Rumors at the graves of Walter Kane, Alfred Harrell and the Fritts brothers - By N.L. Belardes

Grave marker at Union Cemetery, Bakersfield, California

A few months ago I crept around Union Cemetery and stumbled onto the crypt of Alfred Harrell. I went back with Hectic Films to shoot part of the documentary for "Chronicle of the Lords". I've been back a few times since, including recently to take photos.


What could be inside but the mysterious bones of Bakersfield past?


The crypt of Alfred Harrell with an ominous door...

We filmed the newspaper man's giant crypt, a nearby Masonic ceremonial slab with a walkway and stairs, weird grave stones with strange emblems, then shot Ted Fritts and Don Fritts graves. The two brothers are buried side by side with mere flat stone markers. They were strangely pauper-like tombstones for newspaper publishers.


Two brothers: two newspapermen buried side by side

There were other flat stone graves near the crypt, one which marked Walter Kane.


What was in the planter on the grave? A chile pepper plant? Weird...

Who was Walter Kane? Some say he was a pedophile who lived on a creepy street and preyed on kids. Supposedly he was the Bakersfield Californian’s general manager until 1967. Was he a Harrell descendant? The leader of the White Orchid Society? Rumors, myth and urband legend indicate he was perverted and a drunk in the late 80s up until the time of his death. Are any of these allegations true? You tell me. I just wonder if he was like the twisted sort of Peter Pan that Glen Fitts supposedly was: a grown man who threw wild parties for teenage kids.


Masonic cermonial platform? Men in robes and strange insignias...

The Bakersfield Californian newspaper has a creepy side to its history, a lot of which we will never know. I’d love to be wandering the Californian building when family stories are freely being thrown among its brick halls. What would we hear? What ghosts would be mentioned? What deeds have been done, and what are the shadows of the Californian’s past?


What's inside the crypt of Alfred Harrell?

A filmmaker working for the Californian recently told me the newspaper building on Eye Street is supposedly haunted. I hope he explores the buildings darkest depths.

I often wonder if publisher Ginger Moorhouse released the 2003 articles on the Lords of Bakersfield, implicating her own brother, as part of a tactic to rid herself of the ghosts attached to her name: The Lords of Bakersfield, The White Orchid Society. Sure, the releasing of the articles attracted attention, but they also make a statement of distance, since as a publisher you’d think if she were protecting the image of her brother, she would have not allowed the release of such articles—although the articles are watered down. Moorhouse surely wasn’t protecting the image of her brother. My book, Lords: Part One definitely goes deep into the psychology of the urban legend...


Strange tree-headstone at Union Cemetery

The 2003 articles mark the release of a conspiracy into the consciousness of people beyond the scope of just Bakersfield, California, where such urban legends must have once run rampant in whispers and closed-door conversations.

Now everybody knows.

One of the questions I had when researching The Lords of Bakersfield was who were all the potential players. I’ve once heard that you could pick up certain local phone directories and all the players names would be right there for anyone to read. You just had to know which directory held the list.


A crypt of secrets, a doorway to Bakersfield lore...

Anyway, it was an interesting time out at the cemetery. It's been a lot of fun fictionalizing all the weird stories I've been hearing and researching. Dark stories of Bakersfield culture have become pop culture fascinations for all of us, making wandering through a cemetery a must for anyone interested in Bakersfield lore.

Read articles on my homepage, go pick up my book at Russo's, or order online if you want to jump further into Bakersfield's dark urban heart.

This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on Friday, January 26, 2007. You can leave your response.