Four

EXPANSION

1950–1979

Present at a community function, from left to right, are California governor Knight, Florence Balz, Angie Alexander, Mrs. Knight, and Bill Balz.

The 2nd Annual Jaycee Rodeo parade travels through Blythe in 1958. The man in the wagon with the beard is L. A. Morse. Following the wagon is the Blythe Teenage Quadrille.

This 1950s photograph of the Blythe Riding Club Women’s Stampede shows one of the events—jeep roping. Pictured, from left to right, are Eva LaVoy, Katie Gossett, Frenchie LaVoy, Rusty Burkett, and Warren Higgens.

The Valley Cafe in Balzberg was owned by Mac McDaniel. This photograph was taken in the early 1950s.

Here is a street scene of Blythe in the 1950s.

This is a photograph of the Blythe Boat Cruise in the mid-1950s. The route went from Blythe, south to Lake Martinez, and returned the following day. The Blythe Boat Club started this yearly event as a tourist attraction to introduce outsiders to the Colorado River and bring business to Blythe. It stopped for several years when there were not enough men willing to be river pilots, but the cruise has recently been revived due to the efforts of Mike McDowell. It is once again an annual event held in May.

Boat races on the Colorado River were a popular event.

Bud Wells and Darlene McCain pose at the Palo Verde Valley Community Fair and Livestock Show in the late 1950s with McCain’s champion steer.

In 1959, this diversion dam replaced the old rock weir.

This house is located at 144 South Palm. The house was built in the early 1920s by one of the Barlow Brothers, using Chinese labor. Note the oriental influence on the front of the house.

Colis S. Mayflower is shown in this 1950 photograph being honored by the Masons. He came to Blythe in 1932 and was the mayor in 1937, 1938, and 1943. He was also chairman of the Palo Verde Irrigation District Board of Directors. He was the moving force for the construction of a new airport terminal after he was elected to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors in 1949. Mayflower County Park at Sixth Avenue and the river are named after him.

Bill Balz and Fern Fallowfield are shown here at a barbecue in the 1950s. Bill Balz came to Blythe in 1937. He subdivided the Garrison Tract, one of the first housing divisions in Blythe. He also subdivided 80 acres just west of the city limits into a development known as Balzberg. He was instrumental in raising funds to remodel the hospital and was the founder of the first Blythe Country Club. Fern Fallowfield and her husband, Irving, coowned the Blythe Drug Store with D. C. “Johnnie” Johnson.

This was the Greyhound bus depot in the 1950s.

This photograph shows a lettuce harvest in 1983.

Here is an aerial view of Midland, located approximately 20 miles north of Blythe. It was established in 1915 and was originally known as Mineral City. The company town existed to provide services to the gypsum mine workers. The mine closed in 1966, and many of the structures were moved to Blythe. The mining rights were originally owned by Floyd Brown and were sold to American Gypsum in 1911.

The Mariner Girl Scout Troup No. 116 was sponsored by the Blythe Boat Club. Pictured here on March 8, 1959, from left to right, are Kay Mitchell, Pat Matlock, Susan Lewis, Diana Feemster, Norma Owens, Valerie Johnson, Zora Marshall, Susan Sanders, and Bea Sevilla.

This is the Parent Teacher Association installation of officers. Pictured here in the late 1950s or early 1960s, from left to right, are Camille Boehning, Shirley Dekens, Jean Hughes, Emilie Graham, Ruby Browning, Barbara Brugh, and Pat Sain. Seated in front is Mary Tatosian.

In 1936, the Blythe Coffee Shop opened. The postcard advertises that it was recommended by Duncan Hines. This photograph was taken in the early 1950s.

This 1950s photograph shows Hobsonway looking west from Broadway.

Lettuce harvesting takes place in the late 1950s at this farm.

In 1960, workers at the Fisher Ranch are weeding a field.

At the groundbreaking ceremony in January 1966 for the Community United Methodist Church, from left to right, are three unidentified, Frank Zimmerman, Bon Brummet, Clark Browning, and Joe Gleeson. The Felix Applebee Grammar School previously stood on this site.

Above is the addition to Palo Verde Hospital, completed in 1981 to give the facility 19 more beds. The hospital came into existence in 1925, when the American Legion donated its clubhouse to be used as a hospital. In 1937, the hospital moved to its present site on North First Street. It was closed off and on during the early years. The Palo Verde Hospital Association was formed in 1948 and expanded the bed capacity to 24.

This plane, crop dusting during the 1970s, belongs to West Coast Flying Service.

Tom Vosses and Clarence Robinson inspect lettuce during a lettuce harvest in the 1950s. They were partners in Blythe Melon Growers. Upon Vosses death in 1961, Clarence bought his share and the company became known as Robinson Farms. Robinson Farms is still in existence today and is owned and operated by his wife, Marie, and their children Danny Robinson and Betty Blackwood.

This is the Sahara Motor Hotel in the 1970s. One of the first motels in Blythe to have a swimming pool, it opened in 1964.

Actress Ann Blythe and Richard Whitcomb, manager of the radio station, are spinning records in the studio during the 1960s.

This is a 1968 aerial view of Interstate 10 looking east towards Arizona. The interstate was finished in 1965.

Built in 1919 by the Southern California Railroad, Benefield’s Department Store, seen above in 1987, burned down in May 1992.

This is a holiday greeting card from Fisher Ranch. This card shows Lucille, Wayne, and Dana Fisher in 1917, and Sally, Betty, Bart, Lucille, Bonnie, Dana, and Wendy Fisher in 1967. Fisher Ranch was founded in 1917 and was the first ranch in the valley to raise Brahma cattle. Dana Fisher, born and raised in the valley, was an outstanding farmer and was given the Howie Award by the Riverside County Farm Bureau. The Fisher Ranch, one of the largest farming operations in the valley, is still in operation and is currently managed by Bart Fisher, the grandson of Wayne and Lucille Fisher.

The Palo Verde District Library Association was formed in 1959 and, in 1960, the Palo Verde Valley Library was built. It is located on the corner of Broadway and Chanslorway. The first library was established in 1914 and was located in a small building next to the post office. In 1928, it was moved to the Little Brown Church. It had several more homes before it finally obtained its permanent one shown here.

Taken on November 6, 1960, this photograph shows the Palo Verde Valley Library dedication. Pictured, from left to right, are Dale Braman, Margaret Port, Bea Waggoner, and Grady Setzler.

Recreation on the Colorado River has always been an important part of life in the valley, as evidenced by this late-1950s or early 1960s photograph.

The Blythe City Council, pictured here in 1966, from left to right, are Warren Port, Hugh Ingram, Reed Eshelman, Arthur Cusick, Veryl Bommer, Robert Brockmier, Dick Farrage, Bud Wells, and Harold Fischer.

In the 1960s, the Rodeway Inn on Hobsonway was one of the nicest places to stay when traveling through the valley.

These third-grade students, along with their teacher, Mrs. Clifford, are featured in this 1967 Margaret White School class photograph.