Chamber of Commerce Market Night

Rootin’, Tootin’ Good!

Maybe you’re craving a sweet slice of cinnamon raisin bread with a nutty, whole grain taste. Perhaps you’ve got a hankering for two jumbo chili dogs. How about a Wild West old-fashioned soda flavored with black cherry or orange cream?

You and your neighbors in the San Gorgonio Pass can make new friends and pick up the latest bargains every Tuesday at Market Night. The event, which runs through August 17th, is sponsored by the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce. The good times at Noble Creek Community Park, 650 W. Oak Valley Parkway, run from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Carl Thornton and his daughter Natalie, 10, came from Cabazon for a recent Market Night. Thornton, with a bag of Kettle Corn in his hand, stood in line with his daughter, who had her eye on a fresh-whipped smoothie. A 1981 graduate of Beaumont High School, Thornton often runs into old friends at Market Night and looks forward to the spontaneous reunions.
“You find out what your friends have been up to,” he said. “And everyone is so friendly at Market Night. I would advise people to come check it out. It’s good family fun.”

Some browse a line-up of venders offering new purses, disappearing ink or Hi-Bounce Stretch Balls for baseball, basketball and soccer. Others check out booths with fresh, organic produce. Visitors to Market Night are serenaded by the Blues Deluxe band, which plays such all-time favorites as “Stormy Monday,” “Crossroads” and “Red House.”

As Market Night vendor and supporter David Grube says about his old-fashioned sodas, “It’s rootin’, tootin’ good!”

Silver Screen memories

“Movies at the Park” harkens back to the good old days when people in Beaumont bundled up the family and headed for the Cherry Pass Drive-In. In the 1950s and 1960s, cars filled with kids in their pajamas headed for the tiny town’s favorite place for a night out. (The drive-in was located on a big patch of land where Stater Bros. and Applebee’s are now.)

Bundled up and ready to go

Mayor Brian De Forge remembers his mom and dad making popcorn, gathering up the family of seven and heading down Sixth Street to watch a movie under the stars. Often, they would spread a blanket out on the ground near a movie speaker. In those days, people would roll down their car window, remove a speaker from a pole, attach the speaker to the glass and adjust the volume. In the days of double features and cartoons, restless youngsters could scamper off to a swing set near the oversized screen and play. Eventually, the Cherry Pass Drive-In went the way of most drive-ins and was torn down as times changed.

Yesterday, once more!

That long-ago era of family fun still thrives in modern-day Beaumont. Every Tuesday night this summer through August 17th, the Beaumont-Cherry Valley Recreation and Park District presents “Movies in the Park” at Noble Creek Regional Park. On Tuesday, July 6th, the movie “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” delighted an audience of young and old in an amphitheater setting. The 2009 animated film is based on a beloved children’s book about the town of “Chewandswallow.” In the movie, a young inventor dreams of improving everyone’s life and finally food falls from the sky like rain. On next Tuesday, July 13th, the movie is “Blue Hawaii” starring Elvis Presley. After that, it’s back to cartoons.

So, if you’re looking for a fun way to spend an evening with the kids, the Beaumont Blogger recommends a starry night out at the movies. Bring a blanket and lawn chair and some marshmallows for roasting in the fire pit, and enjoy some old-fashioned fun for a new experience! The event is co-sponsored by ChurchForFamily in Beaumont. A $1 per family donation is requested.

Lonely Vigil

Tattered and soot-stained from wartime, Old Glory keeps a lonely vigil inside a custom oak display case. The stars and stripes from World War II are located at the south entrance to the Beaumont Civic Center. Day after day, a procession files right past the flag, slowly and inexorably. They’re headed inside City Hall to pull a building permit, take out a business license or pay their sewer bill. But few know the true story behind the flag that flew proudly over the U.S.S. Beaumont while it gathered meteorological data, patrolled the sea lanes and supported land operations in the Pacific.

Proud legacy

The onetime yacht was pressed into duty during the war. Its polished, wooden decks bristled with .50-caliber guns instead of well-dressed passengers. During its many voyages, smokestacks on board belched thick, black smoke. Along the way, faint traces of gray soot coated the flag, which bore 48 stars that symbolized the number of states earlier in our history.

In 1946, only a year after the U.S. S. Beaumont ended wartime operations, the Navy wrote Beaumont officials asking whether they wanted to display the ship’s battle colors. City officials proudly accepted the offer and preparations got under way for displaying the flag. Ken Smith of Wildwood Cabinets made the custom display case, which came with wheels. Jerry Casey of Beaumont Glass got credit for the framing job. Sandi Miller of Miller Enterprises did the tapestry work. During the 1980s, the Exchange Club of the San Gorgonio Pass recognized those who helped make the exhibit possible. Inside the display case are black and white photos of the U.S.S. Beaumont and historical documentation about the ship’s role in WWII. On April 9, 1946, the 11th Naval District wrote to the city of Beaumont and saluted the U.S.S. Beaumont as a large gunboat that “carried the name of your city into battle in the war zones.”

Honoring the flag

So, the next time you’re in City Hall, please take a moment to glance at Old Glory. And with the Fourth of July coming up, let’s all pay tribute to a living symbol of Beaumont’s history—our stars and stripes forever!

The Right Combination

The big vault door almost beckons as you walk into Beaumont Civic Center and spot the safe lodged in the north wall near the glass double doors. The combination dial and heavy metal door with gold leaf lettering bring to mind safecracking scenes from old Hollywood movies.
Have you ever wondered what’s inside the old Cary Safe and what’s it doing in the middle of a well-traveled public hallway? The dial is frozen, and the combination was lost decades ago. Even so, this is one safe that Geraldo Rivera won’t need to crack.

Mystery solved

This is a mystery with an answer. Geraldo, who came up nearly empty-handed years ago when he cracked Al Capone’s safe on live TV, would come up short again. Capone’s safe had some dirt and a few empty bottles; the safe inside the Civic Center is just the vault door. There is nothing behind it, except a small bit of wall space.

Few people know that little secret in small-town Beaumont, yet they keep trying in vain to open the safe; children and adults stop in the hallway, glance around, reach for the combination dial, tug on the handle, and hope for the best.

Unlocking history

Actually, Beaumont displays the door because it’s a piece of local history and a bit of Americana. The venerable Cary Safe Co. was located in Buffalo, N. Y. around 1900 and made safes for companies all across the country. Today, collecting, restoring and trying to open the old safes is a big hobby with a wide following on the Internet.

The history of this safe began in 1928 when today’s Civic Center opened as Beaumont High School. The plans included a very secure concrete vault room, further fortified by a heavy door manufactured by the Cary Safe Co. For decades, the vault room and its heavy door remained hidden away in the Finance Department. Several years ago during some remodeling, the vault room was torn out to create more work area. But city officials couldn’t part with the old safe door. So in keeping with a city that loves its past, Beaumont had the vault door displayed for everyone to see. When Beaumont celebrates its centennial in 2012, the old Cary Safe will be part of the many pieces of history that tell the story of our hometown.

Putting their stamp on Beaumont

Beneath our feet is a marvelous piece of hometown history—that humble, well-trodden concrete sidewalk. Kids play on it and ride their bikes. Adults walk and jog on it for exercise. Fido tugs at his leash. But how often do we pause and appreciate our sidewalks? Sure, once in a while we sneak a peek when we hear the echo of that old saying: “Step on a crack, break your mother’s back!”

Now, if you’ve got a few moments and want to see how hard-working laborers put their “stamp” on our city decades ago, stroll on over to the Beaumont Unified School District’s headquarters (formerly Beaumont City Hall.) If you look at the sidewalks in front of 500 Grace Ave., you’ll see smooth concrete poured and floated during 1929—the same year the stock market crashed and America plunged into the Great Depression.

Today, more than 80 years later, you’ll see nary a crack or bulge in that concrete. The sidewalks have remained unscathed through decades of weather and spidery tree roots and generations of people scuffing their feet. Today, we admire such craftsmanship. And if we ever forget, those long ago artisans left us a little reminder etched deeply and proudly into the cement: “Osborn Company 1929 Contractor.”

By the way, do you know something about Osborn Company and the men who created those sidewalks? If you do, please contact the Beaumont Blogger and we’ll do a little more research.