<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2Cr3Gd_1FST8pri00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2Cr3Gd_1FST8pri00" width="1024" height="768" ><figcaption>The Hanford stretch of 198. ▲</figcaption></figure>On Saturday, Sept. 19, the Carnegie Museum of Kings County opened its newest exhibit titled “Building Kings County: Part II.”The exhibit is a continuation of the exhibit’s first act, which opened earlier this year and focused on the origins of Kings County.However, this exhibit explores the ties that bind the County — the buildings, churches, highways, and businesses that Kings County residents grew up with.“To me, this one is about the history of connections, things that connect us,” said Rob Bentley, Carnegie Museum president.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3q6rIS_1FST8pri00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3q6rIS_1FST8pri00" width="1024" height="1365" ><figcaption>Fallout shelter sign and rations from Maccagno’s Bakery. ▲</figcaption></figure>Over 40 organizations, prominent local families and the Kings County Sheriff’s Office lent items for the exhibit.“We think a lot of people are going to come in and remember their own histories,” said Jack Schwartz, Carnegie Museum secretary.Several stories in the exhibit shed light on chapters of Kings County’s history that are scarcely talked about or forgotten.As traffic volumes increased and plans for NAS Lemoore advanced in the late 1950s, the state saw a need for a modern expressway, which would eventually become Highway 198.But planners routed the highway through 11th and 10th avenues in Hanford, which at the time was a historic Black neighborhood.Because of discriminatory housing practices, Black families in Hanford could effectively only buy property near Brown and Fourth streets. Over time, the neighborhood turned into a tight-knit community, full of Black-owned businesses and churches.That changed with the construction of Highway 198. With eminent domain, those properties left the hands of Black owners, who dispersed from the neighborhood they called home.This echoes a common practice at the time called “urban renewal,” where infrastructure projects were intentionally routed through largely Black neighborhoods that the government considered "blighted" or "slums.” <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1geyX0_1FST8pri00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1geyX0_1FST8pri00" width="1024" height="1365" ><figcaption>The menu sign that hung in&nbsp;Maccagno’s Bakery. ▲</figcaption></figure>Other parts of the exhibit might be more familiar to attendees: museum curators have sourced all manner of artifacts from some of Hanford’s most iconic cafes and restaurants.For those that remember buying apple pie from Peden’s Cafe for Thanksgiving, the exhibit displays the recipe to Peden’s iconic dish.“Five generations of my family have eaten at Peden’s,” Bentley said. The cafe opened in Hanford in 1928 and closed in 1997.An original sign from Star Restaurant, Hanford’s longest continuously operating restaurant, is hanging on the wall. Its original owners, who were Japanese, were sent to internment camps during World War II.Visitors can also reminisce about Maccagno’s Bakery’s rum cake and champagne dream cake while looking at the bakery’s menu sign and handwritten recipe cards.“I would love it if people who visit the museum can identify with some of the displays personally and be able to tell their families about their connections,” Schwartz said.The bakery, which closed in 2013, has an unexpected connection to the Cold War-era nuclear arms race — it was one of 15 fallout shelters in Hanford, with enough canned food stores too feed potential inhabitants for two weeks.The 24-hour Golden West Pancake House, which closed in 2004, was an important community gathering spot, frequented by law enforcement and local organizations like the Little League.“A lot of these restaurants, they opened up their community rooms,” Bentley said. “They welcomed people to come in.”It was an era of dining where most restaurants and cafes were locally owned, and in turn, they invested back in their community, Bentley said. It’s a far cry from today’s Hanford, which is dotted with national chains like Chipotle and McDonald's.But it’s that spirit of connection and community — stretching from the past, to the present and the future — that permeates the exhibit.“What we tried to do this year is use the infrastructure, the buildings to tell the story, the stories of the people and how it made connections,” Schwartz said. “They're helping build the spirit of the County.”</div></body>

Block Source: Hanford Sentinel

Misinformation

Clickbait

Old or repetitive news

Explicit content

Location not relevant

On Saturday, Sept. 19, the Carnegie Museum of Kings County opened its newest exhibit titled “Building Kings County: Part II.”. The exhibit is a continuation of the exhibit’s first act, which opened earlier this year and focused on the origins of Kings County. However, this exhibit explores the...

Carnegie Museum opens new exhibit exploring the ties that bind Kings County

NewsBreak

On Saturday, Sept. 19, the Carnegie Museum of Kings County opened its newest exhibit titled “Building Kings County: Part II.”. The exhibit is a continuatio

Carnegie Museum opens new exhibit exploring the ties that bind Kings County

Comments