Mojave Desert Archives

Cut off, Goffs a study of Route's past

2009-12-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

Route 66

By Claudia Heller
Pasadena Star-News

The 1914 Goffs Schoolhouse has been renovated and now houses a museum. (Alan Heller / Correspondent)

Part 5 of an ongoing series

We are about to visit an extremely significant Route 66 town, despite the fact that it has been expelled from the famous highway.

On our trip on Route 66, we leave the California border town of Needles and head for my personal favorite.

At first glance there isn't much left of the little town of Goffs, that is until you drive under the sign that reads "Study the Past." On the other side you will emerge into a different world to find a treasure which is under the tender care of the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association (MDHCA).

A related organization, The Friends of the Old Mojave Road, is dedicated to preserving a 138-mile trail once traversed by pioneers. This road was abandoned when railroads and more modern roads displaced it. Today the Mojave Road winds through the East Mojave Preserve in much the same dusty, bumpy and sometimes barely passable condition as it was in the 1860s.

Goffs became an important railroad stop because it is where steam engines could replenish their water supply.

The National Old Trails Road was established in 1912 (also called the ocean-to-ocean highway) and in 1926 it was designated as the first national highway system for automobiles and renamed Route 66. Several years later Route 66 was realigned to bypass Goffs when an eight-mile shortcut was carved through the Piute Mountains, skipping Goffs altogether.

Abandoned, Goffs' main landmark, a 1914 mission-style schoolhouse, fell into disrepair.

As fate would have it, a lone man, Dennis Casebier, set out to save Goffs and recapture its fading history. Today the MDHCA, under Casebier's direction, has renovated the schoolhouse to its former glory and established a museum within its walls. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the Federal Government.

The Goffs Library, a replica of the historic Goffs Santa Fe Railway Depot, 1902-1956.
(Alan Heller / Correspondent)

Unlike many Route 66 towns in the area, Goffs is not waning. To the contrary. A recent addition to the Cultural Center is the Library, a replica of the historic Goffs Santa Fe Railway Depot (1902-1956). Within its walls is the massive Mojave Desert Archives.

"There is no assemblage anywhere of material relating to the history of the Mojave Desert like the collections that exist at Goffs," Casebier said.

Visitors to the 75-acre Goffs Cultural Center will find hundreds of artifacts rescued from the area's rich history such as an Atlantic & Pacific Railway box car, a small courthouse which served the Amboy-Ludlow Judicial District in the 1940s, a Fraser-Chalmers 10-stamp mill, a Gilmore gasoline pump, and a miners cannon subject to a variety of claims regarding its origin.

Visitors are welcome at the Cultural Center on certain days or by appointment. For directions and more information call (760) 733-4482 or e-mail goffs@eastmojave.net.

On this, our fifth trip to areas of interest on the historic mother highway, we have now added three more sites to our list: (9 ) The Goffs Cultural Center; (10) The Renovated 1914 Goffs School House; and (11) The Old Mojave Road.

Mojave Desert historian keeps California's heritage alive

2008-12-14T00:30:00.000-08:00

Dennis G. Casebier stands in front of the library in Goffs, Calif., that bears his name. The railroad depot replica holds the world's largest archive of Mojave Desert history. Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Over the course of decades, Dennis G. Casebier has assembled the lost voices and hidden histories of a place largely washed clean of its past.

By David Kelly
Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Goffs, Calif. — Out on the great swells of the eastern Mojave Desert, that vast sand sea lying between Barstow and the Colorado River, there is no crumb of history, no tall tale, no arcane bit of knowledge too small to escape Dennis Casebier's notice.

"I'm fascinated by who ate rabbits," he said, sitting inside a library that will soon hold his life's work. "Did they eat jack rabbits or cottontails? Did they fry them or roast them? Did they grind them up or make stew out of them?"

"You see, that's the level of history we get into here," he said.

The soft-spoken retired physicist is a legend in this harsh land, a sort of Willy Wonka of the desert who transformed 70 acres of rock and scrub into the Goffs Cultural Center, his personal Xanadu of history and imagination.

In this tiny hamlet of 23 on the barren edge of the Mojave National Preserve, he and a group of volunteers carved roads and towed in ore carts, a defunct wooden post office, a caboose, windmills and boxcars. He bought a collapsing 1914 schoolhouse and turned it into a museum. His own Tales of the Mojave Road Publishing Co. has produced 26 books, 16 of which he wrote.

Yet none of it compares to his masterwork, the recently opened $1-million Dennis G. Casebier Memorial Library. Housed in a replica of the old Goffs Railroad Depot, the two-story, climate-controlled collection of thousands of books, maps, photos and tapes is the exclamation point on his arid passions.

Steve Mongrain, president of the Mojave Desert Heritage & Cultural Association, a nonprofit group that has helped raise money for the project, calls it "the most extraordinary historical collection of Mojave Desert history and culture in existence."

"There is nothing like it in the world," Mongrain said. "Anything that pertains to the Mojave can be researched there. It is unprecedented."

The association's 800 members donated $250,000 for the library, and the California Cultural and Historical Endowment provided the rest in grants.

Casebier, 74, has assembled the lost voices and hidden histories of a place largely washed clean of its past. The homesteads are gone, the mines closed, the tiny towns swallowed by sand.

Freight trains, some 6,000 feet long, still lumber through to Needles and beyond, but they rarely stop anymore because there are so few towns to stop in.

A 1920s picture of Rock Springs Land and Cattle Co. cowboys is one of about 108,000 photographs Casebier has collected. The library also has thousands of maps, oral histories and biographical files. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Gone too are characters such as gunfighter Bill Hollimon, who, when he wasn't shooting rivals, liked to pour gasoline down anthills and set them alight.

"The history is just everywhere, yet nobody is here. It's empty," said Casebier, an especially polite man who speaks with great precision.

"The people have gone, their life ways ended somehow. We are gathering the history of this forgotten land, and we have done so with a vengeance."

On a recent morning, Casebier rattled around the library, dipping in and out of the new filing cabinets. Each one contained dozens of subject files filled with personal histories.

Harrison Doyle?

"He's the oldest guy I ever interviewed, 103 or 104," Casebier said. "He was walking the streets of Needles in the early 1900s."

Llewellyn Barrackman?

"Former headman of the Fort Mojave Indians."

Betty Ordway?

"She was like the Rosetta Stone," he said. "She came here in 1914 and knew everyone and remembered everything. She knew the gunfighters and the homesteaders and where the stills were. She was the belle of the valley."

Tucked away in library cabinets are 3,000 biographies, 1,000 taped oral histories, 108,000 photographs, 6,000 books and 6,000 maps, ready for perusal by those Casebier believes demonstrate "an advanced interest in the desert."

Jo Ann Casebier, right, and volunteer Carol Brown sort historical documents. Thousands of soldiers were stationed in the Mojave during World War II, and many of their personal accounts are on file in the library. (Irfan Kahn / Los Angeles Times)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., consulted Casebier and used information from his collection when writing "Searchlight: The Camp That Didn't Fail," a book about his hometown.

"This book is better because of Dennis," he wrote in the preface.

Students working on master's degrees have come to study the homestead period and the military history of the region. Thousands of soldiers were stationed in the Mojave during World War II. Many of their personal accounts are on file in the library.

Casebier's own history in the desert began in 1954, after he left his home state of Kansas and enlisted in the Marines. He was stationed in Twentynine Palms and spent his free time poking around what is now Joshua Tree National Park.

"It was love at first sight when I saw the desert," he said. "It's different for everybody, but for me it was the wide open spaces and maybe the simplicity."

He returned to Kansas in 1956, got a degree in physics from Washburn University in Topeka, and returned to California in 1960. He worked on guided missile systems for the Navy and lived in Corona.

Meanwhile, his passion for the desert led him into the eastern Mojave, where he was smitten by what he dubbed "the forgotten country" encircled by the Colorado River and the I-40 and I-15 freeways.

There, he found an awe-inspiring emptiness.

"All the people had moved away. The schools went away. Everything went away," he said. "You would think that people would be swarming all over this area looking for its past, but they weren't."

Casebier's Navy job often took him to Washington, D.C., where he spent evenings at the National Archives and the Library of Congress photocopying records and maps about the eastern Mojave.

At one point he found a defunct wagon trail stretching 131 miles from the Colorado River to Camp Cady, east of Barstow.

Casebier formed a volunteer group that turned the dirt track into the four-wheel-drive Mojave Road. Soon he was leading caravans down it.

Chris Ervin first toured the road in 1988.

"It was a really fun, educational and a socially uplifting experience," said the Orange County resident, who works on the archives as a volunteer. "Dennis single-handedly rediscovered the Mojave Road and got thousands of others involved. He is an inspiration and a visionary."

In 1990, after he retired, Casebier and his wife, Jo Ann, moved to Goffs and bought 113 acres that included the old Goffs Schoolhouse. Working with the Mojave heritage association, he set to work saving the school and building the cultural center, which he donated to the nonprofit.

At the same time, he traveled the country interviewing former desert residents for his oral histories, persuading many to part with photographs and personal papers.

His disarming approach put people at ease.

"I'd say, 'So, how did a nice girl like you end up in the desert?' "

Some subjects were duds, but others, he said, were "bell ringers." He interviewed Curtis Springer 54 times. In 1944, Springer founded a spa and resort in an area he named Zzyzx, just south of Baker. A road bearing the name still exists.

Betty Ordway was another bell ringer. Casebier, who found her in Auburn, Calif., was so impressed that he put her entire 155,000-word interview into two bound volumes.

"She had 500 photos and she cast light on the big things and the little things," he said. "We had gunfights out here between ranchers and homesteaders, who would help themselves to a cow once in a while. A 1925 shootout killed two gunfighters, and Betty knew both men."

And she liked her rabbit fried like chicken.

"You could see her salivate when she remembered," he said. "I just loved that. Maybe because I'm such a nut or maybe because I wish I lived back then."

With his research constantly expanding and scattered everywhere, Casebier came up with the idea of a central library.

The grants arrived in 2006 and the building was completed in July.

Archival material is still being moved in, and the rules on how people can use the library are still being worked out.

Casebier, who still does oral histories, said anyone interested in visiting must make arrangements first.

"We are targeting researchers of desert history, those who are writing books or papers or scholarly works," said Ervin, the library's project manager. "Our focus is how do we make sure this thing lasts longer than all of us? We are trying to get an endowment -- maybe $10 million -- to pay for and support all these wonderful materials in perpetuity."

Back in Goffs, Casebier hopped into a golf cart and motored down his complex's Boulevard of Dreams. He passed a Justice of the Peace office that once served the towns of Amboy and Ludlow, and pulled up in front of an old library built in 1927.

There are hundreds of books inside that have not been moved to the new library just up the road.

For desert aficionados it's a small, if dimly lit, slice of heaven. Books with titles such as "The Great California Deserts," "Our Desert Neighbors," "On Desert Trails" and "Desert Treasures" stand in dark wooden cabinets behind glass doors.

Casebier likes to sit in the back room and read. If he should ever get bored, which is highly unlikely, he could open the window and drink in unlimited blue sky.

He has spent the better part of his life studying the desert. For years people have asked him why.

"I want people to know the tremendous respect I have for the human beings who lived here and the tremendous respect I have for their self-reliance," he said.

"They were a special breed. I don't want that story to disappear."

Reading Room furniture installed

2008-11-09T05:37:00.000-08:00

Patron view of the reception desk and bay windows as one enters the
Reading Room of the Dennis G. Casebier Library.

Report and Photos by Chris Ervin

Here are a few images of the beautifully appointed Reading Room of the Dennis G. Casebier Library immediately after installation of the new furniture.

Patron view past the reception desk of three of the six bookcases.

The Reading Room reception units and library table are now assembled thanks to the efforts of Leslie Ervin. The six bookcases were earthquake-proofed and set against the walls by Chris Ervin.

The library table, which will seat future researchers,
takes full advantage of the east facing bay windows.

This beautiful new furniture, which complements the early twentieth century Santa Fe depot design of the new Dennis G. Casebier Library, was purchased with funds donated by the MDHCA membership.

Dedication of the Dennis G. Casebier Library

2008-10-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

Director John Fickewirth.

[MDHCA Director John M. Fickewirth was chosen to deliver the official dedication statement for the new library during the 29th Mojave Road Rendezvous. Following is his address.]

We are assembled here today to dedicate the Casebier Library. It is fitting we do so—as we celebrate the achievements of a man and his life's work.

A library is a repository, a center of learning, and this library for Dennis is the culmination of his mission to gather, conserve, and interpret the history of the East Mojave.

Dennis' association with the East Mojave began when he arrived in 29 Palms to serve the Republic as a United States Marine. He fell in love with this wonderful land, a love that lasts to this day.

Many of us are fascinated by the desert. We come, enjoy its wonders, and leave. Dennis is different. He came—and he collected the artifacts of the desert. He gathered the historical documents, he traveled to the wastelands of Washington, D.C. to conduct research at the National Archives, he met with the old-timers—and sometimes their descendants—and let them tell their stories. And most important he recorded and transcribed their oral histories.

What can be more ephemeral, more transitory, more anecdotal than the human memory? And when a pioneer of the East Mojave is gone, he or she takes his precious knowledge with him.

There are letters, documents, journals, photos, artifacts, all the physical reminders of man's presence here. But, what was the experience? What was the feel and texture of life in this great land?

It is from Dennis' thousands of pages of oral history that we know this. There is no other resource of the East Mojave comparable to this.

Since Dennis published his first monograph 38 years ago, he has built an admirable "shelf" of authored books. Many of Dennis' books are the standard reference works on the subjects.

We are often criticized for subscribing to the "Great Man Theory" of history—the belief that from time to time among us one person's actions change events.

Today we are here to dedicate a library. It will hold over, 6,000 volumes. Over 6,000 historic maps. Over 100,000 photographs of the Mojave Desert. The Weight, Edwards, Moon, and many other collections. And none of this would be possible without one Great Man—Dennis Casebier.

Please join with me in the dedication of the Dennis G. Casebier Library.

DEDICATION PLAQUE
A magnificent bronze plaque measuring 26 x 34" and tipping the scales at 70 pounds was procured and donated by John M. Fickewirth. It is to be mounted on the wall inside the first floor of the Dennis G. Casebier Library. It bears the following inscription:

DENNIS G. CASEBIER LIBRARY

Dedicated to the pioneers of the East Mojave Desert whose stories are enshrined in this building

And to the membership of the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association

OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS
Steve Mongrain, President
Dennis Casebier, Exec. Dir.
Phil Motz, Vice President
Randy Kimball, Treasurer
Hugh Brown, Secretary
Jo Ann Casebier, Director
Chris S. Ervin, Director
John Fickewirth, Director
Russ Kaldenberg, Director
John Terrill, Director

Dedicated October 11, 2008
STUDY THE PAST

Funding for the Library was made possible by a grant from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment

Plaque Donated by John M. Fickewirth

Volunteerism and Providence

2008-10-11T15:00:00.001-07:00

Director Chris Ervin.

[The following remarks were made by MDHCA board member Chris Ervin at the dedication of the Dennis G. Casebier Library on October 11, 2008.]

My first inclination on speaking here today was to pull a “William Mulholland.” If you are from southern California you’ll likely recall Mulholland was the head engineer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in the early Twentieth Century. Upon completion of the 233-mile engineering feat called the Los Angeles Aqueduct, at a ceremony similar to this one, Mulholland pointed at the gushing water and said, “There it is. Take it.” This building is certainly no LA Aqueduct, but after sweating over something bigger than myself for so long, I can understand the irony, the sense of accomplishment, and exhaustion, behind those five simple words.

So I’d like to make a few remarks here today on the occasion of the celebration of this accomplishment before us. Having lived with the process of bringing this to fruition for the better part of ten years, I recognize the fact that to some, this building may appear to have merely sprung from the earth. Now I know, that you know, that isn’t so. But over a decade’s time, the highlights of how we got here may be a bit fuzzy. But have no fear, for I am here – to recap the good stuff for you.

We’ve had some major contributors along this journey who generously lent their expertise at each junction. The story of this building is one of nurtured volunteerism, punctuated by sudden spasms of Providence. That’s a theme here – volunteerism and Providence.

Doing things on a shoe-string budget, which is typical of volunteer endeavors, has many frustrations. But the side benefit is that the experience generates stories you can tell at building dedications.

Back in 1993, board member Gene Perry of Palm Desert, who worked for the Imperial Valley Irrigation District, made application on behalf of the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association for the nonprofit status we enjoy today. That status is key to this organization’s ability to shamelessly ask for money and donations of your time and expertise. Today, that nonprofit status with the Internal Revenue Service and the State of California is maintained and kept current through the efforts of our long-serving treasurer, CPA Randy Kimball of Rancho Cucamonga.

When the Association completed its first large project in 1998, the restoration of the Goffs Schoolhouse, it encouraged us to think bigger, to think about what our next accomplishment should be to fulfill our mission of preserving the history of the Mojave Desert. We concluded that we should build a Library to house the wonderful collections that desert historian Dennis Casebier had been amassing for – well, forty years – at that time, ten years ago.

As we became serious about this concept of building a library, we were advised by our county building inspector that we had already maxed out the number of structures we were allowed to build on the property. It’s actually zoned as residential and it’s very difficult to obtain a zoning change. A better way of approaching it would be to apply for something called a conditional use permit. Basically, it’s an agreement with the County that would allow us to build specific structures beyond what is allowed by the zoning – like a library. This required submitting a plan to the county for approval. Perhaps this is straightforward if you know what you’re doing. But as a bunch of volunteers with our hearts in the right place and no experience with conditional use permits, we did not know what we were doing.

So, being novices, we asked around our membership for advice. One member who had lived in the county for many years told us it was easy. Just make application, draw up your plan on some butcher paper, and present it to the Planning Department. So we felt pretty good when we paid our $14,000 application fee and showed up with a drawing done on a computer. As we found out, the Planning Department is used to having civil engineers deliver plans – not desert rats. We were pretty much sent back to the drawing board.

About that time, long-time supporter and board member Carl Volkmar of Las Vegas, a developer and Land Rover enthusiast, unexpectedly donated ten thousand dollars at just the right moment so we could hire a civil engineering firm to do the necessary survey work, maps, and traffic studies for a lot split of this property using Lanfair Road as the dotted line for the cut. This was an improvement in our thinking in that it set the stage to allow the Casebiers, who owned this property, to split these 70 acres away from the 40 across the street where the Casebiers now reside. That felt like Providence to suddenly have the funds to obtain both a lot split and a conditional use permit at the same time. Unfortunately, Carl died of cancer a few years ago and is not here to witness this great accomplishment to which he contributed importantly.

It took about two years to get through the process, but we obtained our conditional use permit approval and lot split from the county. In all fairness to the county, it took us two years instead of the average six months because we are constrained by the amount of time and effort that volunteers can contribute. Many of us have full-time jobs and families, so volunteerism is actually a kind of leisure activity. It’s a labor of love that has to be fit into one’s life.

The next major milestone in getting this building in place was to get the property legally under the ownership of the nonprofit entity, the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association. Dennis and Jo Ann Casebier exhibited great faith in the potential of this organization in 2003 when they donated these 70 acres and all of the structures on it to the MDHCA. It is a responsibility we as members must step up to. It is a legacy for us to maintain in perpetuity.

So time was passing by. Our conditional use permit was only good for three years and we still had no library. We didn’t even have a drawing of a library. It was 2004 and we had only a year left on the permit. Funding was the challenge. We knew we could not lean on our generous membership for the amount of money it would take to construct such a building in the amount of time we had left. We had no choice but to request an extension from the county on our conditional use permit. We were granted another three years, but that would be it. Otherwise we’d have to start the application process all over again.

We scrapped around for grants. But the majority of grants available for historical societies were for small amounts – if you call five or ten thousand dollars small – and most had restrictions that the money could not be used for new construction. We did have one brainstorm during this time. We figured out what shape our Library should take. It should take the form of a local historical structure – the Goffs Depot – which was torn down in 1956 and of which we had only photos. Historical documents were found by Dennis that described the dimensions of the depot. Those, along with old photos from the photo collection, and from several angles, were enough for member Roger Leggett of Kingman, Arizona, the structural engineer who oversaw the restoration of the Schoolhouse, to develop our first large format elevations of the new Goffs Depot / Library building.

But what about the money required for construction? We had enough experience with projects small and large to know we couldn’t cobble the Library together with volunteer labor only. We needed the experience of a general contractor to get all of the various components up quickly to meet our conditional use permit deadline. And, we figured it was going to take half a million dollars – far too much money to raise from our members.

It was in August of 2004 I received an e-mail announcement – out of the blue – that the state of California had loosened up funding from a public works proposition passed by the voters in 2002, which included $267 million for historic and cultural resource preservation. Best of all, these California Cultural and Historical Endowment funds could be used for construction of capital assets – a rare eligibility for grants. This grant program was a perfect fit for us and our need for construction funding. This opportunity felt like Providence. Dennis and I had one month to put everything else on hold and pull together a 73-page grant application. Apparently, the CCHE staff and board agreed with us on the worthiness of our proposal and allocated $500 thousand dollars for the library in May 2005.

You might still ask, “But what took so darn much time to get this building up?” There are too many mundane tasks to mention, but just to give you an idea, the conditional use permit came with seventy conditions – that’s seven-zero – that we needed to meet before we could obtain our building permit. These conditions cover things we take for granted in modern society; water quality, fire safety, sewage, hazardous waste, endangered species, archaeological significance, professionally prepared building plans, handicapped access, etc. Out here in the desert, we had to start from scratch on many of the conditions. We eventually overcame all of these challenges, but with volunteer labor as the method of getting work done, these things take time. This is not a criticism, just a fact that all nonprofits adapt to in order to get things accomplished on a shoe-string budget.

Now, I would like to take the opportunity to recognize by name, those volunteers who made a significant contribution to making this building a reality; Robert Botich and Walters Wholesale for a major discount on our 400 amp electrical panel; designer Paul Geissinger for a major donation of services for our professional building plans; archaeologist and board member Russ Kaldenberg and his wife Judyth Reed for our cultural resources survey and report; the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association for the two acres of land this building sits on; San Bernardino County Fire Department for waiving fire plan check fees; wildlife biologist Larry Sip for our desert tortoise survey and report; and board member and president Steve Mongrain for arranging the donation of the Goffs and Santa Fe signs on the sides of this building.

Additionally, I’d like to recognize the leadership and labor contributed by our board members and the following volunteers who provided direct “in kind” labor that counted towards our $250 thousand match for the CCHE grant; Gail Andress, Bob and Dorothy Beal, Red Brooke, Larry Burkholder, Leslie Ervin, Dave Given, John Harrington, Sharon Holmes, Don Johnson, Gus and Stella Lind, Jeff Moffatt, Kristy Motz, Rick Nisbet, John Reiff, Kib and Shirley Roby, Jerry and Jan Sears, Ron Shepard, Tom Smith, Morris Swain, and Carl Weikel. My apologies to anyone I’ve left out. Together, these folks contributed 5,676 documented volunteer hours towards this building. We couldn’t have done this without your assistance.

Even with volunteer labor, though, these things don’t happen without vision and direction. Those all-important core ingredients are provided constantly and without fail by Dennis and Jo Ann Casebier. I cannot overstate the importance of their contribution; their generosity, and their faith in volunteers. In fact it’s more than what these words indicate. Inspiration may be a closer word. And Providence: it feels like Providence to me to have the honor of being associated with Dennis and Jo Ann, and learning from them.

Now, I’ve said a few times it cost a half million dollars to construct the Library, and that is true. But it is actually a million dollar building value-wise to the MDHCA. In addition to the half million dollars of CCHE funds, the MDHCA had to come up with a two-to-one match of “in kind” funding. The way we met that match was through various volunteer labor efforts in support of the construction – $250 thousand dollars worth of documented donations of labor and goods by many of the folks present here today. So now we’re up to $750 thousand. The last $250 thousand was achieved through a parallel fundraising effort among our membership over the course of four years to furnish and operate the Library once it was finished. Way to go, TEAM! So, there you have it – a million dollar building.

The dedication of the Library closes one chapter and opens another for the Association. Now we begin the process of furnishing the Reading Room, (already in progress) and consolidating the collections of the Mojave Desert Archives into this building. Describing the collections and development of finding aids are next. Fleshing out an operations plan and policies and receiving researchers are also in the queue. Those are the tactical activities we’ll be concentrating in the near future.

Strategically, the Association will be working on funding its endowment. An endowment that will generate the long-term funding needed to hire a professional archivist and other staff to operate this facility in perpetuity. "O’ Providence" – if you’re listening – here’s your next opportunity. Thank you.

Dennis G. Casebier Library Dedicated

2008-10-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

Slideshow of the dedication ceremony and BBQ

Dennis G. Casebier Library Dedication Ceremony, October 11, 2008.

Dedication Ceremony for Mojave Desert Library

2008-10-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Chris Ervin
Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association
949-613-1528
info@mdhca.org

Dedication Ceremony for Mojave Desert Library

New Library Building to be Dedicated at
Annual Mojave Road Rendezvous
GOFFS, CA – October 2, 2008 – The Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association (MDHCA) will formally dedicate its recently completed research library that will house the collections of the Mojave Desert Archives. The dedication ceremony will be at 2:00 PM on Saturday, October 11, 2008 in Goffs during the 29th Annual Mojave Road Rendezvous. The dedication will include the unveiling of a bronze plaque, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and tours of the new building. Desert historian Dennis Casebier, County Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt and Mojave National Preserve Superintendent Dennis Schramm are scheduled to speak.

A $500,000 grant from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment (CCHE) made possible the construction of the research library that is a reincarnation of the historic Goffs Depot (1902-1956) built by the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. The library is built on the grounds of the 75-acre Goffs Cultural Center, which also boasts the restored Goffs Schoolhouse, a National Register property. The new building is a state-of-the-art, climate-controlled repository designed to process, protect, and make available to the research community a unique, extensive and ever-increasing volume of gathered materials pertaining to Mojave Desert history.

The Mojave Desert Archives is the largest single collection of archival materials covering the American history of the Mojave Desert—a history rich in the stories of western migration and pioneering spirit. This unique collection, formed by renowned desert historian Dennis G. Casebier over the last fifty years, consists of more than 108,000 historical photographs, 6,000 volumes of published works, tens of thousands of pages of news clip files, 5,000 maps of the region dating from earliest times, 2,000 loose subject files pertaining to specific individuals and cultural sites, more than 1,000 oral histories, an extensive collection of old area newspapers, periodicals and pamphlets, and materials culled from federal records in the National Archives.

Goffs is a former railroad junction and Route 66 highway stop that has become a repository of historical buildings, artifacts, and lore relating to the Eastern Mojave. The Goffs Depot formerly stood at the junction of the short line Nevada Southern Railroad with the Santa Fe, the main east-west line through the Southern California desert. For about 30 years beginning in 1893, this junction connected isolated mining communities, homesteaders, and cattle ranchers to the outside world.

About Mojave Desert Historical and Cultural Association
The mission of the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association is to research and conserve the natural and cultural history of the Mojave Desert region for the purpose of preserving and sharing these resources in perpetuity. This is accomplished through operation of a research center, library, and archives, restoration of significant structures, conservation of historic open space, interpretation of backcountry trails, and production of educational guidebooks and historical publications in concert with government agencies and people of good faith everywhere. For additional information, visit www.mdhca.org.

Library dedication scheduled for Oct. 11 at 2 PM

2008-09-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

The Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association is pleased to announce the dedication of the new Library/Depot building to house the Mojave Desert Archives will occur on Saturday, October 11, 2008 at 2:00 PM during the 29th annual Mojave Road Rendezvous being held at the Goffs Cultural Center in Goffs, California.

PROGRAM
(subject to change)
1:45 p.m. Spectators assemble east of the Library / Depot loading dock. Bring a chair.

2:00 p.m. Welcome by MDHCA President Steve Mongrain

2:00 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance

2:05 p.m. Introduction of guests and dignitaries by Steve Mongrain

2:10 p.m. Remarks by Dennis Casebier – Introduce and recognize Chris & Leslie Ervin

2:20 p.m. Remarks by Chris Ervin, Director and Project Manager

2:30 p.m. Remarks by Dennis Schramm, Superintendent Mojave National Preserve

2:40 p.m. Remarks by Brad Mitzelfelt, San Bernardino County Supervisor, First District

2:50 p.m. Dedication of Dennis G. Casebier Library by John M. Fickewirth

2:55 p.m. Christening of the building with champagne by Jo Ann Casebier

3:00 p.m. Ceremonial presentation of building keys by Secretary Hugh Brown to President Steve Mongrain.

3:00 p.m. Ribbon Cutting by MDHCA Board of Directors with photo opportunity

3:05 p.m. Opportunity for everyone to tour building

4:00 p.m. Dinner at Flywheel Cafe

7:00 P.M. Raffle Drawing - North porch of Route 66 building

Funding for the Mojave Desert Archives Library/Depot construction was made possible by a grant from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment and the membership of the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association.

Security cameras installed

2008-09-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

The Electronic Eye Security camera guys, Josh and Michael, arrived at about 9:30 AM. They said they'd be here about four hours. They finished and left at about 1:15 PM. The cameras are all installed and I believe they are operating.

New furniture begins arriving

2008-09-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

Report by Chris Ervin

FedEx delivered the first two pieces of new furniture for the Reading Room. They are a two side-by-side computer workstation tables. The plan is to install a computer on one side for searching the Library's online finding aids and a microfilm reader on the other side.

File cabinet shipment delivered

2008-09-10T16:56:00.000-07:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

Lopez Trucking, under the command of Fernando Lopez with Hesus Rivera as copilot, arrived at the Library just before 1:00 p.m. By 3;00 p.m. they had 48 file cabinets unloaded and in place in the north Freight House Room and they have now departed Goffs.

Two Hispanic gentlemen and one 84-year-old gringo (Gail Andress) did the job in two hours. The cabinets look just fine. Jo Ann and Donna have already made use of about four of them to store the Russell Collection, so that collection is now off the floor in safely stored away in cabinets.

O. A. Russell Collection delivered to Library

2008-09-08T15:16:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

The O. A. Russell Collection was delivered to Goffs from Tucson, AZ today by Chales A. Corder and his daughter Christine. Actually they arrived yesterday evening and were our house guests until about noon today.

Carol and Hugh were on hand to assist Jo Ann and I and the Corders in unloading. The collection is on flattened cardboards on the floor in the first floor of the Depot, except for a particular collection of negatives that are considered to be especially critical. Those have been removed to a file cabinet in the Court House.

Since we now have a collection of value in the Library/Depot, Hugh said he would activate the security system. We are scheduled to receive 48 file cabinets on Wednesday of this week. After they come we plan to relocate the Russell Collection into several of those cabinets for temporary storage and protection.

Tables delivered for the new Library

2008-08-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

Rob Fulton was here today deliverying three tables for the Library/Depot. Rob, Mark Wire, and Hugh Brown unloaded them. They are in the south Freight House. Some assembly required.

Majority whip tours Library

2008-08-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

Senator Harry Reid (left) and Dennis G. Casebier take in the view towards Searchlight from the second floor bay window of the Library.

Report by Chris S. Ervin
Photos by Shannon Raborn

Senate Majority Whip Harry Reid (D-NV) toured the newly completed Library building today. The Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association was honored to play host to Senator Reid and his Southern Nevada Director, Shannon Raborn.

The Goffs Depot, upon which the design of the Library was based, connected the shortline Nevada Southern Railroad with the mainline of the Santa Fe at Goffs. Searchlight, Nevada was the terminus at the other end of the Nevada Southern. Senator Reid grew up in Searchlight and still calls that former mining town his home.

Several members of the MDHCA Board of Directors as well as some volunteers had the pleasure of visiting with the good Senator for about ninety minutes. The Senator declared the Library to be a fine building.

From left to right; Steve Mongrain, Gail and Donna Andress, Hugh and Carol Brown, Jo Ann Casebier, Chris Ervin, Dennis Casebier, Russ Kaldenberg, Sen. Harry Reid, and Leslie Ervin.

Signs installed on the Library

2008-08-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

Report by Chris Ervin
Photos by Leslie and Chris Ervin
Historic images courtesy of Mojave Desert Archives

Starting yesterday, with most of the work done today, Chris Ervin installed four of the five "historic" depot signs on the new Library/Depot. A "GOFFS" depot station sign was centered on the bay window as well as on the far (south) end of the Freight House.

Historic (above) and new bay window GOFFS station sign (below).
A 30-inch square "Santa Fe" herald was also installed on the north end of the two-story Depot building just above a 60-inch long "GOFFS" station sign.

Historic (above) and new Depot signs (below).

To be historically correct, another "Santa Fe" herald needs to be installed on the Freight House, but a special mounting bracket will need to be fashioned before that can happen.

Historic (above) and new Freight House sign (below).

All of these signs are modern reproductions based on historic photos and artifacts found on Ebay. As mentioned in a previous post, MDHCA president Steve Mongrain arranged for the fabrication of the signs and their donation by Vegas Valley Business Forms. They are nice accents for the Library built in the image of the original Goffs Railway Depot and are sure to attract attention.

Data cabinet installation begins

2008-08-13T21:56:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Hugh Brown

Danny Marin and Bobby Kokrak from Data Specialties, Inc. arrived at Goffs shortly after 9 AM to begin installation of the various data, phone, and cable TV infrastructure components in the north Freight House of the Library/Depot.

They worked through until 3 PM, and then departed for Buena Park. They will return early tomorrow to complete the job. The original plan was for them to stay here this evening, but a tester needed for final checking was not loaded on their truck, hence, necessitating the return.

Water tanks painted and signs delivered

2008-08-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier
Photo and artwork by Chris Ervin

Hugh Brown and Mark Wire commenced painting the two 5,000-gallon water tanks that support the Library/Depot. This project continued for several days.

Also, Steve and Mary Mongrain were here to deliver the GOFFS and SANTA FE SIGNS for the Library/Depot. The signs are being donated by their business, Vegas Valley Business Forms.

Intrusion alert system completed

2008-07-31T21:32:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Chris Ervin

Yesterday, Dave Mongrain of Alert Team, completed hooking up power to the security alarm and intrusion alert system. Director Hugh Brown provided Dave with support and received some training on the system.

There are still a couple of items remaining to do on the system; 1) "punch down" the auto dialer phone wires on the phone block once it is installed on the backboard, and 2) program the auto dialer with desired phone numbers to call should the alarm be tripped.

Dave intends to complete these items when he comes out to the Rendezvous in October.

Certificate of occupancy issued by County

2008-07-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

General Contractor Dan Cordova (left) receives the certificate of occupancy from San Bernardino County Building Inspector Steven Given.

Report by Dennis Casebier
Photos by Hugh Brown

This morning, General Contractor Dan Cordova and Building Inspector Steven Given met and went over the building. The bottom-line result was that Inspector Given signed off on our final certificate of occupancy - the building is now ours!

Everyone associated with this is authorized to take great pride in this achievement. And of course special credit goes to Chris and Leslie Ervin for administering the grant and all that they do.

General Contractor Dan Cordova presents the Library/Depot certificate of occupancy to MDHCA Director and Secretary Hugh Brown.

President Steve Mongrain informed me that he has in his possession three large GOFFS depot signs that are to be placed on the new building. They are to scale with the originals and made of metal. He said he also has on order two full-sized Santa Fe Railway herald signs to be placed on the building. He said all these signs will be given to the MDHCA courtesy of his company, Vegas Valley Business Forms.

Tortoise fence removal

2008-07-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

Mark Wire got the tortoise fencing material removed from around the Library/Depot today. That leaves the pegs. Gail Andress intends to use the tractor to remove the pegs tomorrow and then smooth out where the fence had been. He'll also bring fill dirt in to build up in front of the handicapped parking pad.

Climate control systems activated

2008-07-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

It was a busy day at Goffs today.

Brandon the painter had stayed overnight in the Dutchmen Trailer. Phil Motz provided him dinner last night and they sat out under the Green Tree working on the world's problems until a late hour. Indications are they made a lot of progress. Brandon finished up his painting and was gone by about noon today. I believe that's the last we'll see of the painter.

General Contractor Dan Cordova was here this morning. He got the plywood backboard mounted on the north wall of the north Freight House room and Brandon painted it. This backboard will be used for centralizing the phone, data, Internet, and CATV wiring.

Donnie Millard of "Desert Air" showed up during the morning and was here until 4:00 PM. He activated the heating, air conditioning, and humidity control systems. Just before he left, Jo Ann, Phil and I assembled over there. The whole building was chilled. On a day with the humidity standing at 35% and the temperature at 104 degrees -- it was wonderful.

MDHCA Board Reviews Library Construction

2008-07-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Chris Ervin

Today, as part of the regularly scheduled meeting, the MDHCA Board of Directors did a walk-through review of the nearly completed Library/Depot building.

Director Chris Ervin and other board members discussed the layout of the first floor reading room, how researchers would be received, and the possible furnishes they might encounter.

Director Ervin has been tasked with developing a strawman room layout to present to the Board with the goal of having some furnishings in place by the time of building dedication at the Rendezvous in October.

Later in the afternoon, at around 4:00 PM, a monsoonal thunderstorm moved over Goffs and dropped about an inch of rain in about 20 minutes. Water was running in the streets and the wind was pushing the rain sideways. It was a wild storm with thunder, lightning and quite the downpour. It was a good test of the new Library roof. No leaks.

Inspection and phones

2008-07-10T11:35:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

Inspector Steve Given was on site today with general contractor Dan Cordova developing a list of final items needing to be done before finalization.

The phone rang just now in the Casebier house. It was Phil Motz calling from the Library Depot! Then he called back on our second (fax) line! So the Library/Depot is in communications with the rest of the planet! All thanks to very hard and hot work by Mr. Motz with a little help at times.

Odds and ends

2008-07-08T12:00:00.001-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

General Contractor Dan Cordova and two of his crew arrived at about 7:00 AM this morning. They are working on Library/Depot odds and ends. Finishing up!

Here are some upcoming activities;

Tomorrow 9 July the safety glass will be put into three upstairs windows as required.
Thursday we are scheduled to have the final inspection on the building (we have a bottle of champagne chilling in the frige.
Next Tuesday the HVAC guys will be out and fire up the air conditioning systems.
That leaves the one door that needs to get painted green. Dan said Brandon & Co will be out to do that.

It is 110 degrees out there on our front porch at noon. Phil Motz is out in the heat working on the electrical for the water system.

Ditch dug for the phone lines

2008-07-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

Much hard work has been accomplished over the past few days in getting the phone lines to the new building. It wasn't until mid-week that we were able to settle with Dan Cordova on a point to bring the phone lines into the building.

In order to accomplish it we had to dig a ditch a little over 200 feet long to carry the line from the Power House to the northwest side of the building where the line will enter. But the job is done and Phil will now be able to get the phones through into the building before he leaves on the 17th.

I say the job is done but it isn't exactly. We still have to string the line from the Power House to the power pole near Lanfair Road. Phil and I can do that.

This important and difficult work has been accomplished over a holiday weekend in intense heat - by Phil Motz, Hugh Brown, and myself. It was very hot working out there on that ditch!

Baseboards and clean-up

2008-07-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

Dan Cordova and two of his guys showed up at about 8:00 AM. They will be putting in the baseboards and cleaning in and around the building. He figures they likely won't get done today and will be back tomorrow.

One of the on-demand water heaters in the Lounge/restroom isn't working. The plumber will be coming out next week to replace it.

Phil has procured all the materials he needs to complete the phoneline to the Library/Depot.

Finishing touches on the water system

2008-07-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

There have been no workers here yet this week. Dan Cordova and crew are expected to be here as early as tomorrow to put in door closers, base boards, and maybe an illuminated address sign.

Phil Motz has been busy working with the water system. Both the north and south systems are on line and we are using water out of both. Also he obtained materials in town yesterday to put in lights in the Power House and the new north Pump House. Lights are designed to come on when Deep Well #2 pump is on and when the booster pumps in the north Pump House are on.

Phil has also picked up ceiling fans which he will install in the new building.

It's very hot in Goffs today and along the Colorado River Valley.

Flooring finished on the second floor...

2008-06-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

The flooring for the second floor of the Depot, the Lounge, and the restroom were finished at about 3:00 PM today.

...the Lounge...

...and the restroom.

Depot flooring begins

2008-06-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

The flooring crew, consisting of Kelly Binns, Ed Hardesty, and Donna May, arrived mid-morning. They started on the first floor of the Depot.

First they cleaned the floor, then put down some kind of foam sheeting, and now they are laying maple tongue and groove pattern, perco-type flooring on top of that. At 2:00 PM they were about two-thirds of the way done with that room.

Here at the end of the day, the flooring is complete on the first floor of the Depot. Also they've cleaned the floor in the lounge and bathroom and are putting glue down. We are asked not to go in there this evening or we might have to stay forever!

The crew is moving all of their tools and materials to the second floor. This same flooring goes in the second floor of the Depot. Then they'll lay a vinyl material of the same maple style in the Lounge and rest room.

A window guy is here working on loose molding. There'll be some other glass guy later to replace some of the glass upstairs.

Very warm and windy today but it isn't impacting their work day since the workers are inside.

Air conditioning units rewired

2008-06-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

The electrician arrived mid-morning and did some rewiring of control boxes by the air conditioning units on the west side of the Library/Depot.

Flooring delivery and plumbing leak

2008-06-21T17:15:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

The flooring guys, led by Jim O'Connor, were here before noon. They dropped off a bunch of flooring (apparently not all of it) and then departed for Laughlin. They said they'd be back Wednesday morning with the rest of the flooring to do the job.

The plumber came in some time this morning. He found a leak. It was in a pipe that got punched with a nail during some of the finish work around the toilet. It's now been fixed. The plumber adjusted the pressure in the pump house to 56 pounds.

Very hot in Goffs today. 110 degrees at 3:30 PM on the west porch.

Rain gutters and bollards

2008-06-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

The rain gutter guys (three of them) showed up this morning. Jo Ann and I were just leaving for a quick business trip into town. I figured they would still be here when we got back at about 2:00 PM, but they were gone already. Hugh reports the job took about four hours. So the gutters are all in place.

Also, Dan Cordova and a helper were here this morning finishing up the bollards they started yesterday. These are metal posts designed to prevent people from driving their vehicles into the new building.

The plumber is expected to be back on Saturday of this week to fix a leak that has developed in one of the walls.

Dan is picking off the few remaining tasks. The last big one will be to put the flooring down and I understand that is to be done next week.

We are nearing completion.

Painting the handicapped parking

2008-06-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

Dan Cordova and crew are here preparing to paint the the handicapped parking area with the appropriate blue and white emblems. They will also install curb stops and yellow-painted bollards to protect the building.

The flooring contractor, Jim with Hardesty Custom Floors, will be stopping by on Saturday to drop off some of the flooring to be installed next week, starting Wednesday. After that, Dan will be back to install the baseboard and the painter will be back to touch-up everything.

Flag Day and the loading dock at 1 day old

2008-06-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

Photo by Dennis Casebier

Loading dock poured and stamped

2008-06-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

Today was the fullest day around the construction site we've had in quite awhile.

The concrete man Craig Merriam, his deputy Jody, and his wife Terry, spent the night at Goffs in anticipation of arrival of a concrete truck by 5:00 AM.

The concrete truck arrived on time. Craig & Co. soon had it lined up with the loading dock forms alongside the Freight House and began dumping from the nine yard load. Even prepared as we were for this special load, it it was surprising to see brown-colored concrete coming down the chute!

Soon the sun was up and the temperature was rising. Also there was a dry breeze blowing out of the north. That meant it was a race against time for the concrete crew to get the material laid down, smoothed out, and finished. This was particularly challenging today because once smoothed out, the crew went back over the entire surface with a special stamping form that left the imprint of wood texture.

This involved hard work pounding the form into the hardening surface. A real race against time as the concrete was setting up due to the increasing air temperature and lowering humidity. But the crew was equal to the task and finished their imprinting with a little time to spare. But, it was very hard work.

There followed the cleaning up. Then, just before departing, they removed all the hardware that held the forms in place revealing the loading dock in its final form. It looks great!

Meanwhile, the electrician arrived mid-morning and did some rewiring of control boxes by the air conditioning units on the west side of the building.

Parking slab poured

2008-06-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

The concrete truck came in a little before 5 AM and we didn't catch it. The truck poured the handicapped parking slab and also the small slabs "stoops" outside each door.

There will be just one more truck tomorrow. It will be carrying the colored concrete for the loading dock. Today's concrete crew are Craig and Jody. They'll be staying overnight in our trailers to deal with the concrete truck tomorrow morning.

Also Dan Cordova is here. He's installing grab rails in the restroom. He says the electrician will be here tomorrow to hook up the air conditioning units.

Plumbing wrap up

2008-06-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

Plumber Tim Henry arrived this morning at about 10:30 AM. He plans to be here only about an hour and a half after which he'll have the plumbing all done. I believe he has a toilet with him, so maybe we'll be able to perform a test flush in our new building!

Fierce wind in Goffs today.

Intrusion alert system installed

2008-06-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

Dave Mongrain of security firm, Alarm Team, has been here working on the security system. He'll be leaving here shortly. He has the intrusion alert system all hooked up. We did a dynamic test of the big alarm that goes off if someone intrudes.

Concrete plans

2008-06-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

I met this morning with building inspector Steve Given and concrete subcontractor Craig Merriam. Mr. Given went over the loading dock plans with Craig and they have reached agreement -- so Craig can proceed.

Craig said he was originally figuring to have concrete up here Monday but he's looked ahead with the weather and says the wind is supposed to be blowing so he likely won't figure on meeting that schedule. He plans to pour Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, depending upon the weather

Craig says he'll be back tomorrow to finish up his preparations.

Loading dock forms constructed

2008-06-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

General Contractor Dan Cordova and a couple of guys were here all day working on odds and ends.

Cement sub-contractor Craig Merriam was here with crew working on forms and putting in rebar for "flat work," which are the handicapped parking area, sidewalks and the forms for the loading dock.

It was on the cool side today and very windy out of the west.

Flatwork begins

2008-06-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

Cordova and crew are here this morning. His crew is busy finishing installation of cabinets in the Lounge.

The concrete man, Craig Merriam, has come in with his crew to get started on the final "flat work" such as the parking pads, sidewalks, stoops, and loading dock.

I reviewed progress with Dan Cordova. The bottom line is that he'll be nearly done by the end of next week. Yet to do;

The air conditioning guy will be in with his equipment that goes outside on the slab later this week. The electrician will come in after him to hook up the A/C equipment up. Preparations for the final concrete work is in progress.

The building inspector is scheduled to be here Thursday to approve plans for the loading dock.

It is going to be another warm day in Goffs. It was well over 90 degrees yesterday and today looks like a repeat.

Lounge cabinets arrive

2008-06-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

Dan Cordova arrived this morning at about 8:00 AM with two of his sons as crew. They have brought the cabinets for the Lounge. They plan to unpack and install them today.

Day says the concrete man will be here tomorrow to begin on the flat work for the parking area, sidewalk, and stoops.

Dan is closing in on the job. There will be some waiting for the arrival of the special order flooring material.

Let there be light!

2008-05-29T15:15:00.001-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

Yesterday evening after dark, we looked over towards the Library/Depot and beheld a wonderful thing - it was lighted up!The electrician had gone home and turned the outside lights on - there's a lamp by each door.

Jo Ann and I went over to turn the lights out. Of course we walked all around the building turning other lights on. They all work! And what wonderfu light it is. We're going to have really good light to work by.

This morning I had the pleasure of showing a reporter from the Needles Desert Star through the building. It "shows" very well.

Then at about noon today, Hugh and Carol Brown showed up so we got to go play with the lights again. It appears the building is fully electrified. All the electrician will have to come back for is to hook up the outdoor A/C units when they get installed.

Next is making arrangements to get the security system completed, install the cabinets in the lounge, install the flooring, and lay the concrete flat work around the building.

There is light in the end of the tunnel!

Flourescent light fixtures are up

2008-05-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

Two electricians were here much of today. Jo Ann and I inspected progress later in the day. The flourescent light fixtures are up in most places. The "on/off" wall switches seemed to be mostly in place. At least one wall plug was "hot" as there was a glow light illuminated at the end of an extension cord. The building is coming to life and is expected to be pretty much electrified by the day-after-tomorrow.

Electrical fixture installation begins

2008-05-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

Fred Compton the electrician arrived this morning at about 9:00 AM. He says he plans to be here through Thursday and sometime during that period he'll "power up" the new building. The electrical will be mostly done then except for a quick trip out after the lounge cabinets and the air conditioning are installed.

Quiet week and rain

2008-05-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

No work on the Library/Depot the last couple of days. Next week should be exciting. I'm understanding the electrician will be back to install the fixtures, and then we'll be able to power up! Things are moving along.

We did have a special blessing today in the form of RAIN! It has been cloudy for a couple of days and the air got especially cool last night. It looked like rain all day and then we had thunder and lightning beginning at about 3:15 PM.

We closed the breakers on the deep well pumps to lessen the chance of damage to them. Then here came the rain. It was a nice little rain; I would guess at least a quarter and maybe a half inch. It was over in about half an hour. First rain we've had since January, I think.

Painters finishing up

2008-05-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

Painter Brandon Bates and at least two of his workers in two pickups arrived at 7:30 AM this morning. Brandon says they'll be here today and tomorrow and then gone until the floors are down and the baseboards are installed. Then they'll come back to touch up the baseboards.

Looks like another hot day.

Roof braces and painters

2008-05-15T17:45:00.000-07:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

The painters have been here all week. They plan to finished the major interior work by this coming Monday. They have finished three coats (one primer and two finish coats) on the entire inside. They are working on detail work now.

After next Monday they'll have to come back one time to do touch up on the base boards after the floors are laid. The painting crew, under Brandon Bates, includes the following: Steve Pout, Gary Davenport, Larry Davis, David Therrian, Richard Hernandez, Kevin Sperbeck, and Marco Rodriquez.

Dan Cordova's crew has been here several days mostly installing the braces on the roof overhangs, a feature that gives the building part of its distinctive appearance.

With the painting done, the electrician may be back this coming week to install all the fixtures. Then we can "power up."

Roof braces installed

2008-05-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

The painters are here. They got the first of two finish coats applied on the interior of the Library/Depot.

Mr. Cordova was here with a small crew this morning and into the afternoon. He won't be back personally now until early next week, but his crew will continue working on the roof braces.

Warm here today - we hit 100 degrees on the front porch. No wind this morning but it came up this afternoon.

Interior painting prep work

2008-05-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

The paint crew has been at work preparing the interior of the Library/Depot for painting. They haven't started painting yet. They're just getting ready.

Trimming the windows

2008-05-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

General Contractor Dan Cordova and crew arrived early this morning and have been out there working in the building all day.

They have trim around the windows, the wainscot, or chair rail, in place in the fist floor of the depot, and much of the crown molding is installed.

Mr. Cordova reports they plan to be here through Friday and have the interior ready for painting, which should commence the beginning of next week.

Door hardware and trim installed

2008-05-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

After a break of a couple of weeks, general contractor Dan Cordova and his crew of four are back early this morning on the job. They labored much of the day putting trim on doors, installing some new doors, and installing door knobs, etc. They left this afternoon returning to Yucca Valley.

Also, they are installing moulding around windows and doors and crown moulding around the top of the walls in some rooms. This will prepare the building for interior painting. They'll be back tomorrow. Their goal is to have the interior ready for painting which could begin a week from today.

Beautiful day today. The temperature was about 80 degrees with very little wind.

Water pressure system installed

2008-05-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

Tim and Alfonzo of Eagle Well Drilling and Pump Service showed up at 7:30 AM this morning and were here all day. They finished up at almost dark this evening. The pressure tank and booster pump system is completely installed.

A decision was made to reduce the number of pressure tanks from four to three. This was mainly due to the amount of space in the Pump House. Then, there was a mishap towards the end of the installation.

The system was fully pressurized when a union gave way inside the Pump House and Wooooosh! All of the water from the pressure tanks was released into the Pump House. Quite a mess. It took them a couple of hours to recover from that.

Looking forward, it is anticipated that general contractor Dan Cordova and his subconractors will recommence work on the Library/Depot this coming week.

Phone lines installed

2008-04-23T14:53:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

Two AT&T trucks with cherry pickers arrived at a little after 9:00 AM to run our phone lines to the west side of Lanfair Road. Phil is out there with them. It's not cold out but there is a very strong wind blowing, mostly out of the west.

Interior walls are textured

2008-04-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier
Photos by Dennis Casebier and Chris Ervin

The "mudders" were here fairly early this morning. They've had their special mixer machine chugging away over there all day. Right now it is quiet. That's because they've finished! The mudding and texturing is done and they are now cleaning up. They won't be back tomorrow.

Also today Phil Motz and Gus Lind worked on the water system with the result that the new well and associated pressure tank are now on line. There is water pressure down to the edge of the Library/Depot. All Mr. Cordova will have to do to put water in the building is turn one valve at the edge of the building.

With the drywall and mudding done that means the interior of the building will be ready for painting. After the painting the electrical fixtures can be put on. After that flooring can be put down. We're rolling along!

The wind we had over the weekend has continued, although today it is somewhat diminished. The temperatures have continued warm.

Mudders and railfans

2008-04-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier
Photos by Chris Ervin

The "mudders" were here all day "mudding." Much progress is being made. Building inspector Steve Given showed up this afternoon and completed the "drywall nailing" inspection. This is something of a misnomer since they use screws not nails. Steve signed in the appropriate space on our inspection card and the job progresses right along.

Also today, a man named Glen Icanberry showed up with a friend of his named Vic Neves. They are both rail buffs. Glen was here a month or so ago and at that time he said he had the big part of the semaphore signal we need to go in front of the depot. At that time he said he'd been looking for a home for it and I said, "look no further!"

Well, today he and Ivan showed up with not only the semaphore mechanism but also official Santa Fe plans for installing and maintaining it. Glen also brought other documentary materials relating to the Goffs Depot and other depots like it. Vic is a railroad photographer and has written several books about railroading, mostly Southern Pacific.

Charlie and Kathy Connell of Phoenix arrived for the Encampment today. They spent much of the day picking nails up (with a magnet) around the Library/Depot and then they carefully raked the area. Also they did some repair to the tortoise fence.

Rough drywall finished

2008-04-14T17:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

At about 7:00 AM this morning I saw someone out by the Library/Depot so I went over to check it out. It turned out to be a return of the drywallers who were here yesterday. I thought they finished the first phase of dry-walling yesterday but they hadn't. They plan to finish today. They informed me that Randy, their boss, is to be here today. He'll set the next phase of dry-walling in motion -- the "finish" work, or mudding.

Ready to fight a fire!

2008-04-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

The drywallers were here through some time today. Phil informs me they didn't quite finish and they plan to come back tomorrow.

The hydrant for the Library fire protection system was completed before noon today and water flowed! Phil Motz came over the FRS announcing that the two 5,000 gallon tanks were approaching "full." He called a gathering at the hydrant at 6:15 PM for anyone interested.

There was a ceremonial opening of the valve with the tanks pretty much full to see how far the hydrant would fling water -- proving once again we'll grasp most any opportunity to have a celebration out here! It threw water seven feet from the hydrant under the force of gravity alone.

Gus and Stella Lind, Kristy and Phil Motz, and Mark Wire wrestled the water project to completion this morning. Congratulations and thanks to all who helped with this over the past several weeks.

Drywallers begin and 6-inch line fetched

2008-04-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

The drywallers showed up fairly early this morning and are well into the job. The fellow in charge on site told me they expect to be completed by Sunday. The guys here now just do the initial installation and others come along behind them to do the finish work.

Gus Lind and I went into Fort Mohave and Bullhead City to procure the supplies for the fire protection water system as well as conduit for telephone lines.

The ditch for the 6" line is about complete. Gus hopes to complete it this afternoon. Then I expect installation of the new line and hookup of the two 5,000 gallon water tanks to the 6" line and a hydrant will get installed over the next two days.

Water line dug

2008-04-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

Lots going on at Goffs today. We closed the day yesterday with a terrific wind. By this morning it had died out. But not for long. It started up again mid-morning and here at mid-afternoon it is a strong wind again.

General Contractor Dan Cordova and two of his guys were here this morning early. They had intended to put thresholds down at the doors. They did some of the prep work but that's about it.

The bad news is that Dan discovered pretty serious damage to a couple of the doors. They were left open, a strong wind caught them, and the result is split wood on the frames. Dan is assessing the damage and what it will take to fix it.

Building Inspector Steve Given was here this morning. He inspected the insulation job and the septic system. We passed in both categories.

As I write this Gus and Phil are out there digging the ditch for the water line that will connect the two 5,000 gallon water tanks with a hydrant required by the County Fire Department. Gus Lind and I will be going into Fort Mojave tomorrow morning to pick up the six inch water pipe. It will take another day to bury the pipe and make the necessary connections to be fully up to speed on this.

Gus Lind was at the controls of the Greening Tractor digging the water line ditch. Gail Andress is off for a couple of days on sick leave, but you can't hold him down long.

The drywall for the interior of the entire Library/Depot building was delivered this morning. It was off-loaded by hand into the rooms where it'll be needed. I believe the dry-wallers may be here to begin their work as early as tomorrow.

Insulation inside

2008-04-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier
Photo by Hugh Brown

The insulators showed up this morning a little before 9:00 AM. There were three people from Desert Insulation. The fellow in charge was Gary Fraser and the other two were brothers Ramino Rizo and Genaro Rizo.

To our amazement they had all the insulation installed in the space of about five hours. They were done and heading out the gate by about 1:00 PM or so. Amazing.

It is much quieter in the building now and we are understanding the drywallers will be here on Friday.

Temperatures were moderate all day but quite windy.

MDHCA board reviews progress

2008-04-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

Report by Chris Ervin

Today, during a break from the regularly scheduled meeting, the MDHCA Board of Directors did a walk-through review of progress on the Library/Depot construction. Executive Director Dennis Casebier and Director Chris Ervin met with general contractor Dan Cordova to discuss upcoming work scheduled over the next couple of weeks.

Security system wired, part 2

2008-04-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

Michael and Rene Howser of EES, a security firm, were here stringing wires for about an hour for the security system in the Library/Depot. With the completion of their work the walls in the interior of the building can now be closed. Hence, general contractor Dan Cordova has scheduled installation of insulation for next week and installation of drywall for the week after.

Stairway to second floor finished

2008-04-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

General Contractor Cordova with two men spent the day here. They were taking care of some odds and ends. The most significant task was to finish off the staircase on the steps to the second floor of the Depot. They did that and it looks very nice.

Also today Phil Motz and Gus and Stella Lind strung wire to some ceiling fan positions in the new building that had not been on the original plans and hence had not been put in place.

Perhaps most importantly, we finalized the plans today for that portion of the water system that will provide water for fire fighting around the new building. Now it will be only a matter of several days and we'll have that system in.

Security system wired

2008-03-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

Dave Mongrain of Alarm Team arrived yesterday and began installing the wire necessary for the security system for the interior of the Library/Depot. He spent the night and finished up that part of the installation by early this afternoon. He'll be back when the drywall is in place to install the security system hardware.

Ready to go

2008-03-27T17:00:00.000-07:00

Report by Dennis Casebier
Photos by Dennis Casebier and Roger Mitchell

Today, the "A" Team, consisting of Phil Motz (in charge), Gail Andress, Gus & Stella Lind, and Morris Swain assembled on the west side of the Library/Depot with all the materials in hand to install the septic system that will support the new facility.

At the controls of the Jack & June Greening Tractor, Gail Andress did the digging, with shovel accompaniment provided by the Linds and Morris Swain.

With the big hole dug, Gail lowered the new 1,000 gallon septic tank into the hole.

Meanwhile, the crew had the sewer line ready to connect from the building.

Gail then dug the ditch for the 50-foot leach line and dumped the required amount of leach rock in the bottom. The leach line was laid on the rock and more rock placed on top of that -- according to code.

The job will be finished tomorrow by laying newspaper on top of the rock on top of the leach line. Then the whole thing will be covered with dirt.

While the leach line was being laid the new septic tank was filled with water. Next thing you know, we'll be almost "ready to go," so to speak.

Tanks, a lot

2008-03-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

We are experiencing beautiful weather. Our high temperature today was over 80 degrees with only a breeze. Things have been pretty quiet around the construction site for the past several days, until today.

Rudy of C & R Tanks of Tulare, CA arrived at about 10:00 AM with our truck load of tanks. We led him in through the service entrance and up to the job site. He nosed his big rig out towards the Stotts Stamp Mill gate and then backed in along side the pad constructed by Gail Andress where the two 5,000 gallon tanks are to go.

The straps were removed from the three round tanks, they were rolled off, shifted into position, and set down. The whole process took no more than 30 minutes. We positioned the big tanks so their fill holes and drains line up with about six feet between them. This will facilitate getting them all hooked up to the water system.

For the fourth tank, the 1,000 gallon septic tank, a different procedure was used. Gus and Morris put straps around the tank then lifted it off the truck with the Greening Tractor. The tank was then moved over near the spot where it is to be buried.

The total delivery was of two 5,000 gallon water tanks for fire fighting purposes, one 2,500 gallon tank for potable water, and one 1,000 gallon sepic tank.

The roof is complete

2008-03-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

The wind came back before dawn this morning. The temperature on front porch at 6:15 AM was a hair below 40 degrees. It must have gotten a little colder during the night because we had a thin sheet of ice on the bird water.

The roofers came back a little before 10:00 AM and they a re out there in the cold wind now on the tall ladders trying to get roofing on the top of the depot. That roof is steeper than the roof on the Freight House.

And now, here in the early afternoon, the roofing is on the second story of the Depot. The wind is still blowing and it's cool out even though it's bright and sunny. The roofers are still working on the details, but basically, the roof is on and completed.

Combo inspection

2008-03-05T18:00:00.000-08:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

The temperature on the front porch was about 40 degrees at 6:15 AM. That's the good news. The bad news is that it was blowing a gale out there again. We had a one-day respite, yesterday.

The inspectors - Steve Given and Gary Given - showed up earlier than expected. John Harrington and I went out and stayed with them in the cold wind for the better part of two hours. Fortunately Dan Cordova, who fully intended to be here while the inspectors were here, showed up after the first hour or so. They did a pretty thorough inspection and found a few things that needed attention. In the end they signed off on the "combo" inspection. The next step will be insulation and then onward to drywall.

This was Gary Given's last inspection visit to our site due to his impending retirement. We reflected over the development that has taken place here over the past 18 years and he expressed himself proud of what has been accomplished.

In the midst of the inspection, the roofers arrived (to my amazement considering the wind storm), and began to work.

I didn't get to go off on my "morning" walk until about 5:00 PM this afternoon. By the time I got northward up to where I normally stop, the wind had quit. I did an about face and headed back down the hill. As I approached the fence line I thought sure I heard the sound of a nail gun. So I cut through the creosote bushes down to the construction site. By the time I got there it was nearly dark.

Sure enough, the roofers were up there putting the finishing touches on the east roof of the Freight House. I stopped and visited with them a bit and then came on home. It is heartening to see Americans working hard. And they are doing a good job, too. There are so many these days that want everything for nothing. They said they'll be back tomorrow to finish the roof over the depot. They wanted to know if I liked the way it looked. Of course we do. They, like every other one of the subcontractors hired by Dan Cordova have done excellent work.

Roofers on a catwalk

2008-03-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

It has been a nice, but busy day. The low was just below freezing overnight, enough to put a little ice on the bird water. But generally speaking the weather was nice all day.

The roofers showed up at about 10:00 AM. They come late and work late. For example, here it is 5:30 PM and I can look out my window across the street and they are still there. They are working on the high roof over the two story Depot. They don't have a lift so they are using ladders. It gives me the willies just to watch them. But they are getting the roof covered.

Tomorrow we are scheduled for what is called a "combo" inspection by the Department of Building and Safety of San Bernardino County. This includes an inspection of the electrical and a bunch of other stuff all at the same time. So, in the life of a construction project, this is exciting stuff.

Also the telecom guy is going to be here in the neighborhood on other business tomorrow, so we'll be chatting with him about phone lines for the new building.

John Harrington arrived back from his extended trip to Michigan and Florida. He'll be here until about the 17th of March when he plans to leave indefinitely. Hopefully he'll come back someday. It has been a joy to have him here. And he did a lot of good work. Highlights in his accomplishments are painting almost all the buildings and the construction of the Library/Depot model that so many have enjoyed seeing in the Schoolhouse and the top of this page.

West side Freight House roofing finished

2008-03-03T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

The wind blew all night and was blowing some when we got up this morning, but it wasn't real cold at 39 degrees on the front porch. I figured not much work would get done, but then along about mid-morning, things began to happen.

First the roofers showed up. Three guys altogether. Then the wind slacked off. They've been working steadily out there ever since. It appears they'll get the roof on the west side of the Freight House done today. They are hopeful of finishing the whole roofing job by Wednesday. They have not started on the roof over the two-story part. But Mr. Cordova told me they plan to have a different crew out here tomorrow to do that portion and likely they'll finish it tomorrow.

I went over to the job site again at 3:00 PM and saw the roofers had finished the roofing on the west side of the Freight House. They were up on the tall ladders working on the west edge of the roof over the two-story part. I expect they are serious about getting that done tomorrow. The roof on the east side of the Freight House isn't completed yet, but it will be easy compared to the roof over the two-story part.

Warm leap day

2008-02-29T16:15:00.000-08:00

Second floor bay windows letting in the morning light. Photo by Chris Ervin

Report by Dennis Casebier

Beautiful day today. The temperature hit 85 degrees on our front porch. There was very litle breeze.

The roofers showed up at 11:00 AM and tend to work late. Likely it is that they don't want to start laying shingles until it warms up and then they like to keep going. A little less than half the roofing is laid on the east side of the Freight House and they have begun to work on the west side. No work yet on the roof over the second story of the Depot.

The electricians did not come back today. We are well into the time for each of the "trades" to do their job.

Roofers arrive!

2008-02-27T17:30:00.000-08:00

The roofers arrived to this scene on the west side of the Freight Building roof.

Report by Dennis Casebier

It was a beautiful day all day today. The temperature was well over 80 degrees in the afternoon. I'm seeing ants beginning to clean out their nests, lizards scurrying around, and sparrows hurrying everywhere with nesting material.

The two electricians were here all day. They are nearly finished.

A man was here this afternoon to develop a bid to put in some security features on the new building.

Then late this afternoon, the roofing crew showed up under the direction of Fred Carrido of Alpine Roof Company. Gus and I went out to connect with him. Fred was determined to get started this afternoon.

He has brought some special material with him to put down on the roof to serve as an undercoat. It was late in the afternoon but they not only unloaded, but got up on the roof and started to work.

In fact, here at 5:30 PM they are still up on the roof working. They won't be able to work much more, but the days are getting longer. They are to come back tomorrow and Friday and plan to finish up next week.

Electrical wires strung

2008-02-26T14:05:00.000-08:00

Report by Dennis Casebier
Photo by Chris Ervin

Fred Compton (Jr.), the electrician from C & S Electric has just finished stringing what he calls the "high voltage" wires, which is just ordinary stuff like plugs, switches, and outlets. He'll be doing the "low voltage" stuff tomorrow. That's the phone, data, and cable TV lines. He's coming right along and is expecting his father, Fred Compton (Sr.), to come along this evening with the low voltage supplies.

Steve Davis of Pacific Raingutters was here today. He looked things over and didn't see any problems. His plan is to go with aluminum gutters and down spouts. He'll bring a machine and sheet metal and manufacture what they need right on the spot. He left a color chart tacked to the wall in the north Freight House room. He plans to go with Forest Green which will more or less match the trim.

Second story blocks and chimney

2008-02-25T17:00:00.000-08:00

Photos by Chris Ervin

Dan Cordova did an amazing job of recreating the original Depot chimney. One almost expects smoke to rise out of it. Yet it's only an ersatz chimney.

Here's an example of the electrical blocks placed for high and low voltage outlets under one of the second story windows.

Stairway to second floor built

2008-02-22T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report by Dennis Casebier
Photos by Chris Ervin

There was a lot of rain in the East Mojave today. It rained off and on here in Goffs all day but it was not particularly heavy. Searchlight, on the other hand, experienced heavy rain more than once today and then heavy fog late in the day.

In spite of the bad weather much was accomplished on the Library/Depot project. General Contractor Dan Cordova and two of his crew showed up early in the morning and spent the day building the stairs to the second floor of the depot. For the first time there's a convenient way to reach that space. Before you had to use a ladder.

A crew consisting of Gail Andress, Gus and Stella Lind, and even myself through part of the day, laid a 2" water line all along the west side of the Library/Depot. That included digging the ditch (that's Gail's specialty using the backhoe), laying the pipe, and getting it glued together. Gail then covered the ditch and smoothed it out.

It was a long working day under adverse weather conditions, but the job is done. That finishes most of what we can do in the way of laying pipes now until the water tanks are delivered and put in place.

MDHCA Director Russ Kaldenberg spent a good part of the day here today. He'd been following construction progress on this blog, but today was the first he'd actually seen it. He got here just in time to be able to access the second story of the Depot with the new stairs.

The electrician Fred Compton was here today. He brought a load of electrical supplies and is due back tomorrow.

It is cold and wet here in Goffs tonight.

Outside painting finished

2008-02-21T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report by Dennis Casebier
Photos by Chris Ervin

This was quite a day. As previously reported, the Case backhoe tractor was down due to the failure of a seal in a hydraulic piston. Gail Andress got up early this morning so as to be at the Case tractor parts place in Las Vegas when they opened at 6:00 AM. He bought the necessary part and then high-tailed it for Goffs.

Gail arrived here at 7:30 AM and then he, Gus and Stella Lind, and Morris Swain worked for four hours to get the piston repaired. And, lo and behold, it worked just fine! (Gail said he used to make repairs like this all the time, but he hadn't done one in 40 years!).

The crew was back out there right after lunch. They dug a trench along on the west side of the building adjacent to where the stairs will be, laid the water pipe, connected a pipe to the input to the new building, and got it all covered back up again. It was getting dark by the time the job was finished. It was necessary to get that stretch of pipe laid because Mr. Cordova plans to work at that spot tomorrow to build the stairs.

The plumber was here today running a line into the attic for humidifiers. He made other adjustments to the water system.

The painters finished with outside painting today. They finished all the yellow and green.

Mr. Cordova thinks the roofers will come out soon to get the tar paper on the roof to make it water proof. He will call early tomorrow morning to get a weather check before sending the roofer out.

The weather today was pretty good. Not especially cold early-on, but by late afternoon there was a stiff breeze out of the west and it was colder.

Spirits are high at Goffs as this beautiful new building comes into focus. A lot of good work was done at Goffs by a lot of good people today.

Many highlights during a busy, full day

2008-02-20T19:00:00.000-08:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

It was 42 degrees on our front porch at 6:30 AM with little or no breeze. By 11:00 AM it got up to 60 degrees with a pretty good little breeze out of the northeast.

The painters arrived just before 7:00 AM. The new building got a lot more yellow color yesterday. Much of today was spent touching up the green trim.

Building inspectors Gary Given and Steve Given were here this morning and toured the construction site.

Gail Andress and Gus Lind completed the pad for the 2,500 gallon potable water tanks today along with considerable work on our drainage system. That's the good news.

The bad news is that there was a failure in one of the hydraulic pistons that operates the backhoe on the tractor. Inasmuch as we were about to start on ditches for water lines, requiring the backhoe to be in constant and heavy use, that puts us in a bit of a bind.

But you can't hold down Messrs. Andress and Lind. Gail went back home to Nelson this afternoon and got on the phone to the Case Tractor dealer and parts supplier in Las Vegas and made arrangements to pick up the needed part early in the morning before he comes over tomorrow. Once here, he and Gus plan to fix the piston and, assuming everything goes OK, we'll be back in business and can start digging the ditches for water lines.

As if that wasn't enough, beginning at about 2:30 PM we were hit by a squall, accompanied by lightning, thunder, and even some rain. It was severe enough that we turned off the breaker on the deep well pump and shut down the computers to avoid any damage from stray lightning.

That wasn't the last of the highlights for today. A break in the clouds permitted observation of the full moon rising in partial eclipse just as it was getting dark.

But now at 7:00 PM we're back about where we started this morning. Heavy overcast, very little wind, and about 43 degrees on our front porch. The full moon has disappeared behind the clouds.

Painting and padding

2008-02-19T17:30:00.000-08:00

Report and photos from Dennis Casebier

The painters showed up at 7:00 AM this morning. The weather was nice and continued nice all day. The temperatures got up to 70 degrees with little or no wind.

There are two painters: Brandon Bates and Rich Hernandez. As with everyone that has come out to work on our project, they are really nice guys and very competent. They painters worked through the day until 5:30 and got a lot done.

There's a lot more yellow on our beautiful new building than there was early this morning. They will be back early tomorrow and we can hope the good weather will continue.

Gail Andress arrived on site at 7:30 AM this morning. He manned the tractor and, assisted by Morris Swain and Gus Lind, worked all day to build the pad that will hold the two 5,000 gallon water tanks. It took all day.

Gail plans to be back tomorrow morning early and the day will be spent digging ditches and laying pipe. So we're beginning to make progress on the water system.

We're going great guns at Goffs!

Painters arrive

2008-02-18T08:35:00.000-08:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

It was about 35 degrees on the front porch at 6:30 AM. There's a bit of a breeze this morning.

As I come back south on and along Lanfair Road I always angle over and walk through the construction site. I was surprised to find the painters there getting ready for several days of painting.

The guy in charge is Brandon and his work force is Rich. Nice guys. As a convenience to us ditch diggers and backhoe operators, they are going to do the west side fist since we have a tentative plan of laying a 2" water line along there tomorrow in a ditch to be excavated by Gail Andress.

As I understand it the weather should be clear through sometime Wednesday or Thursday when some kind of system might come in. Hopefully they'll get the painting finished.

This morning Gus and Morris are busy moving scrap lumber away from the construction site out to the lumber yard so it won't be in our way when we are digging tomorrow.

Picking up the wood scraps

2008-02-16T18:15:00.000-08:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

Well, the Cordova crew is gone. And guess what? We're having the most beautiful day we've had in a long time. It got up to about 70 today and no wind! Now isn't that the way it is. Those poor guys have been struggling out there against the wind for weeks. Then they leave and the next day is like spring!

Gus and Morris have begun moving the lumber scraps. We are laying claim to them to use for firewood in the schoolhouse. So they are using the big bucket on the tractor to load the lumber scraps and take them to the lumber yard on the 5th segment. They'll have to dry out a bit before they will make good firewood. But there's a lot of scraps so we've got something of a windfall there.

Otherwise, nothing to report on the Library/Depot construction project today.

Roofing materials delivered

2008-02-15T11:20:00.000-08:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

It was 37 degrees on the front porch at 6:30 AM with a VERY strong wind out of the northeast, likely in the 40 MPH range. Right now it is about as bad as I've seen.

I stopped at the job site and talked with Dan. He and his crew are finishing up boxing in under the eaves. I expect they'll be gone mid-afternoon. Then the whole crew won't be back next week. They are mostly done with the outside. It doesn't appear that the stairs will get done today.

Dan said someone will be here next week to finish painting on the underside of the eaves and and touchup around the windows and elsewhere. Electrician Fred Compton is scheduled to be here on the 25th. Dan says after that will be the "combo" inspection. That's a big one.

The roofing just arrived! The delivery vehicle has a conveyer belt thing so the material can be positioned on the roofline of the Freight House. Nothing will be done with it today because the roofers aren't here and it's too windy. Dan is hopeful the roofers will come next week.

Framing nearing completion

2008-02-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

Gail Andress was scheduled to come over this morning from Nelson, Nevada. He made it OK. He, Gus Lind, and I assembled out by the new well and redesigned how we were going to position the two 5,000 gallon tanks and the associated pipes. At that point we agreed to abandon the digging project for the day because of the weather.

Cold strong winds were blowing out of the northeast. When I went out on our front porch at 6:30 AM this morning it was 42 degrees. By 9:00 AM, instead of warming up the temperature had fallen to 39 degrees and it subsequently went lower. So we called a "stand down" until next week. That should work out better anyway because we might have gotten in General Contractor Cordova's way today, and he and his crew will be gone next week.

Dan says he and his crew will be through up through the "combo" inspection) by tomorrow afternoon. After that it'll be up to the subcontractors. Dan will be out from time to time, but I believe his crew will be done with the framing job.

The electrician is presently scheduled to be here Monday, 25 February 2008.

Dan & Crew are working on the soffits covering the underside of the roof overhangs. In other words, the underside of the overhangs will be boxed in. That'll look a lot nicer and it'll permit the roofers to use longer nails on the shingles which will make them stay down better in the wind.

Dan hopes to get the stairs to the upper floor of the Depot completed by tomorrow.

At exactly 12:00 noon the temperature on the front porch has risen some but it is still blowing a gale.

Today is the 18th anniversary of our taking over the Goffs Schoolhouse property. What will the next 18 years bring?

Ersatz chimney

2008-02-11T13:50:00.000-08:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

It was 44 degrees on the front porch this morning at 6:30 AM with a light breeze. It has been bright and sunny all day. At 1:50 PM it is 82 degrees on the front porch and continuing with a light balmy breeze.

General contractor Dan Cordova and crew showed up a little before 7:00 AM and they are out there "making hay while the sun shines." They are finishing the siding and also they have fabricated the ersatz or artificial chimney and it is being put in place.

Dan tells me he plans to have most of the framing work completed this week and then it'll be mostly up to "the trades;" meaning electrician, insulation, drywall, etc. Each of them will be in and out. In other words, we're getting down towards the end of the framing. The electrician may be here as early as next week.

All the wood scraps are being left for us for firewood and it is approaching time to gather all that kind of thing up and get it carried out to the lumber yard for aging. We could use help moving all this scrap lumber.

Board members tour Library construction

2008-02-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

Photos and captioning by Chris Ervin

One of the items of business on today's MDHCA Board meeting agenda was for the members to tour the new Mojave Desert Archives Library construction site.

From left to right; MDHCA Directors Hugh Brown, Jo Ann Casebier, Dennis Casebier, John Terrill, and Steve Mongrain enjoy a moment in the sun.

The two large rooms of the Freight House will serve as the stacks for the Library.

View from the reading room looking out east through the bay windows.

It's easy to see the two-story Depot from quite a distance in any direction.

Board members inspect the corrugated metal siding on the south end of the Freight Building. Much satisfaction with the progress and quality of work was expressed by all directors.

Finally, not much wind!

2008-02-06T16:30:00.000-08:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

It turned out to be a beautiful day and the workers took full advantage of it. It was 25 degrees on our front porch at 6:15 AM. The Cordova crew showed up a little before 7:00 AM.

The builders got the corrugated siding installed on the west side of the Freight House, but not yet on the south end. The yellow lap siding all around the two-story Depot section looks to be mostly completed. Also they got the green paint on the fascia board all around the building today. They were staying later than usual today because of the improvement in the weather.

Dan said he needs to finish the siding and the roofing and after that it will be mostly various subcontractors installing insulation, electrical, drywall, etc. The electrical is a biggie. He said he had hopes the electrician will be here in about two weeks.

Corrugated metal siding installed

2008-02-05T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

The Cordova team have continued to wrap the building, install lap siding, and install the corrugated metal siding on the east side of the Freight House. Also, most of the doors are installed.

On interior work, the crew has installed some ducting for air conditioning and heating in the ceiling of the first floor of the Depot.

Lance Cody of Hi-Desert Air and his crew of three or four showed up in the late afternoon and began laying out the air conditioning.

It has been tough working out there all day in the cold wind. Mostly sunny though. I'm hopeful they'll get a break in the weather soon.

They have two lifts on the site but they can't use the original one because it's less stable in the wind and could potentially blow over.

First CCHE reimbursement received

2008-02-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

It was 32 degrees and clear at 6:30 AM and absolutely no wind. by 9:00 AM it was 44 degrees and the wind came back up. I believe the wind yesterday was the strongest we've had this season and it was right out of the northeast as it has a way of doing in the winter.

General Contractor Cordova and his crew arrived at right about 7:00 AM, coming today from Yucca Valley. They'll be staying in Laughlin through the week.

I met with Dan. Everything is on track. He said he'll be getting another lift tomorrow. He'll have this second lift for just one week. It is needed to focus the crew on finishing spray painting the eaves and installation of siding. There's no reason the siding can't proceed to completion.

Also Dan had a new roofing sample. Jo Ann and I took the camera over and shot a sequence of digital photos of the sample against the siding, roofing on the power house, and trim and have sent selections off to Chris to support his making the final selection on a shingle product.

A highlight of today was that we received the first reimbursement check from the California Cultural and Historical Endowment (CCHE) and the State of California demonstrating that the system actually works! Chris and Leslie Ervin get our great appreciation for administering the grant which culminates in the submission of invoices for reimbursement. We have another larger invoice pending and a third one will be sent in this week.

Doors are delivered

2008-02-01T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

It turned out to be a very nice day for working on the Library/Depot. Sunny with moderate temperature, and no wind.

The doors for the new building were delivered this morning at about 8:30 AM and some were put up right away. Work continues on wrapping of the building and installation of siding.

Mr. Cordova said they'd be leaving about 1:00 PM today and sure enough they left at about 1:15 PM. He said they'll be back Monday.

Nicer day

2008-01-31T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

The workers showed up just before 7:00 AM this morning. It was 28 degrees on the front porch at 6:30 AM with a light wind starting. Poor working conditions were anticipated, but later it turned into a gorgeous day with very little wind and 60 degrees.

Wrapping, wrapping...

2008-01-30T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

Cordova's crew arrived at a bit before 7:00 AM this morning. The temperature on the front porch just before that was 35 degrees with a stiff breeze blowing out of the northeast -- that old winter wind. So working conditions were difficult today.

The crew continued to wrap the building and put siding in place.

Wrapping and painting

2008-01-29T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

It was 28 degrees on the front porch at 6:30 AM, but no wind.

Two vehicles of workers came in at 6:47 AM and continued what they started yesterday, which is to wrap the building and begin installation of the siding.

By 11:00 AM it got up to about 50 degrees, bright and sunny with very little wind! So it was a great improvement over yesterday's terrible wind.

In the afternoon with little wind and improved temperatures, a couple of the work crew began spray-painting the fascia boards and under the eaves. It looks like they are doing two coats; first a base white and then the Yuma Gold. It's looking good.

We were favored with a nice day today.

Wrapping the building

2008-01-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

It was 34 degrees with no wind on the front porch at 6:30 AM and by 7:35 it was pretty sunny. Some scattered clouds. No rain since yesterday morning.

The first contractor vehicle arrived at about 6:50 AM followed by a second one pulling the tool trailer 25 minutes later. I think I forgot to mention before that they took the tool trailer away with them when they left Thursday of last week.

I chatted with Contractor Cordova while they were "wrapping" the building. Once that is completed the crew plans to start putting on siding. They hope to have the siding in place this week. Also, Dan said he'll be bringing out a paint sprayer tomorrow morning and they'll spray paint under the eves. I took note of one worker up on the stairs this morning.

I asked if they planned to be here all week and he said yes. Then he added that he planned be here next week also and in fact to stick with it until it is completed.

A strong cold wind came up out of the northeast this afternoon. It is a miserable wind and I don't know how Dan and his crew are able to work against it. The temperature reached a good 50 this afternoon but the wind was so strong the chill factor must really reduced the comfort level.

Construction of the stairs has begun

2008-01-24T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

A quick update on the Library/Depot. I see the "plywood" sheeting completely covers the roofs. Also many windows have been installed. Dan Cordova told Jo Ann he would have done more but ran out of tar paper.

Also the framers have commenced construction of the stairs that will provide access to the second story of the Depot. The landing at the top is in place and some of the supporting structure.

The framers are not due to be back until Tuesday.

Fascia goes on the second story

2008-01-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

The temperature on our front porch was 28 degrees at 6:30 AM and 32 degrees at 8:20 AM. It was bright and sunny with just a little breeze, although that could increase. Earlier there wasn't any breeze.

The framing team arrived at 6:27 AM. The Genie lift was up at the edge of the roof of the second story so the fascia board could be attached to the end of the rafters.

They may try to get the sheeting over the Depot roof today, but it'll depend upon whether they can get it up before any strong wind develops.

Electrical wiring has been pulled

2008-01-19T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

Sacrifices in the face of adversity are becoming commonplace around here.

By the terms of our agreement for construction of the Library/Depot, we are required to run an adequate power line up into the new structure. After that, General Contractor Cordova is responsible for electrifying the building.

As those of you who are following this project know, we arranged with Southern California Edison for a 400 amp service for the new building. This was accomplished last year through a major effort on the part of our own director-electrician Phil Motz and the assistance of several other volunteers. The 400 amp service was brought in and is at the ready in a new Power House that was constructed by our volunteers.

The immediate remaining challenge was to get that power conveyed underground from the Power House some 200+ feet to the Library/Depot building. This past week Gail Andress came over from Nelson, Nevada and used our backhoe to dig a ditch for the required 2" conduit line. Phil Motz and others laid the conduit and then the ditch was covered.

The final task was to get three strands of "000" power line and a smaller ground line through the conduit. Phil laid his plans carefully for this but got skunked by the severe weather Thursday and Friday of this past week. It was just too cold and windy. Not only that, but we are up against a time schedule because Phil is poised to return to Indiana this coming week.

So, taking advantage of a bit of softening in the temperature and wind, Phil and his crew tackled the job today. In addition to Phil, his team consisted of; Gus Lind, Morris Swain, Dorothy Beal, Bob Beal, and Hugh Brown. Working aginst difficult odds and adverse weather the job was accomplished today.

If you go out there to the new Library/Depot building, you'll see the wires coming out into the building right where they are supposed to be. Then, walk a couple of hundred feet to the Power House, where the 400 amps are just waiting to be put to work, there's the other end of the wires.

Much credit goes to this crew and especially Phil who designed the whole thing, procured the conduit and wire, and organized and supervised the team that saw it through. The wire was laid in the best spirit of the Friends of the Mojave Road and the Mojave Desert Heritage & Cultural Association at no cost to the MDHCA except possibly for the materials.

The job is done. That's the bottom line. There'll be no holdup now. The subcontractor in charge of electricals can step right up and finish the job and electrify the building at the appropriate time in the construction cycle.

Three cheers for Phil Motz and his wire pullers!

Slow progress in the face of the wind

2008-01-18T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report by Dennis Casebier

The day looked promising at 6:30 AM when I went out on the front porch. The temperature was 32 degrees and no wind.

Cordova and his crew showed up at about 7:00 AM and I figured they would be able to finish the detail on the rafters over the second story of the Depot and get the layer of sheeting on it. It didn't work out that way.

Within an hour the wind began to come up and pretty soon it was a strong wind -- a regular old winter gale out of the northeast. And it blew all day.

The framers were out there in the rafters working on details but understandably there was no attempt to handle sheets of plywood in that wind. The result is that the sheeting didn't get put up. The crew knocked off early and were gone for the weekend before 2:00 PM. It was just too cold and windy.

Likewise, Phil Motz had a crew all lined up to pull wire through the conduit from the Library/Depot to the power shed. But it was too cold and windy for that also. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative tomorrow and Phil can get the wire pulled.

Of course we won't see Cordova & Co. now until Monday. Under the circumstances I feel they are making good progress.

Second story rafters are in place

2008-01-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report and photo by Dennis Casebier

The wind blew hard all night and the temperature dropped to about 27 degrees. There was a full inch of ice on the bird water this morning with the wind still blowing a gale.

I figued Cordova & Co. wouldn't come at all. But a little after 7:00 AM, when I looked up from my computer, I saw the truck had shown up and men moving around. I doubted they could work in that cold and wind chill. Nasty, nasty weather.

The workers stood on top of the Depot section looking like they were going to try to do the rafters. But then they thought better of that and moved inside the new building to paint the siding that was just delivered yesterday.

The wind began dying down after lunch and by about 1:00 PM it had faded enough that the Cordova Crew ceased their painting project and went back outside to finish the rafters over the second story of the Depot section.

That work is now done. All of the rafters are in place and the final appearance of that part of the Goffs skyline is taking shape. I expect, if the wind doesn't come up too bad tomorrow they'll get the plywood covering over that part of the roof. The sun came out (although filtered) late in the afternoon.

Good thing we got done what we did yesterday. Phil had hoped to pull wire today.

Electrical conduit trench completed to Library

2008-01-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

This has been quite a day. The weather was bitter cold all day with a strong wind out of the northeast. Everyone out there was bundled up and still had to brave the cold.

Messrs. Cordova & Co. started work on time, but they knocked off at about noon as it was considered unsafe to work on the rafters in the wind and cold.

In spite of the weather, Gail Andress showed up on time and spent much of the day digging the trench for the electrical conduit that will carry power to the new Library/Depot. Phil Motz was out there directing the effort with Bob Beal and Morris Swain assisting.

The ditch was dug, the conduit laid, and the ditch covered back up. It is planned that Phil, assisted by Gus Lind, will be stringing the wire through the conduit tomorrow.

Meanwhile, this morning a delivery truck brought more materials, including the corrugated siding for the sides of the Freight House, lumber for trim, and other supplies.

Two San Bernardino County building inspectors were at the construction site early this morning for the "nail/shear" inspection. They checked the construction over carefully and we passed with flying colors.

This project is moving forward rapidly and appearances are it'll continue that way.

Colors picked for the exterior

2008-01-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

Report and photos by Dennis Casebier

Today was nice weather-wise and a productive day for Cordova & Co. The arrival of the Genie "lift" gave everyone a boost. It made for lots of good photos, too.

A highlight of the day was selection of colors for the exterior of the building. A committee consisting of Carol and Hugh Brown, Phil Motz, Dennis and Jo Ann Casebier, and anyone that happened to be standing around, made the selections.

The colors selected were picked to represent the old Santa Fe yellow with green trim. The final selections are YUMA GOLD and LUCKY CLOVER GREEN.
Mr. Cordova ordered the paint today. He'll be painting some portions of the building as early as next week.

Tomorrow, master backhoe operator Gail Andress, direct from Nelson, Nevada, will be digging the trench for the electrical conduit that will carry power from the new Power House to the Library Depot. This will be done under the direct supervision of head electrician Phil Motz with Dennis Casebier providing overall supervision and foreign policy.