HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE UPPER MOJAVE DESERT

Vol. 15 No. 7

OCTOBER MEETING: LEARN ABOUT EARLY LOCAL MEDICAL CARE

Our October meeting will feature Gary Staab, administrator of Drummond
Medical Group, Inc., who will give us an overview of how the early days of
medical practice have resulted in the high level of medical sophistication
present today in the Indian Wells Valley.

Gary plans to begin his talk with a brief history of early medical care in
the Rand Mining District. Included in his talk will be information on the
colorful career of Dr. Thomas Drummond, starting with his time in Randsburg
and continuing through the construction of what was then known as
"Drummond's Folly."

Gary, who has been the Drummond administrator since late 1983, began his
career in the health-care industry more than 30 years ago as a Navy
corpsman during the Vietnam era. Later he worked as a nurse and as an
administrator. He is a Fellow in the American College of Medical Practice
Executives, where he serves on the Examinations Committee.

Since his arrival in Ridgecrest, Gary has served on several nonprofit
boards, with that service including a term as president of the Maturango
Museum. He continues to volunteer as a petroglyph trip leader and
occasional guide for other local trips.

On a personal note, he is the father of four grown children and is
anticipating the arrival of his seventh grandchild.

So prepare for an entertaining and educational time on Tuesday, Oct. 17,
7:30 p.m. in the Sylvia Winslow Gallery of the Maturango Museum.
Liz Babcock

NEW AAUW EXHIBIT FEATURES MANY FAMILIAR FACES

We encourage you to stop in at the Maturango Museum and see the new
American Association of University Women exhibit Liz Babcock and Bruce
Wertenberger just installed with research help from Bea Smith of AAUW.
We're betting you'll recognize some of the faces (including those of at
least two HSUMD members).

A few months back, Bea contacted Liz to say that she had a collection of
AAUW scrapbooks, pictures, and other memorabilia that she thought might
make an interesting exhibit. That good start plus some further digging
around resulted in the just-completed exhibit.

You might wonder "Why an exhibit about AAUW and not some other club?" Well,
probably the first answer is that AAUW is the first club to ask us to do an
exhibit of that type. Another good answer, though, is that AAUW deserves a
prominent spot in the history of this valley. It was the women of AAUW, for
example, who were directly responsible for bringing the first mental-health
services here. AAUW also contributed greatly to our culture and other
social services.

AAUW itself was founded in 1881 and now has 150,000 members. The
organization's mission is to promote equity for all women and girls,
lifelong education, and positive change in society.

Today the 54-year-old China Lake Ridgecrest Branch meets once a month
except for December and the summer months. Membership is open to anyone
(either gender) who holds a baccalaureate degree from an accredited
university.
Liz Babcock

NOT SIGNED UP FOR THAT TOUR YET? BETTER DO IT TODAY!

Reservations are going fast for the upcoming Saturday, Oct. 14, tours of
the "House That Jack Built," that great old house you may know as the
"railroad-car house."

The Maturango Museum, which has agreed to handle tour reservations,
notified us a few days ago that the morning tours are now full and that the
afternoon tours are going fast. So you might want to hurry over to the
museum and pay your $5 for the opportunity to get a look inside the
intriguing house.

As you probably remember, Bill Reed, one of the owners, showed us the house
and grounds last spring. We all had so much fun that Bill agreed to do it
again.

If you missed going on one of the previous tours, now's your chance to get
a first look at the fine Krupp family antiques, the beautiful stained
glass, the well-maintained grounds, and that great clock tower. Every nook
and cranny of the house has a story, and Bill's a great guide.
Bill will take groups of 14 on 40-minute tours through the house and
grounds. Because of the fragility and high value of the antiques in the
house, the tours are limited to adults only. Each tour starts on the hour.
The morning tours are already filled to capacity, but spots remain on
tours later in the day.

Each group should meet at the east side of the house, 761 W. Church St.,
about 10 minutes prior to tour time.

The tours are by reservation only and cost $5 per person. Reservations must
be made ahead of time at the Maturango Museum gift shop any time between 10
a.m. and 5 p.m. daily until noon of Friday, Oct. 13.
Liz Babcock

HISTORICAL SOCIETY OPEN HOUSE

The board of the HSUMD invites all the members of the Historical Society to
an Open House at its present location, 302 Station St., Ridgecrest, almost
directly across the street from the Adult Day Care Center.

The Open House will be held between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m., Saturday, October
28. This is your chance to see some of our collections and get an overview
of our activities, as well as visit with other members, including board
members. Light refreshments will be served.

We are grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Jody Allred who have so generously provided
us with this temporary home of our own and enabled us to have a presence in
the community. Susan Hueber

INSIDE OUR HOUSE!

When you attend our open house (see above article) I am sure you will
notice how many containers of items we have on shelves or otherwise being
preserved. What is not apparent is that we have an almost equal number of
containers located in a room we have at the old USO or County Building.
Some of these containers at both location are in need of content sorting
and further categorizing. In some of the containers there are collections
of local newspapers which need to have certain articles clipped and filed
and then the rest of the paper discarded.

One may ask why don't we save the whole paper in its present form? The
answer is that we don't have room to preserve everything and must
concentrate on retaining items relating to our immediate region and its
history. Furthermore, your society has in the past provided some microfilm
reels of our local newspapers to the Ridgecrest Branch of the Kern County
Library. At that time the donation brought their collection up to date
which was through calendar year 1990. Beyond that--?

So as you view those containers during your visit, and if you just can't
resist the temptation to examine the contents, we can accommodate your
curiosity and make it become a beneficial reality by allowing you to
volunteer to help sort, clip, annotate and file under the supervision of
Collections Director Susan Hueber! Please form a line...

Lou Pracchia

NEW HSUMD BOARD MEETING DATES

The HSUMD board of directors has decided to meet the first Tuesday of each
month. The next board meeting will be at 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 7.
It is open to interested HSUMD members.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2000. "GOLD IS WHERE YOU FIND IT"

Here is another opportunity to visit historic places in Randsburg!

We will gather at Plum Cottage (the second house WEST of the fire-station
on Randsburg's Butte Avenue) at 10.00 for a snack as we watch a video of
today's gold mining operation at Randsburg's
own Yellow Aster Mine, courtesy of Glamis Gold, Ltd. A representative of
the mine will join us to answer questions, show artifacts and tell us more
about the mine. Then, 1943 maps in hand, those who wish may take a guided
walk round Rand to see some of the sites of old mining claims of Rand Camp,
stopping in at the Santa Barbara Church and "Wrectory", the site of Trinity
Episcopal Church and ending with a visit to the authentically restored
Barber Shop. After an "on-your-own" break for lunch, tours of century old
Rose Cottage will take place in groups of ten. The tour cost per person is
$5.00 cash or check payable to the Historical Society at the time of
reservation. Arrangements have been made for the Gift Shop at the Maturango
Museum to handle the reservations. Tour is limited to 30 people; deadline
for reservations is 1 November. Lorraine Blair

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2000, CHRISTMAS IN RAND CAMP

Decorated Rose Cottage will be open from 10 to 11:30. Pop in and have a
fancy biscuit and some cocoa or coffee...then wander down to the decorated
"Wrectory" to take a peek. Be sure to listen for the Santa Barbara church
bell. Beginning at noon, Dr. Jim Vaskov will be playing a concert, 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 lunch
and a walkabout to see how the villagers and merchants have decorated for
the holidays. Plum Cottage will be open from 2 to 3 with more snacks ('tis
the season!) and a chance for relaxing and chatting and sharing what you
would like to see in the New Year in historic Randsburg. Lorraine Blair

BUSINESS MEMBERS

We appreciate the support of our business members: Granite Construction Co.
Sand and Gravel, Farris' at the Heritage and The Swap Sheet. Please
patronize them whenever possible.

MATURANGO JUNCTION

The society will have its usual Cookies and Conversation booth at the
Maturango Junction on the weekend of 21 October. Please visit us there,
enjoy the homemade cookies and conversation with old-timers!

NEW HSUMD MEMBERS

We are pleased to welcome four new members to the society: Pat and Harris
Brokke, Marry Ann Clodt and Debra Lindstrom.

SAGE BRUSH WHISPERS

Following is the last installment of an historical article about the
Chambers' homesteading experience in Indian Wells Valley. On October 26,
1926, Irene Chambers wrote the following memories of their move to the
Indian Wells Valley in 1918. The Chambers' homestead was located 3 miles
east of Leliter and 4 miles NNE of Inyokern .

Spelling and punctuation are as in the original. Ed.

One cold morning I stepped out of the house and saw a big white city. I
looked and looked and wondered if I had lost my mind. I went in Mollies
house and to the window. Yes, I could still see it. she said,
"Well,Irene, what's the matter? Are you bugs?" I said, "I guess so. You
come here and see if you can see anything." Yes she could see a white
city. It was our first mirage. We had a lot of fun out of John when he
came, showing him the big city.

I wish I could tell you how pretty the mountains are, and the beautiful
sun-rises and sunsets on the deserts. shadows and colors changing every
hour of the day. You will have to go see it for your self.

By this time the desert had us and we wished we had money to improve and
stay there in the quiet and under the million stars forever. But we had to
wait. We each stayed our time out (seven months) and went back to our
homes again. Glad to be back among our friends and neighbors.

We hurried right down to see the new baby while we were away. she was as
cute as could be and named Helen. Let me tell you of her mother--an Iowa
school teacher that had come to California for her health.--T.B. She soon
learned she could not stay near the coast on account of the fog. She met a
man--yes, a good man and married him. They went to the desert, took a
homestead, made them a home. and today she is well and strong--and hold
your breath--mother of seven bright, happy, healthy children. Such a happy
family - seldom sick. If one got a cold they did not use medicine like we
did but laid out in the sun. They sleep and live practically out-doors the
year around.

I wish more people would not have such a horror of the desert and would go
there and get well. I wish I had the money to build a hospital on the
homestead for T.B.'s and go and live there with them and help them get
well. It is wonderful what the sunshine will do for a T.B.

My sister and her girls, Ola and Fay, came from Colorado to visit us the
last two months. Our time to go home getting nearer, nearer each day.
Glad to go home, yet sad to leave our little cabins on the desert.

At last we had stayed our twenty one months required to get our titles to
the land!

John came for Mollie and Fred, Peggy and I to go home. Did we take our
camp outfit? No. We put them away, for we want to go back to the desert,
for it is near and dear to us now, and we hope to have money to build a
home on the land and spend our last days on the quiet desert in Indian
Wells Valley, California.

Ever your friend, IRENE CHAMBERS.

P.S. We got our deeds from the U.S. with Warren Harding's name on it. I.C.

Irene Chambers
Lone Pine, California.