HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE UPPER MOJAVE DESERT
Vol. 16, No. 6 June 2001
NEW EXHIBIT AND NEXT SPEAKER BOTH FEATURE FAMED DESERT PROSPECTOR
You may not realize it yet -- but this is the start of "Shady season" in Ridgecrest. No, you still need your hat when you go outdoors. The Shady I'm referring to is Shady Myrick, the famed miner known as the "Godfather of American rockhounds."
During the early decades of the 20th century, Myrick worked dozens of claims on what is now Navy restricted land in Mojave B Range.
Most folks don't get to experience Shady Myrick Land nowadays, but with the permission of Capt. Jim Seaman, commanding officer of the Naval Air Weapons Station, several HSUMD and Maturango Museum folks toured some of Myrick's camps and mines this spring.
A new exhibit in the vestibule of the Maturango Museum shows
off the beauty of what our tour guide, Bob Wheeler, refers to
as "Randsburg Wash National Park." Thanks to the Shady
Myrick Research Project, the exhibit also features such unique
items as Myrick's spyglass, rare specimens of myrickite (named
for Shady) and other desert gems, and dozens of photographs of
the area taken by Shady's relatives in
the 1920s.
After you visit the exhibit, you'll want to learn more about this fascinating desert character -- and have we got a deal for you! Our first program of the fall season will feature John Lightburn, Myrick's grandnephew, speaking about his uncle and the work of the Shady Myrick Research Project.
The meeting will be on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 7:30 p.m.
Mark your calendar and prepare for a treat. Liz Babcock
NEW EXHIBIT OFFERS A LOOK AT OUR HERITAGE
As is our biennial tradition, HSUMD will have an exhibit in the Sylvia Winslow Gallery of the Maturango Museum July 7 through Sept. 5.
Although the timing of the exhibit is traditional, the subject matter is anything but. We're using the theme "Indian Wells Valley Heritage" to explore some of the numerous ethnic and cultural influences that make our valley such an interesting place to live.
Lou Pracchia suggested the topic after he read an article pointing out that people with predominantly white Anglo-Saxon backgrounds are no longer in the majority in California. The results of the 2000 Census also document California's increasing diversity.
What about the Indian Wells Valley? What are some of the ethnic influences that have changed our history and that are changing our valley today? Visit the museum any time between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. any day of the week to get a glimpse of some fascinating history and some beautiful people.
Our exhibit will show off ethnic clothing, statuary the school district uses to teach about the cultures of the world, information about organizations that work toward tolerance, projects by talented schoolchildren, photographs that show the diversity of our people, and more.
We hope our exhibit will motivate you to suggest or investigate
further related topics for future exhibits.
Liz Babcock
HSUMD RECEIVES TWO GRANTS
As noted in our May newsletter, the Historical Society has received two grants this year, one from the Women's Auxiliary of the Commissioned Officers Mess, (WACOM) and one from the Kern County Community Foundation. The photo shows Noel E. Daniells, President of the Kern County Community Foundation presenting a check to Lou Pracchia, President of the Historical Society.
Liz Babcock
Ideas that came up during the first meeting of HSUMD's new board left us with stars in our eyes -- and soon, we hope, money in our pockets.
Thanks to the wonderful generosity of Jody and Shirley Allred, we have a place to meet and store many of our artifacts. That donation gives us the time we need to accomplish long-term planning for our building needs.
Whether we stay in the cozy Station Street quarters the Allreds are donating for our use or move into another building with more storage and research space, we will need money to meet our building needs. That's where you, the HSUMD members, come in.
We have set up a new Building Fund to give you a continuing
opportunity to show your support through periodic donations to
the fund. You might also consider including the fund in your estate
planning. The advantage to you as well as the satisfaction
of supporting such a worthy need is the tax deduction that
and any other donation to HSUMD can give you. As you know, HSUMD
is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and charitable organization,
with all contributions tax deductible to the full extent allowed
by law.
To make contributions to the Building Fund, simply send your
check to HSUMD, P.O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556. Put "Building
Fund" in the memo line. Liz Babcock
COMMUNITY DINNER
As part of our annual fund raising efforts Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert will be participating in the 7th Annual Verizon/ AltaOne Federal Credit Union Community Dinner, Saturday, September 22nd at the Desert Empire Fairgrounds.
Starting in August, the Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert will be selling tickets to the Dinner. For each $10 ticket sold the Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert will get to keep $9.00, so start making your list now of who you want to sell your tickets to. In addition, the Verizon/ AltaOne Community Dinner will provide the Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert the opportunity to spread the word to the community with a booth at the event.
In addition to Verizon and AltaOne Federal Credit Union, sponsors thus far include Charlon State Farm Insurance, Hitters Catering, Graphic Impressions, and Mediacom. Be sure to mark your calendars today and please start making your lists of your "ticket targets." The September newsletter will have more details.
HSUMD BOARD NEWS
The four officers of the board were reelected at the formation meeting held immediately after the annual meeting. At the first regular meeting of the new board held on 5 June, committee duties were discussed, but most will not be assigned until later. One responsibility which has been finalized is that in addition to retaining his chairman position for the Accessions Committee, Vice President George Silberberg has agreed to become Membership Director per Article VII, Section 9 of the bylaws. We still need to assign the responsibilities of Director of Hospitality and Director of History and Collections. Most of the other HSUMD business at the June meeting covered financial matters as noted in another article at the beginning of this page.
NEW MEMBER
We wish to welcome new member Freida Kay Brunson
HSUMD members Hank Schuette and Lois Carr were parade marshals at the recent Magnolia Days parade in Inyokern.
A BIT OF HISTORY
The following letter was written by a sister of Ellen Snodgrass Cooper, a resident of the Indian Wells Valley. It is mentioned on page 27 of "How It Was Some Memories by Early Settlers," an Historical Society publication. Spelling and punctuation have not been changed. Ed.
Little Lake, Calif.
Mar. 23-45
Dear Mrs. Roosevelt,
I am writing you in person on behalf of all the sick people that go to Coso Hot Springs and are cured of arthritis, ulcers of stomach, and venereal disease and many other diseases; every year. Now we have an epidemic of Infantile Paralysis at the New Navy Base at Inyokern, Calif. which I am quite sure could be cured at Coso.
I am going to write to you as I would talk to you. The Navy is taking over Coso Hot Springs to use as a bombing area. Why? With all the thousands of acres of desert country, do we have to give up our place of cure. It is the same to us people of the West as warm Springs, Georgia, is to our President. My present husband has worked all over the world in every country, for Westinghouse people and he will swear, it is the only springs in the world like it.
I do wish you would send some one, if you can't come yourself and investigate it, to see it's real worth.
I was married to a Navy officer for 16 years. Spent two years in Guam, contracted, a tropical worm in the bowls, had ulcers in my stomach and intestines, was on the verge of Prenicious anemia. I was thoroughly examined under medical group of 14 Dr. and told I had to have my stomach out most away and 12 ft. intestines; also my bowels much be operated on. I really only had 1 chance to live thru the operation as ulcers were almost thru the stomach. I was given 1 month to build up for operation. I left the hospital and came to Coso Hot Springs and was cured in 1 month; that was 14 years ago and I have never had a return of the ulcers, I was given a lead coated pill to kill the worms in my bowls. I believe it contained a worm poison.
I have also had arthritis; were I would have been a cripple for life and went there and cured myself in 8 weeks of baths I am 48 years old in May.
My husband is 84 in August. He has medical group's give him up time and time during the last World War he fell in the shipyard and jammed his tail bone up like a letter S on the end. The Dr's. kept him in hospital 18 months and tried everything finally putting him in a wheel chair for life; to wear a cast, also. He went to Coso Hot Springs and in 6 weeks he cut his cast off and in 10 weeks he could walk in 3 month he could stand flat footed on the floor jump on a Dr's. office desk ride horseback and hike the hills. He has had a bad heart, crushed between a boat and dock in a bad storm, he fell overboard. That was 20 years ago. He is still vigorous and has built himself quite a large house of pumice brick in the last 4 years. He build his house at Coso Hot Springs to live the rest of his days there.
Not Mrs. Roosevelt, for the sake of all the sick people here please won't you investigate before the Navy bomb it and ruin it for health purposes. I'm sure if you could hear testimony from more people you would really believe, my husband and I also know a man that was in the last stages of syphillis, his meat was dropping from the bone that went to Coso and got cured there are 14 different minerals in the mud hole there, an extinct volcano. It is still hot and boiling, mercury and sulphur predominating.
Perhaps the Government would take it over for returning soldiers. Its such a terrible thing to use a wonderful place like that as a bomb range and close it altogether. It really should be run by the Government and build a suitable hospital or cabins there and put responsible parties in charge.
I do sincerely hope you or our President will not let this go by without a real investigation.
I am sincere, one who has suffered tortures of pain and sickness for years and am now in the very best of health and going 2 mens work every day besides mothering 3 husky boys at home and have a daughter doing red cross work and a son in the Navy.
Just one of the many thousands thats received a cure.
/s/ Mrs. Lauretta Ball
P. S. I am enclosing one of the folders from the Springs;. It gives a full analysis of water and mud.
P. P. S. In bombing so near the springs it will perhaps cause a shutting off of the water and steam breaking the earths crust.
L. B.
According to Ellen Snodgrass Cooper's account in the aforementioned Historical Society book, Mrs. Roosevelt wrote a reply to Mrs. Ball saying that she was sorry, but that the land was too important to the Navy. Ed.