(KMJ) The Ides of March proved to be a lovely day for KMJ’s Ray Appleton.
On Tuesday evening, KMJ’s legendary talk show host was honored as the Boy Scouts Sequoia Council Citizen of the Year.
The event at Pardini’s drew more than 100 local dignitaries, friends and family members.
Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, Ray’s son Rory Appleton and his former boss (and current fellow KMJ talk host) John Broeske were among the speakers telling of fond and funny memories with Ray.
Chamber of Commerce President Al Smith emceed the event. Smith, who was the longtime General Manager of KMJ, spoke of the numerous trips to exotic destinations that he, Ray and Ray’s listeners took together.
Video presentations were also made by Fresno State President Joe Castro, State Assemblyman Jim Patterson and Rep. Devin Nunes.
But it was Ray’s story of his days at Camp Chawanakee on Shaver Lake that took the cake. Shortly after winning the greased watermelon contest on July 4, 1962 Ray was severely injured after a bridge collapsed beneath him. A large piece of metal impaled his left leg. Then the story gets VERY interesting.
After a few hours, he was cut loose from the bridge and rushed to a doctor’s office in Auberry. Ray said all of the nurses were Latin while the doctor who stitched him up was German. He received 112 stitches in all.
After returning home to Fresno a few days later his family doctor took a look at the injured leg. “Look at this work…this is military…but it’s not our military”, the doctor told Ray referring to the stitch pattern.
Ray’s story continued, “Two years later I read in the paper that a particular doctor up in Auberry had been picked up for Nazi war crimes”, he said as the audience burst into amazed laughter.
Appleton said he regrets not achieving Eagle Scout status. He said his interest in scouting waned after he discovered girls and rock & roll.
For more information on The Boy Scouts Sequoia Council, click here.
