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150 CH A PTER 10 Conclusion I n the century and a half or so of human activity around Mono Lake, the area’s history has consisted of lingering optimism over mining, an oil boom that was never realized, and misconceptions concerning its recreational possibilities. In the late twentieth century, environmentalists condemned the prospectors and miners of the previous century for having raided the island rookeries for birds’ eggs. This is an unfair and ahistorical criticism that fails to consider the isolation, transportation difficulties, and basic needs of a population that endured extreme hardship in pursuit of valuable minerals. These minerals are still valuable today and always will be valuable, as indeed they have been throughout human history. To criticize the miners for their lack of environmental consciousness as measured by present-day values shows a lack of respect for the values of other times, whether those earlier values are still held or not. The present time has never been a fair standard by which to judge the process of history. Shakespeare stated it succinctly: “The past is prologue.” To the people of the early 1900s Mono Lake was an exploitable resource, not a wildlife refuge. The efforts and speculation over the possibilities of oil beneath Mono Lake generated considerable enthusiasm , which persisted long after it was discovered that there were not sufficient petroleum deposits to establish an oil industry at Mono Lake. This realization came very slowly, and only after wells had been drilled, stock sold in oil companies, and equipment brought in with some considerable difficulty along existing transportation lines. By 1920 Mono County’s population and economy were stagnating. The turnaround came not with mining or agricultural success but with Conclusion 151 the rise of the recreation industry, made possible by construction of federal and state highways and increasing use of the automobile for vacation and recreation, particularly in California. In the 1930s numerous resort businesses sprang up in Inyo and Mono Counties as people flocked there to fish, hike, and camp. The high point of the era came in 1941 with the dedication of Crowley Lake, a storage reservoir for the city of Los Angeles, which became a major destination for fishermen. While pre–World War II recreational development took place in such areas as June Lake, Mammoth, and Grant Lake (another DWP reservoir), recreational activity at Mono Lake was limited to two lakeside lodges, Tioga Lodge and Mono Inn. Lee Vining’s economic role since its founding in 1923 was to provide services to automobile travelers on U.S. 395 who motored between Yosemite and Tahoe. The McPherson family’s hopes for development of Paoha Island ended with the death of financier Otto F. Brant. Given the region’s spectacular scenery and the unusual features of the island, it is interesting to speculate on what might have been done to develop Paoha Island or lakeside property as a health resort, had Brant lived; but since he did not, speculation serves little purpose. The only other attempt to establish a health resort on Paoha Island, Dr. Wesley Barrett’s sanitarium, never amounted to much and was defunct by 1954. The McPhersons returned to the mainland in 1922 and left the island to the goats they had brought there. The main recreational activity at Mono Lake prior to World War II was the Mark Twain Days celebration, begun in 1929 by the McPherson family. During the 1930s this annual celebration grew in popularity and created a golden age for Mono Lake recreation, never again to be equaled. Powerboat races and aquatic activities highlighted the Mark Twain Days. Unfortunately for its promoters, the lake area could not accommodate the numbers of people attending the event, and in 1941 the planners reduced the number of activities and decided not to invite powerboat owners from outside the county. World War II then intervened. An attempt was made in 1947 and 1948 to continue the Mark Twain Days, but after 1948 the celebration was discontinued. The failure of this recreational activity had nothing to do with the acquisition of water rights in the Mono Lake Basin by the city of Los Angeles, since the activity was discontinued long before water diversions significantly affected the lake level. The recent Mark Twain Days revival, centered on Lee Vining town celebrations, bears little resemblance in its activities to the original Mark Twain Days. Following World War II Mono County enjoyed a boom in recreational [3.15.225.173] Project MUSE (2024-04-25 13...

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