Upper Mojave Desert 230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd. • P. O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556 • 760-375-8456

Vol. 27 No. 5 May 2012 To see our schedule of events, visit us at www.hsumd.org or on Facebook at hsumd

It’s Annual Meeting Time! Get your dinner tickets by May 12 for an evening featuring a ghost-town gossipist, delicious lasagna, good friends and boardmember elections

ur annual dinner and meeting will take place Tuesday, May 15, at 6 p.m. at the Historic USO Building. Come prepared to be well-fed and well- Oentertained. Featured will be Cecile Page Vargo speaking about her new HSUMD-published book, Cerro Gordo. A Ghost Town Caught Between Centuries. She will also be available to autograph copies of the book, which will be for sale before and after the meeting. The evening will also include the election of boardmem- bers and a short business meeting before the speaker. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and dinner will start at 6:30, with the business meeting and the speaker starting after dinner. Dinner will include a choice of traditional lasagna or lasagna with chicken and a white sauce. Tickets at $10 each must be purchased at the Historic USO Gift Shop by Satur- day, May 12. Cecile Page Vargo is a historian, and ghost town gossipist. When she’s not out in the backcountry exploring or tending a ghost town, she spends time researching and writing about California’s unique past. Cecile has recently completed two book projects about the mining town of Cerro Gordo. The book HSUMD published is a collection of 25 years of stories written about Cerro Gordo. Cerro Gordo, co-authored with husband Roger Vargo, is part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series and is scheduled for publication this coming August. Cerro Gordo is the Inyo County mining town famed for helping shape the future of Los Angeles, which grew dramat- ically as Cerro Gordo ore was shipped from its port. Cecile Page Vargo and her husband Roger pose in Continued on p. 6 period costume outside the American Hotel at Cerro Gordo. Explore Historic California photo Vol. 27 No 5 May 2012

President’s Message Genealogical o time for a full-blown Presi- Committee News dent’s Message this month. Our May meeting will be on Tuesday, May 8, at I’ll simply urge you to come 7 p.m. It will be a hands-on experience on using the toN our Annual Meeting May 15. We’ll Internet and learning some of the pitfalls and secrets. share news with you of accomplish- Our Ancestry World membership will be in place, ments and plans, plus we’ll be voting on and we will discuss scheduling and access. a great slate of board members, and of Bring your laptops to link to our wi-fi. We will have course learning about Cecile Vargo’s two computers available for those without laptops. new book, published by HSUMD. Genealogical Committee members, please remem- We’ve had an excellent year, and ber to come to the Historical Society’s annual dinner we couldn’t have done it without your meeting. See details in this month’s lead article, page 1. Doug Lueck support. Hope to see you on May 17! Come cast your vote for our 2012-2014 directors and — Doug Lueck enjoy the presentation by Cecile Vargo on her new book about Cerro Gordo. — Carol Porter Plan on an unforgettable experience Aug. 23! Roy Book Binder, “The Book,” is someone you’re going to want to see when he appears in the Historic USO Build- ing on Thursday, Aug. 23. We’re lucky to have been able to book a spot on the busy schedule of this world-renowned folk- performer and storyteller. Tickets will be on sale at the gift shop soon @ $20. Be sure to get yours! And here’s a bit about The Book. He traveled with the Rev. Gary Davis in the 1960s, rediscovered and revived his career in the ’70s, and Roy’s never looked back ever since. He’s been included in The Blues Who’s Who and The Big Book Of Blues. included Roy’s songs on his last two Red House Records. Roy has appeared on TNN’s “Nashville Now” 30 times with many of Country Music’s bigest legends and has toured na- tionaly with , JJ Cale and Hot Tuna ... you name it, he’s done it! The Book left Greenwich Village in 1976, moved into a tour bus and lived on Roy Book Binder, folk-blues legend coming to Ridgecrest Aug. 23! the road for the next 15 years. He borrowed from his heroes to become a distinct voice in the Blues and At Merlefest, Roy has hosted the acoustic blues stage Folk music worlds. for the past 16 years. He’s been to Hell and back — the “The stories are as good as the songs,” said the Sydney Morn- Blues Festival in Hell, Norway, last August. ing Herald in Australia. He’s still out on the road entertaining audiences Over the years Roy has appeared many times at the Na- around the world, and this August will be our turn to tional Storytelling Festival. the Chicago Blues Festival, The experience why he is famed as a Singing-Songwriting- New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the King Biscuit Blues Storytelling-Fingerpickin’ Blues Legend! Festival and the world-famous Philadelphia Folk Festival. — Alan Alpers 2 Vol. 27 No 5 May 2012 ✯ Vote for Our Board Candidates at the Annual Meeting ✯ Our Nominating Committee (Dale Lane, John Di Pol, and Joan Wood- man) has named the following slate to run for 2012 election to the Board of Directors: Doug Lueck Matthew Zubia Chuck Cordell Mike Leming Andrew Sound Carol Porter Bill Pitman

Of the above slate, Doug, Chuck, Matthew Zubia Mike, Andrew, and Carol have con- Nick Whisnant sented to continue their hard work on t’s great to see Mat- our board for another term. Matthew, resident of the thew Zubia running who was appointed to the board in Indian Wells Valley for a full term! Since January, has agreed to run for a full since 1992, Nick has he joined our board in term. Abeen employed by Carriage Inn early 2012, he has worked on sev- since 1996 and is currently the I Since the committee submitted eral successful fund-raising events. chief engineer of facilities. its report, another highly qualified Matthew was in the Navy when candidate has agreed to throw his hat Nick founded the Ridgecrest he arrived in Ridgecrest with his in the ring: Geocachers, and his team created wife and son in February 1994. the geocaching event that is a big Nick Whisnant “After departing the Navy in part of the Wildflower Festival. 1997, I remained here because I Continuing for another year of the Last year Nick was the presenter was offered a job on the base,” he two-year terms to which they were who gave instructions on geocach- said. elected last year are: ing. This year his lecture title was At China Lake, he supports the Jim Kenney “All About Geocaching.” Flight Test Engineering Branch. Bill Nevins “I am completely overwhelmed Since Matthew got out of the by the history and mystery of our Bill Casaroli Navy, the Zubias added two girls area,” he says. Sounds like the per- to their family. John Abbott fect boardmember! He’s been involved with Tex Hoppus Nick is a dad with children at- HSUMD ever since January 2010, tending elementary through high (Genealogical Commit- school. He said he’s looking for- when he began hosting our Open tee appointee) Mic events. ward to serving on the HSUMD Further nominations from the floor Board of Directors. are of course welcome.

3 Vol. 27 No 5 May 2012 Lack of Wildflowers Didn’t Stop Festival-Goers

ven without flowers this year’s Wildflower Festival was a real suc- cess. The presenta- Etions in our building were well attended — in fact, three times as many people came to each lecture as they did last year. Our gift shop was a busy place, and the kitchen staff was kept hopping with their popu- lar pulled-pork sandwiches and chili. This year’s highlight was our breakfast with Capt. Dennis Lazar and his wife Shannon, followed by his very interesting presentation on the Naval Air Weapons Station’s role in pres- CONGRATULATIONS! The talented winners of the popular vote in our Desert Wild- ervation and environmental flower Photo Contest are (from left) Pat Sorenson and her second-place “Mariposa awareness. The information on Lily,” Ashely Olive and his first-place “Spot of Color” and Yvonne Baker with her DOD plans for Murray School third-place “Phacelia.” This year’s contest attracted entries that Coordinator Carol and Burroughs High School Porter described as “even better than last year’s.” HSUMD awarded each of the win- was news to many. ners a shopping spree in the Historic USO Gift Shop. All photos by Liz Babcock Our Wildflower Photo Display had 38 entry for the public to enjoy and choose a favorite. The public obviously enjoyed being able to choose from among the many beauti- ful photos — 400 votes were tallied to select our winners. I hate to thank my help- ers by name for fear I will skip someone, but the effort put out by these folks made the event happen, and they deserve the recognition. Here are some of them: Claudia Sound, Joy Young, Mi- chelle Andrioli, Janet Jackson, Barbara Roberts, Liz Babcock, Dee DiPol, Sandy Hinds, Craig Porter, and John DiPol. Leeann Moele deserves a Claudia Sound (left) and Joy Young help out in the Gift Shop, with good customers special mention for keeping like those in the back making it all worthwhile. See next page 4 Vol. 27 No 5 May 2012 More on Wildflower Fest From p. 4 our building looking so spiffy, even with all the extra foot traffic. Board members taking on this extra event were Bill Casaroli, sound; Andrew Sound, Kerr McGee booth; Matt Zubia, kitchen; John Abbott, building; Doug Lueck, back and forth between Kerr McGee and HSUMD; Bill Pitman, Kerr McGee; and Tex Hoppus, breakfast help. A special Job Well Done goes to Jim Nichols, the Wildflower Festival Committee’s member in charge of pre- sentations. The lectures were excellent — and so pertinent to our festival. Saving the last for the most — Alan Alpers who puts up with me and my rants and keeps In scenes from the festival, counterclock- coming back for more. I knew wise from above, Capt. Dennis Lazar last year and again this year he appears fascinated as Carol Porter shows would be there to do whatever him an article about NOTS in an early was asked. Ridgecrest newspaper; Jim Fairchild, who came over from Trona to present two sep- Thank you all. arate lectures, makes a point about local See you in 2013 — and wildflowers; Emily Curtis helps herself to hope for flowers. our sumptuous breakfast Sunday morning; and (from left) Pat Sorenson, Charlotte — Carol Porter and Don Goodman, Judy Breitenstein, HSUMD Coordinator Gary Babcock, and Sandy Hinds enjoy our Wildflower Festival lunch on Saturday. Photos by Liz

5 Vol. 27 No 5 May 2012 Drawing Room Lunch Postponed — Watch for the Date The Drawing Room Lunch sched- uled for April 28 had to be postponed. We’re working to reschedule it, but plans are not firm at this time. If you have already purchased a ticket, you can either hold onto it until we reschedule or bring it in to the gift shop for a refund. Rita Gatchell’s famous Drawing Room sign, as If you are not already on displayed at HSUMD’s Drawing Room program given the HSUMD e-mailing list, send by Rita’s daughters, Rosemary and Janet, on June 17, 2008. In the an e-mail to [email protected] and spirit of Rita, we’re postponing our Drawing Room lunch until it can be [email protected] to be put on the perfect. Photo by Liz list and get an e-mail notification. — Andrew Sound

Life Line Screenings Offered June 30 Last month I promised to include in this issue the remarks painless. They will take 60-90 minutes The Historic USO Building will Margaret “Lit” Brush gave at to complete. host a preventive health screen- the dedication of Pipkin Place, ing event on Saturday, June 30, for The results, which are mailed named for her father, George residents in and around Ridgecrest. directly to you, will help you and Pipkin. You’ll be offered five safe, painless, your doctor protect your health. The I ran out of space in this issue non-invasive preventive health screen- Stroke, Vascular and Heart Rhythm . . . so watch the June issue for ings that are typically not a part of a Packages range from $129 to $159. more about the roles George and routine physical. Call 1-888-653-6441 or visit www. his wife Annie Laura played in lifelinescreening.com/community-part- This event is also being sponsored our local history. by San Joaquin Community Hospital, ners to schedule your appointment. — Liz Babcock and the screenings are offered by Life — John Abbott Line Screenings, a professional physi- cian practice. Screenings will be offered for: Report on Accessions * Carotid artery blockage (stroke) We received an interesting packet to material on old mines, claim pa- pers and maps from Alva Dayton. These materials had been promised to * Atrial fibrillation Lou Praccia 10 years ago and were put in storage by accident. Recently * Abdominal aortic aneurysm the storage building was emptied, and sure enough Mrs Dayton remem- * Peripheral arterial disease bered her promise and sent them on to us. Thank you. * Osteoporosis (bone loss) John DiPol continues to go through his collection of papers, maps, photos, etc., and little gifts show up often. Thank you, John. I think These screenings are recommended maybe Dee has something to do with the sorting out, so thanks to you for anyone 50 and older, or 40 and too, Dee. over with cardiovascular risk factors. The screenings are noninvasive and — Carol Porter

6 Vol. 27 No 5 May 2012

Annual Meeting From p. 1 Cecile and her husband Roger specialize in researching, exploring and writing about old mining towns in California and Nevada and the his- torical personalities that made these locations unique. The Vargos write, produce and edit the monthly online magazine, Explore Historic California (EHC), www.explorehistoricalif.com, a publica- tion filled with historical stories and photographs relating to the couple’s travels and research. They have produced and presented multimedia lectures for historical groups including the Echo Park His- torical Society, HSUMD, the Death Valley History Conference, the Boom Town History Conference and the Federation of Historical Bottle Col- lectors. The Vargos reside in the semi-rural suburbs of the Los Angeles foothills, and are very parttime residents of the ghost towns of Cerro Gordo and Bod- ie. They are members of the Friends of Jawbone, the Bodie Foundation and HSUMD. Roger Vargo and Cecile Page Vargo pose in period costume inside the Call 760-375-8456 for more infor- American Hotel at Cerro Gordo, Inyo County. Explore Historic California photo mation. Our Business Members — please patronize them! Allen County Public Library, Explore Historic California Jack & Dana Lyons, Realtors Genealogy Department The Flower Shoppe Maturango Museum Anna Marie Bergens, Realtor Heritage Inn Netzer-Russell Consulting, LLC Best Western China Lake Inn High Sierra Auto & Truck Repair Nevins Tech. Consultants BevLen Haus – Bed & Breakfast Phyllis M. Hix, Attorney The News Review (Farris) Cal-Sun Pools Hockett’s Building Supply Red Rock Books Carriage Inn IWV Insurance Ridgecrest Moving & Storage Comfort Inn Jacobs Technology Inc. Naval S&M Coins & Collectibles Cordell Construction Systems Group Sierra Odyssey, LLC DeathValley.com JRP Historical Consulting, LLC Sierra Wave Tank Sales Earth Landscaping Dick Lewis Domestic Water Systems Southern Sierra Medical Clinic Econo-Lodge The Library Press Gary P. Staab & Assoc., Inc. The Swap Sheet 7 DIRECTORS Doug Lueck, President Roger McEntee, Building Manager Here’s an easy 760-375-8202, [email protected] [email protected] way to see this Bill Nevins, Vice President Bill Pitman, Membership newsletter in color! 760-375-4764, [email protected] 760-499-3674, 760-375-3242 Just send an e-mail to Kym McEntee, Secretary Carol Porter, Accessions & Exhibits our newsletter editor, Liz 760-382-7919, [email protected] 760-446-3400, [email protected] Babcock, lizbab@iwvisp. Andrew Sound, Treasurer & Publicist Matthew Zubia, Fundraising Co-Chair com, and ask her to put you 760-371-1795, [email protected] 760-793-2107, [email protected] on the list to get a PDF    copy e-mailed to you each COMMITTEE LEADERS month. John Abbott, Building Rental 760-375-5709, [email protected] Liz Babcock, Newsletter Editor We don’t intend to stop sending paper copies, since gmail.com 760-375-7900, [email protected] Bill Casaroli, Webmaster we know most of you prefer Bill Casaroli, Audiovisuals that, but we thought you 760-446-1567, [email protected] [email protected] might also like to see the Chuck Cordell, Building John Di Pol, Historian color version online. [email protected] 760-375-2610, [email protected] Tex Hoppus, Genealogical Committee 760-446-3370, [email protected] Jim Kenney, Field Trips & Programs Important Reminders 760-371-2458, [email protected]  Annual dues are $20 per family for the calendar year. Mike Leming, Fundraising  Business Member dues are $30 for the calendar year. 760-371-7270, inspirationalcountry@  Please remember the Historical Society in your wills, trusts and hotmail.com other gift giving. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

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 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

ANNUAL MEETING — Get your dinner tickets by May 12! Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 6:30 p.m., Historic USO Building