Roundup: April 8, 2015

Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA.
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM

Speaker: Jack Prichett
Subject: The Old Spanish Trail in California: 19th Century Remnants and 21st Century Challenges

Historians Leroy and Ann Hafen called the Old Spanish Trail “the longest, crookedest, most arduous pack mule route in the history of America.” Designated by Congress as a National Historic Trail in 2002, the Trail played a key role in Southern California’s early history, providing a pathway for Mexican Period commerce and immigration, as well as early American exploration of the Southwest. Col. John C. Fremont and Kit Carson were among early Americans to use the Trail before the 1848 discovery of gold was to change California’s history. Speaker Jack Prichett’s richly illustrated talk will describe the Old Spanish Trail Association’s work in the Mojave to locate and record still existing portions of the original mule trace, as well as outlining current development threats to the Trail route efforts to protect this remnant of California’s heritage.

Mr. Prichett has been active in the Old Spanish Trail Association since 2008 and has served as president of the Association’s Tecopa chapter since 2009. Mark your calendars today to see and hear this fascinating presentation of this important historical Western story. We look forward to seeing you in April!

John Selmer
Deputy Sheriff

 

Sittin’ Around the Campfire

Corral News

Dinner Reservations

Dinners cost $35 each and the reservation deadline is , April 1, 2015.  Late reservations can be accepted, but you will not be able to choose your entrée and you will pay $40.  Please mail your reservation and your check—payable to “Westerners, Los Angeles Corral”—to Jim Macklin, Keeper of the Chips, 1221 Greenfield Ave., Arcadia, CA 91006-4148  626-446-6411. You may also call Jim Shuttleworth, Registrar of Marks and Brands at 909-595-6655 with questions or late reservations.

PAYPAL is now available

Put your money where your mouse is. Instead of mailing in your check, now you can make your dinner reservations online. Just log onto our website www.lawesterners.org and go to the members tab (the password is oldjoe) and click on the pay option. Instructions are there. Use the website Contact Us button if there are any questions or issues.

Upcoming Roundup Speakers & Programs

May 13, 2015………….Bill Warren -W.W. Robinson

June 20, 2015 ………….FANDANGO! – Turner Hacienda, featuring the music of Los Californios

Joint Meeting with the Old Spanish Trail Association

Our April 8^th meeting will include members of the Old Spanish Trail Association. The Old Spanish Trail was a mule trail used from 1829 to 1848 between Santa Fe and Los Angeles. OSTA members have promised to tie up their more flatulent mules outside the dining room. We have made no such promises in return.

Book Reviews

Three books have been received for review for the Branding Iron. They are:

Dance Floor Democracy: The Social Geography of Memory at the Hollywood Canteen, by Sherrie Tucker (Duke University Press)

Stagecoach Robberies in California: A Complete Record, 1856-1913, by R. Michael Wilson (McFarland)

Out Where the West Begins: Profiles, Visions & Strategies of Early Western Business Leaders,by Philip F. Anschutz (University of Oklahoma Press)

Anyone wishing to review one of these books for the Branding Iron should email Abe Hoffman at hoffmanaz@gmail.com. First come, first served. Abe will bring the books to the April meeting.

 

Branding Irons – The Entire Collection

The Westerners Branding Irons, our flagship publication since 1947, is now made even more easy to use, to search and to read.

In this publication there are nearly 4,000 pages of significant material on those Western history subjects “which members have been able to assemble by diligent research, recording items of Western History that might not otherwise by preserved” (LA Corral Range Rules Foreword).

The file is easily searchable using Google or Google Chrome by searching for specific terms or strings of text.  To do this, download the file, open it using any compatible Adobe .pdf reader, and press CTRL + F on your keyboard.  A box should appear in which you can enter your desired search.

To download the complete .pdf file. click here.  (Note that it is a a large file.)

To download .pdf segments of the entire corpus, select one of the following (each file is approximately 700 pages):

Spring 1947-Summer 1967

Summer 1967-Fall 1979

Spring 1980-Fall 2001

Spring 2002-Spring 2015

Any questions? just send me an email joscavallo@sbcglobal.net.

I would be glad to help you.

Joseph Cavallo
Web Wrangler
Past Sheriff 2013

Roundups – 2015

January 2015

February 2015

March 2015

April 2015

May 2015

June 2015 – Fandango

July 2015

August 2015

September 2015

November 2015

December 2015

Roundup: March 11, 2015

Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA.
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM

Speaker: Brian Dervin Dillon, Ph.D. 
Subject: Behind Enemy Lines: Alice Chong in China, 1937-1945

Click here to view photos from the event.

Come hear the remarkable true story told by our own Dr. Brian Dillon, as he shares the historical account of a courageous woman during World War II, Alice Chong; who operated behind enemy lines in war torn China.

China had been fighting the Japanese for more than four years when America finally declared war in 1941. Two Americans had already become heroes to the Chinese: Minnie Vautrin and Clare Chennault. Vautrin stood alone, defending over 10,000 helpless women and children at the Ginling Girls School during the horrific Rape of Nanking in 1937-38. Chennault, beginning in 1937, helped China build and train its fledgling air force, and then created the Flying Tigers, perhaps the most famous aviators since the Lafayette Escadrille. What did these two people and institutions, so different from each other, have in common? Alice Chong.

Phi Beta Kappa and Fulbright Fellow, Dr. Brian Dillon, has been an archaeologist for the past 40 years, concentrating his work in California and Central America. He has published over 100 books, monographs and articles on archaeology and history. Alice Chong, who is the subject of his presentation, happens to have been his wife’s aunt. Due to his close relationship to the family, Dillon provides details of this intriguing woman’s life not available elsewhere. This should be a captivating talk.

Roundup: March 11, 2015

Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA.
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM

Speaker: Brian Dervin Dillon, Ph.D. 
Subject: Behind Enemy Lines: Alice Chong in China, 1937-1945

Come hear the remarkable true story told by our own Dr. Brian Dillon, as he shares the historical account of a courageous woman during World War II, Alice Chong; who operated behind enemy lines in war torn China.

China had been fighting the Japanese for more than four years when America finally declared war in 1941. Two Americans had already become heroes to the Chinese: Minnie Vautrin and Clare Chennault. Vautrin stood alone, defending over 10,000 helpless women and children at the Ginling Girls School during the horrific Rape of Nanking in 1937-38. Chennault, beginning in 1937, helped China build and train its fledgling air force, and then created the Flying Tigers, perhaps the most famous aviators since the Lafayette Escadrille. What did these two people and institutions, so different from each other, have in common? Alice Chong.

Phi Beta Kappa and Fulbright Fellow, Dr. Brian Dillon, has been an archaeologist for the past 40 years, concentrating his work in California and Central America. He has published over 100 books, monographs and articles on archaeology and history. Alice Chong, who is the subject of his presentation, happens to have been his wife’s aunt. Due to his close relationship to the family, Dillon provides details of this intriguing woman’s life not available elsewhere. This should be a captivating talk.