Lake Ming History

When Manuel Carnakis was Major of Bakersfiled, he "DREAMED" of having a lake that was PERFECT for ouboard racing. Manuel raced "C" Racing Runabout, as did my dad. and "C" Service Runabout. Manny alwasy raced in style...Yellow boats, named Woisme. (I think that is the spellng). In those days we raced at Hart Park, in Bakersfield, around a small island. It was a fun course, in a beautiful park with many trees, with good fishing in the exit creek from the lake, but too small for Nationals.

The story has always been told that "Dr. Ming", on the Board of Supervisors, didn't like the idea of a lake costing the tax payers money. When Manny got wind of Dr. Ming's feelings, he set up a large Fund Raiser Party and unvailed his plans for a new lake, to be called Ming Lake..Manny didn't et the credit, but e got is lake.

I really don't know if there was a Dr. Ming, but I saw this plaque at Ming Lake, yesterday, March 5, 2005....and realized, A. That 47 years ago my brother raced in the 1959 Nationals at Lake Ming. And B. the rock that this plaque was on has a hole in it on top where the Indians use to grind corn...and I realized that behind my grandmother's house, at Lake Elsinore, there was a stone this size and wondered how they got our rock to Ming Lake (If you know the Ming area, there ain't no rocks this size around the lake.......But, my dad and Manny we great friends, so, I want o believe that this stone, that was outside my grandmother's house, that disappeared, is from the Russ Hill family....

And C. There really was a Supervisor named Floyd Ming...



Here' the picture.