Page 8 - Dinuba Sentinel 6-7-18 E-edition

A8| Thursday, June 7, 2018 Back Page Orosi High Parade of Graduates
The Dinuba Sentinel
District Doings
• The team of Cal Poly students that is currently performing a study and vision plan for Downtown Dinuba will present their concept designs to the public on Friday, June 8 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Dinuba Vocational Center.
• Alta Post 19 will host the annual Burning of Flags Ceremony on June 14 at 7 p.m. at the Dinuba Memorial Hall. All unserviceable flags are burned at dusk on Flag Day each year.
• The Alta District Historical Society will host a Car Racing Enthusiast Event on June 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. The social hour will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the event running from 6 to 8 p.m.
A panel of Alta District car racers will be on hand for a Q&A, along with videos, pictures and memorabilia. Special guests include David Biswell, Ron Cochran, Mickey George, Jon Koobation, Troy Regier, Al Surabian and Sam Surabian.
• The city of Dinuba's weekly Summer Night Lights and Farmers' Market at Entertainment Plaza will begin on Friday, June 15 and will continue weekly on June 29, July 13, July 20, July 27 and Aug. 3. A special Independence Day celebration will be held July 3 at Centennial Park.
The Friday events will feature a local Farmer's Market with fresh fruits and vegetables from 6 to 9 p.m. and live music from 7 to 9 p.m., along with food vendors, games, prizes, a bounce house, raffles and more.
An Orosi High School student speaks to students at Golden Valley Elementary School during the OHS Parade of Graduates, where the class of 2018 visited their former elementary schools. The OHS graduation will be held tonight, June 7, at 7:30 p.m. at OHS.
FragasContinued from Page A1
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
through the Dinuba and San Jose areas. She says now that her mother is getting up in age, she wants to devote more of her time to her family and said the time was just right.
“I went to see my dad today,” said Yolanda, whose father is buried at Smith Mountain Cemetery. “Today is the day he died and I picked today deliberately.”
Victoriano was just 49 years old when he passed.
On Monday a steady crowd could be seen going in and out of the small building on West Merced Street.
One customer who visited the bakery on Monday was nine- year-old Emily Reyes, there with a family member. Emily said it was a place she liked and visited with her family often. When asked if she was going to miss it Emily responded with a sad smile and simple “yes” with a nod.
Those sentiments were shared on social media last week when the Sentinel shared the news of Fraga’s closing on May 30. The post received numerous
comments from hundreds of Dinubans, near and far, sharing the same sadness as well as fond memories of the bakery.
The news of it was also shared 236 times, making it the second most shared post of the Sentinel in the last year, only behind the post of the Maya Theater burning down.
However, unlike the Maya Theater, this historical building will stay standing in the community, as the Fraga family will still continue to own the building and look for other ways to use it in the form of commercial leasing.
The history
of the building,
however, goes
further back than 35 years. Prior to its use as a bakery, the building actually served as the city of Dinuba’s original police department, where it housed the town’s criminals in a small
jail cell.
But for the past 35 years,
the only thing housed in that building was bread. And sweet bread at that.
Criminals were replaced with customers, bars with glass doors. And when you exited you did only with a smile and a “thank you” (or “gracias”).
“My mom, she ran it her way, her style,” said Yolanda. “You’ve go to know the ins-and-outs of your business and she knew it well.”
She added, “She did a great job
with the community. They were very loyal, as were her employees. She treated them well. Some of them worked here over 25 years.”
If you visited the establishment recently, or over the past couple of decades, you would have received the same gentle smile at the counter from Guillermina Monay, who had worked for
Fraga’s bakery for 26 years.
Monday she was there behind the counter once more, making sure to thank each customer for his or her support over the years.
But she wasn’t the only one who put in 25-plus. Baker Miguel Trujillo also worked for Fraga's for 26 years. Two
others worked 25 years for the company and another worked 18 years.
Time well served in a building that is now looking for its next purpose.
Rick Curiel | The Sentinel
"My mom, she ran it her way, her style. You’ve go to know the ins- and-outs of your business and she knew it well.
“She did a great job with the community."
—Yolanda Fraga
Daughter of original Fraga's owners
A customer picks out pastries at Fraga's Bakery on their last day of operation.
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