You never get a second chance at a first impression. I often think of this quote when I think of Valley Springs and where it is going. I've been a resident here for nearly twenty years but nothing has left an impression more than my first day here.

It was Labor Day Weekend 1986. I was fresh out of High school and decided to come up from my home in Southern California to visit my mother in Valley Springs. It had been a long trip. The car wasn't running well so I had nurtured it all the way up. Being used to the San Diego beach breezes it seemed incredibly hot and arid. As I passed Pliler's and Lilies the car began to overheat. I pulled it into the convenience store that at that time was a Beacon store. It was the only one in town. Trying to cool the car down and figure out where I was, I spotted my first Valley Springs residents.

Now picture the scene. Valley Springs back then was just the main strip of old western looking buildings on Hwy 12. And of course they weren't quite as well kept as they are now. Some of them were empty and barren. The shopping center and other amenities that we have now didn't exist. Driving into the store right behind me is an old Chevy pickup. It's pouring black smoke out the tailpipe and running a bit rough. In the front seat are two male figures with beards down to their waists and wild unkempt hair. Each was drinking a Budweiser and between them was an old hound dog. I'm quite certain that if they smiled I could count the teeth between the two of them on my fingers. But the two Charles Mansons in the front seat weren't what really shocked me. It was what was in the back of the truck. The bed of the truck was half stacked with firewood and on that firewood sat two women knitting. As the men got out of the truck, they barked at the women to get them more beer. The women quickly obliged to their demands.

Needless to say I was blown away. I had just left the beaches of southern California and found myself in what looked to me to be a backwoods town where the dogs were treated better than the women. I looked at all the porches for a banjo player while searching for my mother's house. Back then I couldn't get out of this town fast enough. But through circumstance, I stayed.

So what does my first impression of Valley Springs have to do with the town today. Well a lot actually. Going from what it was then, to what it is today, to what it will be three years from now, is a big change. The town has certainly evolved. It's seen a lot of growing pains as the social and the socio-economic climates change. It's going to see more. Today, Valley Springs is on the verge of a quantum leap. For many years the town was not able to support many businesses. Because most businesses did not survive the necessary services have never been available to the residents. If the residents had to go to Lodi or Stockton for their major shopping, they'd just do all of the shopping there. It was a vicious cycle. A business couldn't survive because the residents didn't shop there. The residents didn't shop there because the businesses couldn't provide all the services they needed.

That's all about to change. In a lot of ways that's a wonderful thing. Being a business owner myself, it is long awaited. We're about to go through a quantum jump.

Quantum Jump- (1) Abrupt change from one energy level to another, especially such a change in the orbit of an electron with the loss or gain of a quantum of energy. (2) a sudden large increase or advance

Very soon Valley Springs will not only have all the businesses it needs to be self sufficient, but also the residents it needs to support them. People will look more and more to local businesses for their services. More and more types of businesses will be able to survive and even flourish. This will cause an incredible quantum jump and by the very definition of the word, it will happen all at once.

There are a lot of positives to come of this. I'm all for growth. However it would be wise to look at all of the possible negatives and try to prevent them. There are the obvious ones everybody is yelling about. Obviously traffic is becoming a big problem. The four way stop was backed up to La Contenta the other morning. Schools are overcrowded. Loss of the small town atmosphere. All of these are being addressed. But what's not being addressed is the "other side of the tracks" dilemna.

In many American towns, the railroad tracks run through the center of town, and the homes downwind (prevailing winds) of the tracks usually received a disproportionate share of the smoke and soot from the train engines, especially in the early railroad days when the engines were dirtier. So the real estate on the upwind side became more valuable than on the downwind side, and eventually the demographics followed...the more affluent built nicer houses, lived together, etc. etc. on the right (upwind) side of the tracks. This pattern was repeated in thousands of cities and towns. In most places, eventually there was a right side and a wrong side of the tracks. Hence the expression "Wrong side of the tracks"

Now the railroad tracks in Valley Springs have been gone for several years but the boundary is still there. With the growth we are seeing a socio-economic line drawn more and more clearly. As the community becomes less and less homogenous, the children from the "wrong side of the tracks" become more and more at risk. Self-esteem is the key-determining factor for these children. If they believe they have value, they most likely will succeed. If they don't, they most likely will not become a productive member of society. Hence becoming a burden on society. Remedying this situation now has future value for everyone in our community.

Success is not a zero sum endeavor. If we teach these youths how to be successful now we'll stop the cycle of juvenile delinquency and wasted lives. Valley Springs already has it's own gang. It's very easy for these youths to get involved in the criminal activities of their peers. They must not only be given a healthy outlet, but they must be taught self-esteem. If we do this now, we'll break the cycle thereby preventing a great deal of future crime, drug use, juvenile delinquency, and gang activity.

The Sheng Chi Foundation was formed for this purpose. I know of no other activity which teaches self-esteem and a myriad of other highly beneficial traits better than the study of traditional martial arts. Traditional arts, versus non traditional or sport martial arts, have been closely studied by leading psychologists and have been found to be effective at preventing violence among teens as well as instilling beneficial traits.

FindArticles.com - An Effective Approach to Violence Prevention: Traditional Martial Arts in Middle School
Adolescence, Fall, 2001, by Gail Zivin,
Nimr R. Hassan,
Geraldine F. DePaula,
Daniel A. Monti,
Carmen Harlan,
Kashfia D. Hossain,
Ksai Patterson


Training in traditional martial arts such as what is taught at the Sheng Chi Training Center of Valley Springs is an extremely effective method for ensuring the success of these at risk youths. This is why the Sheng Chi Foundation was formed. If you are in a position to help, consider sponsoring a local youth. It's a great thing to do for our community. Plus it's tax deductible. Please contact us for details.

Several organizations in our area are also working diligently at helping our local youths

The Calaveras County Youth Mentoring Program http://www.ccoe.k12.ca.us/main.html

Valley Springs Teen Center

Supporting them and the Sheng Chi Foundation is a worthy endeavor.

Phil Weaver
Sheng Chi Foundation