HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE UPPER MOJAVE DESERT

P.O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556 760 375-8456

Offices at 302 Station Street, Ridgecrest, CA 93555; e-mail to hsumd1@excite.com

Vol. 15 No. 8
November 15, 2000

NOTED KERNVILLE AUTHOR TO SPEAK THIS MONTH

A lecture arranged by the Maturango Museum seems so appropriate to our membership that this month George Silberberg, our program chairman, is encouraging us to attend that program in lieu of a regular HSUMD event.
Bob Powers, well-known local author and historian, will speak on "Towns of
the Kern Plateau" at the museum's Sylvia Winslow Gallery on Wednesday, Nov.
15, at 7:30 p.m.

A lifelong resident of Kernville, Powers has family roots extending back for five generations in the Kern River Valley. His latest book, High Country Communities, is the eighth he has written about that area. The book chronicles the lives of pioneer settlers in Havilah, Walker's Basin, Caliente, Tehachapi Valley, Glennville, and Kennedy Meadows.

After the lecture, Powers will autograph copies of his new book for attendees. Here's a good opportunity to make a valuable addition to your library of local history. Other titles by this prolific author are available at the Maturango Museum Gift Shop. Liz Babcock

ABOUT ORAL HISTORY

Oral history organizations define this subject as: "a verbal record to be used as a primary resource document of a witness, or participant, of or in an historical event." They also note that reminiscences, while not actually recorded history (because they are not part of a structured interview), can play an important role in that it may provide a peripheral viewpoint.

In the past our Society has conducted interviews with valley residents. Many of these interviews are still on audio tape and need to be transcribed into a printed record. However, there remains the necessity to conduct more interviews which can provide insight about area events and everyday life.

To continue your society's avowed role, and to carry out this duty, your participation in doing oral interviews is requested. Your Directors can provide guidelines on how to conduct an interview, and also a list of some of the interviewee candidates. Your providing names of persons for interviewing or events that should be documented are most welcome.
Lou Pracchia

WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS

The Society welcomes new members:

Carol & Leroy Corlett and Lois Herrington.

(Apologies to Mary Ann Clodt for misspelling her name last month. Ed.)

CHRISTMAS IN RAND CAMP

Saturday, 9 December, 2000

Decorated Plum Cottage (the second house west of the fire station) will be welcoming visitors from 10 to 11:30. Pop in and have a fancy biscuit and some cocoa or coffee and take a moment to visit Plum Corner. Randsburg paintings, desert photographs, Rand area calendars and stocking stuffers will be for sale.

A short walk (you will be given maps) will take you to the decorated 'Wrectory' behind the Santa Barbara Church. Listen for the church bell---beginning at noon, Dr. Jim Vaskov will be playing a concert at the Santa Barbara Church, some of it 'sing-along', on the old pump organ. Hear those familiar Advent and Christmas songs the way they sounded a hundred
years ago!

Break for 'on-your-own' lunch and a walkabout to see how the villagers and merchants have decorated for the holidays. Rose Cottage will be open from 2 to 3 with more snacks ('tis the season!) and a chance for chatting by the wood stove and sharing what you would like to see in the New Year in historic Randsburg.

Cost of the day's activities is $5.00, portions of which go to the Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert and the upkeep of the Santa Barbara Church. Reservations are required; you may pay in advance or at the
door. Reservation deadline is the 7th of December.

RESERVATIONS: Please leave a message with your name, phone number and how many in your party.

Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert (760)375-8456 or Jean or Mike King (760)446-2887 or mail checks (payable to HSUMD)to Rose Cottage, PO Box 188, Randsburg, CA 93554. Dr. Lorraine Blair

VISIT BY SEARLES VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEMBERS

As part of a field trip to Ridgecrest, about fifteen members of the Searles Valley Historical Society paid a visit to our facility at 302 Station St. where they saw the building and the exhibits which had been put up for our open house on October 28. Several of our board members were there to greet them, show them around the place and get acquainted.

GIFT IDEAS

As we approach the holiday season, gift suggestions are in order. We have several books, booklets and videos of the local area for sale. More details in the December newsletter, or call Lou Pracchia at (760) 375-7385.

E-MAIL ADDRESSES

Occasionally there are instances where, other than the local newspapers,website or our monthly newsletters, that a timely announcement would be ofinterest to our members.

It would be appreciated if those members who have an e-mail address wouldsend it to: hsumd1@excite.com or to our HSUMD President, Lou Pracchia atldpracc@ridgenet.net.

CHRISTMAS PARTY

Mark your calendars now for our upcoming Christmas party on Friday, December 15, at 6:00 p.m. Dale Lane has agreed to oversee the Christmas party table placements and decorations. She will be looking for volunteers and can be reached at 375-8146. Details of the party will be in our December newsletter.

MATURANGO JUNCTION THANK YOUS

Porch workers were: Bruce Wertenberger, Dick Moe, George Silberberg, Don Lane, Fred Weals, and (I think) Lou Pracchia.

Cookie sales: Jenny Miller (who also scheduled booth workers), Joan Woodman, Pat Silberberg, Florence Platzek, Kathi Moe, Mary Ward, Eunice Caffee, Mary Ann Clodt, and Gerry Pracchia.

General help during Junction: George Silberberg and Don Lane.

And any others I may have overlooked! Lou Pracchia
Special thanks to Denny's Restaurant who supplied the ice for our lemonade, and to P & R Storage which allowed us in to store the porch after their normal closing hours. With the rain and cold weather rapidly closing in on us that day, P & R's reopening the gates was very much appreciated.

DATA ENTRY

Mary Kus is helping with the data entry into our database of artifacts and other information. This is part of our project to eventually make a lot of our information available on the Internet for researchers and students. We appreciate this help very much.

BUSINESS MEMBERS

As a reminder, Swap Sheet; Granite Construction Company - Sand and Gravel; and Farris' at the Heritage are our business members. Please patronize them whenever possible.

HELP, PLEASE!

Does anyone remember a Dorothy Mills, or Mrs. Frederick S. Mills who in 1964 or so lived at 409 Florence in Ridgecrest? Frederick worked at NOTS Public Works. We need information about her to resolve questions about photographs. Please call Lou Pracchia at 375-7385 if you have any information. Thank you.

PHONE NUMBER AND E-MAIL ADDRESS

The Historical Society now has its own phone number - (760) 375- 8456 and its own e-mail address: hsumd1@excite.com. The phone has a message machine attached since we are rarely in the building. Messages may be left there, but if you need quick response, it it better to contact directly one of the board members.

DUES ARE SOON DUE

This is a gentle reminder that as we approach the end of the calendar year your dues should be paid soon. As of last April, annual family dues are $15.00 per year, payable the first of each year. Please send your check to Fred Weals, Treasurer, 551 Dana St., Ridgecrest, CA, 93555. Thanks in advance.

KUDOS RE OPEN HOUSE

Appreciation is expressed to Bruce and Liz for their contributions taken from the Society's files of photographic reminders of the exhibits of your Society as well as some of its past history. Some of their exhibits will be left up for a while to give everyone a chance to view them.

WE'RE LOOKING FOR ILLUSTRATIONS OF OUR HERITAGE

This coming July and August, HSUMD will have an exhibit illustrating "Our Indian Wells Valley Heritage" in the Sylvia Winslow Gallery of the Maturango Museum.

We need your help! We're looking for pictures, clippings, items of clothing, collections - anything to help us set up an interesting exhibit that illuminates our racial and ethnic heritage.

Lou Pracchia suggested the exhibit topic after he read in the newspaper a few months ago that whites are no longer the majority racial group in California. That got Lou thinking about the many rich racial and ethnic groups that have made our valley the interesting place it is today.

Native American heritage, for example, predates every other culture here - and actually is celebrated in the petroglyph theme of the museum itself. We also have had Chinese contributions (think about the name China Lake), Mexican influences, Black contributions, and more.

Liz Babcock, our exhibit coordinator, has already begun gathering information. One thing she is doing is calling the principals of local schools to see if we can display children's art and writings on their heritage.

Do you have other ideas about how we can best illustrate our chosen topic? Do you have items, pictures, or resource materials we can borrow? If so, please give Liz a call at 375-7900. The more member participation we have,
the better the exhibit will be.
Liz Babcock

HISTORICAL ARTICLES

Since our speaker this month comes from Kernville, we thought maybe the following item might be appropriate. We have been careful to quote directly

from page 6 of the Indian Wells Valley News, published in Inyokern, Feb. 13, 1948.

KERN COUNTY FIRM BIDS LOWEST ON DAM PROJECT

The lowest of twelve bids for Isabella Auxiliary Dam construction was submitted by a Kern County firm, the Rand Construction Company, of Bakersfield. If the firm, whose offer totaled about $337,020, receives the award, it will begin shortly to throw up a seventy thousand cubic yard bulwark of dirt. The auxiliary dam will be a sixty-six foot high dam across a part of the Hot Springs Valley.

The entire Isabella Dam and Reservoir, which will cost about $13,000,000, will probably be completed in 1953.

Meanwhile, Kernville property owners have decided on the Burlando Ranch four and a half miles north of Kernville as the preferred new town site. (When construction on the dam begins, it will be necessary to relocate
Kernville.)

The Isabella Dam is part of the Central Valleys Project which was authorized during the war.

FURTHER HISTORICAL ARTICLE

>From a Rocketeer article December 11, 1953, p. 5, , the following article also pertains to Lake Isabella. It is directly quoted with punctuation, etc., exactly as in the Rocketeer.

All outdoor fish and game enthusiasts have been invited to attend a general meeting of the newly formed Indian Wells Valley Sportsmen's Association, scheduled Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the Anchorage.

Representatives are expected from Inyokern, Randsburg and Trona, as well as Ridgecrest and China Lake at the meeting, called by Louis Sample, president pro tem of the sportsmen's association S

Mr. Sample met a few weeks ago with representatives of the Fish and Game Commission and the Kernville Sportsmen's Club while hunting in the Kernville area.

At this time he learned that present plans call for maintaining a minimum lake of 1000 acres of water surface behind Isabella Dam.

Seed and aquatic plants are now ready for planting in the area to be flooded, in order to attract ducks and geese.