Upper Mojave Desert 230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd. • P. O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556 • 760-375-8456
Vol. 32, No. 9 December 2017 To see our schedule of events, visit us at hsumd.org or on Facebook at hsumd Annual Holiday Dinner Meeting Date: Tuesday, Dec. 19 The Caliches, shown at our 2015 Time: 6 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 holiday party, last performed for Place: The Historic USO us at our Ladies Tea this fall. Tickets: $10 each at HSUMD Gift Shop Make reservations by Dec. 15 Bring: Dessert to share As usual, the Society’s December meeting will be our annual holiday dinner party. The party will take place at the Historic USO Building, 230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd., on Tuesday, Dec. 19. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and dinner will start at 6:30. Tickets went on sale at our gift shop on Monday, Dec. 4, at a cost of $10 each. Please do stop by to get tickets or make reserva- tions by Friday, Dec. 15, so we can get a good head count for the dinner. Chuck Cordell and his crew from Habitat for Humanity will be prepare a tri-tip dinner for us. We will also have a meatless dish, while dessert will be on you, so please do bring a dessert to share. Popular local folk band The Caliches will provide music to get us in the holiday spirit, while we’ll all provide the camaraderie and good times to get an early start on welcoming in the New Year in grand style. Chuck Cordell, our favorite tri-tip dinner For more information on this or future meetings, call HSUMD chef, and his Habitat at 760-375-8456. — Andrew Sound for Humanity team will again serve us a Three of our best volunteers, delicious meal. Claudia Sound and Joan and Alan Woodman, enjoy a previ- ous HSUMD holiday party.
Here’s Joe Grosshardt, properly dressed for a festive event featuring a dessert YOU will bring! All photos by Liz Vol. 32, No. 9 December 2017
President’s Message — Holiday Greetings and Thank You! extend a very Merry Christmas greeting to all our members as we start the month of December. I do that because I am a Christian. But we also recog- nize that our Historical Society serves a multicultural community and we welcome all who wish to join us. There are more than 29 holidays observed by seven of the world’s major religions. So, I extend to them a very happy and peaceful and meaningful holiday as well. We have had another remarkable year as the Historical Society serves our community and invites its citizens to our many celebratory, educational, and recreational events. IAmong many other occasions, we marked Sept. 11 by honoring our first responders and by conducting a flag-raising ceremony in front of the old Kern County Firehouse for the first time in many decades. We honored our veterans by hosting a Veterans Breakfast on the third Thursday Tex Hoppus of every month. We finished renovating and repairing the inside of the historic fire- house and started a fund-raising campaign to repair its outside. We accomplished more in our Veterans Memorial Build- ing. We moved most of our archival and preservation activities to the firehouse and saw a remarkable effort by a hardwork- ing team of volunteers under the leadership of Carol Porter. Our Gift Shop remained focused on our guests from near and far, and we have great new additions to our shelves for you to find and enjoy. Note: Almost all of our Gift Shop items will be on sale for the holiday season of December for special discounts! Don’t forget to join us on Tuesday, Dec. 19, for a great dinner and special entertainment. We will open at 6 p.m. and start serving at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now! And don’t forget that it’s time to renew (or get) your membership dues. Dues and donations are the only things that let us continue to operate and to serve our community. Citizens and businesses – thank you for your support! — Tex Hoppus
A sizeable crowd at our No- vember meeting is set to lis- ten to excellent presentations by the two gentlemen in the front, Col. Steve Hall (USAF, Ret.) at left and Capt. Dave Ashworth (USN, Ret.). Dave regaled us with anecdotes from his childhood at China Lake and gave some new insights on his dad, VAdm. Dick Ashworth, former China Lake commander. Steve’s lucid presentation helped us understand what really hap- pened during the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bomb drops. Our speakers also appeared at the Veterans’ Breakfast, which was packed as well. Photo by Liz 2 Vol. 32, No. 9 December 2017 Book-Signing Event Dec. 21 — Come Celebrate with Fred Weals, Author & HSUMD Icon Our author, Fred ot off the Press and just in time for your holiday shop- Weals, enjoys his ping and reading pleasure is a new HSUMD book, Indian Wells Valley 100th birthday HPioneers Speak by Frederick H. Weals. this past Fred will be at the Historic USO on Thursday, Dec. 21, 1-3 p.m., to sign cop- July 22. ies of his book. Please do come celebrate with us. We will have light refreshments available, and the book will of course be on sale in our gift shop. Photo by Liz Fred, who is an HSUMD founding member, a former longtime member of our board, and a renowned expert on our local history, has already written two books for us — Indian Wells Valley – How It Grew in 2001 and Churches of the Indian Wells Valley in 2003. Both are favorite resources for people seeking information about this fascinating valley we live in. This latest book focuses on the first-person recol- lections of representative people who lived in our area before the Navy arrived. Fred had been collect- ing bits and pieces of our history for years; recently he decided that now was a good time to share some of those treasures with us. Among the individuals featured are Anabel Carr, Pete Aguereberry, Pete Erdmann, J. B. “Mac” McK- ernan, Howard Coppock, and Louisa “Ma” Didden. The book winds up with representative newspaper columns by Joe Fox, the man for whom our auditorium is named. Scattered throughout are numerous illustrations — more than 200 in all — to give you some glimpses of the lives and ad- ventures of the hardy, resourceful people who lived here during the first half of the 20th century. You can buy the 8 1/2 by 11, 120-page volume for a reason- able $19.95 (or 10 percent less if you’re a member). — Liz Babcock
Whitey Winchester CD release party – HSUMD fundraiser This month — Dec. 16 — HSUMD will welcome Andy Stanford to the Historic USO for the release of his second album. This CD features 20 artists, many local, recruited by Andy to take part in the making of this album. Some of these artists will perform at the event, which will take place on Saturday, Dec. 16. Doors open at 6 p.m. with a cover charge of $5. Proceeds from the show will go to HSUMD and the ongoing building restoration efforts. The standard fare of hot dogs, beer, wine, and soft drinks will be served. — Matt Zubia Fred Weals’ latest book — $19.95 – and a treasure trove of local history. 3 Vol. 32, No. 9 December 2017 M.G.M. Classics Warm Up the Holidays
As much as eggnog, mistletoe, holly, and the venerable Christmas tree, holiday movies are a yearly family tradition. And the most famous film studio in the world offers a treasure trove of seasonal treats to dazzle movie lovers of all ages. The Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert’s latest Classic Movie Night series, “An M.G.M. Merry Christmas,” will be presenting two classic yuletide movies from the Metro Gold- wyn Mayer studios. On Wednesday, Dec. 13, at the Historic USO Building, M.G. M.’s 1938 version of Charles Dickens’ perennial holiday tale will screen at 7 p.m. The film stars one of the studio’s busiest contract players, Reginald Owen, as the famous Mr. Scrooge, and he does a most admirable job of depicting the transition from a selfish, cantankerous miser to a redeemed loving, caring man ... after a series of very scary ghostly visitations. Owen pitch- hits for Lionel Barrymore, who famously interpreted the Reginald role yearly on radio. Confined to a wheelchair, Barrymore Owen as had to forgo the film version. Scrooge
Gene Lockhart, a very famous character actor, portrays Poster from Bob Cratchet, along with his wife Kathleen as the Mrs. Wikimedia One of the Cratchet kids is June Lockhart, the future Commons “America’s Mom” (from the “Lassie” and “Lost in Space” television series). Enjoy a very special after-Christmas cinematic treat on Wednesday, Dec. 27, at 7 p.m., as we present the encore showing of one of the most beloved movies of all time. Join the wonderful Judy Garland as Dorothy, sporting glorious ruby slippers, along with her buddies the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and of course, Toto, in an adventurous musical journey down that famous Yellow Brick Road enroute to the Emerald City. Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, and…the “Munchkins” round out the fabulous cast in this wonderful film fable. There are plenty of interpretations of the many aspects See p. 7
Judy Garland, Frank Mor- gan, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, and Ray Bolger in costume for their famous roles in an MGM classic we all know and love. This poster was cropped, as was the one above, in keeping with our agreement not to advertise the titles of the films Nick shows. But you know them, don’t you? Wikimedia Commons 4 Vol. 32, No. 9 December 2017
would like to complain a bit about the months rolling by so fast that I feel like I just did a Great Holiday Shopping newsletter bit, but … I only put in a few para- graphs while our editor, writer, send-to-printer, at Our Gift Shop and mailout lady does an enormous amount of work to Our Historic USO Gift Shop stocks engrossing produce one of the best organization newsletters. In my books and videos focused on local history, eye- opinion, it is the best. Thank you, Liz, for the many hours catching T-shirts and caps, See’s delicious candy, Iand years you have provided HSUMD with this fine pub- and many other great gift items. The shop is open lication. six days a week (every day but Sunday), 11 a.m.-3 This month I was the guest speaker for the Exchange p.m. Please stop and shop! It all benefits HSUMD! Club monthly meeting. Once again I addressed our goal This month we’re offering as preservers of our history, both oral and tangible. I took everything in the shop several of our unique items for folks to see and browse (except our publications through. I explained some of the preservation techniques and See’s candy) for 20 we use and why, as well as our goal. percent off! So you can Of course preservation is a never-ending part of the be a thrifty Santa and still Historical Society purpose. Digitizing, indexing, and then purchase special gifts! eventually making our resources electronically available is the longterm goal. Currently our files, photos, media and library are made available to researchers and interested individuals. Every once in a while I have to take a step back and really look at all we accomplish. When it appears to be a neverending task, I forget the progress that has been made. If you can believe it — I have nine volunteers working on projects, each in their own areas as well as crossing over Here’s Carol Porter from a previous newsletter showing off a selection of our See’s Candy — into overlapping projects. what a yummy gift idea! Photo by Liz Doug Whitnell and his sidekick Brian, Don Snyder, Greg Boske, David Cheshire, Kay Farrell, Mary Kus, Clau- I enjoyed a nice lunch and visited with many folks with dia Sound and Kitty Ferguson — The Historical Society the common interest of local history preservation. I then owes these folks a huge thank you, as do I. dragged Liz off to the See’s Store and Smart & Final to re- There are three more people who help with our collect- stock our supplies and gift shop. See you all at our Decem- ing — Lit Brush of the Searles Valley Historical Society; ber dinner, Dec 19th. Elaine Wiley, the Maturango Museum’s history curator; — Carol Porter and Liz Babcock, my advisor, photographer, photo fixer and all-around lookout for items we need to preserve. p.s. from Liz: Several of the people in the Bakersfield audi- Thanks to all of these folks for helping to reach the goals ence were members of the well-known Rankin family, the we have set for our organization. sixth generation of which runs the 31,000-acre Rankin Ranch in Walker Basin, one of the oldest and largest This month Liz was the presenter at the Kern County family-owned ranches in California. The Rankin descen- Historical Society monthly meeting in Bakersfield. Our dents told us that that the Rankins also had an Owl Cafe book, Tales From the Owl Saloon, was her subject — the — much older and larger than the one Slim Riffle built in hows and why it was selected for rewriting, publication Red Mountain. They said the family hauled a version of and its importance to our area. The number of books pur- that Owl on a flatcar up and down the railroad tracks to chased after her talk and the additional Tales of the feed workers on the original L.A. aqueduct. We’re hoping Upper Mojave Desert books sold are evidence that the talk to learn more. was very well received. 5 Vol. 32, No. 9 December 2017 There’s Still Time To Be an HSUMD Santa! Trying to find a thoughtful gift for someone who already has every- thing? Know someone out of town who’d like a monthly reminder life in the Indian Wells Valley? Consider giving a gift of the Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert. A gift membership costs a mere $35, and your recipient will receive our newsletter each month, as well as the satisfaction of supporting Upper Mojave Desert history and continuing culture in our town. Or you could order a commemorative brick in your recipient’s name, giving him or her a permanent presence in Ridgecrest and helping HSUMD at the same time. Please contact Membership Coordinator Lloyd Smith (information given on this newsletter’s last page) to learn more about how to get a brick giving your favorite recipient a presence forever on the walkway in the front of the Historic USO Building. Our courtyard already has a gratifying num- ber of bricks, but there’s still plenty of room for more. And don’t forget to renew your own membership!
Please enter a gift membership for:
Name ______
Address______
City, State Zip ______
Sign gift card as follows: ______
I enclose $35 for each membership and $45 for each commercial membership. (Send to address as given on back page.)
HSUMD’S Open Mic Night is Here’s a glimpse the place to be for great music from Mildred and ambiance every non-flex Friday. Franklin’s Admission is a mere $2 per adult. scrapbook Children younger than 12 are free. of Santa and some angels Beers and wines are available along with at our build- the usual candies, sodas, popcorn, and ing’s very first Jumbo Crumville hot dogs. Christmas party, Dec. The entertainment starts at 7 22, 1945. sharp. You’ll want to be there!
6 Vol. 32, No. 9 December 2017
M.G.M. Classics From p. 4 Membership Reminder of this classic, but I like to think that the story is one of appreciating one’s God-given gifts and realizing that the qualities you wish you had …you A 2018 membership probably already have ... and just don’t realize it. letter went out early this month. Letters Please plan to arrive early on Classic Movie Night to enjoy the delicious went to all members treats available at the thrifty Snack Bar that opens up at 6:30 p.m. Films regardless of whether screen on flex Wednesdays at 7 p.m. you owe 2018 dues. Admission is, as always, free, but we just love those holiday-spirited do- Please respond to nations that help us keep the Historic USO Movie Palace in tip-top shape. the mailing if there For film titles (as if you needed them) call 760-375-8456. Or stop in are any changes in for a current film schedule. your membership so See you at the movies…for an M.G.M. Merry Christmas holiday! that our membership coordinator, Lloyd Smith, can update the — Nick Rogers database.
Member Categories New Members HSUMD has three membership categories — all very important to us. Our regular memberships are $35 per individual or family. Our business member- Eric & Kathy Bengtson ships are $45 each. Sue Metcalf Newkirk We also have a special category: life member, which is something the board bestows only on members who have supported HSUMD in sustained and spe- cial ways. Our life members’ names are displayed on our website. Business Members — please patronize them! Ale’s Steakhouse and Bar Desert Garage Door Pleistocene Foundation Allen County Public Library, Earth Landscaping Professional Tax & Business Services Genealogy Department Econo-Lodge Rand Desert Museum Anna Marie Bergens, Realtor Edward Jones Investments – Red Rock Books Best Western China Lake Inn Brook H. Andreoli Ridgecrest Area Convention & Bob & Ardyce’s Bicycle Shop The Flower Shoppe Visitors Bureau California Route 66 Museum Heritage Inn Ridgecrest Automotive, LLC Cal-Sun Pools Phyllis M. Hix, Attorney Ridgecrest Moving & Storage Clarion Inn IWV Premier Landscaping Ridgecrest Regional Hospital Comfort Inn Jack & Dana Lyons, Realtors Roaming Dog Kitchen Cordell Construction Co. Maturango Museum S&M Coins & Collectibles Cruise Planners–IWV Motion Tire & Wheel Gary P. Staab & Assoc., Inc. DeathValley.com Nevins Tech. Consultants The Swap Sheet Desert Empire Fair The News Review Vaughn Realty Warren’s Automotive 7 Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert NONPROFIT ORG. P. O. Box 2001 U.S. POSTAGE PAID Ridgecrest, CA 93556 PERMIT NO. 9 RIDGECREST, CA
HOLIDAY DINNER, DECEMBER 2017
Tuesday, Dec. 19, 6 p.m., Historic USO Building — NOTE: An hour earlier than usual!
760-608-3186, [email protected] 760-608-3186,
Matthew Zubia, Fundraising Zubia, Matthew other gift giving. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. nonprofit 501(c)(3) a are We giving. gift other
760-375-8456 for info info for 760-375-8456
Please remember the Historical Society in your wills, trusts and and trusts wills, your in Society Historical the remember Please
call or [email protected]
Annual dues are $35 (family) and $45 (business). $45 and (family) $35 are dues Annual
Nick Rogers, Movie Nite, Publicity Nite, Movie Rogers, Nick
Important Reminders Important
760-446-3400, [email protected] 760-446-3400,
Carol Porter, Accessions & Exhibits & Accessions Porter, Carol
Chuck Cordell, Building Cordell, Chuck prefer living color. living prefer
760-608-7775, [email protected] 760-608-7775, online is the way to go if you you if go to way the is online
760-377-3542, [email protected] 760-377-3542, Dave Austin, Historian Austin, Dave sending paper copies, but but copies, paper sending
Lloyd Smith, Membership Coordinator Membership Smith, Lloyd [email protected] 619-808-2233,
We don’t plan to stop stop to plan don’t We
760-375-4308, [email protected] 760-375-4308,
John Abbott, Building Mgr., Bldg. Rental Bldg. Mgr., Building Abbott, John you each month. month. each you
Donna McCrohan Rosenthal, PR Coordinator PR Rosenthal, McCrohan Donna
get a PDF copy emailed to to emailed copy PDF a get
760-446-3400, [email protected] 760-446-3400, 760-608-7296, [email protected] 760-608-7296, him to put you on the list to to list the on you put to him
Craig Porter, SEEP Coordinator SEEP Porter, Craig [email protected] , and ask ask and , Andrew Sound, Programs Sound, Andrew
760-371-2458, [email protected] 760-371-2458, Lloyd Smith, at at Smith, Lloyd lloyd. tor, tor, [email protected]
- coordina membership our Jim Kenney, Field Trips Coordinator Trips Field Kenney, Jim Richard Hendricks, Secretary-Treasurer Hendricks, Richard
Just send an e-mail to to e-mail an send Just [email protected] 760-382-1852,
760-375-8202, [email protected] 760-375-8202,
Marti Hoppus, Bookkeeper Hoppus, Marti Doug Lueck, Vice President Vice Lueck, Doug
newsletter in color! in newsletter
760-375-7900, [email protected] 760-375-7900,
[email protected] 760-382-1852,
this see to way
Liz Babcock, Newsletter Editor Newsletter Babcock, Liz Tex Hoppus, President President Hoppus, Tex
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DIRECTORS COMMITTEE LEADERS COMMITTEE