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On this Valentine’s Day, we take a look at the love story between Ben Cherbonno and Helen Gookins. This pair of settlers met in the Antelope Valley in the early 1900s, and celebrated their 50th anniversary at the time the highlighted article was written (Figure 1). When the couple met in 1907, the area was still mostly rural. At the time, Ben was a 21-year-old freighter who hauled borax from the mines to the railroad in Lancaster. Helen, who had moved to the Antelope Valley in 1892, was a young woman who loved to ride horses and explore the desert. Figure 1: Original Newspaper Clipping of the 20-Mule-Team Love Story (Object ID #2024.FIC.203) MOAH Collections. In the article, Ben retells the story of him falling in love at first sight, feeling sure he was going to marry Helen at their very first meeting. Four months of courting, school dances, and multiple desert adventures later, the two tied the knot. Their marriage would hold true and bring the couple children, grand-children and great-grandchildren. Throughout the story they recount many happy memories, such as the signal for Helen to ride out when she heard the sound of approaching bells from Ben’s mule team. Or the way Ben would ask to borrow a horse and buggy to go out to see Helen. Ben also remembers the time he convinced Helen to travel part ways with him to the mines, and Helen’s agreement even though she knew she would have to solo-ride for 16 miles through mountainous trails to get home. Such tales indicate their deep desire to be in each other’s company. Ben and Helen's love story is a testament to the power of love and commitment, withstanding the tribulations of time and distance. They were able to build a strong and lasting relationship despite the challenges they faced. The article reads: “GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 20-Mule-Team Days Love Story Recalled The bells on Ben Cherbonno’s 20-mule team echoed on the wet October air as he freighted his load of borax over the rain-slick road toward Lancaster. Sound carries in mountain country. At Neenach, stopover point for stagecoach and covered wagon, the prettiest girl in the Antelope Valley heard a secret message in the distant jingling. Her dark eyes were bright as she saddled her horse and rode out to meet her bridegroom. Last month, 50 years and five great-grandchildren later, Ben Cherbbonno and Helen Gookins celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. But the fabric of their romance is still bright proof that for dash and color the senior members of the Southland family can match their courtships against any of the jet age. Rides Recalled Helen Gookins came to Antelope Valley in 1892 when range grass grew knee-deep and carpets of blue lupin and Indian paintbrush spread to the horizon. She remembers the wild rides across the desert when her horse took the bit in his teeth and plunged off after herds of wild antelope. Ben Cherbbonno can’t remember the first time he rode in a freight wagon – all he knows is that at 10 he could drive a six-horse team. He was 21 and an old hand in 1907 when he and his brother were running two of the big 20-mule teams hauling borax from the mines west of Gorman to the railroad in Lancaster. Helen always knew when it was time to ride out to the forks to meet Ben’s rig. Every one of his mules wore bells collected from the lead teams of less skilled drivers whom he had to haul out of trouble. He never got stuck himself – those mules of his were among the best in the business, trained on command to put all their power into the pull at the same moment. He trusted them so much that all he had to do was yell out their names to get them around sharp mountain curves. Courtship Told Ben made up his mind to marry Helen the first time he saw her. It took him only four months, courting by borrowed horse and buggy, sometimes a dance at the schoolhouse where a fiddle, guitar and 50 people meant square-dancing and waltzing until dawn. Later he talked her into tying her little sorrel horse to the back of the borax wagon and riding with him part way. From Gorman she made the 16-mile return trip alone, racing by horseback along a short cut through the mountains. It was storming the October night they slipped away from the schoolhouse dance to be married. The buggy wheels mired in the mud, and the 3 a.m. train for Los Angeles was five hours late. They sat on a hard bench at the Lancaster depot and stared at the fat, round wood stove, planning their future. At Ben and Helen Cherbbonno’s anniversary party last month, a scale model borax wagon on the mantel carried a miniature man and a girl with a bright orange scarf over her head. Behind them trailed a tiny sorrel horse." If this story interests you, we encourage you to learn more about local history by visiting the Western Hotel Museum at 557 W Lancaster Blvd, Lancaster, CA 93534, operating hours on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM. References 20-Mule-Team Days Love Story Recalled. (ca.1957). [Clipping from an unidentified United States, newspaper}. Copy in possession of the Museum of Art History Collections Department.

In celebration of the holiday season, we look back on how Christmas traditions developed in the United States during the 19th century. The Western Hotel Museum with newly installed Christmas decorations Prior to 1874, and the Southern Pacific Railroad, Lancaster did not exist beyond a train stop from Bakersfield to the metropolis of Los Angeles (MOAH Collections). Like the first American migrants, settlers from many diverse countries would make their way to the city, hoping to establish their own businesses and lives. In approximately 1888, the Western hotel came into existence, at that time known as the Antelope Valley Hotel. The property was sold to Englishman George Webber in 1908 who had come to the United States in 1885. Myrtie Eveline Gibson Sullivan would also move to the Antelope Valley in 1908. Myrtie would marry George and come to own the Western hotel from the 1930s –1960s (MOAH Collections). During the 19th century, American Christmas time looked a bit different from what we know today. The Western Hotel in 1914 (MOAH Collections, 2023.FIC.351) George and Myrtie Webber on a Snow Day in Lancaster in 1914 (MOAH Collections, 2023.FIC.352) According to Penne Restad from History Today , in the early 1800s, Americans didn’t think of Christmas as a national holiday. Many colonial settlers came from diverse European cultures and religious traditions. The New England Puritans for example, did not practice having decorations or a tree for Christmas. If Christmas was celebrated, it was done very modestly, with no emphasis on décor (Khederlan and Restad). Whereas Southerners, who were influenced by the royalist culture of Victorian England, would celebrate for multiple days, holding feasts (Mackinac State Park). By the middle of the 19th century, communication and transportation increased in America. The economy became more fast-paced, and the population and country’s size itself increased. Tensions between Americans would grow, and the Union became increasingly more unstable. Restad suggests that this fast-paced and overwhelming change caused Americans “to long for an earlier time, one in which they imagined that old and good values held sway in cohesive and peaceful communities”. People wanted a unified national tradition (Mackinac State Park). It was during this time that Americans took to Christmas, and it grew into a more widely celebrated holiday event, with old themes and new ideas ascribed to the holiday. By the 1850s, most Americans adopted the German custom of the Christmas tree. Early Christmas trees had more simple decorations such as strings of popcorn, oranges, lemons, and candies. Small gifts of were hung and given to children. In 1848, the Illustrated London News published a drawing of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert having a Christmas tree on their table. The tree tradition was brought to England by Prince Albert from Germany, which spurred the tradition in England and the image was widely produced in the United States, helping spread the popularity of the Christmas tree (Starmans). Illustrated London News’ 1848 drawing of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s Christmas tree (Khederlan, Courtesy of Creative Commons) Published in the English Stonehaven Journal on January 9, 1849 is a description of a Victorian Christmas tree, which held many delights (Starmans): THE CHRISTMAS TREE AT WINDSOR CASTLE. A Christmas tree is annually prepared, her Majesty’s command, for the royal children. The tree employed for this festive purpose is a young fir, about eight feet high, and has six tiers of branches. On each tier or branch are arranged dozen wax tapers. Pendant from the branches are elegant trays, baskets, bonbonnie’es and other receptacles for sweetmeats, of the most varied and expensive kind, and of all forms, colours, and degrees of beauty. Fancy cakes, gilt gingerbread, and eggs filled with sweetmeats, are also suspended try variously, coloured ribbons from the branches. The tree, which stands upon table covered with white damask, is supported at the root by piles of sweets a larger kind, and by toys and dolls of all descriptions, suited to the youthful fancy, and to the several ages of the scions of royalty for whose gratifications they are displayed. The name of each recipient is affixed to the doll, bonbon, other present intended for it, so that no difference of opinion in the choice of dainties may arise to disturb the equanimity the illustrious juveniles. On the summit of the tree stands the small figure of an angel, with outstretched wings, holding in each hand wreath.” The tradition of Christmas cards, the singing of carols in public, and cooking large meals for your friends and family emerged (Khederlan). The first mention of Santa Claus appears in an 1823 poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” by Celement Moore and the first documented Santa impersonator in America was in Philadelphia in 1849. Christmas would become a legal holiday in Massachusetts in 1856 (Mackinac State Park). Shortly after, the Civil War began in 1861 and ran until 1865. The Civil war intensified the celebration of Christmas in that the holiday was a time to celebrate peace and family, and soldiers would be leaving theirs behind at war (Restad). By the 1870s, with the reconstruction of the US underway, the marketing of Christmas would take off. Newspapers and women’s magazines would suggest a greater sophistication of Christmas trees, with value placed on the uniformity and style of the tree. Christmas trees became the centerpiece of Christmas décor, as a place for the display of beautiful balls, stars, and more. Department stores would sell all kinds of goods, with ornaments imported from Germany sold in stores (Restad). Instead of making homemade ornaments, there was a pressure to buy them. At this point, the commercialization of Christmas looked more like it does today. It was during the 1870s and 1880s that gift giving would also take off. Restad suggests that gift giving was a sign of the bustling economy, but also a means of Americans promoting relationships with each other. Prior, giving small hand-made presents was common, but the need for wrapping and purchasing presents was promoted later during this time. These practices demonstrated not only materialism, but kinship and community. It was around this time that Lancaster was established. In 1900, it was estimated that one in five Americans had a Christmas tree (Redstad). Below is a glass negative plate of the Wright brothers’ Christmas tree in their Ohio home in December of 1900, three years before their famous flight. Many gifts can be seen below the tree. Christmas tree in the home of Wilbur and Orville Wright at 7 Hawthorn Street in Dayton, Ohio in 1990 (Shorpy The American Historical Photo Archive) With Myrtie and George running the Western hotel around this time in the early 1900s, it is likely that their halls were fully decked. These practices are reflective of what many Americans and Lancaster inhabitants do today, indicating that our holiday traditions are deeply rooted in the past. For the rest of this month, the Western Hotel Museum will be decorated for Christmas. Works Cited Khederlan, Robert. “How Christmas decorations evolved through the 1800s It’s time to deck the halls”, Curbed , December 9, 2016. How Christmas decorations evolved through the 1800s - Curbed Mackinac State Historic Parks. “America’s 19th Century Christmas Traditions: A Connection Between the Past and Present”, December 20, 2019. America's 19th Century Christmas Traditions: A Connection Between the Past and Present - Mackinac State Historic Parks | Mackinac State Historic Parks (mackinacparks.com) MOAH Collections. “The Western Hotel Museum Self-Guided Tour”and 2023.FIC.351-353 images. e60af9_b024f49c353d4f74af2eb165975c6b8d.pdf (lancastermoah.org) Restad, Penne. “Christmas in 19th Century America”, History Today Volume 45 Issue 12, December 1995. Christmas in 19th Century America | History Today Shorpy The American Historical Photo Archive, Image of Wright brother’s Christmas tree from December 1900. Christmas With Wilbur and Orville: 1900 | Shorpy Old Photos | Framed Prints ). Starmans, Barbara J. “Old Time Christmas”, The Social Historian. Old Time Christmas - The Social Historian

If you’ve done your fair share of exploring in the Mojave Desert, you may have come across some odd things – maybe, perhaps, even a mummified animal. When people think of mummification, typically the pharaohs of ancient Egypt come to mind, but the process of mummification can happen naturally in dry environments as well. Some use the term “mummy” to refer to bodies that are deliberately embalmed in chemicals, but the term has been applied to accidental/naturally made mummies since the early 17th century ( New English Dictionary on Historical Principles ). A mummy can be defined as a dead human or animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, low humidity, or a lack of air. To understand how mummification occurs, it is important to first understand the process of decomposition. Decomposition begins at the time of an animal’s death and is caused by two factors known as autolysis and putrefaction. When an animal dies, the heart stops, and blood can no longer supply oxygen or remove carbon dioxide from the tissues. This causes an animal’s cells to break down, which releases cellular enzymes. These enzymes can break down the other surrounding tissues and cells in the body. This process is called autolysis- in which the body’s own enzymes begin breaking down the body (Dominguez). After death, there is a small amount of oxygen still present in the body. This oxygen is sought after and used up by cellular metabolism and microbes that are naturally found in the body, such as in the intestinal tracks. This leads to the growth of more organisms, which consume what carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids are available in the body thus breaking it down further. This process is called putrefaction (Dominguez). Later, other decomposers such as bacteria and scavengers such as insects, coyotes, vultures, and crows can break down the body further, aiding in its decomposition (Gibbon, National Geographic). Bodies that are mummified do not go through this entire process. When exposed to the right conditions, putrefaction does not occur as bacteria are not able to grow and survive. In purposeful mummification, the body is often treated with embalming chemicals which repel insects and slow down the putrefaction process by killing bacteria already in the body or by stopping the cells from becoming a nutrient source for other bacteria to consume (Dominguez). Naturally, remains can be mummified in both cold and hot temperatures. In very cold environments, the body freezes before bacteria can grow and break down the remains. In dry environments, there is a high amount of heat and a lack of moisture. This heat causes bacteria to die and stops the body from further decay (Dominguez). The Mojave Desert is a prime location for natural mummies to occur, as we have a very hot and dry climate which can prevent bacteria from forming and halt the decomposition process. In addition, other naturally forming mummies have been formed in peat bogs, a type of wetland with a lot of dead plant material or peat occurring in it. The soil in these bogs is acidic and does not have a lot of oxygen- which leads to less bacteria growth and thus less decomposition. At MOAH, we have several mummified animals within our collection. On display at the Western Hotel Museum is a partially preserved Desert Tortoise, which has one of its front feet preserved, scales and all. Found at the Elyze Clifford Interpretive Center is a partially preserved mummified rabbit skull, which has become misshapen and still has some fur present. 2022.FIC.397 Partially mummified rabbit skull from MOAH Collections Perhaps one of the most interesting items is a mummified mouse stuck inside an amber glass bottle. This item was excavated in 1994-1995 by archaeologists when the new Lancaster Sherriff Station was being constructed on the corner of Sierra Hwy and Lancaster Blvd. The bottle is likely from Lancaster residents from the early 1900s. It is likely that the poor mouse ventured inside the bottle looking for water or a sweet treat and was unable to get out. 1996.13.57 Mummified mouse inside glass bottle photo provided by MOAH Collections 1996.13.57 Mummified mouse inside glass bottle video provided by MOAH Collections To learn more about the Mojave Desert environment and the animals and plants that call it home, be sure to visit the Elyze Clifford Interpretive Center at 43201 35th St W, Lancaster, CA 93536. We are open on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10 am to 4 pm (Closed Holidays). Works Cited Dominguez, Trace. “How Do Mummies Form Naturally? 10,000-year-old mummified lions were recently found buried deep in a glacier. What are the other ways nature takes us back in time?”, Seeker , published on 11/8/2025. How Do Mummies Form Naturally? - Seeker Gibbon, Victoria. “How scavengers can help forensic scientists identify human corpses”, The Conversation. How scavengers can help forensic scientists identify human corpses (theconversation.com) MOAH Collections. Images of 1996.13.57 and 2022.FIC.397. National Geographic. The Role of Scavengers: Carcass Crunching. The Role of Scavengers: Carcass Crunching (nationalgeographic.org) New English Dictionary on Historical Principles. “Mummy”. A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles: Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by the Philological Society : James A. H. Murray : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive.

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The Lancaster Museum of Art and History (MOAH) celebrates the art, history, and culture of the Antelope Valley through engaging exhibitions, educational programs, and community events. With four locations, including MOAH:CEDAR and the Western Hotel Museum, it showcases over 10,000 works and artifacts, highlights local and global artists, and honors the region’s Indigenous heritage and diverse cultural legacy. September 27 - January 4, 2025 Learn More Image Credit: Luciana Abait, Black Mountain - Green Sky (detail), 2021, Photograph on wood panel Support MOAH Learn More > Shop Learn More > Rentals Learn More > Blog Posts Learn More > Tours Learn More > Join our mailing list and stay up to date with events & upcoming programs JOIN NOW!

Adriana Orozco < Back Diary of Letitia By Adriana Orozco I am a plant, I have long branches and multiple leaves, I live in a big house, but I’m stuck in the dining room corner. I sit there all day with some water next to my pot. Though I come from a faraway place, a place call Ikea. But being at a place called Ikea was a nightmare; my past was a whole nightmare. But the past is the past. My slender leaves are everywhere; sometimes, it blocks me from seeing the small glimpse of the sun. It reminds me of hair, like a human’s hair. The family that lives in this house all have hair, but sometimes I wish my leaves were thin and long like the women. But not curly hair like one woman from the household, wasp, and spiders can fly into that mess. Though sometimes I wish I can have a chance in a personal change. A change of appearance, a change from my life, I want a new life. A house plant is boring; I sit there all day and sit there all day. Sometimes it is nice when there is food in the air to breathe into, but there is no use in being a plant; I wish to explore and travel! The only time I traveled was to enter this house that I have been there for too long. Like my past brought me here, and I am ungrateful for that. But I still long for a change in my life. I want to be different; I want to change the world, I want to learn how to write, but all I am is a plant. I am a plant with long branches, with small leaves, that live in a big house that longs for a change, but I am always a plant. Previous Next