{"id":153667,"date":"2019-12-29T16:20:57","date_gmt":"2019-12-29T14:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/cape-town-lens-desert-center-ca-life-along-us-60\/"},"modified":"2019-12-29T16:20:57","modified_gmt":"2019-12-29T14:20:57","slug":"cape-town-lens-desert-center-ca-life-along-us-60","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/cape-town-lens-desert-center-ca-life-along-us-60\/","title":{"rendered":"Cape Town Lens: Desert Center, CA \u2013 Life along US 60"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Cape Town District Six Museum<\/em> tagged image from photographer \u2013 clamshack<\/a> as published on Flickr.<\/p>\n

Desert Center, CA \u2013 Life along US 60<\/strong>
\"District
Image by clamshack<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

neverquitelost.com\/2019\/11\/06\/goodbye-desert-center\/?fbcl\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Desert Center, California
\nFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia <\/p>\n

Desert Center is a census-designated place in the Colorado Desert in Riverside County, California. It is in southern California, between the cities of Indio and Blythe at the junction of Interstate 10 and State Route 177 (Desert Center-Rice Road). The ZIP Code is 92239, and the community is in telephone area code 760. The elevation is 656 feet (200 m). The population was 204 at the 2010 census.<\/p>\n

History<\/p>\n

“Desert Steve” Ragsdale<\/p>\n

The town was founded in 1925 by Stephen A. Ragsdale, also known as \u201cDesert Steve\u201d, and his wife, Lydia. Ragsdale was an itinerant preacher and cotton farmer, originally from Arkansas.
\nIn 1915, he left his farm in the Palo Verde Valley along the Colorado River to attend to some business in Los Angeles. <\/p>\n

The road between Phoenix and Los Angeles was mostly sand, and Ragsdale\u2019s vehicle broke down near a place called Gruendyke\u2019s Well. This featured a hand-dug well and was inhabited by a prospector named Bill Gruendyke. Gruendyke rescued Ragsdale and gave him food, shelter, and water until his vehicle was repaired and he could resume his journey to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Upon his return, Ragsdale bought out Gruendyke and moved his family to the remote spot, where they constructed a small shack with a lean-to that served as the repair garage. A Model T truck was modified to serve as a tow car. Gasoline was pumped by hand from a 55 gallon drum. Lydia served food and refreshments to thirsty and weary travelers. In spite of the remote location 50 miles (80 km) in any direction from anything, the Ragsdales prospered. <\/p>\n

Ragsdale named his outpost \u2018Desert Center\u2019. In 1921, it was announced that the sand road running through Desert Center would be relocated about 5 miles (8.0 km) (SOUTH), straightened, paved, and named U.S. Route 60, a modern “high-speed” highway. <\/p>\n

Ragsdale abandoned “old Desert Center” and built a poured-concrete caf\u00e9 in the adobe style with an attached gasoline station and a huge service garage. Across the road, a series of wooden structures were built, including a market (which at one time was the largest Coleman camping equipment dealer in the country), and a post office. He also built several cabins for travelers, and a large “plunge” (swimming pool) next to the caf\u00e9 where travelers could escape the desert heat.<\/p>\n

Ragsdale was a desert eccentric of the first order, and his advertising for Desert Center in publications such as Desert Magazine reflected his personality: “U Need Us \u2013 We Need U”, “Our Main Street is 100-miles long!”,[3] “We lost our keys\u2026 we can\u2019t close!” (a reference to the fact that the caf\u00e9 has been open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year since it opened in 1921), “Free Room and Board Every Day The Sun Doesn\u2019t Shine In Desert Center”, “If You Don\u2019t Believe Me, You Can Go To Hell, or Visit Me in Desert Center in August! Nuf sed, Steve”.<\/p>\n

Ragsdale was a teetotaler and once hung a sign on the door of the caf\u00e9 which read, “No Drunks. No Dogs. We prefer dogs.” He was known to take a stick to travelers who were drunk in his caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n

When Ragsdale needed a teacher for his own children and the few others in the town, the county declined to send one; there weren\u2019t enough students to warrant the expense. Ragsdale hastily built a basic structure of stick framing with paper board walls to use as a schoolhouse, and placed an ad in Los Angeles newspapers asking for an auto mechanic with a large family, which he got, and a teacher was indeed provided by the county.<\/p>\n

One morning, the town awoke to find that goats had gotten loose and had eaten the paper board walls of the schoolhouse as high as they could stand on their hind legs. The Ragsdales still have a photo of the goat-eaten schoolhouse.<\/p>\n

Ragsdale frequently retreated to his writing shack near the north tip of the rock formation called “The Alligator” (across I-10 from DC) where he composed bad poetry \u2013 the stanzas are referred to as “Spasm #1”, etc. \u2013 to be distributed in booklet form to travelers. Ragsdale was a close friend of many classic “desert people” such as Randall Henderson, founder of Desert Magazine; Marshall South, the hermit of Ghost Mountain; desert painter John Hilton; noted biologist Edmund C. Jaeger; and Harry Oliver, with whom Steve co-founded the annual Pegleg Smith Liar\u2019s Contest in Anza-Borrego. Oliver often printed items about Desert Steve in his \u2018newspaper,\u2019 the Desert Rat Scrap Book.<\/p>\n

Within a few years, Ragsdale operated a number of satellite businesses in locations such as Cactus City, Hell, Skyway, Box Canyon, and (Shaver\u2019s Well). Around 1950, he was accused of dallying with an office worker in his employ and left Desert Center in disgrace, living the rest of his days in self-imposed exile at his log cabin retreat near the summit of Santa Rosa Mountain. His sons, Stanley, Thurman, and Herbert, took over operations of Desert Center, and Stanley eventually purchased the town from his father. Stanley ran it for decades, adding a hamburger stand and the Stanco gasoline station.<\/p>\n

“Desert Steve” Ragsdale died in 1971 and is buried in the Coachella Valley Public Cemetery,[4] even though he had dug his own grave near Desert Center prior to his 1950 departure and had even placed a memorial plaque near it. The empty grave and marker still exist.[5]\n<\/p>\n

Early prepaid health insurance<\/p>\n

In the early 1930s, Dr. Sidney R. Garfield, who had just graduated from USC, went to visit a former classmate with a practice in Indio. The practice was thriving to capacity, while Garfield was nearly without business in Depression-era Los Angeles. Garfield\u2019s friend explained that he was the closest doctor (50 miles) to 5,000 men digging the Colorado River Aqueduct under direction of The Seven Companies, Inc. The project site\u2019s headquarters was just southeast of Desert Center. Garfield borrowed money from his father and constructed a 4-bed clinic near the construction site. The clinic was cooled by an ammonia air-conditioning system and at the time was the only air-conditioned building between Riverside and Phoenix. Garfield would treat the men, who would promise to pay on payday, but who would usually go to Blythe or Indio and drink their paychecks. Within a year, Garfield was broke and announced that he would pull up stakes.[3]\n<\/p>\n

Hearing this, Henry J. Kaiser, whose division of the Six Companies, Inc. was building the stretch of the Colorado River Aqueduct through the Desert Center vicinity, visited Garfield at his clinic. His idea was to take a nickel a day out of each man\u2019s paycheck to prepay for that man\u2019s future medical treatments, should an injury occur while he was working. If the man wanted to be covered for the remainder of the day, after work hours, another nickel would be deducted. If the man had a wife and\/or children he wanted to cover, this would cost another nickel. Within a short time, Garfield had a steady income stream and things improved for him immensely. When the aqueduct project was finished, Kaiser\u2019s next venture was the construction of the Grand Coulee dam, and he took Garfield with him to manage the workers\u2019 health care, but this time there were 50,000 men, not just 5000.[6]\n<\/p>\n

Garfield\u2019s Contractors General Hospital evolved into Kaiser Permanente, the largest managed health care system in the world, but its origins are in Desert Center. In 1992 a roadside historical marker at the site was unveiled by Garfield\u2019s sister next to the grocery honoring Desert Center as the birthplace of Kaiser Permanente.[7]\n<\/p>\n

General Patton \u2013 Desert Training Center[edit]\n<\/p>\n

By 1942, Desert Center had very few residents. It was then that the Army, under the direction of Maj. General George Patton, established the Desert Center Army Air Field[8] to support operations in the California-Arizona Maneuver Area.[9] The base covered 18,000 square miles (47,000 km2).[10] Its purpose was to train troops for combat in the deserts of North Africa against the forces of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. The enormous operation came to a close in 1944, when the Allies were victorious in the North African theatre. A museum honoring Patton and his training complex is located in Chiriaco Summit.[11]\n<\/p>\n

After the military\u2019s departure, the town became quiet again, remaining relatively unchanged as the old U.S. Route 60\/70 was replaced by Interstate 10.<\/p>\n

Eagle Mountain Mine[edit]\n<\/p>\n

The site of Kaiser Steel Eagle Mountain Mine, one of the largest open-pit iron mining operations in the world, is located about 13 miles (21 km) north of Desert Center. The rich iron ore deposit was discovered by geologists employed by Henry J. Kaiser during construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct in the early 1930s. The Eagle Mountain Mine operated at capacity from World War II until Kaiser closed the mine and the town of Eagle Mountain in early 1982.<\/p>\n

Movies have used the mine as a filming location, including scenes from the Terminator II (1990 film) \u2013 3-D first Terminator movie.<\/p>\n

A for-profit prison was operated by Utah\u2019s Management and Training Corporation here in facilities leased from Kaiser Steel. Six weeks before it was closed on December 31, 2003, a race riot claimed the lives of two African-American prisoners.<\/p>\n

Plans for a project to operate an enormous waste management landfill at the mine site were stopped by environmentalists\u2019 legal actions taken to protect the surrounding Colorado Desert ecosystem and the groundwater aquifer.<\/p>\n

Desert Center today[edit]\n<\/p>\n

Today, though showing its age, the town barely survives. The United States Post Office is the only remaining business, serving both locals and travelers crossing the vast expanse of desert between the Colorado River and Indio. The nearest gasoline and fast food are at Chiriaco Summit. Desert Center is home to agricultural farms, a couple of mobile home parks frequented by \u201csnowbirds,\u201d and the Lake Tamarisk community founded by the Kaiser Steel Corporation. Desert Center Airport (FAA designator: L64) has a 4,200-foot (1,300 m) runway, but last operated as a public airport in 1992. It is now privately owned.<\/p>\n

The 1980s saw a surge of growth in Desert Center as jojoba gained popularity. The brackish water, sandy soil, and dry weather make the area ideal for cultivation of this hardy desert plant whose oil is used chiefly in cosmetic products.<\/p>\n

In the early 1990s, Stanley Ragsdale commissioned the planting of several hundred palm trees in strange patterns on the town\u2019s frontage with Interstate 10. When asked why, he said he always wanted a \u201ctree-ring circus.\u201d Since his death in 1999, the trees have fallen into disrepair and many have died.<\/p>\n

In 2010 Desert Center became home to the Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, a professional grade track that can be rented by clubs and individuals.<\/p>\n

Despite many changes in the modern world, Desert Center is a true survivor \u2013 a town that not only refuses to die, it thrives and continues to provide a safe haven for travelers. It is a fitting monument to its founder, who once said, \u201cEven the woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Services[edit]\n<\/p>\n

The community is served by State Route 177 and Interstate 10. Most wireline phone numbers in Desert Center and Lake Tamarisk are served by Verizon from the (760) 227-xxxx exchange. Additionally, Desert Center is served by Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) via the (760)205 and (760)437 exchanges (per the Telecordia Local Exchange Routing Guide). As of 2000, a Caltrans maintenance station existed at 29476 Ragsdale Rd.<\/p>\n

Local school children are part of the Desert Center Unified School District. Elementary and middle school children attend Eagle Mountain School in Eagle Mountain, California, while high school age children are bussed daily to Blythe, California.<\/p>\n

Lake Tamarisk (community )[edit]\n<\/p>\n

Lake Tamarisk is a community about one and three quarter miles north of Interstate 10 off Kaiser Road at <\/p>\n

33\u00b044\u203220\u2033N 115\u00b023\u203220\u2033W, and on the Desert Center 7.5-minute quadrangle. The community has a golf course with low greens fees.<\/p>\n

Both the Lake Tamarisk Library and Riverside County Fire Station 49 are located at 43880 Lake Tamarisk Drive in Lake Tamarisk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Cape Town District Six Museum tagged image from photographer \u2013 clamshack as published on Flickr. Desert Center, CA \u2013 Life along US 60Image by clamshack neverquitelost.com\/2019\/11\/06\/goodbye-desert-center\/?fbcl\u2026 Desert Center, California From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Desert Center is a census-designated place in the Colorado Desert in Riverside County, California. It is in southern California, between […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3331],"tags":[25,1737,77,3333],"class_list":{"0":"post-153667","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-cape-town","7":"tag-cape-town-2","8":"tag-government","9":"tag-municipality","10":"tag-mycapetown-co-za","11":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153667\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}