THIS ISSUE IS A MILESTONE for the PULSE TEAM. This is our 36th issue, three years, here is some interesting data. 35 editions, 980 pages, more than 1,100 articles published over 3,000 photos.
You can read all the past issue of the PULSE on this link https://issuu.com/PulseCustomMagazines
A new service Choice Medical is now offering residents of the High Desert is an URGENT CARE facility (back page).
A few changes coming in 2025 is a new name PULSE MEDIA. Also, a new project PULSE VIDEO/TV. There will be more on this in our next issue.
Also, I am very happy to announce that my wife of over 50 years, Frances, is becoming more active in the PULSE. She has always been involved but more in the background and from now on where I go, she goes.
We Can Do This
By John Wease
Did you know the recently released Guiness World Records 2025 includes a High Desert resident record holder? He is not a big-time Hollywood celebrity, but he is big. He is not a pampered, overpaid professional athlete. He does have a barn full of awards for his athletic performances. You may have seen him in a parade or at a local fundraiser. He didn’t see you. If the “barn full” wasn’t enough of a clue, I’m referring to Smoke ‘Em All the Sightless. Smoke, as he is known, is a completely blind horse.
As a three-year-old, Smoke was purchased by a woman in Newberry Springs. It is believed he was not treated well by the first owner, and he was not easy to work with. For seventeen years he never left the property. He lost one eye to cancer and became aggressive and even more unmanageable. When the owner passed away in 2019, the husband believed nobody would want this oneeyed, twenty-year-old, unmanageable horse. Britney Swenson, friend and owner of Pegasus Training Stables, offered to take him. She thought she could work with him and give him the forever home he deserved.
Smoke quickly bonded with Britney. She gives credit for part of his behavioral improvement to a Reiki Master who visited her stables. The Reiki Master mentioned she could tell Smoke was dealing with
some past trauma and anxiety and she could possibly help. Reiki is a process of balancing one’s energy field to treat anxiety or depression. It is a little “New-Agey” for me, but it seems to work if the participants believe it will. Much like a positive attitude seems to help heal illnesses.
In 2020 she trailered Smoke to Phelan to a Dusty Spurs Gymkhana event. Her intention was to expose him to the noise and commotion and the experience of time away from home. Gymkhana is made up of some thirteen timed events,
the most well-known are barrel racing and pole bending. The events require running around or weaving between obstacles. The horse and rider with the fastest time wins.
If we lose one eye, we can see well except for a loss of peripheral vision on that side. A horse literally cannot see anything on that side unless they turn their head. It would be impossible to imagine a one-eyed horse competing in gymkhana. Just to turn toward the blind side would require complete confidence in the rider. Blind trust, literally. Britney watched the events and said, “We can do this.” And they did. They won high point, the first of many of the buckles used as trophies he has won. In 2021 they competed in a California Gymkhana Association member show. They moved up to Division A and finished in fifth place, qualifying for the state finals show. They were in third place when Smoke had an injury and had to drop out.
In 2022 his cancer returned. After unsuccessful treatments, the other eye had to be removed. Now, at twenty-four
years old, Smoke was sightless. You would think that would be the end of the story. Once again, Britney said, “We can do this.” She had to lead him to his feeder and water trough so he would know where they were located. She taught him voice commands to tell him when to step over an obstacle, step up, or down. With more of the blind faith he has in Britney, they were riding thirty days after he became sightless.
In January 2023, Britney trailered Smoke to Ridgecrest to the Thundering Hooves Gymkhana show. Again, she said,” We can do this.” And, again they did. They had to compete in a lower division, against horses with vision, but once again they won high point. If you win enough high point awards you win a saddle. They won their first saddle in 2023, and Smoke was voted Horse of the Year by the Thundering Hooves Gymkhana members.
Another 2023 event happened when Britney learned another blind horse held a Guiness record for weaving five poles in 6.93 seconds. “We can do this,” said Britney, and they started the long process of breaking the record. Guiness had many requirements. She had to have certified judges, a professional videographer to record every aspect, a veterinarian on
hand, and press coverage.
The Thundering Hooves Gymkhana group judges qualified to be the Guiness judges, and they provided their arena and volunteers to set up the course and act as timekeepers. The veterinarian dropped out two weeks before the scheduled date of November 19, the one-year anniversary of the date Smoke’s second eye was removed. A veterinarian was found at the last minute, and everything was set.
On November 19, 2023, Britney woke up to forty mile an hour wind. She made the long drive to Ridgecrest not knowing if the poles would be blown over or what affect it would have on Smoke. In a practice run she easily beat the record. Guiness allows three tries. On the first two, they finished a full second too slow. Britney was devastated. Before the third attempt, the judges found the poles were not in the correct spacing. The course was corrected, verified, and the record was broken. It was broken by .43 seconds.
After waiting three months for Guiness to recognize their success, Britney received the documentation in February of 2024. That same year, Smoke became the inspiration and face of Smoke’s Equine Oasis 501c3 horse sanctuary. The sanctuary now has twelve horses. It is a forever home for unwanted horses and a place where they can live out their days with the care they deserve.
Last year was the fiftieth anniversary for the California Gymkhana Association State Finals. Britney qualified but couldn’t afford the expenses to participate. Her plea for sponsors came up short. Someone contacted the men at the Billy Holcomb Chapter of E. Clampus Vitus. The “Clampers” rallied and came up with the funds to send Smoke and Britney to the finals. They made their sponsors proud, winning three belt buckles and a saddle. Smoke will be twenty-six in June and is now semi-retired. Britney will continue trail rides and the occasional gymkhana. If you
think it is cruel to make an old blind horse perform, you clearly don’t know much about horses. Especially performance horses. They love to compete. I once trained a mare for barrel racing. After running the pattern two twice, I was back at the starting line ready for the third time. I had to rein her in as she pawed the ground, ready to go again.
For Smoke, it probably is more important. The leg pressure and cues of the rider keeps him grounded and moving straight. On his own in a field, he would stagger like a drunk, feeling his way with each awkward step. Britney must keep him isolated around other horses. A sudden movement nearby could cause him to panic. A horse that bumped into him would likely cause him to fall. Either could lead to an injury. Especially at his age.
Smoke’s success is inspirational. It is a credit to Britney and her belief that every horse deserves a chance. When Smoke lost his second eye, the normal thing would have been to put him down. Britney actually saved his life twice. After an early gymkhana event she called the gentleman that had given Smoke to her to tell him how well he had done. The man cried. He said, before she had come by, he had dug a big hole with his tractor out back and was working up the nerve to shoot him.
You can meet Smoke at fund raisers held to support Smoke’s Equine Oasis. Check his Facebook page under the same name for events. If you get a chance to watch the movie “Alexander, The Untold Story” look for the paint horse. That is Smoke in the battle scene filmed on the dry lakebed below Calico. Or start the new year off by making a tax-deductible donation to help pay the costs to feed and care for the sanctuary horses. If you have a business, consider sponsorship. It is a worthy cause.
The photo of Smoke and Britney breaking the Guiness record is courtesy of David Turnbaugh. The other photos courtesy of Britney Swenson.
Marcy’s Musings
Friends of the Library Christmas Party and Installation of Officers
THE FRIENDS OF THE APPLE VALLEY LIBRARY Christmas party and Installation of Officers, which took place Tues. Dec. 10 at the Apple Valley Library, was a smashing success! Parliamentarian Marcy Taylor installed 4 of the 2025 Board members, who promised to give it their all to make the coming year the best ever. Treasurer Randy LaClair, Recording Secretary Olga
Escobar DeArzate, First Vice President in charge of Programming Barbara Betterley, and Second Vice President in charge of Book Sales Linda Cirk eagerly took the oath. In addition, outgoing President Diane Witthauer thanked her 2024 board members with a gift of a handy library book bag.
Four members of the High Desert Jammers band, 3 of whom are also FAVL
members, led the sing-along of Christmas favorites. VP #2 handled the gift exchange, and members Shirley Songer and Judy Odenbreit served up a large spread of delicious holiday specials. All attendees went home happy and full of holiday cheer, with a gift or two to put under the tree. Thanks to all who made this event possible. And don’t forget- Support your local library and read, read, read!
Mohahve Historical Society Holiday Extravaganza
THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT was in full swing at the December 19 Mohahve Historical Society Christmas Party and Installation at the Old Ranch house at the Lone Wolf Colony. The historic site dating from the 1920’s, and listed in “Apple Valley Historic Points of Interest” booklet #1, is a perfect place for an historical society to meet. The evening’s entertainment kicked off with a re-enactment of our 2024 Happy Trails Parade float skit, “The Golden Land of Apple Valley.” Led by “Swamp Water Fox” Uncle Leo Eiffert on guitar, with drummer
Gary Whiteside keeping the time, the 13 talented actors and actresses showcased the many rewarding things Town residents and guests can enjoy: the park, the pool, four months of weekly free concerts, and lots of year-round sporting events.But the song reminded residents that they too can do their part to help out. So why not adopt a dog or cat, adopt a local street, or most importantly, separate your trash!!
Next up, nine lucky raffle winners claimed the great prizes donated by various organizations: the MHS, the Apple Valley and Victor Valley Legacy Museums, the Friends of the Apple Valley Library, the Town of Apple Valley, and Military Officers Association of America, as well as a few by individual MHS members.
The superb dinner, catered by the Lone Wolf Colony staff, was followed by the most important event of the evening: the Installation of the seven members of the 2025 Board of Directors. And there to do the honors were Apple Valley Town Councilwoman Kari Leon and Mayor Pro Tem Curt Emich, who, along with their spouses, are also MHS members.
Of course the evening had to conclude
with some traditional classic Christmas music. Special guest recording artist Deby Kelley performed a beautiful rendition of “Reason for the Season.” Luckily she
brought her holiday CDs along for people anxious to hear some more. To close out the show, the six-piece “High Desert Jammers” band, along with four fabulous vocalists, led the crowd in a sing-along of old holiday favorites. The voices got louder and more enthusiastic with each song that was sung!
What a great evening! Each of the 60 MHS members and guests in attendance
went home with full stomachs, Apple Valley Town calendars, Town Council Christmas cards, cards and gifts from MHS, maybe a raffle prize, and perhaps even a new friend or two. Thanks to all who made this awesome event possible, to the Lone Wolf Colony staff for hosting us again, and to the dedicated board members who will lead the organization into 2025.
Apple Valley History on Display at the Country Club
THE HERITAGE ROOM at Apple Valley Town Hall, which for several years showcased Apple Valley history through scrapbooks, photos, artifacts, and displays, is no more. The room was apparently needed for office space. So where have all the collectibles gone, you may ask. Right down Highway
18, AKA Happy Trails Highway, a few blocks to the west to the Apple Valley Country Club. The mini-museum now stretches down the two main hallways, with the walls loaded with framed vintage photos, and the display cases filled with interesting artifacts. No longer are appointments needed for access. The Country Club is open to the public daily, so mosey on over and check it out!
A big thank you to the Town staff members who relocated the collection and hung the pictures, and to the members of the Apple Valley Historic Advisory Committee for their assistance in organizing the pieces
and filling the display cases. The Country Club, which opened in 1948 along with the Apple Valley Inn, is the perfect place to display the Town’s historic photos and memorabilia.
One Hundred Years of Playing in the Snow
IF, ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO , you had lived in the LA area, near the beach, or in the flatlands of San Bernardino County, and had the means to take a winter vacation, where would you have headed? Why, to Big Pines, of course, to the beautiful scenic five-mile-long park in the mountains on the Los Angeles/San Bernardino County line.
Thanks to Wrightwood resident and Mohahve Historical Society member Mark Landis, I was able to join in the Centennial Celebration of Big Pines, honoring 100 years of winter sports and adventure in
the San Gabriel Mountains. According to the January 9-15, 2025 edition of the Wrightwood Weekly “Mountaineer Progress,” the Centennial Celebration plays homage to the resort’s incredible history, from its beginning in Big Pines Recreational Park, the winter of 19241925, to “its current status as a premier Southern California destination.”
Following a welcome by Mountain High Vice President of Marketing John McColly, local historian Mark Landis took the mic and led us through the area’s history, from the “Roaring Twenties” until the present. Skiing, ice skating, tobogganing, and
snow play, followed by evenings in the lodge singing songs in front of a roaring fire, attracted folks from miles around.
Next up was Mountain High’s Videographer Dennis Nandalin, who presented his incredible video set to music, showcasing more of the mountain’s rich history. The roomful of skiers, resting after a long cold day on the slopes, truly enjoyed the journey, from the first one-man
chairlifts replacing the rope pulley, through all of the developments and improvements over the years, to the neon ski attire, the Skiing Santas, and the sand-skiing events of today.
Guests could also grab some food and drink, place a bid on a ski-related silent auction item, or make a purchase to help the cause. Ingrid Wicken was on hand, selling her “Skiing in Southern California” books, and inviting folks to visit her Ski Museum and Library in, of all places, the cowboy town of Norco! At the next table Mark and Stacy Landis had a huge collection of vintage ski posters for sale. What a great evening! Although it was a
bit nippy outside, guests leaving the event could enjoy the beautiful evening, watching the night skiers and snowboarders zooming down the snow white slopes! No wonder adventurers have been coming to Big Pines for 100 years!
Where Has Your Mohahve Historical Cap Been Lately?
LAST MONTH we started a new feature in the “Mohahve Muse,” the official newsletter of the Mohahve Historical Society. It’s called, “Where has your MHS cap been lately?” First to submit was member Jeff Hardy. He and his wife Cathleen took a trip to Europe, where Jeff proudly showed off his cap and attempted to recruit new members to the MHS. His cap made it to the Parliament Building in Budapest, Hungary, for the first photo op. From there it was off to the Winter
Palace in Vienna, Austria. Before heading back to the states, the traveling cap posed for photos in Passau, Germany, and then at Saint Peters Cathedral in Richenberg, Germany. That was quite an adventure! Now where has YOUR cap been lately?
Give Peace a Chance
ON MONDAY JANUARY 20, 2025 , Mohahve Historical Society members made their second appearance as a group in the 17th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Peace March, hosted by the High Desert Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Regular participants carried banners and signs representing No Drugs America, The Tuskegee Airmen, NAACP Branch 1082, the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and the Delta Gems. Visible newer groups included the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and the High Desert Branch of the California Writers Club.
The welcome by Delta’s President Hisani Behn was followed by the opening prayer, the Presentation of Colors by Victor Valley High School Air Force Jr.
ROTC, the National Anthem, and the Flag Salute. Speakers included Deltas member Roxanne Rafe, who initiated our local Peace March, Poet Antonia Edwards, Dawn Quigg and Valerie Shogunle, both representing local community programs to help those in need. LaMarche Mosley and the Delta Gems led the singing of “Life Every Voice and Sing,” and Hip Hop recording artist Justified fired up the crowd with an energetic musical number.
Next Victorville Mayor Liz Becerra introduced student Aimee Calderon, who read her very touching award winning essay on Claudette Colvin, who will be commemorated on the tenth bronze plaque at the Civil Rights Memorial on Civic Drive.
The diversity of the crowd, the words of the speakers, some of whom hailed from Puerto Rico, Nigeria, and the Caribbean island of Grenada, and the feeling of comradery and unity, certainly demonstrate that we have come a long way since Rosa Parks’ 1955 arrest and Dr. King’s 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech. Yet at this time of political turmoil in our
country, it is clear that there is more work to be done. Hopefully, we in the Victor Valley and Greater High Desert will do our part by respecting each other, helping when and where we are able, and keeping the peace.
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March
Brain Games: Good for Cognitive Health or Just Fun?
by Melissa Mischka, PsyD
THIS MONTH’S ARTICLE arose from a text conversation between me and several Pulse employees. We were chatting about time spent playing games on your phone. There was a split of opinions with a few people feeling that these games are a waste of precious time while a few felt that the games were fun and provided them with a much-needed break in their day. I added to the conversation by advocating for the use of these so-called “brain games” and felt compelled to go further into my positive opinion on this matter so that I could share it with all our readers. In a world where mental acuity is highly prized, brain games have surged in popularity, promising to sharpen the mind, improve memory, and stave off cognitive decline. From mobile apps to puzzle books and even online subscription platforms, these games claim to be more than just fun—but are they truly the key to cognitive health?
Brain games have become a multibillion-dollar industry. Apps like Lumosity, Elevate, and CogniFit offer tailored exercises designed to improve skills like problem-solving, attention, and verbal fluency but you don’t need to spend a lot of money to benefit. Puzzle staples such as Sudoku and crossword puzzles also remain enduring favorites. Most all dollar stores carry a wife variety of these puzzles in good size books.
The appeal of brain games lies in their accessibility and the hope they provide for a sharper mind. Whether it’s a retiree seeking to ward off dementia or a student aiming to boost academic performance, these games promise benefits that cater to a wide audience.
Research on brain training’s effectiveness yields mixed results. Some studies suggest that certain brain games can improve specific cognitive functions, such as working memory or attention, but the effects often don’t generalize to realworld tasks.
However, other research indicates that engaging in mentally stimulating activities can have long-term benefits. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that cognitive training exercises in older adults led to improvements in reasoning and processing speed that lasted for up to 10 years.
Experts emphasize that no single brain game or activity is a magic bullet. Instead, a varied approach to mental stimulation is key. Reading, learning new skills, social interaction, and physical exercise are all crucial components of cognitive health.
While brain games can be an enjoyable part of a cognitive fitness routine, they should not replace other important lifestyle habits. Instead, they are best viewed as one piece of a larger puzzle.
For those of you who do not enjoy playing app-based games or even completing puzzles or word searches, here are some other tried and true techniques you can use.
My all-time favorite is using your nondominant hand to enhance brain activity by engaging less-used neural pathways. Think, using your opposite hand to eat a snack or brush your teeth.
Aerobic activities, strength training, and
exercises like yoga or tai chi improve blood flow to the brain, promote the growth of new neurons, and protect brain cells. Walking, gardening, or household chores also contribute to brain health.
Engaging in activities such as learning a new language, musical instrument, or hobby stimulates the brain.
Focus on incorporating leafy greens, berries, whole grains, fish, nuts, and olive oil, while reducing red meat, sugar, and processed foods. Dehydration can impair cognitive function so make sure to drink water throughout the day.
Limit alcohol and avoid smoking as both are linked to cognitive decline. Get adequate sleep as poor sleep is linked to cognitive decline and conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. Reduce your stress. Manage high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol, as these can damage brain blood vessels.
Brain games offer a fun and engaging way to stay mentally active, but their benefits are most pronounced when combined with a well-rounded approach to cognitive health. So go ahead, solve that crossword or tackle a new puzzle app— but don’t forget to take a walk, eat your greens, and learn something new along the way. By combining these practices and making them part of your daily life, you can help maintain cognitive health and lower your risk of neurocognitive disorders such as dementia. It’s never too early—or too late—to start.
A Chat About Parkinson’s
“Y
OU SCARE ME,” SHE SAID. “You walk like Grandpa did.” This was my husband’s daughter speaking, and she was right. Her grandpa had Parkinson’s and now it looked like her dad – my husband – may have it, also. With that in mind, we made an appointment with a neurologist. His diagnosis was “Parkinsonism”. I found this annoying. Is it or is it not Parkinson’s?
I have since learned that Parkinsonism, also called atypical Parkinson’s or Parkinson’s plus, is the umbrella term used to describe a group of neurological problems. Interestingly, Parkinson’s represents only 10 – 15% of all diagnosed cases of parkinsonism. Parkinson’s is caused mainly by the degeneration of nerve cells in the brain. In contrast, the causes of parkinsonism are numerous, ranging from the side effects of medication or metabolic diseases, toxin, and neurological diseases. It is not unusual for someone to walk into a Parkinson’s Support Group meeting and say they don’t know whether they have PD or not because their doctor called it parkinsonism. Parkinsonism is considered a clinical syndrome in which a person may have some but not all Parkinson’s motor symptoms and symptoms related to an additional condition or cause. These indications can range from low blood pressure to the inability to move one’s eyes up and down to dementia.
So, okay, there is no definitive test for Parkinson’s or parkinsonism. The clinical features of parkinsonism and Parkinson’s are similar and often indistinguishable. So, if you have movement problems including tremors, slow movement, and stillness and wonder whether you have Parkinson’s or parkinsonism, you’re not alone; it’s a challenge to identify.
People are often diagnosed with Parkinson’s when they have another form of parkinsonism. On the other hand, people can be diagnosed with the general umbrella term of parkinsonism when they have Parkinson’s. Because the root cause and treatment for each parkinsonism is different, it’s critical to obtain an accurate diagnosis, and working with a movement disorder specialist is undeniably your best option to get one.
What is a movement disorder specialist
by Ann Miner
– MDS? A neurologist is a physician specializing in the conditions of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and bundles of nerves that transmit information to and from them). They can confirm your diagnosis and establish an appropriate treatment plan.
A movement disorder specialist is a neurologist with additional training in movement disorders. Your MDS will most likely be the person on your medical care team who is most familiar with the full spectrum of Parkinson’s medication and treatment. They see thousands of people with PD every year.
Much of the information in this piece comes from the wonderful manual Every Victory Counts. It’s kind of a bible for me and others seeking information about PD. One quote in the manual from Marty Acevedo, Ambassador, Davis Phinney Foundation, is this:
Your care team begins and ends with you. Those focused on your care and your journey could include your care partner, your movement disorder specialist (MDS)
(she says ‘don’t settle for less than an MDS’), physical therapist, occupational therapist, speech pathologist, perhaps a neuropsychologist, pharmacist, registered dietitian, trainer...You need and deserve to have team members you trust and who understand and listen to your concerns. It would be ideal if all PD peeps could have such wonderful attention and care. Those of us in our PD community realize that many services are not near enough to be practical to pursue. Even the manual acknowledges that it isn’t always easy to find an MDS close by, but “you may only need to see your MDS in person once or twice a year, driving a few hours to these appointments will be time well spent.” My Burt and I went to USC KECK Medical Center three times a year, 200 miles round trip. Each visit made a long, but rewarding day.
For more information on everything you wanted to know about Parkinson’s, go to Davis Phinney online and order, for free, Every Victory Counts. You can also call the Parkinson’s Foundation, 800-4734636 for answers. Or check the websites for Parkinson’s or Michael J Fox – they work together to educate us.
Meanwhile, remember to attend our monthly support group meetings on the first Monday of the month at 1:00 pm, at 19111 Town Center Dr., Apple Valley (in front of Jess Ranch). Friends and family welcome. Questions? Call me at 760954-2859. I’m always happy to hear from you.
VIDAL
AS I HAVE IN WRITTEN in past articles, there are places to which we are destined to travel without ever intending to travel there.
One of my more memorable quotes, if I say so myself.
When we travel, there are times we are moving toward a our destination, but sometimes on the way to that objective, another stopping-place shows up in front of us that is so intriguing, we must take a brief tangent.
That is often where the true adventure awaits.
As a travel writer, I find myself in that realm quite often, and I find it reassuring. Just because I want to end up at one place, doesn’t mean I don’t want to find myself in a totally different place for a spell. That is what makes life so exciting.
Okay, enough philosophy – on with what this article is about.
Growing up in Southern California, I spent a lot of time at the Colorado River. The main route I used was Interstate 10 headed to Blythe and then north on Highway 95 to the Parker Strip. A friend of mine, Bob, had a place along the river, and we’d spend countless hours boating on that stretch of water and then relaxing after a tiring, but fun filled day with our families.
Good times. Even greater memories. Well, during those trips, I must have driven past Vidal dozens of time, and
never gave it a second thought.
A bent sign, along Highway 95, letting the passerby know there may have been something worthwhile there once, but apparently that something existed long ago. I would simply slow down, take the railroad tracks carefully at Vidal, especially if towing anything, and then drive on to Parker.
That was the extent of my knowledge of Vidal.
On a recent trip, Laureen and I, were once again buzzing south on Highway 95 and passed that bent sign indicating the town of Vidal.
“I wonder what’s there?” my fellow adventurer asked.
“Nothing, would be my guess,” I replied.
“Let’s check it out. You never know,” she said.
And we did. I made a legal U-turn and headed back to that tall crooked sign. Getting out of our vehicle, we snapped a few photographs and started walking east on the dirt road, known as the Old Parker Road – not to be confused with the New Parker Road.
Train tracks ran right next to the roadway. They were empty, straight, as if they hadn’t been used in a long timelonely. I doubted that, since trains seemed to run through this part of the country all the time. None did while we were there, but that didn’t mean they didn’t use these tracks – just not for the thirty minutes we wandered here and there.
By John Beyer
“That’s a nice looking little house,” Laureen mentioned, as she pointed to a very well-kept white and blue cottage.
She was correct. The house stood out in the brown desert like an unforgotten jewel. Perhaps a ruby, that has been neglected by a heart broken lover – what?
Man, this is starting to sound like a cheap dime novel.
Turns out, that the nice looking little house was the only permanent abode for Wyatt Earp and his wife, Josephine – who went by the nickname Sadie.
Yes, probably one of the most famous western lawmen who rode a horse through the southwest.
The Wyatt Earp, who became even more famous, or infamous, after that thirty second street battle near the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. Two factions of westerners had had enough of one another, and temperatures boiled over in the afternoon of October 26th, 1881. In a matter of a half a minute, three were dead and three wounded. Tombstone would soon become a household word.
The violence would also go down as the most famous gunfight in the American Wild West. Sorry, Wild Bill Hickok.
There is a cement slab with a plaque, in front of the small house, explaining – ‘The legendary lawman, gun-fighter, gambler, businessman, and miner along with his wife Josephine inhabited this “DreamCome-True” cottage from 1925 – 1928.
During the fall, winter and spring months while he worked his “Happy Days” mines in the Whipple Mountains a few miles north of this site. This is the only permanent residence they owned in their long lives together.’
Long life together meant forty-seven years. They married – common-law – in 1882, and stayed with each other until Wyatt’s death on January 13, 1929.
That is a long time in anyone’s book, especially for a guy who had been mixed up in more gunplay then I’ve had IRS audits. Probably shouldn’t have written that.
It should be noted, that during Wyatt’s life, he moved around a lot – gambling here and there, looking for minerals in the mountains of Arizona and California, sitting for interviews, and even consulting on those early Westerns Hollywood made. The Earps never really settled down, but instead rented hotel rooms and small homes during their married life.
It wasn’t until they purchased the small cottage in Vidal in 1925 that they had true roots. They’d summer in Los Angeles and spent the rest of the year primarily in Vidal.
An interesting point of fact: the Earps were actually living in Calzona – not far from Vidal – in 1922, when a huge fire destroyed the town, but miraculously the little house didn’t burn.
The house was moved to Vidal, where the Earps eventually bought it.
According to a couple of sources online, Morgan Earp, Wyatt’s younger brother, was the original owner of the house in Calzona, but he was murdered in 1882 in Tombstone – revenge killing for the OK Corral gunfight. Try as I might, I couldn’t find material backing up the claim that Morgan had owned the house originally.
Such is the way with history: one person writes this and the other person writes that. It is romantic, in a literary way though, to believe Wyatt and Sadie actually lived in the house that Wyatt’s younger brother had built.
Let’s allow that bit of history go without much further investigation.
So, now that we knew this little burg had a lot more going for it than first meets the eye, we decided to explore a bit more.
Over on Main Street, (all these towns have a street called Main Street), stands a beautiful rock and mortar two story building. On the top, like castles of old,
are jagged rocks as though they expected Vikings to storm the building.
No Vikings in Vidal, and really not much on the history of the building could be found. It must have cost a pretty penny –or a lot of pretty pennies – to build such a place.
In a statement on the website, flickeriver. com, the building had various businesses which occupied the only two-story building in town through the years. A barbershop, an assayers office – make sense if Wyatt and others were mining for gold – and other commercial endeavors. There were even showers behind the building for cowboys to rinse off the dust of the desert.
In full disclosure, the research on this building did not yield much information. Actually, very little about both Vidal and the surrounding area is limited online. That is a shame, since this was once the home of an iconic member of the ‘old west’ legend. It’s as if the desert wants to keep some secrets.
So Wyatt and Sadie resided in Vidal during the fall, winter, and spring times, moving back to Los Angeles during the summer. A little bit warm in Vidal during that scorching time of year. Besides, Hollywood was calling Wyatt as he worked as a consultant for film companies to assist in making western movies as accurate as possible.
As mentioned in truewestmagazin.com, the early cowboy star, Tom Mix and Wyatt became very close friends, so close that Mix served as a pallbearer at Earp’s funeral. Rumor has it, Tom Mix cried.
According to justwestofmyheart.blogspot. com, the town of Vidal kept growing with ranchers, miners, traders, and the building of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in the 1930s. ‘By 1935, the area had no less than 28 liquor establishments, the paper describing them as “hangouts for river toughs and equally tough women.”
But, the great depression played havoc everywhere, and one place hit especially hard was Vidal. Soon people left and the desert began to encroach back on the emptiness left behind by the vanishing citizens.
Not much is left to Vidal today. A few deserted houses, Wyatt’s cottage, the remains of the JM Heacock building, and a cemetery across the railroad tracks.
Is it worth a stop along Highway 95? Yes, it is.
“I bet this place has a very intriguing past,” Laureen stated, as we headed to our vehicle.
“And I’d take that bet,” I replied. I knew that would be a sure wager.
John can be contacted at: beyersbyways@gmail.com
Happy Valentines
Happy Valentine’s Day to King, Marshmallow, Shanti Sue, Punkie, Thatcher, and Wiley! You guys truly rock, and your cat lady mom loves you to the moon and back!
From Lise Love
Avery, “You are the sunshine on my cloudy days and the laughter in my heart.” Love GiG
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Happy Valentine’s Day to my wife Erika and my son Alexandre. I live my life for you ♥♥ Leandro 1
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Dry Guillotine to Dry Desert: René Belbenoît
By Jaylyn And John Earl www.thedesertway.com
HOW MANY HAVE DRIVEN by this older building with a bright green extraterrestrial on its door, located on Old Woman Springs Road in Lucerne Valley without knowing the startling history of the former mildmannered owner with a French accent? Do they know an author of five books sat in the corner of the store, then called Renee’s Ranch Store, and tediously typed manuscripts on a manual typewriter about his daring escape from Devil’s Island?
René Belbenoît (pronounced Bell-benwah) was a humble man but his life both past and present were as different as night and day. Belbenoit’s former life was a stark contrast to the comfort and freedom he enjoyed living in a small town in the Mojave Desert. In fact, his past was hell on earth.
Although René Belbenoît sold ranch gear to locals, what Belbenoît clearly treasured most was his right to call himself an American citizen. Belbenoît’s journey to this point had been an arduous one full of pain and intrigue, as he had been incarcerated for petty theft in French New Guinea in the infamous Devil’s Island for eight years before he escaped, not only once but four times. The French penal colony on Devil’s Island was in operation from 1852 to 1946. Carrying his 40 lb. stack of papers wrapped in oilskins to protect it from the weather detailing the inhumanity of what he and other prisoners endured on Devil’s Island became a famous best seller.
Literary circles have compared René Belbenoît’s book Dry Guillotine, Fifteen Years Among the Living Dead‘s impact on
the penal colony system to that of Uncle Tom’s Cabin had on the slavery period in the United States. Both books are revered for igniting reform that led to the demise of cruel and inhuman systems of servitude. Devil’s Island, which actually encompasses three islands off the coast of French Guiana and a slice of Cayenne, warehoused French prisoners. Up to that time the island held approximately 100,000 prisoners during its century of operation.
Although many are familiar with the name “Devil’s Island,” few can locate it, and fewer still are aware of its abject history. It is one of those places that has crept into the popular imagination without having many facts attached to it, like Transylvania, Timbuktu, or Siberia. As if Satan himself ordained it, the French Revolution changed French Guiana from a failed agrarian experiment into a laboratory for state-sponsored punishment and brutality. Devil’s Island, true to its name, would become Dante’s Inferno.
Dry Guillotine is the English translation of the French phrase la guillotine sèche, which was a prisoner term for the Devil’s Island penal colony in French Guiana. The book’s title comes from this phrase. His is one of the most shocking records of man’s inhumanity to man ever written. Belbenoît’s autobiography is the testament of a man triumphant after fifteen maddening years of privation and persecution.
Later, Devil’s Island became a film location for nineteen movies. The French
a dim view of these films
Government took
The former Rene’s Ranch Store, located at 32746 Old Woman Springs Road (Highway 18) in Lucerne Valley. After Rene Belbenoit passed away in 1959, Dick Grobaty moved the Malt Shop from where China House now operates, to the Ranch Store site and opened Dick’s Center Store. From 1945-50, Dick was business manager for Earle Stanley Gardner, Esq. of Perry Mason fame. The present retailer is called Area Thrifty One next to Lucerne Properties, Inc.
and banned several of them. Belbenoît also served as a technical advisor on the movie Passage to Marseille, a wartime film starring Humphrey Bogart, Claude Raines, Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre.
Born in Paris, France on April 4,1899, impoverished René Lucien Belbenoît was at twenty-one years of age en route to a lifelong exile in the most notorious prison colony the civilized world has ever known. His crime? He had stolen a modicum of francs and a strand of pearls from his wealthy employer. His book, Dry Guillotine, begins with his exile from society and civilization. In the story of Devil’s Island, of Iles Royale and Saint Joseph, of Cayenne, the capital of a colony of sin, of libérés living like jackals, of men going crazy in solitary dark cells, of life more terrible than death and deaths more gruesome than fiction.
After a grueling transatlantic voyage during which he was locked in a cage (as were all convicts), Belbenoît first arrived at the penal colony in Saint-Laurent du Maroni, French Guiana on June 21, 1923, where he received convict number 46635. His first escape attempt came just two weeks after his arrival, but within a matter of days he was discovered by Dutch officials in Dutch Guiana (now Suriname) and sent back to the French camp. Belbenoit was sent to the very worst of the colony’s prison camps, Camp Charvein. Deep in the jungle, it was a malarial swamp. He again unsuccessfully attempted escape in 1924.
In 1926, Belbenoît met the American author Blair Niles on her visit to French Guiana and supplied her with details for her book Condemned to Devil’s Island (1928). Using money given by Niles, Belbenoît escaped for a third time. Upon his capture, he was sent to Devil’s Island for the first time for six months of solitary confinement, an experience he described as horrible. However, this punishment for ‘incorrigible’ behavior did not stop him from attempting a fourth escape.
In 1931, Belbenoît was released as a libéré. He was no longer a prisoner, but by law he was forced to stay in the penal colony for the length of his original labor sentence. He received a parole of one year to leave the colony, but was not
allowed to return to France. After working a labor job in Panama for most of the year, he broke his parole and took a ship to France. He was promptly arrested in Le Havre and sent back to Devil’s Island for more solitary confinement.
Belbenoît’s U.S. Citizenship card was the culmination of struggle and purpose, 1956. Courtesy of Ancestry.com U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992 Indexed in World Archives Project
Belbenoît knew the worst the penal colony could offer. He spent months of hell in isolation cells of the dreaded Iles Royal, where men go mad from solitary confinement barely living on stale bread and water, or else maim themselves to gain the privilege of seeing daylight again in the dismal prison infirmary. He suffered from exposure, fever and vermin, worked naked in the jungle at felling and hauling timber while enduring the maddening itch from oozing welts caused by bloodthirsty chiggers, mosquitoes and leeches.
Life held but two alternatives for the men condemned to Devil’s Island –“Escape or Die!” the impenetrable jungle or the raging sea. Ant-riddled skeletons testified to the impossibility of escape through the jungle. To attempt the open sea in a raft against diabolical currents where sharks waited for their next human meal. Yet he had made no less than four desperate but abortive tries for freedom, each followed by recapture and brutal punishment, before finally succeeding.
Belbenoît lived in the “Crimson Barrack” with its vicious guards, its graft and immorality, its monthly murder; and through all he felt the cruel hand of official corruption and injustice. Without food or equipment; beset on all sides by deadly reptiles, wild animals and hostile Indians; practically eaten alive by insects; he schemed and fought his way up through South and Central America – the only survivor from Devil’s Island ever to reach the haven of the United States alive and tell his story.
After serving additional time for parole violation, Belbenoit was officially released on November 2, 1934. Unable to tolerate his status as libéré, he planned yet another escape. This one would finally prove successful.
On May 2, 1935, he and five other convicts escaped the colony by sea. After traveling for seventeen days in a primitive nineteen-foot boat, they washed up on the island of Trinidad. The British authorities let them go and they set out for Florida. A storm threw them adrift and they found themselves instead in Colombia, where they were again rounded up by authorities. Belbenoît managed to separate from the other prisoners and escape, heading for Panama, still carrying his 900 page manuscript, Dry Guillotine.
After a few months in Panama, Belbenoît slowly continued up the west coast of Central America by foot and stolen canoe, often staying with native tribes he encountered along the way. When he reached El Salvador, he stowed away on a ship to the United States and arrived in Los Angeles in 1937, more than two years after he had left French Guiana.
“I Shall Destroy It “ says René Belbenoît, of Devil’s Island. Toronto Daily Star, 29 July 1938. Photo enhanced by John Earl, 2024.
Belbenoît made his way to New York City, where he published his first book, Dry Guillotine, in 1938. It was quickly reprinted in several different languages. Two years later, he published Hell on Trial (1940). His hope in publishing the memoirs was to expose Devil’s Island for its horrible conditions. France had actually stopped sending prisoners to the penal colony in 1938, and officially closed the prison in 1946.
William LaVarre, Fellow at The Royal Geographical Society at the Harvard Club described Belbenoît at “thirty eight years old, terribly emaciated, almost blind, toothless, scurvy eaten and fever wrecked.” LaVarre surmised Belbenoît did not have many more years left to live. Belbenoît told LaVarre he hoped the publication of his book would accomplish just one thing. He hoped with all his heart, that it would cause France to finally do away with French Guiana and send no more human beings there to suffer–on the Dry Guillotine
Belbenoît’s draft registration card. Notice he listed the name of his Dry Guillotine publisher, E.P. Dutton. @ancestry.com Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI)
Once Belbenoît’s books caught the eyes of U.S. Immigration officers, he was deported as an illegal immigrant in 1940. A few months later, he was caught reentering the country in Brownsville, Texas and served almost a year in prison. After his release from prison, Belbenoît secretly rode trains to California.
During the late 1940s, Belbenoît discovered the beauty of Lucerne Valley and the high desert north of Los Angeles, attracted, no doubt, to a climate antithetical to that of French Guiana. The dry, desert air must have been soothing to the man who had endured years of jungle dampness. A promotional brochure on the area stated: “Every day you live in Lucerne Valley is a day more glorious, more enchanting, more happy, than any preceding days. You will shout joyously to the world that at last an earthly paradise has been discovered.”
In 1951 Belbenoît moved to the earthly paradise of Lucerne Valley where he opened René’s Ranch Store. The prisoner who spent years without proper clothing
became the purveyor of dude ranch and cowboy gear. Belbenoît had also met Lee Gumpert, five years his junior, the widow of a prominent Los Angeles physician. The smitten couple had fallen in love and were married in 1945.
Lee’s brother-in-law was Emil Gumpert, a prominent attorney who helped Belbenoît in his quest to become a U.S. citizen. Judge Gumpert, throughout his more than half-century professional career as an eminent trial lawyer, State Bar president and trial judge, substantially and effectively devoted himself to the administration of justice and to the improvement of trial practice. With help from Gumpert, other prominent attorneys, and some influential Hollywood producers, Belbenoît’s hardfought application for citizenship was granted a decade later, on January 18, 1956. By then, Belbenoît was 57 years old.
A page from the manuscript of “Dry Guillotine,” including a picture of Belbenoît.
Photo courtesy: Harry Ransom Center
Belbenoît’s wife Lee and her son from her first marriage commuted between their apartment on Havenhurst Drive in West Hollywood and Belbenoit’s place in Lucerne Valley, usually visiting him on the weekends. He spent much of his time writing and was still the subject of various articles and interviews. In 1955, an episode of the popular television program This Is Your Life was devoted to him.
Belbenoît didn’t get to enjoy his naturalized American citizenship for very long. He died of a heart attack while sitting
in a chair in his store, perhaps typing his latest book, on February 25, 1959 in Lucerne Valley, California. The lack of medical care while he was imprisoned was likely a contributory factor. He was survived by his wife and a stepson. His ashes are interred at Chapel Of The Pines Crematory in Los Angeles, California. When visiting Lucerne Valley to check out Area Thrifty One, may we also recommend you stop by Lucerne Valley Market to check out its interesting merchandise, groceries and cafe. If you want to explore other local eateries, we recommend the much revered China House with its vintage charm and authentic Chinese cuisine, the funky and fun Cafe 247 which offers a large menu of delicious BBQ, burgers, adult libations, live music and dancing, El Coyote Loco, Adelita’s Restaurant, Rock’s Place, or other popular food joints in the area.
Top Photo: René Belbenoît at his desk in the rear of Rene’s Ranch Store in Lucerne Valley, The San Bernardino County Sun–Telegram 11 July 1954. Photo enhanced by John Earl, 2024.
Note: Many thanks to La Quinta Museum’s historian Kim Steaffens Richards for putting Rene Belbenoît on our radar last year. Belbenoît is a relative of Kim’s cousin’s wife.
Citations:
https://www.thedesertway.com/rene-belbenoit/
Belbenoît, René; Dry Guillotine, Published by E.P. Dutton & Co. Inc., 1938; Bantam Book Edition , I Escaped From Devil’s Island, 1949.
Belbenoît, René (1940). Hell on Trial. Translated by Rambo, Preston. New York: EP. Dutton & Co. OCLC 657176527. (The sequel to Dry Guillotine.)
Films Set on Devil’s Island, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Films_set_on_Devil%27s_Island
Two Devils in the City of Angels by Victoria Dailey, March 9, 2014 https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/two-devils-cityangels/
This is Your Life (1955): Rene Belbenoît https://www.imdb. com/title/tt11828924
The Storied Escapes of Rene Belbenoît (2013) https:// sites.utexas.edu/ransomcentermagazine/2013/05/14/ rene-belbenoit
Emil Gumpert Award https://www.actl.com/home/awardscompetitions-grants/emil-gumpert-award
Find a Grave; Belbenoît, René; https://www.findagrave. com/memorial/211877666/rene-belbenoit
Lucerne Valley, A Wild West Town of Character(s), 2nd Ed., Lucerne Valley Museum Association et al, published by Lucerne Valley Economic Development Association, 2020.
Lucerne Valley Museum and History Association https://www.lucernevalleymuseum.org
Today’s Woman Foundation expands its outreach efforts
By Cindy Bostick
THE ORGANIZATION IS EXCITED to announce its participation in launching the first High Desert Sexual Assault Response Team (S.A.R.T.) program at Providence St. Mary Medical Center. Executive Director Cindy Bostick and seven other individuals successfully completed the Partners Against Violence Advocacy program, earning their credentials as state-certified crisis counselors. This accomplishment marks a significant milestone in the program’s rollout in a few months.
The newly trained advocates are committed and prepared to offer compassionate crisis intervention, resources, and support to individuals who have experienced sexual assault. Their dedication and participation reflect a collaborative effort to enhance access to essential care for survivors in the High Desert community. The S.A.R.T. team consists of law enforcement, forensic nurses, advocates/ counselors, and the district attorney’s office.
Cindy Bostick states, “This new role aligns strategically with the mission of the Today’s Woman Foundation. We are committed to enhancing our efforts that provide education, resources, and advocacy for our high desert neighbors, and we feel privileged to contribute to this crucial work.
If you would like to learn more about the S.A.R.T. Program or explore ways to support Partners Against Violence, please contact them at (909) 885-8884 or www.partnersagainstviolence. org. Your involvement could make a meaningful difference.
Are you a student with a passion for storytelling, reporting, or creative writing?
We are looking for youth articles and aspiring journalists to showcase in our publication!
This is a great opportunity for young voices to shine, share their stories, and explore journalism. Whether you are in middle school, high school, or part of a writers club, we want to hear from you!
Why Participate?
• Get published and reach a wide audience.
• Develop writing skills and gain experience.
• Share your perspective and inspire others.
• We encourage teachers, schools, and writers clubs to share this opportunity with students. Let uscelebrate the talent and creativity of our youth!
How to Submit:
Reach out to us at 775-471-2694 or email us at info@pulseofthehighdesert.com with your articleidea or submission. For questions, feel free to connect. We are here to help future journalists succeed.
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us amplify the voices of our next generation of writers!
ONE HUNDRED AND TWO YEARS LATER Part 2
By J.P.Garner
SO MUCH HAS CHANGED since June Langer was twenty and in college.
That was eighty-three years ago. There were no TVs back then but there was a war. The BIG war. All the world was involved except for Switzerland and June decided to help. She dropped out of college and went to work in a war factory, there in Chicago where she lived. We don’t have those anymore . . . the war factories. We have a massive industrial military complex devoted to making the weapons of war. Good stuff too. The best. Everybody copies us, especially the Russians and the Chinese.
But June’s mother was disappointed. She wanted more for her daughter. A career maybe instead of a job. This was back in 1940. A dozen eggs cost 33 cents, bacon was 23 cents a pound and most people couldn’t afford a car. (Most people can’t now either.) Pinocchio was Walt Disney’s highest-grossing film of 1940, earning $84.2 million and, not too surprisingly, the most popular movie was Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator.
The highest grossing movie in 2024 was Inside Out 2. It made 1.7 billion dollars worldwide. That’s more than many small countries and North Korea have in their national budgets.
But June was shy back then. “I was kind of timid,” she explained. “The guys [I worked with] were all my father’s age, but they were so nice. They were so polite. They wouldn’t swear in front of a woman and took good care of me.” Which is in stark contrast to now, where in Yellowstone, one of prime-time TV’s most popular shows, f-bombing is part of normal dialogue and viewers are warned beforehand that there’s nudity. We’re no longer shocked or dismayed. We have progressed from twin-beds in the master
bedroom.
But that the men June worked with in the factory were her father’s age was because of the war. All of the young men were in uniform and off fighting it. Women replaced young men in the work force, so young men could go to war. In her factory, “. . . we made the lift trucks that handled the material. They took all the handling, all of that stuff, put stuff on airplanes like forklifts.”
That’s where she met her husband. He was a stock chaser, what they now call an expeditor. He was the guy that ran it all, he had the run of the whole factory. His name was Herbie. At first, they didn’t pay much attention to each other. He’d come around and tell her what needed to be done and they’d talk a little bit and that’s how it was a for about two years.
And then on her twenty-second birthday, feeling adventuresome, she went someplace—she doesn’t recall where— and took a long streetcar ride alone to get there. “I said to my boss, that’s a long trip alone on a streetcar. And Herbie was standing there when I said that. And my boss [looked at Herbie] and said, ‘You should ask her to go with you.’
“Herbie says, ‘Sure, I’d have gone with you.’ He wasn’t going with anybody at the time. So he said, ‘Call me next Saturday.’
And he gave me his phone number. My mother says, ‘Girls don’t call boys.’” He wasn’t a boy. He was a lot older than me.’”
But June didn’t call Herbie. And when she got back to work on Monday morning, the whole shop knew. It was the subject of conversation at breaks and lunch. Had it been now, though, eighty-one years later, she probably would have. After all, she had enough gumption to take off on a streetcar ride by herself. Calling a man for a date back then might have been a dramatic departure from proper behavior but nowadays, where “hooking up” is standard operating procedure, calling for a date is old-fashioned when you can text. Why bother talking?
“So, instead of me calling him, he made a date with me for the next weekend.
And we went downtown for dinner at the Rathskeller’s. Very fancy place. And we had a nice time and he lived on the north side of Chicago and I lived on the south side. So he had a long streetcar ride to come visit me.
“But from that time on, he started asking me to go places. We went to the circus. We went to the Riverview [amusement park]. And I didn’t like the high rides, but we went to Riverview anyhow. And we went to a play and we did all kinds of things. And first thing you know, vacation came along and he wanted me to go to Round Lake to visit his cousin.
“So I said, okay, I’ll do that. He was getting serious, but he wasn’t saying too much. But anyway, we took a train ride to Round Lake and on the train he proposed.” She smiles. Not a big smile for the world to see, but for herself as she recalls that moment so many years ago when riding a train was a common mode of transportation. But not so common a place to propose marriage. Remembering it was maybe like reliving it if only for a second or two. The surprise. The delight. All of it arising from the day she rode a streetcar by herself. Funny how life works.
“You don’t have to tell me right now. He said, think about it a while. And [then his family] didn’t like the idea of [us] getting
married. He was twice my age. Nobody liked it. Our age was too different.
“But you know, there were no young men around and he was a young man at heart. He was always happy, always laughing, [and] never complained. And I said, yeah, I’ll marry you. But let’s wait till the war’s over. We don’t know what’s going to happen. So we were engaged for a year. That means I knew him for three years before we married.
“And as soon as there was an end to the war, we decided to get married. I said, I’d like to get married on my birthday. But we had to postpone it one day because our vacation [came] the week after, but we bought rings and I told everybody we were getting married. And everybody was happy for us because we had been going together [for so long.].
“We went on a honeymoon to a dude ranch in Wisconsin. Five miles from where the Green Bay Packers practiced. We had a great time. We loved each other. I quit working because Herbie was an oldfashioned person. A man had to do the work. A man had to support the family. And that’s that.”
Not anymore.
A dozen eggs cost $8.97. More in some places. Bacon was $6.65 a pound and that was in 2023. And a car—as economical
as a KIA Soul EX—is $24,790. While the cost of a two-bedroom house in California, depending on location, generally ranges from $400,000 to $1.2 million. It’s no wonder why a wife now has to work unless the husband is a professional athlete or a brain surgeon.
The bias that her husband encountered when they moved to California was not simply frustrating but painful. “That was the only time that I saw Herbie unhappy,” she recalls. “Because he was at the age where they were not hiring. He couldn’t find a job because they said we’ll train you and then you’ll retire.”
How they flourished in their marriage and dealt with our history of age discrimination is the subject of Part 3. The changes in the world that June Langer has been a witness to have been extraordinary. But have we changed as people?
Valentine’s Day: Not Just for Couples, But for Everyone Who Loves
VALENTINE’S DAY might seem like it’s all about roses, chocolate, and mushy couples, but its history (and its meaning) goes way beyond candlelit dinners. Let’s take a quick trip back in time.
It all started in ancient Rome with Lupercalia, a festival that involved some, well, unusual matchmaking rituals (we’ll spare you the awkward details). Then along came Saint Valentine, a priest who secretly married couples against the emperor’s orders. Spoiler alert: he got caught and met an unfortunate end. But before his execution, legend says he wrote a note signed, “From your Valentine,” and the tradition was born.
Today, Valentine’s Day is about celebrating love in all its forms—not just romance. Whether it’s love for your kids, grandkids, friends, or even your cats (shout-out to all the cat moms!), this is the perfect day to remind those special people in your life that you care.
And if you’re not into all the mushy stuff, use Valentine’s as an excuse to show yourself some love. Buy that treat, take that nap, or binge-watch your favorite show guilt-
free. You deserve it.
So, whether you’re 40 or 90, single or married, surrounded by loved ones or celebrating solo, Valentine’s Day is for you.
By Tiffanie Williams
Let’s make it about connection, kindness, and a little fun. After all, the world could always use more love—romantic or otherwise!
THE NOIZEMAKERS
By J.P.Garner
IT’S FUNNY HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGE d since Elvis rocked and rolled and the Beatles wanted to hold our hand. Most things have gotten smaller and cost more. Cars and phones and Ding Dongs have shrunk but not TV’s. They’re huge now and flat and can hang from your livingroom wall like a piece of modern art. And what about conversation? You know, people talking to each other? Heck, we don’t even have to do that anymore. We can just text and email people.
Everything there is can now be acquired online, so why leave the house except to meet the person we’re matched with at an online dating site?
Music has changed too. Especially rock. There was the acid rock of the 60’’s, disco in the 70’s, techno rock in the 80’s and grunge in the 90’s. And what about rap? Is it really music or just bad poetry? The kids like it but when we were kids, we also liked the 18-minute version of Iron Butterfly’s, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.”
I mean really, what do kids know?
But kids rule. They buy more stuff than old folks and now with iTunes, they buy a lot of their music there. As it turns out, music is the subject of conversation on Tuesday mornings, at Corky’s in Apple Valley. That’s where a bunch of guys get together and chew the fat about old times, everyday life, and a lot of things musical.
They each were somehow involved in making some of the music we old rockers still listen to and some of the new stuff too. And not just rock. But many grew up with country, bluegrass, praise and gospel music. Their founder, Doug McGinnis, calls them The Noizemakers but what they made—and still make in some cases—is hardly noise. At least not to us who, when we’re alone in our cars and speeding down I-15, listen to Alice in Chains or the Foo Fighters along with The Eagles and Rush. Rock rules!
A couple of years ago Doug was thinking, ”I used to be able to do that. I used to be able to do this and that. [And] I know a lot of people in the music business because I’ve been around for a long time. I wanted to get together with all the people that I know and I decided, let’s just pick a restaurant and a day of the week [to meet.].
“I started with three or four guys, you know, like Lonnie Hyde who makes guitars and plays music with Lonnie and the Lug Nuts, I got to be his bass player
for probably over 30 years. We do a lot of oldies [at] car shows and things. We all play in several different bands. We all spread ourselves around a lot.”
But when he says oldies, he’s not flashing back to the 50’s and Johnny Kidd and the Pirates whose one big hit was “Shakin’ All Over.” Songs from that era are now referred to as classics. No Doug’s oldies is the music of heavy-metal bands who pioneered frenzy-generating guitar rifts and deep bass sounds, like that produced by Van Halen, Led Zepplin and even ZZ Tops. There are so many that comprise that core of superstars who stand on the shoulders of the many pretenders who aspire to be them.
“My first band was called Lord Love a Duck. And [then I was in] The New Birth. We played at, you know, junior high and high school dances and things. We just kind of started off like any kid would that likes to play. I bought my first guitar in Memphis, Tennessee. My dad took me back to see my sister who was actually modeling that. She was a lot prettier than me. And she actually got a job modeling at Graceland for Priscilla Presley. Her and Sybil Shepard were two of them.
The best advice he received was from Bob Snyder when he was 12 and
in Memphis visiting his sister. He was, according to Doug, “a really good“ jazz clarinetist and now has one of the best Christian orchestras. He played clarinet like. Don “D.”T. Thompson, a Canadian jazz musician who player clarinet and saxophone. “Now Doug” he said, “If you practice fifteen minutes a day to thirty minutes a day, you’ll be good. And that was way back then, [when] I was just a kid. He was a starving musician, big old boy, [back then,] so my dad bought him some catfish to eat. And that’s how I got to know Bob.”
Memphis was also where Doug bought his first electric guitar from a pawn shop, but the first guitar he ever owned was a small acoustic guitar which belonged Bob Nale, who was a great bluegrass musician and a founding member of the band, Lost Highway. After going to an entertainment industry school and stuff, Doug though he’d become an agent or manager and he booked a band called Texas down in LA. He couldn’t compete with the big guys because he would always try to get more money for the musicians instead of himself. He was “pro” musician. He ended up going to work for a living because nothing was working out for him. “But I kept music on the back burner
because I had a passion for it. I just kept playing music and a couple of years I ago I just decided I got to get together with some guys and they’re all musicians, most of them, or entertainers. They just kind of migrated into the valley from different areas . . . and that’s what’s so neat.
”And they’re not really all from here. Like Clark from Tempe, Arizona. I made him an honorary Noisemaker. We got another friend we played with, Barry Lock. He lives in Texas now. And we had a band called Vintage Major and we played around here in a lot of things. We call them casuals, wedding receptions, private parties, whatever. Right. But we also played a few nights at the bar, you know, this and that. Yeah . . . just to pick up a few extra bucks.”
But the thing that Doug realizes about Noizemakers is that everyone comes humble beginnings. Everybody starts with nothing. Nobody is just born a star, “Most of us,” he explains, “are just regular people and we have a passion to play music. I got to play in a band called Mariah with a guy named Ramon Cardero. And Ramon went to San Francisco from here when he was real young. And he ended up being with Sheila E. who played drums for Prince. He ended up being her very first guitar player.
“The bottom line [is that] we like to see people happy. The group meetings are open to anybody and everybody who is interested in us and are just interested in coming in and having a cup of tea, you know, a roll or breakfast or whatever. Tuesday mornings at nine o’clock, you’re going to find me here with these guys.”
Some still make music and perform in gigs all around the High Desert. There’s even talk about writing a book about all the funny things that happened on the road and places where they’ve played. Call it Road Shows or something. But given their rich histories, we will feature in future issues of the Pulse stories about individual members of the Noizemakers and what music and a life pursuing it has meant to them and to us who still rock on!
Market Nights
Join us at our B2B Networking Event on 2nd Wednesday of each month, from 7 PM to 10 PM located at The BIG ROCK (1828 CA Highway 138, Pinon Hills, CA).
Get the opportunity to connect with business leaders, participate in Sponsor Spotlight, and explore various booths showcasing innovative local businesses. Whether you’re looking to expand your network or discover new business opportunities, this event is ideal for you!
Get more details on our website: https://pinonhillsthegateway.com/ #PinonHillsChamberofCommerce
Pinon Hills Chamber of Commerce
Don’t miss out...events are fillin’ up!
Widows or Widowers (WOW)
Meeting place Trinity Lutheran Church 16138 Molino Dr Victorville Ca 92395 unless otherwise noted.
• February 01: 9AM Speakers Carol Whitton, Janet Mitchell and Terri Mullen from Desert Quail Painters
• February 08 : 9AM Valentine’s Day celebration with card exchange and Cupid Archery contest
• February 15: 10AM Breakfast at Dennys on Main St in Hesperia
• February 22: 9AM Game day with such games as Mexican Train and Triopoly
Victorville Senior Citizens Club
14874 S. Mojave St., Victorville, CA 92345 -- 760-245-5018
Every Sunday - Heart Of the Shepherd Christian Church. Sun service 1pm-3pm
Feb 20th - 10a-lla Exercise 10a-11a: Pinochle Training 11:15p-12:15p
Beg. Line Dance 11:30a
Bid Whist 12:30p - 1:30p
Adv. Line Dance
SWIM February Speakers
Feb 6
Victor Valley Community Services
Maxine DiDonato
Feb 13 Guitar Music
Burt Hamrick
Feb 20 Belview Hospice
Jessica Borzilleri
Feb 27 Magician
Bill Farnell
Seniors With Inquiring Minds (SWIM) meets every Thursday from 1:00-2:00 PM in the Percy Bakker Community Center located at 9333 Avenue “E” In Hesperia, CA 92345
Friends of the Apple Valley Library
14901 Dale Evans Parkway - Apple Valley, CA 92307
Tuesday, February 11, 2025 from 11:15AM - 1 PM
Speaker: Officer Jeb Wheeler from the California Highway Patrol Topic: Driver Safety & News for 2025
Urgent Care
We offer each patient concierge-level service by providing care under guidance of board-certified Emergency Physicians.
Available Services:
Diagnostic & Therapeutic Procedures
X-Ray, EKG and Basic Labs onsite
Minor Surgical Procedures
Sutures, Stitches, Splinting, Staples
IV Antibiotics, IV Fluids & Infusions
Immediate same day referral for CT/MRI
Go to the Urgent Care for common things that need to be treated soon, not life-threating needs but can’t wait for an appointment.
CAN AN URGENT CARE DO?
WHAT CAN AN URGENT CARE DO?
Go to the Urgent Care for common things that need to be treated soon, not life-threating needs but can’t wait for an appointment.
Allergic reaction
Animal or insect bite
Back pain
Bad cold or flu
Cuts requiring stiches
Ear aches
Eye infection or irritation
Mild fever
Minor burns
Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea
Skin conditions
Sore throat
Sprains or strains
Suspected broken bone, not shifted or out of place
Urinary tract infection
WHAT IS AN EMERGENCY?
Go to the Emergency Room if your symptoms are severe, life threatening or come on suddenly.
Broken bone, shifted out of place
Coughing or vomiting blood
Chest pain
Difficulty speaking
Head or eye injury
Poisoning or overdose
Severe burns
Signs of stroke, such as numbness or weakness of limbs
