Sunday Gazette: October 18, 2026
Hello Riverside, and Happy Sunday! In 1947, a husband and wife set up shop in a garage in Altadena — 384 square feet, if you can believe it — trying to build a better way to measure an airplane's pitch. Small company, small ambitions, or so it seemed.
Fast forward to Labor Day weekend, 1950: this company closes its doors on a Friday and reopens for business in Riverside by Tuesday. A city that had actively courted them, chamber of commerce and all.
Two years later, the husband — reportedly while home sick for a few days — dreamed up a tiny adjustable component that would go on to become an industry standard for fine-tuning electronic circuits. It's hidden inside equipment of all kinds. His company's parts also helped put astronauts on the moon in 1969.
The company still calls Riverside home today, employs thousands, and its founders' names sit on a college of engineering just up the road.
What Riverside company are we talking about?
Send your guess to newsroom@raincrossgazette.com — and if you've got a piece of Riverside lore to share, the inbox is open.
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HISTORY
Three Strikes, You're Out!
The famous baseball poem’s Riverside connections, from the Mission Inn to “Chief” Meyers.
When this article comes out, the League Championship Series will either be over or end today or tomorrow. The World Series begins on Friday. Another baseball season is almost over. How sad for baseball fans, but not as sad as the fans in a famous baseball poem, “Casey at Bat.”
Ernest Lawrence Thayer wrote this famous poem. He graduated from Harvard in 1885 with a degree in philosophy. He was a member of the Hasty Pudding Club and editor of the Harvard Lampoon. At Harvard, he met William Randolph Hearst, who later hired him to write a humorous column for his newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner. On June 3, 1883, Thayer, writing as Phin, published “Casey at Bat.” Originally, the poem circulated little beyond the Examiner'sreadership.
Then along came William D’Wolf Hopper. Born in 1858 in New York, Hopper chose acting for his career. He adopted the stage name DeWolf Hopper. He had a booming bass voice, but at 6 feet 5 inches, he was too tall for many roles, so he made his mark in musicals. He appeared in Panjandrum, Sousa’s El Capitan, Castles in the Air and several Gilbert and Sullivan hits, including The Mikado, Patience and H.M.S. Pinafore.
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NEIGHBOR OF THE WEEK
Julian Barham
Neighbor of the Week is a series profiling the hidden heroes of Riverside, doing incredible works of service throughout our different neighborhoods.
His nominator calls Julian Barham the best and most successful tennis player ever to come out of Riverside. And he still lives here.
Barham was born in Ethiopia, where his English parents were serving as missionaries. The family came to Riverside when he was six months old, and he has lived here nearly his entire life. The Barhams lived in La Sierra until he was six, then moved to Canyon Crest. Barham attended Gage Middle School and Riverside Poly High School and later earned his teaching credential at UC Riverside. He and his wife were married at the St. Francis Chapel at the Mission Inn, and he is a longtime resident of Ward 1.
Much of his tennis life is tied to Riverside. At Poly, Barham won the league championship at No. 1 singles all four years, something he isn't aware of another Poly player having done. He lost only two matches on Poly's home courts in four years. In 1981, Poly won the CIF Southern Section 3-A championship, which he says is the only CIF boys tennis team title in school history. The final, played before a large crowd at Canyon Crest Country Club, remains one of his favorite Riverside tennis memories.
After Poly, Barham spent four years playing Division I tennis at UC Irvine. As a senior, he and his doubles partner were NCAA Division I doubles runners-up and finished the year ranked fourth in the nation. He then played professionally for two and a half years, competing in the Australian Open doubles main draw and the qualifying event at Wimbledon. Along the way, he notched two wins over a young Pete Sampras, who went on to become one of the great champions in tennis history.
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CREATIVE PROMPTS
Upon Further Review
A prompt to encourage your practice of creativity this week from Riversider and local author Larry Burns.
Our creative nudge this week arrives with a smile, an extended hand, and possibly something stuck in its teeth - the first impression - that moment we meet somebody or somewhere new and begin deciding what to make of it. There is considerable pressure packed into the idea that we get one chance to make a good first impression.
Try this experiment. Find someone over 40, ask them how to make a good first impression. I bet you will hear mostly variations of “stand up straight” and “make eye contact” and most importantly, “offer a firm handshake.” Maybe this is why meeting someone new feels like an audition for the chance to play yourself.
Online, we have a little more control over the optics. We choose an AI enhanced selfie, pore over which emoji/punctuation/gif combo sets the right vibe, and share, share, share. We get just as much as we give in the digital world.
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This Week in Riverside
Sunday, October 18
- Mission Inn Foundation Run at Downtown Riverside ($70- $120)
- Volunteer Orientation at UCR Botanic Gardens
- Prayers and Public Information Meeting at Riverside Baha'i Center
- Gardening for Butterflies at UCR Botanic Gardens
- Dancing for Fun at Janet Goeske Center
- Sensing Form: A World Beyond Sight at Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern
Monday, October 19
- Adult Ballet Class at Riverside Ballet Arts LLC
- California Retired Teachers Divi at The Old Spaghetti Factory ($10)
- FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Monday Carillon Recitals at UCR Bell Tower
Tuesday, October 20
- City Council at Riverside City Hall
- Arlington Library| Take & Make Craft: Flying Bat at Arlington library
- FREE YOGA - Mandala Yoga with Alejandro at Community Yoga Center
- Afro-Punk at Culver Center of the Arts
- Karaoke Tuesday Competition at The Hideaway
- ScotSurplus Sale at ScotSurplus Store
Wednesday, October 21
- Riverside East Rotary Club at Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern
- Stretch & Dance Class at Janet Goeske Senior Center
- About Writing at Janet Goeske Center
- Adult Ballet Class at Riverside Ballet Arts LLC
- Five Nights at Freddy's Movie & Craft | Teens at Marcy Library
- FREE Reading Assistance Program (RAP) at My Learning Studio
- FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varner at All Saints Episcopal Church
- History on the Rocks - Round Two! Presented by The Mission Inn Foundation at Mission Inn Foundation ($71.21)
- Riverside Jams at Carbon Nation Brewery
- Riverside Mission Belles at Victoria Presbyterian Church ($25)
- Safety, Wellness, and Youth Committee at Riverside City Hall
- Women's Soccer vs. CSUN at UCR Soccer Stadium
Thursday, October 22
- Economic Development Committee at Riverside City Hall
- "American Agitators" Documentary Screening (Nights with the Museum) at Riverside Main Museum (Community Room)
- Experience RUSD, Riverside Unified State of the District at Riverside Municipal Airport
- First Star Lunch & Learn at Alumni & Visitors Center
- History on the Rocks! Presented by The Mission Inn Foundation at Mission Inn Foundation ($71.21)
Friday, October 23
- The Art of Reading & Writing at My Learning Studio ($90)
- Art Workshop at My Learning Studio ($96)
- How to Write a Letter at My Learning Studio ($64)
- Painting at My Learning Studio ($96)
- Science of Magic at My Learning Studio ($96)
- Women's Volleyball vs. California Baptist at SRC Arena
- Murder Mystery Co. Dinner Theater Show at The Old Spaghetti Factory ($69)
- Darkwave Records Presents: Riverside After Dark at Riverside Municipal Auditorium (Garden Room)
- Haunted Tour + Halloween Maze: Campus History, Community Memory, and Student Storytelling at Landis Performing Arts Center
- Bingo Loco (21+) at Riverside Municipal Auditorium
Saturday, October 24
- Pink on Parade Breast Cancer Awareness Walk at Ryan Bonaminio Park ($22.20 - $32.80)
- Vintage Car and Warbird Show at Riverside Airport - Commemorative Air Force Hanger and Museum
- Barktoberfest at White Park ($25- $75)
- Fall Festival at Louis Robidoux Parkland and Pecan Grove
- Fall Festival at the R'Garden! at R'Garden
- Backrooms at Culver Center of the Arts
- Conversational Spanish at My Learning Studio ($60)
- Doors Open Riverside at Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern
- Dying For Art at Heritage House
- Art Workshop at My Learning Studio ($64)
- Storytime at My Learning Studio ($64.00)
- Facebook to Instagram at My Learning Studio ($20- $48)
- Friends of the Mission Inn 1920 silent movie "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" at Mission Inn hotel in Grand Parisian Ballroom ($30- $35)
- Friends of the Mission Inn Fall Silent Movie at Mission Inn Hotel & Spa ($30- $35)
- Magic Underground at Back to the Grind ($30- $45)
- Men's Soccer vs San Diego State at UCR Soccer Stadium
- Riverside Halloween Bar Crawl at Palenque kitchen by Mezcal
- Skeleton Keys at First United Methodist Church of Riverside
- TradiciĂłn, Arte y PasiĂłn: Mariachi Los Camperos at Fox Performing Arts Center
- When the Science of Reading Meets the Science of Motivation at Ruth Lewis Center at Reid Park
Save the Date
- Oct 25: A Glorious Celebration of America at 250 at Calvary Presbyterian Church ($15- $25)
- Oct 25: FREE YOGA - The Evolution of Ashtanga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 26: FREE YOGA - Moody Mondays with Cherie Amour at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 28: FREE YOGA - Seated Yoga with Kristin Varner at All Saints Episcopal Church
- Oct 30: Riverside Sunrise Rotary Club Meeting at Zacatecas Café
- Oct 31: FREE YOGA - The Art of Vinyasa with Catherine Murray at Community Yoga Center
- Oct 31: FREE YOGA - Yin Yoga with Kristin Varner at Community Yoga Center
- Nov 1: BIG BROADWAY BINGO at Avila’s Historic 1929 ($125- $150)
- Nov 5: LEAC Comedy and Magic Show at The Box Theater ($60)
- Nov 4: Medicare EXPO at Janet Goeske Center
- Nov 5: Les Miserables at Woodcrest Christian School ($15- $20)
- Nov 7: Art in the Gardens at UCR Botanic Gardens
- Nov 14: Riverside Veterans Parade - Downtown Riverside/Market St.
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