Yolo — November 15, 2012

A Brief Look at Yolo

Engine 1233 at the Woodland Railroad Museum, northeast of Sacramento, California

Engine 1233 at the Woodland Railroad Museum, northeast of Sacramento, California. (Click on the photo for a larger view)

Yolo County, in California, is full of treasures. One might even say, “it’s full of surprises” to be found by simply exploring its countryside, small communities, and few densely populated small towns.

On my Photo Journey of November 15, 2012, I returned to one of those treasures that I stumbled upon (almost literally) a couple of years ago, one that was surely a surprise.

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Barbershop at the Hof Brau

HARMONY FOR LUNCH BUNCH

Barbershop quartet singing on Third Thursday (Click on the photo for a larger view)

Barbershop quartet singing on Third Thursday (Click on the photo for a larger view)

It’s been happening every third Thursday for nearly 21 years—a special musical treat for the lunch time crowd at Sam’s Hof Brau on the corner of Watt and El Camino in Sacramento. The “Harmony for Lunch Bunch,” as they call themselves, line up for food service at Sam’s starting at about 11:30am, and are singing in the conference room in the back by high noon. They are barbershop singers from the greater Sacramento region singing classic barbershop arrangements of old songs, such as were popular at the turn of the 19th into the 20th century (and sometimes some newer ones). Though mostly men, there are usually enough women attending to form a quartet with a few left over, but all join in the communal singing. (Be sure to click on the link to “Continue Reading”)

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Luigi’s Pizza in Sacramento

[Editor’s note: this is a much longer story than originally intended. I justify it because it covers two businesses and concepts, and has TWO slideshows, in addition to some individual photos.]

Luigi’s!
Considered by many to be among the best pizzerias in Sacramento, and by me to be the best, Luigi’s Pizza on Stockton Boulevard has been a landmark and tradition since 1953. But that is just the beginning of the story.

Greg & Linda Brida of Luigi's Slice on 20th at J Street (Click on the photo for a larger view)

Greg & Linda Brida of Luigi's Slice on 20th at J Street (Click on the photo for a larger view)

Sacramento is a town founded on people and deeds of legendary proportions. They were (and are) real people and their deeds have been verified. Some are famous on the world barometer while others quietly assume their rankings at home in Sacramento with time and consistency.

One such family has become a legacy in its own right. Sergio (Frank) Brida with his father, Dario, and his uncle Enrico, immigrated from Tres, Italy in 1959. Coming from a family of bakers, they crossed the Atlantic in 11 days and found their way to the Fair Oaks area east of Sacramento. Their hometown of Tres is a tiny municipality of about 700 people (today) in the northern province of Trento. It is in the mountainous region just about 100 miles south of Switzerland and Austria, and its neighbors are Verona, Padua, Venice, and Modena—Shakespeare and olive oil. In the old country, everything was within walking distance in their tiny village and so, after a short while, the Brida’s moved into the East Sacramento area where everything was close by, and where they found a small neighborhood of fellow Italians. They had been sponsored by another uncle, Father Brida of St. Mary’s church which is near the heart of that neighborhood.
(Be sure to click on the link to “Continue Reading”)

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