HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE UPPER MOJAVE DESERT
P. O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556
Vol. 21 No. 10 December 2006 _______________________________________________________________________________________
DECEMBER MEETING ­ ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY

The Historical Society's December meeting will be held earlier than normal this month, on the second Tuesday rather than the third Tuesday. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, December 12 at 7:00 PM at the Maturango Museum. This month's meeting will be our traditional annual Potluck-Dessert Christmas party. As before, please bring a dessert to share with eight other people. Beverages will be furnished. This year's entertainment will include a performance by a violin and piano ensemble. Jenny Miller and Marcia Nevins will lead us in another innovative game.

The January meeting will feature a presentation by Russ Kaldenberg on Fort Coso.

AND THE WINNERS ARE:

At the drawing for the two Larry Zabel signed prints on Sunday night, December 3rd, Donna Malone's ticket was drawn first. She chose the print "Where Rams and Hornets Meet." The second winner was Robert Pascoe of Reno, Nevada. The print he won, "The Valley of the Flowers" depicts the confluence of two branches of the Gallatin River in Montana. Mr. Pascoe grew up in Bozeman, Montana, not very far from the locale of the picture. Thanks to all who bought tickets for these prints donated by Larry Zabel and framed by Gary Davis and his wife. And, thanks to Mr. and Mrs. John Di Pol and Ann Roseman and their committee members for their efforts in selling 115+ tickets.

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS REMINDER

For that hard-to-find-a-present-for person, may we suggest one of the publications of the Historical Society, all of them available at the Maturango Museum.

STAGE AND WAGON TRAILS - Stage stops and stage routes in the IWV.
HOW IT WAS - Stories of pioneers in IWV.
ZIG-ZAG POST OFFICE - A history of the Little Lake post office and local people.
SAND CANYON STATION - A video describing the experience of two families living near the L.A. aqueduct in the 1930s & '40s.
INDIAN WELLS VALLEY - HOW IT GREW - A review and description of land division, early land ownership and more.
CHURCHES OF INDIAN WELLS VALLEY A history of the churches of Indian Wells Valley.

In addition, there is the story of Sand Canyon and the Sand Canyon Environmental and Educational Program, SEEP. This is now out on a DVD which is also available at the Maturango Museum.

LOIS CARR MEMORIALS

Recently longtime member and friend of the Historical Society, Lois Carr, passed away. Her family asked that memorials in her name be made to the Society. Several have been received, for which we are grateful. Memorials may be sent to the HSUMD at P. O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556

UPDATE ON THE USO BUILDING

Reroofing the building has been completed. The asbestos has been removed. Electrical rework is complete and awaits inspection. Rebuilding the windows continues to progress. The exterior painting is expected to start soon, weather permitting. The landscaping plan has been submitted

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL TIME IS HERE

Our membership year is the calendar year, therefore it is time to renew your membership. Annual dues are $20.00 per year per family. Business memberships are $30.00 per year. Renewal checks, payable to the HSUMD, may be sent to the HSUMD at P.O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA, 93556.

END OF THE YEAR CONTRIBUTIONS

Please consider an end of the year contribution to the Historical Society. Any amount is helpful and will be appreciated. Contributions may be designated to the USO building fund or for general purposes. The IRS considers us a 501 (c) (3) organization, therefore, these contributions are deductible to the extent permitted by law. Thank you.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

It's hard to be nostalgic when you can't remember anything...

TRIPS

No trips are scheduled for December or early January. The January newsletter will carry announcements of those trips being arranged by great trip planner, Jim Kenney, one of our board members.

WILLS AND TRUSTS.

Please remember the Historical Society in your wills and trusts.

HISTORICAL ARTICLE

(Following is an article prepared by our great local historian member, John Di Pol, drawn from his personal library. Ed).

The Manzanar WRC - Death Valley NM Connection.

It was 2:00 AM on the morning of December 10, 1942 that a three-man delegation sent by Ralph Merritt, Director of the War Relocation Center at Manzanar, awoke T. R. Goodwin, Superintendent of Death Valley National Monument who was sound asleep in his residence, Robert Brown, the senior of the three, explained that there had been a riot at Manzanar three days prior, with two of the rioters killed and 10 wounded by gunfire from the military police. While the riot had been quelled, the camp was still very unsettled and there was an urgent need to temporarily relocate a large group of detainees away from Manzanar for their own protection.

Goodwin responded in the affirmative. The Civilian Conservation Camp at nearby Cow Creek, just north of the present-day Visitor Center, had been mothballed, with most of the young men having entered the military services. Goodwin told the delegation to return to Manzanar and report to Director Merritt that work to open and clean up the C.C.C. barracks and the mess hall would start immediately and that the group could be sent over that same day.

By December, 1942, the population of Manzanar had grown to several thousands. Although relative peace generally prevailed within the center, there was still much resentment of the heavy-handed methods employed in the relocation program and the conditions that prevailed that first year. Accordingly, there were a minority of detainees which could be viewed as "pro-Japanese". Conversely, a segment of the population, organized as the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) were in favor of a degree of cooperation, with the philosophy of "making the best out of a bad situation". These two factions were constantly at odds with each other. The riot of December 6th, fomented by the "pro-Japanese" extremists, was sparked by the jailing of Harry Ueno for beating a prominent leader of the JACL. Although the main riot subsided, gangs of extremists armed with knives and other weapons roamed in search of individuals of the JACL. The camp administration, aided by the military police, quickly took the intended victims and their families into protective custody.

Brown and his two colleagues returned in haste to Manzanar and reported to Director Merritt the news that space was available in Death Valley. By the afternoon a convoy of vehicles was organized. The group included 65 evacuees, 10 staff members and 12 soldiers. There was a truckload of hay, a truck for furniture and a truck for food. The group included families of men, women and children and a number of single people. It was a long trip, arriving at Death Valley late in the evening. The group was fed, cots and bedding issued; that first night women and children were housed in one section of the camp, the men in an other.

The next morning all hands turned to. Housing arrangements were properly organized, the hay stuffed into ticking (to make mattresses), two of the evacuees who were excellent cooks took over the mess hall and all volunteered to continue the clean up work of washing floors and walls. The soldiers were housed in a separate barrack which overlooked the entrance to the camp. One of the buildings, with running water, showers, toilets and four rooms was selected for the infirmary. Josephine Hawes, a registered nurse from the Manzanar Hospital became the "Chief Medical Officer". (Nurse Hawes not only served the evacuees and soldiers, but also all of the Park Service personnel in the area).

At supper time on the second evening, Superintendent Goodwin and Chief Ranger Spike Owens visited the Cow Creek camp to welcome the evacuees and assure them that they would be treated by the Monument personnel as though they were visitors. (Goodwin was well aware that the evacuees were born in the U.S., and hence were loyal American citizens and not saboteurs, spies or Japan sympathizers.) In addition to providing educational programs to the group, a program of volunteer work to assist the understaffed Monument personnel was organized by Ranger Owens. The men responded eagerly and undertook assignments, not only to offset boredom, but also to contribute in a positive way.

Similarly, there was a high degree of mutual respect between the "refugees" and the soldiers. There were no guard towers, barbed wire nor sentries walking guard duty. The soldiers shared the showers and latrines, ate at the same time as the staff and evacuees in the mess hall and a friendly relationship existed. In fact, the soldier's job was to keep the curious, and sometimes vindictive, public from the evacuees. This was a total reversal of their duties in Manzanar.

And so, Cow Creek camp settled down into a peaceful routine. In time, however, the group of 65 began to shrink in numbers and the camp eventually closed, as the government had instituted a program to relocate the evacuees to homes and jobs outside the Pacific Coastal areas. Journalist Togo Tanaka, a refugee at Cow Creek and later a businessman in Los Angeles, wrote long after the war: "What Ralph Merritt did, with speed and dispatch, in getting his friend Goodwin to respond, showed us the light at the end of the tunnel. They saved lives and sent us on our way to rebuild our faith in our native land. I think that those of us who tried to lead exemplary lives as good citizens have felt in our own way an obligation to repay the trust freely bestowed by the Ralph Merritts and T. R. Goodwins."

Ref: DEATH VALLEY ­ ITS IMPOUNDED AMERICANS. Ralph P. "Pete" Merritt, Jr., Death Valley '49ers Keepsake #27, 1987.