USA > California > Imperial County > The history of Imperial County, California > Part 25
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their bit making bags and filling them, trench torches and fuel sticks, as well as hospital supplies. The last great move was an ambulance drive, the local furnishing its quota of money to the state of war sup- plies, and then collectively have raised money to send an ambulance to France, fully equipped and manned. The ambulance is dedicated to our boys of Imperial County, California, by the Imperial County W. C. T. U. of Southern California.
Brawley was organized January 20, 1906, with thirty-five charter members, by Mrs. L. E. Bailey, New York City national W. C. T. U. organizer, the first president being C. Angie Miller. The first philan- thropic act was to install a watering trough on the street for thirsty horses ; these were not the days of automobiles. On May 12, 1909, the active members of the Brawley W. C. T. U. completed articles of in- corporation for the local organization and incorporated under the state laws of California as part of Southern California State W. C. T. U. The same year a business lot on G Street in the heart of the city of Brawley was purchased through the efforts of the W. C. T. U. Dona- tions and proceeds of a two-day flower fair furnished the finances. These flower fairs became an annual event for several years, sustain- ing a free reading room which was maintained as long as accommoda- tions could be obtained in the city. As the city improved the W. C. T. U. made improvements on its own property, such as sidewalks and street pavements, preparatory to building. A board of trustees is an- nually elected and has the property in charge.
Department work received considerable attention from the first. Loyal temperance legion and young people's branches were organized.
A curfew ordinance was introduced by the W. C. T. U. and went into effect in the year of 1914 in the city of Brawley.
Imperial W. C. T. U. was first organized in 1916, disbanding later. It was substantially reorganized in April, 1913, by the state president, Mrs. Blanchard, with thirty-six charter members, Mrs. Amande Mackey being president. The liquor interests were strong, it being the only wet city in the county, but this brave band of twenty-six women worked and created sentiment until they were one hundred and thirty strong, and now rejoice to know that liquor has been voted out of their city.
Calexico W. C. T. U. is located on the Mexican border, and has strong, staunch workers who are doing a grand work. This local was
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organized in 1906, and has flourished and won every battle toward keeping Calexico dry. Soldiers' and sailors' work is going forward, they furnishing their own material for hospital supplies. The depart- ment is well carried out. The ambulance drive was more than a success.
El Centro W. C. T. U. was organized in El Centro in November, 1907, by Mae Tongier, with Mrs. Tuttle as the first president. This local was the first organization of any kind in the place.
Alamo W. C. T. U. was organized by Miss Margaret Wiley in 1907, with nine charter members, at the Eastside school house, Mrs. Linnie Strain being the first president. The interest created was due to Mrs. Martha Hoyt's influence. This little band did a grand work car- rying on the departments of the county. Medal contests was a special work. Finally the members moved to Holtville and united with the local W. C. T. U. there.
Silsbee Union was organized by Mrs. Mae Tongier with a member- ship of sixteen charter members, and became a part of Imperial County Union when it was organized in 1907. Mrs. Fannie Harding was the first president. Being a country union, the principal work was encour- aging sentiment for bone-dry prohibition, and educating young people to take a firm stand for that that is best in life. Two other unions, Mc- Cabe and Seeley, were organized, drawing on Silsbee for membership. Then various causes drew away so many members that the interest waned until the ambitious little union lost courage and disbanded in 1916, trusting that the influence of this work may not altogether be lost.
Heber W. C. T. U. was organized December 15, 1913, by Mrs. Mary Coman, editor of the State W. C. T. U. paper, with sixteen members in roll, Mrs. Angeline Courtney being the first president. This small band has been faithful, carrying on the department work suited to their lo- cality, beside meeting all county demands, and doing much effective campaign work for the California drive.
Holtville W. C. T. U. was organized in 1909 by C. Angie Miller, county president, Mrs. Martha Hoyt being the first president. The scripture lesson was read from the Bible by an old crusader, Mr. Walter Chaney's mother. The second year the membership was double; it readily grew until it was at one time the largest in the county. This strong union was a power in Imperial County and always ready to lead ; in essay work this union took the first prize in the county. Later Mary
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Thompson received a state prize of twenty dollars for the best essay in the state written by the high school students.
Seeley W. C. T. U. was organized March 3, 1914, with ten live, ac- tive charter members. Mrs. Minnie Hull was the first president and served four consecutive years. An active Loyal Temperance Legion, an organization for the children, at one time was their ideal. Much live work has been done and now in war times they are doing soldiers' and sailors' work, liberally furnishing their own material.
McCabe W. C. T. U. was organized at the McCabe school house by Mrs. Eva C. Wheeler, with Mrs. Thayer as the first president.
Calipatria W. C. T. U. was added to the list in 1918, being organized by Hester Griffith, state vice-president, and Miss Florence Yarnell, county president.
During the two years 1915-1917 the special object sought by the county president was better legislation. The legislators were showered with letters, cards and telegrams. Much that was encouraging was gained; an effort was made to prohibit liquor near irrigation near Mexican soil, as this is a source of existence in Imperial Valley. Thus, while we may be deemed small among the force of righteousness, the moral uplift of Imperial County would certainly have been much less had the W. C. T. U. had no participation in it. An ambulance to our soldier boys even nationally is not regarded as such a small thing, and especially by our boys themselves, when exposed to the terrors of war. Whatever has been sent to the front has been clean and pure. There are no reports of death from the surgeon general caused by anything being sent by the W. C. T. U. Their influence is certainly not without its weight on the rising generation. Many of our children will yet rise and thank their Maker-"My mother was a member of the Imperial County W. C. T. U. and gave me my first lessons on sobriety and tem- perance and saved me from the blighting effects of alcoholic com- pounds. While her noontide prayer often presented me to the throne of Heavenly Grace." It is thus this moral uplift must go on, and on, until not only our county and state is redeemed from this Dark Damnation Drink, but our nation and the world is free from its blighting influence, and we all join the angelic song and sing, the kingdom of this world has become the "kingdom of our God and His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever."
CHAPTER XX
IMPERIAL
BY EDGAR F. HOWE
To THOSE who know, the city of Imperial always must remain in mind as a landmark in important history. I see the town in fancy now as it was in 1901, crudely constructed of canvas or rough lumber by amateur workmen, and possessing no touch of art or grace, its three frame buildings, two score of tents and a half dozen ramadas, or walled struc- tures, surmounted by thatch of arrow-weed.
Such was the town which first appeared in the heart of the Colorado Desert, when not another habitation existed within sixty miles. Lone- some ? Forlorn? Forbidding? Yes, all of these, but if anyone fancies the "natives," as the new-come pioneers called themselves, played soccer ball with chunks of grief, he is mistaken, for never then was there a grievance but became a joke, and the stifled sob developed into laughter.
No green thing but the tawny scant vegetation of the desert was to be found for many miles, and only the stub-tail end of the "town ditch," down which twice a week water was turned from the new main canal a dozen miles away, gave sign of connection with the outer world.
Roads there were none, and individual wagon tracks, numerous and de- vious in direction, formed a bewildering puzzle to one who sought them as a guide.
Far away in every direction the mystic aridity stretched like one scene from the inferno that Dante had overlooked.
Yet there were compensations. The air was free and boundless. The skies revealed a transparency and a depth of glorious blue which seemed to reveal all eternity, and more stars shone upon those brave pioneers than were ever seen before by human eye.
The sunrises and sunsets of that dry desert air gave tones of graded coloring that were not all subdued, for from the ashen and chocolate mountains and the yellow haze the color scheme ascended through
THE TOWN OF IMPERIAL Taken September 21, 1901. The buildings with tower between comprised the only hotel in Imperial and were the center of the business district
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blues and pinks and greens to royal purple, fringed with gold and scarlet.
And the mirage was there, was there in all possible sublimity, always lending its charm and mysticism, contorting the mountains into gro- tesque forms and transforming distant tents into sails of vessels mov- ing placidly over peaceful waters. So regularly did several fea- tures of the mirage appear from sunrise to sunset that the versed "native" could almost utilize them in lieu of a sun dial. Of these the two most conspicuous forms were known as "The Battle-Ship" and "The Golden Gate."
The former was the false refraction of light that at 10 each morning lifted the Black Buttes, in Mexico, above the horizon, presenting a ves- sel upon the water with turrets and masts, and a preposterously long gun reaching out above the prow.
"Golden Gate" was the expanse of mirage that spread its waters be- tween the Cucupa and Santa Catarina mountains, with Signal Moun- tain rising as Alcatraz Island, and when this scene was caught with tents to give the sail effect the presentment of Golden Gate was com- plete and realistic.
Stretching out from the town in all directions, tents were beginning to appear as "claims" were filed upon, and as desolate looking as the town was in some of its aspects, I know for a fact that its small group of lights twinkling in the clear night air across the barren expanse was to more than one pioneer as a star of hope and of destiny.
Reference is made above to the three frame buildings, the only ones within many miles. Of these one was a church, another a store and the third a printing office, the latter now the sole remaining remnant of the earliest days.
Life was so primitive that when the first rocking chair appeared in the town it was a matter of remark, and many sought to share its com- fort.
Who were these pioneers who dared the desert in its crudity? They were, almost without exception, of that race which has staked the American frontier from the days when the first settlers moved out into the Connecticut and Mohawk valleys. These individuals had tarried in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arizona and California. There were not many of the cowboy type, whom Frederick Remington called "Men
.
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with the bark on." Many more of them were persons of culture despite their love of the boundless out-of-doors.
"Is there no place I can sleep tonight?" asked a tenderfoot on learn- ing that the tent-house hotel was filled.
"Why, yes," said a "native," "here are five million acres," and to him " to sleep in the open was nothing out of the routine of life.
But some of the scenes were pathetic, for most of those who came to the land of promise had been accustomed to some of the comforts and conveniences of life, and with the few women who came to help hew a piece of destiny out of the raw material one sometimes caught a glimpse of a tear on a face set with fortitude.
Then there were the covered wagon, the small equipment of farm implements, and usually a larger equipment of children. The tired horses had been driven from Arizona or Oklahoma or Missouri, or from the coast section of California, and the whole aggregation of brute and human and inanimate objects was disconsolate looking enough.
Heavy freight teams, many with from a dozen to a score of mules, came dragging into town from the main line of the railroad, thirty-five miles away, after two days on the road, for that was the base of supply for all essentials of life in those days before production.
Three times a week the stage crept in, the dusty passengers crawled out, gazed about and said, "Well, is this it?" It required one with poetic inspiration to see the vision of the future and to "give to airy nothings a local habitation and a name," and not all men are poets. But as poetry is not words but vision, more are poets than is generally thought, and they remained, and the next week they too were "natives."
And speaking of airy things recalls the wind. Men of scientific mind years before had urged the turning of the Colorado River into the Salton Sink, that the evaporation there might nullify the vacuum condi- tion of the desert, which was credited with causing the north winds of the coast. The irrigation of the Valley has wrought that change. The winds here, as we knew them then, have become a thing of the past. But in those primal days, at least two days in every week, all the demon winds of the earth held their assemblies here, and vied with each other in bringing abject terror to many and dismay to all. Day and night they went howling past with an exhibit of force that it seemed nothing could
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withstand, and the parched, cut-up desert simply lifted in sheets through which sight could not penetrate a dozen feet. With all objects blotted from vision, even the horses one drove, the traveler had no guide but the direction of the wind.
And winter passed and summer came, blistering heat bent down re- morselessly. There were no electric lights or fans. There was no ice. Nothing that was perishable could be brought in. There was no milk, no eggs, no butter, no fresh fruit or vegetables or meat. You could take your choice between ditch water in which the animalcula were abun- dant, canned goods that frequently went off like guns in the stores as they exploded with heat, and bacon and flapjacks.
The heat of that summer was something to read about rather than experience, and the writer may now as well publicly confess that when the thermometer reached 126 one day and threatened to break the world record of 127, he found the coolest place obtainable for the in- strument for the remainder of the day.
The evaporation of something like a hundred billion cubic feet of water a year has brought about a reduction in maximum temperature of about fifteen degrees, and a raise of minimum winter temperature of practically as much, besides dispensing with the winds.
By slow stages the country about became inhabited and the town re- sponded. Some person drove a buggy into town and that caused as much comment as the later arrival of the first automobile.
Finally a brick-yard appeared, ushering in a new era for the Valley, with more secure construction and more pleasing aspect.
Early in the history of the town there came a business block with arcade-the second story projecting over the sidewalk-and there was set the type of structure which henceforth was to prevail in all the business sections of Valley towns.
Here, too, there was first manifest the one great extravagance of the Valley, schools of most superior character compared with other im- provements. The grammar school, first to appear, was a neat brick structure, and not long afterwards there was built the first high school building, at a cost of $65,000, the edifice being of a character which would have been creditable in a century-old town of 10,000 persons.
The railroad branch coming down from the main line through the Valley, and for a time having a terminus here, brought a great change
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into the lives of the people and marked the end of the real pioneer life of the people, for an ice factory, electric plant and other modern insti- tutions were growing up.
Pavements in time hid the dust of the main thoroughfares, and Im- perial, changed in outward form and much in the spirit of the people, had become a modern municipality.
PRESENT SITE OF CALEXICO DROP IN CANAL Taken September 24, 1901. G. W. Donley at right on Mexican territory, Nulton and Wohlford on U. S. territory
CHAPTER XXI
CALEXICO
BY F. W. ROACH
LONG before the present generation was born it was ordained that Calexico should exist, and that Calexico should become the capital of a great inland empire. The plans that fate laid are being fulfilled, and the hopes of those who have watched the city's growth with pride and joy are being fulfilled in a measure beyond their most sanguine expec- tations.
Climate, soil, abundance of life-giving water, sunshine every day in the year, accessibility to markets and geographical location, all com- bine to encourage and promote the agricultural, horticultural and stock- raising industries that are growing steadily year by year, enriching thousands of enterprising men who have been attracted to the section of country immediately surrounding Calexico, drawn by the exception- al opportunities offered as an inducement to greatest effort. Gradually the desert has been reclaimed; year by year canals and laterals have crept across its face, and carried water to the arid acres that ceased to be arid, and began producing crops of cotton, corn, alfalfa, small grains of all kinds, vegetables, melons and fruit, with an abundance of forage crops for the herds and flocks that have become famous for their size and high grade. The great ranches and plantations that came with the first efforts at settling and reclaiming the land have been divided and sub-divided, each partition bringing more settlers, more workers and more citizens to a happy and prosperous Valley. Settlements grew to towns, and towns to cities, Calexico, the metropolis by right of birth, grew more rapidly than the rest, and now is entering upon a new and its most remarkable period of development. At the beginning of the year 1918 a carefully prepared census showed the population to be a little in excess of 4000.
Calexico originated in 1901, when the California Development Com- pany established engineering headquarters near the international boun-
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dary line between California and the Mexican state of Baja California, or Lower California. This was on the east bank of New River. The offices of the company consolidated with settlers in forming the little settlement just north of the line in California. In 1903 the townsite was plotted and laid out in lots. The rich, productive soil around the town was the first in the Imperial Valley to be irrigated and improved, and the results proved the belief of the pioneers that only the well directed efforts of man were needed to bring wealth and prosperity. The country immediately tributary includes the productive section on the west known as District No. 6, containing many of the largest and most pro- ductive ranches in the Valley ; District No. 7, adjoining the town on the east, and on the south thousands upon thousands of acres of the richest land in Baja California, which are leased from their Mexican owners and devoted largely to the production of cotton and live-stock.
Incorporated as a city of the sixth class in April, 1908, Calexico has advanced steadily towards metropolitanism, and today it presents a pleasing and often surprising appearance to those who visit it for the first time. Money raised by the issuance of bonds, beginning with an issue of $20,000 in 1909, has been wisely expended in paving the streets, building wide, substantial concrete walks, providing a water system that is not excelled in the West, and a sewer system adequate for a city of many times its present size. In the heart of the city a tract of land was reserved for a park and civic center. This is being improved and will in time be one of the most beautiful recreation grounds to be found in the State. The Calexico Union High School, a magnificent building with numerous smaller buildings grouped about it, and the Carnegie Library, are located in this center, and in time it will contain the city hall, fire station and other municipal buildings, and doubtless the federal offices that will be required to take care of the growing business incidental to an important port of entry and border city. For two years the imports through the port of Calexico have exceeded those of Los Angeles, San Diego and Tia Juana combined.
Since it was discovered a few years ago that the Imperial Valley was adapted to the growth of cotton, this crop has been the leading one in both that portion of the Valley lying north of the boundary line, and on the Mexican lands leased and cultivated by Americans. The first crop of the Valley was sold to one big cotton mill for $25,000. That was
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about seven years ago; conservative estimates place the value of the 1918 crop of cotton in the Imperial Valley at $13,000,000. The produc- tion this year will not be far short of 65,000 bales. The quality of the cotton is unsurpassed, and buyers from all over the world are in com- petition for the Imperial Valley product. The gins of Calexico and her twin city, Mexicali, and the cotton compress located in the former, pro- vide employment for many skilled laborers.
Among some of the other agricultural products are milo maize, broom corn, rye, barley, alfalfa, rice and hemp. Sudan grass is gaining in popularity as a forage crop.
The cantaloupe industry is one of greatest importance to Calexico. For about six weeks in the summer the cantaloupe sheds are the busiest section of the city. Last year more than 4000 cars of the finest melons produced in the United States were forwarded to the Eastern and coast markets, the earliest shipments reaching New York, Boston and Wash- ington nearly two weeks in advance of those of any other section of the country. The lettuce grown on the ranches around Calexico, shipped in iced cars by express, is also the first grown out of doors to reach the tables of the Easterners, and is not surpassed in quality and appearance.
Calexico's claims to being the metropolis of the wonderful new in- land empire are based on the fact that the city is located in the heart of a district that is the greatest in America in the following respects: It has the largest cantaloupe acreage, largest honey production, largest ostrich farm, largest alfalfa acreage, largest irrigated cotton acreage, largest unit irrigation project, largest pumice mine, greatest turkey pro- duction, largest farm production per acre, and largest average cotton yield.
CHAPTER XXII
BRAWLEY
BY B. F. MORRIS
THE history of Brawley, the most productive area and largest produce shipping point in the State, extends down through a period of eighteen years, in which its transition from a barren desert to a zone of almost marvelous fertility, has been accomplished without hindrance through crop failure, pestilence or other disaster.
From a single brush wickiup in 1901 has grown the prosperous and well built city of 5000 inhabitants, enjoying the benefits of every essen- tial modern public utility, and prosperous beyond the dreams of its most hopeful projectors.
Brawley today is the center of the greatest proven producing area in the United States-a claim sustained by its annual record of produce shipments, and its accredited rank as the second shipping point in the State of California. The almost marvelous fertility of its soil is equaled by the diversity of crops which mature perfectly and yield abundantly in response to practical farming processes. Nature withholds no good thing from the practical farmer, and two or even three crops will ma- ture within a single unbroken year of 365 days in which the Brawley farmer may continue his farming operations.
Fruits, citrus and deciduous, dates, olives, grapes, melons, cotton, corn and all cereals, alfalfa and all vegetables yield in the most lavish abundance, and are first of spring products on the Eastern market.
Brawley lettuce, spinach, peas, cantaloupes, watermelons, tomatoes and grapes are first to mature and command highest price in the East- ern markets. The grower in this section takes no hazard on a harvest. Crop failures and parasites that destroy or minimize crop returns are un- known here, and the calendar year is one continuous round of seed time and harvest. In no section of the State does Nature respond more liber- ally to the touch of toil with a greater assurance of a harvest as a re- ward of properly directed energy.
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