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I have been researching the Zodiac cases for around a year and a half now and I always find myself coming back to Bakersfield, California. There are several connections to the area regarding the Zodiac case and whilst doing my usual searching I had been looking into a suspect that sent me in a round about way back to the Zodiacciphers.com website to look at Zodiac's letters.
A thought occurred regarding Zodiac's Button letter and how many times he went on about his buttons, then we get the little list and later the exorcist letter tit willow, tit willow, tit willow.
Having willow on the brain and seeing the word buttons it reminded me of a town I had come across, Buttonwillow just outside of Bakersfield, California. Bakersfield College was where Paul Avery studied in 1953, you can find the Yearbook here 1953 Renegade Raconteur Bakersfield College Yearbook. I also found out through a good friend in the Zodiac community, Rubislaw32, that Don Cheney also attended Bakersfield College around this time. Buttonwillow lies 26 miles outside of Bakersfield.
The are a few interesting points about Buttonwillow the first being that it was named after the Native American Buttonbush, the Yokut Indians used it as a meeting place to hunt, later becoming a place of the Settlers stock rodeos.
Photo by Davisa78 (Pixabay)
Buttonwillow is also a Motel Hub for members of the Sports Car Club of America holding events at the Buttonwillow Raceway Park. A super 8 and Motel 6 and the Homeland Inn are some of the Motels to note.
The town is also known for hosting the Best in the West jet rally, an annual gathering of model jet enthusiasts.
I looked into the history of Buttonwillow as well as Bakersfield and it appears there was a Car Club there since the late 40's, early 50's. Pioneers of Drag Racing, several clubs began in and around Bakersfield and Buttonwillow, being given an unused airstrip to hold races. Race Clubs such as the Bakersfield Coupe and the Roadsters became the Smokers Incorporated in 1948. You can read about their history here Smokers History | Bakersfield Smokers Drag Racing (wordpress.com). In Buttonwillow the California Sports Car Club eventually became a part of the Sports Car Club America as it stands today, being one of the oldest car clubs in California.
A Scandal which is now being widely reported are the 5 unusual murder cases involving the homosexual activities between young boys and older high powered men who held important positions within the town of Bakersfield, going way back to the 1970's. News reports on The Lords of Bakersfield as well as the Podcast series from True Crime Garage can be found here Lords of Bakersfield /// Part 1 /// 328 - True Crime Garage - Omny.fm
With the possible involvement of Law Enforcement, Government Agencies and businesses in Bakersfield and the surrounding areas in criminal activities it does slightly resemble the situation we see in Vallejo with much suspicion towards the Police and DA's office. Accusations of sexual abuse have been recorded over the years regarding these agencies in both Bakersfield and Vallejo. There are also several cases of murder which still remain unsolved or at best convictions that may be questionable. Did Zodiac know about the scandalous behaviour going on back then?
I also did a search to see if any bombs were associated within the Kern County area and did find an Armoury and Gunnery site nearby, Edwards Air Force Base. Buttonwillow also has ties to the Pine Mountain Club which is a private community, you have to have a lot of money to live in these kinds of communities. It also put me in mind of the Sierra Club and I can't help thinking that Zodiac may have had ties to these communities or an interest in Nature and Conservation.
Could Zodiac have been a member of similar Clubs? Was Zodiac calling out those in High Society who led double lives? Did Zodiac have a connection to Buttonwillow or Bakersfield? The Judge attacked outside the Sierra Club comes to mind and the possible connection to William Joseph Grant who led a double life himself.
There are also several weird connections to Bakersfield College and I do wonder if Zodiac knew Paul Avery, possibly attending the same college. In 1953, Bakersfield College had a "Slave Sale" where the girls would be sold off like slaves and have to do the boy's bidding for the day, also reversing the roles as part of their college fundraiser. Big Red was also the Football Team's name, having a motto of "Big Red Get Mad" which could be where the idea of the Red Phantom came from.
I have been discussing the wordplay of Zodiac and my ideas on Buttonwillow to Rubislaw32 of the Zodiackillermystery website when he observed that
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"It was the Zodiac who referred to '' Buttons '' , but '' Badges '' may have been a more appropriate term ( ? ) . In addition , the Zodiac referred to '' Ciphers '' when '' Cryptograms '' was a more accurate term .
We seem to see this '' slightly off centre '' or accuracy , with the Zodiac , as an observation quite regularly . How much of it was deliberate ( ? ) , is a good question .
With clues for the Zodiac's Bomb cipher , the Zodiac states : '' Radians , and inches along the radians '' . But looking again , this could be :
'' Radeons , and finches along the radeons '' = '' Birds along the wire '' = '' Bunting '' .
Bunting is considered '' Pure Decoration '' - and therefore , that clue is likely to be a '' Telegraphed Red Herring '' .
The above interpretation got me thinking that the Birds on a Wire may refer to a large electrical substation out by Buttonwillow & Bakersfield that is part of a major north–south transmission corridor. It marks the northern end of Path 26 across the Transverse Ranges and the southern end of the Path 15 power lines. It also made me think of the Finches that were used in Mining, for detecting gas (radon).
Some may think that Buttonwillow Raceway could point to suspects such as Kjell Qvale, having connections with the Motorsport industry it's probable that he raced these circuits as a young man. Paul Avery played his part in the Zodiac case and I do think there may be answers in Bakersfield. I am not sure how long Paul Avery attended Bakersfield College but his connections to Don Cheney and one of the main suspects Arthur Lee Allen, I can't help but think there's more to this story.