Pomona

When I was a kid we used to go to what is now Raging Waters and what is now called Bonelli Park. Back then Frank Bonelli Park was called either Puddistone or PuddINGstone lake, and Raging Waters (without all the slides) was simply either "Puddistone" or Puddingstone.

We always called it Puddingstone, but lately I've heard it called Puddistone (without the ING in the middle). Does anybody know which name is right or why they called it this?

I Was Just Informed By A Good Friend That The Coco Palms In Pomona Was Having There First Ever New Years Eve Party. Now In Case You Don't Know Where The Coco Palms Is, It Is The Restaurant That You See On The Side Of The Hill On Genisha Hills On Fairplex Drive Just Off The 10 Freeway.

Today a Haunted tour takes place at the FearPlex, and if you want to learn about some of the real horrid and horrific crimes of the past in the Inland Empire this is the place to do it. What you are about to read is real, it is true, and to most of the public it is unknown. Get ready for an assault on the senses.

***The following story has some racial epitaphs that are in today's society frowned upon. But they are a part of history and court record and writing another word in there place would be to deny the importance of the cases, men and trials that followed.

The Inland Empire of 100 years ago was not exactly your southern State where Racial divide was still the norm well into the 1990's, but for a black man and a Japanese immigrant it might have seemed like it and the scales of justice were definitely against them and their families.....The two were shot to death in separate incidents at the hands of white men and in the subsequent trials, Juries found the two killers innocent of there deaths even though there was plenty of proof against them.

I am sure that most of you know who Howard Hughes was....builder of the Spruce Goose, the largest plane to fly but just once and never fly again, and to die a deranged man ravaged by a condition so severe that he was afraid of his own shadow or any human contact.

Howard Hughes was indeed one of those individuals that made his mark on the 20 th century....In LA, Howard Hughes Parkway and Hughes Aircraft make his name immortal.

But few people know of his plan to take over the Pomona Fairgrounds and turn the grounds into a giant Aerospace Center.....In 1951 his representatives approached the board of directors at the fairgrounds tying to formulate and finalize a deal that would have ended the LA County's Fair's run at Pomona.

With the Fair opening shortly in September, I thought it fitting to write about one of the Fairplexs great exhibits....Ever since I was a kid I would spend hours walking around, standing or dreaming about building a model railroad just like this....I would eventually build several models, the last one in 2005, and it is strictly an indoor set....But I never got around to designing my dream garden rail road....Fortunally, the Fairplex Garden railroad, after several years of neglect in the 70's has been fully restored and I can still dream on.

What follows is the History of the Fairplex Garden Railroad History
The railroad began in 1924 by the founder Mr. Hennan Howard and his brother who were members of the Pomona Model Yacht Club......A single Pacific Electric Railway 1200 interurban model ran around the Army Corps of Engineers' Puddingstone Reservoir Exhibit during that year's Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona......The train model was supposed to promote the dam, which had just been built, but onlookers could care less about the dam....They were more interested in the train.....The exhibit later was moved to a tent, and in 1935 to its outdoor location.....The railroad was sold in 1958 to Mr. & Mrs. Herman Templin.....After the death of Mr. Templin, just before the fair opened in 1968, Mrs. Templin, with the help of her daughter Suzanne and Mr. John Huie, kept the railroad running, but could not fix bridges that were cracked by years of weather and abuse, nor lay new track to replace sections ripped out for one reason or another.....In 1970, the Los Angeles County Fair took ownership of the railroad, and Mr. John Huie, under an agreement with fair management, kept the railroad maintained and running through 1996.