This photo looks north, with Foothill Boulevard (Route 66) running east and west in the foreground. That’s the Virginia Dare Winery in the foreground and nothin’ but agriculture and mountains in the background. Reader James Edwards emailed me the photo after seeing the 1934 and ’46 photos of Upland on this blog. Some of the above property is now the Virginia Dare Winery Center, an office park that fronts Haven Avenue.
Wednesday’s column begins with a few final words about the 101-year-old whose funeral was last week. I also have some brief items about restaurants in Claremont and Rancho Cucamonga, and a reader’s response to my item about water waste.
Sunday’s column pays tribute to Besse Fogle, a Rancho Cucamonga woman who died the other day at 101. She operated old-time restaurants in Ontario and Pomona, where she knew Lucy and Desi and met Eisenhower and Patton. I got to know her the past three years.
Wednesday’s column starts with an update on the Rancho Cucamonga dive bar whose impending sale was reported here in October. After that I have three Claremont items, two Culture Corner items and news about Ontario’s spruced-up Christmas events this weekend.
A long-lived dive bar in an untrendy portion of Rancho Cucamonga is expected to close next month. Wednesday’s column pays tribute to Gilberto’s Lounge and owner Ken Gilbert.
Tuesday was a dark day for education as I was named principal for a day at Rancho Cucamonga High School. I write about the experience in Friday’s column.
Sunday’s column starts with news about the Rancho Cucamonga Public Library’s 20th anniversary, with a celebration Friday evening. (Yours truly will be there selling books.) Plus: items from around the valley.
Hamilton Family Brewery, which opened June 21 in Rancho Cucamonga as the city’s first craft brewer, required unusual sacrifices to become reality: The family in question sold their home and most of their possessions to raise money, then moved in with her folks. The story is my Wednesday column.
Above, Guido Sciortino makes a sandwich at his deli.
Sunday’s items column begins with an update on Guido Sciortino, who was inundated with customers after word got out that he was retiring. After that, I’ve got yet another “Mad Men” connection to the Inland Valley, this time in dialogue; news of two notable Pomona concerts; and a brief account of the Daily Bulletin’s team performance (in a word, lame) in last week’s Pomona Public Library Trivia Bee.
I got to spend some time with Guido’s Deli proprietor Guido Sciortino on Monday, watching him work, seeing him interact with customers and asking questions when no one was waiting. The sign says Guido’s Pizza but everybody calls it Guido’s or Guido’s Deli, since he hasn’t made a pizza in years — one of the quirks that made this story irresistible.
He’s retiring May 31 after some 57 years of serving customers at Guido’s and his earlier post at Santolucito’s. You can read about him in my Wednesday column.
Below, Sciortino talks to Anita Schroeder and her mother, Marian Michael, whom he’s known for decades. Schroeder was soon wiping away tears. Below that, Sciortino assembles a sandwich for a customer. At bottom, the Guido’s menu; click on the photo for a larger view.
Also, you can watch a short video of a customer interaction.
