Murray’s Ranch:
Slice of
AS WE STEP INTO THE FALL SEASON — my absolute favorite time of year — I’m reminded how quickly these months fly. From Labor Day gatherings to the joy of New Year’s Eve, this stretch is filled with moments that bring us closer to family, friends, and community. For some, those celebrations are lived in memories, and that’s why I always think of Roy Orbison’s song Pretty Paper. It’s a gentle reminder: let’s not be too busy to stop, smile, and say hello to the people we pass each day.
Here at Pulse Media, change is always moving around us — and we welcome it. I’ve often said: “Nothing is more permanent than change.” What matters most is how we embrace it. For me personally, that means learning to adapt as I grow older, leaning on the support of family, friends, medical professionals — and, of course, the incredible Pulse Team. Together, they keep me inspired to continue doing what I love: bringing you this publication month after month.
There is so much happening within our team, and in the coming issues, we’re excited to share those stories with you. What remains constant, though, is our mission: to listen to YOU — our advertisers, our readers, and our contributors. Your voices guide us, and your support makes all of this possible.
So once again, I encourage you: support the businesses you see in these pages, uplift the writers who share their talents here, and continue being part of this journey with us. Without them — and without you — there would be no Pulse. With gratitude and anticipation for the season ahead,
The
Pulse Media Team
Jim Conkle
Barstow Leaders Chart a Unified Future at State of the City, County & Military
By Tiffanie Williams
BARSTOW — THE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE filled the stage as Marines presented the colors to open the 2025 State of the City, County & Military. Held July 30 at Barstow Community College’s Performing Arts Center, the annual event brought together leaders from the military, county, city, and education sectors to share one vision: a stronger, more connected High Desert.
Hosted by the Barstow Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee, the gathering highlighted the unique role Barstow plays at the crossroads of community, national defense, and workforce development.
Military: Global Impact with Local Roots
Colonel Steven L. Chadwick, Garrison Commander of Fort Irwin, emphasized the critical role of the National Training Center (NTC), which trains more than 62,000 soldiers annually. “We exist to ensure America’s soldiers are ready to win the first and last fight of the next war,” Chadwick told attendees. Fort Irwin is also home to more than 16,000 residents, with schools, housing, and community facilities that anchor it as a small city of its own.
Colonel Russell W. Savatt, Commanding Officer of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, underscored the base’s mission of keeping Marines mission-ready around the world.
“Barstow is small but mighty,” Savatt said.
“What we do here keeps equipment and logistics flowing where they’re needed most.”
County and City: Investing in Growth
San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe highlighted countywide efforts to invest in infrastructure, safety, and services. “The High Desert is resilient, and Barstow is at the heart of its growth,” Rowe said.
Barstow City Manager Rochelle Clayton stressed collaboration with county and military leaders. “Our strength comes from working together,” she said. “Barstow’s history is rooted in connection, and our future will be built the same way.”
Education and Workforce: Building Opportunity
Barstow Community College leaders shared exciting updates on workforce training programs designed to connect students and veterans directly to careers.
• Veterans Electrical Entry Program (VEEP): The first college partnership in this national program, helping service members transition into highdemand electrical trades through a six-week pre-apprenticeship — at no cost to veterans.
• Industrial Maintenance & CNA Training: Programs in mechanical/ electro-mechanical instrumentation and clinical nurse assisting, including free non-credit courses and partnerships with local veteran care facilities.
• FutureFocused Programs: Drone technology, wellness coaching, and alcohol & drug studies are among the new opportunities, supported by grants such as the recently awarded $112,000 for drone education.
Dr. Eva Bagg, SuperintendentPresident of Barstow Community College, summarized the college’s vision: “We’re not just offering degrees. We’re building pathways to opportunity for our community, our veterans, and our future workforce.”
Community Access: Bases Opening Doors
In addition to their military missions, both Fort Irwin and MCLB are opening more doors to the public:
• Quarterly Flea Markets at Fort Irwin will continue in 2026, with upcoming dates on February 28, May 30, August 29, and November 21. These familyfriendly events feature vendors, food, and kids’ activities — and no base access is required.
• Barstow’s Only Public Golf Course, located on Fort Irwin, is open Wednesday through Sunday with a driving range, tournaments, and upcoming “night golf” events. Renovations and new ground equipment are also on the way.
A Morning of Unity
The event was more than presentations — it was a reminder of Barstow’s unique position as a bridge between military readiness, county investment, city growth, and education. Over coffee and conversation, veterans, residents, and leaders connected about a shared future.
As one attendee reflected: “In Barstow, the mission is always shared — and the success belongs to all of us.”
Marcy’s Musings Bowling For Scholarships
THE AUGUST 16 "Strike a Pose, Strike a Pin" Bowling Fundraiser sponsored by NAACP Branch 1082 featured exciting games, live music, delicious food, and an opportunity drawing. But, in addition to enjoying an action-packed fun familyfriendly event at Victor Bowl, attendees supported the real purpose, which was to finance scholarships for deserving local high school students.
Throughout the year the organization holds banquets, tournaments, and other fundraisers to support and give back to the community. Meetings are held the second Monday of the month at the Branch Office, 14240 St. Andrews Drive Ste. 102 Victorville, Ca. 92392 at 6:00 PM. New members and guests are always welcome.
The Fabulous Apple Valley Library Rocks Out
THE NEWTON T. BASS APPLE VALLEY LIBRARY
kept interested residents active and busy all summer, to say the least. Through the Summer Reading Program (SRP), kids and their parents were entertained with outstanding weekly programs and great incentives to encourage youth to keep on reading and learning all summer, until it was time to go back to school in August. Enthusiastic Library Manager Jake, and his sidekick, enthusiastic Assistant Manager Steve, continued the outreach and fun at several of the weekly Thursday night Sunset Concerts in Civic Center Park.
The funding for the SRP and other expenses needed to keep the library programs running smoothly is provided by the supportive and hardworking Friends of the Apple Valley Library (FAVL). The Friends Bookstore and popular periodic book sales continue to bring in the bucks to support the library and contribute to "A Better Way of Life" in Apple Valley. The FAVL group meets monthly the second Tuesday at 11:15. Guests and new members are always welcome.
The AV Library staff and Friends of the Library volunteers on Aug. 12 "City Hall Selfie Day" #cityhallselfieday.
The Apple Valley Library booth at a summer park concert.
As the Sun Sets
SOME PEOPLE can't wait for summer to end. They hate the heat, the lack of rain, the wind, the blazing sun, and 100* plus temperatures. I truly understand that feeling, especially for those who have to work outside. Dehydration and headaches set in fast. However, the end of summer means the end of three straight months of Apple Valley concerts, May in the Courtyard, and June and July in Civic Center Park.
Now let's be truthful. What can be better than enjoying great live music in a beautiful location as the sun sets on a warm summer evening? Yes, I'm talking about the Apple Valley Sunset Concerts in the Park, where thousands of locals and plenty of people from surrounding communities pack the grounds every Thursday night from 6-9:00. The Town staff, the Library staff, and Park and Recreation leaders provide information and plenty of activities for families and kids over by the pool. The radio station invites folks to spin the prize wheel; food vendors and Rotary beer garden volunteers keep everyone well taken care of. Dog walkers, skateboarders, and roller skaters take advantage of the walking paths, while
children pack the adjoining playground. Every week members of the Apple Valley Historic Advisory Committee and Apple Valley Legacy Museum volunteers showcase a different facet of local history. This year residents, especially those new to the area, enjoyed learning about the history of the San Bernardino County Fair, the Bell Mountain homesteading community, which included the Murray's Over-all Wearing Dude Ranch, a Green Book site. Visitors checked out vintage signs and maps, pigeon telephones, and overhead photos of the sparsely populated desert. Popular exhibits were Roy Rogers and Dale Evans collectibles, and Movies filmed at the Apple Valley Inn, Country Club, Dead Man's Point, Bell Mountain and the surrounding area, with recognizable actors and actresses and local landmarks. "Tarantula" and "Eagle Eye" got the most attention..
The last July concert was headlined by the ever popular Fat Cat Swinger, a local band that made it big, but not too big to return to their roots at least once a year. That same evening Band Sponsors were recognized and thanked with a complimentary dinner and dessert. Representing the Apple Valley Legacy Museum were Eric Mandeson, Teresa Johnson, and Marcy Taylor.
Thanks, Apple Valley, for a great concert season, and guess what? It's already September, so see you back in the Courtyard Thursday nights from 6-8:00 for some more music and small town camaraderie.
Are You Old Enough to be an Old Timer?
THERE WAS A LOT of reminiscing and "catching up with old friends" going on at the Percy Bakker Community Center in Hesperia Saturday June 14. Once again some old timers like Joe and Paula Vail, Ron and Suzzanne Dalzell. George and Lona Beardsley, Lorraine Moffat, and Diane Irwin, and too many others to name, all came together for their annual "Victor Valley Old Timers Luncheon. A large display of past luncheon photos and local history books lining one wall peaked attendees' memories, while tables filled with tasty sandwiches, relish rays, and desserts tempted the taste buds and satisfied the appetites.
Compared to some of the aforementioned pioneers, I still consider myself a
newcomer, having only arrived in 1983. I wasn't around for the burro races or the eight-party telephone lines with their unique rings, or when the Victor Valley Jackrabbits, the only high school football team in the Victor Valley, played their archrivals, the Barstow Riffians, the only high school football team in the Mojave River Valley. But last year I was informed that I've actually been a bonified Old Timer for
A Hot Time in Helendale
FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEAR s, all MHS trips to Helendale / Silver Lakes area have involved either our three monuments or the 100 Year Time Capsule. But at the invitation of Community Service District President Ron Clark, on Saturday July 12, Eric, Delvin, and I enjoyed a beautiful HOT July evening at the Helendale Community Park. The band "City Beat and the Main Street Horns" was over the top, with an unbelievable female singer backed by a
nine-man one-woman band, with, as the name suggests, a lot of horns! Good old Charlie Ray, the MC, acknowledged our booth and invited folks to our upcoming movie night at the Apple Valley Legacy Museum porch. The Sunsetters Car Club was there as usual, along with the Lions Club and CSD folks. They were all very welcoming. We also ran into some folks we had met previously, at the Fair and the Santa Fe Trading Company Crafts Fairs. And Eric got to see some of his fellow COPs on duty.
quite some time, as the requirement is only 25 years, or the year 2000. A quick survey revealed that the oldest attendee was a spry 93, and the youngest was 17. What??? Well, somebody had to drive her grandmother over. The teen is only 8 years away from qualifying in her own right.
In working on Mohahve Historical Society's latest anthology, Mohahve VII, I encountered a May 10, 2001, Ted Smith interview conducted by Stuart Kellogg, in which Ted talked about the Old Timers, like himself, being of the 1940's to 1950's era. But he thought his daughter Vivian would soon qualify to attend the luncheons as well. I don't know who organized the gettogethers back then, but a big thank-you goes out to Paula Vail and crew for taking on the responsibility. See you all next year!
Best of all, these four young girls, all students at Helendale Elementary School, vowed to live long enough to dig up the 100-year Time Capsule, which is buried on their school grounds, in 2090. One of the group put the date in her phone so they wouldn't forget. I was thinking that, by then, that phone of hers may end up in another Time Capsule, as a memory of what life was like back in 2025. Thanks, Helendale, for welcoming us to your community. We certainly enjoyed ourselves!
UpcomingCommunity Events
What Does MCLB Barstow Really Do?
THERE’S NO BASE THAT DOES MORE WITH LESS.
None.
That description of MCLB Barstow came from Major Grant Burnett, the base’s Operations Officer, just as a call came in from a delivery man needing to know where to drop off a shaft for a Naval ship.
A shaft for a Naval ship in the middle of the desert? When I first heard the request for directions, I figured the UPS guy was really lost, but it spoke to the base’s unique mission. MCLB Barstow might have two locations, but it’s one base . . . with two missions that are vital to all five branches of service and to our reach and influence in a world that, at any moment, can see hostilities erupt in different regions.
According to Major Burnett, the Operations Officer at the logistics base, the base’s mission is twofold. “You have the Marine Corps specific mission, which is specifically tied around storage for wartime reserve, as well as equipment refurbishment. I think the second mission would be the rail operation for the joint services. The joint force being all the branches.”
He continues, “We have the largest Department of Defense railhead in the country going out of Yermo. I believe it's somewhere around 500 million pounds a month of equipment goes through that railhead.
“It's a significant throughput. And because of it, it makes this mission, a very strategic asset for the DOD. Because we can put a massive amount of military equipment on rail and push it through the Barstow railhead and push it out to the East Coast or bring equipment from the East Coast and then bring it to the forces on the West Coast.
“[We] can't really do that, to that scale,
any other way with any other mode of transportation or mobility. So [our mission] is significant in that sense. Again, you have the Marine Corps kind of storage mission, and then you've got everything that we provide to the Joint Force.”
The following historical information is excerpted from Wikipedia: “The US Navy initially established the base, transferring it to the Marine Corps in December 1942. It was intended to serve as a depot for storing supplies and equipment for the Fleet Marine Forces in the Pacific theater during World War II.
“The base grew rapidly, necessitating the acquisition of additional land from the Army in 1946. Then, in 1954, the Commanding General moved the flag from San Francisco to Barstow, further solidifying the base's importance.
“In November 1978, the base was officially redesignated as the Marine Corps Logistics Base, reflecting its expanded logistics support mission. MCLB Barstow now houses a significant portion of the Marine Corps' ground maintenance and supply capabilities. It focuses on storing, testing, distributing, and maintaining equipment to support Marine Corps forces. The base also provides transportation and maintenance support.
“The base's desert location offers a dry climate ideal for preserving equipment and facilities at lower costs, and its proximity to transportation hubs (rail, air, and ground) allows for efficient delivery of supplies and equipment.
By J.P.Garner
Major Burnett picks up where Wikipedia leaves off, ”Nothing rusts out here. It's too dry. And that's why they store a lot of items out here. We have, you know, ship parts from the Navy. We store submarine parts. We've got Army equipment that comes in here. And a lot of times that equipment can get staged here, gets refurbished, and can be sent back out to the Fleet Marine Force.
“So there is some equipment that is extended beyond its life cycle within the fleet. Those vehicles, and that equipment will come to Barstow at the Depot Maintenance Center that we have and they will refurbish that equipment, make it almost brand new again, and then push it back out to the force. That's part of the Marine specific mission.”
I don’t interrupt the Major. He’s on a roll, ”But we also do maintenance on joint force equipment, too. So it's very encompassing, not just marine specific, but also a capability we provide the joint force, [which] makes us incredibly unique.”
Part of that “unique” mission is getting that stored equipment to the Joint Services when called upon. As an example of that, Major Burnett cites the 2003 Iraq War. “A lot of equipment,“ he begins, “that we had in wartime Reserve storage was then activated, put on rail, and then sent back out.. Loaded onto prepositioning ships, and then sent overseas.”
Did that equipment come back to be refurbished, I asked? “Yes, it would have. At the end of hostilities, that equipment would have made its way back to be refurbished or set on the line and then provided to what we call foreign military sales.”
But, as it turned out, foreign military sales is incredibly important. Major details its value to our defense. “That mission,” he said, “is strategically important in terms of increasing cooperation with our allies and partners. This is what makes us the
most lethal force around . . . our allies and partners that we have in the world.
“So, when we have a certain amount of equipment here at Barstow, it is staged for military sales. Our allies and partners can come to the base, view the equipment, purchase it from us.” I mentioned how that sounded like a portion of the base turned into a used car lot and everyone laughed, but in a sense, it was true.
“That's right,” the good Major Burnett agreed as he was laughing. “I know the
Japanese ground self- defense force [bought] a lot of the AAVs that they now utilize AAVs that were sold to them after being refurbished here at the maintenance center and then provided to the Japanese government for them to [use.]”
Another part of the base’s mission in support of the Joint Services is that provided to the Army’s Desert Warfare Training Center at Fort Irwin which is a short distance from the railhead at the Marine base. “That is where [the Army] trains with all their equipment, and all of their equipment comes in into Barstow via rail. That's one of the biggest operations that we have here is offloading all that equipment so they can go train with it at Fort Irwin. And once they're done with the training, [then we] onload that equipment, and send it back to whatever Army base it came from.”
As the interview draws to a close, we discuss the ‘certification” process used at Fort Irwin to confirm that a unit is ready for deployment into a hostile environment. In a more serious tone, Major Burnett explains that, “it would be incredibly difficult for the Army to certify any units to deploy for contingency operations without the support at Barstow.
“So, any force, before they are allowed to deploy into a contested environment or deployed to contingency operations,
wherever it might be, they have to go through certification training. For the Marine side, we do most of our certification training in Twentynine Palms. For the Army, that training is done at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin.”
All of this is going on at the little base in Barstow and its other, much larger half at Yermo. Most of the time, the Nebo Annex looks sleepy, even deserted while the real action is taking place across the street from Peggy Sue’s, so that, at times to the travelers on I-15, the Yermo half might look like a parking lot.
The weather is perfect for the base’s mission; the railhead—the largest— is even better. It’s hard to imagine that something so small can be so vital to our defense and to our allies. But it explains why the base has been in Barstow since World War II and will likely never close.
Senior Care Professionals
By Tanya Inglis
Does motor oil & exhaust fumes help you live longer?
AS SILLY OF A QUESTION that may seem, the automotive industry is full of legendary racers, custom builders & innovators that have lived over the age of 90 and even beyond 100 years old!
This year we said goodbye to Legendary Automotive Customizer, Gene Winfield who past at the age of 97. He continued working, attending shows & teaching until he passed.
Also, still with us is The “Cam Father,” Ed Isky, still attending car shows and races at the age of 104. He has been a major contributor in the manufacturing of racing parts for over 70 years!
Famous Race Car Driver, Jim Dunn, is still out greeting fans & taking pictures with his race car at the age of 91.
It appears that “Motorsports” keep the blood pumping and excitement going!
The passion for the rumble of cars, the smell of racing exhaust fumes & the need for speed and customization, have kept many people active and moving after the age of 70.
Southern California is the “Mecca” for everything Automotive Enthusiast related.
It’s so important to preserve our history in the industry and pass on what we’ve learned to next generation of builders and enthusiasts, in the hope they keep their passion alive & pursue their dreams.
I recommend taking a kid to a Race or Car Show and see if they are inspired by any branch of the industry. There are dozens of career opportunities and you never know what might spark their interest.
We may never truly know the secret to lasting youth but we do know that there might just be a connection between doing something you love & having the longevity to continue to do it. Here’s to the Legends & the Rides the built America.
In Memory of Gene Winfield from Winfield’s Rod & Customs.
Photos with Inglis Classics
Murray’s Ranch: The Only Black Dude Ranch in the World
AT THE NORTHWEST
CORNER of Waalew Road and Dale Evans Parkway in Apple Valley, just across the road from the Los Ranchos Mobile Home Park, is a vacant piece of desert with a few cement foundations and a smattering of trees near Bell Mountain.
Next time you drive by there you might want to know that in the 1940s and 50s it was a working ranch of a special sort. Known as “Murray’s Ranch,” and “The Overall Wearing Dude Ranch,” it was African-American owned and operated in the Bell Mountain community.
According to The History of Apple Valley by Katie O' Rourke, Murray's "Overall Wearing Dude Ranch" was the only African-American dude ranch in the United States, and the only ranch in the area to be written about in Life magazine at the time.
The earliest Black homesteaders received land patents in 1914 in the area known as the Bell Mountain District. By the 1940s there were 37 families in the settlement.
The 40-acre ranch on the edge of the Mojave Desert was purchased by Nolie B. and Lela Murray in 1922 for $100 dollars
from the Cook family, and operated for nearly 20 years.
Prior to moving to the desert for Lela’s health, Nolie owned Murray’s Pocket Billiard Emporium and Cigar Store in Los Angeles. Their dream was to build a better world for underpriveleged Black children.
After selling his business, Nolie rolled up his sleeves and his dream slowly came to fruition. Eventually the fenced property featured twenty buildings, a swimming pool, tennis courts, riding stables, a dining hall and a ball field.
The ranch catered to troubled children, no matter their race. Courts sent some of the children to the ranch, but children suffering health issues also came to soak up the sun, activities and good will.
Lela was a registered nurse and made a
By Jaylyn And John Earl www.thedesertway.com
specialty of caring for children suffering respiratory ailments.
No matter how good their intentions were though, the ranch struggled financially to make ends meet. Then things changed practically overnight.
A spotlight fell on the ranch in 1937 when Life magazine featured Murray’s Ranch in their November 15, 1937 issue.
The unexpected notoriety happened when heavy-weight boxing champion of the world, Joe Louis, was one of the attendees at an amatuer rodeo in Victorville, a town of about 2,000 people. The event attracted 10,000 spectators and celebrities to the small desert town.
A Life magazine photography crew was in town to cover the rodeo. Joe happened to be staying at Murray’s Ranch and the large throng of curious rodeo fans followed him there. A giant picnic in the desert ensued.
After Joe's visit, financial stability at the ranch improved dramatically. Suddenly, Murray's Ranch became a destination. The Murray's debt problems were over.
Celebrities such as ex-boxing champ Henry Armstrong, Mary McLeod Bethune, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Lena Horn, Kate Smith and Hedda Hopper visited the ranch.
The ranch’s fame was still going strong a decade after its grand entry in Life Murray’s Ranch appeared on the
cover
California Eagle, Sun, Aug 29, 1937
Murray’s Dude Ranch, courtesy San Bernardino County Museum
U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 for Nolie Benjamin Murray, courtesy ancestry.com
"The Only Negro Dude Ranch in the World" postcard depicting Nolie and Lela Murray, owners of Murray’s Dude Ranch, Victorville, courtesy UCSD.
California Eagle, Sept 30, 1937
Life magazine, Nov. 15, 1937
of
Murray’s hosted about 100 people each week during the height of the season, from May to September.
Lela’s favorite guests remained the troubled and ailing youth from cities who visited the ranch and benefitted the most from their deset sojurn.
The ranch became the setting for western films of the era, including two of Herbert Jeffries’ “allBlack cast” westerns.
Jeffries, known as the singing cowboy, was the star of The Bronze Buckaroo (1939), and Harlem Rides the Range (1939).
Murray’s also served as a getaway for film and radio celebrities of all backgrounds. Everyone appreciated the Murrays’ hospitality and Lela’s homemade cooking.
Lela Murray died in 1949 at the age of 58. Six years later, Nolie married Los Angeles school teacher Callie Armstrong.
In 1955 the ranch was purchased by Pearl Bailey and her husband, Louis Bellson, for nearly $65,000. They were former visitors of the ranch and became smitten.
Both had fallen in love with the area and desert ambiance; they renamed the property the “Lazy B.”
The Murrays kept five acres and built and managed a motel until Nolie’s death
in 1958 at the age of 70.
Bailey took to desert life by joining the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce and became a den mother to a local Girl Scout troop. She lived at the ranch for nine years.
Pearl Bailey sold the Lazy B Ranch to her nephew, Bill Lewis. Later in the 1980s, he sold it to Jay McVeigh. The ranch evolved into a body building gym.
By the 1980s, the ranch was virtually forgotten. In 1988, it fell into receivership with San Bernardino County. No effort was made to preserve its important history. The buildings were intentionally burned to the ground in a fire fighting exercise.
Eventually most of the irreplaceable historic ranches of Apple Valley were torn down in the name of progress. Kemper Campbell Ranch and Hilltop are still active to this day.
Murray’s Ranch is a Green-Book site on Route 66. It just finished a five year tour around the country on the traveling Smithsonian Greenbook exhibit. Lily Raglan’s former ranch, on Stoddard Wells Road, is also listed as a Green-Book site.
The historic ‘Negro Motorist Green Book‘ was a travel guide for African Americans during the Jim Crow era.
Many Black Americans preferred traveling by automobile, in part to avoid segregation on public transportation in order to be free of discomfort, discrimination, segregation and insult.
According to Courageous Motorists: African Americans Pioneers on Route 66, the far western end of Route 66, the Los Angeles area had been home to thousands of African Americans since the 1890s. In 1897 white assemblyman Henry Clay Dibble led the state legislature to pass a bill guaranteeing equal access to public accommodations. The advocacy of Frederick Madison Roberts, California's first black assemblyman, helped strengthen the law in 1919 and 1923.
The Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 overturned the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision. Brown v. Board of Education declared state-
sponsored segregation in public schools unconstitutional, effectively dismantling the "separate but equal" doctrine established in Plessy. Yet, segregation in public areas continued. Further progress was made with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in public accommodations, facilities, and employment. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 also played a crucial role by prohibiting racial discrimination in voting.
Marcy Taylor, historian and owner of Apple Valley Legacy Museum, called the
former Murray’s Ranch “a true gem for Black travelers in the long, hot, barren desert.”
It is sad this site does not have a historical marker in the vicinity noting the importance of Murray’s Ranch and its cultural significance.
Are you listening, Clampers?
Top Photo: Murray's Ranch in the 1950s, superimposed over the open desert before a housing development was built near Bell Mountain. Photo by John Earl.
References
Briggs, Randy, African Americans and the High Desert, A Brief History, Mohahve VI, pub Mohahve Historical Society, pub. 2012, pg 63-67. Earl, Jaylyn and John, Murray's Ranch: First Black Dude Ranch in the World, https://www. thedesertway.com/murrays-ranch/, August 2025. Lyman, Edward Leo, History of Victor Valley, Mohahve Historical Society, pub. 2010, pg 244–245.
O’Rourke, Katie, The History of Apple Valley. Lewis Center for Educational Research. pub. 2004, pg. 30–31.
Thompson, Richard, Murray’s Ranch, the Bronze Buckaroo and a ‘Mystery’ Celebrity Owner, The Mohahve Muse, Vol. 5, Issue 3, pub. March 2002.
Harlem Rides the Range, a 16mm release print of the feature film. It consists of two reels of positive, black-and-white, 16mm acetate film strips with variable-area optical sound (58 minutes) https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/ nmaahc_2015.167.9.1ab
Note: Other movies filmed at Murray’s Ranch are also available on this site.
California Eagle, May 22, 1941
Pearl Bailey and Louis Bellson, 1952, courtesy familysearch.org
Daily Press Thu, Jun 16, 1955 ·Page 1
AS SEPTEMBER 11TH approaches, it’s hard to believe that 24 years have passed since the day our country came under attack. Those of us old enough to remember can still recall exactly where we were—glued to televisions and radios, struggling to process what was happening. The shock, the fear, and the sorrow were overwhelming, but so was the unity that followed.
Even here in the High Desert of Southern California, far from New York or Washington, the impact was deeply felt. Families gathered together, teachers comforted students, and neighborhoods hung flags in a show of solidarity. In Barstow, Apple Valley, Victorville, Lucerne Valley, and beyond, people felt the weight of the moment—and the resolve to stand together.
24Later:Years Remembering 9/11 and Honoring Our Heroes
That resolve was carried most of all by our veterans and first responders. Veterans answered the call in the years that followed, deploying overseas to fight in a changed world. Many left behind families, missed milestones, and returned home carrying visible and invisible scars. At the same time, first responders— firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and dispatchers—showed us what courage looks like on American soil. On 9/11 itself, 343 firefighters, 60 police officers, and 8 paramedics lost their lives trying to save others. Their bravery still sets the standard for service today, mirrored in the men and women here at home who suit up every day, never knowing what the next call will bring.
San Bernardino County also holds a special connection to that history. In Fontana, residents can visit the 9/11 Memorial Beam, a structural beam recovered from Ground Zero. It’s more than just steel—it’s a piece of American history, scarred by the attacks but standing as a symbol of resilience. To see it in person is to be reminded that 9/11 wasn’t just an event in New York; it was a moment that touched every corner of the country, including ours.
And at Fort Irwin, ceremonies have brought the memory even closer to home. One especially moving tribute featured FDNY Ladder Truck 152, a rig
By Tiffanie Williams
that responded to the Twin Towers that morning. The truck’s presence here in the High Desert linked our community directly to the heroism and sacrifice of New York’s first responders.
As we mark this anniversary, we are called to do more than just remember— we’re called to show gratitude. Gratitude for the veterans who fought in the wars that followed. Gratitude for the firefighters, police officers, medics, and dispatchers who protect us every day. Gratitude for the way Americans came together in the face of unimaginable tragedy.
Twenty-four years later, we still remember. And we still say thank you.
If you want to honor 9/11 this year, take time to visit the Fontana memorial, attend a local remembrance, or simply shake the hand of a veteran or first responder. Because remembrance isn’t only about the past—it’s about how we carry those lessons forward.
College Corner: Be an Entrepeneur
IT STARTED IN YERMO in 1964 where a taco cost 19 cents. Then it moved to Barstow and featured among it’s unique menu items, a bun taco. That had people scratching their heads until they ate one. But the contradiction in terms is still popular in the three Del Tacos in Barstow, which is now a well-established franchise in the western half of the country.
It’s a perfect example of how a local idea can become a big thing.
That’s what entrepreneurship is all about. Something that makes money. The idea doesn’t have to be Apple, Amazon, or even Del Taco. It can be an idea like Plata’s, which has four locations in Barstow. (It has a potato and cheese burrito that, when dipped in their hot sauce, kicks butt.) Or Red Baron’s. And even DiNapoli’s Firehouse.
Denise Pasley teaches how to take a small idea and make it into a big thing. She explains how the Entrepreneurship classes got started at BCC because of a conference she attended. “Dr. [Eva] Bagg, who is the President of our college, comes from [an] entrepreneurship background. So, we got very interested in bringing [the concept] to the college.
"Number one, because I think the Barstow area is an amazing place to start a business. There's so many things that they don't have. If somebody was creative enough, they could get their start here and grow.”
Growth. That’s the magic word; the cure for so many ills.
It’s on the lips of everyone in Barstow ever since the BNSF announced an expansion that would reportedly bring 21-23,000 jobs to the town. Barstow’s population would double almost instantly and at the forefront of the talk of new housing and an influx of cash into the city, is Barstow Community College who is developing courses and training that will prepare people to work the jobs the railroad will need.
The person directing that effort is Dr. Laura Alvarado, the head of the school’s technical programs, who explains that “our job is to find out what our community needs, and then, … meet that need.”
One “need” are the classes in Entrepreneurship that Ms. Pasley teaches. The training will help daring and innovative thinkers to fill the “niches,” as she calls the “needs” that will arise from the massive expansion. They are divided into two
degree paths. Ms. Pasley explains:
“[In] the local degree you have to get certain classes that are the basics for it, introduction to business … and math, science, those kind of things.
“And then the business degree breaks out into four different certificates or tracks underneath the degree. One is accounting, another is science, and then it's just straight business. So, in the entrepreneurship [program,] you can get either a certificate or a business degree focused on entrepreneurship.”
Ms. Pasley explained what the four classes are that make up the certificate and go into a local degree: ENTR1, whose focus is on the Entrepreneurial Mindset. ENTR2, which is Design Thinking and Supply Chain Management. While ENTR3 is called Starting a Business with Limited Income, followed by ENTR4 Money, Finance and Accounting for Entrepreneurs. Those are the four classes that make up the certificate and are tracked under business and make them a local business degree.”
Denis smiles. It’s like she knows something that we don’t and she’s about to spring it on us. “The mindset class,” she begins, “is to find out where you are, because a lot of students just think, oh, let's go start a business, and it doesn't work like that. No. You have to be ready for the mindset course because it really looks at where you are mentally.
“We use a book called Who Owns the Ice House: Eight Life Lessons from an Unlikely Entrepreneur. And that book has life lessons, and we go through those life lessons to see where you are. Mindset isn't about starting a business. We totally don't talk about starting a business. A lot of times, people don't realize that they’re not ready to start a business. Starting a business is not where you start.”
Ms. Pasley takes a deep breath and continues. She’s on a roll. “The second class, which is Design Thinking and Supply Chain Management helps students understand what their business idea is and does anybody really want it? Because we think we have a great idea, doesn't mean anybody wants what you have.
“The business idea should look for its market, and be flexible enough to change so that you can find the market and make the money. So, you're designing it from customers perspective instead of your
By J.P.Garner
own. Design thinking forms the business around the customer's needs and wants.”
“Okay … so now I have my business idea, how am I going to pay for it? This is covered in ENTR 3, which is Starting a Business with Limited Income. The most important past of the title is: with limited income. [The class is about] looking for ways to get money to start.
“It's a different way of thinking. A lot of people are not used to the idea that they are really entrepreneurs. When you're at home, you have to figure out how to pay your bills or what new thing you need to do. You're thinking entrepreneurial. That's what I try to get them to know. It's not like something you're doing, brand new. You're going to use it in a different way.
“The fourth class is Money, Finance and Accounting. I teach them how to read financial statements and make business decisions. Like Cash Flow Statements. We look at them and see how they apply to their business idea, so they can make business decisions. Because if you don't understand what's on there, then that's not information you can use.
“That's the program and it can be done in a year. If anybody wants to do the degree then they have to do all the other classes in the Business program. They can get a degree in Business with a focus in Entrepreneurship.”
So now, because of the predicted influx of 23,000 jobs and the external services needed to support that dramatic increase in the population, the thing that will make the transition smooth and exciting are the people with the ideas that fill the “niches.” In other words, entrepreneurs. People with the gumption to start with nothing and build something people want.
Something that adds to the greater good of society.
When asked what is the thing an entrepreneur most needs to succeed, Denise Pasley didn’t roll her eyes or even hesitate when she said, “Discipline. Because something has to be done every single day, all the time, even when you don't want to do it.”
How odd is it that she just described what champions need to succeed as well. Check it out at:
https://www.barstow.edu/ Del Taco History: https://deltaco.com/history
Pinon Hills Invites Businesses
LORI WESTON OF THE PINON HILLS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE is excited to announce promotional pricing on membership and encourages everyone to get involved with the Chamber. Here in the Tri-Community, the cottage industry is thriving. Kickstart your business today by becoming a Chamber Member!
The Pinon Hills Chamber will have a booth at Phelan Phamily Phun Days on October 4th, featuring original artworks and a special display section for Thomas Nichols' pieces inspired by his travels along Route 66. Local artists are invited to sign up and proudly display their works during the event.
The Chamber is also developing a new Directory featuring businesses that serve Pinon Hills and invites any business in the surrounding communities to take part in this exciting opportunity to reach out to the community.
Something new and exciting has arrived in Pinon Hills! Two new businesses are ready to serve you: Oasis Notary & Live Scan and Keller Williams Real Estate office, Dina Velez, are here to help with your real estate needs. At the same location, visit the New Antique Store at the old Smoke Tree Junction, 815 Hwy 138. If you’re a Flea Market gardener, you’ll be thrilled!
The Chamber invites you to their monthly luncheon at 11 am on the third Tuesday of the month at the Rodeo Cafe, 593 Hwy 138, Pinon Hills, CA 92372. For more information, visit the Pinon Hills Chamber of Commerce at http://pinonhillsthegateway. com/ or contact them at PO Box 720095, Pinon Hills, CA 92372 or phone 760-868-7191.
The “Small” Fire Station That Can
TWOREK . . . it sounds like a Viking, doesn’t it? Or maybe a Marvel Comic superhero because he is that in a way, but he’d never draw attention to himself. Ryan Tworek is a firefighter. He and his team run into burning buildings as people are running out. He has been a firefighter since 1998. He once did a stint in Bosnia where, as a station captain, he trained Bosnian firefighters in our techniques.
Now, after 18 years in Barstow, he’s the Fire Chief at what many think is the small fire house on the Marine base, but they’d be wrong. He loves it here. “One hundred percent,” he declares with a broad smile because, “This [is] a great place.”
The great place is Fire Station 401, the headquarters for MCLB Barstow’s Fire and Emergency Services. It’s sister fire house at Yermo, Fire Station 402, provides the same services to the storage and equipment restoration facilities located there. But according to Chief Tworek, the principal duties of the two fire houses go far beyond servicing the Marine base and extend into Barstow, the High Dessert, and to emergency wildfires when needed.
“We have seven mutual aid agreements that we operate out of here. We start with the immediate surrounding cities [like] Daggett, Yermo, Newberry Springs, Barstow and then we have San Bernardino County, which is obviously a much larger footprint. So we cover Hinkley and we go
almost to Baker. We kind of cover that middle area of the county, south of Baker.
“Then we head out on I-40. We go to about Ludlow, where the County’s Needle’s station picks up the call. So, a pretty big footprint there. And then we also have an ambulance mutual aid agreement with the Inland County’s Emergency Medical Agency, who controls all the ambulances for the county. We have two staffed ambulance [and] a third that gives us a surge capacity. But two are staffed daily. So we help anytime if the desert cities or the county needs ambulances,
“And within those seven mutual agreements, we also have Fort Irwin.”
Like Chief Tworek said, a large footprint. Serving that large footprint involves 2,000 calls per year and would normally be performed by a full staff of 67 personnel. But “right now, we're at forty-eight. We’re a little bit short. We've had some staffing challenges,” Chief Tworek explains. “and [we have] a lot of changes going on. So, we are in a rebuilding phase.”
Chief continues, “But we’re still able to do a lot. We operate at a two fire stations, and out of each one of those, we have two engines and an ambulance, and then we have some specialty rigs, and we have] a hazmat rig at Nebo. And then, out of Yermo, we have a specialty technical rescue. We’re in operation twenty-four seven and three sixty-five.”
When asked where the fire station acquires its firefighters, Chief Tworek explained that there is primarily two sources: locally and the military/DOD. “The closest fire academy is Victor Valley College, through their public safety training grounds in Apple Valley. That's the
By J.P.Garner
closest fire academy that can get people fully certified as EMTs, paramedics, and firefighters. We pull a lot of folks from there. Victor Valley College does an outstanding job
“And then there’s the Department of Defense Fire Academy in San Angelo, Texas, at Goodfellow Air Force Base. Anybody that has come through the military, that is where they go to obtain their primary fire school training. We still send people back there every year for advanced training, because of all of the DOD advanced training goes through there. This year, we're going to send seven folks back there.”
The basic training is challenging. Especially physically. It has to be given the environments and challenges firefighters face in certain situations. And especially when confronted with wildfires. The base fire department provides support to this dangerous outbreaks that have become so commonplace in California. They have master mutual aid agreements with the county and state just for these contingencies.
We have an engine crew that just got back [from a wildfire.]. They were assigned to the Rosa fire, which was kind of down behind Palm Springs. We just had a single resource captain who was assigned as a heavy equipment boss, and he was helping within the county. He was down in San Bernardino Valley, and was being used for rapid deployment. Both were gone for just about a week.
“But sometimes it'll be fourteen to twenty-one days on the big fires. It's kind of the normal cycle. Our single resource individuals will go in a pickup truck and help with specialty skills, and they can be gone various times. Sometimes, in the summer, they can end up being gone for quite a long time.”
For a small installation and a very remote location, the MCLB Fire Department does a lot of good stuff. They have a lot of great people who are part of a team that’s always looking to get better. They’re always looking to find new challenges like what they were doing at the time of this interview. They were certifying 10 of their team members as hazmat technicians.
These are the types of opportunities that are offered the firefighters at the Marine base. “As soon as personnel come in here,” Chief Tworek says, “we pour into them, we want to make sure that we set them up for success.”
Welcome to D.C.
WASHINGTON D.C. is a big place with a small town feel. The seat of power in the United States revolves around certain buildings along the National Mall and blocks on either side. It may seem large but the locals don’t view the capital as such.
“We’re really a city of small neighborhoods,” Tony, a bartender at the Dubliner told us. “The capital seems large and bustling to many tourists, but to us locals, it’s just home.”
Laureen, my lovely wife, and I had walked about a hundred miles during the first four hours on the day of our arrival in our nation's capital and I was parched - from the walking and the two hundred percent humidity.
Since this was only the second time I’d traveled to Washington, D.C., I asked myself why I had come during the summer again. Wasn’t the first time enough to warn me off future summer trips where a shower in the morning wouldn’t last for the first three minutes when exiting the hotel?
“I need a shower and a towel,” I said. “And not sure in that order.”
We had stopped by the Dubliner, located on ‘F’ Street, not far from Columbus Circle, for a bite of lunch and a respite from Mother Nature.
“Tony,” I said. “How do you folks deal with the humidity?”
He simply smiled at me while passing over a pint of Smithwick’s. Did I mention Tony was a saint?
“We think cool,” he responded, and then went to wait on other patrons.
I looked at Laureen, “Does that work?”
Even my lovely bride had shiny beads
By John Beyer
of sweat upon her brow. Women don’t perspire, she once told me. They glisten. “No. It does not.”
Washington, D.C., is a city laid out by the founding fathers in a rather neat mathematical way. Four quadrantsnorthwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast. Rather mundane but easy to understand, compared to many places I have encountered in my travels.
“Well,” someone would say to me with a piece of straw hanging out of their mouth.
“You go down until you see a red-spotted cow and then turn right, but not before waving at old widow Wilson. Then you move on for a stretch until …”
The point is made.
Each of the supposedly 130 various neighborhoods in D.C. revolve around their own culture and vibes.
“Do you want to visit all the neighborhoods?” Laureen asked me as our lunch arrived. A light pub salad for Laureen and a heavy dose of Shepherd’s pie for me - I had to gain my strength back to continue walking the streets of D.C. later.
“Nope,” I said. “That’s why there is Uber, Lyft, the Metro, or Flip.”
“Flip?”
I nodded. “Flip a coin to see if we head back to the hotel after lunch and take a nap.”
We ended up, after a wonderful time at the Dubliner Restaurant, heading out into the steamy afternoon. It got even steamier when a sudden thunder storm eased over the east and blanketed the capital with what seemed like ten inches of rain in two minutes.
I knew it was coming, since I had insisted that we would not need an umbrella - my albatross.
“Why an umbrella?” I once posed to Laureen in the hinterlands of Northern Ireland. Fifteen minutes later the Irish Coast Guard showed up.
As we walked back toward the National Mall to take in the sights, Laureen said, “I wish we had brought an umbrella.”
Which in her world actually meant, you should have listened to me and taken the umbrella from the Watergate Hotel like I suggested.
There really should be two dictionariesone for smart women and one for the rest of us.
The newly constructed Big Beautiful Flag at the White House - as seen on 07/01/25 The
With soaking shoes and smiles, we meandered our way to the White House to see the two new big beautiful flag poles that were recently erected.
It is awe inspiring to stand across the street from where the President and First Lady reside, no matter what political party, and contemplate the importance of such a building.
The current residence has housed every president since John Adams. But George Washington chose the spot and supervised its construction - so his spirit is still there. It is a venue where world leaders come and discuss worldly issues on a constant basis.
But, being tourists, we could only gawk through the tall black wrought iron fencing and ponder what goes on inside those special walls.
“Do I really need to meet with him this
afternoon?” a president may ask his Chief of Staff.
“Sir, he’s the Prime Minister of England.”
“But he sounds so Scottish.”
The White House is located in an area known as Foggy Bottom. And yes, Laureen asked me not to write immature statements about the name. So, in bygone days the area was often covered by a blinding low-lying fog along the marshy area of the Potomac River, and with the smoke from and soot from nearby industrial complexes, the name stuck.
This is also where the Kennedy Center is located, along with the Department of State and other high-affluence entities. D.C. is full of such places.
Standing across from the White House was special and allowed us to see America at its best. There were lots of tourists snapping selfies, asking for others to take
their photos, selfies taking selfies, and others trying to steal their cameras. There were also a bunch of protesters waving posters and flags, wearing masks, and singing songs out-of-tune.
“What are you protesting?” I asked, being a journalist and all.
“Not sure,” a lime green-haired woman told me. “But it’s probably something about the government.”
“That is an awesome answer,” I replied. Laureen shook her head, “She has green hair and a nose ring that hangs to her belly-button.”
“The First Amendment covers poor fashion choices, I believe,” I said.
Our first day back in the nation’s capital after two years was interesting, sweaty, and overall great. This D.C. is a place to visit time and again. The week we had planned was not nearly long enough to see everything. We knew that but also realized we would pack as much into this adventure as possible.
I have always said to our children - if you are not exhausted by the time you return from a vacation, then you haven’t been on vacation.
Our Founding Fathers wondered if this great American dream would work out in the long run - at this point, for nearly 250 years it’s done okay. A few bumps and hiccups but overall, not a bad experiment in the concept of a nation being selfgoverning.
For further information: https://washington.org/visitors-guide https://www.dublinerdc.com/
John R Beyer standing in front of White House with protestors - as seen on 07/01/25
Welcome to Foggy Bottom
John R Beyer discovering the Watergate Hotel
Bridging Generations Through Tech Confidence
By Cindy Bostick
THIS SUMMER, the Today’s Woman Foundation collaborated with High Desert PACE at its Victorville facility to offer a training series aimed at closing the digital gap for local seniors. Led by Renee Rincon, a Gen Y board member of the Foundation, the bilingual sessions equipped seniors with essential skills and confidence for using technology daily. The free series covered:
• Smartphone Basics
• Internet and Email Simplified
• Video Calling
• Social Media and Scam Awareness
Each session was customized to suit seniors' needs, combining patience, practical exercises, and real-life applications. Participants learned not only how to stay connected with family and friends via calls and social media but also how to recognize and steer clear of scams that often target older adults.
High Desert PACE is a state-of-the-art senior facility that provides all-inclusive care for enrollees, and it was the perfect backdrop for this learning experience. The partnership demonstrated the impact that collaboration between nonprofits and senior care providers can have on community well-being.
This year, Today’s Woman Foundation expanded its mission-driven work to include relevant, accessible programs for seniors. By focusing on digital literacy and scam prevention, the Foundation is helping to protect older adults while opening new
doors for connection, independence, and confidence.
The success of Tech Confident Seniors reflects the ongoing commitment of Today’s Woman Foundation to empower individuals of all ages through education, advocacy, and resources.
To learn more about the work of Today’s Woman Foundation, visit todayswomanfoundation.org.
Cindy Bostick
Executive Director Today’s Woman Foundation
Widows or Widowers (WOW)
meet in Fellowship Hall (unless otherwise indicated)
Trinity Lutheran Church 16138 Molino Dr Victorville CA 92395
• Sept 03 03:00 pm: Happy Hour at LaCasita Restaurant at the Lake 12170 Spring Valley Parkway Victorville
• Sept 06 09:00 am: Celebration of September Birthdays - Speaker, Karin Costines from the San Bernardino Counsel of Aging
• Sept 13 09:00 am: Celebrating the lives of those lost on 9-11-2000 and remembering where we were in those moments
• Sept 20 10:00 am: Breakfast at Denny's Restaurant located on Main Street in Hesperia near Hwy 15
• Sept 27 09:00 am: Game Day
Friends of the Apple Valley Library
14901 Dale Evans Parkway - Apple Valley, CA 92307
• Sept 9 - 11:15am
Speaker: Sid Hultquist - Topic: Slide Show of “Tracking and Photographing Mountain Lions in the Mojave Desert"
• Sept 9 - 9am - 3pm - $5 bag book sale
S.W.I.M
• Sept 4 A Brief (750,000 years) History of the Mojave River Norman Meeks
• Sept 11 Guitar Sing Along - Eric Swanson
• Sept 18 High Desert PACE Senior Services Jeanette Kitzmann (Taco lunch provided)
• Sept 25 What You Always Wanted to Know about A.I. (but were afraid to ask) Richard Spencer Seniors With Inquiring Minds (SWIM) meets every Thursday from 1:00-2:00 pm in the Percy Bakker Center located at 9333 E Avenue in Hesperia, CA 92345
Monte Gunderson
March/1951 to August/2025 Owner of G&G Auto Care contact michaelaknight@gmail.com
Piñon Hills Chamber of Commerce
Mary Beal
MORE THAN A FEW PEOPLE have moved to the desert and found their calling. Some have become notable for one reason or another. One such notable pers was Mary Beal. Mary was born in Moline, Illinois in 1878. She didn’t get off to an easy start. She was a sickly baby and her mother died when she was only one year old. Her father remarried, moved to New York, and left her to be raised by her grandparents.
Her health worsened during the cold Illinois winters. The grandparents began taking her to California for the winter. When she was sixteen, her condition worsened, and they moved to Redlands. Her grandfather joined the growing number of farmers raising oranges. California had become the destination for the multitude suffering from Tuberculosis. In the 1880s, TB was the leading cause of death in the United States. Called “consumption” or the “white plague,” it was incurable until much later. Doctors, after trying everything else, advised moving to California. Most often, it only delayed the end.
In 1906 Mary began working as an assistant librarian at the Redlands library. There she met famed naturalist John Burroughs. She helped him with his research, and they became friends. In 1910 she became very ill, developed pneumonia and became another of the consumptives. She wrote to John Burroughs to cancel a planned visit. He advised her to contact his
even more famous, and equally bearded, friend, John Muir. John Muir’s daughter Helen recovered from TB after moving to Daggett in the Mojave Desert.
Mary wrote to John Muir and was put in touch with Helen. Helen was living at the Van Dyke Ranch. The ranch was owned by “Judge” Theodore Strong Van Dyke. He was the Justice of the Peace and raised alfalfa and cattle on the 1200 acres ranch. He was also a writer and naturalist, and the ranch was a gathering place for intellectuals, artists, and naturalists. Mary was welcome but had to live in a tent. The most famous photo of Mary is one of her with John Burroughs in front of her tent home taken around 1911.
When Mary consulted with her doctor about moving to the desert, he advised her to try it for a minimum of eighteen months. She supported herself by selling photographs and Indian baskets she purchased locally to resell. She learned to make herbal teas from local plants. Judge Van Dyke taught her about chia seeds that he used for sustenance on multi-day hunting trips. It was quite the different life for the diminutive Mary, or Mamie as her friends called her. The less than five feet tall, under one hundred pounds Mary could have been seen traveling the area on her mare Dolly Varden, with tripod and cameras. When the eighteen months were up, she returned to see her doctor. She was told she was completely cured and could live anywhere she wished. We, who live in the
By John Wease
desert understand why she returned to the ranch.
She was always interested in flowers and was fascinated with the number of strange plants she found in what most people referred to as a barren wasteland. When Dr. Jepson of the University of California at Berkely published “A Manual of Flowering Plants of California,” it became her textbook and aided her on her path to becoming a respected authority on desert flora. All while being self-taught and, in a time, when women were not often accepted in the world of science.
She became a good friend of Doctor Jepson and sent him many samples of desert plants and flowers. Mary couldn’t draw the typical sketches made by botanists to show details of leaves and flowers. She photographed them and hand painted the black and white photos with watercolors. She sent the photos and dried and pressed samples to Dr. Jepson. He particularly appreciated receiving what Mary called “whiffs.” These were fresh plant specimens bagged to preserve their scents so he could experience those as well. If you are wondering how many different specimens she found in the “barren wastelands,” she sent him over two thousand different ones. Over one thousand are in the University’s “Jepson Herbarium” collection today.
She was visited many times by Jepson, Burroughs, and Muir. University classes made fieldtrips under her leadership. She was an avid rockhound and guided many in their search for colorful desert rocks. In 1938 she won a photo contest held by the newly started Desert Magazine and began writing a botany column for them in 1939 that ran through 1953 when her health began failing. A nature trail was named in her honor at Mitchell Caverns, now part of the Mojave National Preserve. She passed away in 1964 at a convalescent home in San Bernardino. Mamie was brought home to her beloved desert and buried in the Daggett Pioneer Cemetery.
All photographs used in this article are courtesy of the Mojave River Valley Museum. They have in their archives an amazing collection of articles, letters, and many examples of her hand-colored photographic art.
