More Addtions to the “In Memory” Page

Leave a reply

According to the social security death index the following alumni were all residents of Trona:

  • Rex Henry Duffel, class of 1959, was born on December 31, 1941 and passed away on Friday, January 14, 2011.
  • Ben J. Nelson, class of 1961, was born November 29, 1943 and passed away on Friday, October 1, 2010.
  • Sharon Nell Hodges, class of 1966, was born on June 26, 1947 and passed away on Tuesday, February 1, 2011.
  • Dean Lawrence Boase, class of 1972 was born on January 17, 1954 and passed away on Wednesday, January 19, 2011.
  • Perry Jay Bynum, class of 1982, was born on May 26, 1964 and passed away on Tuesday, October 4, 2011.

I almost never know someone has died until I hear it from George Sherman. Ever since I saw George pull a rabbit out of a hat I had thought that he knew everything, but now I am finding out that, like me, he only remembers the classmates that were in School when he was. Thank you Cynthia Rains Moreno for bringing the younger alumni to my attention. Please take a moment to remember those that you knew and pass the news along to classmates who might not know that an old friend has died.

Rex Henry Duffel

Rex Henry Duffel Class of 1959

I remember Rex Duffel, although not very well. He was the football team manager along with Elliot Cook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ben Nelson, Class of 1961

Ben Nelson Class of 1961

I remember Ben Nelson for blowing up a cork gun by trying to use a real shotgun shell in it and for the trap door under his bed where he stored dynamite that he found at old mine sites. It is a wonder that he lived as long as he did. I say this in the spirit of the friendship we once shared as children.

 

 

 

I remember Sharon Hodges’ name but I cannot remember why.

Taking the time to remember old friends makes my task a little easier. We are deeply sorry to hear about our classmates deaths and in sorrow, we mourn those lost. In gratitude, we embrace those around us who remain. In sympathy, we reach out to those who grieve.

Valley Wells

Where does the water for Valley Wells come from? Are there really wells?

2 Replies

It is amazing to see this. In the early the diving board and diving tower were removed and all diving was prohibited. There were just too many people getting injured diving into five-and-a-half-foot water.

John Fox, the son of Larry Fox, sent me a message today but the email address he used was invalid. Here is my reply to his letter.

Where does the water for Valley Wells come from? Are there really wells? — John

John,

Great question. I appreciate it. It gives me something to write about.

Valley Wells was named for the wells that make it possible to have the large reservoir of water known as Valley Wells that was used as a swimming pool for many years.   If you have ever been to Valley Wells you may have noticed the well towers all around it. You can see the top of one towering above the trees in the picture above. The wells were drilled hoping to find fresh water but it was discovered that the water from the wells was salty.

Still, the water was very useful. It is used for processes and cleaning in the chemical plant. It is used to water the tamarisk trees around the pool. At one time it was used throughout Trona to water trees and in all the toilets for flushing.

I remember a new school teacher telling his class about how they were having a plumbing problem in the house but he discovered that the tap outside was still working so that is where he got the water for coffee that morning. He learned about Trona salt water the hard way.

alley

The well towers are rather interesting. They look like oil drilling rigs. I’m guessing they served the same purpose. The difference is that the Valley Wells towers are enclosed. My guess is that instead of tearing the rigs down they enclosed them and turned them into pump houses.

Valley Wells

Valley Wells

Valley Wells

Valley Wells

Valley Wells

Valley Wells

John,

Did you ever live in Trona. If so do you remember where you lived and what your father did there?

My brother worked with Larry at Westend. When I was in elementary school Larry Fox lived in a duplex on Clover Street and was involved in newspaper delivery.

Do you know the location of the Hog Ranch in Ridgecrest?

I hope you will be to share some of your photos of Trona that you mentioned with us. I’m looking forward to hearing from you again.

Note: John Fox died in 2014. He never responded to me.

Don Brooks

Donald “Don” Milton Brooks Class of 1954

Leave a reply

My brother, Joel wrote and told me that that Don Brooks, class of 1954 had died about a year ago.  His death was October 26, 2011. He was buried in the Searles Valley Cemetery. Don Worked in Trona for 40 years.

Don Brooks’ Obituary

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79673144/donald-milton-brooks

Warren “Gene Bradburn” Greenstreet Eagle — Class of 1951

Leave a reply

Warren “Gene Bradburn” Greenstreet Eagle, passed away on February 20, 2013. Gene was in the class of 1951 but the family left Trona after his junior year. Gene was the son of Kenneth Greenstreet and Doris Hicks. Gene’s father died of pneumonia in 1935 when he was three. Sortly after that his mother Doris married Fred Bradburn. Gene’s brother, Kenneth “Leroy” Greenstreet- Bradburn was in the class of 1952. They had two younger sisters; Linda and Joyce who were born after their father died.

Obituary:

“Warren Eugene Eagle, a resident of McCloud, California, passed away on February 20, 2013 at Mercy Medical Center in Mount Shasta, California. He was 80 years old.

Gene was born in Elwood, Indiana on November 29, 1932. He moved to Siskiyou County from Pomona, California in 1980.

Gene was a veteran of the US Army. He was a tradesman and enjoyed the outdoors.

Survivors include his wife, Leslie Eagle of McCloud; sons, Randolph Greenstreet of Sierra Vista, Arizona, and Warren Eugene Greenstreet Jr. of McCloud; daughters, Tamara Greenstreet of Sierra Vista, Arizona, and Stacy Otte of Yuba City; brother, LeRoy (and Shirley) Bradburn of Elwood, Indiana; sister, Joyce Call of Sierra Vista, Arizona; and four grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Arrangements are in the care of Mt. Shasta Memorial Chapel.”

 

Larry Fox Class of 1951

Larry Fox of Ridgecrest

6 Replies

While looking for an obituary for Elton Fox, class of 1945 I found the obituary of his brother, Larry Fox. Larry graduated with the class of 1951. He died May 30, 2012. Larry lived most of his life in Ridgecrest but lived in Trona for a while.

I think I vaguely remember Larry. I think he and his family lived on the west end of Clover Street for a while. My parent knew him and were friends with his father, Joe Fox. When they were first married they lived at what was called the Bowman Hog Ranch which was owned by Joe. Joe also several businesses in Ridgecrest.

According to Larry’s obituary he served in the military during World War II and was responsible for the first teeth being painted on Fish Rock during the 1930s

Fish Rock The Early Years

This is the way Fish Rock looked like in Larry Fox’s artistic days

There is another version of the Fish Rocks story that has Larry Fox’s father Joe as the one that painted the teeth on Fish Rocks see Angling the Fish Rocks Story and High Desert Memories

In Memory Additions

1 Reply

Lit Brush emailed the names of two of her 1945 classmates that died in 2012. They are: Samuel Downs Jr. and Barbara (Ford) Westbrook. Another 1945 graduate died in 2009, William Elton Fox.  They all died all of natural causes.

Barbara Westbrook is listed as Barbara Ford in the 1944 yearbook and and Barbara Ford Merritt in the 1945 yearbook. Lit Brush told me that “Merritt” is the last name of her stepfather.  I have used the same name as her obituary.

Barbara (Merritt) Westbrook, Class of 1945

Barbara (Ford) Westbrook, Class of 1945

 

Elton Fox

Elton Fox Class of 1945

Ssm Downs Jr.

Samuel Downs Jr. Class of 1945

 

 

 

 

W.E. Fox

WILLIAM ELTON FOX (Age 82) A resident of Springfield, VA died on December 26, 2009. He was a retired Scientist for the Environmental Protection Agency. He is survived by his loving wife Ruth McCrary Fox; two sons, Thomas and James Fox; one daughter, Peggy Fox; one brother, Lawrence Fox; Five grandchildren, William, Robert and Rachel Fox, Logan Horan and Leah Horan. Memorial Service will be on Wednesday, January 6, 2009, 1 p.m. at Greenspring Chapel, 7420 Spring Village Dr., Springfield, VA 22150.

Arrangements entrusted to Demaine Funeral Home, 5308 Backlick Rd. Springfield, VA, 703-549-0074.
Published in The Washington Post from December 30 to December 31, 2009

Shopping in 1915

Trona Centennial Celebration March 2014

7 Replies

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