Situated 18 miles northwest of Bakersfield, 12 miles south of Wasco, 36 miles north of Taft, and 25 miles south of Delano you will find one of the most sacred places on the earth to me ~ Shafter, California. I have revered it since I was a child way back when just knowing my dad’s family was from there and many of he and his siblings went to school there. My dad epitomized it in his song, Poor Kids, a song that I can not hear without tears coming to the surface. It was a HARD life for them but my dad, being the youngest, was also very, very spoiled. He acted like it, too! I miss him all of the time and putting this together has been an emotional appreciation in so many ways.
His name was Len LaVar McDonald but went by LaVar until his dad died in ’52. Then he took on his father’s name of Len. In the family he was only known as “Bunny” until he died in 2013 at the age if 80. The name came from when he was a small child and hopped around as a bunny. Thus the name stuck.
In this yearbook, his brother, George Dean is a senior. However, George always went by Dean. Uncle Dean to us kids. He seemed to looking out for Dad their entire lives. I loved Uncle Dean as he was a father to us. And within a couple of hours of his death in 2007, we were on the road to California for his funeral.
So, in honor of my dad’s 90’s birthday I am sharing 2 of his yearbooks. The other one has been misplaced and it is my hope to have it posted here one day. Thanks to the miracle of eBay, that just may come to light.
Angel Prairee 