In 1907, Chris Beck ran into trouble with the Los Angeles Police Department and was
ordered out of the city by a constable.
Beck fled to Helendale, bought a farm and lived there the rest of his life.
Eleven years later, Beck's infant nephew, Bill Bender, visited Helendale for the first
time. At 72, and a full time resident for almost 40 years, Bender is now part of
Helendale's history as well.
Although Helendale was never a bustling community, by the time Beck moved there it
already was on the map. Hundreds of year earlier it was a campsite for Indians traveling
between the East Mojave Desert and the coast, followed in the l9th century by explorers
like Kit Carson and Jedediah Smith.
This week end, Bender and 15 other old-timers ,shared their memories with about 350
children and 90 adults in Helendale Schools second annual History Rendezvous. They didn't
just talk about the community's history. They also showed it by bringing their favorite
old things.
Before Bender spoke, the crowd had already learned from local historian John Swisher
about the people who passed through Helendale, such as Carson, Smith and the Indians.
"I know a lot about the characters who stayed here," Bender said. One was
E1isabeth Siebert, better known as Sagebrush Annie", who operated an inn by the same
name on National Trails Highway in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Siebert couldn't cook and was
afraid to stay alone, Bender said. So, after her husband died, she had different men stay
with her to cook her customers' meals. One of her live-in chefs was Red Cole, a burly
ex-railroad man. Cole's hamburgers cost twice as much to make as he sold them for, Bender
said, but he didn't care because Siebert paid for them. After World War II, a colonel
visited Bender in Helendale. The two dined at Sagebrush Annie's because the colonel had
heard Cole's hamburgers were delicious.
Cole, who was allergic to cement, had just built a block house when the colonel
visited. The colonel couldn't help but notice his scaly red hands and runny nose.
Bender recalls that after the colonel returned to Los Angeles, he wrote a letter. It
read: "War is just kid's play after my encounter with Red Cole. I'm thinking of
nominating him for official Air Force Chef, because I've never seen a man who could pick
his nose, flip a hamburger and scratch both armpits at the same time."
Siebert's competition was run by Harold and Anita Winters, who were considered
Helendale's town drunks in the 1930s, Bender said.
"Harold was the bartender and his (own) best customer," Bender said.
"Anita was the cook."
From time to time, the couple got into arguments, often with weapons. One time, Harold
tried to shoot Anita with a rifle, but she ran out of the bar, fell in a hole and broke
both ankles.
Injuries were commonplace in the Winters household, Bender said, because they also were
frequently in car accidents. While recuperating, they spent all their time in a raised,
built-in bed that allowed them to to look out a small window.
"They spent most of their time in bed with broken bones, or broken this or
that.", Bender said. "They spent so much time in bed they lost track of what was
going on in the world."
Saturday afternoon, Bender pointed out where his favorite characters lived in a caravan
tour down National Trails Highway. Old-timers Henry Jay and Mirl Orebaugh also hosted
tours. taking participants to old schools, historic ranches and long closed businesses.
After the tours, the Mojave Historical Society dedicated a marker recognizing
contributions to history made by a ranch owned by former county supervisor Bob Older.
After the dedication, participants enjoyed a hayride, barbecue and campfire lecture by
history instructor Leo Lyman at the ranch.
Helendale today is best known for the newer community of Silver Lakes, which sprang up
when the lakes were built in the late 1970s and now has a population of about 1,000.
But the old-timers don't want Helendale's history to die with them. Neither does
Helendale School Principal Jim Brown, who organized the first History Rendezvous last year
and was largely responsible for putting on the 1991 version.
