Jim Bulls

Sep 2016 24

A Round About History Of St. La Salle School in Reedley

2016 Articles, Education, Hometown History, Jim Bulls, Reedley News

by Jim Bulls

St. John the Baptist De La Salle was born into a wealthy and noble family in Rheims, France. By age 16 he was named a canon of Rheims Cathedral and was ordained into priesthood by age 26. La Salle gave up a promising, and possibly brilliant, ecclesiastical career to take up a life filled with poverty, persecution, and contempt. He also became the educational genius of the seventeenth century and the founder of modern methods of teaching.

Aug 2016 20

Reedley History: Going to the Dogs

2016 Articles, Hometown History, Jim Bulls, Pets, Reedley News

by Jim Bulls

When I was a child, my experience with dogs was somewhat limited. We did have a dog on the farm in Texas, but he wasn’t considered a pet. Shep was a shepherd-mix, just a farm dog. He had work to do. He was the protector, announcing the arrival of people coming down the driveway and clearing out the occasional rattlesnake so it would be safe to go outside to play in the yard. When we left the farm to move to Pantex, Shep stayed behind to continue his dog duties.

Jul 2016 30

Reedley History: Yikes, Cats!

2016 Articles, Jim Bulls, Pets, Reedley News

by Jim Bulls

My first pets were little piglets out on the farm. Mom would rescue the runts rejected by the old sow and raise them in the kitchen. In those days, even the runt piglets were money in the bank when taken to the livestock auction.

May 2016 28

Reedley History: The Rebel and the Queen

2016 Articles, Hometown History, Jim Bulls, Reedley News

by Jim Bulls

This saga starts in the old Lincoln School back in 1949. Mr. Hank Rasmussen, the bank manager at Bank of America, had set up a teller’s booth in the hallway of Lincoln and Washington schools, offering savings accounts to the students in order to teach them responsibility and good banking habits. Remember this was an era when credit cards were in their infancy and an ATM was unheard of.

Apr 2016 23

How I Conned My Way Out of Bonehead English

2016 Articles, Education, Hometown History, Jim Bulls, Reedley News

by Jim Bulls

My friend Bruce was back from Vietnam and I was out of AIT, so we decided to go back to college. When we enrolled at Reedley College, we found that we both needed to take English A, and there was a new English teacher on staff. A little background here: English A is basic English for those with aspirations of transferring from junior college to a four-year college.

Mar 2016 19

Kings View Hospital: A Little History & Whole Lot of Memories

2016 Articles, Hometown History, Jim Bulls, Reedley News

by Jim Bulls

Kings View Hospital opened its doors on February 11, 1951. Located on 43 acres of farmland along the banks of the Kings River near Reedley, this was the second of three hospitals built by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). Arthur Jost was appointed as administrator.

Feb 2016 13

The Reedley Armory: Three Boys in the Guard

2016 Articles, Hometown History, Jim Bulls, Reedley News

by Jim Bulls

Before the outbreak of World War II, G Company of the 185th Infantry, 40th Division of the California Army National Guard was made up primarily of men from Parlier and Reedley. When it was time for drills, Army trucks would pick them up and take them into the Armory in Fresno for drills.

Jan 2016 16

Local Landmarks: Part 1 Immanuel Schools

2016 Articles, Education, Hometown History, Jim Bulls, Reedley News

by Jim Bulls

Whenever you enter Reedley, from whatever direction, there are a multitude of landmarks reminding you that this is your hometown. Over the next few months, I’m going to be writing about at least three local landmarks. Some of them have the (dubious) honor of appearing about the same time I came to Reedley, but more about those later. I’m going to start with Immanuel Schools.

Dec 2015 12

I Love A Parade: History of RHS Band Uniforms

2015 Articles, Education, Hometown History, Jim Bulls, Reedley News

by Jim Bulls

My first parade experience was during WWII in Fort Worth, Texas at P.T. Barnum’s circus. It was under the big top and the ringmaster shouted “Strike up the Band!” The parade was led by elephants ridden by beautiful girls wearing brightly colored head dresses of ostrich plumes. They were followed by other circus performers, wild animals and clowns. It was quite a sight.

Nov 2015 7

Libraries of Reedley

2015 Articles, Hometown History, Jim Bulls, Reedley News

by Jim Bulls

When asked to write this article, I pondered where to start and in which direction to go. I decided that I would start somewhere in the middle—the day I went to get my first library card to be exact.