Year

Country

Home

People

Films

Articles

Store

Clyde Morrison’s father, Marion, had bought a property in Los Angeles, California, and often commented on the warm, dry climate to his son who, at the age of 29, had developed heart and respiratory problems that were exacerbated by a 60-a-day cigarette habit.   Marion had a plan to work on the land, an idea inspired by the knowledge that homesteaders were moving onto land in Lancaster County, near the Los Angeles Basin.

 Marion told his son that he would file a claim on cheap land in the Mojave desert, invest some money on improving it and secure title after living on it for a while, then leave it to his son in his will.   In the meantime, Clyde and his family could live with Marion for free and help him work the land.

 Clyde joined his father late in 1913, once again leaving his family until he and his father could construct an inhabitable abode for them all.   They worked hard trying to work the land to meet the minimum requirements necessary to secure a title, and Marion poured $3,000 of his savings into it.   They built a three-room tin-roofed house and built a well in order to irrigate the land so that it might prove able to sustain a crop.   Unfortunately, the well didn’t produce enough water for the land and their first crop was poor.   Nevertheless, with his customary optimism, Clyde sent for his family to head West…

 [ADD]