Letters to the Editor 2-27-14

A festival worth remembering
Editor:   
“I’ve labored long and hard for bread,
for honor and for riches,
But on my corns too long you’ve tread,
you fine-haired sons of bitches.”
— Black Bart, the Po8-
“Here I lay me down to sleep,
to wait the coming morrow,
Perhaps success perhaps defeat,
and ever lasting sorrow.
Let come what will, I’ll try it on,
my condition can’t be worse,
But if there’s money in the box,
it’s munny in my purse.”
— Black Bart, the Po8
Black Bart, known as the Boulevardier Bandit, whose given name was Charles E. Boles and whose chosen alias was Charles Bolton, was one of the most prolific and famous outlaws of the old west. Between the years of 1875-1883, this poetic, gentleman bandit robbed 28 Wells Fargo stage coaches up and down the coast of California, several of them in and around the town of Cloverdale. He pulled these off all by himself. He never once fired a shot in anger nor injured a single victim. He refused to rob any passengers on those stage coaches.
During one of these holdups, a lady of standing who happened to be riding as a passenger in this particular stage coach, tossed her purse out of the window for him to take, but instead Black Bart picked her purse up off of the ground, dusted it off and handed it back to her. He apologized to the lady and told her, “It’s Wells Fargo that I am robbing here ma’am, not the passengers of this stage.”
Black Bart was also a poet and would leave his poetry next to the empty lock boxes that he had taken from his various stage robberies for people to find at a later date.  I have included two of his poems for you to read at the beginning of this article.
Everybody out there loves those classic outlaws of our old western American history. These legendary figures represent Americana at its very best. They are akin to the European pirates of old.  Names like Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp and Buffalo Bill Cody are just a few of them. But keep in mind that these famous figures were themselves, quite brutal and responsible for killing many people in their time. Not so for Black Bart. As a matter of fact, when Black Bart did finally get himself caught, he may very well have been the only classic outlaw to be released from jail early on good behavior. Sentenced to six years at San Quentin, Bart only served four of those years before being released.
Once upon a time, Cloverdale had garnered for itself an almost mythical identity with the holding of its annual Black Bart Festival every May.  People came from all over to attend his wonderful event.  They absolutely loved it.  To this day, I know people living on the East Coast as well as in Europe and Canada who would fly in to town to attend this unique and classic celebration of one of the most prolific characters of old west Americana.  
I have already interviewed dozens of local residents living here in town about this festival of ours and they ll loved it, young and old alike.  Everybody wishes that we still   held the festival here.  They all want it to return to our town.
Today we call it a May Harvest Festival or some such generic nonsense, just like all those other similar festivals held in all those other towns across America around the same time.  This of course means that our town has no identity, yet again.  I have done a lot of research into the outlaw, Black Bart and he really is a wonderfully rich and unique character from our very own, old west.  I would ask this town’s naysayers to please do the same.
I believe our town should bring back the Black Bart Festival that we had created for ourselves in the first place.  Not only would it help our local economy and bring some fantastic old west-style entertainment back to our town again but it would return some of our lost identity to us as a community as well.  Thank you for listening and please do your research on this gentleman bandit before choosing to pass judgment on this brilliant event that our town invented for itself to celebrate.
Michael Seelau,
Cloverdale
Let us be safe
Editor:   
It is not surprising that more people are not struck on the roadways at night. It is not always the fault of the driver. Investigating such incidents many things need to be taken into consideration and be part of the police department’s and the newspaper’s reporting of the incident. One of the items I note that is missing in almost every newspaper report are the factors that may have contributed to the pedestrian accidents at night, the conditions such as lighting in the area, color of clothing, etc.  Dark clothing cannot be seen clearly at night because of lighting and background, such as asphalt roadways. These are often the main causes of pedestrians being struck at night.
This is what the California Drivers Handbook says: “At night, make yourself more visible by:
Wearing white, light, or reflective material clothing.
Carry a flashlight.”
Another recommendation is to walk facing traffic when walking along a roadway and do not walk or jog in the roadway at anytime. Use the sidewalks always when they are available.
As pedestrians let us be safe.
Rod Persons,
Cloverdale
Parade organizers send their thanks
Editor:   
The 122nd Citrus Fair Parade was held in grand fashion and a little “mist” could not dampen the enthusiasm of the participants or the large crowd attending.  Grand Marshalls Val and Neena Hanchett, accompanied by three grandchildren, were thrilled to lead the way. This parade is a real community event that could not happen without community involvement!
The Citrus Fair Parade Committee extends its thanks to the great crowd that attended and all of those who participated in the parade.  A special thanks to those behind the scene who are invaluable in assuring the parade’s success: The Reuser Family, the City of Cloverdale, the Cloverdale Police Department, Cloverdale Public Works Department, Cloverdale Citrus Fair Staff, Brian Elliott and Eagle Productions, Cloverdale Eagle Tech, the Reveille, Cloverdale Unified School District, Mc Connell Chevrolet-Chrysler/Jeep-Fiat, Tayman Park Golf Course, Cloverdale Ace Hardware, Volvo Rents, Cloverdale Arts Alliance, Plank Coffee, Sharon Wiseman for the Kiddie Pet Parade, Jonie Sciaini for the equestrians, Theresa Smith, who sang our National Anthem, Cloverdale Kiwanis Club, The Ratto Group, Citrus Fair Board, Division Leaders Frank and Karen Crivello, Joe and Karen Devine and Ed and Chris Bowen, Ulises Valdez and Son, Al Delsid’s street closing volunteers Ethan Flick, Will Layfield, Terry Morgan, Don Green, Jonathan Cambra and Bob Taylor, the Citrus Fair Committee and once again, the voice of our parade, Lee Menicucci, a fabulous job well done!
Doug Newton,
Citrus Fair Parade committee
Cloverdale in the news
Editor:   
On Thursday, Feb. 13, there was an 8-10 minute segment about Cloverdale on the PBS NewsHour. It featured interviews with our mayor, the head of the water district, and the owner of the Bear Republic Brewery. The subject was the drought, but Cloverdale looked pretty good in the way we’ve been dealing with it. Not a word did I see in this week’s Reveille. Mentioned were the pig-cam story and a piece on CNN, which may have actually been confused by Paula Wrenn’s informant with the PBS spot. In any case, we had a nice chunk of exposure last week. But…aren’t there any PBS viewers in this town?
Patricia Kraegel,
Cloverdale