Pond, California

My fondest and most memorable moments in life all start in a place forever imbedded in my soul as home. This place I call home is a small country town called Pond. Pond is located in Kern County California, right in the heart of the beautiful golden San Joaquin Valley. Kern County is known for its bountiful agricultural contributions and Pond is no exception. Pond is responsible for an enormous agribusiness economy; contributing large shares of grapes, almonds, cotton, and alfalfa just to name some of the larger crops grown in my hometown. This is very dear to me because farming has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. There is also an old general store in Pond, the only store for miles, and it has been there for as long as even my grandfather can remember. Another one of the few attributes of my hometown is its small country schoolhouse. Although my hometown is very small in size, the memories that were made there are absolutely immeasurable.

Just driving through Pond, one would probably not realize that it even exists. There are no city limit signs, and no actual defined boundaries other than which school district you are assigned to. Pond has more dirt roads than it does paved roads; and there is nothing but empty barren fields in the winter and large fruitful crops in the spring for as far as you can see. Agriculture in the area is responsible for almost all the employment of Pond. I can remember working in the cotton fields from the time that I was just eight years of age. I remember how I just hated getting up in the mornings as a child and having to chop down weeds in the cotton fields for eight to ten hours in the blistering hot California sun. I now look back on it and realize how important it actually was in making me the person I am today. At the time, the only enjoyment that I had to look foreword to every day was the companionship of the other kids my age, usually the children of migrant workers, who were also forced to go out every morning and work the fields. I now look back on these experiences and realize that my character and values today strongly reflect upon the life experiences that I gained from working those fields. Working in the fields of Pond is only just one of many other reasons that I believe my hometown is the grates place on earth.

There is an old general store that sits on the corner of one of the very few paved streets of my hometown. This store has a lot of history and nostalgia. It has been there since 1894 and has served the community of Pond as the only store for miles around. There is a family atmosphere with Pond Mercantile that cannot be found in any city convenience store. Some of the community’s people have depended on the store in times of need as the only source of food that they had when times would get tough. I have known the owners of Pond Mercantile since I was just a child and I cannot remember them ever turning away a family in need. They would set up credit accounts for people in need out of pure belief in the common good and decency of our towns’ people to be good for their money when they got back on their feet. You will not find that kind support and good will in too many other places if at all anymore. I have many memories of my father or grandfather stopping by the store and the owners giving me a soda pop or a candy bar, or sometimes both, just out of sure kindness and appreciation of my family’s support of their business. These are memories that cannot be replaced or even recreated anywhere else except for in Pond, California.

Lastly, there is Pond school. Pond school is probably the dearest and most memorable part of my childhood. Pond school accommodates grades Kindergarten through eighth and I attended every one of them. I can still to this day name every one of my teachers, faculty members, my principal, and bus drivers that I ever had during my attendance at Pond school. There were less than 100 total students that attended Pond School, which made the classrooms very small and allowed a lot of one on one teacher interaction with us. I pretty much consider all my classmates that I grew up with as family. My eighth grade graduating class was only fourteen students and I can still to this day call any one of them up on the phone; and talk to them just like we were brothers or sisters; even despite the fact that I have not seen some of them for as long as ten years now. These are the kind of things that make Pond California the greatest town in the world.

I love my hometown with a passion that can only be fulfilled by someday returning. I am now a member of the Unite States Air Force and regretfully my duties keep me from raising my son in my hometown of Pond California. This is really an unfortunate circumstance because he is missing out on all the life experiences and joys that can only be found in small town life such as that in my hometown of Pond California.

Harry W

Submitted: Monday 23rd February 2004, 11:54 PM

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