September Symbolizes History In The Making

INDIAN WELLS ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

September celebrates the first month of the Indian Wells Oral History Project. Both the IWPF Board and City are thrilled to partner with the Lawrence de Graaf Center for Oral and Public History at California State University Fullerton (CSUF).

The CSUF Lawrence de Graaf Center was established in 1968 as a teaching, training, research, publication and public service archive. It contains more than 6,500 oral histories covering a wide range of people and topics representing California. Indian Wells will now be part of that iconic legacy.

Who better to launch the project than civic leader and renowned businessman Richard Oliphant, the first of our 10 interviewees. Coincidentally, his insightful book Building California’s Coachella Valley, The Life and Times of Richard R. Oliphant was just published.

Cora Granata, PhD, Professor of History and Associate Director of the Center, oversees the project along with its professional staff responsible for conducting extensive background research and photo designation.

The project will produce leather-bound inscribed publications to be part of the Center and Foundation/City archives and digital files for our website and future documentary film inclusion.

Upon completion in late Fall 2024, we anticipate a community celebration with Lawrence, Richard and the nine other interviewees.

THE ARCHIVES

We are also pleased to share that the City and IWPF discovered a 28-page double-spaced, double-sided Smith Corona typed interview of H.L. (Bert) and Clarice Cavanagh. It was conducted on June 21, 1980 at the behest of the Historical Society of Palm Desert (HSPD) Oral History Project by Patricia Young, interviewer, and Linda Jantzen, transcriber.

In 1922, Bert and brother Albert built the Cavanagh Adobe, later designated on November 7, 2004 as Historic Landmark No. 1 (45-410 Cook Street) by the Indian Wells Historic Preservation Foundation. The Cavanagh Adobe Centennial was celebrated on October 14, 2022, and co-sponsored by City of Indian Wells and Modernism Week.

The HSPD/Young interview serves as a valuable addition to the Foundation’s archives but more importantly, as a stimulus for the Indian Wells Oral History Project.

We are committed to preserving and promoting the storied history of Indian Wells and appreciate today’s technology and academic pursuit to expedite its access. The IW Oral History Project, funded by the City, serves as a cornerstone to that success.

NEXT UP:

Watch this space for more information about the October Salon on Celebrating Architecture and Preservation in Indian Wells. Sponsored by the City of Indian Wells Community Activities Committee, the Salon features an IWPF Board update and 2024 UCR Modernism 101 sneak preview with modernism maven Karen Prinzmetal.

If you're not a member, click HERE to join the IWPF as we embrace the past and empower the future of the City of Indian Wells.

IWPF Board: Linda Blank, President; Kevin Mead, Vice President; Dan Hamilton, Secretary; NJ Bradeen, Treasurer; Katherine Mead, Creative Design Director