Reader Floyd Perry Jr. writes:
“I wanted to share a couple of photos that I have in my collection of Historic Stockton Photos, that I inherited from my grandparents, who were camera bugs. … (Photos of) the old San Joaquin County Courthouse & San Joaquin County Jail. Not only are they in Color (most photos of these buildings are in Black & White), but these two are CLOSEUPS of the Courthouse Dome & Jail Tower, that were taken from the rooftop of the old Medico-Dental Building. The pictures were taken in 1961, just prior to both demolitions.”

Thanks, Floyd. the courthouse dome photo shows how poorly maintained the courthouse was towards the end. A pity, as a bit of scrubbing would have revealed one of the most majestic Romanesque courthouses in the state. The jail tower looks sinister, a suitable lockup for The Man in the Iron Mask.



A Dear John letter
A photo of a toilet on display in City Hall is making the e-mail rounds.
A sign hangs on the toilet: “Toilet for display only. Do not use.”
“This week is ‘Fix a Leak Week,’” explains city spokeswoman Connie Cochran. “The Municipal Utilities District folks are having it as part of a display to show a water-saving toilet.”
Fix a Leak Week includes a drawing for a water-saving toilet, Cochran added.
The reason the e-mail is going around is the sign. “Stockton has got to be the only place that would need the sign on a display toilet in a public lobby,” one correspondent writes. “City Hall, no less. Shall we let Forbes know?”
Evidently the writer has not seen “Couples Retreat.” In that movie, a comedy, a little boy twice uses the display toilet in a home improvement store. Funny movie, by the way.