Fowler Visit: February

This trip was planned to be our (second) Fish or Cut Bait determiner. We need a place to live and the only place that seemed at all possible to accommodate us is the Buddhist Church. We had not had much luck connecting with anyone from that organization. The church president did not return phone calls and does not do email. Not much to go on in terms of even learning if the facility really was feasible for our housing and/or venue needs.

Julie and I drove to Fowler on Friday February 18. It was a storm-ish day and reports predicted rain all day. However skies were beautiful and dynamic but we didn’t have too much rain to contend with! First we went to explore Del Rey. Stopped into the school office shortly after school let out. We found Dena, the woman Ashley W had been connecting with via email. The principal was in a closed door meeting with no predicted end time. But Dena took a few minutes in the midst of a busy office to answer some questions for us. She recommended going directly to the Sanger School District to really make any headway regarding the Del Rey School facility. (The Sanger Superintendent of Schools just won a nation award for his work!) She said that whenever anything happens in town usually the school, the Boys &; Girls Club and the local church all work together to make it happen. We walked and drove around town a bit. We both were intrigued by a big covered open air area that looked like it was for produce storage or maybe packing work area. It looked like a business/space that was no longer active and it was in an interesting location in relation to the town.

We drove over to Sanger to see what we could learn there. We stopped in to the Chamber of Commerce and talked with a very helpful and informed woman there. We collected various pamphlets and written materials. It was raining and dusk and there wasn’t anything in particular we could do so we called it a night—checked-in, had dinner, rested in preparation for our very busy Saturday.

Saturday we met with Ricky to see the Fowler Improvement Association hall. Ricky manages the building because he lives across the street. And I was reminded about advise we were given by Sandie—everyone is always a little late in Fowler because it just takes a few minutes to get anywhere in town. So people don’t leave until the time they are supposed to be there. We waited for Ricky who had forgotten about us, but it just took him a few minutes to get from wherever he was to meet us at the FIA Hall. It’s a beautiful meeting hall with a kitchen on a residential street. The FIA is like the local Women’s Club and possibly just celebrated it’s centennial.

Then great things began to happen. Before I left home on Friday morning I’d gotten a telephone message from a man named George from the Buddhist Church of Fowler. He had been instructed to get in touch with me and he’d heard we were having a meeting at the library at noon on Saturday so he’d look for us there. I called him back and asked if we could meet him at 11 instead and he said, “Sure—I’m over at the church all day.” Which was fascinating because every time we’ve ever been by the Buddhist Church it’s completely unpopulated, like a ghost town. So we agreed to meet at the Buddhist Church at 11.

When we got there, the place was filled with people and activity.  They were preparing for the Food Bazaar to happen the next day.  We found George Teraoka and met with him in the office. He is 89 and lived in Fowler most of his life.  He grows boysenberries on his farm.  He’s mechanically inclined, internet savvy and a practicing Buddhist, occasionally teaching Dharma class.  George told us his story—the broad outline, anyway.  He entered an internment camp in Arkansas on his 21^st birthday.  While he was there he began to learn what Buddhism is really about-- he was uninterested in it before. When he left that place he settled in St. Louis for some years and met his wife while there.  Eventually he returned to Fowler to help on the family farm and has remained here since.

As we talked about our project we mentioned that we were a bit stymied since we had not yet found housing for our residency.  “Well,” he said, “I don’t see why you couldn’t live here.”  I almost fell out of my chair.  We talked some more then George walked us through the whole “campus” and introduced us to lots of people and once in awhile he’d say, This would be a principle person (for our project).

We had to run off to our story circle at the library but before we left the folks in the main building kitchen made us plates for lunch: sticky rice, tiny weeners, and I can’t remember what else but it was delicious and much needed by that time.

We had a story circle at the library and were joined by about a dozen folks.  Most of them are what I have come to consider “the usuals--” long time residents with generational connections to the town.  There was a family of “newcomers” too—I think a somewhat mixed family.  They’d moved to town in 2002.  Here’s who was there:  Gus Del Toro and his wife Chris Ripley (newcomers), some young people that I think are related to them or friends of their kids: Brenna A., Amanda C. Also, Clara Bedrosian Bousain (her brothers own National Raisin), Marie Gonsalves, Arpie, Jackie Johnson & Sally S. her caretaker, Elaine Roy & her daughter Annalisa & grandaughter Samantha Tyler and  Astine Z.

There was a lot of talk of how things used to be- so many of these women spent their entire lives in Fowler.  Marie had written about her life story so that Julie could take it home with her—a handwritten page in a ziplock baggie talking about her family’s Spanish heritage, how she married her high school sweetheart, and more.    Everyone mentioned the old high school building—it was beautiful, it was replaced with ugly buildings and maybe it wasn’t even as unsafe as they were told because it was so hard to tear it down.  (This is an oft told Fowler topic.  Artist rendering of the old high school building is on display in the McDonalds.)

The “newcomers” love Fowler, too.  Gus used to drive by on the freeway and tell himself, someday I am going to live in Fowler!  But there were never any homes for sale or rent.  In the 90s the Bedrosian family sold some of their vineyard land to developer RJ Hill and new homes were built.  Gus bought one.  Some of the old timers complained that newcomers don’t appreciate the town but use it as a bedroom then do everything else in Fresno—shop, work, send their kids to school.  Gus and Chris however said they do as much locally as they can—that’s why they moved here.  The schools are great. 

We ended the meeting with thoughts about Next Steps.  When we mentioned that it was not a for-sure thing that we would be doing the play in Fowler, because we were having trouble arranging housing, Astine seemed like she pulled back a bit from participating.  She didn’t want to be in the photo we took.  Hard to say what was going on with her. 

After this story circle we visited Don and Marylyn Wilson at their farm out on Lincoln Avenue, not too far from the Masumoto Farm.  They are an older couple that we found because a Cornerstone board member was college roommates with Don’s cousin, David Ehlers.  David lived in Fowler till age 11 then his family moved to Fresno.  He lives in Orinda now (near SF) but he still visits with the Wilsons and another Fowler cousin, too.  The Wilsons welcomed us into their home on the farm—their son does the farming now.  Don’s family came to Fowler from Scotland and his father or grandfather was the beloved doctor in Fowler for many years.  Marylyn is a longtime member of the FIA (Fowler Improvement Association), a women’s club.  At one time she was president of the FIA and there was a controversial political question going on—a developer wanted to build and open a casino on Manning Avenue, in the south, more industrial side of town.  Fowler is historically resistant to any kind of growth, but this casino was being considered – I assume because it could bring revenue to the city.  Marylyn planned an FIA event to discuss both sides of this issue and there was a lot of outcry and hullaballoo that she would actually think there was an “in favor” side to present. 

[ Turns out that they did build the casino!  Here is the second act of that story.   And here is the third act. ]

The Wilsons were lovely and shared their story that includes moving away from Fowler for many years.  They lived in Alaska for awhile.

        

After we left the Wilsons we drove by The Worship Centre.  Ashley had been trying to have a conversation with the pastor there or an assistant pastor, but they were not terribly responsive.  Almost everyone in town mentions the Worship Centre when they hear we’re doing a play.  The city has a lot of their big events there.  We didn’t immediately find a pastor and we didn’t really think that space would be helpful to us in any particular way.  The congregation is largely not from Fowler plus the building is in a part of Fowler that feels like it’s on the outskirts of town.

On Sunday Julie and I had a reservation to attend the Japanese-American Citizens League Day of Remembrance event in Fresno.  It was a brunch with an awards presentation and Mas Masumoto was one of the honorees.  However, we were now much more eager to attend the Food Bazaar at the Buddhist Church of Fowler.  There were table set up to fill the inside of the Social Hall.  George paid our tickets to get a lunch plate:  delicious bbq chicken, rice, slaw, lots of things on that plate!  Additionally they were selling desserts, more side dishes, & raffle tickets.  We bought more food and a bunch of raffle tickets.  We ate with George who break from working the room pouring tea from a big pot.  We met Karen who works for the city and a number of other folks—George introduced us to many people.  Later the mayor David Cardenas joined us.  (He only recently was named Mayor.  He’d been on the city council and the previous mayor, Jim Simonian, stepped down to be a councilmember.  He’d been mayor for a long time.) David was very enthusiastic about a Fowler community play.  He praised the character of the town and referred briefly to his history there as his family emigrated from Mexico when he was a boy.    Soon his beautiful wife Anna joined us and was great to talk with even as she was anxious to get her husband moving toward the door.  Julie and I won a raffle prize—tangerines and a box of cranberry juice drink. 

The whole experience of the Food Bazaar was the most warm and welcome time either of us had experienced in Fowler so far.  Everyone was very interesting and very comfortable and having a good time being social and eating a lot of delicious food. 

Things that didn’t happen on this trip:

We never did get to see inside the Grange Hall which we were pursuing as a possible performance or rehearsal venue or maybe even housing space.  We’ve been told by other folks that the building is unusable due to disrepair from lack of use. 

Neither the priest at St. Gregory’s or the parish council president David got back to us about a conversation or a visit.

But we were quite thrilled with the prospect of living at the Buddhist church as well as a partnership that would include the Japanese & Buddhist perspective.  We already were feeling its influence on us imagining that the play could feature a Buddhist point of view.