Red Bluff's
Historic Pothole Preservation Act
This Act was authored with the intent of preserving the irreplaceable landmarks
that pepper the historic street of Breckenridge in Red Bluff.
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A Little Known Law...
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I am so pleased that this clause was grandfathered in, exempting Breckenridge from
any road restorations whatsoever. These potholes are the same ones we enjoyed
back in the 70's. Because of the Red Bluff Historians' foresight to include this street,
we can be assured that our children will experience almost the same jolt in the
backseat that we did as kids. I say "almost" because we did not have car-seats as
children. Actually, most kids didn't even wear their seat belts back then. It was
quite common to see children sporting large goose-eggs on their heads, or as our
knowledgeable hometown physicians called them, "Breckenridge Knots."
Because of the sentiment that is tied to these potholes and the rugged charm that
they add to our city, we say a big "Thank You!" to local historians for recognizing
that the more things stay the same, the more we need to keep them from changing.
Did that last sentence hurt your brain?
I'm sure you've seen this historic playground for children on Rio Street...
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I am really interested in this small playground for children.
The Kraft family was quite a generous one, giving Red Bluff the Herbert Kraft Free
Library, a clubhouse for women, and this playground...
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While not as urgent as the pothole
preservation efforts, I suggest that this
playground be restored into a grassy
picnic area for families to enjoy.
There are plans to place newer
playground equipment in the Red Bluff
River Park. Perhaps the older slide,
swings, jungle gym worm, and
stagecoach can be placed here...
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The Kraft Family was generous indeed
and we should put this area to use!
If someone plans a restoration of this
playground, I hope that the entryway and
the fence that surrounds it are left intact.
Right now, it looks really depressing, like a
cemetery. I wonder why it was
abandoned. Maybe the children of the
town had done something evil and needed
to be punished? (sounds like a scary
movie!) If you have a theory,
that's always interesting.
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Hmm, potholes, libraries, and playgrounds...I think that covers it for this week,
enough of the town history lesson!
Because I love my town, I tend to rant about these things.
This may also stem from the large number of Breckenridge Knots I received as a child.
Actually, those knots might explain quite a lot...
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Thankfully, the Herbert Kraft Library has not
suffered the same fate as the playground.
Because the city didn't wish to use it as a library, it
was acquired and restored by the House of
Design. Looking around on their website, you can
see the appreciation and love that the owners
have for this historic building.
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I remember visiting the library as a child
and was saddened to see the city leave it
vacant for so long.
It will be nice to visit it again and show my
children the place where I fell in
love with books.
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Here's a photo of the
Kraft Mansion, located on Rio Street.
Built in 1860, it was renovated in
1988. The Kraft Mansion is Red
Bluff's oldest existing residence.
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