Imperial Valley press., 1922-06-23

| Reclamation of the Colorado deser,
! was no weakhng S task. 1t meant the
hardships and toll and disappointments
1t meant huge obstacles to be over
come, loneliness, self-denial and cour
age great as that which sends youth
forth to battle.
| But cruel and grim as the task seem.
! ed to the casual observer, it challenged
strong men and women with such force
that they were willing to undertake it;
to put their all into it. Still here are
many of the first settlers who could
tell strangely interesting story OF
those earliest years, and scores of
others came eight, 10 and IL years ago
when the task was but begun.
| They have written Imperial valley S
history in deeds, and their names will
| go down TO posterity as among those
who built what is now the most famed
| section in the United States.
| Women Made It Possible
Imperial valley history is unique in
more ways than one. But in one par
ticular it has been fortunate. With
| the young men who came to carve out
| homes in the desert, came good women
| to stand by them, shoulder to shoulder.
In the story of the First Decade, writ
ten by Edgar F. Howe and Wilbur
Hall, the following paragraph appears:
| "The vital part of women in making
| the valley really deserves a volume by
itself. Let it be understood that the
hardships described, the struggles re-
| counted and the achievements recorded
| throughout this history concern her
ole and noble band of women even
| more than that larger army of men,
some of whom are named in these
pages.
"Less fitted for pioneering, their
work has been the more remarkable
and to the end of history it will be n
matter of congratulation to the district
and from the first, its daily life was
moulded and blessed by the company
of devoted wives, mothers, sisters and
sweethearts who have stood shoulder to
shoulder with the men. Without them,
the reclamation of the Colorado desert
might have been possible but it would
not have been a fact. :"
With this eulogistic paragraph, the
author quotes at length from a paper
read by Mrs. Leroy Holt at meeting
of the county federation held at I'M
perial i'll April 1910, just after the
federation of women 8 clubs had taken
form. On that occasion the after din
ner speeches consisted Of talks on pio-
neer days in the valley by Mrs. Holt,
Mrs. j. E. Peck, Mrs. Robert Vail, Mrs.
Violette S. Campbell and others. Mrs.
Holt gave hers in manuscript and it is
well that she did for it is worthy the
place it took as a source of history III
the annals of the valley.
She Brought Her Baby
She tells of her first coming to the
desert in June 1901, just about the
time the water Of the Colorado was
turned on to the lands of Imperial
valley. She came with her baby and
found little to encourage woman of
her refinements and education to re-
main. But she did not say it that way.
Rather did she dwell in her paper of
incidents interesting to a degree, but
which might have discouraged one of
less dauntless courage. In September
following, she came to live in the little
tent house in Imperial made ready for
her by her husband. She and Mrs.
Henry Reid with the latter's mother,
Mrs. Ford, were the only women living
in the town of Imperial. There was
church building, canvas hotel with a
Chinaman as landlord, a little grocery
store conducted by Mr.. Holt, a small
structure from whence was issued the
Imperial Valley Press, and the tent
house in which Mrs. Holt had come to
live.
Then there was no social life and the
hardships were great indeed.
Desert dust aud winds combined to
do their worst and there was little to
foretell of what the future years would
bring to the valley in the way of com.
forts and enjoyments.
First Social Event
The first social event of record was
a picnic held at Cameron Lake near
the present site of Salton sea gate at
Sharp's heading. 1t was the Fourth of
July, 1901, and the entire population of
the county, about 80 in all, attended.
The dinner was spread under the trees
and the main feature of the menu was
fish caught in the canal and cooked on
a camp fire. In September following,
the first dance was given in a mess
wagon owned by w. w. Maston who
was doing some. grading near Calcxieo.
There have been marvellous changes
since that time. Womcn's clubs were
organized little later, and what a
fine progressive, earnest lot Of women
those first club members were. Service
was the keynote of all. they did or
thought of doing. The valley must
have better roads, there must be bet
ter sanitation, the schools must be of
the best, thero must be a lighter side
of life with social functions and di.
versions, trees must be planted on
streets and highways and school
grounds must be shades.
They had d big program and they
persistently carried it forward. When
the true history Of the pioneer days is
written large part of it will center
about things projected and accomplish