The Nastiest Place in California, Part One

“…Vernon may be the nastiest place in California.

The industrial city a few miles southeast of 
downtown Los Angeles is home to the region’s 
last remaining slaughterhouse, a handful of rendering plants, chemical manufacturers 
and a gas-fired power plant.” 

— Gene Maddaus, LA Weekly, May 26, 2011

The LA Weekly recently painted a vivid picture of Vernon, a five-mile city with 112 residents, and posed the question: does Vernon deserve to die?
Disclosure: I work there. Lots of people do. The city has posted outdoor signage on bus shelters all over town that feature individuals who work in Vernon to prove it. The city itself is not pretty, but the bus shelters represent some of its finest architecture. 




If you were to meet me for lunch at my workplace, you could follow an astonishingly long chain of semi-trucks down Soto until you see the guys who won’t let you into the parking lot. 
Or you could follow your nose. When general smog collides with the imaginary cloud of salami tinged with pig fat that seems to emanate from Farmer John’s mural-covered exterior, and then knocks you silly with the overwhelming aroma of coffee beans, you’ve arrived. 

As you drive, you might think:
If I breathe, will I die?
I will never eat bacon again!
I’m shaking from caffeine inhalation.
Why is that unmanned police car always parked on a dead end street next to a chain link fence facing Soto?
Do the people in the bus shelter ads ride the bus?

Does Vernon deserve to die?
You be the judge.


If you can’t get enough Vernongeddon, read “City of Vernon in Fight to Death With Assembly Speaker John Perez.”

If you have a hankering for a Beer-Broiled Brat, Breakfast Pizza or Bruschetta Dog, check out Farmer John’s recipes.