60's & 70's

The 60's and 70's saw China Lake building new and modifying older weapons to meet new requirements placed on them by the Viet Nam Conflict. The weaponry went from aircraft mounted devices to hand held devices for the foot slogging soldier and Marine. This brought a new urgency to their research and development.

Our country went through a massive political and cultural upheaval where young college students really became proactive in political statements, where killings of college students proved that mistakes could be made at home as well as in the theatre of war.

Social upheaval was the activity of the day and striking out at the establishment in any way one could, was considered normal. Drugs became commonplace in our little home town and the people who used them were the students of families who were building weapons of destruction in their everyday jobs in an effort to protect the freedom of those who were using them. The "Desert Party" became large events supporting hundreds of young people who wanted to have a good time. Live music was provided at many of these parties by a band comprised of local players. This was a time of "Love, Peace, and Partaaaay!!!".

Yet we see that this mindset was not universal. Many had other fish to fry in a different direction. It depended on your background and culture so there was a broad spectrum of people in the mix.

I moved to RC in the early 60's and was single for many years. Most of my friends were single and on weekends we always looked for something to do. The Chicken Coop was a good place for us. We could drink a beer and shoot some pool. I do remember several fights there. In fact, we would try to get the pool table way in the back as it was close to the back door and we could make a fast exit if it was ever needed. I remember a couple of times standing in the back door while watching a fight. It apparently had actually been a Chicken Coop at one time. When it rained, you could still catch the odor of what a chicken coop would smell like.

The location of the Chicken Coop was in a lot just east of the Bamboo Club. It was common for people to go from the Chicken Coop to the Bamboo Club or Pat & Charlie's (Later named JD's). If you stand in the entrance of the Bank of America parking lot looking south from Ridgecrest Blvd, the building was located to the rear and far right of the BA parking lot. To the left were a couple of stores of which one was a carpet store. With some time, I am sure I can remember the name of the carpet store. In later years I bought carpet from the owner of that store even though he was no longer located there. All of those buildings came down when BA put up their building.

Darrell Bymoen
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My name is Marla Jones and I never lived in Ridgecrest, but I did live in Johannesburg and we had to come to Ridgecrest to go shopping and attend James Monroe Jr High, and Burroughs High School.

As a very young child in the 60's my mom would do the grocery shopping at the Champion Market. I remember how they used to line up the new toys on a high shelf around Xmas time. A young man by the name of Gabriel worked in the meat department, and he always had a nice smile. I grew up in shoes from Cornielus's shoe store, we used to call him Corny and he was a huge man with a huge heart.

I attended James Monroe Jr. High 1969-1971. My favorite teachers were Mrs. Rose who taught science and Miss Rolf who we had for English(?) Then there was Burroughs from 1972. Wow, what an experiance! We moved away when I was a Jr, in 1974

Marla Trombley Jones
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As a very young man I used to live in Johannesburg. We lived in a little house right next to what was the St. Charles Hotel right across the highway from the baseball field. It had a screened in front porch and was painted green and white just like the hotel. I don't know if that house was there when you lived in Joburg but it was a rather pleasant place and I enjoyed my time there. I went to a little school house up the hill from the St. Charles that was attended by 1st thru 6th graders in a common room. Our teacher was a Miss Kelso who was a magical little old lady who I blame for my ability to read well and to spell without too much stumbling. She was indeed a grand Lady and I remember her well. There were only about 15 kids in that little school house but they were all under control at all times under Miss Kelso's somewhat strict guidance. Ahhhhhhhhh, sweet memories of a pleasant moment in life past.

Pat Jones
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I was born in Ridgecrest, so my first impressions were as I grew up there. I remember living in base housing (201-A Wasp) and it was crowded!. I had four brothers and sisters at the time, two of them being of the age where they needed their own rooms. The other three of us were only 14 months apart, so we got the master bedroom--filled with three cribs! My parents were relegated to the living room and fold-out sofas. Needless to say, my parents bought property in Ridgecrest and built a home for their growing family. We <