Did you know that Kim Kardashian attended Vanden High School briefly during her freshman year?
Did you know that Jimmy Carter owns some land near Birds Landing?
Did you know that Richard Nixon hid in a bomb shelter at Travis Air Force Base during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962?
Neither did I, and there's no evidence they happened, but they all could have happened. And they’re all part of this year’s edition of Solano Urban Legends, my attempt to create stories to give our county more cachet – with stories that could possibly be true. All that's missing are facts.
However . . .
It was a persistent local urban legend that Creedence Clearwater Revival’s song “Green River” was actually about Putah Creek. The band was from the East Bay Area, so the possibility existed, since any creek could be called a "green river." This urban legend was told to me 30 years ago by former Daily Republic City Editor Rick Jensen, who grew up in Vacaville, and I assumed it was ridiculous. But a recent trip to Wikipedia (which may have been updated by Rick, for all I know) confirmed the legend!
Wikipedia says it's true: "Green River" is about Putah Creek!
So the following urban legends could be true. Maybe they'll be confirmed 30 years from now.
Let's start with Kardashian. Well, I once overheard a customer at the checkout stand at the Suisun City Raley’s say something that sounded like she could have been a freshman classmate of Kardashian at Vanden. (Alternately, she could have been said "car crashing in Vanden." It was noisy.)
That would have been 1994 or 1995, when Vanden’s athletic program was at its peak – and isn’t it possible that Kim’s parents sent her to Solano County to stay with relatives and attend a good academic and athletic school? Go ahead and tell people that – Kim Kardashian probably attended part of her freshman year at Vanden. We think.
Similarly, have you ever seen that house out by Birds Landing? The old one with the big field around it? Yeah, that one.
Well, one story that I may have heard was that when Jimmy Carter was simply a peanut farmer – before he became governor of Georgia or even president – his family considered moving their farming operations to California. Property near Birds Landing was inexpensive and there was talk of building a port in nearby Collinsville, which was enough to persuade the Carters to purchase a farm in California. As I heard it, Carter kept his property secret as governor and then couldn't sell it when he was president due to some regulation. Decades later, the rumor indicates that its still in his family and the county gets a check every year from Plains, Georgia, to pay the property tax.
To be clear, it's just a rumor.
Nixon, on the other hand, certainly could have taken shelter near Travis AFB during his campaign for governor in 1962, when the Cuban Missile Crisis hit. Nixon, a former vice president, would have been considered a significant target and could have taken shelter there. Let's say he did, because can you prove he didn't? I can't.
There are plenty more urban legends, including the one about Howard Hughes and the Rio Vista airport, Bob Hope appearing at the Nut Tree and rapper E-40 giving out full-sized candy bars on Halloween at his home in Rancho Solano.
Some of them might even be true. Don't believe me? Well, I didn't believe Rick Jensen about "Green River" and now Wikipedia confirms it.
If Wikipedia can be said to "confirm" anything.
Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@hotmail.com.
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