Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert NONPROFIT ORG
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Upper Mojave Desert 230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd. • P. O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556 • 760-375-8456 Vol. 33, No. 6 June 2018 To see our schedule of events, visit us at hsumd.org or on Facebook at hsumd Meet ‘California’s Gold’ Cameraman, June 19 f you’re a fan of Huell Howser’s “Califor- nia’s Gold” series, you won’t want to miss our June meeting — your chance to meet “Louie” as in “Louie, take a look at this!,” Ione of Huell’s catch phrases from the series. Louie is Luis Fuerte, who has written a book about his adventures as the sole camera- man for the first 12 years of the series. He will speak at our June meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 19, at the Historic USO Building, 230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd. Luis Fuerte grew up in San Bernardino and, after a couple of years in the Navy, at- tended San Bernardino Valley College and fell in love with television camerawork. His first TV job was at KCOP, where, among other interesting shoots, he was involved in live commercials with Cal Worthington and his “dog Spot.” After that Luis moved to KCET, where, since KCET was a public television station, he was able to move among many aspects of TV production, a learning period that stood him in good stead a few years later. In the meantime, Huell, who hailed from Gallatin, Tenn., had a stint in the Ma- rine Corps and a few years at the University Luis Fuente appears with Huell Howser on the cover of his book. Portrait of Luis, above right, is from kcet.org. See p. 5 Vol. 33, No. 6 June 2018 President’s Message — Come See Us This Summer! pring has sprung, fall has fell, summer’s come, and it’s hotter than usual. But we still love Ridgecrest! Our election of several board directors for next fiscal year (July 2018 through June 2019) is over, and we thank both those who volunteered to serve on our board and those who attended our annual dinner and Business Meeting to vote for them. SOur June edition of the newsletter from HSUMD will be the last until September, while our esteemed editor, Liz Babcock, gets a well-earned vacation. But that doesn’t mean that the events and activities and work at our buildings take a break. We will still be analogous to an active beehive, so if you want to have fun and entertainment you should watch our flyers and newspaper articles and building sign messages and the calendar on our website and “bee” there! Tex Hoppus One particular event that we have planned for June itself is on Saturday, June 16. An item on page 3 in this newsletter describes what it is, so read it and hopefully we’ll see you there. Liz, enjoy your “rest” this summer. Others, enjoy your time, too. But don’t forget to come see us. — Tex Hoppus PatCan Farris you identify anyone in this historic photo? loaned me (Liz Babcock) this historic photo to scan for HSUMD’s collection. Pat said the photo shows young residents of early Ridgecrest gathering in the Tharp backyard near what is now West Ridgecrest Boulevard. Among those shown are Edith Tharp (behind the two boys at center front), her son Bob (just to the right of her), and young Don Joe McKernan (far right). The occasion was a session of Ridgecrest’s first Sunday school, circa 1943. If you can recognize anyone else, please call or write Liz (phone and email numbers given on page 8). Photo courtesy of Patricia Farris 2 Vol. 33, No. 6 June 2018 Celebrating the Navy’s Presence in Our Valley In November 1943 the U.S. Navy formally estab- lished the Naval Ordnance Test Station in the Indian Wells Valley. This coming No- vember, if you do the math, will be the Navy’s 75th Anni- versary of being a part of our community. We will all mark a significant milestone in our collective history. Many community events will lead up to the November celebration, and HSUMD will be the host of one of the first of these events on Saturday, June 16, when we will show many of the episodes of “Pictures of Us,” the ac- claimed series by Mark Pahuta and Leroy Doig that tells of the Navy’s beginnings here, including organizational, Historic shot from Episode 2 shows a Douglas B-18 firing human, technical, and humorous perspectives. Caltech-developed retro-rockets over China Lake’s north ranges in 1944. U.S. Navy photo The showings will occur in the Historic USO Building, 230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd. in three sessions through the day drinks. on June 16. Attendance for all sessions will be free. The third session will start at 6 p.m. and will show The first session will begin at 9 a.m. and will show a Episode 13 (“What’s So Special About That?”), Special 30-minute compilation of the series called “And Now” Edition 1 (“1-63” [President Kennedy’s visit here), and along with Episode 1 (“A station, having for its primary Special Edition 3 (“That Was the Way Things Were”). function…”) and Episode 2 (“The Rocket Racket”). A con- During this session we will sell our famous all-beef tinental breakfast will also be available for sale in our lobby, Crumville hotdogs with toppings that include sauerkraut, and the two episodes will be for sale in our Gift Shop. relish, and chili, along with snacks and drinks. The second session will start at 1 p.m. and will feature Come enjoy yourself, have refreshments, buy a Episode 3 (“Coming of Age”), Episode 8 (“Way Off Bore- historical DVD or several, and help celebrate the Navy’s sight”), and Episode 9 (“Sonic Boom Railway”). Bowls central role in the history of our community! of chili with toppings will be for sale, as will snacks and — Tex Hoppus Note: HSUMD’s headquarters are located in what is now officially named the Historic USO Building, a structure that opened in 1945 to house a USO Club that had been requested by Navy leadership. Our building and the Navy en- joy parallel histories, and today HSUMD hosts many activities that are similar to those our predeces- sors hosted in the building. You can read all about it in our Among the many fascinating glimpses of history in Episode 1 of “The book, The Historic USO by Liz Way Things Were” is this April 15, 1944, shot of the Naval Ordnance Babcock, available for sale in our Test Station’s headquarters huts. U.S. Navy photo Gift Shop. 3 Vol. 33, No. 6 June 2018 Report on Collections and Archives ere it is June already, and we are still as busy as ever. New Hadditions to our collection continue to come in from our gener- ous community. Elvy Hopkins’ sister have been in town settling up Elvy’s estate, and we have been the recipients of several items in his collections. I am thrilled he had so many interests and saved almost anything that came along. I know it has been overwhelming for his family. Elvy had his driveway lined with old insulators on posts, so we now have several that were extra. I am thinking of a way to use these. We also now have several model kits of the 20 mule team and borax wagon. I could use a volunteer to put one together for display. Believe it or not, we do not have one for display. I would like to sell the others, as they are new. I have also offered to add any photos or slides that pertain to our area to our collections as well as any that show activities and members of the many organization where Elvy was actively involved. Another great donation we received this past month was a select part of John Di Pol’s personal library. His interest was broad, and these books represent an amazing cross section of local and nearby history. Many of these books have personal thank yous and notations from the authors, pho- tographers, and illustrators. A few are Portion of the front wall of the Original Kern County Firehouse, ready to even first additions. paint and with Craig Porter after he finishes the job. Photos by Carol Porter Our count at this time is nearly 75 books to add to our history library and-after photos as my hardworking once again that the response to our and another 35 or so for a used book husband, Craig, works on spiffing request for help with the cost of the sale, with additional books not related up our original Station Street fire- rehab for this building has been amaz- to the area going to the Friends of the house. Repairing, preparing and ing, and donations are still coming in. Library. Thank you, Dee Di Pol, for painting after 38 years have been big We have wonderful support, and I your generosity. bites to chew. thank you all. Last but not least, here are before- I would be remiss to not mention — Carol Porter 4 Vol. 33, No. 6 June 2018 ‘California’s Gold’ Cameraman From p. 1 of Tennessee even as he got into the producers of “Videologs,” short filler and her trainer being reunited after 15 television business. He spent almost segments requiring only a three-man years. 10 years at WSM TV in Nashville be- crew – host, cameraman, and sound The two men collaborated on many fore moving to New York briefly and engineer.