Tuesday, Jan. 06, 2009

Jardine: Brand loyalty earns personal letter from beer titan

From the e-mails and voice mails:

BEER'S TO YA -- In December, I wrote about Salida resident Sam Nickerson who, at 81, claims to have visited a physician only twice in his life. He went recently only because he needed cataract surgery and the eye doctor wouldn't perform the procedure unless Nickerson first underwent a complete physical.

Otherwise, Nickerson said, he's been a picture of good health despite a steady diet of fried foods and Keystone beer.

After the column appeared Dec. 8, local Miller/Coors distributor Bob Dinsmore sent a copy to Pete Coors in Colorado. Coors makes Keystone beer.

A few days after Christmas, Nickerson opened his mail to find a letter from Peter H. Coors, chairman of MillerCoors and great-grandson of Coors Brewing Co. founder Adolph Coors. It read:

Dear Sam,

It was a great pleasure to see the article about you and your attachment to Keystone. We are not allowed to advertise the medicinal benefits of beer, but your testimony said it all for us. Thank you for your business and may you enjoy continued good health in years to come.

Warmest regards and best wishes,

Pete

A TRIBUTE -- A longtime Modesto resident's experiences as a Marine during World War II are finally in print. "Feather Merchant" took Bernard Duane Enarson I more than a decade to write. The book, the title states, is "Lovingly Presented by His Daughter Cheri Lea Duffy."

"It's his story, presented by me, but he wrote it," said Duffy, who promised him she would have it published. "A promise fulfilled."

Enarson's penciled illustrations appear throughout the 120-page book.

A native of Iowa, Enarson fought in the Pacific at Guadalcanal, where he suffered a leg wound that merited a Purple Heart. He later fought at Bougainville in the British Solomon Islands. He also was a talented artist who painted vivid designs -- usually women -- on the sides of the B-17 bombers in his spare time during the war. He and wife Gloria, whom he met while she was a Navy Wave and both were stationed at Moffett Field, moved to Modesto after the war. He became the staff artist at Willey Printing. He lived here until his death at 74 in January 1999. Gloria Enarson died in September 2005. The book sells for $15, plus shipping and handling. For more information, go to www.dorrancepublishing.com or www.dorrancebookstore. com.

DISGUSTINGLY FAMILIAR? While family and friends attended a memorial service Saturday for Eddie Kjono, someone burglarized the family's home in north-central Modesto. The perp or perps kicked in the front door and took perhaps the most valuable of possessions: a small, locked box containing his most cherished papers, said Kjono's daughter, Lynda Prater of Modesto. Included were his military documents -- Kjono served under Gen. George S. Patton during the Battle of the Bulge -- his Social Security number that began with 0, and other important pieces, she said.

Clearly, the criminal element targeted the home during the time when family members were away at the service, she said.

"It's just unthinkable that someone would do that," she said.

Except it's the third time in the past month I've received calls about break-ins occurring during funerals. I wrote in December after the same thing happened to the Vieira family in Hilmar. That story prompted a call from a Modesto woman who said thieves struck her family at their most vulnerable time as well.

So it's important, Prater said, to tell any friends who lose loved ones to make sure their homes are protected during funeral or memorial services.

AND FINALLY -- Christmas Eves have been especially festive for Modesto's Frank S. Fontana. His daughter, Becky Fontana Hunt, was a Christmas Eve baby in 1980. This past Christmas Eve, she gave birth to son Tyson Denver Hunt. Also, Frank N. Fontana -- Frank S.'s son and Becky's brother -- became a dad when daughter Cecily was born on Christmas Eve 2007.

Jeff Jardine's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in Local News. He can be reached at 578-2383 or jjardine@modbee.com.