Category Archives: Celebrations and Picnics

Centennials, Former Tronans Picnic, Things like that.

2025 All Class Reunion Hotel Information

All Rooms are plus tax. All rooms are double occupancy. Price is per night.
All rooms need to be reserved under Trona All Class Reunion.

Springhill Suites – 760.446.1630
King or double queen $109.00 plus tax
Holding 10 rooms, will add more if needed and available

Hampton Inn and Suites – 760.446.1968
King bed or double queen $109.00 plus tax
Holding 10 rooms, will add more if needed and available

Red Roof (Heritage Inn & Suites) 760.446.6543
King or double queen $95.00 plus tax

Holiday Inn Express 800-439-4745
King or queen double $165.30 plus tax
Includes breakfast

Clarion Inn 760.446.7910
King $106.00 plus tax
Queen $111.00 plus tax
Includes breakfast

Best Western 760.371.2300 Only holding 20 rooms
King $119.99 plus tax
Double Queen* $129.99 plus tax
* Additional adult in room $10 per night per head
Not pet friendly
Includes breakfast

Quality Inn 760.375.9731
5 kings reserved $114.53 plus tax
5 double queens reserved $114.53 plus tax
Includes breakfast

Please note: You must call and reserve room(s) directly with the hotel to get these special
rates. Reserving the room through a 3rd party (Expedia or Booking.com) will NOT get you these rates and rates can not be changed by the hotel later.

Gearing Up for the All Class Reunion 2025

The festivities will begin Friday night, October 24, with the coronation ceremony and bonfire, followed by a street dance on Frontage Road from 8:00 to midnight. DJ Eric Shoaf of Good Vibrations will again be proving the music. Saturday activities include the pancake breakfast, Homecoming parade, with our very own Andy Ledesma as Alumni Grand Marshall. Lunch will be served from 11:00-1:00 in the high school gym. The Varsity football game against Lone Pine will start around 2:30 pm, preceded by the introduction of the Homecoming Court at 1:45 pm. Saturday evening includes dancing and entertainment from 9:00 pm -1:00 am at the Elks, provided by Monarch Party Band, led by our very own Trona alumni John Young. The evening meal will be heavy Hors d’oeuvres.

Souvenir tee shirts, zip up hoodie sweatshirts, and baseball caps are available for purchase on the order form.

Here is the schedule of events:
Friday, October 24th
• 6:00 pm Coronation on the football field
• 8:00 pm Bonfire and “T” lighting
• 8-12 pm Street Dance – Frontage Rd. (where the liquor store/pizza parlor was)
Saturday, October 25th
• 7:00 am Pancake Breakfast at the Senior Citizens Center
• 10:00 am Homecoming Parade
• 11:00 am Catered Lunch in the high school gym (11:00-1:00)
• 1:45 pm Introduction of Homecoming Court followed by Varsity Game
• 6:00 pm Social hour at the Elks
• 7:00 pm Heavy Hors d’oeuvres meal served from (7:00-9:00)
• 9:00 pm Dancing at the Elks

◊ Reunion souvenirs: Souvenir tee shirts, hoodie sweatshirts, and hats can be ordered on the order form. These souvenirs will NOT be available for sale during the reunion weekend, so buy them now! Souvenir packets will be available for pickup at the street dance on Friday night and after the parade on Saturday in front of the gym. A group picture will be taken at the gym prior to the lunch. Be sure to wear your reunion shirt!!!

◊ Cell phones: Only Verizon cell phones will work in Trona. If you plan to purchase a prepaid
Verizon phone for the event, please make sure to ask if that phone will work in Trona. Apparently some do, and some don’t.

Here is a list of Cell phone providers that use Verizon:

Visible: Owned by Verizon, Visible offers unlimited data, talk, and text plans.

Xfinity Mobile: Offers plans that can be bundled with Xfinity internet services.

Red Pocket: Provides various prepaid plans across Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile networks.
US Mobile: Offers customizable plans with options for premium data and international features.
Straight Talk: Uses Verizon’s network, as well as AT&T and T-Mobile.
Twigby: A low-cost provider with plans for different data needs.
Page Plus: A prepaid provider operating on Verizon’s network.
Spectrum Mobile: Offers plans bundled with Spectrum internet and mobile services.
Total Wireless: A prepaid service provider that utilizes Verizon’s network.
TracFone: Another prepaid provider that uses Verizon’s network, along with other major networks.

FORMER TRONANS CLUB PICNIC 2016

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2016 has come fast, hasn’t it? It doesn’t seem like two years since the Centennial Celebration, but it’s time again to plan for the 2016 Former Tronans Picnic. This year the Picnic will be held on October 8th. That’s the second weekend in October. The Searles Lake Gem and Mineral Show will also be at that same time, so be sure to walk through and see some of our local artists and their presentations.

We would appreciate hearing from you whether or not you plan to attend. Let us know how you and your family are doing and be sure to verify your address, phone number and email address (if you have one). Thank you to all who made donations to cover our expenses last time! Please get your response forms in by 30 September at the very latest.

TIME AND PLACE

Our Picnic will be held on Saturday, October 8th beginning at 10:00 AM at the our usual meeting place, the Trona Elementary School (the Round School) on Athol Street.

FOOD

Sack lunches (sandwich, chips, fruit cup, dessert) are available for $8 each. Please include payment with your response as these lunches must be pre-ordered. Beverages will be provided by the club.

The Trona Community Church always sponsors a pancake breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6 a.m. until 10 a.m. The cost is $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children seven and under. It is a great way to start your morning!

The Trona Elks will have a deep-pit BBQ (beef or pork) Saturday evening from 3 p.m. until gone. If you’re interested, call the Trona Elks and let them know. Food is also available at the Trails Drive-in and at Esparza’s Family Restaurant (old Theater) on Main Street.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

The Searles Lake Gem and Mineral Society will be celebrating their 75th annual Gem-O-Rama on October 8th and 9th. Free Plant Tours by bus at 11, 11:40, 12:20, 1 p.m. and 2:30 on Saturday only. For additional information, please refer to the flier included in this letter.

The museums of the Searles Valley Historical Society – Old Guest House, History House, and the Trona Railway, will be open on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and on Sunday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. The Fire Museum will be open on Saturday only.

LODGING

Pinnacle Inn Clarion Inn Comfort Inn
84368 Trona Road 901 N. China Lake Blvd. 507 S. China Lake Blvd
Trona, CA 93562 Ridgecrest, CA 93555 Ridgecrest, CA 93555
(760) 372-5795 (760) 446-7910 (760) 375-9731
Hampton Inn & Suites Spring Hill Suites (Marriott) Heritage Inn & Suites
104 E. Sydnor Ave. 113 E. Sydnor Ave 1050 N. Norma
Ridgecrest CA 93555 Ridgecrest CA 93555 Ridgecrest CA 93555
(760) 446-1968 (800) 741-5072 (800) 843-0693
Best Western China Lake Inn
400 S. China Lake Blvd
Ridgecrest, CA 93555
760 371-2300

Camping is available at Valley Wells for a nominal fee (only for the weekend).

We’re looking forward to seeing all our friends. Please let us know by returning the enclosed attendance form.

See you at the Picnic!

Nicki (Weidenbenner) Johnson

Enclosures

The Former Tronans Picnic? takes place October 8th, 10AM – 2PM in the Trona Elementary (round) School. All Former Tronans are invited to come and it’s FREE! PDF forms (Info on the Picnic, a RSVP form, and the Gem and Mineral Show, also on the same weekend) can be downloaded here:

2016 Letter Download

2016 Letter Response Form Download

Gem Show Flyer Download

 

 

Centennial Plaque

Jess Plaque Linda Monroe sent me this picture of the bronze plaque Jess Dominguez created for the centennial and of the dedication ceremony for the plaque. Jess did a great job with the plaque and Linda took some great photos of it. Thanks for sharing Linda.

Argus Cemetery Book

Cholla Sizemore’s booklet on the Argus Cemetery is back from the printers and ready for sale! This is an order form you can save to your computer and print out. These will be available for sale at the Museum. For more information about this book please go to: http://www.news-ridgecrest.com/news/story.pl?id=0000002223 and http://www.ridgecrestca.com/article/20140227/NEWS/140229596

More Trona Centennial Information

The Trona Centennial committee is looking for sponsors:

Sponsor levels are:

Borax – $1000.00 or more
Hanksite -$750.00 to $999.00
Potash – $500.00 to $749.00
Halite – $100.00 to $499.00
Trona – $1.00 to $99.00

Send your donation to:

Trona Centennial
PO Box 630
Trona, CA 93592-0630

There will be a Searles Valley History Symposium on Friday, March 28, 2014

Talks already Spoken for are: Trona Mining History; Trona in the 1950’s; Trona Place Names; Trona Water Line; Searles Valley Historical Society History; Epsom Salt Monorail; Shady Myrick’s Mining Adventures in Searles Valley; Garden City; Bootlegging in the Area. If you are interested in Giving a please contact Russ Kaldenberg at kaldenberg@machlink.com. They are looking for about seven more talks.

Shopping in 1915

Trona Centennial Celebration March 2014

The Trona Centennial Celebration will be held March 28-30, 2014. The Former Tronan’s Picnic will be held on Saturday, March 29, 2014 from 3PM to 5PM at the Trona Elementary School Cafeteria. Please check the centennial schedule for more information.

Centennial Schedule and Map
Trona Centennial Celebration History Symposium Schedule
Official Trona Centennial Celebration Facebook Page
The Daily Independent Ridgecrest
Centennial Car Show
Car-Truck-Motorcycle Show Registration Form

The post office is the building on the left behind the cars in the picture above. It opened on March 27, 1914. It’s opening marks the beginning of the town,Trona. The first post office in Searles Valley was actually on the other side of the lake in Slate Range City.  Slate Range City was already an abandoned ghost town by 1914. The picture below shows the post office from another angle.

Trona Post Office2

More Centennial Information