Recently in Around Pomona Category

I met Candelario Mendoza, the Pomona educator and school board member who died Tuesday at age 89, only once.

That was two years ago at an event at Mountain Meadows Golf Course. The trim Mendoza was resplendent in a white suit, friendly and full of energy as we spoke.

He asked if I'd read Matt Garcia's "A World of Its Own," a history of immigrants in the Southern California citrus industry before World War II, in which he was quoted. When I said I hadn't, he left -- he lived practically across the street -- and came back a few minutes later with a copy for me.

His vigor lulled me into thinking there was no rush in writing about him. I had hopes of one day sitting down with him for a piece on his very long history in Pomona, specifically about his years as a disc jockey and as emcee for dances at Pomona's fondly remembered Rainbow Gardens night club, about which he's quoted in "Land of a Thousand Dances," a history of Latino music in L.A.

Well, that history has all been documented -- besides the two books, Mendoza was hardly a stranger to Bulletin and Progress-Bulletin readers over the years -- and yet I'm sorry other news and history pieces kept getting in the way of my writing about him.

I'm sure Mendoza would have had a lot to teach me.

Because of vacation, I was absent from last night's Pomona council meeting. Too bad, but then again, if it was anything like the last two, with protesters inside and outside the chambers, it's probably just as well.

There was a period where I arranged vacations specifically to avoid missing Pomona and Ontario meetings; in fact, my attendance record was as good, or even better, than most of the officials'. Then I realized this was stupid.

At Saturday's Pomona Information Fair, I said hello to Councilwoman Paula Lantz at the City Council booth and was given my very own official City of Pomona Mayor's Office pencil.

"For taking accurate notes," Lantz said with a smile. Hey, I'll take whatever help I can.

Photographer Richard Nunez was there with spending money from the Goddess of Pomona blogger. He dipped into the stash to buy me a hot dog and a Pepsi -- wasn't that nice? -- and then paid me a compliment, of sorts.

"Do you have a tapeworm in your stomach? I read about how you're always eating at restaurants," Nunez said. "I thought, this guy must be huge" -- he held his arms out in a giant bubble -- "but you're not."

It's all about portion control, Mr. Nunez. At least, I always thought so...

In a blow to the campaign of Norma Torres for a state Assembly seat, the powerful Mix Bowl Cafe in Pomona has unveiled its endorsement of rival Maurice Ayala, allowing him to post one of his signs out in front of the restaurant.

"Ayala for Assembly/A Name You Can Trust," the sign reads. This is like the Jim Hahn/Kenneth Hahn approach -- run on your father's name. (Ruben Ayala was a longtime state senator from Chino.)

Maurice Ayala introduced himself to me at Mix Bowl a couple of months ago, so my guess is he's probably a regular who persuaded the restaurant to let him post a sign.

Still, Mix Bowl's coveted endorsement could spell trouble for Torres. Hmm. Wonder if Donahoo's Chicken has weighed in yet?

Marilyn Varney writes:

"I noticed this picture on eBay for " '20s snapshot photo Honeyville in Pomona, CA." Could Honeyville really have existed in Pomona? Have you heard of this in your past research? I know you have learned many interesting things about this nice city and I wanted to pass along this information to you."

Honeyville is a new one on me but judging from the photo it was a roadside farm stand, maybe on a road like Holt or Mission or Foothill used by pre-freeway travelers.

There used to be orange juice stands too, an idea that used to strike me (born in the soda era) as ridiculous until it dawned on me that back then, fresh-squeezed OJ was probably a novelty, and a refreshing one at that.

I like the Pomona Concert Band and always try to give them a plug. Their annual spring concert takes place at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Palomares Community Center, 499 E. Arrow Highway.

If memory serves, that's between Palomares Adobe and the Lawn Bowling court, two of Pomona's more unusual attractions.

The concert's theme is "From Sea to Shining Sea." "We will feature music from across various seas and bodies of water, as well as across America," conductor Linda Taylor tells me in an e-mail. "Councilman Stephen Atchley will be the emcee and will do some of his magic tricks for the audience, as well."

Music and magic? Yowsah.

Stay tuned for the July 3 start of the Concert Band's summer concert series at Ganesha Park.

As you may have seen, today's column is about Jon Provost, who played Timmy on "Lassie" from 1957 to 1964 and lived in Pomona from 1954 to 1959. You can visit his website and/or buy his autobiography, "Timmy's in the Well."

A few local tidbits were squeezed out of the column.

Provost had a role in "Country Girl" with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly. Here's what Provost wrote in his book concerning his activities on April 1, 1955, shortly after he turned 5:

"I made a personal appearance at the United Artists Theater in Pomona where 'Country Girl' was playing. According to the Pomona Progress Bulletin, I ate five cans of Camp Fire Girls peanuts that night."

(Because he was a child, for a lot of stories he has to rely on published accounts or adults' memories.)

He debuted on "Lassie" on Sept. 8, 1957. At first he and his family had to go next door to their neighbors' to watch the show because the Provosts didn't have a TV.

With "Lassie," his personal appearances picked up. Within weeks of his debut, he was in the Pomona Christmas Parade -- although unlike certain people (ahem), he wasn't grand marshal -- and the Rose Parade, and he also made an appearance with Lassie on "The Jack Benny Show."

In 1959 he was in the May Day Parade in Cucamonga and weeks later, in perhaps a marginally more electrifying event, he was a guest at Disneyland for the dedication of the Matterhorn, Monorail and Submarine Voyage attractions. While there, he had the privilege (?) of sitting on Vice President Richard Nixon's lap during the parade.

Not bad for a kid from Pomona.

Anyone want to share memories of the "Lassie" show or of Provost himself?

One more anecdote from "The Diamond Mine," the radio book mentioned in Friday's blog. In 1968, Gerry Whitehead a.k.a. Jim Diamond was doing promos for KACE-AM (1570) in Riverside. The station launched an R&B show three nights per week called "The Soul Kitchen."

Among the advertisers: John and David's Soul City of Records in Pomona.

Whitehead recorded the promo. After a few seconds of Jr. Walker and the All-Stars' "Shotgun," his voiceover went like this:

"For the best in rhythm and blues, go to John and David's Soul City of Records. If they don't have it, they'll get it for you. That's John and David's Soul City of Records, 1110 South Garey Avenue in Pomona!"

Have mercy!

I like the era and the music, and I know Pomona's black population was booming in the late 1960s. The idea of a black-operated store named John and David's Soul City of Records really catches my fancy. It sounds very Tarantino-esque. I'll have to drive by 11th and Garey and see what's there now, but I can't believe it will be as interesting.

* Don J. sent me a Google map view of 1110 S. Garey. Soul City appears to have been located in a house.

In writing recently about the Funny Business comic book store relocating to 896 N. Garey Ave. from a few blocks north, the Goddess of Pomona blog got a bit poetic:

"Of course, in a perfect Pomona, Funny Business would be located in a respectable space downtown. But as we all know, Pomona is no Gotham City. Batman doesn't ever seem to come here to make things right."

Not so fast, Goddess!

My friend Pat read that blog post and sent me a note, as follows:

"The Caped Crusader DID come to Pomona. Adam West, in full Batman costume, cut the ribbon to open the Indian Hill Mall when it got its roof in '82.

"God help me for knowing this, but I was there and a young enough dork to find it quite thrilling! And shaking his gloved gauntlet was also a kick."

Batman hasn't been seen here lately, but perhaps business has been keeping him in Gotham (and Hollywood). Maybe if Chief Joe Romero got a Bat-Signal for the police HQ's roof...

Some of you may have seen the full-page feature in the Home section of the L.A. Times on Feb. 21, "Where nature truly ruled," about an influential, "wild" rather than manicured garden "tucked into a tough Pomona neighborhood."

Well, that article caused some of us to sit up and ask where the heck this garden is. Or was, since it's on the way out -- its tenant, John Greenlee, deciding to give up the lease after 30 years.

The Goddess of Pomona blog got on the case and tracked down the location. An open house was arranged. And so, on Feb. 29 (sorry for the delay), the bamboo gate was opened and, in shifts, a few dozen of us entered.

It's a quarter-acre in size, with winding flagstone and dirt paths that make the property seem larger. There is bamboo everywhere, a boulder-lined sunken garden, a pond, two small houses obscured by overgrown plantings, orange trees and native grasses. It's watered now and then but not mown or shaped.

Birds chirped in the trees and other than the satellite dishes visible on the neighboring properties, the place seemed like an oasis. It was peaceful and serene.

You can see photos and a writeup at the Goddess' blog.

Since the garden is closed, I won't give the location, other than to say it's across the street from the Pomona Cemetery. "A tough Pomona neighborhood"? Well, an unlikely one, perhaps, but at least it's quiet.

Renee Shoopman left this comment on an old posting recently, and while I'm pleased she was catching up on my "pies past" entry, I don't think anyone is likely to see her question there. So here it is:

"I have lived and worked in Pomona off and on for many years and think parts of downtown are mystic. I knew and worked for former owners of the Mayfair lounge. There was a story about an escape tunnel that ran underground from the basement of the Mayfair building to somewhere by the railroad tracks. Used by bootlegers and cheating husbands. Has anyone ever heard this story?"

Anyone able to confirm or deny?

The rumor of tunnels under the streets, often for illicit purposes, seems to be common in various cities and I tend to be skeptical. However, I was impressed to learn from the Ontario Planning Department a couple of years back that there were tunnels under the buildings on the east side of Euclid Avenue, to aid in deliveries and, if memory serves, bank deposits. So maybe there was more going on underground that you'd think.

Courtesy of my mom, I have here a special 10-page section of the Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review of Nov. 11, 2007 about that city's newly restored Fox Theater.

It's quite a section, and for John Clifford and others who might be interested in getting one by mail, perhaps a call to the newspaper's circulation department would bear fruit. Either that, or maybe your mothers have copies saved for you too.

To summarize matters, the Spokane Fox opened in September 1931, just five months after Pomona's, and closed in 2000, just as Pomona's did (although movies stopped being shown here some years previously).

Spokane's Fox had 2,350 seats, compared to Pomona's 1,711. Spokane's construction budget was $1 million, Pomona's $300,000. Spokane's was called a "deluxe" Fox akin to those in St. Louis, Atlanta, Detroit and Beverly Hills. A vintage photo shows the theater's exterior looked remarkably like Pomona's, only with a really lame sign on top. At least we got Spokane beat on that.

The theater, now 1,636-1,727 seats, will be home to the Spokane Symphony, which bought the building for $3 million, as well as to opera, pop and dance performances and high school graduations. Pomona's, which will also lose a few seats from the original size for access reasons, will have pop and rock performances, movies and community events.

A new life for the Spokane Fox began when word came in 2000 that the theater might be razed for a parking lot. After fund-raising, work began in late 2005 and concluded last fall. Cost was $31 million, including a $4.5 million operating endowment. As of publication the total raised was $28.5 million. "More than 1,000 donors pitched in to the 'Save the Fox' campaign," the newspaper reported.

Pomona's restoration is said to be around $8 million, financed privately and with government tax credits, with additional restoration (chandeliers, a pipe organ and other flourishes) possible later with private fund-raising. The City Council bought the theater in January 2002 for $1.1 million and it was sold to private owners in December.

Our Fox is slated to reopen in December. Can't wait.

My favorite city turns 120 today. Funny, it doesn't look a day over...well, never mind.

Yes, it was on this date, Jan. 6, 1888, that Pomona was incorporated as a city, six days after voters went to the polls -- on New Year's Eve, no less -- to approve cityhood.

OK, 120 isn't typically a big milestone. But Mayor Norma wants to pump things up, and since she probably won't be here in five years, we're doing it now.

Just to play my part, I have my own pro-Pomona celebration planned; check this space next week for the kickoff.

By the way, here's a funny little historical fact. The Jan. 6, 1938 Progress-Bulletin reported that Pomona officials could not determine the date of incorporation. The city seal said only "Jan. 1888." Officials were planning a 50th anniversary celebration but didn't know when in January to have it.

Mayor Charles Short had sent a letter by airmail that very day to Sacramento asking for documentation because "all available records in Pomona, city files and old newspapers, failed to reveal a specific date." I don't know why they didn't just Google it.

The Jan. 11 Prog, which also reported the planned restoration of the Palomares Adobe, followed up with the correct date after "photostatic copies of the papers of incorporation" were dispatched to City Hall by the state. "Municipality Half-Century Old Jan. 6th," the day's top headline announced.

Since the 50th anniversary had passed -- in fact, it had occurred on the date of Short's letter -- the plans to par-tay were dropped.

"We are glad, however, to have this record for our municipal files," the mayor said.

Sounds like the "community disorganization" cited in Pomona's Youth and Family Master Plan isn't a new phenomenon.

This nice note arrived late last month from reader Lyn Williams and I've been remiss in not sharing it. What I appreciated most about it is that someone who thought I was kidding myself in seeing potential in downtown Pomona changed her tune after visiting. Here's what she had to say:

"I am writing in regards to your column entitled 'Brokers Sell Optimism in Pomona' that appeared in Wednesday’s 11-21-07 edition of the Daily Bulletin.

"As always, thank you for your entertaining column, and thank you for your time and consideration."

Wasn't that nice? She even toasted me. Thank you, Lyn. I think downtown Pomona is worth our attention, and I'm pleased you now agree. Onward to greatness in P-town!

One of the local blogs I read is produced by a woman who calls herself the Goddess of Pomona.

She's not especially political, but her Pomona-centric posts are easy reading and illuminating. Her themes include Lincoln Park loiterers, gardening, children's programs at the library, her husband's fight against mice in their house, the La Brea Bakery bread situation at Stater Bros. and her young son, whom she calls Mr. Big. She sometimes notices the same things around town that I notice, and sometimes notices things that pass me by.

We've exchanged a few friendly notes but haven't met, and I don't know anything about her other than her writing.

Toward the end of Monday's Pomona council meeting, the man next to me got my attention on behalf of the woman seated at the far end of the row. She met my gaze and swept her arm regally before her. I looked blankly. She swept her arm again. Suddenly things were clear.

It was the Goddess!

She was in jeans, not a toga, and she carried a purse and a bottle of water, not a basket of fruit. We chatted after the meeting. She wouldn't give her name, even for conversation purposes, but that's all right. I asked where Mr. Big was. Checking the clock, she said he was probably in bed.

Just think, a Goddess with a blog. If you live in Pomona, check it out sometime.

Today's entry could be called "The Day Ike Turner Almost Played Pomona." It happened like this.

In March 2004, Turner was booked to play the Yesteryears nightclub in downtown Pomona. Seeing his name on a poster in the club window was a real sight. I didn't go, I think because none of my friends could be persuaded to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer given how he'd treated Tina, even if he was also responsible for "Rocket 88," often called the first rock and roll record.

In a column later in the year, I mentioned Turner as being one of the few Hall of Famers to have played Pomona. A musician in one of that evening's warmup acts then informed me Turner was a no-show.

"He let 'em know a few days ahead of time he wouldn't be there and that he'd cashed the check," the musician told me.

I thought I'd better confirm the item before running with it, so I called the club owner. He was reluctant to say anything negative about Turner, noting correctly that most of the early blues and rock musicians were treated shabbily by record companies and promoters and cheated out of their earnings.

At this point I realized I wouldn't get an anecdote, a funny comment or, at this rate, even confirmation. So, thinking fast, I came up with an approach I'm still rather proud of.

"How about this," I said. "If I write in the newspaper that Ike Turner was paid in advance and didn't show up, would I be wrong?"

No, you wouldn't, he admitted.

Whew. That settled, I went with the Ike Turner story. Turner, as you may have heard, died Wednesday at age 76. Wherever his troubled spirit is supposed to go, may it show up.

Rather than take up column space with this, let me round up some of the reader reaction to my grand marshalship of Pomona's Christmas Parade:

Christopher Lee: "You were an excellent pick."

John Curtis: "I am disappointed that you went in costume. I think you should have looked like the guy in the paper, sans the balloon maybe. That is how your public knows you!!! I mean this in a nice way. Be David Allen and be proud of it. Your friend George Putnam certainly wasn't shy. When you ride in the Claremont parade some day, just use a little sun block, but please be yourself. Your audience loves you I think." [I was becoming swept up in this, until John's last two words. -- DA]

Tami Schumacher: "You are in the wrong parade. Need to start 'kissing up' to someone in Rancho for next year's Founder's Day Parade. Parade goes thru Victoria Gardens and you would probably get a good peek in the Victoria's Secret window while riding in a convertible. Also, Starbucks is nearby." [You know how to sell it, Tami. -- DA]

Derek Deason: "Well it's good to know you liked the Pomona Jaycees Christmas parade. I liked your 'reporter's oufit' too."

Mike Cicchese: "I only wish I could have been there to see you fulfilling your grand marshal duties. I love how you found out how far back the parade really went. Love it even more that they originally billed it the 56th, you found out it was really the 60th, and then when I click on the photo gallery from your blog, the caption says 54th." [Stay tuned for the 51st parade next year. -- DA]

Beth Brooks: "Did you hear about Santa's plight? Halfway through the parade the fire engine got a call and had to leave Santa on the curb! The kids in the area loved it! According to Santa, the police rescued him."

Joanne Dallas: "Anyone willing to pay $45 for a fedora in this day of baseball caps deserves the title of Grand Marshal. Good for you to get right into the role of tough reporter. We certainly need more investigative journalism today....and more men in real hats."

Mayor Norma Torres: "Enough about him!"

'Nuff said. Thanks for the comments, everyone. Add yours below, if you like.

If you want to read about my grand (or not so grand) marshalship, check today's print column and see a photo gallery of the parade. Saturday morning was partly cloudy and it didn't rain, which was a relief.

I didn't see much of the parade while I was in it, but since I was at the head of the 10 a.m. parade, that meant I was through before anyone else. I was driven back to the starting spot by 11 a.m., and so I walked a bit along Holt and saw some of the later entries.

There were the usual drill teams, marching bands and whatnot, and good for them. A few only-in-Pomona touches among the entries: lowrider cars cruising, day laborers on the march and, on horseback, a guy dressed as Zorro, cape and all.

I also saw a tae kwon do studio, which trailed a car with its trunk open. Every so often the kids would stop, two of them would go to the trunk, get a board and hold it up, and another student would kick it in half. Haaii-yahh!!

There seemed to be lots more people on the sidewalks than than there were when I was actually in the parade, blast their latecoming hides.

Seeing Holt from the sidewalks instead of through a car window, as I usually do, was enlightening. Did you know there's a tropical fish store? And next to it, Nu China Express, whose sign boasts "The best Chinese food in Pomona"? (Not that there's much competition.) Nu China's window and sidewalk signs show an amusing range, from cappuccino and donuts to menudo and tamales. I'll have to go in sometime for kung pao chicken, a cruller and a taco.

Or, um, not.

I spent Tuesday afternoon at the Pomona Public Library, giving myself eyestrain over the course of a couple of hours peering at microfilm copies of the Progress-Bulletin from the '40s to the '70s as I researched the Pomona Christmas Parade history for Friday's column.

Found some amusing and startling stuff. For one, the parade is older than the Jaycees ("56th annual") think it is. For another: the 1976 grand marshal was Donald Duck. I'm following in a grand tradition, folks.

In case you've forgotten, the parade is in three days: this Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, on East Holt Boulevard from Caswell to East End. Be there or spend the rest of your life regretting it.

On my drive home from the library, I stopped at a red light in Claremont alongside a sportscar presumably driven by a dentist. Its vanity plate: UFLOSS.

Continuing my selfless nocturnal work to redevelop downtown Pomona, I dreamed the other night that the Fox Theater was restored and that I, as an impresario, had booked an excellent night of entertainment.

Yes, Boris Karloff was going to perform onstage at the Fox, singing, dancing and telling stories.

I then woke up, and it instantly occurred to me that booking Karloff to play the Fox would be quite an achievement, given that the actor died in 1969. This may be why my career as an impresario never really took off.

My recent column on the impending demolition along Pomona's Second Street resulted in a reader e-mail that looks to be as long, if not longer, than the column that inspired it.

It's full of well-observed details from a childhood spent in Pomona. The author gave his name only as Keith. As it's too long to use in print, at least in full, here's the whole thing, lowercase typing and all:

"mr. allen,

"read your sunday missive on second street in pomona. you brought up the ghosts of my childhood; i am 53 and have lived in the southeastern corner of pomona all my life [cepting college at ou [oklahoma] ; graduated from garey high [that year was the first year minorities in the pomona school system outnumbered anglos; times have changed!]. also attended alcott [when it was one brick building and 2 rows of classrooms] elementary and was in the first 3-year class at simons jr. high. it was great having everything from desks to books brand new.

"i watched the mall being built. my mother worked in the orange belt emporium [2nd and garey, ne corner] . my mother was old school; she never had a driver's license; pomona in those days had a wonderful bus system, a cloverleaf pattern of 4 routes that canvassed the four corners of town, meeting on garey between second and third; i knew most of the bus drivers by name.

"keith"

Let's give Keith a round of applause, and maybe chip in to buy him some capital letters. If there's anything left to say, post away below, readers.

My colleague Jeff Malet found this online on Tuesday. It's from some outlet called Celebrity News Service. Wait for the local angle:

"Los Angeles, CA (CNS) -- Lindsay Lohan has embraced her clean and healthy lifestyle and is working it into her community service.

"Lindsay has not commented on her road to recovery and DUI punishment. She has nine more days left to serve her community."

According to other websites, Lohan was at the blood center from noon to 7 p.m. The lohangroupie.com site reports that she left carrying a book titled "Blood: An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce."

Just like I always say, all roads lead to Pomona -- even the road to recovery.

Recently, as part of my mission to eat or drink, or at least taste, all 144 items on the menu at Pomona's Mix Bowl Cafe, I ate joke.

Joke is a porridge. At Mix Bowl, it can be ordered with chicken, pork or shrimp. I got it with chicken. It actually wasn't bad.

My only regret is that I didn't spill any on myself. Because then I could have said, looking down at my sleeve in mock sorrow, "Looks like the joke's on me."

You may recall the comedy club that was announced as coming to downtown Pomona's Opera Garage building on Thomas near Third. As late as July, the Gerrymander was said to be opening in September. Well, the club is still coming, but obviously it's missed its target date.

I ran into Cathy Tessier, the club's landlord, at the Claremont Packinghouse the other morning -- neither of us was injured -- and I asked her about the club's status. She said getting an elevator up and running to the second-floor club was proving more difficult than expected. Apparently elevator repairmen are in such demand, they make plumbers and cable TV repairmen look speedy.

The club won't open until January, Tessier said.

Until then, looks like we'll have to continue to rely on the Pomona City Council for our improvisational humor.

I've visited Pomona's Second Street on a couple of occasions recently, which may be what inspired not one but two dreams the other night as your bleary-eyed blogger lay sleeping.

In the first, I happened to be downtown when I saw people converging on the Glass House nightclub. There was a rumor that the Rolling Stones were playing a rare club date there in just a few minutes. The event had been so hush-hush that, amazingly, tickets were still available.

My problem was, I had already paid $15 for a ticket to see the band She Wants Revenge (note: this is a real band but I've never heard their music) at another (note: nonexistent) club downtown that night. Did I want to waste that money by seeing the Rolling Stones instead?? Clearly I'm no more spontaneous in my dreams than I am in real life. Nevertheless, I was swept up in the crowd going into the Stones show. Alas, my dream ended before the concert could start.

In my second Second Street dream of the night, I was again downtown and was stunned to see that the Glass House exterior, and much of that block, was halfway through an extensive remodeling. How had I missed this? I was just down there a few days before!

From there I dropped into Magic Door Books, which was open, but completely bare inside, and freshly painted. The owners weren't in. A customer came in and asked me for help finding a certain section of books. I was going to show him but realized there were no books. I didn't know what to say. At this point I woke up.

What does all this mean? I guess the changes coming to Second Street have me excited but anxious. It's also possible I need to get out more. Say, to Euclid Avenue.

With time to kill before Monday's Pomona council meeting, I thought I'd try a south Pomona taqueria for dinner. But once I hit downtown I swung by the Pomona Fish Market, a take-out place at Third and Park streets.

I've always been curious about the market, which has a vintage neon sign (restored a few years back) and seems out of place in the neighborhood. But the view from my car always made me unsure if one could dine in, as the front window has big letters reading "Fish to Go."

Not to worry, the interior has seating for eight, plus an outdoor patio. My order was taken by a woman behind the supermarket-style display case, which was about half-stocked with fish on ice.

There's a limited menu of fried fish plates, such as sole, sand dabs, oysters and shrimp, served with fries and cole slaw and all priced under $7, as well as a couple of sandwiches. I got the catfish plate ($5.95). Well, the slaw was a bit dry, but the fries were acceptable and the fish, fried in a light coating of (I think) flour, wasn't bad at all. I'm not a fried fish guy, but if I were, I'd probably go again. The food's a darn sight better than Long John Silver's.

The Fish Market has been in Pomona for decades. In researching city character Urban Ziegler on Progress-Bulletin microfilm last summer at the library, I found an April 1, 1937 ad for the market, meaning it's at least 70 years old.

Prices included haddie, 35 cents a pound; cod, 20 cents a pound; sea bass, 29 cents a pound; and halibut, 25 cents a pound. The ad boasted: "An Exclusive Fish Market is the Best Place to Buy Fish." Oh, that snooty Pomona.

Reader Richard E. Nunez writes with an intriguing question:

"I have been trying to find out the name of the dog on the seal of Pomona. Nobody seems to know at City Hall. So if you could help me with this, that would be great. Thanks."

I wasn't aware the city seal even featured a dog, but by golly it does. View an image here.

Pomona with a dog turns out to be mythologically correct. An online search turned up the tome "Manual of Mythology" by Alexander Stuart Murray, in which the entry for Pomona reads: "Was goddess of garden fruits, and was represented wearing a wreath composed of such, or holding in her hand a horn of plenty full of them, with a dog by her side."

My understanding is that little is known about the Roman goddess Pomona, so perhaps her dog's name, if he/she had a name, is lost to history. That said, can any students of mythology shed any light on this?

Alternately, I suppose we could simply make up an appropriate name for a dog that would belong to Pomona the goddess/Pomona the city. How about Taco?

Resuming where we left off: Leaving Huntington Hardware, Pomona Mayor Norma Torres and I journeyed to Raspado X-press, which is located in a strip mall on Indian Hill Boulevard just north of Holt Avenue. The business is next to a bottled-water place and a couple of storefronts up from Mariscos Ensenada No. 5, which some of you may remember as the former Xochimilco restaurant.

Raspados are Mexican snocones topped with your choice of fruit. I counted 30 flavors on the board, and those can be combined, seemingly for no extra cost. I got banana and pineapple and the mayor had (if memory serves) mango and pineapple. This time I paid the tab, $6 total.

The raspados come in tall cups with fat straws. The ice wasn't crushed finely, so the routine became to pound the straw up and down in the ice, like a piledriver, to get some ready to drink. Torres said she spent a fair amount of time here last summer and that the ice had been better crushed on previous visits. Still, as a snocone fan from way back, I liked my drink, and the fresh fruit is a neat touch.

Raspado X-press also sells fresh juice drinks, fruit with chili powder and lime, licuados and smoothies, among other items. There are colorful photo blowups on the walls of several menu items. Some are a bit mysterious -- even Torres couldn't identify them -- but most look promising, and some look delicious.

"You'd never think there would be so much flavor in a rundown strip mall," Torres observed before we parted.

That's Pomona: always full of surprises.

Picking up where we left off Sunday: As Mayor Norma Torres drove me to the raspado place, heading east on Mission Boulevard, we approached AMA Donuts, which I pointed out was one of the earliest McDonald's, a fact she knew, of course. At Holt and Towne, we commented on the gleaming glass storefront of Santa Fe Outlets. She asked if I knew what it had been originally. "Tate Cadillac," I replied.

She had been telling me about Huntington Hardware, where she has bought glass doorknobs and other home-improvement items. When I pled ignorance on the place, she made a detour west on Holt to take me there. It's at Holt and Park avenues, an "HH" on the long storefront. I'd noticed those letters many times but had no idea what was inside.

Well! It's like Pomona's version of Restoration Hardware, full of antique-looking windows, doors, knockers, lamps and the like, all brand new. "They sell new things that look old," the mayor explained.

The general manager came over to help. "We've been in Pomona for 55 years," Daniel Herrera said. "Fifty years in this location. We started on Huntington Boulevard." That's a few blocks west, for you out-of-towners. Herrera continued: "We have another store in Huntington Beach. It's called Pomona Hardware. Just kidding. That's as good as the jokes get."

I laughed, so I'm not complaining. Wish I'd known about Huntington Hardware when I was writing my "Pomona A to Z" series -- it would've made a handy H.

Pleased to have introduced yours truly to Huntington Hardware, Torres said, referring to her husband: "Luis said there wouldn't be anything new I could show you." I'm flattered my knowledge of Pomona is considered so wide-ranging by those within the mayoral manse, but it always seems to me whatever I know is the proverbial mile wide and an inch deep.

That's enough for now. Let's pause here and come back Tuesday for those icy raspados. Gosh, talk about a cliffhanger!!

Pomona Mayor Norma Torres has been telling me since May that she was going to invite me out for a raspado, which is a Mexican snocone with fruit. As the months went by, and hot weather came and went, this appeared to be yet another politician's empty promise.

Until last week, when she invited me to lunch, with a raspado for dessert. Of course I accepted, having never been invited to lunch by a mayor before.

(Imagine if Ontario Mayor Paul Leon, who's on a major diet, invited me out for lunch. We'd probably eat trail mix.)

At Torres' suggestion we met at Sakura Ichi, the high-end sushi bar at Mission and Garey downtown. I've been there before, and it's pretty good. The ambience is even better -- this is a sharp lookin' place, very sleek.

Torres talked about her tour that morning of the Indian Hill Swap Meet, a collection of vendors that is probably worth a column someday, if the language barrier can be overcome. We touched on many other Pomona topics as well.

I had the sushi lunch combo and she ordered the chicken teriyaki. My chopstick skills aren't so good, but I can manage. The mayor ate with a fork.

She tried to pay but we split the tab at my insistence. Can't be in the mayor's debt, after all. Next, a raspado! Except first there was a detour to check out a Pomona business I'd never before investigated. More on that Monday.