Visalia Community Bank released its 10th anniversary Community Calendar earlier this month featuring historic photographs from around Tulare County.

A quick glance through the calendar shows one photograph from Exeterís past on the month of March. With Exeter Union High School celebrating its centennial this year, Kay Connley, director of marketing for Visalia Community Bank, decided to choose a photograph representing the high schoolís history. She chose a photograph of the schoolís 1920 boys basketball team submitted by Delora Buckman. The team wasnít of any particular record, but one of the students in the photograph may be one of the greatest athletes to ever be a member of Block E.

Standing on the right side of the front row is Deloraís father, Phil Buckman, whose relatively slender legs do not do justice to the strength of his stance in the world of track and field. Born in Exeter in 1900, Buckman began his track career at EUHS by winning three events at the 1917 Valley Track Meet as a freshman. Two years later he repeated that fete and added a second-place finish in the high jump and fourth-place finish in the 22-yard dash at the 1919 Valley Track Meet. As a senior, he won the 100- and 200-yard dashes at the Valley Meet. In addition to competing in track and basketball, Buckman was also the featured fullback on the EUHS football team.

Before graduating in 1920, Buckman was recruited by several California colleges for track and field. He eventually accepted a scholarship from Occidental College in Los Angeles, which was quickly becoming a powerhouse on the national stage in the golden age of track and field.

Buckman continued his dominance in college, winning the 100-yard dash in his first meet as a freshman. However, most of his freshman year would be lost after pulling a tendon in his leg. Buckman returned to the track his sophomore year and began pulling away from the competition. At one meet, he was clocked at 9.4 seconds in the 100-yard dash. As a junior at Occidental in 1924, Buckman was named captain of the star-studded track team and set a conference record by running the 220-yard dash in 22 seconds. His performance that season earned him an invite to the Olympic Trials at the LA Coliseum, where he went stride for stride with Charlie Paddock, then the worldís fastest man, and Scotsman Eric Liddell, the focus of the Academy Award winning film ìChariots of Fire.î Buckmanís career as a world-class sprinter came to an end in 1925 when he reagrivated the injury from his freshman year.

Buckman also comprised half of the collegeís backfield on the football team, helping them win the three straight Southern Conference Championships from 1922-1924. One newspaper even referred to Buckman as ìa veritable Red Grange,î referring to the man considered by many sports historians to be the greatest all-around athlete of all time and football Hall-of-Famer. After graduating from Occidental in 1925, Buckman went into coaching, leading the Oxnard High School football team to a California Interscholastic Federation championship in 1928.

ìHe realized after a few years of coaching that it wasnít his calling,î Delora said. ìHe continued coaching and teaching before entering medical school.î

After medical school and his residency, Buckman returned to Exeter to open his first general medical practice. He then opened Exeterís first hospital where Mammaís Restaurant is now located. He continued to practice medicine until he was 83 years old.

ìHe loved what he did,î Delora said. ìHe valued the importance of education but also thought everyone should be a well grounded and well rounded individual ñ emotionally, spiritually and physically.î

Athletics remained important to Buckman until his death in 1985. Delora remembers her father always stopping the car to pick up high school students wearing a Block E letterman jacket to offer a ride home.

ìThroughout his career, he offered free sports physicals for any students who couldnít afford them,î Delora said. ìHe knew the importance of athletics and wanted to make sure everyone had an opportunity to experience it.î

Save the Dates

Visalia Community Bank printed 8,000 calendars this year in celebration of the 10th anniversary edition and demand from previous years.

Since then, VCBís Kay Connley pours through hundreds of submissions each year.

ìPeople take a lot of pride in these calendars and its reputation has really spread over the years,î said Connley. ìSome cut out the photographs and frame them because the printing is better than what they have tried on their own.î

The bank held a release party for the calendar earlier this month, where VCB staff dressed in costume from their favorite historical era. Dressed in a derby, sweater vest and knickers, VCB President and CEO Tom Beene said the project started when the bank began running out of room to hang historic photographs in its branches.

ìItís not just about pictures, itís about talking and reminiscing where we came from, growing up in this community and the surrounding communities,î Beene said.

Tulare County Historian Terry Ommen called the calendar one of the best ideas to preserve local history.

ìMost of these photos would never see the light of day to the rest of the public,î Ommen said. ìI want to thank all of the people who dug through their boxes and scrapbooks in the attic to share these with the bank.î

Delora Buckman, whose father was featured in the March photograph of the EUHS 1920 basketball team, was in attendance at the party. As vice president of the Tulare County Historical Society, she presented VCB with a bouquet of flowers in appreciation of the calendar.

ìThank you for preserving our history,î Delora said.

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