Upper Mojave Desert 230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd. P. O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556 760-375-8456 To see our schedule of events, visit us at hsumd.org or on Facebook at hsumd Annual Mtg To Feature Nick Clapp on the Salad Days of Virginia City Nicholas Clapp, the cover of his latest book, and a street in Virginia City today. Photo below by Nicholas Clapp Awelcome return visit from Nicholas Clapp, one of our favorite speakers, will be featured at our annual dinner and meeting, Tuesday, May 17, at the Historic USO Building, 230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd. Doors will open at 6 p.m., with dinner served at 6:30. A brief business meeting, including election to the board of directors, will follow. The dinner will be tri-tip (with a vegetarian option) prepared by Boardmember Chuck Cordell and his Habitat for Humanity crew. The cost of the dinner is $10, and tickets are on sale now at the gift shop. If you prefer, you can make reservations for the dinner by calling 760-375-8456 during the shop s open hours, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m, Monday through Saturday. But please do let us know ahead of time so Chuck will know how many to cook for. After the meeting, we will be treated to the story of the salad days of Virginia City, Nev., as presented by Nick Clapp based on his latest book, Virginia City: To Dance with the Devil. Where else but in Virginia City could a penniless Irish miner in a few short years amass a fortune greater than any of America s robber-barons, simply by dint of hard work and intuition, and remain a humble, caring human being? Here as well Mark Twain discovered and honed his comic voice, and notorious badman Sam Brown was lined with lead, with a coroner s jury concluding, It served him right. Here also Julia Bulette, a kindly harlot beloved of the city s firemen, was the toast of a rowdy Fourth of July parade. See p. 5
President s Message Many Events at Historic USO S pring has sprung, fall has fell, summer s come and it s hotter than usual. (Sorry ) As you may already know, we had an absolutely wonderful time at our Veterans Breakfast in April, with an Honor Flight getting ready to fly our older vets (for free!) back to Washington, D.C., to see the memorials and participate in other events before returning home. Our Historic USO was a great setting for veterans and their spouses and friends to catch up while enjoying a hot breakfast. We look forward to these breakfasts the third Thursday of every month as a way to honor those who have served their country Tex Hoppus and fellow citizens. Nick Rogers is starting our summer series of classic movies, only now they will show every Wednesday! Bring your family and enjoy our tasty all-beef hot dogs, truly fresh popcorn (the best around!), and a wide variety of other treats. Matt Zubia is laying out a full season of special musical concerts that you will enjoy (watch for our notices), as well as making sure we have a musical gathering every other Friday night on Open Mic Nites. Our Gift Shop is getting new books and other gifts as well as offering See s Candies! for our visitors to discover. We are nearing the completion of minor refurbishments to the Old Kern County Jail that sits on our property, and we hope to open it to those who may want to revisit one of their former stays in earlier years. Carol Porter and her team change our displays periodically to keep things fresh and interesting and educational, so stop by and see Liz Babcock s mother in photos! And please go to hsumd. org to see our new webpage. Lots going on. And please don t forget our May membership meeting a scrumptious dinner with specially ordered dessert treats, a fascinating program, some very special announcements, and the election of some folks for our Board of Directors! You should not miss it, and the $10-per-person charge helps the Society continue to be a busy center of community activity. Tex Hoppus 2 Genealogical O Committee ur next Genealogical Committee meeting will be on Tuesday, May 10, 7 p.m., at the Historic USO Building. The meeting will be a question and answer period for our new friends who joined us last month.please bring some suggestions (samples) on how to organize newly found information. Mentors are also needed for our new friends. Please contact Steven Parker if you would like to participate.. Steven John Parker Get some great See s candy for your mom in our Gift Shop! Too late for Mother s Day? Every day is a good day to get a gift for your mom, and even if she avoids candy, we have just the thing for her unique jams, shirts with a local flair, books... Come in and see! Thanks to Little Deer Durvin, this photo offers you a glimpse of the ambiance at the Historic USO during our Veterans Breakfast on April 21. What a wonderful way to start my day to help out feeding the veterans at the USO building here in Ridgecrest, she said. It was a full house. Photo by Little Deer Durvin
SINGER SONGWRITER STORYTELLER BLUESMAN Roy Book Binder a Ridgecrest favorite, is scheduled to perform at the Historic USO Building on Tuesday, June 14. Roy has been rambling around the world for the past 45 years. He gave up his Greenwich Village pad in the early 70s and lived in his tour bus for the next 15 years, touring the United States and appearing at festivals throughout Canada and Europe. Roy also traveled with the legendary Rev. Gary Davis in the late 60s. The Book, as he is affectionately named, recorded his first solo acoustic blues album the first to receive five stars in Downbeat magazine in the 70s. In the late 80s the Book was part of Bonnie Raitt s East Coast Tour, which included an appearance at the Grand Old Opry. This led to almost 30 appearances on Nashville Now with Ralph Emery. In the 90 the Book often appeared with Jorma Kaukonen, who recorded two of Roy s songs. Roy Book Binder tickets will be available at the door for $20 per person or $35 per couple. If you ve seen him before, you ll surely be there. If not here s your chance! Winners of our 2016 Wildflower Photo Contest Here are the winners of our Wildflower Photo Contest, held on the same weekend as the Maturango Museum s Wildflower Exhibit. The winners, selected by popular vote, from left, are Chet Steele with his first-place photo of a desert five-spot, Ken Sanger with his second-place photo of a chia), and Irene Katzenstein with her third-place photo of an Indian paintbrush. At right is Carol Porter, contest coordinator and HSUMD boardmember extraordinaire. Photo by Tex Hoppus 3
Candidates for Election to HSUMD Board An election for HSUMD Board positions whose incumbents have completed their terms will be part of our Annual Meeting on May 17. Each boardmember serves a two-year term, and our Bylaws call for these terms to be staggered so that we don t have all members leaving or joining the board at one time. The five boardmembers shown below have all agreed to run for another two year term. Additionally, nominations will be accepted from the floor during the Annual Meeting, provided that the person being nominated is present and agrees to run. Serving the second year of their two-year terms, having been elected (or reelected) last year, are John Abbott, Tex Hoppus and Nick Rogers Current Board members Tom Stager and Richard Hendricks were appointed by the Board to unfilled positions. We didn t receive a biographical statement from Tom, but we re including Richard s statement and photo on the next page so you ll be able to greet him and thank him for his useful service to our Society. Nominating Committee Brook Andreoli, Don Snyder, and Alan Woodman Chuck Cordell I have been a Ridgecrest resident since 1955. I have been on the board of the Historical Society for about eight years and am the committee chair of the Veterans Memorial Building. I would like to continue the Society s building projects if you so choose. Doug Lueck In 1963 at the age of 18, while camping and hiking in the desert, I was one of several people who discovered Avalwatz Silver Mine, a small mining town in Death Valley. Finding this ghost town started my interest in cultural history. I moved to Ridgecrest in 1990. Since then I was instrumental in saving Doc, the last salveagable B-29 on base; have served on the Desert Empire Fair Board for 12 years; have been a volunteer for the BLM s Wild Horse and Burro program; have been the commander of the Old West Mounted Lawmen s Association since 2012, and am Executive Director of the Ridgecrest Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. I came onto the HSUMD board eight years ago and have been both vice president and president. Carol Porter I joined the HSUMD Board in October 2009, working with collections, exhibits and history. With the continued help of great volunteers we have made progress in indexing, sorting and digitizing. We have finally started to make a dent in the task before us. I enjoy helping to host the many events held in the HSUMD facilities. This year the Veterans Memorial Building has been added to the Collections and Exhibits aspect in my area and is no way near completion. I would like to continue to work on these ongoing projects. I find all these projects challenging and very interesting as new information from our past and wonderful photos are discovered. Andrew Sound I was born in Ridgecrest and have lived here ever since, give or take my college years. I work on the base. Local history has interested me more and more as I see the changes in town in the time I ve lived here I still think of the building that now houses the Crossroads Church as the new drugstore so I joined the Historical Society several years ago. I was first elected to the board in 2002, and since then I have served as publicity director, vice president, secretary, treasurer and now programs and publications director, but I gain the most satisfaction from my small part in restoring the Historic USO Building. Matthew Zubia Hello, I am a current HSUMD board member. I am seeking another term so that I can continue to be a part of shaping the future of this great organization. I am committed to helping foster a positive outlook for new members, maintaining strong relationships with current members, and being available to all members who have an interest in coming along with me for the ride. My other goal, of equal importance is to bring aboard exciting new activities and fundraising events. These are an important part of our charter to help sustain our organization. Thank for your support throughout my time on the board and if you elect me as the incumbent, it would be my pleasure to serve. 4
Our New Secretary Richard Hendricks I have been a Ridgecrest resident since 2009. I have been on the board of the Historical Society since July 2015 and am currently serving as the recording secretary. I also serve as the treasurer of my church. I will always have a warm spot for HSUMD since the Historic USO Building hosted my church until the church was able to move into its own building. Report on Collections On April 16 Leann Moel and I along with other local reps traveled to Bakersfield to participate in the 150th birthday of Kern County. We took several of our display boards and Gift Shop items. Lots of nice comments; other historical societies are very impressed with our publications and of course want to share. My favorite comment was from a young women who now lives in Bakersfield. She was Little Miss Desert Empire Fair in the mid 90s and was pointing out to her friend that Ridgecrest didn t look like the pictures on the board from the 50s but was now a great place to live and full of really nice people. Next month I am going to Bishop to attend a workshop on Grant Writing for Preservation Projects to Enhance Collection Care Workshop funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and California State Library and hosted by the Inyo County Free Library and Eastern Calif. Museum. More next month. Carol Porter Annual Mtg From p. 1 Patrons enjoying one of Virginia City s many saloons. Huntington Library In Virginia City mines, men plunged into the scalding, hazardous heart of the Earth, tantamount to partnering with hell s dread demon, so that they could enjoy five Shakespeare companies performing at once, food rivaling Delmonico s of New York, and frocks ordered directly from Paris that could be worn in this barren, windswept middle of nowhere. Exploration of obscure mining camp of Ophir City brought Nick Clapp, accompanied by his wife Bonnie, here to speak at the Historic USO in October 2013. He returned this past October to introduce his book about the lives of the desert shamans. We have several of his beautiful, bountifully illustrated books in our Gift Shop, and it s great to welcome him back to speak during our building s 51st year. A documentary filmmaker and award-winning author, Nick has explored, filmed, and written about the deserts of the world. In Arabia, he led an expedition that discovered and unearthed the lost city of Ubar, celebrated in both the Bible and the Arabian Nights. Closer to home, he has written about and roamed the deserts of the American West, with particular interest in the history of mining camps. His grandfather Daniel was a miner, and when Nick was 12, he tagged along on a shift working at the 800-foot level in the same mine where his grandfather later died in an underground accident. His great uncle George was the proprietor of a minstrel show touring mining camps, and Hannah Clapp was an 1850s Nevada schoolmarm. It was only natural then, that Nick, along with Bonnie, was drawn to Virginia City and a quest to recount and graphically illustrate the day-in, day-out story and excitement of a ramshackle desert settlement destined to become the richest place on earth. HSUMD meets on the third Tuesday of the month, with all welcome to attend. For more information call 760-375-8456. 5 Andrew Sound
Pictures of Us Solid Message... Strange Method Although HSUMD has been hoping to offer Mark Pahuta s and Leroy Doig s Pictures of Us series in our Gift Shop, negotions with China Lake have been slow. So you won t want to miss one of your last sure opportunities to see one of these excellent presentations when the 14th and last video in the series is offered at the Historic USO on the 4th Tuesday, May 24, at 7 p.m. Solid Message... Strange Method demonstrates that humor can be an excellent teaching tool. Here, befuddled new-hires are lost in downtown Inyokern while trying to reach a laboratory evidently populated by ill-mannered photographers and triggerhappy range techs, said Leroy. Other film clips show donkeys in captains hats, a delightful cloud girl, the horrible Mr. Mine and a barely dressed safety officer. Considering the nature of the business we re in, Leroy continued, the occasional application of absurdity may well be essential. We expect a large audience for this showing, which is free and open to the public. So please come and take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to see riotous footage from some of China Lake s most creative and entertaining in-house productions. As portrayed in the infamous 1953 send-off of China Lake recruiting films, a junior professional (aptly named J.P. and played by Robert Morgan) is dumped out on Highway 14 (Highway 6 then) as he arrives at China Lake for his first day on the job. U.S. Navy screen shots Movie Magic Is Upon Us We have just completed Americans Abroad, and the summer season is quickly approaching. That means it s Summer of Movie Magic time at the Historic USO Building s Classic Movie Night. Starting on May 18 and continuing until Aug. 3, we will alternate Walt Disney family favorites with thrilling science fiction classics EVERY Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. This annual event, now in its fourth year, is planned to coincide with local students summer break allowing them and their families to experience the thrill of moviegoing in an old-time theater atmosphere featuring a large screen, surround stereophonic sound and an unbelievable snack bar. The whole family can enjoy a classic movie and savor a mouth-watering treat on a night out that won t strain the wallet. Admission is always free, but a suggested $2 donation helps up keep our theater in top cinematic shape This event also helps us raise funds to renew our annual exhibition license. Once again, we have 12 outstanding local businesses generously supporting our continued mission of bringing classic films to a loving Ridgecrest audience. A tip of the hat and a sincere thanks to the following: Baxendale s; Cordell Construction Co.; Cruise Planners of the Indian Wells Valley; Jack and Dana Lyons, Best Realty; Lone Pine Film Museum; Maturango Museum; Red Rock Books; Ridgecrest Area Convention and Visitors Bureau; Ridge Writers; Roaming Dog Kitchen; S & M Coins and Collectibles; and Warren s Automotive. These folks love what we are doing and want to make sure that we keep presenting the best of the Golden Age of Hollywood to local movie lovers and visitors. Look for the titles and descriptions of all 12 of the planned features in the latest film program now available in our lobby or call 760-375-8456 for more information. See you at the movies... all summer long! Nick Rogers 6
HELP NEEDED WITH I.D. The picture below appears on page 118 of my book, The Historic USO, and provides a good illustration of the amazing work Kathy Armstrong and her team did to raise muchneeded money for our building s renovation. The caption gives the names of all these people, but the man in the middle (just to the left of Peggy Flagg (who has her arm up) is wrongly identified as Randy Prazak. The Prazak family has since pointed out that that s not Randy. So can anyone provide the proper I.D.? I would like to correct this error before the next printing of the book. Please do call or email me (info given on the back page). Liz Babcock Member Categories HSUMD has three membership categories all very important to us. Our regular memberships are $35 per individual or family. Our business memberships are $45 each. We also have a special category: life member, which is something the board bestows only on members who have supported HSUMD in sustained and special ways. Our life members names are displayed on our website. Business Members please patronize them! Allen County Public Library, Genealogy Department Anna Marie Bergens, Realtor Best Western China Lake Inn Bob & Ardyce s Bicycle Shop Cal-Sun Pools Clarion Inn Comfort Inn Cordell Construction Dave Pearson Enterprises DeathValley.com Desert Empire Fair Earth Landscaping Econo-Lodge Edward Jones Investments Brook H. Andreoli The Flower Shoppe Heritage Inn Jack & Dana Lyons, Realtors Maturango Museum Motion Tire & Wheel Nevins Tech. Consultants The News Review (Farris) Peoples Images 7 New Members Jade Brush James C. Hayes Pleistocene Foundation Professional Tax & Business Services Red Rock Books Ridgecrest Automotive Ridgecrest Moving & Storage Roaming Dog Kitchen S&M Coins & Collectibles Sam s Paint & Glass Gary P. Staab & Assoc., Inc. The Swap Sheet Tint This Warren s Automotive
DIRECTORS Tex Hoppus, President 760-446-3370, tex.hoppus@verizon.net Doug Lueck, Vice President 760-375-8202, racvb@filmdeserts.com Richard Hendricks, Recording Secretary shoreline83@me.com Andrew Sound, Programs 760-608-7296, afsound@verizon.net Tom Stager, Treasurer tenayacom@aol.com John Abbott, Building Mgr., Bldg. Rental 760-375-5709, jga2nja@yahoo.com Chuck Cordell, Building cordell.construction@yahoo.com Carol Porter, Accessions & Exhibits 760-446-3400, carporter@gmail.com Nick Rogers, Movie Nite, Publicity Wnr428@hotmail.com or call 760-375-8456 for info Matthew Zubia, Fundraising 760-793-2107, zubia5@verizon.net COMMITTEE LEADERS Michelle Andreoli, Gift Shop Manager michelle0817andreoli@yahoo.com Liz Babcock, Newsletter Editor 760-375-7900, lizbab@fastmail.fm Jim Kenney, Field Trips Coordinator 760-371-2458, j.kenney@verizon.net Steve Parker, Genealogical Committee sjparker_99@yahoo.com Donna McCrohan Rosenthal, PR Coordinator 760-375-4308, mccrohan@iwvisp.com Lloyd Smith, Membership Coordinator, SEEP Coordinator 760-377-3542, lloyd.smith@hughes.net Here s an easy way to see this newsletter in color! Just send an e-mail to our membership coordinator, Lloyd Smith at lloyd. smith@hughes.net, and ask him to put you on the list to get a PDF copy e-mailed to you each month. We don t plan to stop sending paper copies, but online is the way to go if you prefer living color. Important Reminders Annual dues are $35 (family) and $45 (business). Please remember the Historical Society in your wills, trusts and other gift giving. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert P. O. Box 2001 Ridgecrest, CA 93556 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 9 RIDGECREST, CA ANNUAL MEETING, MAY 2016 Tuesday, May 17, doors open at 6 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m., Historic USO Building