Old Miners’ Days Parade Is Still Kickin’; Historical Society and Cowboy Gathering Take Top Honors for Floats

This year’s Old Miners’ Days Parade, in celebration of 60 years of Old Miners’ festivities, included 140 or so entries that marched, rolled and trotted down Big Bear Boulevard and, for the first time in five years, the Village L as well. Given the theme “60 Years ’n’ Still Kickin’,” the 14 local floats played with the kickin’ theme, though the Big Bear Cowboy Gathering took top honors in this respect, earning the Old Miners’ Award; the Big Bear Valley Historical Society won the Float Sweepstakes Award for best overall float for their entry, which also included burros and a wolf. The top civic float went to Dancers Anonymous, which represented the 65 dance students in the Big Bear Valley Recreation and Park District dance program. Best service club float was awarded to the flappers of the Chambermaids with their theme “over 60 and still kickin’”; a similar idea by the Kiwanis Club earned them a second place trophy. The Boy Scouts of America Troop #49 of the Big Bear Valley took top honors in the youth float category; their elaborate float, which was designed by the scouts, included canoes, boxcar racers, fishermen and a giant stuffed bear. This year’s parade (on August 2) also included the Lions Club with their water-shooting firetruck, the just-restored 1936 REO firetruck of the Big Bear City Fire Department (manned by Fire Chief Jeff Willis and County Supervisor Neil Derry), the return of Miss Clementine Keli Homan, Grand Marshall Chief Master Sergeant Noel Furniss, and the flyover of two F18 Hornets from the U.S. Navy. For a complete list of float winners, see our August 2 posting.

Grand Old Miners’ Days Parade Marches Down Big Bear Boulevard on Sunday; Road Closures to Begin at 11am on August 2

The Old Miners’ Days Parade is this Sunday in Big Bear Lake, in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Old Miners’ festivities—thus the theme, “60 Years ‘n’ Still Kickin’.” The parade starts at 12:30pm on August 2, and will begin at Summit Boulevard and, once on Big Bear Boulevard, will continue west toward the Village, then up Pine Knot Avenue and west down Village Drive, until wrapping at the Elks Lodge. This will be the first time since 2004 that the Old Miners’ Parade makes its way through the Village L. Parade co-chair Joe Haeckel tells KBHR that this year’s parade celebration is anticipated to be bigger and better, with the participation of more off-the-mountain bands, including the United States Marine Corps Band from Twentynine Palms, a number of local floats, and a U.S. Navy flyover of F-18 Hornets from Fallon, Nevada. Spectators are encouraged to line the parade route to cheer on  the participants, including Grand Marshall Chief Master Sergeant Noel Furniss, a Big Bear resident recently retired from 35 years of service with three branches of the military. The Village L and Big Bear Boulevard will be closed to all traffic, from China Garden (at the Summit Plaza) to the east and Pine Knot to the west, as of 11am on Sunday, so parade attendees should plan ahead for that. After the parade, parade units will disband at Bartlett Road and Paine Road in the Village, so access to these streets will not be available after the 12:30pm parade wraps. If participating in the Old Miners’ event, floats for judging need to be on Summit Boulevard at 10:30am; non-float participants should be lined up for the parade at 11am. Questions on Sunday’s parade can be directed to Neil Nickle at 585-8827 or Joe Haeckel at 760/809-2055.

Fawnskin’s 33rd Doo Dah Parade Includes Old Miners, Flatlanders and Poop Busters

Saturday’s 33rd annual Doo Dah Parade got off to a flying start with the flyover of four small airplanes, billed as the “Fawnskin Air Force” (which included the Grand Poobah, Wolfgirl, Incognito and Ricochet) and a procession of firetrucks, including those of the County Fire Department’s station #49 in Fawnskin, the Baldwin Lake Volunteer Fire Department’s new yellow truck, and the San Bernardino National Forest. This year’s event drew about 40 entries and though the ongoing water fight between the Moose Lodge and Lions Club was missed, the Doo Dah was still fun and wacky—and still included plenty of water guns and silly string and candy to the crowd along the North Shore on a hot and sunny morning. Trophies were awarded to the Chambermaids’ Flappers and Cow-pokes for Best Service Club entry, Best Kids went to those who entered as A Doo Dah Day, Best Overall title was given to Jonna Kemper on behalf of Hamilton Ranch Estates in an Old Miners-outfitted 1926 Model T, and proving that anything goes in the Doo Dah, the Moonridge Zoo’s Poop-Busters entry took home the trophy for Best Adult entry—perhaps due in part to the appearance of Rec & Park’s Reese Troublefield in a cameo as a big piece of, well, poop. Other entries and highlights of the Doo Dah Parade included 13-year-old Grand Marshall (and world-class mountaineer) Jordan Romero on his bike (before participating in the Multisport Competition immediately after the parade), the North Shore Improvement Agency’s Never-Marching Band, the Bear Valley Dandies Barbershop quartet singing along in a ’47 Dodge, the return of the “Flatlanders,” the equestrians of Camp Whittle, and a thorough representation of the Valley’s musicians, under the banner of the Local Working Musicians Union #69.

City of Big Bear Lake’s Planning Commissioners to Take Oath of Office Today, Before Reviewing Three Public Hearing Items

The Planning Commission of the City of Big Bear Lake meets for their regular meeting at 1:15pm in Hofert Hall today. This afternoon’s meeting will include a proclamation of appreciation for outgoing Commissioner Rick Hackney, and the swearing in of returning Commissioners Craig Smith and Richard Lambert and just-appointed Commissioner Jim DeGroot, each of whom will serve a four-year term. Today’s Public Hearing Items include a request by the Old Miners’ Association to hold a Thunder in Paradise gun fight re-enactment competition in August’s first weekend, in an event that will include vendor booths and alcohol; building-related items include a repair and renovation request for the former Queen of Siam restaurant, located atop Red Ant Hill at 40271 Big Bear Boulevard, and a proposal to expand the First Baptist Church by roughly 1,600 square feet for a total of nearly 9,900 square feet.

Update: Each of these items was approved.

B’s John Gorzik Takes People’s Choice in Old Miners’ Chili Cook-Off; Keli Homan to Do Second Round as Miss Clementine

The first of the Old Miners’ Days activities in this, the celebration’s 60th year, took place this weekend. Saturday’s Chili Cook-Off in the Village drew visitors and chili cooks from off the mountain, including Gene Bellar of Bakersfield who took the top cash prize of $500 for his first place batch of red chili; Jim LaTendresse and Mart Leitner took second and third places in the red category. Top green chili was cooked up by Steve Crawford (in first), Allene Macklin and Paul LaRoche. Steve Crawford also took first in the salsa category, making him eligible to compete in the Red, Green & Salsa at the International Chili Society’s world competition in West Virginia in October, according to Old Miners’ Mark “Chili” Gaines. Michelle McCoy of Michelle’s Café and Deli also took a number of top prizes, including the Perpetual Merchants’ Trophy (won in years past by the Collins’s Western Devil Barn Burners Chili), and Best First-Time Cook and Best Local Cook. Last year’s Best Local winners, the team of Sam’s Pirate Chili created by Van Sorrel of Sugarloaf, took home another win in the Best Booth category; second place booth honors went to both Bruce Pion’s Killer Chili and Kathy Hayes on behalf of First Mountain Bank. John Gorzik of B’s Backyard BarBQ beat out Greg Watkins of San Diego for this year’s People’s Choice honor; Watkins’s Watty’s Famous Ass Explosion Chili had won last year’s first place prize for red chili. The Old Miners’ Association also hosted the annual Miss Clementine contest this weekend, though the Sunday event did not draw the contestants as the Chili Cook-Off did. This year’s pageant was moved from the lakeside B’s Backyard BarBQ location to the Visitors Center parking lot in what was to be an eight-hour program. However, as Old Miners’ President Tony Sundvall tells KBHR, “There were no contestants for the Miss Clementine contest this year, so by default Keli Homan will be Miss Clementine again this year. She was there in costume to hand out the awards, but since there were no contestants, she gets to keep the sash.” Homan, now 18, was delighted to have been named Miss Clementine in 2008, telling KBHR, “I’ve been wanting to do this since I was 8!”

Planning Commission Update: Old Miners’ Events Granted Approval, Decision Held on 42-Unit Apartment Complex on Knickerbocker Road

The Old Miners’ Days Parade on Sunday, August 2 will resume its former route, given approval by the Planning Commission of the City of Big Bear Lake. The Old Miners’ Association’s request to extend the Old Miners’ parade through the Village was approved at the July 1 meeting of the Commission, so the parade will begin on Big Bear Boulevard at Summit Boulevard at 12:30pm, and will continue west and then travel up Pine Knot Avenue and west down Village Drive. Old Miners’ requests to hold this weekend’s Chili Cook-Off (on Saturday) and the Miss Clementine pageant (on Sunday) in the Bartlett parking lot in the Village were also approved, as was an unrelated Public Hearing Item to subdivide a 3.38 acre parcel at 209 N. Starvation Flats Road into four parcels. Not yet approved by the Commission was a proposal by Urban Housing Communities to construct a 42-unit affordable apartment complex on 2.6 acres at 737 and 773 Knickerbocker Road. The developer and city staff will incorporate changes requested by the Planning Commission for review on July 22; those modifications include a good tree management plan, adequate parking, a sidewalk along Knickerbocker, and more on-site storage. The developer will, in the meantime, hold a public meeting to discuss the affordable housing project; the community meeting regarding the Knickerbocker Road development will be held on Saturday, July 18 at 10am at the Knickerbocker Mansion.

60th Season of Old Miners’ Days Activities Start Next Weekend; Do You Want to Doo Dah?

The 60th annual Old Miners’ Days season gets underway with a summer-full of local events, starting next weekend with the Chili Cook-Off. The first parade of the season rolls through downtown Fawnskin on Saturday the 18th, and entries are still being welcomed for this, the 33rd annual Doo Dah Parade, which is said to have once been in the Guinness Book of World Records for shortest parade. The Doo Dah is always a fun affair and any and all amusing entries are welcome—cost to participate in the Doo Dah is just $10 and free for non-profits. This year’s Grand Marshall of the Doo Dah has just been named, and that is 12-year-old world-class mountaineer and Fawnskin resident Jordan Romero, who just so happens to be the grandson of parade judge, retired Judge Bob Drake. For more specifics on parade participation, see our story dated June 12; for Old Miners’ event specifics, click on “Big Bear Events” in the sidebar at right.

CSD Approves MOU With Big Bear City Professional Firefighters’ Association; Fire Department’s Iconic, 73-Year-Old Firetruck to Be Restored

The updated Memorandum of Understanding with the Big Bear City Professional Firefighters’ Association, which Fire Chief Jeff Willis said was “two months in the making,” went before the Board of Directors of the Community Services District for approval last night. CSD’s miscellaneous staff was, in April, granted a 2% cost of living increase for 2010, but will forego raises during their two-year agreement. The firefighters’ bargaining unit opted to include in their MOU a distribution of allotted cost-of-living funds in the form of stipends to firefighter/paramedics—a group which, per Willis, is on the lowest tier on the fire department’s pay scale, yet a position which requires the most frequent, recurring education. As proposed, the Firefighters’ Association collectively agreed that, in place of 2% COLA for all members, the 13 paramedics would receive a $250 per month stipend on top of their salary. CSD Director Marge McDonald, who also serves on the Fire Committee, said, “For eight years, I have given the fire department everything they’ve asked for, but I cannot justify that to the people who voted for me.” McDonald reasoned that, given difficult financial times for her constituents and the fact that CSD has not raised rates and, thereby, is not giving raises to other employees, she would not be voting in favor of the updated MOU. As explained by Chief Willis to the CSD Board, “The guys have never asked to be top-paid, they’ve just asked not to be bottom-paid. We’ve gone round and round on this in closed session.” On behalf of the association, Captain Brian Parham pointed out, “The highest priority was making sure the solvency of this district was maintained—and, Marge, you have given us everything.” Parham went on to thank Chief Willis for his “sternness and understanding” before the MOU went to a vote, which passed 3-1.
In other fire department news, Chief Willis approached the CSD Board with a proposal to spend up to $6,000 from the Big Bear City Fire Department’s vehicle repair budget on parts and labor to repair the 1936 REO firetruck, which off-duty firemen have spent “literally thousands of hours” restoring since the early ’80s. The truck, the first for the fire department, was purchased 73 years ago, with funds raised by the Peter Pan Club, prompting Willis to add, “It is a big part of our history, and Big Bear’s history.” CSD Directors were unanimous in their support and, should it be ready in time, County Supervisor Neil Derry and his family will ride the Big Bear City Fire Department’s 1936 firetruck in this year’s Old Miners’ Days Parade.

Bearly Speaking Toastmasters Win District Award for Third Consecutive Year

The Bearly Speaking Toastmasters Club is the talk of Toastmasters, if you will, as our local group has received the Chuck Weck Award for public relations and community outreach efforts—and this, out of more than 100 Toastmasters clubs in District 12, which covers San Bernardino, Riverside, and East Los Angeles Counties, and for the third year in a row. The Bearly Speaking Toastmasters Club earned the Chuck Weck Award, named for a past District 12 Governor, for their participation in community events, including Old Miners’ Days, the Spellathon at the library, and Big Bear Chamber of Commerce activities. And within our own Toastmasters group, E.T. Russell was honored as Toastmaster of the Year. Per President Steve Cain, “E.T. demonstrates her enthusiasm and support for the Toastmasters’ mission every day.” As a member of Toastmasters since 1983, Russell, now the local group’s V.P. of Public Relations, says, “I’m grateful for the communications techniques I’ve learned, and I still try to apply them in my everyday interactions.” Bearly Speaking Toastmasters, whose mission is to provide a supportive learning environment in which members can develop communication and leadership skills, meets at 6pm each first and third Tuesday (including tomorrow) at Boo Bears Restaurant in the Village. For more information about Bearly Speaking, call 866-8849.

Parade Entries Welcomed for This Summer’s Doo Dah and Old Miners’ Days Parades

The summer parade season is soon upon us, and it’s not too early to start thinking about participating in these community events, should you have a club or company that wants to get into the spirit of the 60th annual Old Miners’ Days celebration. First up is the July 18th Doo Dah Parade, which is always a fun affair in Fawnskin. Parade Director Lori Gardiner tells KBHR that anything goes in the three-block parade which, this year, enjoys its 33rd run through the North Shore community. In terms of what is being sought for Doo Dah entrants, Gardiner says, “Just amuse us—wild wigs, men in women’s bathing suits and anything that will get a chuckle.” The entry fee for the Doo Dah Parade is just $10 and free for non-profit groups. For more information, contact Lori Gardiner at 878-4220. Come August 2nd, the grand Old Miners’ Days Parade rolls down Big Bear Boulevard, from Summit to the Village, and will include a NAVY flyover from Fallon, Nevada, visiting bands (including the Twentynine Palms Marine Corps band) and local floats with this year’s theme, “60 Years ‘n Still Kickin’!” The Old Miners’ Days Association awards trophies in many categories, including best float design and best representation of theme. To participate in the Old Miners’ Days Parade, entry fee is $100 for business and commercial floats, and free to non-profit groups. Parade entry forms are available at OldMiners.org. And, this just in from Parade Co-chair Joe Haeckel, this year’s Grand Marshall of the Old Miners’ Days Parade will be Chief Master Sergeant Noel Furniss, who, in February, retired from military service, which included 34 years in three branches of the military.

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