It is clear that authorities have closed Kasson Road just north of Durham Ferry Road southwest of Manteca.

There are concrete barricades blocking the road and multiple signs stating the road is closed.

That, however, hasn’t stopped drivers from ignoring the warnings and driving around barriers.

On Saturday just before noon a driver of a Ford F-150 double cab pickup was the second motorist to learn an expensive lesson that ignoring clear and obvious warnings can be an expensive mistake.

The man drove his pickup truck into a gully created earlier this month when a storm retention basin failed and washed out roughly a 10-foot-section of the road.

We know it is right around 10 feet because the pickup truck — which is just under 230 inches — fit almost snuggly into the gap after it rammed the road base and dirt that was above a ledge just 6 feet below where the asphalt once was.

Just 5 days earlier a BMW driver did the same thing.

Had either driver been northbound and done the same thing their vehicles would have been even more severely damaged  as there is no ledge on the north side to land on.

The CHP issued both drivers tickets for driving on a closed road.

That is probably the least of their financial troubles given the damage done to their cars and what their insurer might do to them when time to renew their policies comes around.

Manteca’s most unique

commercial bathrooms?

Brethren Brewing Company — the beer tasting room that is marking its grand opening this Saturday, Feb. 4 — in the 200 block of North Main has a lot going for it.

Among the touches are four sperate unisex bathrooms with standard doors that share  a common wash basin area and mirror

While it may have addressed a vexing layout issue in the remodeled 103-year-old building that originally housed the South San Joaquin Irrigation District office, the solution by owner Daniel Machado eliminates an age-old problem of bathroom facilities placing one  gender at a disadvantage.

The grand opening Saturday is from noon to 9 p.m. and will feature four food trucks.

Brethren Brewing is now open Wednesdays through Fridays from 2 to 9 p.m., Saturdays noon to 9 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 7 p.m.

Comedy club on the way

to downtown, what

about an ice cream parlor?

Just down the street from Brethren Brewing Chris Teicheira is working on preparing The Deaf Puppy Comedy Club for its opening  in the 100 block of North Main.

A “historic” downtown feature that would be nice to see a comeback is an ice cream parlor.

The  Creamery — Manteca’s original milk skimming station that opened in 1913 on the southeast quadrant of the Yosemite Avenue and railroad crossing in downtown — added an ice cream parlor in the front of the building in  the 1930s.

It soon became not only a favorite gathering place for families and kids after school but also a popular stop for travelers passing through Manteca on Highway 120 which until the 1970s was Yosemite Avenue.

Among them was Bing Crosby who made it a point to stop there on his way to and from his Sierra vacation property near Sonora.

The Creamery’s commercial operations produced an average of 1,800 pounds of butter and 10 gallons of ice cream a day in 1938.

By 1948, the Creamery was making as much as 1,500 gallons of ice cream a day to meet demand.

By then busloads of tourists on the way to and from Yosemite in the summer would stop for ice cream.

“Maneto Brand” — the creamery’s tradename — was not only on ice cream but also homemade syrups, buttermilk, and butter.

They used locally grown fruits, berries, and nuts to create different flavors.

Heavy cream was used to provide a smooth 14 percent content product.

The Creamery closed in December 1965.  

It was replaced with a gas station. That gas station was eventually replaced by a KFC (now home for a taqueria) and a building that housed Regal signs for years.

As a side note, The Emporium — which serves ice cream that is not mass produced — is a popular draw in downtown Ripon.

That said the ice cream — particularly the milk shakes — at Great Wolf Resort in Manteca are decadent and definitely worth stopping by to enjoy.

The resort’s restaurants — including ice cream parlor — are open to those that aren’t water park guests.

Manteca also is home to a 27,000-square-foot Dryers Ice Cream distribution center in Spreckels Park.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com

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