Roundup: February 10, 2016
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Our Speaker: Abraham Hoffman
His Subject: “Dangerous Journeys: Mortality Among Jedediah Smith’s Companions, 1825-1831”
Jedediah Smith was one of the most famous fur trappers in Western history, yet little has been written about the men who accompanied him on his many dangerous journeys. Smith’s company of trappers had an unusually high mortality rate. Abe Hoffman will demonstrate that one of the most dangerous places way out west was standing next to Jed Smith. Working with him was almost a suicide mission.
Abraham Hoffman was born in Los Angeles. He attended Los Angeles City College and received B.A. and M.A. degrees from Los Angeles State College (now California State University, Los Angeles), then earned his doctorate in History at UCLA. Dr. Hoffman taught in Los Angeles schools for more than thirty years and has also been an adjunct professor at Los Angeles Valley College since 1974. He serves on the board of editors for Southern California Quarterly, reviews books, and contributes articles to history publications. His books include Unwanted Mexican Americans in the Great Depression: Repatriation Pressures, 1929-1939, and Vision or Villainy: Origins of the Owens Valley-Los Angeles Water Controversy. His latest book is Mono Lake: From Dead Sea to Environmental Treasure published by the University of New Mexico Press. In addition to being a member of the Los Angeles City Historical Society, he is also a member of the Historical Society of Southern California, Organization of American Historians, Western History Association, Western Writers of America, and the Los Angeles Corral of Westerners.
Brian Dervin Dillon
Deputy Sheriff
Roundup: January 13, 2016
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Speaker: Brian Dervin Dillon, Ph.D.
Subject: California’s Modoc Indian War, 1872-73: Fact, Fiction, and Fraud
California’s Modoc Indians tenaciously resisted the incursions of white prospectors and settlers. Then, after more than a decade of violence, they found ways to coexist with these new neighbors. Wrong-headed bureaucrats, however, forced the Modocs onto a reservation where they found life intolerable. The Indians only wanted to live in California’s lightly populated “empty quarter,” but the U.S. Government would not let them. So, they fought, defeating and defying military forces up to 25 times their size. The Modoc War of 1872-73 was the most unnecessary and preventable of all 19th Century Indian wars. It unfolded like a Classical Greek tragedy with all participants trapped, inexorably doomed. Insult compounded injury when this tragedy was later trivialized by photographic, literary, and cinematic fraud. The Modocs, one of the smallest of all American Indian tribes, still cast one of the largest shadows, over us all.
Make your reservations early for our first speaker of 2016, our own Brian Dervin Dillon, Deputy Sheriff. This will be a fascinating look into a very important aspect of California’s rich Native American history. Come one, come all!
John Selmer
Deputy Sheriff
Roundup: December 9, 2015
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Speaker: Juan Colato
Subject: Wells Fargo: Legendary Name, Artifacts, Fakes and “Fantasy” Items
For historians and those interested in other times and places, the name Wells Fargo is forever connected to adventurous and romantic images of runaway stagecoaches, shotgun guards, and treasure boxes filled with gold. It also includes the more mundane, if highly necessary, tools of doing business in the 19th century-ledger books, hand stamps, documents and forms, letters, desks, lamps, etc. that the dedicated Wells Fargo agent needed to perform his or her work for customers.
These items large and small have become rare today and highly collectible. The marketplace notes that the name Wells Fargo on a gun or document or belt buckle adds greatly to its value. Many unscrupulous folks in the marketplace also note that it is easy to add the name or initials WF to an authentic antique or to create something today that looks old! Since its founding in 1852, a whole industry was born that dedicates itself to producing counterfeit Wells Fargo material. Let those less informed be cautious, as there are numerous fakes out there to buy.
Come and enjoy this fascinating presentation with Juan Colato, Senior Wells Fargo History Museum Manager, from which you are sure to learn more than you think you know about Wells Fargo memorabilia.
John Selmer
Deputy Sheriff
Roundup: November 11, 2015
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Speaker: Eric A. Nelson
Subject: Farming in the San Joaquin River Delta
At the time that California was granted Statehood, the San Joaquin River Delta was nothing more than a swamp, with a river meandering through it. Eric Nelson’s power point presentation will trace the history of the development of this swampland into reclaimed parcels of land on which levees were constructed to keep the River from inundating the reclaimed lands and returning them back into swampland. Some of these reclaimed lands became, in effect, islands. Eric will explain the reclamation process, its history, and its current administration. Following the historical narrative, Eric will relate his experiences in the 1970s and 1980s, in overseeing a farming operation on the largest single-ownership island in the San Joaquin Delta, while dealing with the special characteristics associated with farming on land, surrounded by water and protected by levees.
Please join us this coming Veterans Day, November 11, 2015, for our twice-elected Sheriff’s fascinating glimpse into this important facet of California’s history. We look forward to your participation!
John Selmer
Deputy Sheriff
Rendezvous 2015
Click the “Buy Now” button below to submit your payment for the 2015 Rendezvous.
Roundup: September 9, 2015
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Speaker: Jerry Selmer
Subject: The Peenitentes of New Mexico
In the years following the Mexican Rebellion (1821), the Spanish priesthood was expelled from all of New Spain. In the faraway wilderness of Northern New Mexico, small villages wished to keep their perception of the Catholic faith. Religious groups formed without the direct guidance of the Church, resulting in zealous religious cults that called themselves Penitentes. These groups carry their religious practices to an extreme that is unknown to most of us. In tonight’s program, Jerry Selmer will give us an overview of how these practices blossomed ant how they may be seen from a outsider’s perspective. Come join us to learn about this unusual piece of history from the American Southwest.
Jerry Selmer is a 40-year member of the Los Angeles Corral and served as Sheriff in 1985. During his long public service career, he was appointed Executive Director of the Southwest Museum and served in that capacity from 1989 through 1992.
John Selmer
Deputy Sheriff
Roundup: September 9, 2015
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Speaker: Jerry Selmer
Subject: The Penitentes of New Mexico
In the years following the Mexican Rebellion (1821), the Spanish priesthood was expelled from all of New Spain. In the faraway wilderness of Northern New Mexico, small villages wished to keep their perception of the Catholic faith. Religious groups formed without the direct guidance of the Church, resulting in zealous religious cults that called themselves Penitentes. These groups carry their religious practices to an extreme that is unknown to most of us. In tonight’s program, Jerry Selmer will give us an overview of how these practices blossomed ant how they may be seen from a outsider’s perspective. Come join us to learn about this unusual piece of history from the American Southwest.
Jerry Selmer is a 40-year member of the Los Angeles Corral and served as Sheriff in 1985. During his long public service career, he was appointed Executive Director of the Southwest Museum and served in that capacity from 1989 through 1992.
John Selmer
Deputy Sheriff
Sittin’ Around the Campfire
Corral News
Dinner Reservations
Dinners cost $35 each and the reservation deadline is September 4, 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 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
October 17, 2015………………………….. Rendezvous, Rubel Castle, Glendora
November 11, 2015…………………………Eric Nelson, San Joaquin River Delta
December 9, 2015…………………………..Juan Colato, Wells Fargo Fakes
January 13, 2016……………………………Brian Dervin Dillon, The Modoc War
Book Reviews
Three books have arrived for review in the Branding Iron. If you would like to review one of them, please email Abe Hoffman at hoffmanaz@gmail.com. First come, first served. The books are:
AMERICAN MYTHMAKER: Walter Noble Burns and the Legends of Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp, and Joaquin Murrieta, by Mark J. Dworkin. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2015. 269pp. Illustrations, Notes, Bibliography, Index. Hardbound, $29.95.
CLYDE WARRIOR: Tradition, Community, and Red Power by Paul R. McKenzie-Jones. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2015. 234 pp. Illustrations, Notes, Bibliography, Index. Hardbound, $29.95.
GRIZZLY WEST: A Failed Attempt to Reintroduce Grizzly Bears in the Mountain West, by Michael J. Dax. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2015. 289 pp. Illustrations, Notes, Bibliography, Index. Hardbound, $37.50.
Roundup: August 12, 2015
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Speaker: Nat Read
Subject: The Story of early Los Angeles the man who molded it
Please join us this August 12th for a fascinating presentation about one of the most colourful and important people from our local Southern California history. Author Nat Read will surely delight the Corral with his insightful knowledge regarding Don Benito Wilson, truly a person of great importance in the history of this area.
Benjamin Davis “Don Benito” Wilson, 1811-1878, (namesake of Mount Wilson) molded Los Angeles in its late Mexican and early U.S. history. A mountain man and Alta California ranchero, he led U.S. Army troops in the first local battle of the Mexican War, set up U.S. government here, and was the second mayor of Los Angeles. Additionally, he also served as a Los Angeles County supervisor, and was elected to three terms of the California State Senate. He was president of the first local railroad and, with Phineas Banning, formed the Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor. He founded the predecessor college of USC and owned Beverly Hills, UCLA, Wilmington, Santa Monica, Pasadena, and large parts of downtown Los Angeles.
John Selmer
Deputy Sheriff
Roundup: July 8, 2015
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Speaker: Michael M. Brescia
Subject: The Living Legacies of Spain in the North American West: Law, Natural Resources, and International Treaties in the Borderlands
Michael M. Brescia, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Ethnohistory at the Arizona State Museum and Associate Professor of History at the University of Arizona and this year’s Autry Fellowship recipient examines the role of Spanish water rights in the American Southwest in light of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Gadsden Purchase. As the drought enters its second decade in most of the West, common law understandings of natural resources compete with U.S. treaty obligations that have obliged the judicial system to adjudicate certain water and land disputes under the old laws of Spain and Mexico. The talk will also examine the manner in which the two treaties protect natural resources that had been recognized as property rights when the Southwest was part of Mexico’s far northern frontier.
Dr. Brescia is a specialist in Mexican and Borderlands history and has served as a consultant and expert witness in several water rights cases in Arizona and New Mexico. He is the co-author of two books as well as numerous articles and essays. He also has served as lead curator of three museum exhibitions that have examined the links between Mexican and U.S. history.
John Selmer
Deputy Sheriff
Rendezvous Store
To pay & complete your purchase:
1. Fill out the RSVP form with Member Name and Guest Names and click Submit.
2. Then, select yourself + number of guests from drop-down menu and click Buy Now. You will be taken to PayPal. The following steps apply to the PayPal checkout process.
3. If you have a PayPal account: under Choose a way to pay, you can enter your PayPal account information. If you do not have a PayPal account: under Choose a way to pay, select Pay with debit or credit card, or Bill Me Later link and enter your billing information.
4. After entering your billing or account information on PayPal, click Pay. This will complete your purchase.
5. Any questions on how to use PayPal? Help is available. Call 562-408-6959 to speak with Sheriff John Shea.
Roundup: May 13, 2015
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA.
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Speaker: Bill Warren
Subject: William Wilcox Robinson: Historian, Poet, Story Teller, Critic, Community Servant, Museum Trustee, Bon Vivant, Friend, and always as a Man of Letters.
If you are one of the many members of the Los Angeles Corral who are interested in local history, you probably have one or more books or pamphlets written by W.W. Robinson. Come prepared to be enlightened and entertained by former Sheriff Bill Warren while he describes one of his heroes.
Will Robinson worked for years for Title Insurance and Trust Company, rising to Vice President of that concern. His business interests led him to research property history back to the Spanish and Mexican roots of much of Southern California. He was a prolific writer who delighted in making history interesting. Robinson and his artist wife, Irene, were a wonderfully collaborative force. Their efforts ranged from children’s books and poetry to fine press books printed with Irene’s imaginative illustrations.
Bill Warren will present an illustrated guide through the works of Will and Irene Robinson. Copies of some of these will be available for examination. Will and his close friends, Ward Ritchie and Larry Powell, had wicked imaginations and enjoyed nothing more than a little hijinks along the way. Join us for this enlightening presentation celebrating the life and times of W. W. Robinson.
John Selmer
Deputy Sheriff
Sittin’ Around the Campfire
Corral News
Dinner Reservations
Dinners cost $35 each and the reservation deadline is May 6, 2015. Late reservations can be accepted, but you will not be able to choose your entrée and the cost will be $40. Please mail your reservation, entrée selection, 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 “here,” under Roundup Store. Instructions are there. You need to select your entrée , submit it, then “buy” (two actions). Use the website Contact Us button if there are any questions or issues. You can also pay your dues, see Branding Irons, and submit Corral Chips information.
Upcoming Roundup Speakers & Programs
June 20, 2015 ………….FANDANGO! — Turner Hacienda, featuring the music of Los Californios
July 8, 2015…………………Autry National Center Fellow (TBD)
August 12, 2015………….Nat Read—Don Benito Wilson
September 9, 2015………Jerry Selmer—Penitentes of Northern New Mexico
October 17, 2015…………Rendezvous—Rubel Castle
November 11, 2015……..Eric Nelson—San Joaquin River Delta
Upcoming Community Events
At the Autry National Center of the American West
George Montgomery Gallery; April 25, 2015-January 3, 2016
Empire and Liberty is the first major museum exhibition to illuminate the causes and legacies of the American Civil War from the vantage point of Westward expansion. Visitors are invited to explore the conflicts and connections of a growing nation through an astonishing array of more than 200 significant artifacts, including Texas slave sale documents, Andres Pico’s war drum, the battle flag carried by soldiers of the California Hundred, a Buffalo Soldier’s revolver, and Cherokee General Stand Watie’s bowie knife. This exhibition shows how the Civil War was more than a clash between North and South; it was part of a history of debate over how America would expand, and who, within that expanding nation, might claim freedom.
Roundup: May 13, 2015
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA.
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM
Speaker: Bill Warren
Subject: William Wilcox Robinson: Historian, Poet, Story Teller, Critic, Community Servant, Museum Trustee, Bon Vivant, Friend, and always as a Man of Letters.
If you are one of the many members of the Los Angeles Corral who are interested in local history, you probably have one or more books or pamphlets written by W.W. Robinson. Come prepared to be enlightened and entertained by former Sheriff Bill Warren while he describes one of his heroes.
Will Robinson worked for years for Title Insurance and Trust Company, rising to Vice President of that concern. His business interests led him to research property history back to the Spanish and Mexican roots of much of Southern California. He was a prolific writer who delighted in making history interesting. Robinson and his artist wife, Irene, were a wonderfully collaborative force. Their efforts ranged from children’s books and poetry to fine press books printed with Irene’s imaginative illustrations.
Bill Warren will present an illustrated guide through the works of Will and Irene Robinson. Copies of some of these will be available for examination. Will and his close friends, Ward Ritchie and Larry Powell, had wicked imaginations and enjoyed nothing more than a little hijinks along the way. Join us for this enlightening presentation celebrating the life and times of W. W. Robinson.
John Selmer
Deputy Sheriff
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
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 8th 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):
Any questions? just send me an email joscavallo@sbcglobal.net.
I would be glad to help you.
Joseph Cavallo
Web Wrangler
Past Sheriff 2013