Uvaldo Calderon: Merced will overcome latest tragedy

A few months ago, I left Merced for Southern California. As I meet new people, they ask where I’m from. Usually, I get quizzical looks. So I reference nearby locations – “It’s near Yosemite, about an hour north of Fresno.”

If that doesn’t do it, I say, “We have a UC there.” That often validates why they should know where to find Merced.

I grew up in south Merced, the “other” side of the Highway 99. I had a newspaper route, delivering the Sun-Star on my bike. I graduated from Merced High’s East Campus for 9th grade and finishing 10-12th grade at North Campus, where the B-52s lifting off from Castle Air Force Base could make it impossible to hear any conversation. We’d cheer for the Merced Bears against our rivals, the Atwater Falcons, on Friday nights and sometimes end the weekend with a trip to Starlight Drive-In on Gerard Avenue or dinner from Pizza Villa (it was on J Street, now called Martin Luther King Jr. Way). It wasn’t a LA, but it was home.

I recall when it was announced the University of California was going to build its 10th campus in Merced. Here? Really? It was a proud moment, that a UC would be built in little ol’ Merced, by Lake Yosemite. The same lake I once took my younger siblings to at night, and told the story of “La Llorona” (Lady of the Lake, non-Spanish speakers) who lived in the water tower that is most certainly haunted. The UC would be built on a golf course, near the same homes with the huge lawns my siblings and I mowed as youngsters on summer weekends.

Merced has had its share of tough times – the drought, the Great Recession, the closure of Castle Air Force Base. As small businesses closed, hundreds of jobs went with them, moving away. But many fought through the hard times and survived. Like the farmers and laborers who work the fields surrounding Merced, we rolled up our sleeves, fought through and overcame.

I began working at UC Merced in 2008, when it was three years old. I saw it grow from 1,400 students to approximately the 6,600 students. I was fortunate to be a UC Merced employee, a Golden Bobcat.

I still read the Sun-Star online; I still check the weather, hoping El Niño brings the rain and snow so desperately needed for our farms and families. I still look in to see how my hometown Merced High Bears are faring this season (7-3 and in the playoffs).

The events of last week were terrible. As the details of the incident came out, my shock and concern for my former co-workers and friends grew. Not being there to share in the heartache generated unfamiliar feelings. It was like being too far away from an injured or ill friend to offer any real support in their time of need.

I know my hometown will not be defined by the tough times and tragedies it has faced. Merced will be defined by the way it has faced all its challenges, overcome them and thrived. Merced isn’t the town that can be knocked down; it’s a town that always gets up, perseveres and succeeds. Wherever I find myself, I know Merced is, and always will be, home.

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 2:45 PM with the headline "Uvaldo Calderon: Merced will overcome latest tragedy."