What Has the Historical Society Done While We've Been Closed Due to The
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230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd. ● P.O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556 ● 760-375-8456 Vol. 35, No. Special August 2020 To see our schedule of events, visit us at hsumd.org or on Facebook at HSUMD What has the Historical Society done while we’ve been closed due to the Coronavirus quarantine? Well, the buildings and the Book Store have been closed, but that doesn’t mean that we haven’t been using the opportunity to do certain things toward our long-term missions. Obviously, with our Store closed and with our signature events (like Classic Movie Nights and Open Mic Nights and free Veterans Breakfast) put off for such a long time, we had to throw away See’s Candies and various food items that would be used or sold during normal times. When we are able to resume “normal” operations and reopen to our life-blood guests – that’s you! – we will restock as we are able to. We have been able to use the remaining funds from a very generous donation last year from the Mark and Skye Hoppus Foundation, to repair the eaves and soffits and other elements of the Historic USO Building, and have painted most of those items after the repairs were completed. That whole effort was one that we have wanted to accomplish for many years, and we are so happy to finish the work. Our venerable building is looking much better, and the repairs will last much longer. We all owe a great deal of appreciation to the Hoppus Foundation, to Cordell Construction, to Southern Sierra Framing, and to Cuco Solis for what they did for us! Joe DePina, and John Abbott have devoted (and donated) some of their valuable time and talents during our downtime to accomplish some important maintenance and repair tasks in our Historic USO Building, getting ready for a possible reopening of our operations in the future. Thank you, gentlemen! (And John…) Dr. Craig Porter and his wife Carol, along with some help, have started planning and working on an effort to restore our historic Engine Houses. Read more about that on page 4. Mark Pahuta was also able to use some of the quarantine time to produce DVD copies of his full 15 episode set of the wonderful documentaries “Pictures of Us”, available now to members. See page 6 for details! – Tex Hoppus In our June 2020 HSUMD Newsletter, we included an article about selecting the HSUMD Board of Directors. At the July Board Meeting (held via Zoom), the Board selected the Officer positions on the board for this term. Continuing in their current roles: Tex Hoppus as President, Doug Lueck as Vice-President, and Richard Hendricks as Secretary-Treasurer. -Editor Vol. 35, No. Special August 2020 - This HSUMD Newsletter is being prepared during a time of dangerous pandemic risks, and our Historic USO Building is closed to the public in a State of California and Kern County effort to mitigate the risks to our guests and volunteers. The status of our being able to reopen changes, depending on the infection rates and trends averaged over a span of time, but let me outline the condition of HSUMD at this moment. HSUMD is categorized as a “museum” and follows the public health directives for such an organization. (Keep in mind, HSUMD also has a venue that (a) has always been used by HSUMD to host a wide variety of events, and (b) has been available for rental by private parties for various events, meetings, or celebrations.) Museums were ordered closed back in April, after the spread of the COVID-19 disease was categorized as a pandemic. In early June, it looked like California’s – and Kern County’s – spread of the infectious disease was well enough controlled that the closure order for Museums was modified: A museum could open its doors to the public if certain measures were taken by the museum (have a detailed COVID-19 Prevention Plan intended to “support a safe, clean environment for workers,” have materials and cleaners and masks and gloves needed to protect people working at and coming into the museum, train workers on all of the new safety protocols, etc.) HSUMD Board of Directors decided to use the month of July to prepare its plan and train its volunteers and get the necessary materials for opening on August 4. Note: Even if that happens, HSUMD cannot rent its facilities or host events in its building! On Monday, July 13, the State rescinded its earlier guidance that had allowed museums to “partially” reopen. The rates of infections and deaths in the state had started to be out of control, and reopening (or remaining opened) was just too dangerous. So, HSUMD is back on hold and cannot reopen until Kern County and its rates of COVID-19 infection and death again fall within “acceptable” bounds. When we are again allowed to reopen, we will. And we will be ready for you, keeping both you and our volunteers safe, with new and special safety protocols in place. You will be invited to enter our Historic USO Building, peruse most of its historical displays, and shop in its Book Store – all safely! – Tex Hoppus Nature provided a historical celestial marvel this summer. Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) was visible in the IWV for much of the month of July. The comet was discovered on March 27, 2020, by astronomers during the NEOWISE mission of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISPR) space telescope. The image at left is from the WISPR telescope. Viewing was good from most of the valley, but especially up in the Rademachers where the skyglow from Ridgecrest was less. Many drove up above Cerro Coso College to get a peek at this infrequent visitor. Hope that you got to see it as its next visit isn’t for about 6800 years! 2 Vol. 35, No. Special August 2020 CLASSIC MOVIE NIGHTS Hello, good neighbors: In an edition of this newsletter a couple of months back, I asked my loyal audience members to submit a review of one of their favorite films to re-visit during this lengthy "intermission" that we are continuing to experience. Take a look at one of HSUMD member, Dan Burnett's faves: "The movie I have seen the most times is "Mister Roberts" which, I think, is one of the best comedy dramas ever. It was released in 1955 but I saw it first in about 1954 I guess. My family lived in Huntington Park where there was a classic MGM theater. It was a venue for testing movies. Mom loved to go see any of these “previews” - they were billed as major picture previews shown one night only." "The movie followed the stage play in which Henry Fonda starred. The cast in Mister Roberts is packed with some of the biggest names in film - ever- Mr. Roberts was played by Henry Fonda. Jack Lemmon starred as Ensign Pulver (a role that started him on his outstanding career). The captain of the ship was done by James Cagney. The ship’s doctor was William Powell and the list goes on and on. Production of the movie was started under the direction of John Ford who was replaced after he belted Henry Fonda on the jaw during an argument. I think the movie took in all kinds of Oscars®. I have seen it a dozen times probably - I should see if I can get it on DVD." Thanks, Dan! This classic is one of my favorites, too. Some added notes of interest about the film: Jack Lemmon received the first of his two Oscars® for his role as Ensign Pulver. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards®, including Best Picture of the Year. It was the final film for the iconic star, William Powell. (He and Myrna Loy starred in the popular "Thin Man" series for MGM in the 1930's and 40's.) The original director, the famed John Ford, had a nasty, hair-trigger temper and subjected his actors and crews to his tirades quite freely. In addition to conflicts with Henry Fonda, the grumpy director clashed mightily with James Cagney, starring in his final role for Warner Bros. The famous Mervyn LeRoy replaced the beleaguered Ford as director, and Joshua Logan also had a hand in the directorial duties, but was not credited. The film was followed by a sequel, "Ensign Pulver" (1964), with Robert Walker, Jr. starring as Pulver. It also starred Burl Ives as the ship's captain and Walter Matthau as the doctor. A short-lived television series appeared in 1965, lasting only one season, starring Roger Smith in the title role. Thanks Dan, for getting into the spirit! If any of our other good neighbors would like to chat about one of their film favorites, just send a shot blurb to us at [email protected]. We hope to be seeing you (in person) soon! Stay Safe and be Well! –Nick Rogers 3 Vol. 35, No. Special August 2020 HSUMD became the owner and proud steward of Ridgecrest’s civic origins almost 15 years ago, after we were able to lead a community-wide fundraising effort to restore the Historic USO Building and then successfully accomplished that restoration. In fact, the name “Historic USO Building” was officially given by the State of California in recognition of the restoration of a building that had opened in 1945 as a USO Club. When the USO Club closed in 1947 and Kern County took over the building and surrounding property, the county started to build other civic buildings on the property.