George Sanford

Steven Marx

English 134

September 20, 2004

Stockton Experience

Forty-five minutes drive on Interstate Five south from Sacramento lies the city of Stockton, the city that Catherine Thiel has lived in since she was ten years old. Nestled in the fertile San Joaquin valley and divided by a river that bears the same name, Stockton has always been a gathering center for the local farmers and a hub for trade within California. Like many valley cities, Stockton has moderately hot summers and is blanketed by fog practically all winter long. In its early days Stockton residents were mostly farmers and ranchers who would have to flee from the flooding San Jaquine River every December. In the early part of the twentieth century, dams and levies were erected to prevent the rising water from rushing through the city limits during the rainy season. This made it possible for more people to live in Stockton, and has allowed it to grow into the sprawling urban city that it is today.

Catherine Theil moved to Stockton when she was in 5^th grade from her old home in Las Vegas, Nevada. She and her family immediately experienced challenges adapting to her new environment. The house that her family moved into had a rotting swimming pool and a broken gate. She was used to living in a neighborhoodteeming with children of her age to socialize with, whereas her new neighborhood was predominantly an elderly community. Gradually, she and her family were able to overcome the challenges and enjoy their new home. Two streets over from the prestigious University of the Pacific, her home is within walking distance from the Lincoln center, which is the local shopping center that serves a clientele of mostly college students.

Catherine has had many memorable experiences in Stockton that she would not have been able to experience if she lived somewhere else. She took dance classes for many years at Stockton Ballet, a school that has been around since the early forties and has a very established reputation for excellence having won many awards and honorable mentions over the years. While she was in High School she frequently went to her schools home football games. When the game got out, everybody would go to the local In and Out restaurant that had a Krispy Kreme donut stand next to it and they would hang out for about an hour or so. The interior of the restaurant and the parking lot would be jam packed full of high school football fans celebrating after the game late night burgers and donuts. Her schools’ team was really good, and almost qualified for Nor cal Section Championships in her senior year. She did have one especially bad experience, and that was when she decided to take the drivers test in downtown Stockton. Though she looks back on in it in good humor, she was a little agitated and angry about it when it happened. She was navigating the busy streets in downtown Stockton when she almost hit a pedestrian and failed the drivers test. Apart from that incident, her experiences in Stockton have been great.

In the time that Catherine has lived in Stockton she has noticed a social transformation happening in the historic old town. Way back when the city was being urbanized, it was intended that the older part of downtown would be a historic attraction similar to what can be found in Sacramento, San Diego, or Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the old district became infested with crime and violence, and evolved into a dangerous place. Residents like Catherine and her friends try to avoid that area whenever they go downtown, preferring to go to other places like the Lincoln center and the college district that are safer. Within the last few years Catherine has noticed changes in the area that suggest that the city council has been trying hard to clean up the area and make it more appealing for visitors. New businesses have been springing up that will bring more people, such as Barnes &Nobles and Starbucks. Major attractions have also been constructed, including a twelve-screen movie theater and a skating ring. This will bring in more people and make them care about the effort to restore the old town district to its former glory. Once that is achieved, old town can serve as a way to promote the history of Stockton and create a new sense of community identity that residents can be proud of.