I received word that Virginia (Peek) Pappe passed away on November 11, 2022. Virginia was born March 3, 1943, in Kern County, CA. She married Charles Pappe, class of 1957 in 1961and they lived in Ridgecrest, CA.
This video contains some great drone videography and provided me with at least a virtual visit to Trona which will have to do for now.
He starts out at the old Perkins gas station but somehow never makes it to Pioneer Point.
Anna Sue Johnson Eldridge left a message on Facebook saying that Al had recently passed away. If I get any additional information, I will post it here.
Is it West End or Westend? If you are talking about the Chemical Company, it is West End. If you are talking about the town, it is Westend. Don’t let the name confuse your sense of direction, Westend is on the south end of Searles Valley.
West End Chemical Company began in Nevada.
Francis Marion Smith formed the Tonopah Extension Mining and Milling Company, which later became the West End Consolidated Mining Company. He then used his West End capital for new projects, including the acquisition of mineral rights to a large section of Searles Lake in northern San Bernardino County, California and in the Panamint Valley in Inyo County, California.
Henry Hellmers was born in 1891 at Varel, Germany. He came to United States in 1908 and studied Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Berkley. He became a citizen in 1915. In1924 while working for “Borax” Smith he patented a process that he believed would make a plant at Searles Lake profitable. He used limestone mined in Panamint Valley to created carbon dioxide which when bubbled up through lake brine would cause the borax and sodium bicarbonate to separate from the solution.
Henry is listed in the 1950 Census as a resident of the Westend Village and used Westend as his address when he registered to vote in 1960. He managed the West End plant at least up to that time. The employees knew him as Mr. Westend.
Henry was known for his love of fly fishing and collection of photographic slides of wildflowers that he had taken.
Henry Hellmers developed profitable processes for refining the lake brines into the marketable products that were produced by the West End Chemical Company.
Note the picture, and from the left to right beginning from the center of the picture, we have the old West End Village (now a pile of lime). Down the middle of the village and heading to the right is Nevada Ave.
To the right of the village are two one story buildings which were the bunkhouse garages. At right angles to the garages is the two-story No. 2 bunkhouse.
In front of the No. 2 bunkhouse is the No. 1 bunkhouse which has an open area (patio) in the center of the building.
To the right is a 100-foot wooden tank – at the time, the largest wooden tank west of the Mississippi. Beyond that was a series of tanks used for brine storage.
The white pile in the background is quick lime.
The building and the cement slab are the rec hall and tennis courts.
Four buildings in a row were bunk houses and beyond that are the borax storage tanks and right of that was the borax refinery building. Beyond that are the 5-foot carbonate towers, and in front of them were three vertical lime kilns. Beyond this were the 10-foot carbonating towers, and on the right is the machine shop.
The above description is from the book, Trona Trivia by Dr. O. N. Cole. Unfortunately, the picture isn’t large enough to identify all the landmarks he mentioned.
For many of us who didn’t live there, Westend was a place that passed on our way in and out of Searles Valley that we didn’t know very much about.
In 1956 West End Chemical Company merged with Stauffer Chemical Company The Westend plant was purchased from Stauffer Chemical Company by Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation on October 1, 1974.
The photos and information on this page were sent to me by C. Patrick Dunne. They were part of a presentation he made for the 2014 Trona Centennial. Thank you, Pat!
An email from Donald’s daughter, Helen Arrowood, informed me that Donald passed away on November 15, 2022.
Donald was the son of Raemon and Ruth Samuels. He was born 11 February 1938, probably in Trona. It is more than likely that he was enrolled in the Trona schools from kindergarten through high school graduation. His father was an electrical engineer for AP & CC and they lived on Wildrose Street. Donald had an older brother, Neil, class of 1945 and a sister Virginia, class of 1951.
According to the 1955 yearbook Donald was in the band for four years, the varsity club for three years, was a member of the track team for two years and a member of the basketball team for two years.
When an official obituary is available, I will post a link to it.
My condolences to Donald’s family.
Please send me any photos you would like to share.
I was told that the “T’ was illuminated with battery powered LEDs this year. (I would like to know more about that. In the early years the “T” was lit up with kerosene soaked torches. Then after someone realized just how dangerous that was the Trona RR would donate railroad flares to lite up the “T”.
If I remember correctly it was always the job of the 7th grade students to make the trek up to the “T” with the flares.
When the natural gas line was run to Trona the gas company made a promise that the couldn’t keep of running a gas line up to the “T” so that the “T” could be gas fired. The best they were able to do was create a large “T” out of pipe that was probably fueled with a propane tank. It was used one time and abandoned.
I still remember the day that Bobbie Halstead walked into our 3rd grade class as a new student. It was around 1952 or 1953. The Halstead family had just moved to Trona from Porterville. I had never heard of Porterville before and had no idea where it was. She was assigned the desk next to mine. We were friends ever since. I didn’t keep up with Bobbie’s life so I can’t tell you much about it. I chatted with her on the computer quite a bit she started complaining about memory problems and just sort of disappeared from Facebook. The last time I saw her was at the last class reunion that I attended. It was a very sad moment yesterday when I heard that she had passed away. She died on July 10, 2022.
Bobbie was born in Porterville January 24, 1943 to James and Irene Halstead. Bobbie came to Trona with her three brothers, Frank, Jack and Richard and a younger sister Linda. Frank was in the class of 1954 and Jack and Richard were in the class of 1956. Jack passed away in 2003. Linda was in the class of 1962
We would like to express our sincerest condolences to Bob and to all of Bobbie’s family.
Note: Roger went by the name of Roger Terry while he lived in Trona. The family left Trona about 1954/1955.
Roger Kenneth Mitchell
March 22, 1938 – July 14, 2022
Roger Kenneth Mitchell was born March 22, 1938 in Waukegan, IL, and went to be with his Lord on July 14, 2022, aboard the cruise ship Ruby Princess while docked in Juneau, AK.
Spending his youth in Trona, CA, Roger spent many hours exploring the surrounding mountains and desert near Death Valley, ultimately leading him to earn a university degree in geology.
Following graduation, he began following another passion, that of travel to and exploration of other countries, expanding his thirst for knowledge and experiencing world cultures different from his own. His love of travel continued until the end of his life, even though the menace of Parkinson’s Disease wracked his body, making mobility more difficult. The day before he passed away, he enjoyed the wonder and beauty of the Yukon Territory, adding another place to his long list as a member of the Travelers’ Century Club.
Roger believed in helping his fellow Americans and world neighbors. He served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves as a medic. He joined the Peace Corps in its formative years and spent two years helping the indigenous people of the 12,000-foot-high Altiplano plateau of Bolivia build a water system to better their existence.
Service to the members of his community continued while he lived for a number of years in Bishop, CA, where he was a member of the Inyo County Sheriff Department Search and Rescue Team, using the experience he gained while climbing many of the Sierra Club 100 Peaks and twice hiking the John Muir trail on his own.
After moving his family with three sons to Oakhurst in 1980, Roger became a Scout leader, sharing his knowledge and love of the mountains and nature with the boys in the troop and camping with them each summer at Camp Chawanakee.
As Roger commuted to Fresno every day on the dangerous two-lane Highway 41, he came upon many accidents. After one particularly deadly day, he decided to train as an EMT in order to feel like he might help in the future. He joined the Madera County Volunteer Fire Department at Oakhurst Station 12, where he ultimately served as the Captain for 16 years.
Under his knowledgeable leadership, the volunteer company grew in numbers to provide excellent service to the community of Oakhurst and County of Madera, with many firefighters choosing to continue the profession with CalFire.
Roger was awarded the Madera County Firefighter of the Year in 1980 for his role in leading the fundraising and purchase of the first automatic external defibrillator A.E.D. in the county fire department for the engine at Station 12. A life-saving piece of equipment now seen literally everywhere groups of people gather, it was a game changer back in 1980.
Exploring was part of Roger’s nature from an early age, and he began to share his experiences in the 1970s by writing for off-road magazines, encouraging his readers to follow his lead in exploring their surroundings. He wrote booklets that guided off-roaders to follow jeep roads in the forests of the Sierra Nevada and the deserts of Death Valley and Joshua Tree.
Upon reaching retirement, he was able to once again focus on his passions for exploration and writing, traveling far-flung trails with Loris to new destinations in California and Nevada. Together they created Track and Trail Publications and published eleven 4×4 trail guides. Through these guidebooks Roger will continue to lead his readers down roads to exciting new adventures, teaching them about the history, natural wonders and respect for the environment.
Roger is survived by Loris Mitchell, his wife of 44 years; daughter Susan Scammon and her husband Mike; sons Lawrence Ott, his wife Jennifer, Jeran Ott, his wife Elizabeth, and Andrew Mitchell; sister Betty Kuehn; granddaughter Colette Ott; and many friends who remember him fondly. He was preceded in death by his grandson Dallas Dituri.
A service will be held at Oakhill Cemetery on Friday, July 29, 2022, at 1 p.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=17Iz0D1EbxE7E53SPZ_iPo0cVJRLA1e8&ehbc=2E312F
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Fresno Flats – Sierra Historic Sites Association (fresnoflatsmuseum.org).
