230 w. ridgecrest blvd. 760-375-8456

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

Vol. 34, No. 10 December 2019

To see our schedule of events, visit us at hsumd.org or on Facebook at HSUMD

s usual, the Society’s December meeting will be our annual holiday dinner party. The party will take place at the

Historic USO Building, 230 W. Ridgecrest Blvd. on

Tuesday, December 17. Doors will open at 6:00 PM and

dinner will start at 6:30. Tickets will go on sale at the gift

shop on Tuesday, December 3rd at a cost of $12 each. Please

make reservations by Saturday December 14th so we can get

a good head count for the dinner.

Chuck Cordell and his crew will be preparing pulled pork

for dinner, while dessert will be on you, as guests are asked

to bring a dessert to share. Local folk band The Caliches

will provide music to get us in the Holiday spirit, while we’ll

all provide the camaraderie and good times to start the New

Year off right.

The Society meets on the third Tuesday of most months.

Meetings are free and all are welcome to attend. For more

information on this or future meetings, call the HSUMD at 760-375-8456. – Andrew Sound

Membership in the HSUMD runs from January to December each year, so dues will soon be due. Your dues go to support

our activities, including maintaining the Historic USO Building, the Veterans Memorial Building, and our other buildings;

collecting and preserving our archives; and bringing in speakers every month for our general meetings. Your address label

tells you when your membership expires, and there is a form elsewhere in this issue that you can fill out and mail in or bring

in to the gift shop if you need to renew. – Andrew Sound

Big Band Xpress (BBX) will be back to play at the Historic USO Building on Friday,

December 13th. The doors open at 6 p.m. with a free dance lesson starting at 6:30p.m until

the show starts at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $10.00; tickets available at the door. The proceeds

fund music scholarships for local students as well as the HSUMD. The music is wonderful

and there will be beverages, including beer and wine, for sale. Come have a great time

dancing or just listening to the big band sound!


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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE-

There are many faiths that celebrate during this special season (more than 29 holidays are

observed by seven of the world’s major religions) and we respect and welcome all of them.

Our hearts are big enough and warm enough to reach out to all.

But let me, with my own faith, wish you all a very merry Christmas and a safe and happy New

Year!

There are so many things that I want to share with you, like upcoming events at our Historic

USO Building and at our Veterans Memorial Building and sales in our charming Gift Shop and

seasonal See’s Candies available to enjoy and … well, the list goes on. But while gifts are not the

true focus of this season, I’m going to focus on the joy that one gift has brought to the Historical

Society – a gift created and donated to us by Terri

VarnHagen.

Terri, an esteemed member of the Hi Desert

Quilt Guild and friend of the Historical Society of

the Upper Mojave Desert, created a beautiful rendering of the front of our

Historic USO Building with appliques and quilting and meticulous details,

and titled it “Historic USO Building & 3 Amigos.” She entered her work in

two categories at a recent Quilt Challenge at the Desert Empire Fair, and the

piece won a first-place blue ribbon in both categories!

And then she graciously donated the art to the Historical Society. Come by

our Historic USO Building during the month of December for a wide variety

of great reasons, one of them being a chance to see Terri’s remarkable

“Historic USO Building & 3 Amigos.”

(And do you want to know who the “3 Amigos” represent? From left to

right as you view the art, they are Tex Hoppus, Joe DePina, and John Abbott.

Three amigos indeed!) - Tex Hoppus

Come visit the HSUMD Gift Shop for your holiday

shopping. There will be special sales with up to 30% off

selected books and items- in addition to your 10% member

discount (except for See’s Candies.) New clothing items

have arrived -like the special order “Open Mic- Whole

Lotta Shakin” T-Shirt- $16.00 in men’s, ladies, long sleeve

or short sleeve, and new books.

Of course, there are delicious See’s candies available

featuring some special seasonal treats that make wonderful

gifts! We have some recently arrived, rugged and useful HSUMD canvas totes. Stop by and see

what’s new! And don’t forget- memorial bricks are a wonderful and enduring monument for people

and events. Memorial bricks come in two sizes and can be ordered at the Gift Shop!


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This month has been a month of Earthquake recovery.

We have completed all the bookcase repairs and anchoring

plus rearranging the bookcase locations to better organize

the materials. Kitty, our Librarian, has relocated the whole

library. This includes periodicals, pamphlets, annuals, etc.

We have also done a bit of housekeeping and removed

several of our duplicates- so a book sale is coming.

Looks really nice and we have a bit more room.

I enjoyed attending the WACOM awards luncheon with Andrew Sound,

especially since we were recipients of a nice donation. We also were able to put

up a display of 60’s vintage exhibit boards for the CLMF 60’s dinner party.

My crew working in the Firehouse is finally seeing the bottom of some boxes of stored history item and we haven’t quite

run out of file space. Lastly, I want to thank Mary Kus and Claudia Sound who continue to work from home collecting

articles for our history files and updating our obituary files. - Carol Porter

Editor’s Note: There is a correction on a photo caption in the November

newsletter. While researching a new book, Mark Pahuta and Liz Babcock

discovered updated information on the location of the photos. The photo caption

that read: “Unidentified Seabee in front of Armistead’s, circa 1939. This must

have been before the Armisteads remodeled their gas station, brought in new

pumps, and built a motel behind it. (HSUMD)”, should be: “Unidentified

Civilian Conservation Corps member in front of an early gas station on the site

of what later became the Homestead Restaurant. (Donated to HSUMD by Liz

Babcock)”.

As for the photo

on the left, the

location of the

camp is what is

now the location of

the Indian Wells

Brewery. Mark

took an updated

photo for the book that lines up perfectly.


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A CHRISTMAS GIFT FROM FUNNY GUY, WILL FERRELL!

O.K. dear readers, at the risk of giving away the title of our December 11 “Heartwarming Holidays” film presentation, I

will refer to certain characters as “pixies.” Get my drift? Really, not much of stretch to guess the title!

In this wildly popular 2003 film… on Christmas Eve in

1973, an orphaned infant boy stows away in Santa Claus'

sack. When discovered back at the North Pole, he is adopted

by “Papa Pixie.” (Bob Newhart). Papa names his son

Buddy.

Buddy grows up at the North Pole believing he is a "pixie",

but due to his human size is unable to perform pixie tasks.

When Buddy accidentally learns that he is human, Papa

explains that he was born to Walter Hobbs (James Caan)

and Susan Wells, and was given up for adoption without

Walter knowing. Susan died and Walter currently works for

a children’s book publisher, Greenway Press, helmed by

controlling and uncaring CEO, Mr. Greenway (Michael

Lerner) in the Empire State Building in New York City. Buddy travels to find his real father, Walter, whom Santa (Ed

Asner) indicates is on the naughty list due to his greed and selfishness. Buddy decides to set out to save Walter and to save

Christmas in a world of cynics. Oh, and along the way, he bonds with his stepmother, Emily (Mary Steenburgen) and her

son and his half-brother, Michael (Daniel Tay), and… he falls in love with Jovie, (Zooey Deschanel) a bored co-worker at

Gimbels. He also insults Miles Finch, a vertically-challenged, best-selling children's author (Emmy® award-winning actor,

Peter Dinklage) who attacks Buddy for (mistakenly) calling him a (continued from page 4.) “pixie” (you know, that three-

letter word). And, if that weren’t enough, Buddy lands in hot

water for exposing Gimbel's Santa Claus as a fake! Be sure to

try to spot “A Christmas Story’s” grown up Peter Billingsley

(Ralphie…”You’ll shoot your eye out, kid.”) as a department

store Holiday employee.

This wonderful classic, named one of the favorite films of the

Holiday season by many film critics, screens on Wednesday,

December 11 at 7 p.m. Our “Super Star” Snack Bar opens at

6:30 with a wide variety of taste-tempting noshes and drinks.

There will also be free tasty Christmas cookies for our film

buffs! As, always, we don’t charge an admission fee, however,

we get that tingly Holiday feeling when we see a full donation jar! Now, if you still haven’t figured out the title, please give

us a call at 760-375-8456, Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., or…stop by the Historic USO Building for a

current film schedule.

Please note: There will be NO film presentation on Wednesday, December 25…because, well, you know!

Come back and see us in January for a very special Classic Movie Night film series featuring outstanding stories and

performances by African American film artists. You won’t want to miss this one!

"See YOU at the Movies"...for the holidays! - Nick Rogers


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HSUMD has a new signature event- Concerts on Film! These recordings preserve historical performances from bands

and artists during one of their peak performances for us to enjoy. We’ve already seen multiple Grammy winning artists

such as Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, Paul McCartney, Talking Heads, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, The B-52’s, and more. We try

to honor requests, and plan to have more music genres (blues, jazz, folk & bluegrass, classical) to show, as well as some

musical documentaries and theatrical shows. It’s the closest thing to a live concert from your favorite musicians!

Concerts on Film uses the same license as Classic Movie Night, at no extra cost, allowing HSUMD to get more use from

the fixed cost of the license. Unfortunately, the license doesn’t allow us to publicly advertise the names of the movies, but

you can pick up a schedule with the film titles and dates by stopping by the Historic USO Building.

SUNDAY 12/8- Concerts on Film presents a special showing of a holiday classic ballet with music by

Tchaikovsky. In this film the ballet is performed by The Royal Ballet. Look for Clara, a mouse army,

dancing snowflakes, and all your favorite characters. Bring the kids- there will be holiday treats including

cookies, cakes, and hot cocoa. And you never know- Santa might drop by too! Doors open at 2 p.m. and

the film starts at 2:30 p.m.

Concerts on Film returns in January with concert films from bands like AC-DC, Led Zeppelin, The

White Stripes, and more! When we start up in January the Concerts on Film events will be on Thursdays

on the off-Friday week (same week as Classic Movie Night). Doors open at 6:30 pm and the show starts at

7:00 pm.

Thursday 1/9- Angus and the band from down-under thunders out favorites like Back in Black, Dirty Deeds,

High Voltage, T.N.T, For Those about to Rock, and more in this high energy concert!

Thursday 1/23- This film covers Jimmy Page, John Bonham, John Paul Jones, and Robert Plant playing a

1973 US tour (where they were robbed in New York City!) Great music interspersed with some documentary

and some forgettable fantasy scenes. Songs include Dazed and Confused, Black Dog, Rock and Roll,

Stairway to Heaven, and more.

Thursday 2/6- The man who brought you Ziggy Stardust plays a wonderful concert in Dublin Ireland with

songs spanning much of his career. Songs include Man Who Sold the World, Changes, Fame, Rebel Rebel,

Life on Mars, Reality, and much more!

Thursday 2/20- Jack and Meg White play their early songs in an English seaside resort in 2004. They play

a fast-paced set including Icky Thump, Seven Nation Army, We are Going to be Friends, and many more.

Refreshments will be available, including drinks, popcorn, chips, and hot dogs. Admission is free- but donations are always

gratefully accepted. Come enjoy music history at your Historic USO Building!


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Most of us lament the loss of commercial air service at Inyokern Airport and hope to see it revive itself someday. But did

you know that Ridgecrest used to have commercial air service that was even closer than Inyokern? MUCH closer?

In 1945, an airfield named Davis Airport was built just west of China Lake Boulevard, between Upjohn Avenue at its

north and Bowman Avenue at its south.

(For more recent citizens, that would be

just north of our “old” Walmart

building!)

In June 1948, the Gossett Air Service

had planes “on call” that would leave

Davis Airport and fly to the Van Nuys

Metropolitan Airport (and provide auto

transportation to and from Hollywood)

for a mere $9.00 plus tax one-way and

$14.00 plus tax for round trip.

By September 1949, there were at

least four other commercial “airlines”

operating out of the airport, in addition

to private aviation uses. George

Pettingill had a four-passenger

Beechcraft Bonanza that was available

for paying customers. Bennie Martinez

had a new PT-19 and O.L. Walker had

a Taylorcraft that he had bought from

Judge Robert Loundagin. And Leonard

A. Semeyn and Wallace D. Hetherington were flying a Ryan aircraft that they had bought from R.L. Korba of Trona to

various passenger destinations. Dr. Larry Stevens, a local optometrist, had used the airport for his own flying activities until

he became too busy working on the Ridgecrest Professional Building and moving his offices and residence to that part of

town; but by 1949 he had decided he’d get back into flying out of Davis Airport – at least for fun.

The Indian Wells Valley Phone Directory of 1950 shows that Davis Airport had been renamed Ridgecrest Airport and

had added more runways. By 1955, a flying service had been started by Desert TV that offered flights from Ridgecrest to

Kernville, Lone Pine, Barstow and “other communities within the area which have available a landing field.”

But by the early 1960s the Davis (or Ridgecrest) Airport had ceased its flight operations. In 1965 a large Quonset hut that

had served as a hangar at the airport was rented by the CLOTA (China Lake Light Opera and Theater Association) for pre-

production activities until the owner could find a buyer for the old airport land. Until that time, CLOTA and other folks

called the storage building “the Hangar” because of its past use.

Sources: Archives of the Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert


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Member Categories Welcome New Members!

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 an honor the HSUMD Board bestows only on members who have

supported the HSUMD in sustained and special ways. Our Life Members’

names are shown on our website: hsumd.org!

Alice Jordan

Ale’s Steakhouse and Bar High Desert Genealogical Society L & N Properties

Anna Marie Bergens, Realtor Phyllis M. Hix, Attorney Ridgecrest Chamber of Commerce

*Baxendale’s Inyokern Chamber of Commerce Ridgecrest Moving and Storage

Best Western China Lake Inn IWV Premier Landscaping Ridgecrest Regional Hospital

Bob & Ardyce’s Bicycle Shop *Dana Lyons, Best Realty *Ridge Writers

*Cathy Kline’s Floral Accents Kern Antelope Historical Society *Ridgecrest Cinemas

China Lake Photographic Society *Roaming Dog Kitchen

*Center Pharmacy Pleistocene Foundation Rodeway Inn

Clarion Inn *Maturango Museum *Romancing the West

Comfort Inn MOAH *S&M Coins & Collectibles

*Cordell Construction Co. Mohave Historical Society Searles Valley Historical Society

*Cosner-Neipp Computing Mojave River Valley Museum Shoshone Museum Association

Desert Empire Fair Motion Tire & Wheel Starbucks

Diana Said, Vaughn Realty *Museum of Western Film History Gary P. Staab & Associates, Inc.

Earth Landscaping Needles Regional Museum Tehachapi Historical League

Eastern California Museum The News Review *Tender Cut Meats

Econo-Lodge Rand Desert Museum Vaughn Realty

The Flower Shoppe *Red Rock Books *Warren’s Automotive

Edward Jones Investments-

Brook H. Andreoli

Allen County Public Library,

Genealogy Department

*Kathy Walker’s Window Tinting

Community Light Opera & Theatre

Assoc.

*Ridgecrest Area Convention &

Visitors Bureau

Wrightwood Historical Society

Tex Hoppus, President

760-382-1852, [email protected]

Newsletter Editor

[email protected]

Doug Lueck, Vice-President


Joe DePina, Gift Shop Manager

[email protected]

Richard Hendricks, Secretary-Treasurer

[email protected]

Marti Hoppus, Bookkeeper


Andrew Sound, Programs


Jim Kenney, Historian


John Abbott, Building Mgr., Bldg. Rental


Craig Porter, SEEP Coordinator


Chuck Cordell, Building

[email protected]

Alan Bailey, Field Trips Coordinator


Carol Porter, Accessions and Exhibits


Donna McCrohan Rosenthal, PR Coordinator


Nick Rogers, Publicity, Movie Night

760-375-8456, [email protected] IMPORTANT REMINDERS

Annual Dues are $35 (family) and $45 (business).

Please remember HSUMD in your wills, trusts, and other gift giving.

HSUMD is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Matthew Zubia, Fundraising


230 w. ridgecrest blvd. 760-375-8456

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