The late Huell Howser once marveled at Victory Park.That was during his 2007 visit to Stockton as part of his “California Gold” one-hour series on public television.Howser, who died over four years ago, was wowed by the park conveniently located in the middle of town.Location, access and the abundance of shade trees – the latter matters quite a bit in the Central Valley during sweltering hot days – makes Victory Park a popular place for friends and families to enjoy a nice day with a picnic while allowing the youngsters to run around in the playground.Victory Park is at 1001 N. Pershing Ave., an easy access considering that Interstate 5 has a Pershing Avenue exit that leads you directly by the park.Many who grew here can remember the playground equipment. Included was the one that resembled a rocket ship but with spiral steps inside that led to the top of the capsule and a steel slide on the side.Our family outings back then consisted of a bucket of chicken from KFC with all the sides. On occasions, we would bring our not-so-discipline dogs to the park – they’d occasionally run loose, leaving us to chase them down.One of my fond memories was the pond in front of the Haggin Museum.