A key to the city unlocks trip through Fresno history

By Alex Tavlian / The Fresno Bee Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011 | 07:32 PM How much is a key to the city of Fresno worth? To an Eastern European communist leader, it was a sign of unequivocal respect around the world. To a consignment store owner in downtown Fresno, it was worth 50 cents. Fresno's top ceremonial honor has been given out haphazardly over the city's centurylong history, and recipients range from household names to people you've probably never heard of. A key found in a rummage sale this summer probably falls somewhere in the middle. Yosh Toi, owner of Yoshi Now! thrift store in downtown Fresno, along with other consignment and thrift store owners routinely sell surplus inventory in the former Nabisco factory on E Street across from the U.S. Post Ofce. That's where a key to the city of Fresno from the late 1980s was hidden in a bankers box. Toi sold it for 50 cents. The gold-plated key was mounted on a 51/2-inch-long walnut plaque. An engraved plate bore Mayor Dale Doig's name and the city's logo. Missing was the name of the recipient. Digging for that name revealed a fascinating history. Notable recipients

The city has given keys to political gures, clerics, comedians, a Stalinist and sports stars, not to mention local folk for various accomplishments. A few are more noteworthy than others. Nicolae Ceausescu: The former president of Romania is likely the most infamous recipient. In October 1970, Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, visited the Fresno area to learn about farming methods that might help their poor nation. Famed child actress Shirley Temple Black, by then a special envoy of the United Nations, met with Ceausescu during his visit. The Secret Service used a funeral home limousine to take the president and his wife around town. And Mayor Pro Tem Paul Wasemiller gave a key to the city to Ceausescu. Nineteen years later, a violent overthrow of the Ceausescu regime would unveil a surprising fact: Fresno's key was displayed prominently at the Romanian Natural History Museum in Bucharest as a way of evoking Ceausescu's popularity around the world. Michael Jordan: His Airness was among the most appreciative key recipients. Mayor Jim Patterson gave Jordan a key when he arrived in 1993 for an annual basketball youth clinic and Selland Arena showcase, three days after Jordan's Chicago Bulls had won their third straight NBA championship. During the presentation, Patterson said it was an honor to "shake the hand of the greatest basketball player in the world." Jordan replied: "I'll just hang on to because certainly something to remember. This means a lot to me to be welcomed to Fresno like this." David Letterman: The key to the city served as an offering to win the talk-show host's favor.

A 1984 poll ranked Fresno 277th of 277 of the most livable U.S. cities, so Mayor Dan Whitehurst went on the offensive. He spoke to national magazine reporters and appeared on "CBS Morning News." Then came a guest appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman" where Whitehurst combined charm, wit and Fresno paraphernalia to court Letterman's favor. One of the items was a key to the city. "Rather than standing up, handing him the key and having a few pictures taken, I slapped it on his desk and said, 'Here you go,' " Whitehurst said. Toward the end of the segment, Letterman said to Whitehurst, "I like you. I like Fresno, even though I've never been there." Key criteria So just who is eligible to get a key to the city? Generally, keys are given as gifts to people who have either made an impact here or are visiting dignitaries. Widely perceived to be rare, keys were given out frequently by past mayors. "I gave out dozens and dozens of those," Doig said. Former Mayor Alan Autry gave country music star Billy Ray Cyrus and boxer Oscar De La Hoya keys just for being in Fresno. Elephant trainer Axel Gautier got one in 1984 for helping Nosey the elephant move from her old living quarters into her new quarters at what was then known as the Roeding Park Zoo in 1982. Not every visiting dignitary gets a key. For his 1995 visit, President Bill Clinton was given a pair of coasters. Fresno Mayor Pro Tem Linda Calandra considered the coasters a "more presidential memento."

Mayor Ashley Swearengin's administration crafted its own guidelines for giving keys to the city. City spokesman Michael Lukens said recipients are connected to themes of the annual State of the City address. For example, Swearengin's 2009 key went to Shirley Bobbitt, a Fresno native who has opened her home to more than 100 foster children over 20 years. The committee that chose Bobbitt believed that her work t that year's theme of "Dedication." Concluding the search Finding the recipient of the rummage-sale key, given during Doig's tenure from 1985-89, proved impossible. City Clerk Rebecca Klisch said that unless keys were given at City Council meetings, there might not be ofcial records. "If there were any records, they would have been kept within the mayor's ofce, even back then," Klisch said. Doig said he couldn't possibly remember who he gave keys to. Nor could then-City Clerk Jackie Ryle. Toi said that the key was likely purchased from a local estate sale, where most of his inventory comes from. "It's a symbolic thing," Wasemiller said of the key to the city. "To some people it meant something." Now, a key to the city -- purchased at a rummage sale in a downtown warehouse -hangs on the wall in a Bee reporter's home.