HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE UPPER MOJAVE DESERT
Vol. 17 No. 5 A United Way Agency May 2002
ANNUAL DINNER FEATURES AUTHOR OF CHINA LAKE HISTORIES
This year's annual dinner will as always be a time for us to elect board members, chat with friends, and eat a delicious meal at Farris' at the Heritage.
Your board always tries hard to come up with a special speaker for this annual event and we believe we have outdone ourselves this year! Speaking to us on the topic of "Interviewing Admirals, Scientists, and Grandma" will be Al Christman, well-known Navy historian and former China Laker.
Al is the author of three books - the first two volumes of China Lake's history, plus a biography of Rear Adm. William S. "Deak" Parsons - that have earned proud places on local bookshelves. He's also writing a book about women homesteaders in New Mexico.
His talk will cover memorable and humorous moments he encountered during interviews for those books. Among his topics well be the scientists and officers who brought the Navy and its revolutionary changes to the Indian Wells Valley, as well as the brilliant team who forever changed the world as they created and delivered the first atomic bomb.
If you're interested in recording and preserving the memories of family members or local old-timers, you should find Al's experiences in interviewing his mother especially illuminating. His mother, Olga Nelson Christman, lived here, and it was right here in Ridgecrest that Al conducted most of his interviews about her early years as a woman homesteader.
Our dinner on Friday, May 17th, which is at Farris' at the Heritage, will begin with a social hour at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 6:30, election of board members, a review of the year's accomplishments - and of course our speaker.
Dana Lyons and Bill Farris have put their heads together to come up with a wonderful menu for us - roast leg of pork, vineyard chicken, potatoes au gratin, rice pilaf, fresh green beans with almonds and chef's choice vegetables.
Also on the menu are three salads - tossed greens, basil pasta, and fresh fruit. Hot breads will accompany the dinner. After all that, Farris' will tempt you to forget your diet and end the meal with fudge cake or lemon cake.
Al is so well-known locally and has such a fascinating topic that we're betting he'll attract a lot of people. The deadline to make your dinner reservation is noon this coming Wednesday, May 15, but of course if the room capacity has been met before that, you'll be out of luck if you wait until the last minute. So get your tickets early to avoid being left out!
A signup sheet is available at the Maturango Museum, and the cost is $20 per person, payable in advance. Liz Babcock
OUR DINNER SPEAKER HAS FASCINATING BACKGROUND, NUMEROUS ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Many HSUMD members know our Annual Dinner speaker, Al Christman, well from the days when he lived in College Heights and worked as a writer, historian, presentations specialist, and publications manager in China Lake's Technical Information Department. I hope this article will give those of you who haven't met Al some idea of why the rest of us are so excited about his appearance at our dinner.
Al, who is now a freelance writer-historian in San Marcos, lived in our valley from 1951 to 1979 and was employed most of that time in China Lake's Technical Information Department. Later, in San Diego, he served as the Historian of the Navy Laboratories, and in that position he interviewed leading figures in Navy research and development.
Al has published four books, Target Hiroshima: Deak Parsons and the Creation of the Atomic Bomb; Naval Innovators, 1776-1900; The Grand Experiment at Inyokern (co-author); and Sailors, Scientists and Rockets. Both the Maturango Museum and the U.S. Naval Museum of Armament and Technology sell most of those books, so if you want to read something by Al, you can support a local museum and pick up a "great read" at the same time.
He also has an impressive list of magazine articles to his credit. But he doesn't have an ounce of scholastic stuffiness in him. He's a born journalist whose storytelling style makes his books and articles a joy to read.
Al's creativity extends into other areas as well. For example, he and his burro Chris made appearances for many years in local parades, Al dressed as a grizzled prospector and Chris dressed as - well, a burro.
You may remember Chris Cards, the postcards Al created and his mother marketed throughout the Upper Mojave Desert. Al captured a lot of beautiful scenes, but his best-sellers had a more humorous intent. One card that gained quite a lot of local fame featured Chris apparently taking a picture with a large-format camera. You might be able to predict the caption - "Even a jackass can take a picture!"
Al had a strong-willed homesteader for a mother and a homesteader turned barnstorming pilot for a father - a good start on an adventurous life. During World War II, Al saw considerable action as a combat engineer in an infantry division. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge and the Ruhr Pocket, also helping secure the Remagen Bridge.
When he returned from the war, Al attended the University of Missouri, from which he graduated with two degrees, one in journalism and one in writing and history. He also joined the Air Force Reserves, a long-term involvement from which he eventually retired with the rank of major.
He was a civil servant from 1951-82, earning both Meritorious and Superior Civilian Service Awards, as well as the prestigious Robert H. Goddard Memorial Award.
The above article may give you some idea of Al's accomplishments - now, we hope you will come to the dinner to experience his unique personality and insights. Liz Babcock
RESEARCH FUN
During the past few months there have been requests via U.S. mail and the Internet about Indian Wells Valley people or places. Among these inquiries one woman, then six years old, recalled living in Ridgecrest during 1946 and 1947, using Ridgecrest's library, attending school on base, and occasionally roller-skating at a car dealerships showroom or garage. Her father, Wayne Pratt was in a partnership with Ed McCormick and they operated a tire repair and Beacon service station called The PM Co. She also sent early picture postcards of Inyokern and Argus, CA. and later, a few views via e-mail of the PM Co.
So far I have not located anything about the library except that it was probably on W. Robertson. As you may know, Larry and Betty Fox donated to the society more than a thousand photographs from his father's collection. Among them is one great picture taken of many children roller-skating in what appears to be a large building. It has a roll-up corrugated door and a lot of oil spots on the floor. A copy was sent via e-mail to the person for possible identification but as yet there has been no reply.
Another person contacted the Ridgecrest Chamber of Commerce who forwarded the inquiry to our society. This person named Hellmers, found a reference to Hellmers Park on the City of Ridgecrest website and is interested in determining if they are related. Well, here again, the answer is not known, as he has never replied to the information sent to him. Historically that inquiry has opened a new research effort about parks in Ridgecrest and vicinity.
So far it has been learned that the park was named for Henry D. Hellmers who I believe assisted former City Councilman Rex Shacklett and Mayor Ken Smith in modifying recreational park land leases between West End Chemical and Kern County. This occurred prior to Ridgecrest's incorporation in 1963. Henry Hellmers was West End's plant manager since the 1920's. According to a copy of the Westend Reporter in our archives, Henry was the person who came up with the basic process for recovering chemicals from Searles Lake brine back in the 1920's when he was working for Borax Smith.
More information about the park and its origin must surely exist. For instance there is a space for a plaque on the monument at the park's entrance west of the Senior Center. Was there ever a plaque? What did it say? Parks and Recreation Director Jim Ponek said he is working on a plan for additional park features and intends to have a sign put in place with the park name.
What about the names and origins of our other parks? Want a project? Lou Pracchia
OUR WEBSITE
Just a reminder that we have an active website. Not only does it have copies of our newsletter from a number of years back, but it also has current information. It gets 100 to 140 "hits" per week. www.Maturango.org/Hist.html
BUSINESS MEMBERS
We appreciate the support of our business members: Farris' at the Heritage, the Indian Wells Valley Insurance Co., the Swap Sheet and Granite Construction Sand and Gravel. Please patronize these business members whenever possible and we also encourage any of our members who are eligible to become business members, to do so.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Two communications have been received from the Nominating Committee since the last newsletter. The first one was the biographical sketch from Andrew Sound, which we did not receive in time to publish last month. The second was a withdrawal from nominee, Jenny Miller.
ANDREW SOUND. I was born in Ridgecrest and have lived here ever since, give or take my college years. Currently 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 helped out with the Maturango Junction HSUMD cookie sales, back when we still did that, and now am interested in serving on the board.
JENNY MILLER "Due to unforeseen circumstances, I regretfully wish to withdraw my name from the roster of candidates running for election to the Historical Society's Board of Directors for the ensuing year." Jenny Miller
NO JUNE GENERAL MEETING
The HSUMD board has decided not to have a general membership meeting in June. The next one will be in September. There will be a board meeting in early June and there will be a June Newsletter.