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Home , Happy Bottom Riding Club, Pancho Barnes

Upper P. O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556

Vol. 24 No. 8 October 2009 One Aviator on Another — Barbara Schultz To Speak of The Society’s regular October meeting will feature a presentation on Florence “Pancho” Barnes by her biographer and fellow aviator Barbara Schultz. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m. at the Maturango Museum, 100 E. Las Flores Ave. Note that for this month only the meeting will not be held at the Historic USO Building, as that will be filled with spook- house preparations. You may know people in Ridgecrest who remember the charismatic Pancho Barnes — she evidently spent a lot of time in the Ridgecrest court in her later years. In the 1920s, Pancho barnstormed her way through the skies to become a Hollywood stunt pilot, then went on to capture the women’s speed record in 1930. Pancho made many famous friends, notably , and . During off-duty hours, the test pilots of Muroc Army Air Field (now ) designated Pan- cho’s “” their unofficial debriefing room in the late 1940s through the 1950s. Happy Bottom had a restaurant, dance hall, coffee shop, bar, horse- back riding and a swimming pool, the only one in the in those days. In its heyday, the club had as many as 400 guests Barbara Schultz Photo by Liz Babcock for Wednesday night dances. Over her bar, Pancho posted a “Notice of Non-Responsibil- ity” that read, “We’re not responsible for the Field Trip to Darwin Oct. 24 bustling and hustling that may go on here. Lots The Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert is sponsoring a field trip on Saturday, Oct. 24, to the historic mining town of Darwin. of people bustle, and some hustle — But that’s Resident historians Hank and Connie Jones will share their re- their business, and a very old one.” search and pictures and give participants a guided tour of the town Schultz became interested in Pancho while and its history. The trip will finish at China Garden Spring. living in the Antelope Valley and learning to Vehicles will need clearance and good tires but four-wheel drive is fly at Barnes Aviation at Fox Airport. Schultz’s not necessary unless you want to follow Darwin Wash past Darwin husband Phil was a longtime friend of Pancho Falls to Panamint Springs. and her son Bill. Dress in layers as weather might be almost anything. Bring lots of water, lunch, comfortable shoes and of course your camera. Advance When the Valerie Bertinelli TV movie about sign-up is required as the trip is limited to 10 vehicles, but not how Pancho came out, Schultz concluded that Pan- many can go, so buddy up as much as possible. cho needed her story told accurately. So Schultz To sign up and/or to ask questions, call Jim Kenney at 760-371- researched and wrote Pancho’s story over the 2458. — Jim Kenney Continued on p. 3 Vol. 24 No. 8 October 2009 A Great Big Thank You to Our Outstanding Helpers s I walked through the Historic USO port. Building the other day, I marveled at the There has also been a host of contractors throughout the progress we have made in the past three valley that without their support understanding patience and years. generosity this project could not have been completed. These AWhat was once a building bound for destruction has folks really support our community, and we hope in return become a facility that we can all be very proud of. you will use their names as your “shopping list” when you Of course this accomplishment could not have been need their types of expertise. achieved without the help of a small army of volunteers, The Board of Directors says a big thank you to the follow- hundreds of man hours and community financial sup- ing:

Kim Parks Kern Valley Glass and Screen Security Engineering MEC INC (Asbestos Removal) Home Depot Dale Howard Devore Insulation Desert Glass Desert Garage Door L&M Lumber Davis Drywall Carol Electric Pegasus Electric Earth Landscaping Hawks Plumbing Cardinal Plumbing Gentry Air Conditioning Copper Roofing Bill Dottery Painting Michael Js Painting 5 Star Insulation Windows Walls ‘n Floors Larry Mosby — The Boiler Guy Cordell Construction Century Glass Ron Eubanks Concrete — Roger McEntee

We’re sorry to have to report that Mike Photo Leming has had to resign from our by Liz board. Mike did a great job with staging several shows in the build- ing; he also had started working with Carol Porter to make some much-needed accessioning deci- sions. We will miss you, Mike! We are relieved to say that we have found a very able new board member — Carol Porter herself, shown here doing one of the things she does very well ‚ — volunteering!

Irene Porter is shown as she sang gospel and patri- otic songs in our USO Building on Oct. 6. We hope Irene will perform there again! Photo by Andrew Sound

Another fun activity in our Historic USO Building last month was a program for our Sister City visitors from Tepatitlan. At left the Suzuki Strings, led by Carol Sue McKenzie, play a tuneful greeting for the delegates and their local hosts.

Photo by Andrew Sound Vol. 24 No. 8 October 2009 IWVWD Workshop To Present Cable TV Landscaper Plus Local Artist n Saturday, Nov. 7, the Times Garden Section, will talk about Indian Wells Valley Water the certified wildlife habitat she cre- District will present its Fall ated on the grounds of her South Los O2009 Xeriscape Workshop at the His- Angeles home. toric USO Building. Oasis Garden Club and the Des- If you are looking for a way to add ert Planters will both hold plant and flair and focus to a garden while using garden sales that day on the east side no water at all, come and listen to out- of the building. door artist and former Desert Artists’ And many thanks to Oasis for host- League President Mike Mumford. essing the workshop. He will discuss his metal sculpture This fun and informative morn- inspiration and process beginning at ing is FREE. Seating is limited and 10 a.m. reservations are required. For more Then Landscape Architect Renée information, contact Lucinda Sue at Günter, recently featured on Home (760) 384-5518. and Garden TV and the KABC Chan- — Lucinda Sue Crosby, IWVWD Renée Günter nel 7 news as well as in the Los Angeles Noted Lovers of Local History Die October Meeting We’re sorry to have to report the From p. 1 Sept. 24 death of Mike Patterson, who, with his wife, Jody Stewart, did next seven years. Schultz was fortu- so much to preserve Cerro Gordo nately able to interview many indi- and its rich cultural history. Mike and viduals from the 1920s and 1930s, Jody visited our Society several times such as Barnes’ social secretary from to give programs, notably an overview 1928-1932 as well as the gentleman of Cerro Gordo they presented at one who assisted her in moving out to the of our Annual Meetings. desert in 1934. With assistance from Mike and Jody, we also put together an exhibit The result, Pancho, The Biography about Cerro Gordo that appeared in of Florence Lowe Barnes, was published the Maturango Museum. in 1996 and is now in a third print- After Jody’s death, Mike and a Mike Patterson ing. Schultz has one other published team of volunteers, many of them Sons, 5611 Windward Bay, Bakers- aviation history, The Wedell-Williams Ridgecrest residents, continued restor- field, CA 93312. Air Service, and is working on a third ing the old town. And the work goes Another supporter of local history book, this one about Moye Stephens, on today in memory of both Mike was Richard H. “Dick” Hart, who Flying Wing and Flying Carpet pilot. and Jody. died on Oct. 3. Dick was a longtime Sympathy cards or letters may member of the Society, and HSUMD Barbara and Phil Schultz have two be addressed to the Patterson Fam- is listed in his obituary as an organiza- sons, also pilots. The Schultzes live ily, 618 Pine Street, Bakersfield, CA tion the family would like people to at their own airport — Little Buttes 93304-1851, or to the Patterson donate to in his memory. Antique Airport, five miles northwest of Fox Field. Coming Attractions at Historic USO Building HSUMD meets on the third M Tuesday of the month, and all are CLOTA Spookhouse Fundraiser: Oct. 23 & 24, Oct. 30 & 31, welcome. For more information about evening shows 6-11 p.m., kids’ matinee on Halloween, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. this or future meetings, call President M Short Plays Festival, Ridgecrest Theatrical Troupe: Nov. 6, 7, 13,14. Bruce Wertenberger at 375-2369. Doors open 6:30 p.m., plays start 7 p.m. — Andrew Sound 3 Vol. 24 No. 8 October 2009

Old Fort Coso By John Di Pol No, the Naval Ordnance Test Sta- tion was not the first military estab- lishment on what is now the China Lake North Range area. That appel- lation belongs to an outpost of the U.S. Army’s Camp Independence that dates back to the 1862-77 time frame and is located in the Coso Mountains in Coso Canyon one mile northeast of Coso Village, Before we describe the specifics of Old Fort Coso, let us review some background. With the 1859 discovery of the Comstock Lode in Nevada, many more prospectors were streaming into Eastern . These included stockmen and settlers who first arrived in the Owens Valley in 1861. The hard winter of 1861-62 gave Remains of the barracks at Old Fort Coso. Up the hill behind the barracks rise to conflicts between the native may be glimpsed the fort’s explosive storage facility. Photo by John Di Pol inhabitants and the settlers. By early 1862, the violence increased to the dressed granite blocks and mud sides. The walls are four to five feet point where the settlers asked for mortar. The overall dimensions are high. protection by U.S. Army troops. 67 x 21 ft., a space that enclosed four Spaces left between the rocks Camp Independence was established rooms. The northern portion is an provide loopholes or gunports. These in the Owens Valley on July 4, 1862, extension 13 x 12 ft. with a fireplace openings — 13 in all — allow for a manned by companies from the 2nd and may have been a kitchen. There full view of the surrounding area and Cavalry Regiment, California Volun- is a fireplace in the furthermost of the approaches to the fort. teers. other three rooms. One window and The water springs at the site of By 1867 the conflict subsided, but several doors between rooms and to the old fort in Coso Canyon are, and the cavalry continued to patrol in the the exterior are evident. The building continue to be, the primary source of valley and outlying regions until 1877, most likely had a gabled roof. water for the mining town of Darwin, when Camp Independence was closed. The magazine/storage facility is cut 8 miles distant. Back to Old Fort Coso. The site is unto the hill at an elevation slightly The mining discoveries in Dar- located at Coso Springs (also called higher than the barracks. It is square win were made in 1874. The mining Darwin Springs) in Coso Canyon in shape made out of crudely stacked camp boomed. Victor Beaudry of and consists of ruins of three main and unmortared rock. The front wall Cerro Gordo fame quickly claimed or building structures and several minor is 19 ft. in width, the wing walls are acquired the rights to water at several features. 17 ft and 14 ft. in length and a granite springs in the Coso area. The most The building ruins are of sufficient outcrop makes up the rear wall. The plentiful of these was a spring most integrity, however, that their functions center of the structure is cut into the commonly called in later years “Dar- and the original floor plans have been hill to form a level floor. The original win Springs.” reconstructed (on paper, of course). height was probably 4 ft. Beaudry formed the Darwin Water The barracks building is located The redoubt is a trapezoidal struc- Works in early 1875, installed an adjacent to the springs, the redoubt ture built of natural rock, unmortared 8-mile water line and first delivered is on a ridge in the canyon wall high and crudely stacked. There is no obvi- water to Darwin in July 1875. For above the barracks, and the third ous entrance, but two of the walls have over 130 years this system, through structure is an explosive magazine/ intact sections low enough to climb many owners, much maintenance and storage facility separately located be- over, and one of them has an access repair and full replacements, has been tween the first two. ramp created with rock and earth fill. in operation to this day. The barracks is built of cut and There is a steep drop on three of the Continued on p. 5 4 Vol. 24 No. 8 October 2009 Our Business Members — please patronize them! Allen County Public Library, BevLen Haus – Bed & Breakfast Jack & Dana Lyons, Realtors Genealogy Department Cal-Sun Pools Netzer-Russell Consulting, LLC AltaOne Federal Credit Union DeathValley.com Nevins Tech. Consultants Anna Marie Bergens, Realtor The Flower Shoppe The News Review (Farris) Baxendale’s Antiques TJ Frisbee Bicycles, Inc. The Pleistocene Foundation George Import Service Kenneth G. Pritchard, Attorney H & R Block Ridgecrest Automotive, LLC Fort Coso L. R. Haugen, Realtor Ridgecrest Moving & Storage From p. 4 High Sierra Auto & Truck Sierra Odyssey, LLC Phyllis M. Hix, Attorney Sierra Wave Tank Sales The most recent and most intensive Hockett’s Building Supply Southern Sierra Medical Clinic field work, research and analysis effort IWV Insurance Spectrum Graphics for the origins and history of the old JRP Historical Consulting Gary P. Staab & Assoc., Inc. fort was undertaken jointly by the Dick Lewis Domestic Water Systems The Swap Sheet firms of PAR Environmental Services, Inc., of Sacramento and JRP Histori- cal Consulting Services of Davis. John Di Pol Primary documents at libraries, (kneeling in the archives and record groups in both foreground) California and Washington, D.C., is one of the depositories were accessed. Contacts volunteers who were made with historians and archae- participated in ologists working on western military- National Pub- related sites to gain comparative lic Lands Day, information. Sept. 30, 2006, This effort was accomplished under by working to contract to the Naval Air Weapons clean up and Station, China Lake, and reported in stabilize old the joint PAR and JRP report, “Na- Fort Coso. Here tional Register Evaluation for the Coso John cleans out Old Fort and Darwin Springs Water debris at the site System, China Lake, Inyo County, of the fort’s California,” dated January 2000. barracks. The report concluded that the U.S. Navy photo old fort site was associated with U.S. Army activities based at Camp Inde- pendence and served as an outpost for Within the context of a local and redoubt retain their original patrolling troops, most probably dur- military theme, the stone buildings configuration, and there is a strong ing the 1862-66 period of the Indian at the site are representative of a type, sense of time and place while stand- Wars, and that the site is eligible for period, and method of construction ing at the barracks or crouching in inclusion in the National Register of that is rare in the region. the redoubt. Historic Places. The overall preservation of the The existence of an old military site is excellent. and the site has a What other surprises might be hid- outpost on the China Lake North high potential to yield comparative den in China Lake’s million acres? Any Ranges has been known since the very information valuable in a study of ideas?? beginning of the NOTS facility. How- outposts in the west during the Civil Postscript: A note of apprecia- ever, the rarity and historical signifi- War era. tion is due Russ Kaldenberg, former cance of the Fort Coso site has been Compared to other posts that NAWS command archeologist, for the recognized only in very recent years. have been recorded in the Mojave, information he provided and for the The PAR/JRP research team em- this site is remarkably intact. loan of the PAR/JRP Project Report, phasized this recognition in their joint The relationship between the vari- which was an important source for report: ous buildings is evident, the barracks this article. 5 DIRECTORS Bruce Wertenberger, President Louis Renner, Membership 375-2369, [email protected]. 375-4379, [email protected] You could be seeing this Doug Lueck, Vice President Pete Smith, Exhibits newsletter in color! 375-8202, [email protected] [email protected] Check out our web- Joan Chartier, Secretary site, www.maturango. 499-9119, [email protected] org/Hist.html, for an Andrew Sound, Treasurer & Publicist archive of our newslet- COMMITTEE LEADERS 371-1795, [email protected] ters. Thanks to our M M M Kathy Armstrong, Fundraising gracious webmistress, Liz Babcock, Newsletter Editor 375-2643 all the recent issues are 375-7900, [email protected] Janet Westbrook, Webmistress included in the archive Chris Cane/Prosser, Giftshop [email protected] as color PDFs. 793-0741, [email protected] Chuck Cordell, Building [email protected] Jim Kenney, Field Trips & Programs 371-2458, [email protected] Roger McEntee, Building Manager [email protected] Important Reminders Carol Porter, Accessions M Annual dues are $20 per family for the calendar year. 446-3400, [email protected] M Business Member dues are $30 for the calendar year. M Please remember the Historical Society in your wills, trusts and 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

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OCTOBER 2009 MEETING

Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 7:30 p.m., Maturango Museum