10/19/04
Where do you live now? San Diego, CA
How many years were you in the desert? 1975 - 1983
Are you willing to help with pictures? Don't have none
Are you willing to help with stories? sure
Comments:
I must say it was a culture shock when I moved from Spain to Inyokern!! Then we moved into the Cottonwoods in 1976 that was a step up = ) . I do still have family there Mom and Dad and Sister I go back once or twice a year, and it's funny my son makes comments like what did you do here in this town it is dead? Then I have to explain the rocks, end of Ridgecrest Blvd (just kidding), but I told him we did have a drive in theater at one time. When I moved to San Diego, talk about a shocker there I was used to driving in a town with one red blinking light then going to an 8 lane freeway and weird lights, I wouldn't drive for the first year it was crazy (in fact when my sister comes here she freaks out driving on the freeways and I have to laugh, as that is how I was at first). I wouldn't want to live in Ridgecrest again but it is nice to visit it brings back a whole lot of memories good and bad. Great site I must say. Julie
| Penny (Rizer) Loper | Email |
05/16/04
Where do you live now? Inyokern
How many years were you in the desert? 52 years so far
Are you willing to help with pictures? Don't think I have any, but if I find some, sure
Are you willing to help with stories? Yes
Comments:
My family moved to China Lake in 1952 when my dad (Murle Rizer) accepted a teaching position at Burroughs High School. My husband (Richard Loper) moved to Ridgecrest with his family in 1946. I graduated from BHS in June 1964. We got married a month later and moved to Coeur d'Alene, ID. It took less than 6 months for us to realize that we desert rats couldn't take that cold climate. We returned to the Ridgecrest area in 1965 and have been here ever since. It was a great place to grow up and a great place to raise our own kids, both of whom graduated from BHS.
11/26/03
Where do you live now? Des Moines, Iowa
How many years were you in the desert? It's been a long time since I was there.
Are you willing to help with pictures? Don't have any
Are you willing to help with stories? If and when you think I have one that is appropriate.
Comments:
I enjoy your comments on another site. Dropping by to add my support and appreciation for what you do so well.
05/01/04
Where do you live now? Green Bay, Wisconsin
How many years were you in the desert? 20
Are you willing to help with pictures? Unfortunately, I don't have any
Are you willing to help with stories? Yes
Comments:
I grew up in Ridgecrest from 1966-1985. It's sad but all of the houses I lived in on the base are now gone.
I have so many memories of that place that was so far from everything. Lizard hunting, the big chicken where La Fiesta is now, or at least used to be last time I was in town. K&R Market, Champs, B&F Licqour, Senior Taco, Shopping Bag, Movies for a quarter at the base theater. The Malt Shop next to the base gym. NAF pool, playing tennis on the Captains Court. The Swap Sheet when it was one sheet and green.
All my family has left R/C so I haven't been back for many years, but I really do miss it. What a great place to grow up!
08/30/04
Where do you live now? Window Rock, Arizona and Tucson
How many years were you in the desert? about 20 years - 4 years in China Lake
Are you willing to help with pictures? My folks have them, I don't.
Are you willing to help with stories? If I can remember any.
Comments:
I grew up in 29 Palms (1956-1961) and China Lake (1963-1967). I was 12 when we left China Lake to move to Colorado. Since then I've also lived in the Great Basin Desert (Ely and Winnemucca, Nevada) and the Sonoran Desert (Tucson, Arizona). China Lake was a great place to grow up. I remember going to Bauer's Burgers (great milkshakes, as well as burgers), camping out at the Pinnacles with Scout Troop #35, and attending Richmond Elementary School. Was there the day we tested the first Harrier type vertical-take-off-and-land jet. I think they let us out of the classrooms to witness this event, which was visible from the school grounds. My mom remembers going to a place called "Trader May's Jungle Hut" for pizza and beer, but I don't see any reference to it on this site. While on base (my dad was a radar technichian out at Michaelson Labs), we lived at 310B Lauritsen Road, which was on the edge of the desert. I went back about 10 years ago to interview for a job with Glamis Gold in Randsburg (I'm a mining engineer), and spent some time driving around. While Ridgecrest has grown to about three times the size it was when I lived there, the base was very much like it was in the mid-sixties. I also drove over to Trona, and that place was drastically changed from before. In the mid-sixties, it was a prosperous and populated little community. Now it's virtually gone. I guess most of the people who work at solution mining there live in Ridgecrest or elsewhere. Anyway, I've enjoyed this site, which really is nicely done. I told my folks about it, so they may drop in and look it over.
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