Page 1 - 2004 DT 9 Issues

What’s Inside!

Featured Article
Zzyxx . . . What’s in a name?...............1
Special
Boot Tracks..........................................3
In Memoriam.......................................6
Car Stuck? Get it out!.........................6
Departments
January 2004 News & Notes......................................2
Programs & Hikes...............................4
Desk Schedule.....................................6
Bulletin Board.....................................8

Zzyzx... dio. By the 1940s, he had moved to Cali- retreat run by a fundamentalist preacher

who had simply appropriated govern-
fornia and was not only selling
What’s in a name? medicines, but was also promoting ment land and some buildings, added
lifestyles through a series of public lec-
others, and used the site as a place for
tures. Obviously he considered life in his followers from Los Angeles to come
by H. Dan Wray
those days stressful, as one of his lec- and meditate, eat healthful food, and ab-
tures was entitled, “Why Men and stain from the fruit of the vine and
nyone who has traveled Inter- Women Crack after 40.” distillations of barley, corn, agave and
state 15 from Las Vegas to Los His real success story dates from his sundry other raw materials which, when
AAngeles cannot fail to have been move to Soda Lake, where he proceeded chemically processed,
intrigued by an exit sign proclaiming became mind altering
“Zzyzx Rd.” Can there be, is there re- substances.”
ally a place called Zzyzx? Is it the last He continued to
place on Earth? It certainly is a strong say that the most inter-
contender for the last named place in any esting object he found
world gazetteer, let alone American. there was a mechani-
Take the time to turn off and follow cal exercise horse
the four and a half mile long dirt road, which had once
(four wheel drive recommended) and
adorned the Calvin
you will indeed arrive at Zzyzx, or rather,
Coolidge White
Zzyzx Springs.
House.
Soda Springs, for that is its original
The tall blue-eyed
name, is an area which has known the
Springer certainly
presence of man from prehistoric times
Zzyzx facility, 2003 made a success of his
and in 1860 was used as an army out-
venture. His follow-
post called Hancock’s Redoubt. Our to create a health resort, building a ers—and there were many—came to
story, however, begins in 1944 when 60-bedroom hotel, a church, a cruciform
Curtis Howe Springer, a self styled mineral spa, a radio station, and even a stay a few days or, in some cases, to re-
Methodist Minister and doctor—but in modest castle. He constructed a private tire. He began to broadcast a daily health
reality neither—arrived with his wife airstrip, which he appropriately named and religion program from his radio sta-
Helen and appropriated almost 13,000 not “Skyport,” but “Zyport.” He called tion. Its mixture of religious and coun-
try western music and populist religion
acres of federal land. a pond “Lake Tuendae” and glorified the
Actually, Springer was born road which led to it as the “Boulevard soon began to attract attention and, at
December 2, 1896 in Wheeling, West of Dreams”. its peak, some 221 American and 102
Virginia—the son of Walter A. Springer, Harry Partridge, an author, once vis- foreign stations carried Springer’s pro-
a life insurance salesman—and left ited the site and wrote in the May 1988 gram. He called himself “Radio’s Friend
school at the age of 15. By 1928, he was edition of Word Ways, “Zzyzx Hot of Millions.”
advertising patent medicines on the ra- Springs turned out to be some sort of
Zzyzx, continued on p.6