Dan Rather

“Dan Rather reporting from Exeter, California, the home of the hanging chads.”

Well pholks, that may not be the exact opening he uses, but the former CBS anchorman and “60 Minutes” correspondent spent a short time in Exeter last week taping a segment dealing with the famed 2000 election snafu blamed in part of faulty perforated ballots which were printed at the Sequoia Pacific printing plant on Anderson Road near Exeter.

Dan, whose current investigative endeavor is Dan Rather HDnet, did a follow up segment to one featuring former Sequoia Pacific workers regarding the printing of ballots linked to the Gore-Bush election drama in Florida, which held up the naming of the U.S. President. Those ballots came from a different stock than previous ballots. The faulty ballots reportedly were made from Pacific Northwest pulp rather than from eastern hardwood from Louisiana. The change in paper products reportedly was a cost-related issue, according to some sources.

Tom Ayers, who worked for Sequoia Pacific for 33 years, was among several former workers who met with Rather in Fresno months ago. Sequoia Pacific closed the Exeter plant several years ago. Ayers said discussions with Rather covered several issues, including the ballot card stock.

In last week’s taping, Rather did his standup at the plant which now is the home for Peninsula Packaging.

Rather, or a staff member, called Peninsula officials several hours prior to his arrival seeking permission to enter the property to do the standup. A vacant portion of the huge 350,000-square-foot plant was used as a background for the interview, observers said.

WANT A GOOD OLD FASTIONED BURGER, grilled hot dog or a real shake? Don’t give up hope.

Visalia has its Mearle’s and Taylor’s Hot Dogs and in Porterville, there’s the Cellar. Tulareans have embraced Poppa Joe’s for years and Cutler-Orosi residents brag about La Esperanza.

Hometown restaurants create memories which linger, even when they’re gone.

Well, Exeter residents now have their Pop’s Spot back, offering a menu which made it legendary for decades.

Kellie and Jay Spence have leased the walk-up eatery at 4076 N. Kaweah (Highway 63) just west of the railroad tracks where Kellie says “We may not be the fastest burger flippers around but we are the friendliest.”

Kellie says she and her husband saw a “for lease” sign in the window and recalling the days when they stopped for a burger or shake, the couple made a quick phone call and made the leap into business.

Kellie reluctantly quit her pre-school job to handle the day shift and Jay, who works for a concrete pumping company, took over burger flipping and hotdog construction in the evenings.  Pop’s Stop is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

There have been several operators in recent years but the place has been closed several months.

Kellie and Jay have fond recollections of Pop’s and want to return it to the kind of place so many Exeter residents and others remember as “the place to go for a burger, fries and a shake.” If a customer wants a sliced hotdog cooked on the grill, that’s what they will get, she adds.

Kellie says the best part of running Pop’s so far has been “all the cool stories we hear” from former customers recalling  the good old days when a burger joint was the social center of the community.

John and Diane Guinn, who own Evans Miller Exeter Chapel just down the block, were among the first customers for the new owners of Pop’s.

John, who was raised in Exeter, says Sterling King owned a grocery at the site and built the walk-up after the store burned down. It was later sold to Russ Inglehardt who operated it for many years before his son, Brad, ran it until he sold it.

Miles can be reached at mshuper@valleyvoicenewspaper.com