheriff, the facility was an old, falling down leftover from Camp Shoemaker-the old barracks, in fact, and it was no match for the determined inmate of 1969. The sign was erected by "unknowns," the local newspaper was alerted by "unknowns. The paper had the sign photographed and published it. The poor put-upon jail commander had it hastily removed within hours of its installation and then it disappeared, but not completely. It finally made its way to the Archive two years ago. One thing about cops, they have an unflagging sense of humor. I've witnessed that humor many times over the last 18 years at the Archive. The Alameda County Sheriff's Archive is a treasure trove of wonderful records, photos and memorabilia of all kinds-and, yes, many humorous tales.

FAYE GEBO, DAVE GOODWIN, GREAT FRIENDSHIPS

Happiness gathers around great souls like sunshine gathers in a meadow. Faye and Dave are great souls. In High School, I always felt honored to be spoken to by beautiful, popular, outgoing, Faye. It wasn't until we were young marrieds that our true friendship bloomed and I came to respect what a wonderful woman Faye was. Hard working and employed all of her married life, while I had the leisure to pursue rug-making, crafts with my children, and afternoon card parties. Faye's middle name is "patience or tolerance." Her only daughter grew into a strong, independent, woman. Celeste didn't fall far from the tree.
Our paths separated many times, but we always maintained that connection. For awhile, Faye volunteered for me at the Alameda County Sheriff's Archive Association. Now, we have the opportunity to just have fun. I treasure the times we get together. And Dave is the perfect match for Faye. Both of them are taking care of an aging parent, with love and dedication.
Thanks for being there and occasionally giggling with me until we wet our pants. (Dave was the designated driver and never complained.)
We take care of our health, we lay up money, we make our roof tight but the best property of all is our friends. Thanks!