Lords of Bakersfield spark Valley Fire and Lords: Part One - By N.L. Belardes
I’ve stated such over the radio as well as to friends, and if I haven’t stated such in a blog, I will right here: some of my research for Lords: Part One was done over at the Beale Library where, at the time, a lone copy of the book, Valley Fire was held under lock and key. Talk about Fort Knox.
Since then, the book Valley Fire (a collection of court documents all now missing from Bakersfield court records except for in the book) has gone into a second edition. I have yet to read the latest version.
A synopsis on russosbooks.com reads:
With the 2003 Bakersfield Californian investigative report entitled "The Lords of Bakersfield", author Bette Blair decided to reprint her 1990 book Valley Fire. The book was written after the death of her son, who had been "executed by the time he was nineteen because he knew too much". Blair continues, "if you molest then murder one of my children... I will stand up to you... that is why the Kern County District Attorney's office has desperately attempted to turn one child-molesting, drug-dealing, money-laundering operation into eight separate witch-hunts, I have tenaciously insisted their own pattern proves otherwise." As Blair presents her case, the local debate wages on...
I admit, the first edition is a rough read. I sat in the Beale library and took meticulous notes while being stared at by a librarian who probably thought I was going to shove the book in my pocket and make an escape. Yes, the librarian stared at me the entire time.
You might wonder how I came across the knowledge that such a book existed.
After Robert Price wrote his conspiratorial articles in 2003, I wrote and asked him where I could find more information on the subject. I knew of certain stories, had contacts who talked to me about the Lords, but this book held a matter of intrigue for me and my research. Price wrote back, “Go find the book, Valley Fire.”
And so I did.
The book is made up of court documents about some rather scary Kern conspiracies. Check it out if you dare. You’ll find it at Russo’s.
Over the weekend I received an interesting call from a few states away. It was Bette Blair. She was hot on the trail of N.L. Belardes.
“I want to get a copy of your book,” she said. "I was in Bakersfield doing a book signing about a week before your book came out." I was overjoyed. I never expected to hear from her. I proceeded to tell her all about why I used her book and how I had spoke on the radio about her work as being part of the hub of my research…
Here was a woman, so tied to the Lords of Bakersfield that she was the administrative assistant to Ted Fritts for more than three years. The Lords, she believes, executed her son, blacklisted her, and ran her out of Bakersfield. Blair fought back by writing her non-fiction book, Valley Fire.
“Robert Price only gave me a little mention in his column. But he used my book in his research. He had to since he told me all the court documents on the matter were missing… Thanks to Mike Russo, the second edition of Valley Fire is easier to read. I edited the new edition in a way that now it is based on court documents rather than just being the court documents themselves.”
Bette Blair, however, isn’t stopping with Valley Fire.
“I’m writing another book. I sent the Californian a chapter and didn’t hear back.”
I’m not surprised. I gave them two books, one to Bakersfield Bob, and another to Robert Price and all I got was: “I haven’t read it yet,” and, “N.L. is a wild-eyed conspiracy theorist.” Such comments are better than nothing. And I do like Robert Price’s fun and feisty attitude. You have to admire him for putting up with my teasing. I admit I am the person who calls him Stubble the Lords Hunter and a conspiracy theorist (read about my literary take on the Lords and why new perspectives on Lords history will need re-writes through the years).
I told Bette I wasn’t surprised, that the Californian has objectives and wants folks to be hush-hush about certain topics as if they’re the big bad mafia not wanting folks to talk about Johnny da Weasel and his secret underground operation. You have to blame the Californian though. They spawned Ted Fritts; they spawned the 2003 Lords of Bakersfield articles; they spawned Bette Balir’s anger and vengeance; they sparked my interest in writing a novel, and I’m sure they will spawn more interest on the topic. And I am positive they will write about the Lords of Bakersfield again, but only when they feel the time is right to suit their aims, whatever those aims may be.
In the meantime, Bette will keep writing, and me too; I’m writing about robots… nice robots… not the terminator Lords of Bakersfield kind who pluck out eyeballs and murder kids and dupe the people into buying papers like they’re lollipops of information…
Since then, the book Valley Fire (a collection of court documents all now missing from Bakersfield court records except for in the book) has gone into a second edition. I have yet to read the latest version.
A synopsis on russosbooks.com reads:
With the 2003 Bakersfield Californian investigative report entitled "The Lords of Bakersfield", author Bette Blair decided to reprint her 1990 book Valley Fire. The book was written after the death of her son, who had been "executed by the time he was nineteen because he knew too much". Blair continues, "if you molest then murder one of my children... I will stand up to you... that is why the Kern County District Attorney's office has desperately attempted to turn one child-molesting, drug-dealing, money-laundering operation into eight separate witch-hunts, I have tenaciously insisted their own pattern proves otherwise." As Blair presents her case, the local debate wages on...
I admit, the first edition is a rough read. I sat in the Beale library and took meticulous notes while being stared at by a librarian who probably thought I was going to shove the book in my pocket and make an escape. Yes, the librarian stared at me the entire time.
You might wonder how I came across the knowledge that such a book existed.
After Robert Price wrote his conspiratorial articles in 2003, I wrote and asked him where I could find more information on the subject. I knew of certain stories, had contacts who talked to me about the Lords, but this book held a matter of intrigue for me and my research. Price wrote back, “Go find the book, Valley Fire.”
And so I did.
The book is made up of court documents about some rather scary Kern conspiracies. Check it out if you dare. You’ll find it at Russo’s.
Over the weekend I received an interesting call from a few states away. It was Bette Blair. She was hot on the trail of N.L. Belardes.
“I want to get a copy of your book,” she said. "I was in Bakersfield doing a book signing about a week before your book came out." I was overjoyed. I never expected to hear from her. I proceeded to tell her all about why I used her book and how I had spoke on the radio about her work as being part of the hub of my research…
Here was a woman, so tied to the Lords of Bakersfield that she was the administrative assistant to Ted Fritts for more than three years. The Lords, she believes, executed her son, blacklisted her, and ran her out of Bakersfield. Blair fought back by writing her non-fiction book, Valley Fire.
“Robert Price only gave me a little mention in his column. But he used my book in his research. He had to since he told me all the court documents on the matter were missing… Thanks to Mike Russo, the second edition of Valley Fire is easier to read. I edited the new edition in a way that now it is based on court documents rather than just being the court documents themselves.”
Bette Blair, however, isn’t stopping with Valley Fire.
“I’m writing another book. I sent the Californian a chapter and didn’t hear back.”
I’m not surprised. I gave them two books, one to Bakersfield Bob, and another to Robert Price and all I got was: “I haven’t read it yet,” and, “N.L. is a wild-eyed conspiracy theorist.” Such comments are better than nothing. And I do like Robert Price’s fun and feisty attitude. You have to admire him for putting up with my teasing. I admit I am the person who calls him Stubble the Lords Hunter and a conspiracy theorist (read about my literary take on the Lords and why new perspectives on Lords history will need re-writes through the years).
I told Bette I wasn’t surprised, that the Californian has objectives and wants folks to be hush-hush about certain topics as if they’re the big bad mafia not wanting folks to talk about Johnny da Weasel and his secret underground operation. You have to blame the Californian though. They spawned Ted Fritts; they spawned the 2003 Lords of Bakersfield articles; they spawned Bette Balir’s anger and vengeance; they sparked my interest in writing a novel, and I’m sure they will spawn more interest on the topic. And I am positive they will write about the Lords of Bakersfield again, but only when they feel the time is right to suit their aims, whatever those aims may be.
In the meantime, Bette will keep writing, and me too; I’m writing about robots… nice robots… not the terminator Lords of Bakersfield kind who pluck out eyeballs and murder kids and dupe the people into buying papers like they’re lollipops of information…
This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on
Wednesday, December 21, 2005.
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My wife has been searching high and low for a copy of Valley Fire. Russo's no longer has it and the link to alwaysopenmall is broken. Any chance you or anyone else would know of another means to obtain this? I have searched and searched and it is almost as if it never existed.
The Beale Library has a copy of the first edition, maybe the second edition too... did you do an author search on Amazon?
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