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Farmington News
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From "Doc Alders, Farmington's Lone Eagle: Trains ran through Farmington in 1940. The Southern Pacific train station and the grain warehouse stood along the tracks as a significant albeit, less used part of the small town. Passenger trains were discontinued in 1932 and not as much wheat was shipped. 'IOOF' building dominated the town intersection with its Toda Bros' Store sign. Lewis and Jefferson Toda were the proprietors and Bill Toda had the butcher shop. Catercorner to Todas' store stood the Alders Union 76 station. The train station could be seen from the intersection and just across the tracks was a grain warehouse. Up the street eastward at First Street was the small Post Office. Bill Russell had the Soda Fountain and sundries store behind Toda's. The town was not booming but neither was the nation, still in the grip of the great recession. Farmington was a diminutive farm town. The school accommodated farm children from miles around. The recession was about to end. The nation was posed on the brink of war. In 1941, an ad appeared announcing that Lockheed had opened a recruiting office in Stockton. This did not escape the notice of Doc Alders with his keen interest in aviation. He went in to Stockton to apply and take the written examination. Soon he received word that he had been accepted to work on the Hudson assembly line in Burbank. He would leave Pete to run the service station. Doc's first job with Lockheed was installing the wings on the Hudson's. He spent the better part of his first year doing that. Then they put him on installing de-icers on the Hudson horizontal stabilizers. Therefore, he found himself living in Alhambra and working in Burbank with some time on his hands. He had no airplane since his Aeronca engine was torn down and the plane was in Farmington without an engine."

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Happy Birthday to Austin Silveira and Justin Silveira, Tuesday, November 22nd. Happy Birthday to my dear friend Nancy Frymire of Escalon on Tuesday, November 22nd.

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Farmington Elementary School will be on Thanksgiving break, Monday November 21st through Friday, November 25th.

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"Happy Thanksgiving!" everyone.

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I would still like to hear from you. Have you taken a trip? Have you had out of town visitors? Let me know of family birthdays, anniversaries and new arrivals to your family. Whatever you want to add to the Farmington News is welcome.

Please contact me if you have items for the Farmington News column. E-Mail me at farmingtonnews@gmail.com or phone 896-6697.