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Tiburcio Vásquez (1835 - 1875) was an infamous Californio bandido who was active in California from 1854 to 1874, earning him significant local recognition. Both hated and hailed, Vásquez left a huge impact on the history of the Antelope Valley and surrounding areas, often regarded as the “most noted desperado of modern times,” next only to famed Joaquin Murrieta. The crime spree of Tiburcio Vásquez and his band of followers lasted for over 20 years, with some periods of inactivity during times of heightened search and capture interest. The trademark of a Tiburcio Vásquez hold up was binding his victims’ hands behind their back, leaving them face down in the dust while he made off with their goods. Tiburcio Vásquez Tiburcio came of age during the California Gold Rush and all of the tumult, violence, and racial animosity that came along with it. By 1856, at only 21 years old, Tiburcio had started rustling horses. When caught on a heist outside of Newhall, he was sentenced to five years in San Quentin prison. Upon release, Tiburcio quickly returned to his life of crime and began once again committing burglaries, cattle theft, and highway robberies. After a store robbery in Petaluma, he was captured and returned to San Quentin for another three years. During the 1850s and 60s, Tiburcio used the numerous rocks and canyons throughout the Antelope Valley and Santa Clarita areas as hide-outs from California lawmen. Even before his death, the rock outcrops on the side of what is now the 14 Freeway were already known as Vásquez Rocks. By 1870, Vásquez had organized his first bandit gang with original members including the notorious Juan “The Human Wildcat” Soto, and later Procopio “Red-Handed Bebito” Bustamante. Vásquez and his gang gained national recognition in 1873 when they stole $2,200 (equivalent to about $50,000 today) from Snyder’s Store in Tres Pinos (now Paicines) in San Benito. After this robbery, Governor Newton Booth placed a reward of $1,000 on his head. Numerous posses began searching for the bandido, with San Jose sheriff John Adams pursuing Tiburcio’s gang all the way down to southern California. After a gunfight ensued, Vásquez somehow managed to evade capture yet again. An old wooden house in Coyote Holes, robbed by Vásquez and his gang in 1874. After his escape from Sheriff Adams, Tiburcio continued to hide out in southern California where he was lesser known. Along with two men, he rode over the old Tejon Pass, through the Antelope Valley, and to Elizabeth Lake where they came to rest at Jim Hefner’s ranch. Living nearby, Tiburcio’s brother Francisco was able to provide a shelter to the hiding bandidos. After staying for some time Vásquez and his men rode onward to Littlerock Creek, where they continued to lay low. From Littlerock Creek, they headed north toward Bakersfield. Vásquez and gang member Clodoveo Chavez camped at the rock promontory now known as Robbers Roost. While hiding here, they robbed a stagecoach from Cerro Gordo Mines at the nearby Coyote Holes. From there, they continued moving onward to Elizabeth Lake and Soledad Canyon. Near present-day Acton they robbed another stage of $300, several horses, and a wagon, leaving behind several travelers with nothing. It is believed that he and his gang members were hiding out at Vásquez Rocks during the time of this robbery. The shallow caves, immense crevices, rock overhangs, and massive outcrops provided shelter, lookout points, and a protective maze that was disorienting and difficult to navigate. He hid out at Vásquez Rocks for upwards of two months. Vásquez's hideout, Robbers Roost, west of Highway 6 near Freeman's Junction. In November of 1873, Tiburcio and his gang returned to the San Joaquin Valley and robbed the Jones store at Millerton in Fresno County. Only a month later, on December 26, he and his band also sacked the town of Kingston, robbing two stores and taking off with about $2,500. At this point, the reward for the capture of Tiburcio Vásquez was incrementally increased to $15,000 (now equivalent to over $350,000). Almost immediately sheriffs throughout California organized groups to hunt the Vásquez Gang. In the hills of southern California, Vásquez continued to evade capture by hiding in various spots throughout Agua Dulce and the San Gabriel mountains, finally resting for a while at the adobe house of “Greek George” Caralambo in what is now West Hollywood. Captain Mitchell, right, one of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs responsible for leading a posse to hunt Vásquez. The ultimate downfall of Vásquez came in May of 1874. Having romanced and seduced Greek George’s sister-in-law, Modesta Lopez, Vásquez was riding on thin ice. While staying at Greek George’s place, Tiburcio had also impregnated a girl who lived nearby. As a result of this relationship, Abdon Leiva, a family member of the girl and henchman of Vásquez, contacted the authorities to turn Vásquez in. Quickly on his trail was Los Angeles Sheriff William Roland. On the morning of May 14, a posse of Los Angeles lawmen led by Sheriff Roland surrounded Greek George’s adobe. Vásquez tried to escape through a window but was brought down by a shotgun blast. First jailed in Los Angeles, he was taken to San Francisco by steamer, then by train to Salinas, and finally to San Jose for his trial. Thousands came to visit him in the jail; men brought him gifts of wine and cigars, and starstruck women decorated his cell with flowers. Convicted and sentenced to death, Vásquez was hanged on March 19, 1875, by his nemesis, Sheriff Adams. Tiburcio Vásquez During his lifetime Vásquez had acknowledged most of his crimes, but he asserted that his actions were justified due to the injustices that had been perpetrated on him and other Mexican citizens associated with the American takeover of California. As such, he has often been hailed as a folk-hero. With his upper-class Californio background, Vásquez is thought to have been one of several sources for the bandit-hero character Zorro. Of his many remaining namesakes in Los Angeles County, the most prominent is the popular 1000+ acre Vásquez Rocks Natural Area, owned and run by Los Angeles County’s Department of Parks and Recreation -- even to this day visitors ask where Vásquez's treasure was buried, continuing to feed the legend of the famed bandido. Lookout over the 14 Freeway at Vasquez Rocks.

Most people nowadays know the name Willow Springs as belonging to the world-renowned racetrack just outside of Rosamond. Despite its fame, few know the extensive history of the Willow Springs area and the small community it once boasted over one hundred years ago, well before the railroad cut through the Mojave. Now registered as California Historical Landmark #130, Willow Springs is one of the most historic watering holes in the Mojave Desert and is one of the three natural oases in the Antelope Valley. The early watering hole once played host to Native Americans, wild horses and antelope, explorers and miner 49’ers, stagecoaches, struggling desert crossers, and bandits on the run. The year 1776 marks the first historical mention of Willow Springs, when Padre Francesco Garces stopped at the springs on his return from the San Joaquin Valley. In 1844, explorer John C. Fremont noted that he had stopped there to rest under the willows on one of his trips west. Other visitors included lost 49’ers such as the Jayhawk Party and the Bennett-Arcan Party, who stumbled into the oasis in 1850 after their grueling trip through Death Valley. Willow Springs also provided water for horse thieves escaping with their stolen goods along Horse Thief Trail; supposedly, they would ride down to San Fernando, come up through Bouquet Canyon and then gallop through Willow Springs before escaping north. They followed the adequately named Horse Thief Trail, which later became known as Walker Trail. From 1860 on, it became a stage and freight station and general watering place used by Remi Nadeau in freighting silver from Cerro Gordo Mines. The Searles Brothers, Borax Smith and others also used the station while developing the Death Valley borax deposits and the Inyo and Kern River mining operations. In 1862, 23-year-old Nelson Ward and his wife, Adelia, settled next to the springs. The Wards built an adobe boarding house where they kept a number of horse and mule teams. Though the Wards were known to be gracious hosts, their station was cramped and guests usually slept in the bar; maintaining a hectic pace of life, the hotel was known by travelers as the “Hotel de Rush.” Also in 1862, the whole of Willow Springs passed from public domain to private ownership when Abraham Lincoln transferred it into the name of General Edward Fitzgerald Beale. Because of a battle for right of way between Beale and Southern Pacific, the railroad decidedly bypassed Willow Springs and took a more expensive and hazardous route through the mountains, resulting in the Tehachapi Loop, and then through Rosamond. From 1864-1872, Willow Springs was used as a station on the Los Angeles-Havilah Stage Lines. After Nelson Ward’s death, the Willow Springs station was taken over by a couple named Riley, who in November of 1875 had the bad fortune to be robbed by surviving members of Tiburcio Vasquez's gang. Luckily, the traveling bandits did not harm the Rileys during the hold up. The Rileys continued operating the station until 1876, when the tracks to Los Angeles were completed through Soledad Canyon, making long-distance stagecoach travel across the Valley obsolete. Although the old station has been in ruins for more than 100 years, a small section of its adobe walls still stands. When the stage and freighting traffic ceased, Willow Springs fell eerily quiet. It wouldn't be until 1900, when local miner Ezra “Struck-it-Rich” Hamilton and his family bought the springs and a surrounding 160 acres, that the watering hole became the center of attention once again. His goal at the time was to utilize the water from the natural spring to run the mill for his gold mine, Lida Mine, but the natural landscape and its tranquility proved too good to pass up and he began setting up a resort. In 1904, Hamilton invested over $40,000 (now the equivalent of about $1.2 million) to build 27 stone buildings including houses, a hotel, a school, a swimming pool, an auditorium, a dance hall, a post office, a trading post, and a restaurant. Hamilton also created some makeshift greenhouses to help stock the small trading post and restaurant with produce. Hamilton's resort boasted of a hotel large enough to house 30 people, equipped with fresh ice, flush toilets and electricity. Willow Springs also had the first automobile garage in the area, equipped with a gas pump, because old Ezra Hamilton was the first in the Antelope Valley to have a car. During this time, Willow Springs became a hot spot for community gatherings; nearly everyone within a radius of 15 miles would meet there on Sunday afternoons, weather permitting. Many traveling road shows would stop and give entertaining performances in the auditorium, and churches would frequently hold their services there. Despite the success of his resort, Hamilton was determined to make Willow Springs a real town. And thus, he began building the first school. The construction was completed in 1904, and he hired a teacher who had five kids so he'd have enough children for the school to qualify. In 1905, Hamilton built a bigger school a short distance to the northeast to accommodate more children. The resort thrived until Hamilton's death in 1915. It then passed on to his children, who sold it three years later. Between 1918-1930 there were always people living there, but it had a variety of owners until the Willow Springs Co., which carried on local mining operations, purchased it for their headquarters. In 1952, the Tehachapi earthquake destroyed some of the old buildings but the town managed to stay alive. There were always some tenants in the houses and the restaurant was always in operation, leased out to several people over the years. During the first experimental flights of the Bell X-1 at Edwards Air Force Base, many of the flight crew rented rooms at Willow Springs. Included among the residents were Chalmers "Slick" Goodlin, pilot of the X-1 before Chuck Yeager; Dick Frost, project manager of the X-1 test team, and many others. Female pilot Pancho Barnes was also a frequent visitor. In the mid-1950s, the restaurant was operated by Lawrence and Jean Duntley, son and daughter-in-law of Antelope Valley pioneer Rawley Duntley. The restaurant, which served Basque food, was constantly bustling. After the restaurant closed, Willow Springs village has again fallen quiet, spare for the sound of cars racing nearby.

An Antelope Valley native and renowned pilot, Irma Story was born in Burbank, California on October 14, 1921. About a year later, her parents relocated to Lancaster where Irma would spend her childhood and teen years. As little girls, she and her sister were good friends with Frances Gumm, known later as Judy Garland. Carrying the same name as her mother, Irma soon acquired the nickname “Baby Irma” amongst her family. Eventually shortened to “Babe”, it became a nickname that stuck throughout her life. As a young girl, Irma discovered airplanes through her older brother, Tom, who had a collection of glider models and rubber band propelled toy planes. While playing and sharing her interests, it was not uncommon for Irma to proclaim that she would one day become a pilot that would fly real planes. As she got older she engaged with aircraft in any way she could, often by running errands for local mechanics and pilots, washing planes, and “gunking” engine parts (among other dirty jobs) in the hopes that she would be taken to the air as a reward. Irma's dream of flying was finally realized in 1941 when she became a participant in the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) at Antelope Valley College in collaboration with the Antelope Valley Flying Service, owned by Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes. To complete her certification, Pancho helped Irma falsify her application by passing her off as a man named B. Story. When the certifying pilot showed up, he was shocked and displeased by the deception but passed Irma anyway due to her undeniable skill. At age 19, she received her private pilot's certificate. Soon after earning her certificate, "Babe" went to Lockheed’s Vega Aircraft in Burbank to apply for jobs building airplanes so she could build up flying hours. In September 1942 the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) was organized, and two months later Jacqueline “Jackie” Cochran persuaded the Army Air Forces to activate the Women’s Flying Training Detachment (WFTD). The two programs operated separately until August 1943 when they were merged as the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), with Cochran taking the role as director. Shortly after the formation of WASP, Irma was accepted into the program for Class 43-W-6 at Sweetwater, Texas. More than 25,000 women applied to serve in WASP, although fewer than 10 percent of that number were accepted. These women flew a variety of aircraft, supported the historical preservation of women pilots, and aided in the relief of male pilots from combat overseas during WWII, tasking some 1,100 civilian women with non-combat military flight duties. WASP were the first women to fly U.S. military aircraft, and the women in this organization later received the Congressional Gold Medal for their dedicated service to the United States. The women of WASP logged more than 60 million miles in the air and flew every type of aircraft in the Airforce. In addition to ferrying aircraft, WASP towed targets for aerial and ground-to-air gunnery practice, made test and demonstration flights, and served as flight instructors. Unlike the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) or the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES), the WASP were considered part of the civil service and were not militarized as an official auxiliary force. As victory in Europe seemed imminent and more male pilots were becoming available, the WASP program was quietly disbanded in December 1944. With WASP disbanded, Irma continued flying as an instructor in both Pennsylvania and Lancaster, California after WWII flight restrictions were lifted. She worked in programs set up for returning GIs for approximately five years. Afterward, "Babe" continued flying charter flights and instructing as well as managing the local Lancaster airport for a crop dusting company. In 1959 Irma hung up her goggles and crash helmet for an "indoor" job which consisted of flying for a corporation, her ultimate goal. She flew for an electrical contractor with offices in Lancaster and New Orleans as well as other jobs all over the United States, logging many hours in the Cessna 310B. Three decades would pass before women were once again allowed to pilot U.S. military aircraft, and it would be nearly half a century before women would return to the cockpits of U.S. fighter planes. WASP was finally militarized in 1977, an act that made official the veteran status of those who had served. In 2009, President Barack Obama signed a bill conferring the Congressional Gold Medal upon the WASP. The following year, more than 200 surviving WASP members attended a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol to receive their decorations. Irma passed away on September 1, 2017, at the age of 95 years old. Like many of her colleagues and mentors, Irma played a monumental role in setting the stage for women in the Airforce. She was among over 200 surviving WASPs honored with Congressional Gold Medals in 2009. Irma “Babe” Story was the last surviving WASP member in the Antelope Valley.

As the Lancaster Woman’s Club is nearing 100 years since its creation, we wanted to bring attention to the role of community organizations such as this and the impact that the people who run them can bring. The Lancaster Woman’s Club was founded in 1922 when Lancaster’s population numbered only several thousand and became officially incorporated in 1930, 91 years ago. The organization was conceptualized as a way to bring together the local women in a way that would benefit their community. They worked hard to shape and reform schooling, arts, conservation, and family activities as well as engage in local politics. At the time of its creation, downtown Lancaster stretched from Sierra Highway (then called Antelope Avenue) to Date Avenue. Starting out, there were thirty women led by Molly Bloom Flagg, a former school teacher and ardent member of the California Federation of Women’s Clubs. At its inception, annual dues were set at $3.00. Local women appearing on the earliest rosters for the Woman’s Club include the likes of Myrtie Webber, Mrs. E.E. Cummings, Marjorie Duntley, Anna “Mom” Evert, “Susie” Oldham, Jane Reynolds, and Mildred Settle, among dozens of other women. During historic periods, clubs like this would host communal events including community quilting parties which gave women the opportunity to socialize; the social life of pioneer women was relatively limited, so such group activities allowed women and children the chance to meet and engage with one another regularly. Sewing was seen as the common link through which strangers could bridge the gap between them to create a shared sense of community. Even women without sewing skills were invited to these parties, often contributing by using their cooking talents at the end-of-the-day feast that frequently followed such events. The Lancaster Woman’s Club was no exception with regard to such community events, and members often gathered together to engage in large sewing and quilting parties, some even hosted at the Western Hotel. The Lancaster Woman’s Club was instrumental in Lancaster’s early history, engaging extensively in matters of children, the arts, and local life in general. The group actively sought to help the community as well as families and people that were in need; they even had water fountains for dogs installed in downtown Lancaster in the 1920s because dogs couldn’t quite reach the horses troughs. The group also at one time sold small bricks painted gold on street corners to raise money to buy land for the city’s first library, which was built in 1923. In 1946, the club was asked by the Antelope Valley Fair to start the home economics department. Two years later, they started the fair’s art department which led to the start of the local Allied Arts Association. Membership of the club peaked in the mid-1950s when it had about 350 members. Since the early 1960s, members of the Lancaster Woman’s Club have volunteered as hostesses in the clothing and textiles division of the Antelope Valley Fair. From 1948-59 the club was led by Jane Pinheiro, a local self-taught artist, activist and conservationist. She and other club members formed a committee that raised money toward buying land for the poppy reserve which was dedicated in 1976. The city’s annual California Poppy Festival grew out of the city’s co-sponsorship of an annual Wildflower Information Center with the club, which provided information on wildflowers and gave visitors maps to areas with the best blooms. More recently, in the 2000s, club members have raised money for student scholarships, to help abused women and children and to support places like Saddle Up, where disabled children learn to ride horses, and The Painted Turtle Camp in Lake Hughes, part of a series of camps started by actor Paul Newman to serve children with medical problems. As within the Lancaster Woman’s Club and other groups alike, the practice of community quilting is still very much alive today and local dedicated quilting groups still exist in the Antelope Valley. One such group is the Antelope Valley Quilt Association, which was officially founded in 1978. The goal at the time of the group's formation was to earn money for programs and education within the community. Previous community quilting projects have been highlighted at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History (MOAH), such as with the 2020 #CountMeIn exhibition in which portrait-embedded crocheted squares were compiled into large wall-hangings. Led by artist-in-residence at the time Robin Rosenthal, this quilt was created in partnership with needle-crafters living at the Antelope Valley Senior Center and three Housing Corporation of America locations. The product of another communal quilting project, the We Are Home project by Shelley Heffler, is currently on display at MOAH from June 5 through September 5. An elaborate quilted work of art stitched by the hands of Los Angeles community members, this project is popularly referred to as the ‘Community Quilt Project,’ and consists of over 100 individual textile squares from various members of the Southern California community. Through this recent work, Heffler highlights the humanist aspect of her repertoire while utilizing her artistic process in quilt-making. The end product of these individually compiled quilted squares addresses the feeling of isolation during quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing the thoughts of what home means to oneself and the community as a whole.

Death Valley, about 150 miles from Lancaster, is connected to the Antelope Valley by a harrowing mid-nineteenth century tale of survival and perseverance – the story of the Bennett-Arcan* wagon party, William Lewis Manly (1820-1903) and John Haney Rogers (1822-1906), a group now infamously known as the Lost ‘49ers. Between 1849-50 California saw a flood of travelers coming to take advantage of the Gold Rush with over 25,000 people emigrating from the eastern United States. In October of 1849, the Bennett-Arcan party along with about 500 others set out following Captain Hunt from Salt Lake City, Utah on their way to California. The plan was to follow a southern route called the Old Spanish Trail to Los Angeles and then turn north along the coast. Captain Hunt, who had traveled the Old Spanish Trail numerous times before, offered to lead the wagon train. Alongside this wagon train were the young scouts William Manly and John Rogers, only 29 and 27 years old at the time. Along the way the travelers encountered another wagon train led by Captain Smith who revealed a crude map that purported to show a short-cut to the goldfields; by taking a more direct westward route, it would supposedly save the travelers about 500 miles. Captain Hunt, having never heard of this trail, doubted it should be followed; though potentially faster, it was sure to be hazardous. However, unconvinced by his warning and peeved by his slow pace, several groups chose the short-cut. While on this new path the trail soon dwindled to nothing, and most of the wagons turned back to rejoin Hunt. The Bennett-Arcan party and a few other families persisted on the diversion, first veering to the north then turning west and breaking a new trail. In December, these pioneers entered what would become known as Death Valley. The lost pioneers had now been traveling across the desert for about two months since leaving the Old Spanish Trail. Their food supplies were exhausted, their oxen were dying of starvation from lack of forage, and their wagons were doddering. Discouraged and weary, their worst problem was not the valley that lay before them; it was the towering and impenetrable Panamint mountains to the west. After a failed attempt to cross the mountains, the group decided they would have to leave their wagons and belongings behind and walk to civilization if they were to make it out. They retreated to the valley floor and sent Manly and Rogers on a rescue mission. Thinking the Panamint Range was the Sierra Nevada, those awaiting rescue expected a speedy return, assuming it would take the young men no more than two weeks. Setting out on their mission, Manly and Rogers began climbing the mountains. After dropping down into Panamint Valley they went south and climbed a small pass into Searles Valley, making their way into Indian Wells near present-day Ridgecrest. It was here that they got their first true look at the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They continued south using a small trail that followed the same route as present-day California State Route 14. Ironically, they walked right by Walker Pass (present-day California State Route 178 to Lake Isabella), the mountain pass they had originally set out to cross almost three months earlier with Captain Hunt. Bypassing Walker Pass, they entered into what was to become the worst part of their journey – across the Mojave Desert and the Antelope Valley. A region with very few water sources, the only things that saved them from dying of thirst were a few puddles of water and ice from a recent storm. They walked until their shoes disintegrated, leaving their feet bare and blistered. Nearly a month went by as the men walked hundreds of miles through the Mojave Desert until they reached Rancho San Francisco in present-day Valencia on January 1, 1850. They finally found refuge at the Del Valle family home where they were able to replenish their supplies. Fed and clothed, Manly and Rogers started their trek back with food and water, three horses, a one-eyed mule and a proven route out of the desolate desert valley. Along the way, one of the horses was ridden to death and the other two had to be abandoned. When Manly and Rogers finally arrived back at the camp of the Bennett-Arcan party, they found that most of the group had left to find their own way out of the valley. Only two families had remained: Asabel and Sarah Bennett and their children George, Melissa and Martha, as well as John Arcan, his pregnant wife Abigail and their son Charlie. While stranded in the desert valley waiting for rescue, the families had slaughtered several oxen and used the wood of their wagons to cook the meat and make jerky, leaving them without resources until Manly and Rogers returned. On February 11, 1850, Manly and Rogers finally set out with the remaining members of the Bennett-Arcan party. One man had perished during their long wait, so as they made their way west over the mountains, one member of the party is reported to have proclaimed "Goodbye, Death Valley," giving the valley its morbid name. By February 27, the group had reached the area that is now Rosamond, camping at a rainwater hole south of the Rosamond Hills before crossing the desert toward Palmdale. While traversing through this unknown landscape, the women and children were perturbed by the strange looking Joshua Trees growing from the desert floor, which they dubbed “Cabbage trees.” It took them more than two days to reach the Barrell Springs area from Rosamond, where they camped next to a small watering hole. From this point on, their route is speculative; it is debatable whether the group made their way to the Santa Clarita valley via Soledad Canyon or Bouquet Canyon. Due to the distance walked reported in Manly’s accounts, it is likely that they traversed through Bouquet Canyon, mistaking it for Soledad Canyon. The Bennett-Arcan party reached Rancho San Francisco on March 7, 1850. Finally, Rogers and Manly had completed their rescue mission and saved Asabel, Sarah, George, Melissa and Martha Bennett and John Arcan, pregnant Abigail and their son Charlie from certain demise in the desolate wilderness of Death Valley. The so-called "short-cut" that had lured the Lost '49ers away from Captain Hunt's wagon train had proven to take more than four months and cost the lives of many men through the entire ordeal. Between all of the parties that diverged from Captain Hunt’s wagon train, it’s believed that 130 people died in Death Valley and Antelope Valley during this journey. Manly later documented this perilous journey in his book, Death Valley in ‘49, which was first published in 1894. *There is an alternate spelling of Arcan, referred to as Arcane in some sources.

When I think of the word POW!WOW!, my mind immediately conjures up images of the cultural practice of Native American men, women and children gathering to celebrate their culture through song and dance. POW!WOW! Antelope Valley recreates this metaphorical celebration through the creation of several artistic murals throughout Lancaster BLVD. However, POW!WOW! is much more than murals, it is the opportunity for creating art that engages the community, a medium typically seen as too “highbrow” for everyday people. I set out to interview the artists responsible for painting the murals throughout the BLVD Cultural District and got some interesting and thought provoking replies. ​ Each artist that I interviewed gave a unique perspective on the importance of community engagement, each with their own design and purpose for their murals. Gustavo Rimada; painter and muralist from Indio, California; is a great example of someone whose work is culturally diverse. He often features famous Mexican iconography like calaveras, the Virgin Mary, red roses, and even socio-political commentary. Carlos Mendoza, a muralist, infuses inspirations of Mayan and Aztec culture into his art. MJ Lindo, muralist from the Bay Area, takes a more feminine approach in her murals — often depicting women of different cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. ​ But why are murals like this important? While speaking with Carlos Mendoza, he told me of the importance that art had, even volunteering his time to paint some murals for his son’s school. He believes that it is a chance to provide the Antelope Valley with a change in scenery in a place where art has been seemingly forgotten. Art provides the Antelope Valley community with glimpses into other facets of life through the interpretation of the muralists. But most importantly, the murals are tangible, visible and accessible, there is no need for fancy institutions and status to access these murals. Anyone can touch, feel and experience the murals regardless of one’s background. Manuel Zamudio believes that art has the potential to change lives, “Art is something that has to be given to the community. Through art, you can be exposed to different ideas, culture, and could help people aspire to dream.”

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we wanted to bring attention to and highlight the Chinese immigrants that played an extremely important role in the early history of California; their work contributed greatly to the state’s economic growth through their labor in mines, in agriculture, and on the railroads. Research regarding the Chinese immigrant experience in the greater Antelope Valley is very limited, however, we hope this post will foster awareness in our local community of an ethnic group that substantially enhanced the historic development of our valley. Once the news of gold being discovered in California reached China, there was a dramatic increase in Chinese immigrants to the west coast. Most of the immigrants came from Kwangtung Province in Southern China which previously had contact with the West through the port of Canton. Many Chinese emigrated due to a series of wars, rebellions, civil disorders, floods, famines, and droughts that made earning a living difficult in their native land. To better prepare for what lay ahead, most emigrated with groups from the same region or village, and often sharing the same surname. Building the railroads was one of the most important phases in the development of our country, state, and city. The location of early communities followed the railroads, and as one travels to Lancaster by train, they see an expanse of endless desert, mountains, valleys, and dry lake beds but what they don’t see is the hard work that was put into its construction. In 1876, the workforce consisted of approximately 1,500 to 3,000 Chinese immigrants that furiously hammered using picks and shovels with horse-drawn plows and scarpers to level the roadbed and drop ties, five for each rail of length. They wore basket hats referred to as “head roofs” to protect themselves from the sun and heat while blasting rock and laying track. Reports from 1884 to 1885, indicate a temporary Chinatown in Lancaster made of tents and shack dwellings, however, there were never any permanent Chinese temples erected in the Antelope Valley as there were in Los Angeles and Bakersfield. Most recently, a Chinese coin was discovered at the site of the county sheriff’s building located on the corner of Sierra Highway and Lancaster Boulevard during archaeological investigations. Despite the hostility and discrimination that Chinese immigrants faced throughout the years, they continued to avail themselves of whatever opportunities awaited them. When they were prevented from mining gold in the mining districts, they became merchants, laborers, laundrymen, or sought employment elsewhere. During the late 1880s, the Southern Pacific Railroad still employed eight to ten Chinese railroad workers at Harold (located two miles south of Palmdale), who lived in shacks beside the tracks. Other groups of Chinese worked diligently in the almond orchards located in the western section of the valley, while others worked in the Lake Elizabeth region. In Lancaster, enterprising On Lee ran a Chinese laundry service and sold potatoes from 1885 to the early 1890s around the northeast corner of modern-day Lancaster Boulevard and Sierra Highway. After 1870, the laundry business offered the easiest route to independent proprietorship for California’s Chinese. Laundry could be opened with a small capital outlay of one hundred dollars and required only laundry stoves, sadirons, a dry room, and a sign. By 1880, the most profitable shops were owned and run by Chinese immigrants. As in many other California communities, the Chinese experienced radical discrimination in the Antelope Valley and although it seldom resulted in violence, the exclusion took its toll on the Chinese in the area. Although more than one-third of Valley’s population was foreign-born during this time, by the 1920s, the Chinese and Chinatowns had all but disappeared. In 1943, it finally became legal for Chinese immigrants to become naturalized citizens of the United States. Although very few written Chinese histories, visual records, and physical artifacts (such as coins and opium pipes) have been found locally, before the close of the 19th Century the Chinese were an important part of the American West’s economy and overall development. The Antelope Valley’s multi-ethnic development offers a stimulating experience in nostalgia along with a sobering picture of yesterday’s reality as immigrants in our society have often been ignored and undervalued.

As Lancaster begins to reopen, let’s take a look back at some of the earliest recollections of the City we’ve all missed being a part of during our time in quarantine. Starting in August 1882, when the Los Angeles Evening Telegram reported: “Antelope Valley Prosperous – The settlement of Antelope Valley is growing rapidly and an excellent class of settlers is coming in. Antelope Valley Colony is but a few months old, yet owing to the indefatigable efforts of Wicks, its originator, its prosperity seems assured.” In her memoirs, Mrs. Joseph Johnson reported that she arrived in Lancaster the next year (1883) and that there was a hotel, called Anderson’s Hotel and later the Lancaster Hotel, located on the northwest corner of Tenth Street (present-day Lancaster Boulevard) and Antelope Avenue (now Sierra Highway). There was also a small shack for a schoolhouse and one store. On September 12, 1925, The Antelope Valley Ledger Gazette reported William M. Blackman’s description of early Lancaster during the time he spent here in 1885: “Exactly forty years ago, my father took me to Lancaster – or then known as Antelope Valley… I remember the store some 100 yards or more from the railroad tracks being kept by a man named Frank Glencross. Next to the store was a hotel, both built of wood. A few wooden huts were the rest that made up the town of Lancaster. We settled some miles out… rattlesnakes, king snakes, scorpions, coyotes, rabbits, and other things were our trouble. The soil was exactly like sand and the heat was at times unbearable. On several occasions, I saw bands of wild horses.” The photograph below is probably the oldest view of Lancaster (c. 1890). Looking south, at the far left is the Lancaster Hotel (which was later destroyed by fire), the train depot, and on the right is the large water tower and windmill. In 1885, Lancaster was described as experiencing a “boom” with the addition of a blacksmith and two artesian wells, one of which furnished water for the railroad tank. From 1886 to 1888, Moses L. Wicks gradually sold his Lancaster land holdings to James P. Ward for $46,620, which is equivalent to about $1,265,000 today. Ward homesteaded 160 acres and, due to his confidence in the agricultural future of the region, he heavily advertised the town. He owned land from Avenue G to Lancaster Boulevard and Tenth Street which included a livery stable, a thriving lumber yard, and the aforementioned blacksmith shop. Below he is shown with his children at his house in Lancaster. Lancaster was not considered anything more than a settlement until citizens’ basic needs were met through a post office, general stores, blacksmiths, churches, saloons, a sheriff’s office, and schools. However, by mid-1886, the Los Angeles Daily Herald reported that an effort was being made to establish a public school and a church, but that a post office had been established and William Baylis was appointed postmaster. That same year, newspapers like the Los Angeles Daily Times were reporting that “[The] town of Lancaster is but about eighteen months old, it boasts a general store and one hardware and tin shop with water and well pipe attachment of all ‘power action.’ They have a fine hotel building and three saloons. They also have a section house, a Chinatown, a blacksmith and wagon shop, a lumberyard, a freight depot, a tank house, a roundhouse, a weekly newspaper (the Lancaster News), and some 13 dwellings.” Lancaster didn’t become an incorporated city until 1977, with a population of 37,000. Today Lancaster is home to approximately 160,000 people, making it the 33rd largest city in California. In 2018, downtown Lancaster was also designated one of fourteen California Cultural Districts recognized as a place where culture happens within the state. For information on what’s currently happening in our City, along with events, be sure to check out the City of Lancaster's website, Lancaster MOAH which hosts recurring events and is now open to visitors, and Destination Lancaster information on annual events.

City: Arts, cultural development aid economic growth LANCASTER — Lancaster Museum of Art and History art manager Andi Campognone, and programs coordinator Robert Benitez updated the Social Equity Commission on the Lancaster Museum of Art and History master cultural plan Wednesday night. The current five-year cultural plan will expire this year. The impetus to develop the plan came from the City Council, who recognized that arts and cultural development enable economic growth and improve a community’s quality of life. Lancaster developed the current plan with extensive feedback from the community and stakeholders. A member of the Social Equity Commission will be asked to join the stakeholder committee for the updated plan. The three goals for the current plan included to increase partnerships and improve communication to bridge across divides in racial ethnicity and socio-economic class. “This was really successful,” Campognone said. “There were a lot of partnerships that happened throughout the AV, both with organizations here in the Antelope Valley and with the county.” The second goal was to sustain a plan to expand programs for youth throughout the community. The third goal was to enhance Lancaster’s public image and instill a sense of pride. Benitez provided the update on the 2021-26 master cultural plan, which is currently under development. “As Andi mentioned, collaboration is going to be at the heart of our next master cultural plan,” Benitez said. “It’s vital that our residents lead the way, allowing them to express and experience the transformational, cultural, and social power of art and image. What this means is that our residents take ownership of their city’s cultural future.” The City contracted with Dani Dodge, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former reporter who left journalism in 2008 to focus on art. Dodge has spent years in the Antelope Valley engaging with the community through various artist residencies. “The work she has done has been illuminating,” Benitez said. The City has received feedback from 325 respondents to the latest survey for phase one of the project. Of those respondents, 98% indicated that arts and culture are critical to the health of a vibrant city like Lancaster, Benitez said. “This connection is a power indicator that our community is yearning for more engagement,” Benitez said. A committee of employees, community members, and businesses are working on the proposed 2021-26 master cultural plan. “We’d love your help,” Benitez said. The initial findings show that in addition to visual arts and performance, food in an immediate and recognizable element of culture that the City could support through something such as a citywide food festival or pop-up cultural restaurants. Respondents would also like to see Lancaster expand and evaluate its existing cultural assets, and do more to reach the east side of the city. “This, of course, leans into our plan’s focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, which has been and will continue to be centered throughout the planning process,” Benitez said. “Lancaster is a community that embraces its diversity and sees it as a strength and a way of life.” Benitez closed the presentation with a quote from an anonymous Lancaster resident. The resident described Lancaster as “a cxity that takes into account all of its residents no matter their socio-economic situation; a city that looks after one another; a city that provides resources for those in need; a city that embraces all cultures and languages and shows it by conducting cultural events that celebrate us.” “That was a beautiful quote; I really do feel that in my heart too as a Lancaster resident, and I think what MOAH is doing is beautiful,” Chairman Shawntwayne Cannon said. Commissioner Teresina Hone agreed that food would bring people together. “I’m totally down for that, for some kind of food festival,” Hone said. “There’s so much to learn about other cultures through food, especially for kids, it’s something that’s easily accessible.”

The Emmy-nominated co-creator of Nickelodeon's 'Robot And Monster,' whose works have been collected by J.J. Abrams and Scarlett Johansson, looks back on 20 years with an exhibition at MOAH in Lancaster, Calif. Artist Dave Pressler makes robots, and you can, too. That’s the idea behind his new show, Idea to Object — opening Saturday and on view through Sept. 30 — at the Lancaster Museum of Art and History (MOAH) in the desert suburb 60 miles north of Los Angeles. For those who don’t know Pressler, the artist and art director — who has worked on projects for DreamWorks Animation and other Hollywood outlets — is commonly considered the most prolific "robot artist" in the world, with his work has collected by such stars as J.J. Abrams and Scarlett Johansson. "If somebody sees a piece of my art and it makes them laugh or it makes them feel something, when somebody is motivated enough to purchase that piece of art to put it in their homes, I think that's cool cause you’ve sparked some emotion in them. And that’s why I say it's more a commerce of feeling," Pressler says of selling his work. At an event dedicated to his company, Bad Robot, at Gallery 1988, Abrams purchased a sculpture of robots in a criminal lineup. Before that, Johansson bought two figurines at Munky King gallery when it was still in Chinatown. Those works are typical of what can be found in the new show, which features pen, ink and pencil drawings, acrylic paintings, resin sculptures, limited edition sculptures, toys and other items normally found in specialty galleries. With the retrospective of his 20-year career and an accompanying book of the same name by esteemed art critic Shana Nys Dambrot, the self-trained Pressler aims to demystify the process of art making. "If someone is interested in getting into the profession, hopefully it will be a little inspiration that if you put the work in and put the time in and just keep doing it, you can, in some form, express yourself," he says, then slyly adds, "whether you'll be employed or not, I don’t know." Pressler arrived in Los Angeles in his early twenties when he performed in black box and improv theater, occasionally appearing in small parts in indie films and on TV. In the 1990s he made a dramatic career shift into character and production design, watching and learning from others, until his debut as art director on the Jim Henson Company's B.R.A.T.S. of the Lost Nebula. Discover Kids' The Save-Ums was next, and Team Smithereen for Disney XD came after that, followed by his breakout, Robot and Monster, a 2013 Daytime Emmy nominee that he co-created with Joshua Sternin and J.R. Ventimilia, about a pair of mismatched best friends. More recently, Pressler was art director on DreamWorks Animation's TV series The Boss Baby: Back in Business, and before that he created the company's stop-motion series, How To Do Everything! With Garrick and Marvin, the set of which will be included in Idea to Object. Part of the exhibition will be Pressler himself, who is installing his studio in the middle of the main gallery and will intermittently work there. Married to producer Lisa Henson, Pressler nevertheless refers to himself as a "blue collar" artist. "It was harder for me to get into the business 'cause I didn’t have the training at first," he explains. "I'm not good at copying someone else's style, which usually, when you work in animation, you're doing that for a while as a storyboard artist or character designer. So it was motivating me to get better on my technique so I could get good enough to hire, and also I should work on my own style, too. I did stick with trying to come up with original ideas and original shapes and silhouettes, just so when people look at it they’ll think it looks like one of your characters. I want somebody someday to go, 'I want a Dave Pressler-type thing.' " Idea to Object is part of MOAH's larger exhibit, The Robot Show, featuring works by Karen Hochman Brown, Jeff Soto, Patrick McGilligan, and Robert Nelson, as well as site specific installations by Alexander Kritselis, Cristopher Cichocki, and Chenhung Chen.

Southern California’s long aviation history began over a hundred years ago, and has been thriving since the dawn of flight. Advancements have been linked to the diverse, impactful, risk-taking, and forward-thinking attitude that is typical of the region’s culture. In 1910, Los Angeles became the first city in the United States, and only the second city in the world, to host the International Air Show which acted as a catalyst for later local developments in the industry. The Antelope Valley has become synonymous with aviation and aerospace development, known to some as “America’s Aerospace Valley,” due to its long history of aeronautical achievement and success. Companies like Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Scaled Composites have developed a large presence today. These companies, in addition to the continued presence of Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB), the United States Air Force (USAF) Plant 42, and NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center have helped to preserve the local legacy of aeronautical innovation. Originally opened in 1933, EAFB first operated as a temporary bomb and gunnery range. The first permanent facilities were known as Muroc Army Air Field, which was established in 1942. In 1950, Muroc Army Air Field was renamed Edwards Air Force Base after Glen Edwards, a captain and test pilot who died testing a YB-49 Flying Wing in 1948. Following World War II, the center has served as a test site where the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and private aerospace companies have developed and evaluated nearly every aircraft in its inventory. Due to its proximity, Lancaster has been a privileged host to some of the greatest names associated with aviation history, along with many broken records and outstanding feats that took place at Edwards including: America's first jet flight by the Bell XP-59A Airacomet in 1942; the first supersonic flight by Captain Charles “Chuck” Yeager in the Bell X-1 in 1947; the highest altitude record in the world of over 90,000 feet by test pilot Arthur “Kit” Murray in 1954; the world's absolute speed record for winged aircraft, set at 4,520 mph by Major William J. "Pete" Knight in the X-15 rocket research aircraft in 1967; and the landing of the first space shuttle following its mission to orbit the earth thirty-six times in 1981. Established in 1990, and completed in 2009, Lancaster's Aerospace Walk of Honor program was created in order to acknowledge the City's more than sixty-year tradition as the nation's aerospace epicenter and host City to a distinguished group of internationally known experimental test pilots who flew at EAFB during their careers. The Aerospace Walk of Honor awards recognition to test pilots whose aviation careers were marked by significant achievements and commemorates these accomplishments with sidewalk monuments along Lancaster Boulevard, which merit the contributions of these brave men and women. Today, the Lancaster Museum of Art and History (MOAH) is collaborating with Residence Inn by Marriott to decorate and design the hotel’s public spaces with custom aerospace imagery curated from the museum’s permanent collection. Each image will be labeled with a QR code that, when scanned, will lead to detailed descriptions about the aviators and aircrafts being displayed. The 107-room, 4-story Residence Inn is located in the heart of downtown Lancaster (near the corner of Gadsden Avenue and Lancaster Boulevard) and will be the first hotel in the Antelope Valley region situated in a walkable downtown district. Photos courtesy of NASA and MOAH’s Permanent Collection

This past weekend we celebrated Valentine’s Day with loved ones, so it’s only fitting to discuss the people and relationships brought together by the Western Hotel. George and Myrtie Webber: George Webber met Myrtle “Myrtie” Gibson Sullivan in 1908 when Myrtie took a train from Los Angeles to the Western Hotel in hopes that the arid desert environment would aid her respiratory infection. George was the sole owner and proprietor of the hotel at the time and took care of Myrtie while she was bedridden for two weeks due to the violent pleurisy attack. Once she recovered, George offered Myrtie an opportunity at the hotel as a manager and cook. The two married in 1910 and remained married until George died in 1934 at the age of seventy-seven. George and Olga Lane: Another Western Hotel romance developed when Myrtie brought together George Lane and Olga Straubinger. George was a freight driver with a twenty-mule team in Lancaster and often stayed at the Western, while health reasons brought Olga into town. On one trip, Myrtie told George about young Olga but he said he didn’t have time to meet her. However, once he caught sight of Olga, George decided to extend his stay for a few more days. The couple married soon after as a result of Myrtie’s matchmaking and had their son, Frank, who was delivered by a local nurse, Mom Evert (pictured below with Jane Reynolds). As a way of giving back to the community, George donated land to create Lane Park and Lane Ranch, which still exist today. Maurice James and Jane Reynolds: Jane Porter moved to the U.S. from Ireland in 1864. Around 1895, she got a job as a cook at the Western Hotel where she met her husband Maurice James Reynolds. Maurice was living at the hotel while he worked as a well-driller and the couple married in January 1897. After their marriage, they went on to purchase land in Lancaster and have four children: John, Nellie, Flora, and Maurice James Jr. At fifty-five, Maurice retired due to health reasons and died accidentally in 1916, when his shotgun discharged. He was held in the highest esteem by all and was regarded as one of the Antelope Valley’s substantial businessmen and empire-builders. Jane Reynolds later donated some of their lands because she felt sorry for the children who had no place to play when their families came to town for supplies. Jane died In 1949 at age eighty-three; at the time of her death, she had eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Photos courtesy of MOAH’s Permanent Collection