Roundup: January 9, 2019

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

Our Speaker: Brian Dervin Dillon, Ph.D.
His Subject: Exiles and Saints at Kalaupapa, Molokai, Hawaii

In the 19th Century, epidemiology was in its infancy, and “germ theory” was by no means commonly accepted, even by surgeons and physicians.  The causes of, and cures for, many of the most dreaded diseases were unknown, and few cities, even in America, had hospitals as we know them today. Isolation and quarantine were the most common responses to the threat of communicable diseases, real or imagined, around the world.

In 1866 a quarantine facility was begun at Kalaupapa, on the most isolated portion of Molokai in the Hawaiian Islands.  Over the next century, more than 8,000 people suspected of leprosy were sent there, not to be cured, but to be isolated in exile.  All but a few died there. Portrayed as hell on earth by sensationalistic writers like Jack London and James Michener, more thoughtful visitors to Kalaupapa like Robert Louis Stevenson believed it instead to be a holy place, a breeding ground for saints. Indeed, no part of what is now the United States has produced more Saints (one per square mile) than has Kalaupapa, and no part of America has such an unusual, tragic, yet at the same time uplifting, history.

Brian Dervin Dillon is uniquely qualified to speak about Kalaupapa.  He first became familiar with our 50th State as an eight-year-old while his father was teaching history at the University of Hawaii.  Some years later he became an honorary Islander by marrying into a long-established Chinese family with roots on both Kauai and the Big Island, gaining Native Hawaiian calabash cousins into the bargain. For more than 40 years he has been the “token Haole” of his large, diverse, multi-racial, multi-ethnic family. Four of his relatives by marriage, both Chinese and Hawaiian, were exiled to Kalaupapa in the 19th and 20th centuries.  All of them died there, and all four are still buried there.

Posted by Ann Shea, Deputy Sheriff

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.  The beef will be grilled prime sirloin with a sweet & spicy sauce. The chicken dish will be baked garlic chicken with parmesan cheese.  The vegetarian dinner will be stuffed zucchini instead of the usual boring but healthy fresh vegetables such as broccoli, tomato, carrots, cauliflower, peppers, potato or the ever-popular jicama, kale and brussels sprouts.  We have hopefully talked the chef into fulfilling his contractual obligations from the December Roundup dessert fiasco by serving our traditional holiday Cherries Jubilee Flambé a month late in January.

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.

Future Los Angeles Corral Events

February 13, 2019 Roundup
Mark Hall-Patton on One Hump or Two?: The Commercial Use of Camels in the West

March 13, 2019 Roundup
Speaker To Be Determined

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.  Call Michele Clark, our Sunshine Wrangler, at (626) 822-1522 if you need a ride.

Books and Art Pieces for Sale

Once again, you can buy books, art pieces and other ephemera donated to the Corral.  You can order items on the lists at the bottom of the online Roundup announcement at www.lawesterners.org. Contact Brian Dillon via email at briandervindillon@gmail.com.

Art

To view the items included in this year’s art auction, click here.

Books

To view the items included in this year’s book auction, click here.

Contact Ann Shea, Deputy Sheriff, at 13613 Barlin Avenue, Downey, CA 90242-5107 at annwshea@ca.rr.com or at (626) 446-6411 with any questions or news