Helendale, California

Helendale
Area Map
Helendale Schools
Silver Lakes

Helendale History

Keepsake vol One
Keepsake vol Two

  1. Inner cover page,
  2. School District
  3. Helen Becomes Helendale - 1918
  4. Helendale Teacherage
  5. Songs written for Helendale
  6. About the Fifth Annual Helendale Rendezvous
  7. Schedule of events -
  8. Self Guided tour
  9. An Old Landmark
  10. Life As A Boy In Lenwood, California
  11. Jack Gaffney Crew Chief, Nose Artist
  12. Growing Up On The Desert
  13. Life On The Desert As I Remember It
  14. Orebaugh Biography,
  15. Buzz Banks
  16. Eva Von Dettum Helendales Poetess
  17. Old Number 8
  18. Airplanes That Sailed Over The Victor Valley Skies In The Past
  19. Brief History of George Air Force Base
  20. Unsung Heroes
    21.

 

Route 66 Communities
in California

 

Keepsake vol Two

MIRL AND SARAH OREBAUGH

 

MIRL AND SARAH OREBAUGH
By: Margaret Haigh

 
Mirl came to our valley more than 60 years ago as a young man.
His parents homesteaded six miles west of Silver Lakes back in
1930. Their place extended almost to Highway 395 and their they
tried dry farming as after hand digging a well to a depth of 175
feet, they still came up dry. In 1936 the Orebaughs bought
property just south of the junction of their present day corner
of Helendale Road and Shadow Mountain Road. The family lived in a
tent for over a year while building their home. Today you can
still see the cement stand pipes from their early water system.
Mirl's father raised registered Polled Herefords and grew alfalfa
all along the Mojave River where he both leased and owned almost
2,000 acres, some of their early water crossings are still
evident and Mirl takes pride in showing branding irons, the
Double Half Circle, which has been a registered brand since 1916.

Mirl graduated in 1936 from Victorville High School and went to
Washington State University. One of his activities was playing
clarinet and saxophone in Casey Jone's Band, which was widely
known in the high desert.

Mr. Orebaugh, Sr. was on the Board of Directors of the
Victorville Branch of the Bank of America and Mirl and Sarah's
Bank of America Card reads "Since 1937", an almost antique! Mr.
Orebaugh was also the first President of the Victorville United
Way.

Sarah and Mirl married in 1967. For Sarah, coming to the High
Desert from Manhattan Beach area was a real switch, but she soon
settled in.

Mirl worked for the County Highway Department in flood damage
control for many years and has many stories about our "Mighty
Mojave". In 1938 the river flooded and washed out all the
crossings from Oro Grande to Barstow. Mirl is a founding member
and still active on the Mojave River County Water District and
served on the School Board for many years.

Sarah went to work for the Helendale Post Office in 1968 and rose
to be Postmaster until her retirement in 1986. For newcomers to
Silver Lakes, our Post Office then was out on National Trails
Highway where RV Realty now makes it home.

Sarah and Mirl are a veritable fountain of knowledge about our
area and have pictures of the early days of Silver Lakes. They
keep extremely busy with their hobby of genealogy and have had
one book about Mirl's family published in 1989. and have another
one presently in the works. Sarah has a large collection of dolls
and a gorgeous doll house which Mirl built. They collect rocks
and have a get away place in Tecopa where they frequently find
opal. In addition, they donate one day a week to working in their
church's genealogical library and Sarah teaches, classes and
lectures on genealogy.

Mirl makes wooden games and train whistles ( he gave me one and
it really does sound like a train) for their combined families of
eight children, 22 grandchildren  and 14 great grandchildren. So,
as you can see, this couple are anything but retired!

All of us who live in our beautiful community can really be proud
of these hardy souls who preceded us in Silver Lakes. It is a
privilege to know Mirl and Sarah!

 

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