Valerie Cassity-Special to the Sun

The Friends of the Hatchery held their second annual 'Music in the Meadow,' a free community concert at the Kern Valley Fish Hatchery, last Saturday, Oct. 21, as a last hoorah of the 2007 season. Over 100 Kern Valley residents and visitors attended the event to enjoy the live music and community fellowship.

The Friends of the Hatchery (FOH) held a similar event last year, but the weather turned sour and the attendance was low. This year, the beautiful warm fall day drew people to the event, which in addition to the concert, boasted a free hot dog lunch and a post-concert music jam that went on long after the sun dipped below the mountain. The hot dogs were donated by James Sierra Gateway Market, and the rest of the lunch makings were purchased and donated by members of the FOH.

Stan Harris smiles for the camera in between playing songs at the Fish Hatchery’s music in the meadow festival Sunday afternoon.

'There are two purposes to this event,' said Jim Hunt, FOH President, 'The first is to raise community awareness and let people know what a great asset the Hatchery is to the Kern Valley, and the second is to recruit volunteers for the museum.'

Hunt wandered the event throughout the day wearing a button on his shirt that said 'Impeach Jim,' from this year’s Trout festival, which the Hatchery holds every year on the first day of fishing season in the Eastern Sierras. The story behind the button was that Hunt had accidentally promised to take his son dirt bike riding in Laughlin the same weekend of the festival, and when he returned on the last day of the event, everyone was wearing 'Impeach Jim' buttons as a joke. When Hunt said 'Please, impeach me,' he said, they all changed their minds. 'I’m President only because no one else wanted the job,' kidded Hunt.

The music portion of the Music in the Meadow event included local artists Steve Kuhar, who plays his acoustic guitar while singing songs from the 50s and 60s, as well as some country standards; Larry Holochwost, who does cowboy folk songs interspersed with old cowboy stories; and local bluegrass band Out of the Blue, featuring Pat Seamount, Mike Gallagher, and Terry Harris. 'I think it’s great the Hatchery is putting on this event, and I hope they do it more than once a year,' said Gallagher.

Following the official performances and before the music jam began, eleven-year-old Cory Cowper of South Fork Elementary School sang and played a few songs on his guitar, including 'House of the Rising Sun,' 'Dust in the Wind,' and an original music composition he had written himself.

At the event, Hunt honored Hatchery employee Greg Kollenborn for his leadership and hard work with a plaque and official 'Fish Head' button. Kollenborn, who has been Hatchery Manger for a number of years, was recently promoted to Senior Hatchery Supervisor, and he will now supervise the management of several hatcheries in addition to Kern Valley. 'This is one of the coolest events we have here at the Hatchery,' said Kollenborn, 'It’s an opportunity for locals to come here and relax while showing them how great our volunteers serve the hatchery.'

Music in the Meadow did indeed draw people to the Hatchery who might not have taken the opportunity to visit in the past, and many parents enjoyed the opportunity to relax in the safe and welcoming family environment. Children climbed trees, held impromptu races, and raked together piles of fallen leaves to take turns jumping into. 'I saw a flyer and have never been here even though I have lived in the Kern Valley for 30 years, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity,' said Jill Haworth as she watched her son Kenny playing with the other delighted children.

The Friends of the Hatchery are dedicated to preserving quality trout fishing in the Kern River Valley Waterways. The FOH was formed in 1995 by a small group of like-minded individuals and businesses dedicated to preserving the closure of the Kern River Trout Hatchery. They remain dedicated to preserving and enhancing the Kern River Hatchery. They are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with all officers, staff, and members non-paid volunteers who give freely of their time and financial support to the organization. 'Without the volunteers, the running of the Hatchery wouldn’t be possible,' said Hunt, 'The fact that we still have the Hatchery today is thanks to those original people who worked to keep it open.'

The mission of the FOH is to support and promote benefits of the Kern River Hatchery by assisting the CA Dept. of Fish and Game hatchery personnel with the maintenance and planting of the rainbow trout in the Kern River and its tributaries, assisting in maintaining the hatchery and grounds in a clean and park like environment, providing and staffing a Fishing /Natural History Museum open to visitors and tours at the hatchery, and hosting public events aimed at promoting awareness of the Kern River Hatchery.

The goal that the Hatchery employees and FOH volunteers have been working toward for many years now is to become a real hatchery again instead of just a holding and planting facility; a dream that it seems will soon become a reality. 'We are on the brink of being a real hatchery, and the primary mission of the Kern Valley Hatchery is to restore the Kern River Rainbow Trout to its natural habitat,' said Ron Gillentive, FOH Vice President, 'We’ve been putting foreign fish into the river for years, and natives will do so much better here and they’re prettier.'

The FOH are always seeking volunteers to serve one day a month as docents in their Natural History/Wildlife museum. If you are interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities or about Friends of the Hatchery, call 376-2846, visit their website at www.FriendsOfTheHatchery.org, or stop by the museum some weekend and say hello.