HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE UPPER MOJAVE DESERT

Vol. 16 No. 4
April 17, 2001

LEARN ABOUT THREE SERVICE CLUBS WITH LONG HISTORIES IN THIS VALLEY

Back when the Naval Ordnance Test Station was young and Ridgecrest was still a no-stoplight town, clubs were a key part of what everyone did for entertainment and education. This month, George Silberberg, our program chairman, has arranged for us to hear from representatives of three service clubs that have had long and helpful lives in Ridgecrest.

Our program will feature representatives of the Ridgecrest-China Lake Optimist Club, Bud Biery and Sam Thompson of the Rotary Club of China Lake, and Don Featherston of the Kiwanis Club of Ridgecrest.

These representatives will each spend about 15 minutes describing the history and contributions of his organization, and as always, we hope you will add memories of your own during the question-and-answer session to follow the presentations.

Each of these clubs has been active in our community for many, many years. The Optimists, for example, were chartered on Jan. 11, 1966 after Ted Edwards, who had been an Optimist and businessman in Northern California, moved to Ridgecrest. Ted, who was an engineer in China Lake's Public Works Department, understood how a club with the fundamental emphasis "Friend of Youth" could fill a void in our community.

Howard Auld, our Optimist speaker for the evening, not only has been the club's program chair for many years and its president repeatedly, but also now holds both of those positions in the club.

The Rotarians have an even longer history here, with the club beginning under the sponsorship of the Rotary Club of Oildale on June 27, 1951. The first board of directors included such locally famous names as Earl S. Cain, principal of Burroughs Evening School; NOTS Technical Director Fred Brown; Dr. Emory L. Ellis, the first California Institute of Technology scientist to arrive on the desert when the Navy began its work here; and Leo Briggs, head of the Trona Railroad. Representing Rotary at our meeting will be President-Elect Bud Biery and Sam Thompson, who is in charge of the club's community relations.

Kiwanis, which has a mission of improving the quality of life for children and families worldwide, is well-known locally for its Walk-a-Thon, which involves hundreds of people here every September. All the money raised goes to local organizations, including the schools, DARE, the Salvation Army, and the Boy and Girl Scouts. The Kiwanis representative on our panel will< be Don Featherston.

"We feel it will be a very enlightening evening," George said. "HSUMD would like to have more documentation about our service clubs, and this is a good start."

George also pointed out that if anyone is thinking about joining one of these organizations, this program would be an excellent way (without any pressure) of learning about each group.

The program, which as always is open to the public, will begin at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 17, in the Maturango Museum. Liz Babcock

IN APPRECIATION OF VOLUNTEERS

Time doesn't fly--it is spent! Spent, no doubt, by all those generous and wonderful people who donate their time as volunteers either in their own cause or as part of an organization. As far as I can determine, the recent census result does not provide any general information about people and the time they spend as volunteers. Locally, we often see evidence in our newspapers of the fine work organizations accomplish entirely with their volunteers. Extend this kind of evidence to all of our nation's communities and then calculate the result in annual volunteer hours and, most assuredly, that number of hours will be mind boggling. Perhaps the greatest benefit to be derived from any study of volunteerism would be the personal satisfaction to be gained from hearing some one say "atta-boy" or "thank you"! Lou Pracchia

DEAVER TO SPEAK ABOUT HISTORIC RAILROADS AT OUR ANNUAL DINNER, MAY 12

Get ready for a treat for the ears and the taste buds -- the HSUMD Annual Meeting on Saturday, May 12, will feature a bounteous buffet and a knowledgeable speaker.

Our speaker, Bill Deaver, is well-known throughout the Upper Mojave Desert for his community activism, as well as for his interest in local history.

One of his enthusiasms has to do with the railroads that ran throughout OUR desert during the glory days of silver and gold mining. The history of some of those railroads will be the topic of his talk to the HSUMD.

Deaver has worked with BLM archaeologist Margaret Hangan, Red Rock Canyon Ranger Mark Faull, and others to trace the routes of some of those historic railroads.

In a sense, Deaver was born into his current avocation. The Deaver family has made significant contributions to the life of the Upper Mojave Desert ever since the late Paul and Marion Deaver moved to Mojave in 1948. Paul was a member of two local school boards and the town's volunteer fire chief, while Marion was a long-time correspondent for the Bakersfield Californian.

Their son Bill inherited his mother's love of journalism, as well as the energy of both parents. He is not only the editor of, and an amazingly prolific writer for, the Southeast Kern Weekender, but also the president of the Mojave Town Council and secretary of the Mojave Chamber of Commerce.

He and his wife Billie travel widely to meetings all over the Upper Mojave Desert. One of the secrets of Bill's knowledgeable news writing is that he is actually one of those making the news. (When you read the Weekender, you can pretty well bet that the articles that don't carry Bill's byline are the ones where he has to quote himself as one of the people running the events being reported!)

Bill's sister, Susan Strahan, also served on several local boards, and his brother, Michael Deaver, was on the staff of President Ronald Reagan.

In honor of Bill's and his family's prominence in Mojave, the street going over Mojave's new Highway 14 overpass is named Deaver Drive.

In addition to Bill Deaver's talk, our meeting will feature election of new board members (see information about the candidates in this newsletter), as well as a wonderful dinner specially prepared by Farris' at the Heritage. The buffet will feature two entrees, several salads and vegetables, and dessert. The price per person will be $20, payable in advance when you make reservations at the Maturango Museum. The dinner will begin with a social hour at 6 p.m. Liz Babcock

BOARD NOMINEES

In accordance with the Society's bylaws, the Nominating Committee consisting of Kathy Armstrong, Harold Platzek and John Di Pol has officially submitted its list of nominees to stand for election to the five Board of Director seats which will become vacant as a result of expiration of terms of office.

The five nominees are Mr. George Silberberg, Mr. Fred Weals, Mr. Bruce Wertenberger, Mr. Fred Kletka and Mrs. Pat Rogers.

Messrs. Silberberg, Weals and Wertenberger are incumbent members of the current board. Mr. Kletka is a member of the Society, having moved from the state of Washington to the Indian Wells Valley in recent years. While in Washington, he was affiliated with the Polson Museum in Hoquiam as a member-at-large of the Executive Board, a position which the Museum has prevailed upon Fred to continue to hold, even though he has relocated to California. Prior to that time, Fred served as a contract specialist for 23 years at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska.

Mrs. Rogers is a long-time resident of the Valley, a member of the Society and of the Maturango Museum, having served on the Board of Trustees of the Maturango Museum in many capacities, including President of the Board, and played an instrumental role in the planning and construction of the present Museum Building. Pat has also served on the Board of the Society including serving as President of the Board about 10 years back. The elections will be conducted at the Annual Meeting on Saturday, May 12th. Nominations from the floor will be solicited as specified by the Society's bylaws, and
accepted in accordance with Robert's Rules. The election of members to the board will be by secret ballot unless there is only one nominee for each position, in which case the elections will be by voice vote. John Di Pol

Announcing a new book: INDIAN WELLS VALLEY--HOW IT GREW

The central theme of the book is Indian Wells Valley land--how it was originally surveyed, how the early homesteaders acquired it, how they used it, and why, in many instances, they abandoned it. The book also covers the beginnings of Inyokern and details the growth of Ridgecrest by identifying the sequential development and the owners of land tracts from
1945 to the present. It also describes the origins of street names throughout the valley, particularly those names associated with people.

Thirty six figures, mainly maps, illustrate the principal points in the text. A brief history of early California land problems and early land surveys serves as an introduction.

Fred Weals prepared the book for the HSUMD with help from other Society members and long-time residents.

Publication is expected shortly. Member price is expected to be about $10.00. Fred Weals

TOURS OFFERED OF THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT

HSUMD member and benefactor Bill Reed has once again agreed to open his charming historic residence for a daylong series of tours of "The House That Jack Built." Not only that, but Bill will donate his time to tell those taking the tours about the beautiful gardens, fine stained glass, antiques, and nooks and crannies of the eccentric dwelling. Jack Tunn, the original owner of the residence, bought a Trona Railroad caboose in 1958, splitting it in two to accommodate zoning regulations, then building the house around it and installing a clock tower in the yard. Reed and his partner, Walter Hartman (who is also an HSUMD member), have been lovingly restoring the house since they bought it in 1989.

The house, located at 761 W. Church St., is also known as the "railroad car house" or the "clock tower house" because of its unique features.

The tours will occur on Saturday, April 21, when Bill will take groups of 14 on 40-minute tours through the house and grounds. Because of the fragility and high value of many of the antiques in the house, these tours are limited to adults only.

The first tour will begin at 9 a.m., with each group meeting at the east side of the house, 761 W. Church St., about 10 minutes prior to tour time. Other tours start at 10 and 11 a.m., and at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, and 3:30 p.m.

The tours are by reservation only and cost $5 per person, due at the time you make your reservation. To sign up, just go to the Maturango Museum gift shop any time between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily until noon of Friday, April 20. But make your reservations early -- the most popular tour times fill up fast. Liz Babcock

NEW MEMBERS

The Society welcomes new members Dr. Kees van der Hoek, Bob Ramsey, Clint James and John Lytle.

"ROMANCING THE RAND" A LECTURE BY DR. LORRAINE BLAIR

The Maturango Museum is hosting a lecture by Dr. Lorraine Blair this week. She has researched the history of her "adopted" hometown and will tell of its heyday in the early 1900's. Dr. Blair has hosted the Historical Society and others several times recently at restored buildings in Randsburg.

Wednesday, April 11, 7:30 p.m. at the Maturango Museum

NAVAJO CODE TALKER REVISITED

The presentation at our March meeting by Joe Morris, Sr. proved to be hugely popular. We had 100 people attend that talk and hear of this fascinating and little-known facet of communication during World War II, making it possibly the most well attended presentation yet of the Society. We are grateful to have had Mr. Morris come tell us of his experiences. Lou Pracchia taped the presentation - ask Lou if you can see the tape if you missed this most interesting lecture!!

Accidentally omitted from last month's article on the presentation by Mr. Morris was that hotel accommodations were compliments of the Heritage Inn and the breakfast the next morning was compliments of Farris' at the Heritage. The Society thanks both of these fine establishments for helping us host speakers from outside our area and urges our readers to patronize
them whenever possible.

BUSINESS MEMBERS

Our business members are Farris' at the Heritage, the Swap Sheet and Granite Construction Company. Please patronize them.

EARLY DAYS AT CHINA LAKE

Following is the fifth and final installment of an autobiographical account, written in 1996, by Chris Hinzo about his early experiences working for the U.S Navy at China Lake. Spelling and punctuation are as in the original, with only minor editorial changes Ed.

In the meantime, I had a chance to go to an electronics school in Pueblo, CO. They gave me the cash for the plane flight. Since we had a new '65 Rambler Marlin, all 3 of us got in our car and went to Pueblo, CO. That is, Marie, Peppie our poodle, and I.

We stopped off at Albuquerque, and then on to Pueblo. At Pueblo most of the persons that weren't engineers were GS-7s. And I was a GS-ll, so I had officers' privileges. Marie and I would go to the "O" Club for dinner. Of course, Marie and I always dressed when we went out for dinner, so it was a big surprise to these people to see someone dressed up for dinner.

Our motel was paid for by the government, and after our stay was up, we started for Texas to visit Marie's uncles. On our way we stopped at Las Cruces so Marie could make a phone call to her uncle at Conchos Dam, New Mexico. He said he'd light a little fire so we could find our way.

Well, we were about 25 miles away, and we could see the fire. He had lit a mile stretch of the river so we could find our way. Oh, he had notified the fire department so they wouldn't worry about the fire.

Aunt Jackie had made a dinner for us: Texas-style fried steak; black, but very good. We went for walks with our white poodle, and Uncle H.O. had a small pond on his place. Marie and I went fishing. We had fished about 2 hours, then decided to pull in the fish and go on in. Well, I pulled up the stringer, and all that was left were eight fish heads. What ate the fish?

By now it was time to check in at China Lake, so back home we went. I worked on test equipment, launchers and power supplies.

I don't remember if I wrote that our friend Edgar L. Whitaker had come home from

Okinawa, and he brought us a beautiful wall clock. Still works. He stayed here with us about a year, and he loved to sit and watch game shows on TV. Good at it, too! I'd come home from work and ask what did you do today, anything exciting? "No, watched TV."

I told him, "Go play golf. Meet new friends. Find a girlfriend." He said he'd rather watch TV. Well, finally he did go to town and met Millie. So I was best man at his and Millie's wedding. Later on, he got a divorce.

I asked him, "When was the last time you saw your mother?" He said 16 years. "Well," I said, "don't you think it's about time that you go see her?" He went into town, bought a new car, and off he went to Augusta, Georgia.

Oh, I forgot about December 1965. They raised our rent at 105-A Byrnes to $100 per month, including utilities. Marie said, "Let's find a home off base for ourselves instead of paying rent."

This was 1966, and money was tight. No one (banks) would lend us money. We kept looking and found a place in China Lake Acres. It had a 4-month-old mobile on a half acre. The trees had just been planted, and since it is on a corner I named it "House of Four Winds." Since there were no homes south or west of us, the winds really blew from all sides. I built Marie a windbreak outside the kitchen door to help stop the wind, and thus she could open the kitchen door.

About this time I had to go to Alameda, so off I went. While I was gone, the winds continued to blow, and the windbreak broke down and fell apart. Even my sign, "House of Four Winds: blew away!

Now we have 40- to 50-foot-high trees and a 6-foot-high fence all around the half acre. The fence was spray-painted with Thompson's water sealer.

Our 1982 Honda was also painted, and we still live here in 1996 at 1313 N. Clifford.
Chris S. Hinzo

(Conclusion)