California Historic Route 66 Association

Keepsake vol Two

HODGE AREA TOUR

1930'S LENWOOD AIR FIELD
AND HODGE AREA TOUR

BASED ON AN INTERVIEW WITH
1920'S - 40'S HODGE RESIDENT HENRY JAY.

MILEAGE FROM HELENDALE
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

1937 - Near the site of the current Helendale Elementary School
cattle grazed on the open range and often needed to be herded back
to the property. Henry and Dudley would often leave their Hodge
home early in the morning and would not return until well after
dark. The cattle would follow the river
way into this Helendale area.

Indian ponies were ridden bareback to do most of the herding. Henry
says they were small but like riding dynamite!

Many of these cattle were raised from calves and pastured along the
river where they found much nourishment including mesquite and
screwbean. The screwbean will be demonstrated a little further
along the tour.

Peachtree Lane. Left on Strawberry Lane. Left on Vista Road. Left
on Helendale Road.

1.1
The Mojave River hasn't changed much since Henry's early boyhood.
Except for the fact that the Federal Government's Army Corp of
Engineers removed nearly all Cottonwood Trees from the riverbed
during the late 30's and early 40's. Reason? It was believed that
the Cottonwood's great root system would drain the river of its
water supply. Ha! Sound like some of today's government projects?

Beyond the river is the Helendale Hill where the old Helendale
Beacon flashed its 3 red and 1 white beams of light into the sky to
guide early navigators of the sky in their journeys along the
river.

1.6
Smithson Road. Mrs. Smithson was an area socialite who wore furs
and "stuck her nose in the air". More on her later.

Turn right on Wild Road.

2.6
Boothill on left. Someone's idea of a joke to be shared with our
desert friends.

Road turns left.

2.8
Screwbean bush. This is a mesquite variety that served to sustain
the Native Indians of the desert as well as the livestock that
ranged.

Taste some! For the cattle, this was like eating oats, etc.

3.2 - 4.4
Note the mining activity in this area. Of course, the desert is
full of men and mining stories.

The road you are traveling on was no more than a dirt road - really
only a trail - during the 30's.

5.8
Notice the "stand pipes" along the side of the road. These were
used to divert the hydraulic ram effect so as to prevent the
waterways from being destroyed. The water would simply flow out the
top of the pipes as needed to alleviate the water's pressure.

6.0 Corner of Wild Road and Indian Trail.

If we were to turn left, Henry tells of the Hubbard Ranch that his
family served as caretakers for in 1939. At the end of Summer, they
were visited by a couple in a Packard Touring Car and driver who
wished to sample some of the watermelon in the field. Of course,
Henry obliged. Not waiting, they simply sat down amongst the
watermelon and tasted! Later, Henry 0 and family discovered this
couple to be Fibber McGee and Molly (Marian and Jim Jordan) who
were visiting the desert to "get away from it all". They continued
to visit the family and Henry took them quail hunting for which
they were quite grateful.

Incidentally, many famous "Hollywooders" visited and vacationed in
the Victor Valley including the well known Brisbane Ranch, later
the Lazy K Guest Ranch, which we will pass a little further on this
tour.

Right on Indian Trail.

6.4
Curve approaching Wild Crossing. Henry did a lot of rabbit hunting
in this area. The mesquite screwbean were plentiful in this area
and the rabbits enjoyed their sanctuary.

6.6
Wild Crossing. The Wild Crossing was one the few safe crossings of
the river in this area. The next crossing north was Hinkley
Crossing - south, Lane's Crossing.
Look to your left. Note the unmarked powerlines crossing the River.
These were the cause of a quite famous airplane crash in 1937. This
single engine, single wing, two-place training airplane caught its
rudder on the unseen high-tension cables. The "injured" plane
turned about and crashed a short distance north. This crash site
will be visited a short distance ahead.

6.8
Corner of Indian Trail and Lord's Road.

To your right you will see the old  McAllister Ranch. McAllister
was a shipwright from the Wilmington Harbor. Henry and his family
lived on this property for a short time in 1940 just before leaving
the desert to return to the Los Angeles area. Later on, Mirl
Orebaugh tells of this Ranch serving dinner to the public on the
weekends.

Turn left on Lord's Road.

6.9
Note the railroad loading area immediately on your right.

7.5
DeVries' Dairy on Left. This is near the location of the original
Mojave (Helendale) School which dates to the 1870's. This location
is explored on another of the Rendezvous Field Trips.

7.6
Charlie Wiess and Bill Skovil lived on this property during the
30's and were "hermits" who kept to themselves. Some would call
them "desert rats". They liked home brew.

7.7
Corner of Holcomb Ranch Road and Lord's Road.

The farnous "tunnel". Many a vehicle has been stuck in this narrow
tunnel. Although early vehicles had no trouble passing through.

Just beyond this tunnel is the location of the 1937 "injured"
airplane's crash landing. Henry saw the smoke from his home 3-4
miles north on the Old 66. He and his brother raced to the accident
spot and were the first to arrive only to find the aircraft
engulfed in flame and completely ablaze. It seemed to be a training
plane and the burning fuel caused the certain death of the young
pilots.

Followihg the incident, Mrs. Smithson, arrived - about the same
time as the reporters - she gladly took the credit for the
attempted rescue and her name appeared in the next day's Barstow
paper as the featured heroine! She reported machine gun bullets
everywhere! Ha!

Sound like some of today's reporting?

Continue through the tunnel and on to the corner of Holcomb Ranch
Road and the National Trails Highway (Old 66).

Turn left.

8.3
On your right is the old Wild Crossing Store. Note the still
existing notation "Old Trails Market". Advertised: Meat,
Vegetables, and Beer. This was a store, gas station, and auto
courts.

From here you have a beautiful view of the river valley. Note the
"silo" beyond the river while looking North. Fred Gibson's article
tells in detail of the old McClain Ranch where this old silo is
located.

Incidentally, the current owners are Paul and Kathy Havens. Their
son, Josh, was a student at Riverview Middle School only a few
years ago.

9.1
DeCrow Dairy on left.

9.2
In the dip, at the bottom of the hill, was a very dangerous spot to
be during one of the desert's surprise "flash floods". Always
flooded during a cloudburst.

9.8
Hodge Brothers' Ranch. Was this the original Hodge family for whom
Hodge was named?

The famous Brisbane Ranch was on the right.
11.3
Heckley Ranch on right. - Al and Josephine.

Children: Robert, Clara, Mary, and Barbara (Frisbee).

11.5
Heckley Ranch on left. ALEX and Josephine.

11.9
Old Highway Mile Marker 65. Henry's boyhood home. Henry's parents
moved here in 1923, when the Old 66 was still a gravel road, as a
result of Henry's asthmatic condition and the helpful qualities of
the dry, desert air.

Henry's father had originally homesteaded on 160 acres south of
here where they lived for only a short time. No power, no water.
Soooo.....

This service station provided a living from the highway travelers
venturing along the Old 66.

Later, Henry's dad opened a tavern, the Palm Beer Garden, which, on
a lively Saturday night, attracted up to $150 of business from
customers all the way from San Bernardino.  Josephine Heckley
prepared Chicken 'n' Dumpling dinners which were sold for $1.50
including a 12 oz. beer. Refills were a dime. Henry and his brother
helped his mother and father serve!

It was amazing how many steins of beer
a young boy could carry (underage and all). A dance floor Was
filled by the entertainment of local dance bands Henry's dad would
hire to play the Jazz music of the 1930's.

One night when the band failed to arrive, Henry's dad served dinner
for free, as a way to compensate those who   arrived   and
expected entertainment, and still did a whale of a business!

Incidentally, the local San Bernardino Deputy Sheriff was "Pop"
Farley. Henry's dad and "Pop" had a gentleman's agreement re: the
serving of alcohol during the prohibition days -knowing there
wash't much to be gained by shutting down the Jay's business as it
fed their family and probably settled some potentially unruly
critters on any given Saturday Night. So, business continued and
thrived.

Guy Wadsworth supplied "hooch" to the local 66 businesses and
residents during the prohibition. See Bill Bender or Fred Gibson
for further details on this. Some say a "tunnel" existed under the
current location of Helendale Elementary School?

Current resident: Juan Jasso family.

Note: You are not too far from the Old Lenwood Airfield. Speaking
of which, in the early days of aviation, of which you will learn
much more, ahead on the tour a little further, women competed with
women as part of the Powderpuff Derby events. One such woman, Neva
Paris,"crash-landed" near the river bottom just across the tracks
here. Beaten-up, but unhurt, Neva ventured to the Jay property
where she asked for help to return to the airways. Henry and his
brother, and many other curiousity-seekers, helped by carrying
gasoline, which substituted satisfactorily, for the then
unsophisticated airplane fuel. They carried the plane to a "runway"
where Neva again lifted the craft into the air and returned to the
competition. So much for this unexpected visitor as she was not
seen nor heard flom in these parts again!

12.4
On left see the gate that opens to a Railroad Crossing. Beyond the
tracks, was located pastureland owned by Senator Swing, and used by
the Jay family with the Senator's permission. A corral heldS cattle
and horses when the cattle were ranging.  The Jay brand was the Ry
brand which was given by a friend for free and only needed to be
registered.

12.6
On right.  Early Hodge resident Gladys Teams' property.  See
windmill.

13.0
Hodge School on Right. This school was a WPA project which Henry's
dad helped build as he was a mason by trade. Fred Gibson's father
was a carpenter and between the two men they built much of the
school.

This was a 2-room school house which both Fred and Henry attended.

Henry Jay and Fred Gibson will be available at the Rendezvous with
photos and video of the old Hodge area and for further information
about this old school site.

13.1
Randall's Store. This was the Hodge area General store. Currently
this is the location of an early motel which is being used as
apartments.

Current resident of the house in the back of the ptoperty is Karen
and Dave Marez.  This is also the location of the World Famous
Hodge Post Office. According to Robert Ripley's "Believe-lt-Or-Not"
this was the world's smallest Federal Building! Right in Hodge! Ha!
Sometimes small is really big! !

Across the street, was located the Railroad Stationhouse with its
agent who was a telegraph operator. Children attended Hodge school
and the station workers children also. Often the mothers would
serve the schoolchildren the best of Mexican Food! MMMMM. And this
was before hot school lunches!

The mail was picked up by "hanger" from the moving train but
dropped on the ground for delivery.

14.2
Hinkley Road and Crossing to the left. Another of the safe
crossings of the unpredictable Mojave. On the corner of Hinkley
Road and Old 66 stood the Hinkley Crossing Store and behind was the
residence of Mrs. Pennycook.

On the right lived "old man Cosalcar" who lived only on desert
tortoise.

14.7
Hinkley in the distance to the left. Note the width of the Mojave
River at this point - roughly 15 miles. Towards Hinkley, at the
bottom of the foothills, runs Highway 58. This was the road that
carried Steinbeck's many "dustbowlers" towards California's Central
Valley during the Great Depression. This story, of course, is
immortalized in "The Grapes of Wrath".

The great growth of alfalfa is only possible through overhead
spraying in this area.

16.1
"The Dunes" Motel on the right. This 1940's motel was typical of
the type of roadway housing an early 66 traveler would expect.

18.0
Turn right. Travel a short distance and approach the Old Lenwood
Airfield on the right side of the road.

At this location, John Swisher, Regional Vice-President, will speak
concerning the historical aspects of his airfield's part in the
early Transcontinental Air Transport (T.A.T.).

RETURN TO HELENDALE

Following this presentation will be the return trip to Helendale
and a viewing of the old Helendale Hill and the location of the old
Helendale beacon which served to guide the early Ford Tri-motors
across the desert between these early airfields.

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