HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE UPPER MOJAVE DESERT

Vol. 17 No. 7 A UNITED WAY AGENCY September 2002

SEPTEMBER PROGRAM­AMERICAN INDIANS IN THE LOCAL AREA

We begin our fall series of general membership meetings with what promises to be a very interesting talk by Ms. Phyllis Hix. Writer, attorney, occupational therapist, and Kernville antique store owner Phyllis Hix will give a presentation on the history of the American Indians in the local area.

Ms. Hix was born in Iowa and graduated from USC with a BS in occupational therapy and from UCLA with a law degree. In the legal arena, she has served as defense counsel, arbitrator, special master, and judge pro tem. She has written or contributed to various legal workbooks, journals, and monographs, as well as being a guest lecturer at the law schools of USC, UCLA, Loyola, Pepperdine, and the University of Montana, as well as other national and international venues. Her pro bono work includes representing Native American interests in dealing with government agencies, administrative boards, and community groups.

At the same time, Phyllis continues to use her occupational therapy training as an active Registered Occupational Therapist, currently with Mercy Hospital. She was the first Occupational Therapist with both the Kern County Superintendent of Schools Special Education department and the Kern Valley Hospital District. In a combination of the two interests, she has served as counsel to various hospitals, practitioners, and insurers.

In Kernville, Phyllis is the owner of "Antiques by Hix", specializing in unique estate and antique jewelry, fine art, western art, jewelry and artifacts. In her spare time, Phyllis has served as an instructor in the Kern Valley High School mock trial competition and as a member of the
faculty of Cerro Coso Community College, as well as performing as a pianist and vocalist at various local functions. She is also an active member of the US Marshals' and Kern County Sheriffs' Mounted Posses.
She has also worked with the Forest Service and BLM on archaeological and cultural site location and preservation, as well as participating in the "Southern Sierra Wilderness Implementation Plan and Environment Assessment" and the "Historical Evaluation of Jordan Hot Springs resort."

Memberships include Kernville and Lake Isabella Chambers of Commerce, Exchange Club, KRV Woman's Club, Bakersfield Petroleum Club, Maturango Museum, (currently a board member), Wheelwright Museum, Kern Valley Historical Society, Back country Horsemen of California, Cowboy Lawyers Association, Order of Eastern Star, Kernville United methodist Church, Kern Valley Community Orchestra, Kern Valley Master Chorale, Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association (past member of Foundation Board), American Board of Trial Advocates, American Indian Bar Association, Network for Native American Registered Occupational Therapist , American Board of Disability Analysts.

The September meeting will be at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, September 17 at the Maturango Museum. Everyone is welcome to attend. Andrew Sound

UNITED WAY­FAMILY FUN FAIR

The Historical Society will be participating in the Family Fun Fair sponsored by United Way this coming Saturday, September 14. Look for us at Leroy Jackson Park starting at 1:30. We'll have a booth with our books and videos, as well as information on our activities. See you there!

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

As we begin our fall season, it is time to remind our members of the value of volunteering and the rewards to be gained by volunteering.

Last Spring's annual meeting resulted in four new board members. Their influence is already being felt in a positive way. But they replace four who had given of their time and talents for a number of years. We need some additional help.

Within the Society there are two areas which especially need help now. Lou Pracchia has taken on the tremendous task of handling the archiving of our collection items and later making that information available on the Internet.

If you would like to participate, please call Lou Pracchia at 375-7385, or send him an e-mail: ldpracc@verizon.net or leave a message at our office at 375-8456 or via e-mail message: hsumd@ridgenet.net

In addition to the archiving effort, assistance in preparing, publishing and mailing the newsletter is needed. This is usually done on the first weekend of the month following the first Tuesday of the month. Call Bruce Wertenberger at 375-2369 or send him a message at:
brucew@ridgenet.net

NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS

As you may have noticed in the May newsletter, we have a new e-mail address: hsumd@ridgenet.net

This address will be monitored regularly, but do not expect immediate responses to e-mails sent there because we do not necessarily check it on a daily basis.

MATURANGO JUNCTION

Maturango Junction is coming up in October. Look for an announcement of our involvement in Our October newsletter.

BUSINESS MEMBERS

We appreciate the support of our business members: Granite Construction ­ Sand and Gravel, Farris' at the Heritage and the Indian Wells Valley Insurance Co., the Swap Sheet. Please patronize these business members whenever possible. We also encourage any of our members who are eligible to become business members, to do so.

COMMUNITY DINNER­SEPTEMBER 28

The Historical Society will be participating in the Community Dinner scheduled for Saturday, September 28. Various board members of the Society have tickets for sale to the dinner, just give one of them a call at their phone numbers listed on the last page of this newsletter. Remember $9.00 of the $10.00 cost of the dinner ticket goes back to the selling organization. It's a great way to have a good dinner and contribute to our organization. We'll also have a table there with our books and videos and information about the Society. Hope to see you there!

A TRIP TO SEARLES VALLEY IN 1901

The following article is presented through the courtesy of Mr. Alan Hensher, Merced, CA, a member of the HSUMD. He found it in a book in a used book store entitled "The Autobiography of Perry Whiting," by Perry Whiting, a pioneer building material merchant of Los Angeles. It was published in 1930 and contains over 300 pages. Our thanks to Mr. Hensher for forwarding this excerpt to us. The excerpt is presented in its entirety.

In March of this same year (1901) , my old friend John LaDow came to the office. He said there was a good gold mine in Mountain Springs Canyon in the Panamint Range that could be bought very cheap. He wanted me to go with him to investigate it He hired a span of mules and fixed up a camping outfit. We camped at Langs, sixteen miles east of Saugus, the first night and Elizabeth Lake the second night, in a corral at Mojave the third night, the wind nearly blowing us across the desert. Next day we drove through Red Rock Canyon, camped at Coyote Holes (Freeman), and next night we reached Indian Wells. This was the old wagon trail to Owens Valley, the route by which some of the pioneers came to California. You will note this had taken us five days, and I made the same trip last year by auto in five hours. From Indian Wells it was about forty miles across the desert to Mountain Spring Canyon, with no water along the way. We started very early, taking sufficient water to last us and the mules eighteen hours. We arrived there long after dark. An old Mexican, the lone inhabitant of the canyon, came out of his cabin to see who was intruding. It was a very cold night, and the Mexican invited us to make down our bed in his cabin, by the fire. He explained to us that his partner had gone out for grub six weeks before and had not returned yet, so all he had to eat was brown beans. I showed him our grub box, and told him to help himself. He cooked us a nice dinner, and after eating we sat by the fire and talked about the mines in that canyon. We then retired on the floor and had a wonderful night's rest. The next morning Mr. LaDow and I were going to inspect the mine, so I showed the Mexican our grub, which consisted of bacon, dried beef, onions, potatoes, flour, canned oysters, canned soups of various kinds, and told him to have us a good lunch at noon. We got back about noon, went into the cabin, and the only sign of lunch was a large kettle on the stove. The old fellow had put something of everything we had into that kettle and stewed it all up together. I do not recollect that anything ever tasted better to me than that stew. After lunch I gave the old Mexican all the flour, beans, potatoes, etc., except enough to last us home, and left him there alone. Do not know if his partner ever came back or not.

About one o'clock in the afternoon we started back to Los Angeles. It soon began to blow and snow, and in the middle of the afternoon, as we were crossing the old bottom of Searles Lake, where they used to gather the "Twenty Mule Borax," we thought we were going to freeze stiff. Had to walk beside the wagon with our overcoats buttoned tight to keep warm enough to endure it at all, and when night came it was so cold we decided not to make camp, and kept on driving in hopes of finding shelter. After twelve o'clock we came to Searles, a station for the borax teams to stop at when out in the desert, which consisted of a large barn, combination store, saloon and hotel. The only space they had left was in the barn so we made our bed in there, with about fifteen others. It was so cold that none of us slept much.
Next morning we drove across the desert to Randsburg, and stopped to see the wonderful mine that had been discovered one or two years before; then on to Kramer, a Santa Fe station on the Mojave Desert, where we camped in a deserted prospector's cabin. We expected the fierce wind to blow it over at any moment. About 10 o'clock the next day we drove by twenty-five or thirty men staking out mining claims. Mr. LaDow examined the samples of rock they had and decided there was no gold in them; that is, in paying quantities. He was right, for there has never been a real mine found in that locality, not withstanding that records show there was a grand rush of prospectors to that same locality in 1925. We broke camp at Victorville at four o'clock in the morning, as I wished to get home that day, and Los Angeles was 100 miles away. We drove those poor mules fifty miles to Cucamonga by six o'clock in the evening. The Southern Pacific station was three miles away. The mules were too tired to go another step, so I hiked to the station, for the train was due in one hour. I left Mr. LaDow to bring the mules home; also my overcoat.

Upon arriving at the station, which is still in use today, I expected to jump right on, but the agent informed me that the train was five hours late. It was a very cold night, and no fire in the room. About one hour later the agent gave me the lantern and told me to flag the train when it came, as he was going home. I walked around the room to keep warm until I became so tired I could not walk any more, for I had had a hard day. I huddled up in the corner with the lantern between my legs, to get what little heat I could from it. At last about one o'clock, I heard the train whistle. I flagged it and once more was on my way to Los Angeles, arriving at the Fifth Street Station. I was too saving to hire a hack to take me home, so I walked to the 11th and Sentous Streets, arriving there at four o'clock in the morning. I had been on the go since four in the morning the day before and was exhausted. However, I had accomplished what I started to do the day before, namely, to get home within twenty-four hours. Mr. LaDow got home two days later, and those mules were so tired he could hardly make them go at all.