230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd. • P. O. Box 2001, Ridgecrest, CA 93556 • 760-375-8456

November 2016Vol. 31, No. 9

Upper Mojave DesertTo see our schedule of events, visit us at hsumd.org or on Facebook at hsumd

Creators of New Book To Speak at Nov. Meeting

A book so new that it isn’t even com- pletely written yet will be the topic of our November meeting, 7 p.m. on

Tuesday, Nov. 15, at the Historic USO Build-ing, 230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd.

Liz Babcock, the book’s editor and designer as well as the author of a portion of the book, will give the presentation, with added remarks by Richard Nuckles, the cartoonist who drew numerous cartoons for the project.

The book, Tales from the Owl Saloon, is based on a manuscript donated to our archive many years ago by Dr. Rob Jones, who was good friends with Lodge Cunningham, the author.

“The tales are boisterous, often profane, but invariably fascinating,” said Liz. “I realized that the only way to do justice to the character of these yarns would be to have them illustrat-

See p. 4

Above left is the cover of HSUMD’s newest book, which is scheduled to come out in December — just in time for holiday giving. The book contains fascinating tales of Red Mountain and the surrounding area, as told by Lodge Cunningham (far left). The editor of the tales and author of a more factual part of the book is Liz Babcock (just to the right of Cunningham), while Richard Nu-ckles (immediate left) is the cartoon-ist illustrating the tales.

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November 2016Vol. 31, No. 9

Our Gift Shop— the Source

for Sweet Holiday Treats

T he holidays are com-ing!  Please remember to

shop with us for local gifts and See’s candy.  

If you want to buy a large quantity of See’s for your family or business needs, please call the gift shop with your order at least two weeks before you need it so we can be sure to accommodate you.

Tex Hoppus

President’s Message —

We Appreciate Our Veterans

November in the United States has many special days (my wife’s birthday, my daughter’s birthday, etc.), but of note are Thanksgiving Day and Veterans

Day. Thanksgiving Day, of course, is a day set aside for us to thank God for all of the blessings that we enjoy. Veterans Day is a day set aside for us to honor military veterans who have served or are serving our country.

I’d like to recognize those two objectives together by collectively giving thanks to all veterans and their families. I’d like also to note the ways that HSUMD shows our appreciation and support to veterans:

(1) We created a Veterans Memorial Building that is a unique and dedicated display of the past and present service and sacrifices by our local veterans. Instead of being a general military museum, the VMB is focused on displaying the photos and stories of service that are shared by our veterans or their families. Come by and visit.

(2) HSUMD hosts a monthly free breakfast for veterans and their spouses. Veterans are invited to join others on the third Thursday of each month, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., at the Historic USO Building, located at 230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd.

HSUMD hosts the monthly free breakfast for our venerated veterans, but the society has lots of help from others who also honor our veterans. Chuck and Ronda Griffin and their family donate time and talent and love to preparing, cooking and leading volunteers in serving the breakfast. American Legion Post No. 684 and its Legion Riders and Honor Flight Kern County with Gary and Karen Zuber always help. Mather Brothers, Inc., and its dairy operation donate drinks, ice, and other items. Rod Stiefvater and Mojave Pistachios pitch in and donate. We give thanks for all of our great volunteers.

(3) HSUMD hosts a regular gathering of a Combat Stress Support Group. Every other Wednesday evening, starting at 6 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Building, 230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd., the Combat Stress Support Group meets under the leadership of Dr. Jiselle Esparza. If you or a loved one think that they could benefit from coming to a meeting of this Support Group, please call John Abbott at 619-808-2223.

(4) HSUMD hosts a wide variety of activities and events that veterans and their families can enjoy. The Society’s Historic USO Building opened in Oc-tober 1945 as a USO Club and immediately became the center of activity for Ridgecrest, the nearby Navy base, and the surrounding area. HSUMD has not only restored the venerable building to its former glory, but it has restored the building’s stature as a center of community activity!

Please join us in giving thanks for all of our blessings – especially for our veterans.

— Tex Hoppus

HSUMD’S Open Mic Night is the place to be for great music and ambiance every non-flex

Friday. Admission is a mere $2 per adult. Children younger than 12 are free. Beers and wines are

available along with the usual candies, sodas, popcorn, and

Jumbo Crumville hot dogs. The entertainment starts a 7 sharp.

And while you’re thinking about suit-able holiday gifts, how about order-ing a brick for that special Historic USO Building supporter? Lots of spots remain where new bricks would look good! You can call or email Andrew Sound, for more info.

November 2016Vol. 31, No. 9

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Ladies’ Tea and Crazy Hats All photos by Michelle Andreoli

How do you like Don Snyder’s monkey hat?

Here’s an overview

of the col-orful, well-

attended event..

Judges Craig Porter and Brook Andreoli selected four winning hats (clockwise from left): Vicki Siegel (Patriotic Hat), Bonnie Irvine (Big-gest Hat), Rachal Ryan (Scary Hat), and Rachel Longstaff (Original

Hat). Congratulations, ladies!

Our Ladies’ Tea was a great success. All involved seemed to be enjoying the activities, music and luncheon.

The “Caliches” once again did a fine job of designing songs for the event. They sing those familiar songs with words to fit the occasion.

We had lots of compliments on the food and the hand-some servers.

A huge thanks to our cooks and preparation ladies and See p. 7

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November 2016Vol. 31, No. 9

ed by a cartoonist. Richard then took up the challenge, ultimately provid-ing the 47 cartoons included in the first part of the book.

“The yarns may stretch the truth a bit, and that’s why I thought they should be illustrated by cartoons rather than photos,” Liz explained.

“But both the tales and the car-toons do a great job of presenting a highly atmospheric picture of what the Rand Mining District must have been like during the years Lodge Cunningham was hanging out at the Owl Cafe,” she added.

“I hope readers will fall in love with the tales, just as I did.”

Before Cunningham spent the last 33 years of his life in Red Mountain and Johannesburg, he had an influ-ential career as a Hollywood sound man, working on more than 100 productions, including “Hell’s An-gels,” “From Here to Eternity,” and “A Song To Remember” (for which he was nominated for an Academy Award), as well as numerous episodes of “Green Acres” and “The Beverly Hillbillies.”

It was location shooting for “Hell’s Angels” that introduced Lodge to the Rand Mining District, and he visited it many times before he and his wife, Alida, moved there.

So fond were they of the Owl that they purchased it, then welcomed tourists to their unique café in which they served delicious Indonesian food and showed clips from Lodge’s Hollywood home movies, as well as travelogs about Indonesia.

Liz Babcock, who has built the

framework for the Cunningham tales, has lived the Indian Wells Val-ley since 1960. After a 24-year career in the technical communication field at China Lake, she retired in 1996. Since then she has worked the Ridgecrest Chamber of Commerce, the Maturango Museum (as history curator), and the News Review.

She is the author of The His-toric USO. 70 Years at the Heart of Ridgecrest and Magnificent Mavericks, Vol. 3 of the history of the Navy at China Lake; co-author of Indian Wells Valley Stage and Freight Stops; and editor and designer of numerous other books on local history.

Richard Nuckles came to China Lake on a motorcycle in June 1959 to visit a friend. He distinctly re-

New Book From p. 1

In one of the illustrations from the book, “Little Billy” Molihan, nephew of Owl proprietor Slim Riffle, challenges a gang of toughs to a shooting match with Billy’s hero, Doc Drummond (yes, the founder of our hospital and one of the book’s main characters). Cartoon by Richard Nuckles

members asking himself, “What is this place?” as he rode through Red Mountain.

He stayed in China Lake as an engineer, retiring in 1995. After retirement from the base, he took cartooning classes at Cerro Coso Community College because of a lifelong interest in cartooning.

Richard said Lodge Cunning-ham’s book offered him a wonderful opportunity to answer the question, “What is Red Mountain?”

The Society meets on the third Tuesday of most months. Meetings are free, and all are welcome to at-tend.

For more information on this or future meetings, call 760-375-8456.

November 2016Vol. 31, No. 9

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Movies Coming Up

You ReallY Can Go Home aGain!It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is once again upon us. And, fellow HSUMDers, we are down to the last Classic

Movie Night series of the year.

I always try to end the year with a family- friendly film festival, and this year is going to be special, indeed!

“There’s No Place Like Home” beams on the Historic USO Building’s big screen on Wednesday, Nov. 16, with the true modern- day classic tale of two families blending together, via a second marriage, to form a fantastic family of 18 kids! Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda do their level best to keep peace in a strange and hilarious situation that will have you scratching your head and asking, “Did they really do that?”

Then, on Wednesday, Nov. 30, it’s off to Indiana for a nostalgic turn-of-the-century musical comedy based on the “Penrod” series by Booth Tarkington, a Hoosier.The film’s about a precocious little boy who makes life very amusing for his sister and parents. The original tale’s focus was altered just a bit in this 1951 outing to highlight Doris Day’s emerging stardom, but the little brother is very much the center of the fun.

In December I will present a little-seen 1941 holiday film that once again has its characters going back home to Indiana.

Barbara Stanwyck is a petty jewel thief nabbed on Christmas Eve and thrown into jail to await ar-raignment after the holidays. Prosecutor Fred MacMurray takes pity on her and offers to take fellow Hoosier Stanwyck to his farm in rural Indiana for the holidays.

The high jinx during their journey and the wonderful warmth shown to Stanwyck by MacMurray’s family will simply capture your heart at that special time of year.

Now we have a small catch on the date for the presentation of this film. The original screening date was to have been Wednesday, Dec. 14. However,some of our good friends at China Lake need that date for a Christmas party. So, the film will screen on either Dec. 7 or on Dec. 21. I am going to let my film guests decide, and by the time you read this newsletter, the date will be chosen. So pick up a corrected film schedule in the lobby or give us a call at 760-375-8456.

The finale of this series is a whopper, indeed. Travel down the Yellow Brick Road with Judy Garland and gang and join in the gala celebration of the historic West Oz House. Our guests will share memories of that wonderful attraction that is closing after 37 years of

giving joy to Ridgecrest. Much more about this special presentation in next month’s newsletter. So keep tuned!

See you at the movies for a joyous film homecoming! — Nick Rogers

The gang’s all here for Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball!

Doris Day

Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray

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Early timers of Randsburg, Red Mountain, Johannesburg, and Atolia gather in Randsburg for a reunion, 1940. People dating their residence from the early 1900s are shown with their children and some grandchildren. The only

identity we know for a certainty is Pete Osdick, seated in front row center with children on the ground in front of him. Recognize any others? Please do let us know. Barbara Padgett collection, HSUMD

Ron Rossi has donated a wonderful display item to our VMB.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1955 at the Nevada Atomic Test Site.

The display elaborates on the task his unit was charged with as well as living conditions, photos of his unit, and some shots of the actual test he was a part of.

This is a very interesting addition to our VMB displasy. Please come and see the many fascinat-ing displays we have from local veterans.

Want to help with the exhibit preparations? On Thursday, Nov. 17, following the veterans’ break-fast, we’ll be working in the VMB from 10 a.m. to noon — a perfect time for you to stop in.

— Carol Porter

Photo by Carol

New in the Veterans Memorial Building

November 2016Vol. 31, No. 9

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From p. 3

Business Members — please patronize them!Allen County Public Library, Genealogy DepartmentAnna Marie Bergens, RealtorBest Western China Lake InnBlues After HoursBob & Ardyce’s Bicycle ShopCal-Sun PoolsClarion InnComfort InnCordell ConstructionDeathValley.comDesert Empire Fair

Desert Garage DoorEarth LandscapingEcono-LodgeEdward Jones Investments Brook H. AndreoliThe Flower ShoppeGriffin Excavation & PavingHeritage Inn Phyllis M. Hix, AttorneyJack & Dana Lyons, RealtorsMaturango MuseumMotion Tire & WheelNevins Tech. Consultants

The News Review (Farris)Pleistocene FoundationProfessional Tax & Business ServicesRed Rock BooksRidgecrest AutomotiveRidgecrest Moving & StorageRoaming Dog KitchenS&M Coins & CollectiblesGary P. Staab & Assoc., Inc.The Swap SheetTruffles@1105Warren’s Automotive

New Members

Member CategoriesHSUMD 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.

No new members this month, sorry to say

all who attended. A few names to mention are Tex Hoppus, Craig Porter, Brook Andreoli and Michelle and Brandy Andreoli. Leann Moell and Rosemary Bailey are two more who spent many more hours adding to the success of the tea.

— Carol Porter

Ladies’ Tea

And speaking of the Ladies’ Tea, thanks are also due to Carol

Porter, our “hostess with the mo-stest,” shown suitably crowned with a festive chapeau as she

addresses the crowd.

Photo by Michelle Andreoli

Last month I announced the Geneal-ogy Library Book giveaway, and I am pleased to let you know that the books all have new homes. I enjoyed visit-ing with those who came in to browse through the books and share stories on their genealogical searches. I noted that only a couple went home emptyhanded.

We arranged with Red Rock Books to take the leftover books. You may see some books of interest on the shelves at the shop soon.

The Genealogical Committee of the HSUMD is not being abandoned — we will be holding seminars and classes as well as occasional get togethers as time and energy permits.

Keep in mind that we have several hard copies of our previous presenta-tion available at the Historic USO, and Ancestry.com is also available on our com-puter.

Genealogy Book Giveaway

Historical Society of the Upper Mojave DesertP. O. Box 2001Ridgecrest, CA 93556

MEETING OF NOVEMBER 2016Tuesday, Nov 15, 7 p.m., Historic USO Building

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT NO. 9RIDGECREST, CA

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.

DIRECTORSTex Hoppus, President 760-382-1852, tex.hoppus@me.comDoug Lueck, Vice President 760-375-8202, racvb@filmdeserts.comRichard Hendricks, Recording Secretary shoreline83@me.comAndrew Sound, Programs 760-608-7296, afsound@verizon.netTom Stager, Treasurer tenayatom@aol.com

John Abbott, Building Mgr., Bldg. Rental 619-808-2233, jga2nja@yahoo.com Chuck Cordell, Building cordell.construction@yahoo.com Carol Porter, Accessions & Exhibits 760-446-3400, carporter@gmail.comNick Rogers, Movie Nite, Publicity Wnr428@hotmail.com or call 760-375-8456 for info Matthew Zubia, Fundraising 760-608-3186, mzubiasr@gmail.com

COMMITTEE LEADERS

Liz Babcock, Newsletter Editor 760-375-7900, lizbab2@gmail.comMarti Hoppus, Bookkeeper 760-382-1852, tex.hoppus@me.comJim Kenney, Field Trips Coordinator 760-371-2458, j.kenney@verizon.netCraig Porter, SEEP Coordinator 760-446-3400, cporter148@mchsi.comDonna McCrohan Rosenthal, PR Coordinator 760-375-4308, mccrohan@iwvisp.comLloyd Smith, Membership 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 coordina-tor, 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.