[Amerigomag]

There is a typo in Mr. Hanson's article. His bike rides were in southeastern Fresno County. There are few paved roads in southwestern Fresno County.

Mr. Hanson's observations are accurate and repeatable.

One anecdote: Of all the incorporated municipalities in southeastern Fresno County, the one town with the huevos to proclaim "Merry Christmas" on the festive municipal banners gracing its light poles is Parlier.

[Ron C.]

Over 45 years ago I was the district lineman for the Southern Pacific railroad - my 'district' was the line from Fresno to Modesto... but, I also had the 'west side' line too. So I became mighty familiar with the territory. Unfortunately today it is wildly different in those parts from what it was back then.

A tidbit about those days - I was given the job of going to all of the trainmen phone booths (round cement with a peaked roof and a wooden door) along the tracks, to take out the old Western Electric wall phones in them, and take them to the dump... then replace them with a new dial phone in a wooden box nearby.

I ~could~ have stored those phones and sold them 50 years later for a fortune. But I had no idea then, that they would ever possibly be worth what they are today.