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29 PALMS’ PIONEERS DAYS OLD-TIMERS AND MILITARY GRAND MARSHALL’S NAMED

In Twentynine Palms, the 2017 Pioneer Days Old Timers of the Year, Ann Congdon and Cheryl Erickson have been announced. The ‘old timers’ will join this year’s Grand Marshals (Ret.) Col. Owen and Audrey Gillick and Military Grand Marshals Col. Charlie and Lt. Cmdr. Mary Kay Sherry in representing the community during the annual Pioneer Days celebration October 19 through 22. In addition to riding in the Pioneer Days Parade each of the honorees will be feted at the Twentynine Palms Historical Society’s annual Old Timers Gathering at the Old Schoolhouse Museum following the parade Saturday, October 21 from 1 to 4 p.m. The honorees were introduced during the September 15 Pioneer Days Kickoff at the Bowladium.

Twentynine Palms 2017 Old Timer of the Year Honorees
This year’s “Old Timer of the Year” honorees are Ann Congdon and Cheryl Erickson. The “Old Timer of the Year” program was created in 2014 to honor early or long-time residents who contributed significantly to the development or betterment of the Twentynine Palms’ community. The program is intended to honor “everyday heroes” whose contributions and efforts over the years have largely gone unsung.

ANN CONGDON
Ann Congdon is a hometown child, daughter of Bill and Prudie Underhill, founders of The Desert Trail newspaper and later the walk-in and drive-in theaters and roller skating rink. Ann worked in them all until leaving to get her degree in Architecture. After raising two daughters and retiring from long careers, Ann and her husband Mike left their home in Annapolis, Maryland, and returned to Twentynine Palms in 2005 so that Ann could care for her mother, who passed in 2007 at age 92.

Ann enthusiastically and willingly shares her talents with the community through her volunteer work with Sky’s The Limit (STL ) Observatory and Nature Center, the Twentynine Palms Historical Society, the Public Arts Advisory Committee, and Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Advisory Board for the City of Twentynine Palms.

Ann is an early member of Sky’s The Limit Observatory and Nature Center. Back in the very beginning of the organization, when it was just a group of people with some just-purchased vacant land, Ann fully committed to help the project become reality by providing her architectural talent for free… before she even arrived. She designed the campus layout and the first buildings, as well as the drawing concepts for the future buildings, which includes an observatory that will hold nearly a 100 visitors, amphitheater and classrooms. She led the printing of the STL Plant book, including assistance on making the grant happen for the book. She also does 99% of the design work and printing of STL brochures and other printed materials. The STL e-letter is happening because of Ann’s talents and get-it-done attitude. She has been one of the pillars that hold up this important educational institute that works for the good of Twentynine Palms and its many visitors. The tasks described are time-consuming projects and she readily tackles them using her special talents, energy, and love for her community. If all that weren’t enough, Ann also serves on the Board of Directors and is Secretary of the STL corporation.

Ann is an active supporter of the Twentynine Palms Historical Society, again using her architectural skills to help design an expansion for the Old Schoolhouse Museum. She has donated use of her childhood home, Broadview Hacienda, to the Society for fund-raising events like the annual Desert Chic event.

Ann is also an appointed member of the Public Arts Advisory Committee (PAAC) for the City of Twentynine Palms Art in Public Places program. She is the “historian” for the group and assists in creating the annual exhibition schedule and designing the postcards for the quarterly shows at the city’s visitor center. PAAC couldn’t operate efficiently without her artistic and organizational skills. Ann is an assemblage artist and jewelry designer, and her work is often displayed at the Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce gallery.

Ann was recently appointed as the vice chair of the newly organized Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) Advisory Board for the City of Twentynine Palms, representing vacation home rentals.
In December 2011 she received the Twentynine Palms Mayor’s Recognition Award for her significant contributions to the city and the people in it.

CHERYL ERICKSON
Cheryl Erickson arrived in Twentynine Palms in October 1970 and became the head librarian at the Twentynine Palms Branch Library. She wasted little time becoming a vital part of the community.

Cheryl has the ability to be comfortable regardless of her situation. Her easygoing manner, knowledge and love of books, love for people, and take-charge attitude have been a blessing to the Twentynine Palms community. When she sees a void or a need, she fills it.

At the beginning of the 1970s, Twentynine Palms was uniquely endowed with a tremendous resource unavailable to older cities. The individuals who created and settled the city were still living, although many were in failing health. Both the immense value and impending tragedy of this situation were apparent. The historical record of Twentynine Palms was not found in books, but in people who were still alive, and unless steps were taken this history would literally pass away.

As the city’s pioneers died, many of the photographs, artifacts and other records of the city’s beginnings disappeared. Many of these invaluable items exited the city in the form of inheritances passed on to family and friends. Other items were discarded in the city dump. That broke Cheryl’s heart. She was determined to do something about it.

Of course the most valuable legacy, the thoughts and memories of the homesteaders, could never be reclaimed. The city and all of its future inhabitants were being robbed of its past — deprived of its greatest asset.
How long this historical hemorrhaging would have continued is speculation. What is known is Cheryl and fellow librarian Harold Weight collaborated to preserve the city’s history, beginning the task of identifying, cataloging and accumulating artifacts from the city’s gilded archives. Cheryl also undertook the epic challenge of interviewing more than 70 of the city’s pioneers—a task she thoroughly enjoyed.

The result of Cheryl’s and Weight’s labor is an extensive collection of books and documents on the history of this region which is stored in two locked bookcases and three filing cabinets inside the library. This resulted in Cheryl establishing the first local history collection in any library in San Bernardino County. For those seeking information about Twentynine Palms and the background of this region, Cheryl has provided a resource which represents one of the largest contributions to the city by any of its residents. All items are available for review by the public but are not available for circulation outside the library.

Cheryl’s work on this project led to her involvement in the formation of the Twentynine Palms Historical Society. She was one of the nine founding board members. She remains actively involved with the Historical Society, currently serving on the Board of Directors as the society’s corresponding secretary. Many of the large historical artifacts she and Weight collected are housed at the Historical Society.

For as many years as Cheryl has lived in Twentynine Palms, she has been an active member of Little Church of the Desert. It is the historic first church built in this town. For many years Cheryl played the organ for the services. As a Ruling Elder of the church, she oversees all the contracts and payroll, pays the bills and oversees the financial reports. She also oversees the entire operation of Little School of the Desert, a Christian preschool. Every year she travels to third world countries to help build schools, water wells and libraries.

Over the years Cheryl has opened her home to at least half a dozen foreign exchange students. Thanks to Cheryl’s dedication to serving the city’s current needs while remaining devoted to preserving its past, the citizens of Twentynine Palms will have access to sources of knowledge and inspiration which can help guide the city in the years ahead.

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