Roundup: April 11, 2018
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA.
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Our Speaker: Michael Patris, Past Sheriff, Serious Historian and Witty Raconteur
His Subject: Thaddeus Lowe and the Civil War Balloon Corps
Thaddeus Lowe is known by many to be the builder of the Mount Lowe Incline Railway in the San Gabriel Mountains. However, his fascination with flying balloons and an early attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean in one brought him to the White House lawn near the outbreak of the American Civil War. Lowe convinced President Abraham Lincoln the future of warfare would include aerial components, contributing to the fabrication and deployment of seven balloons for the Union Army. Michael Patris will tell the story of how Lowe came to the White House, deployed balloons and held several records for flight, with rarely seen images from iconic Civil War photographer Matthew Brady and other materials from the Mount Lowe Preservation Society Collection.
Will Michael mention Lowe’s drop-dead gorgeous wife, Leontine, a French actress whom he married a week after meeting her? Instead of discussing dreary battles between ir0n-clad boats, will he discuss how Lowe was responsible for the construction of America’s first aircraft carrier? Will Michael discuss that Lowe was an early student of the science of meteorology? (Can you picture Ben Franklin holding his key at the top of his kite instead of holding the string at the bottom?) Will he tell how Leontine rescued him from behind Confederate lines by driving a team in a buckboard wagon in and back before the Union Army could save him? Are any of these teasers true or just Fake News? You’ll never know unless you come to Michael’s dynamic and entertaining presentation! You won’t want to miss this Roundup! Bring your children, your neighbors and your friends! We already have a guest coming from Texas!
Michael Patris is no stranger to most of our members and other residents of the San Gabriel Valley! He was Sheriff of the Corral in 2010, has been a speaker at earlier Roundups and authored articles in The Branding Iron. Michael is a third generation native of Southern California and has always had an interest in history. Whether collecting antiques, collecting and working on antique cars, or restoring a 1923 California bungalow in Alhambra with his wife Mudd, pieces of the past always seemed too important to brush aside.
One of Michael’s most well-known projects is a Mount Lowe trilogy, beginning in 2007 with Mount Lowe Railway, part of the History of Rail series for Arcadia Publishing. Both Michael Patris and Steve Crise authored Pacific Electric Railway, Then and Now in 2011 and Mount Lowe, Then and Now in 2012. Michael’s current project is a hardbound book on Los Angeles Union Station, with photographer Steve Crise, for its 80th anniversary in 2019.
Michael is the President and founder of the Mount Lowe Preservation Society, Inc. and President of the Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society. He has written numerous articles for publications other than our own Branding Iron. Michael is also President and owner of Golden West Books, a publishing company focusing on the history of trains, trolleys, railroads and locomotive material.
Posted by Jim Macklin, Deputy Sheriff.
Future Los Angeles Corral Events
May 9th, 2018 — Celebrate E Clampus Vitus Night at the Corral!
(Clampers respectfully requested to wear their full honorable regalia!)
Abe Hoffman — The Secret Behind the Hidden Secret of Southern California
June 16th, 2018 — Fandango at home of Vicki and Gary Turner
July 11th, 2018 — Autry Fellow — Challenging the Veracity of Civil War Era History in California & Nevada
August 8th, 2018 — Jeff Lapides — Passage to Eldorado: The First Photos on the Mojave Road by Rudolph d’Heureuse (1863)
Dinner Fees, Reservations & Meal Choices
The Roundup Dinner Fee is $40 including ample, convenient and free parking. The dinner choices for this Roundup are beef, chicken and vegetarian. This month, that includes Kalbi Top Sirloin with a Sweet & Spicy Sauce, Chicken Roulade Stuffed with Vegetables and Italian Cheeses and Topped with a Spinach Cream Sauce or a healthy but lamentable Fresh Vegetable Bouquet for those who feel they must choose it. Dessert consists of a Seasonal Lemon Cake.
Please choose your entrée and make out your check for $40 to “Westerners, Los Angeles Corral,” or submit your payment online as EARLY AS YOU CAN but no later than one week before the Roundup date. Just log onto our website (www.lawesterners.org) and go to the Members Only tab. Click on the Roundup Store option and follow the instructions. Walk-ins can be served, but entrée choices will be limited to what is on hand. The “late price” is now $45.00.
If you are paying by check, mail it to Ms. Therese Melbar, Registrar of Marks and Brands at 549 South Aldenville Avenue, Covina, CA 91723-2909. Late reservations or questions may be addressed to Therese via Email: tmelbar@cpp.edu or by telephone (661) 343-9373.
Travel Assistance to Our Fellow Members
Please keep in mind that some of our members can no longer drive or are uncomfortable about driving on the freeways at night. If there are such members living in your area, please get in touch to see if they would come with you to the Roundups.
Contact Jim Macklin, Deputy Sheriff, at 1221 Greenfield Avenue, Arcadia, CA 91006-4148, at jhmcpa@earthlink.net or (626) 446-6411 with any questions or news items.
Roundup: March 14, 2018
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA.
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Our Speaker: Jonathan Ritter, Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology, UC Riverside
His Subject: Campfire Songs Revisited: Musical Life in Indigenous Southern California
In light of more than a century of oft-wildly inaccurate depictions of Native American music in film, radio, and television, what was musical life actually like for indigenous peoples of Southern California prior to colonization? How did that change with the advent of the mission and reservation eras? What Native Southern California musical traditions have undergone a renaissance in recent decades, and what new kinds of music have taken root? In this talk, ethnomusicologist Jonathan Ritter will offer a broad overview of Native music in the region and speculate on some of the reasons it is so frequently misrepresented and misunderstood.
Jonathan Ritter is an ethnomusicologist whose research focuses on the indigenous and Afro-Hispanic musical cultures of Andean South America. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from UCLA, and his B.A. in American Indian Studies from the University of Minnesota. At UCR, he teaches numerous courses on Native American, Latin American, and other musical traditions, and is the director of Mayupatapi, the UCR Andean Music Ensemble.
Professor Ritter’s work addresses broad questions of how musical expressions are implicated in the work of cultural memory and political activism, particularly during times of political violence. His book, We Bear Witness With Our Song: The Politics of Music and Violence in the Peruvian Andes (Oxford University Press, forthcoming) explores these themes.
Ritter’s scholarship on Andean, Afro-Ecuadorian, and Native American musics has appeared in numerous academic journals, edited collections, and encyclopedias. Ritter is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including research funding from the California Center for the Humanities, the Fulbright Institute for International Education, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research
Posted by Jim Macklin, Deputy Sheriff.
5 Big Topics you need to know about!
The First Big Topic: Future Los Angeles Corral Events
April 11th, 2018
Michael Patris – Thaddeus Lowe and the Civil War Balloon Corps
May 9th, 2018
Celebrate E Clampus Vitus Night at the Corral! (Clampers wear your regalia!)
Abe Hoffman The Secret Behind the Hidden Secret of Southern California
June 16th, 2018
Fandango at home of Vicki and Gary Turner
July 11th, 2018
Autry Fellow – Challenging the Veracity of Civil War Era History in California & Nevada
August 8th, 2018
Jeff Lapides – Passage to Eldorado: The First Photos on the Mojave Road by Rudolph d’Heureuse (1863)
The Second Big Topic: Increase in Dues
As discussed in earlier notices, the Trail Bosses increased annual dues to $50 starting in 2019 from $45 in the prior six years. Since more than 80% of 2018 dues had been collected at $45 already, we deferred the increase until 2019. Analysis showed that virtually all the dues were used up in 2017 with just the basic printing and mailing of Roundup notices and Branding Iron and Keepsake publications.
The Third Big Topic: Increase in Dinner Fees & Decrease in Dinner Choices
Also, as discussed in earlier notices, The Trail Bosses increased the Roundup fee from $35 to $40 as of this March Roundup. Almansor Court had requested significant increases in the amounts they charge us for dinners. At the prior rates, they were actually losing money on every plate they served. Since the dinner rate we charge the members had not increased in seven years, a $5 increase from $35 to $40 is reasonable. Even at the increased rates, Almansor is still charging us only normal lunch rates for dinner-time meals. With ample, convenient and free parking, the Almansor is still more desirable than equivalent dinner operators in the area.
In addition, Almansor no longer will offer us four dinner choices but just three. Almansor is obligated by regulation to offer a vegetarian plate. Members who normally order chicken or fish frequently switch between the two. So, we’ve decided to offer beef and vegetarian plus either chicken or fish. We will offer chicken at most Roundups and fish at the other Roundups.
The Fourth Big Topic: Dinner Reservations
The choices for the March 14th Roundup are beef, chicken and vegetarian. This month, that means Kalbi Top Sirloin topped with a Sweet & Spicy Sauce, Breaded Baked Chicken topped with Garlic & Parmesan or a Fresh Vegetable Bouquet that I’m told will surely make you feel good all the way to your toes. Dessert consists of a baked chocolate soufflé style treat called “Chocolate Royale.” If your spouse chose not to attend in March, run this menu by her/him again.
Please choose your entrée and make out your check for $40 (Yes, that’s $40!) to “Westerners, Los Angeles Corral,” or submit your payment online as EARLY AS YOU CAN but no later than one week before the Roundup date. Just log onto our website (www.lawesterners.org) and go to the Members Only tab. Click on the Roundup Store option and follow the instructions. Walk-ins can be served, but entrée choices will be limited to what is on hand. The “late price” is now $45.00.
If you are paying by check, mail it to Ms. Therese Melbar, Registrar of Marks and Brands at 549 South Aldenville Avenue, Covina, CA 91723-2909. Late reservations or questions may be addressed to Therese via Email: tmelbar@cpp.edu or by telephone (661) 343-9373.
Please keep in mind that some of our members can no longer drive or are uncomfortable about driving on the freeways at night. If there are such members living in your area, please get in touch to see if they would come with you to the Roundups.
The Fifth Big Topic: Participation, Publication & Recognition
We encourage all to consider participating in writing and publishing your literary efforts in the Corral’s publications! The Corral is always looking for articles on historic subjects, reviews of books, poetry or write-ups of Corral activities for the Branding Iron. If you would be willing to participate in some aspect of our publishing, please let the Trail Bosses know! If you have s concept for a Keepsake or perhaps even a future Brand Book, let the Trail Bosses know. Your contribution does not have to be a complex, highly researched formal paper but something far less formidable, like a summary of Jeanette Davis’s presentation in February on the Donner Incident (Start early. Don’t waste time. Don’t take the cutoff.) for the Branding Iron.
The Corral is now in the process of preparing our annual reporting to the Westerners International organization for the year 2017. This includes our nominations of members and the Corral for awards presented by Westerners International. We are all proud of the success of the Corral and its members in winning these awards – like the four Top Gun awards Monsignor Weber, Abe Hoffmann, Gary Turner and Jerry Selmer received recently. (I stand corrected, they were actually designated Living Legends!) If you are aware of members we should nominate for one of the WI awards, including yourself, please let Brian Dillon know soon. Brian, who has become the Corral’s WI representative, has a reporting deadline of April 15th but will be in Ireland for much of March.
You have successfully read the Five Big Topics, but there are additional topics not qualifying as “BIG.”
Bronze Belt Buckles! Two years ago, a limited number of Los Angeles Corral belt buckles were made available to our members. They sold very quickly. A few more will now be available to the membership once again. These beautiful bronze buckles will be sold at the next three meetings for $25 each. Cash or checks will be accepted. Every member needs one. Buy yours now!
2018 dues payment! Our Registrar of Marks & Brands, Therese Melbar, has done an excellent job of collecting 2018 dues! Only a few members still need to pay, and they have been contacted directly. Thanks to all of you members for responding so promptly!
Humor!
In processing some old Branding Irons donated by the estate of a member, I had the opportunity to peruse some of them and found a bunch of truly humorous stories hidden in the pages. One told an incident about Will Rogers in his early days as a rodeo clown in a traveling rodeo show. A steer got loose and charged up the stairs into the audience. Will roped and tied the steer and dragged it back down to the arena. When the rodeo announcer asked him why he didn’t leave the steer in the audience, he responded “He doesn’t have a ticket.” If you tire of laughing at the politicians, consider reading some old Branding Irons.
Contact Jim Macklin, Deputy Sheriff, at 1221 Greenfield Avenue, Arcadia, CA 91006-4148, at jhmcpa@earthlink.net or (626) 446-6411 with any questions or news items.
Roundup: February 14, 2018
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA.
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Our Speaker: Jeanette Davis
Her Subject: The Donner Party Incident: A Family Perspective
Anyone hungry? Perhaps you would care for some finger sandwiches or some tasty ribs (Whose?). Comments and jokes such as these have dogged the Donner Party members and their descendants ever since the party’s plight became public. What has been lost among the notoriety is the hardship endured by its members during the winter of 1846-47. Trapped in the mountains, the party members were pushed to the brink of human strength, resolve and endurance. While some questions will never be answered, what is known is that a group of people bound together by circumstance faced cold, starvation and death.
Our February speaker, Jeanette Davis, herself a descendant of the Donner Family, will concentrate her talk on brothers George and Jacob Donner and their families. Stopped by the heavy snow, they were not camped at the namesake lake, but at Alder Creek, where they struggled to survive. Perhaps more than any other family, they paid the price for their winter in the snow.
Jeanette is a California native, almost. With her parents, she traveled Route 66 from Illinois and arrived in the state in time to celebrate her third birthday. She grew up in the Mojave Desert town of Ridgecrest and moved to this area to attend college. She has lived here ever since.
Jeanette is a graduate of Cal Poly, Pomona with a B. A. in History and an M. A. in Reading. She is retired from the Chino Valley Unified School District after 32 years of teaching. She also taught for eight years at Citrus College in the Evening Division.
Anyone acquainted with Jeanette knows she is an avid student and collector of Native American Culture. She is a charter member of the San Dimas Corral and its Past Sheriff in 1987. Jeanette was the first female member to attend this Corral and, with Dr. Gloria Lothrop, to reach active status.
She is a docent for the Historical Society of Pomona Valley, a trustee for the Chaffey Museum of Art, and a literacy tutor at the Upland Library. Jeanette is a talented story teller with a sense of humor!
Posted by Jim Macklin, Deputy Sheriff.
Keepsakes
The Los Angeles Corral of the Westerners publishes occasional offerings on a wide range of subjects. Our Keepsakes typically appear as small-format booklets of greater length than our quarterly Branding Iron, but of many fewer pages than our much longer Brand Books.
Our Los Angeles Corral Keepsakes are listed here:
Keepsake 56 2022
Hoffman, Abraham
Boot Hill Anthology
[Alan Griffin, Editor].
Los Angeles Corral, Westerners International
Keepsake 55 2021
Turner, Gary, Ed.
75th Anniversary Cowboy and Cowgirl Poetry.
Los Angeles Corral, Westerners International
Keepsake 54 2021
Dillon, Brian Dervin
Early Chapters in Southern California History.
A Special Publication for the 75th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Corral, Westerners International.
Keepsake 53 2021
Hoffman, Abraham
An Actor’s Life: William S. Hart, 1864-1946.
Arkaz Vardanyan, Editor.
A Special Publication for the 75th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Corral, Westerners International.
Keepsake 52 2021
Weber, Msgr. Francis J.
The Ten Most Important California Mission Books.
A Special Publication for the 75th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Corral, Westerners International.
Keepsake 51 2020
Turner, Gary, Ed.
Cowboy Poetry and Limericks.
Keepsake 51: Corona Virus Edition.
Westerners International, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 50 2019
Turner, Gary, Ed.
Cowboy & Cowgirl Poetry 2019.
Westerners International, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 49
Turner, Gary, Ed.
Cowboy & Cowgirl Poetry 2018.
Westerners International, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 48 2018
Hoffman, Abraham
Los Angeles and the Owens Valley: Essays on a Century-Long Water Dispute.
Westerners International, Los Angeles Corral.
[Available through amazon.com].
Keepsake 47 2017
Turner, Gary, Ed.
Cowboy Poetry 2017.
Westerners International, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 46 2017
Mathes, W. Michael
Indian Warfare In Baja California, 1533-1857.
Edited, with a Preface, by Brian Dervin Dillon and Matthew A. Boxt. Foreword by Msgr. Francis J. Weber.
Los Angeles Corral of the Westerners.
[Available through amazon.com]
Keepsake 45 2017
Brigandi, Phil
A Five-Foot Shelf of Westerners: Prominent Historians of the Los Angeles Corral of the Westerners.
Keepsake 45, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 44 2016
Turner, Gary, Ed.
Cowboy Poetry.
Keepsake 44 , Los Angeles Corral.
[Unnumbered. No page numbers, no title page, no editorial attribution Jim Macklin assigned it No. 44 in 2019].
Keepsake 43 2016
Hoffman, Abraham
Where the Sun Never Shines: Essays in Southern
California History. Los Angeles, CA.
[Unnumbered. Mentions of the Los Angeles Corral and the word “Keepsake” are on the final page, but not on the title page nor the copyright page. Jim Macklin assigned it No. 43 in 2019].
[Available through amazon.com]
Keepsake 42 2017
Selmer, John
70th Anniversary Keepsake, Sheriffs of the Los Angeles Corral,
1946-2016. [Unnumbered, Assigned No. 42 by Jim Macklin in 2019].
Keepsake 41 2015
Turner, Gary, Ed.
Cowboy Poetry.
Keepsake 41, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 40 2014
Turner, Gary, Ed.
Cowboy Poetry.
Keepsake 40, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 39 2013
Turner, Gary, Ed.
Civil War Sequicentennial Poetry.
Keepsake 39, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 38 2012
Turner, Gary, Ed.
Cowboy Poetry.
Keepsake 38, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 37 2012
Brigandi, Phil, Ed.
The Death Valley Chuck-Walla.
Keepsake 37, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 36
Turner, Gary, Ed.
2011 Cowboy Poetry.
Keepsake 36, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 35
Turner, Gary, Ed.
2008 Fandango Californio, 2008, Cowboy Poetry and Limericks, II.
Keepsake 35, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 34 2007
Turner, Gary, Ed.
Fandango Californio, 2007, Cowboy Poetry and Limericks.
Keepsake 34, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 33 2003
Hoffman, Abraham
And the Horse You Rode in On: Essays in Western History.
Westerners International, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 32 2001
Blew, Robert W., Ed.
Last Nuggets from the California Gold Rush 1849.
Keepsake 32, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 31(B) 1999
Blew, Robert W.
A Grand Score: Brand Books 1-20. A Guide to the Contents and Authors of the First Twenty Brand Books issued by the Los Angeles Corral of the Westerners. Westerners, Los Angeles Corral.
[Blew did not exercise due diligence, so he repeated the number used by Art Clark four years earlier.].
Keepsake 31(A) 1995
Clark, Arthur
Directory of Monthly Meetings and Meetings Speakers.
Westerners, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake “30” 1992
Nunis, Doyce B.
The Life of Tom Horn Revisited. [116 pp.].
The Westerners, Los Angeles Corral.
[No specific identification as a Keepsake. Two different, conflicting, addresses are provided for the Los Angeles Corral on the same page. Brigandi’s typed list assigns it No. 30].
Keepsake 29 1988
Taylor, Elmer E.
George Sanders Bickerstaff, 1893-1954: ”Painter of Pictures.” [Hardcover].
The Los Angeles Westerners.
Keepsake 28 1988
Anonymous
Fandango Californiano, Casa del Rancho Los Cerritos.
Single page, folded cardstock menu with brief historical sketch, for annual Fandango, June 11, 1988,
Los Angeles Corral of the Westerners.
Keepsake 27 1988
Koenig, George
Panamint City, the California Comstock.
[Cardstock folder with two reproduction inserts, one of the Panamint News for December 15, 1874, the other for March 4, 1875].
Keepsake No. 27, The Westerners, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 26 1987
Dagosta, Andy
1987 Roster, Active Members, Honorary Members, Ranger Active and Associate Members.
[Poster, of all member’s names forming the “Old Joe” buffalo skull].
Keepsake No. 26, The Westerners, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake 25 1987
Stevens, Errol Wayne, Ed.
Incidents of a Voyage to California, 1849: A Diary of Travel aboard the Bark Hersilia, and in Sacramento, 1850.
Foreword by Martin Ridge. [Hardcover].
Simultaneously published by the Western History Association, and The Westerners, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake “24” 1985
Hager, Anna Marie and Everett Gordon Hager
An Index to the Brand Book, Volume 1, Numbers 1-5 (1947) and the Branding Iron, Numbers 1-153 (1948-1983) of the Westerners, Los Angeles Corral. [Hardcover].
The Westerners, Los Angeles Corral.
[Identified on its copyright page as “Publication No. 161.” Bob Clark penciled “Keepsake #24” on his copy].
Keepsake 23 1986
Lehman, Anthony L.
Herschel Logan: Man of Many Careers.
The Westerners, Los Angeles Corral.
Keepsake “22” 1978
Frey, W.
The Apaches of the Rio Grande, a Story of Indian Life.
Translated by Brita F. Mack, Introduction by Ray Allen Billington.
Westerners, Los Angeles Corral.
[Identified on its initial page as “Westerners KeepsakePublication No. 133.” Bob Clark penciled “Keepsake #22” on his copy].
Keepsake “21” 1977
Drury, Clifford M.
An Outline Guide to the Evening Program.
The Westerners, Los Angeles Corral.
[Identified on its cover as “Keepsake Number 126,” this large single-page folio was folded in half and printed on all four sides. Bob Clark penciled “New #21” at its top].
Keepsake “20” 1972
Starr, Harvey E.
Colonel Charles Hoffmann, 1891-1971.
[16 pp.]. Los Angeles Corral of the Westerners.
[Identified on its cover as “Special Keepsake for 1972- Publication 104.” As with Keepsakes 20, 22, etc. Bob Clark penciled “New #20” on his copy].
Keepsake “19” 1971
Billington, Ray Allen
Don Meadows and the Westerners International: A Rebuttal.
[Single-page, double-sided, double column statement, undated. Not identified as a Keepsake or even as a Los Angeles Corral publication, Bob Clark’s penciled emendation at top reads: “Keepsake #19].
Keepsake “18” 1971
Coleman, William T., William T. Sherman and James O’ Meara
The San Francisco Vigilance Committee of 1856: Three Views.
Introduced and Edited by Doyce B. Nunis, Jr.
[1hardbound. Title page reads: “The Silver Anniversary Publication of The Los Angeles Westerners,” and back side reads: “Publication Number 103.” Bob Clark’s penciled annotation reads: LA Westerners Keepsake #18].
Keepsake “17” 1969
Anonymous
The Twenty-Third Psalm.
Illustrated by Sylvia G. M. Holland.
The Los Angeles Corral of The Westerners.
[A glued-in post-publication addendum page identifies this small pamphlet both as a “Keepsake” as as “Publication No. 95.” Bob Clark penciled “New # 17” on its cover].
Keepsake “16” 1969
Clifford, Henry H., Ed.
Coining Money at the San Francisco Branch Mint.
An Example of “California’s Pictorial Letter Sheets.”
[Identified as “A Special Keepsake of The Westerners, Los Angeles Corral. Keepsake for 1969, Publication No. 91. Identified on Art Clark’s handwritten list of Keepsake conversions as “New Number 16.”
Keepsake “15” 1968
Friswold, Carroll
Frontier Fighters and their Autograph Signatures.
[On the cover is written: “Los Angeles Corral, A Keepsake for 1968, Publication No. 87.” Unfortunately, the contemporary Branding Iron of June, 1968, was also given the “Publication Number of 87.” Bob Clark penciled “New #15” on his copy’s cover].
Keepsake “14” 1966
Clark, Arthur H.
A Score of Years and Fourscore Issues: An Index-Guide to the Branding Irons and Keepsake Issues 1947-1966, Los Angeles Corral of Westerners.
[Printed on the cover is: “Westerners Keepsake No. 81” but in Art Clark’s hand-written 1986 conversion table the designation is changed to “New # 14”].
Keepsake “13” 1966
Edwards, E. I.
Twelve Great Books: A guide to the Subject Matter and Authors of the First Twelve Brand Books issued by the Los Angeles Corral of the Westerners.
Westerners, Los Angeles Corral.
[Hardbound. Originally identified as “Westerners Keepsake- Publication No. 80.” Bob Clark’s penciled note on the soft-cover version, however, indicates “New # 13”].
Keepsake “12” 1996
Bishop, L.C.
Labonte: Hunter, Free Trapper, Trail Blazer and Mountain Man of the Old West, 1825-1848.
Review of a Book by George Frederick Ruxton, titled [sic] “Life in the Far West,” published in 1848, dedicated to the Wyoming Pioneers by L.C. Bishop, President, Wyoming Pioneer Association, 1950. [Republished by Bill Upton as an unnumbered Keepsake for the L.A. Coral [sic] of the Westerners. Later designated “Keepsake 76A,” but with Bob Clark’s penciled designation “Keepsake #12”].
Keepsake “11” 1958
Conkling, Roscoe P.
Waterman Lily Ormsby II. His Hitherto Unpublished Portrait, and a sketch of the Sole Passenger on the First Butterfield Overland Mail to California as a Special Correspondent for the New York Herald.
[Six large foliopages, folded and stapled for 12 pages of text and illustrations, unpaginated, labeled on its back cover “Westerners Keerpsake- Publication 46, Los Angeles Corral. Bob Clark penciled “New # 11” on its front cover].
Keepsake “10” 1958
Gordon, Dudley
Charlie Lummis and Gene Rhodes: Discoverer and Discovered.
[Large folio sheet, folded over for 4 pages of text and illustration, unpaginated. Identified on its back cover as “Westerner’s Keepsake #43 Los Angeles Corral,” this slim offering was labeled “New # 10” by Bob Clark].
Keepsake “9” 1958
Clifford, Henry H.
Collecting California and the West.
[Four pages of text and illustrations, unpaginated. Reprinted from the Pasadena Junior League Community News, at bottom on the first page it is identified as “Publication No. 42, A Keepsake of the Los Angeles Corral of Westerners.” Bob Clark’s penciled note at top reads “New #9”].
Keepsake “8” 1956
Anonymous
Wells, Fargo & Co’s Express, List of Offices, Agents, and Correspondents. 44-568. Corrected July 1st, 1880.
Single page, oversize, facsimile. At top of page is stamped “Keepsake 1956, No. 1” as an addendum to the original legend: “Keepsake of the LOS ANGELES CORRAL of the WESTERNERS” but the original distribution date of December, 1955, has been obliterated by an intentional overstrike. Bob Clark’s penciled note on the back reads: [#32a], indicating that if this Keepsake was later given the designation of “Publication 32” then this number duplicated that of the contemporary Branding Iron].
Keepsake “7” 1955
Reynolds, J.E.
Holiday Greetings.
[Narrow folder containing reprints of an 1886 Pico House advertisement and an 1883 Britten and Rey Mining Map of Inyo County. Undated, the cover states “A Keepsake. . . .Publication No. 28.” Bob Clark’s penciled notation reads “New #7” and, almost illegibly, “1955.”].
Los Angeles Corral, The Westerners.
Keepsake “6” 1954
Woodward, Arthur
Jim Waters.
[Laid out identically to chapters in the very earliest Brand Books, identified on back cover as a “Keepsake…of the Los Angeles Corral of Westerners…Publication No. 23.” Undated, but if intercalated between Branding Iron No. 22 and 24, a date of late 1953 or early 1954 would result. Bob Clark penciled “New #6” on his copy].
Keepsake “5” 1953
Anonymous
Union—Extra. . .Custar [sic] Killed!
[Facsimile of Thursday, July 6, 1876 newspaper entry, “Printed by the Los Angeles Corral of the Westerners as a Westerner Keepsake. Publication No. 19.” Bob Clark’s penciled note at top reads: “New #5.”
Keepsake “4” 1952
Dawson, Glen
The Daily Gazette and Commercial Advertiser.
Double-sided, oversized, single-page facsimile of a Denver newspaper for May 5, 1869. The legend on the back page reads: “Printed by the Los Angeles Corral of Westerners as a Westerners Keepsake. Publication No. 17, 1952. The same number, unfortunately, was also assigned to the March, 1953, Branding Iron. Bob Clark Penciled “New #4” on the Keepsake’s front sheet.
Keepsake 3 1949
Upham, Samuel C.
Ye Ancient Yuba Miner, of the Days of ’49.
[Facsimile of an 1878 8-page pamphlet, published in Philadelphia, PA. The title page reads: “Keepsake No. 3, Los Angeles Corral of The Westerners. Later, it was retroactively identified as “Publication No. 8”].
Keepsake 2 1949
Brininstool, E.A.
The Logic of Sitting Bull. [Single large, poster-sized sheet, folded down into a single landscape side, and four separate pages on the reverse. On the top of the front page is printed: “No. 2” in oversized, bold, text, followed by: “This piece is the second in a series of keepsakes issued from the Los Angeles Corral of The Westerners.” But it was also, apparently, retroactively labeled “Publication # 7” as well. In Art Clark’s hand-written list of Keepsakes, he assigns a date of 1949 to it.
Keepsake “1” 1948
Woodward, Arthur
The Old Side-Wheeler Senator.
[Single-sheet poster, reproducing the 1874 original, with text and illustrations on back. Simply identified as a “reprint…designed to replace the former BRANDING IRON. . .” which, of course, it did not, this strange offering was later assigned the identification of “Publication No. 6,” although nowhere is this to be found on the document. Bob Clark penciled “New Sequence #1” on his copy].
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Unnumbered “Keepsake” 1985
Demke, Siegfried
The Cattle Drives of Early California.
Prosperity Press, San Gabriel, CA.
[Nowhere in this 26-page pamphlet is it identified either as a “Keepsake” nor are the L.A. Westerners identified. A separate, business-card sized insert, dated October 1985, however, states that the pamphlet “is presented as a Keepsake to all members of the Los Angeles Corral by Siegfried Demke.”]
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Compiled by Brian Dervin Dillon, Ph.D.,
Los Angeles Corral Publication Committee,
with the Assistance of Jim Macklin and Bob Clark,
St. Valentine’s Day, 2021
Roundup: January 10, 2018
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA.
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Our Speaker: Brian Dervin Dillon
His Subject: California, the Irish Paradise
California, the Irish Paradise: After more than 600 years of brutal occupation by the English, Ireland suffered one of the worst natural calamities of modern times: the Potato Famine of the mid-1840’s. Now the Emerald Isle truly became hell on earth. One quarter of the Irish population starved to death, and another quarter emigrated, mostly to the United States. The story of Irish immigrants on the American East Coast is well known, almost a cliché. Much less familiar is the history of Irish “conquistadores” throughout Latin America, including Mexican California, long before the Great Famine. Also overlooked is the story of how the Irish, beginning with the Gold Rush, turned California into the best place to be Irish anywhere in the world. At the same time that the Irish were starving back home in Ireland and being discriminated against on the American Atlantic Seaboard, California had become an Irish Paradise, and Irish people were enjoying freedoms in the Golden State that would be denied them for many years to come everywhere else. Dr. Dillon’s California, the Irish Paradise was published by the California Territorial Quarterly in 2016 in issue No. 108: his January 2018, presentation is based upon this recent study.
Brian Dervin Dillon is a fifth-generation Californian with Gold Rush ancestors, descended from Famine and pre-Famine Irish immigrants, including the earliest (1650) Irishman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. An archaeologist, he is both the son and the father of historians. A Phi Beta Kappa and Fulbright Fellow, at age 25 Brian was the youngest-ever U.C. Berkeley Ph.D. in Archaeology. Dillon has done archaeology in California since 1972, in Guatemala and three other Central American countries since 1974. Widely published in Maya and California archaeology and in California history, Brian has taught and lectured at UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCLA Extension, CSU Long Beach, The Southwest Museum and for the California State Department of Forestry. He is the recipient of more than two-dozen grants, fellowships and awards, and was just honored with his 6th consecutive Coke Wood Award for historical writing by Westerners International. Brian was Sheriff of the Los Angeles Corral of the Westerners for 2017.
Posted by Jim Macklin, Deputy Sheriff. Read about FIVE BIG CHANGES below. Especially BIG CHANGE #5 about Your 2018 Dues!
Dinner Reservations
BIG CHANGE # 1 Based on our 2018 arrangements with Almansor Court, the cost of meals to the Corral will increase significantly. You should expect that the price for the later Roundups will also go up after the Trail Bosses meet. However, a dinner reservation for the January Roundup still costs just $35.00. Attend in January before the price goes up!
BIG CHANGE # 2 Almansor Court will no longer offer four dinner choices but only three. For the January Roundup, we will offer only beef, chicken or vegetarian dinners. Please choose your entrée and make out your check to “Westerners, Los Angeles Corral,” or submit your payment online as EARLY AS YOU CAN but no later than one week before the Roundup date. Walk-ins can be served, but entrée choices will be limited to what is on hand. The “late price” is still just $40.00.
BIG CHANGE # 3 No more “Sheas,” no more “Shuttleworths” and no more “Macklins!” If you insist on sending a check, mail it to Ms. Therese Melbar, the new Registrar of Marks and Brands at 549 South Aldenville Avenue, Covina, CA 91723-2909. Late reservations or questions may be addressed to Therese via Email: tmelbar@cpp.edu or by telephone (661) 343-9373.
BIG CHANGE # 4 Please make your payments on the Corral’s webpage if possible! Paying online is easier and less expensive for you and more efficient for the Registrar and Keeper of the Chips to process. Please pay your 2018 dues and your 2018 Roundup reservations online ASAP rather than sending a check! Just log onto our website (www.lawesterners.org) and go to the Members Only tab. Click on the Roundup Store option or the 2018 Annual Dues Store option, and follow the instructions. “Old Joe” Cavallo at (626) 372-5126 will gladly help you if needed.
BIG CHANGE # 5 A REAL DUES BARGAIN! The final big change is the potential increase in the Corral’s 2018 Annual Dues. The dues have not changed since 2013 when they were increased from $40 to $45. Just the direct printing and mailing costs of monthly Roundup notices, Branding Irons, Keepsakes, etc. now eat up the $45 dues each member paid in 2017. Since there are other necessary indirect costs for the Corral, we will probably increase the dues in 2018. However, if you pay your 2018 dues before the next Trail Boss meeting in January – preferably online at 2018 Annual Dues Store but also with a check sent with your January Roundup reservation, you will be able to pay only the old $45 rate. Don’t let this deal pass you by!
Forthcoming Los Angeles Corral Presentation
Jeannette Davis
February 14th, 2018
The Donner Party Incident: A Family Perspective
Contact Jim Macklin, Deputy Sheriff, at 1221 Greenfield Avenue, Arcadia, CA 91006-4148, at jhmcpa@earthlink.net or (626) 446-6411 with any questions or news items.
Los Angeles Corral of Westerners
Welcome to the online home of the Los Angeles Corral of Westerners. We invite you to browse our site, learn more about our organization, and even consider joining us.
