Mono Basin Historical Society

Throwback Thursday What A View! Lundy Lake, high above the Mono Basin, has attracted visitors for years due to its breathtaking views and good fishing. This photo, taken around 1914, shows several people enjoying the lake. The three small girls are Gladys, Pearl and Katie Conway, visiting from their home in the Mono Basin. #ThrowbackThursday... Photo courtesy of Tom Paranick See more

Our May presentation by Eastern Sierra historian David Woodruff is now available on our YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw34fM6apFI&t=4s

Join us this coming Monday, May 3rd, at 6pm for a Zoom program. David Woodruff will present 'The Watterson Brothers... Villains or Victims?'. The author of the popular Tales Along El Camino Sierra book series, you don't want to miss this event! We hope to see you (virtually) there! If you're not already on our mailing list to receive the Zoom link, kindly send an email to [email protected] and indicate your interest. As well, if you're not already a member of the Historical Society, now is a great time to sign up and support our monthly programs and social media efforts. If you have missed any of our previous programs this year, we started recording them and uploading them to our YouTube channel - 'Mono Basin Historical Society'

Throwback Thursday Canoeing and kayaking on Mono Lake can be a beautiful experience, but boaters must always be aware of the forecast and head for shore when the winds come up. One hot summer day in 1862, Mark Twain, then a resident of Aurora, Nevada, and his mining partner Cal Higbie, decided to take their boat to the two islands after exploring the shoreline of this curious lake....Continue reading

The Upside Down House has been decorated again for the holidays, in Upside Down fashion. Looks like a party going on inside judging by the crowds looking out the windows. Thanks for decorating help from Robin Cassidy, John Warneke, Linda LaPierre, and Dave Carle

Lucy Telles, aka Pa-ma-has, was born in 1885 near Mono Lake to Miwok and Paiute parents. Her family had homes in both Yosemite Valley and the Mono Lake area, an...d Lucy spent much of her childhood and most of her adult life in Yosemite Valley. Lucy learned traditional weaving from her mother, and she quickly became an adept weaver. By the 1920s, Lucy had gained a reputation as a fine weaver known for her intricate and innovative designs. She was a frequent prize-winner of Yosemite Indian Field Days basket competitions, and in 1939, her largest and most recognized basket was exhibited at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. Lucy demonstrated basket weaving to park visitors from the 1930s until her death in 1955. Learn more at https://www.nps.gov//exhib/yosemite_basketry/weavers.html #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth #NPSCollections

Yet another history post from Chris Spiller, Friends of Mono Lake Reserve

Another good history story from Chris Spiller.

The new building for storage and display/cataloging/library work is finished, with electrical fixtures and wiring installed. Will be connected to electrical supply point tomorrow. Insulation and drywalling next week. Tuffshed left us lots of extra white and red paint so spiffed up the little old shed behind museum today too.

Throwback Thursday An account of a 1925 Halloween party at the Mono Lake School House makes us nostalgic for old-time holiday gatherings. The party was organize...d by Mrs. Van Alstyne, Lee Vining’s schoolteacher, reported the Bridgeport Chronicle-Union. One feature of the evening was a performance of Blue Beard’s Seven Wives, followed by a witch delivering candy to the children. After the entertainment, there was dancing until supper time. The dancers found their partner by grabbing streamers, with different colors for ladies and gentlemen, hung over a wire that extended across the center of the room. At the end of each streamer, a numbered card was placed. It was an exciting time while each person found his or her partner with a corresponding number. Some we fear, never did find their partners owning to the children having run off with some of the corresponding numbers. Richie Conway got quite a surprise when he discovered his number corresponded with Harry Anderson’s. It seems Harry plucked a ladies’ ribbon instead of a gents’ in the excitement, according the newspaper’s correspondent. The largest home crowd we have seen for some time was present and it was lively, jolly crowd that kept things moving. Music was provided by Mr. and Mrs. Hazlett, Clarence Wilson and Gus Hess. The party broke up about 1 a.m. Happy Halloween! #ThrowbackThursday

Our Zoom mtg tnight at 6 is with author Kendra Atleework. See the link.

New "annex" building coming along today with Tuffshed crew putting it together. Will be white with red trim and red metal roof, similar to Old Schoolhouse. When they are done, electrical wiring, outlets, some lights will go in, then insulation. And we can have a heated space to work and store artifacts (it's freezing inside the unheated museum today as I write this).

Throwback Thursday Mono Movies Many of us have been catching up on movies in the last few months and we often catch a glimpse of a familiar place, as the Easter...n Sierra attracts many movie makers, not to mention companies selling cars. Movies filmed in the Mono Basin area include, Fair Wind to Java, a 1953 pirate film that used one of the islets in Mono Lake for the scene showing the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano. The movie, starring Fred McMurray, Vera Ralston and Robert Douglas, pits a captain of an American merchant vessel against pirates in a race to find a sunken Dutch vessel containing thousands of diamonds, as a nearby volcano prepares to explode. Portions of the set remain on the islet today. High Plains Drafter, from 1973, starred Clint Eastwood and was filmed near the shore of Mono Lake west of South Tufa. According to Internet Movie Database (IMDb), Universal Pictures wanted to shoot the movie on the studio lot, but Clint Eastwood instead had a whole town built near Mono Lake. Many of these buildings included interiors to allow other scenes to be shot at the location. Eastwood, the director, also starred as the mysterious stranger who arrives in a small town and helps the residents fight off outlaws. Photo of Fair Wind to Java, movie scene from Images of America, Mono Lake Basin book by David Carle and Don Banta. The book is available at the Mono Basin Historical Society online store: www.monobasinhistory.org/online-sales #ThrowbackThursday

ESIA’s bookstore is open today and tomorrow at the Mono Basin Scenic Area Visitor Center from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Labor Day Weekend the bookstore will be open ...Friday through Monday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm Only the bookstore is open! The rest of the visitor center is still closed to the public.

Another great history post from Friends of Mono Lake Reserve.

17th Annual Ghosts of the Sagebrush Tour Canceled with Calendar Fundraiser in its Place If the Coronavirus panademic had never happened, Saturday, August 22 would have been the date of the 17th Annual Ghosts of the Sagebrush Tour (GOST), the most important annual fundraiser event for the Mono Basin Historical Society. But Covid-19 requirements are keeping the Mono Basin History Museum closed and mandate cancellation of the GOST event. Many who attend the popular annual even...t not only purchase tickets, but spend money to travel here and stay in lodging. Usually there are two days of ticketed events, a Friday dinner and Saturday tour. Often couples buy 4 tickets to attend both days. Considering the money saved due to the cancellation, the Mono Basin Historical Society asks people to consider replacing a portion of that lost fundraising by purchasing a beautiful and informative 2021 History Calendar based upon the GOST theme: "Re-Discovering Lower Rush Creek -- History and Remembrances." This annual fundraiser usually brings in a net profit over $3000 to support the non-profit Society's operations. For the price of a regular tour ticket ($30), plus shipping and tax, calendars can be purchased online at www.monobasinhistory.org, to be mailed. Click the "online sales" tab and follow simple secure steps to add the calendar (plus any other purchased items: books, hats, t-shirts, cups, etc.) to a shopping cart, then check out with a credit card. All proceeds go to the non-profit 501(c)(3) organization's operating budget, which is understandably beleaguered in this challenging year. See more

Throwback Thursday This scene at the Jake Mattly ranch shows family members grouped around a car. Jacob Jake Mattly stands in front of the car in the stylish... cap with his arms crossed. Surrounding him are family members, from left, his daughter, Florence, cousin Chris Mattly, daughter-in-law Ella Farrington Mattly, who is behind her children Roland and Don. At right is Jake’s wife Alta Mattly and their son Pearl. Besides running the ranch, Jake served for several years as a Mono County Supervisor. The settlers who came here to the basin had to be hardy to deal with the weather and the short growing season. Over 30 Mono Basin family ranches and farms provided food and agricultural products for nearby towns from the late 1800s up to early part of the 1900s. The Jake Mattly ranch was located south of present day Lee Vining in an area known as Crater. There were enough ranches and population in the area that in 1899, a post office was established there for a time. One nearby ranch, owned by James Farrington, became a popular place for dances. It may be that at one of those dances, Pearl met Ella. Pearl became foreman of the Cain Ranch, and eventually homesteaded land north of Jake Mattly’s ranch. Photo courtesy of Terry Barker, great-granddaughter of Jake and Alta Mattly. Her grandmother, Grace, was one of Jake & Alta’s eight children.

History of fishing in the Eastern Sierra, via Zoom, hosted by Friends of the Inyo on Wednesday afternoon.

2021 HISTORY CALENDAR FUNDRAISER With the Coronavirus requirements keeping the museum closed and mandating cancellation of the 17th Annual Ghosts of the Sagebrush Tour (GOST) this August, we found a way you can help replace a portion of that lost fundraising. Please purchase our 2021 MBHS/GOST Calendar based upon the GOST theme (now shifted to August 2021): "Re-Discovering Lower Rush Creek -- History and Remembrances." For the price of a regular tour ticket ($30), calendars... can be purchased via our webpage, www.monobasinhistory.org, to be mailed to your address. Click the "online sales" tab and follow simple steps to add the calendar (or any other purchased items) to a shopping cart, then check out securely with a credit card. Watch for another email next week about our September 7 Zoom meeting with author Kendra Attleework. Thank you so much for your support during this unusually challenging year. David Carle, President, Mono Basin Historical Society MBHS email: [email protected]. History Museum phone: 760 647-6461. Donations and membership contributions may also be made at our webpage: www.monobasinhistory.org.

Throwback Thursday Newsy Pickings From Mono Lake This was the title of a June 1925 newspaper column about Mono Lake happenings in the Bridgeport Chronicle-Uni...on. We thought it would be fun to take a look at a few items about people of the Mono Basin. The author of the column is listed only as, Charlotte. Most of the cars passing here now-a-days seemed to be equipped with camp outfits. A dance will be given at Bodie on Saturday evening, June 27th. Music by the Mono Lake Orchestra--Let’s go. A large number of our young folks attended the dance given in Bryant’s Hall at Bridgeport last Saturday evening. Everyone who went from here, reported a good time. John Dondero, who has just completed a house on a piece of property he bought recently, expects to have a house-warming on Saturday next, June 27th. Mrs. C.M. Wilson, and her mother, Mrs. Galbraith, arrived at Mono Lake last week and expect to spend the summer here. They will occupy the Regan house on the Fisher property. Constable Gus Hess almost suffered a heart attack one day last week. He called down a pretty girl who was speeding, and demanded to know what she meant by such reckless driving. I washed my hair, she replied, and I was trying to dry it by fast driving. By the time Gus recovered his equilibrium, the girl was a mile away. Below, photo of the Lee Vining Meat Market which was built in 1925. Mono Lake is visible in the distance; the lake was higher than it is today. For more historic photos, see Images of America: Mono Lake Basin by David Carle and Don Banta. #ThrowbackThursday