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What’s Up Vol. I, No. 2
March 2008
Original Artwork by Cabot Yerxa
News of Cabot’s Pueblo Museum
VALENTINE’S DAY 2008: A MIRACLE ON MIRACLE HILL by Donald Reed
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now! In Desert Hot Springs! On Valentine’s Day! At the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting of Cabot’s Trading Post & Gallery! Miracle?! Michael O’Keefe, host of the event, perhaps called it correctly in his opening remarks: “One thing can be said for God and Cabot—They both have a sense of humor!” Besides the snow flurries was the flurry of activity that morning, as Cabot’s Foundation Board Members and Cabot’s Volunteers prepared for what turned out to be a memorable
“One thing can be said for God and Cabot—They both have a sense of humor!” event that introduced the upscale Cabot’s Trading Post & Gallery to DHS and the Coachella Valley and bore witness to the resurrection of Cabot’s Pueblo Museum, like the Phoenix of myth, rising to new glory from the ashes of its own past. The Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting was attended by more than 200 people, who filled the expansive courtyard to capacity. It began with a stirring presentation of arms by the Marine Corps Junior ROTC Cadet Color Guard assigned to Desert Hot Springs High School and a short speech by Michael, during which he recognized everyone who has helped in the restoration of the TP&G—from restoration expert Tom Whitlock, to members of the Board,
docents, and other volunteers. In addiFollowing the Ribbon Cutting, a delition, he singled out Board members cious light lunch was served, the muMuffi Mendelson, Chair of the TP&G seum was opened to tours, and the Operating Committee, and Donnalda packed TP&G was officially “Open for Smollens, Board Secretary, as well as DHS Chamber of Commerce CEO and Photos of the Event—See Page 3 President, Carole Farm and Vera Gilles, respectively. Business” for the first time! Next were comments by DHS mayor Yes, the day began with the Yvonne Parks and City Council mem“miracle” of snow. But it ended with bers, Karl Baker, Russ Betts, Scott what seemed to be a miracle of joy and Matas, and Al Schmidt—who all spoke love and hope for the future of Cabot’s fondly of the museum’s past and with Pueblo Museum and the New Trading hope about its future. Post & Gallery. Last—and not least—Board of Directors Vice President Barbara Maron surprised everyone— and especially Michael— by giving him a much deserved Certificate of Appreciation and Love, signed by Board members. Then she had another surprise: she called Don Reed from the audience to present Michael with an original oil painting purchased by various Board members and volunteers to give to Michael. This lovely oil, entitled “Cabot’s Contribution,” seen at right, was created by nationally known, awardwinning artist Gary Blackwell especially for the Grand Opening. Indeed it was Mr. Blackwell who made the comparison of Cabot’s Museum with that glorious Phoenix of lore. Then came the official Ribbon Cutting, with Michael, Cabot’s Board officers, Mayor Parks, and officers of the Cabot’s Contribution Chamber of Commerce particiOriginal Oil Painting by Gary Blackwell pating.
What’s Up on Miracle Hill PRESIDENT=S CORNER CABOT YERXA AND THE RENAISSANCE OF DESERT HOT SPRINGS by Michael O’Keefe
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ago—Cabot Yerxa. Cabot Yerxa was one of the area’s earliest pioneers, arriving in the desert in 1913. He homesteaded 160 acres, discovered the hot and cold waters of the area, naming it Miracle Hill. A painter and visionary, Cabot built his esert Hot Springs has greatest work of art, his 5000-squarealways had worldfoot, 35-room, Hopi-style adobe famous, award-winning pueblo. Beginning in 1939, he built it by municipal water and the hand, mostly by himself, and he never curative mineral waters stopped building until his death at age that make our spas 81 in 1965. known throughout the After his death, the pueblo fell into world. We have magnifidisrepair and was almost destroyed. cent views and spectacular weather. Cole Eyraud, a friend of Cabot’s, In 2008 the city is also experiencing bought the structure and revitalized it a renaissance. Politically, culturally, until his death in 1996. Cole’s daughand economically, Desert Hot Springs ter, Trudi, donated the estate and its has great hopes. The recent municipal priceless art and artifacts to the City of elections demonstrated that the citiDesert Hot Springs in 1998. Now, 10 zenry wants change—no more busiyears later, Cabot’s Museum Foundaness as usual. Despite the downturn in tion is proud to announce the grand housing, the city has many exciting opening of Cabot’s Trading Post & Galdevelopments in the works. And, culturlery located in a fully restored building ally—yes, culture in Desert Hot that Cabot used as a garage and bedSprings—the future is bright. And it room while he constructed his masterbegins with a man who died 43 years piece, the pueblo.
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GREENER THAN GREEN by Barbara Maron reen is in! The color has achieved status in our current lexicon and will probably define a generation. What does this have to do with the Cabot Museum you may ask? Everything is the answer. Cabot Yerxa was a conservationist as well as a preservationist. I have read many of Cabot’s weekly Desert Sentinel articles, from the 1950s and was surprised to find repeated instruction on preservation of natural resources. Touring the Pueblo, one can easily see what a 1974 article about Cabot that appeared in the New York Times observed: “Everything is made from recycled or handmade materials.” It is what is not clearly visible that is astounding. A “green eye” will notice that the Pueblo was built with a “silo effect.” The 140 windows, 65 doors, 35 rooms and narrow doors and stairwells provided maximum air flow that circulated hot air to the top floors. Opening and shutting these windows and doors maintained coolness in the summer and heat in the winter. Cabot dug the Pueblo into the side of a hill; some floors on the second level
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are even partially underground. The temperature of the Pueblo on a sweltering desert day is remarkably pleasant. The cleverest “greening” of Cabot’s Pueblo, to me, is Portia’s patio on the second floor. I have cleaned this patio many times and wondered why it was unlike other patios in the Pueblo— very smooth and slanted. It is so well dug into the hillside that Cabot built a staircase to get out of it. One day I was taking a group of men through the Museum and we were standing on the Patio and I got my answer. These three men argued and discussed at length what we were standing in. The consensus was that the wall to the back of the patio had pipes running to it (still visible) from Cabot’s water well, located a distance above the patio. These pipes dripped water down the sides of a “wetting wall” that ran over the slanted patio floor to a large drain at the top of the stairs. A soaking of cool water over concrete must have made this area very cool. This cool water would then run under a flight of
The TP&G is unique, just as the museum is. The gallery has attracted national and local artists. Painters, sculptors, crafts persons, graphic artists, tile designers, jewelry designers, local authors, and musicians have all signed on for special events. We locals knew there was great talent in Desert Hot Springs, but many people in the Coachella Valley will be surprised when they visit the cultural and historic hub of Desert Hot Springs, Cabot’s Pueblo Museum and Cabot’s Trading Post & Gallery. There is new life in the old pueblo, and, yes, there is culture north of Interstate 10. When Huell Howser filmed a segment of California’s Gold about Cabot’s Pueblo Museum, he stated it was his favorite historic site in California. Who are we to argue with Huell? He knows, as the locals know, there is something special about Desert Hot Springs. Soon, the rest of the valley will know the city is a treasure in the Coachella Valley. Somewhere, Cabot must be smiling. stairs three stories high, helping to cool the rooms that it ran under, and exit out into the garden, at street level. Oh, imagine a world today built with the foresight and ingenuity that Cabot Yerxa used more than 65 years ago!
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DONALD REED Owner 39421 Bel Air Drive Cathedral City, California 92234 760-770-6562 donaldreed@dc.rr.com
The Ribbon Cutting
Mayor anc City Council Members
Mayor Parks Speaks
Michael O’Keefe Gives Opening Remarks
Marine Corps Junior ROTC Cadet Color Guard Assigned to DHS High School
Ready for the Show
The Gathering Crowd
Setting Up
What’s Up on Miracle Hill page 3
What’s Up on Miracle Hill INTERPLANETARY SPACECRAFT VISIT DESERT HOT SPRINGS by Jane Pojawa (Editor’s Note: This is the first in a fourpart series about Flying Saucers and their relationship to Cabot and Portia Yerxa and Desert Hot Springs.) et’s take a flying saucer back in time to 1950. Desert Hot Springs, indeed the whole Mojave Desert, was buzzing with a sudden rush of aliens. These fellows—and nearly all of them were male—bore more of a resemblance to Orlando Bloom than to P’lod, the “Grey” alien made famous by the Weekly World News; and they came with a message of world peace and a warning to humanity to stop its evil ways. The modern experience of Unidentified Flying Objects [UFOs] began on June 24, 1947, when a Central Air Service pilot named Kenneth Arnold spotted nine mysterious, high-speed objects flying along the crest of the Cascade Range near Mount Rainier. He described aircraft that by today’s standards look very much like a stealth bomber or flying wing, and he believed
page 4 that they were experimental aircraft. Soon it was not only aircraft or lights in the sky that were being documented; it was personal experiences with the in-
What’s Up Vol. I, No. 2
March 2008
Original Artwork by Cabot Yerxa
News of Cabot’s Pueblo Museum
Help Out Cabot’s Pueblo Museum and Our New Trading Post & Gallery! Call for Our Exceptional Rates: Don Reed 760-770-6562
Donald Reed ................................. Editor Bent Reed Press ...................... Publisher Barbara Maron .................... Contributor Michael O’Keefe ................... Contributor Jane Pojawa ......................... Contributor Donald Reed .................... Photographer
Cabot’s Pueblo Museum Board of Directors
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What’s Up on Miracle Hill Newsletter Staff
Fate, September 1949—UFOs emerge in public consciousness habitants of the aircraft, generally contacted psychically. The Desert Sentinel thoroughly documented the invasion. Jean Shannon, the “Feminine Reflections” columnist, spotted the onslaught on July 15, 1949, when she wrote about an article in the obscure new age journal Fate, one of the first to write extensively on the Arnold story. This was followed by another article, which claimed that a reclusive Native American tribe, the Hav-musuv, developed aircraft and lived in peaceful seclusion in caves in the Panamint mountain range in Death Valley. She apparently accepted the accounts as factual, for UFOs and their peaceful message became a recurring theme in her columns. These would portend big changes ahead for Desert Hot Springs in general and for Cabot and Portia Yerxa specifically. The September 1949 issue of Fate, seen in the photograph above, featured an article entitled “Tribal Memories of the Flying Saucers,” by Oga-Make, allegedly a Navajo Indian recounting a legend told to him by a Piute shaman. Unfortunately, the story was a fabrication. (Next month: Cabot and Portia get involved in the movement.)
Michael O’Keefe ...................... President Barbara Maron ............... Vice-President Linda Blake ......... Chief Financial Officer Donnalda Smolens .................. Secretary Robert Brasier ........................... Director John Brown ............................... Director Judy Gigante ............................. Director Mary Hutchinson ....................... Director Wes Laws................................... Director Penny Mathewson ..................... Director Muffi Mendelson ....................... Director Jane Pojawa .............................. Director Donald Reed ............................. Director Susan Rubini ............................. Director Donn Sholty ............................... Director Dan Spencer .............................. Director Joanna Stark ............................. Director
Cabot’s Pueblo Museum 67616 East Desert View Avenue Mailing Address: P.O. Box 104 Desert Hot Springs, California 92240 760-329-7610 www.cabotsmuseum.org Tours: Weekends, 11 a.m. & 1 p.m., and by appointment
Cabot’s Trading Post & Gallery 760-329-7610 Hours: Saturday & Sunday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
SPECIAL THANKS
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pecial thanks go to Lopez Landscaping and Jeffery Abbott, our local wood artist, for their hard work beautifying the grounds on February 4th, Clean Up Day. Board member Susan Rubini contributed the crew for the day!
COMING IN APRIL— News about Cabot’s Annual Birthday Bash and 30th Birthday Celebration of our Waokiye Sculpture by Peter Toth More on Cabot & Portia and UFOs Information about the TP&G and the Pueblo and its surroundings