Easter In Red Rock Canyon

by Cecile Page Vargo

The year was 1929 and the good citizens of Cantil had taken a look at the eroded formations of nearby Red Rock Canyon and decided it would be the perfect place for an Easter Service. Bessie Arent and Jenny Koehn went to Kane Springs to gather pale lavender swamp daisies for a wooden cross that was hauled to the great outdoor theater that God had built. Most of Cantil, Cinco, and Red Rock turned out for scripture readings and songs. The small group of pious desert citizens, and the large heavy cross, appeared lost in the natural ampitheater with it's maze of eroded spires.

By the time Easter 1930 arrived, the Red Rock sunrise service was becoming a tradition. Randsburg, Johannesburg, Goler and Garlock communities joined in the celebration. A huge wooden cross had been hauled to the highest point in the ricardo cliffs, and was to remain there throughout the year. The chore of transporting the cross was more work than anyone wanted to do again, and besides, they would hold the Easter service again anyway.

Sometime before Easter 1931 rolled around, vandals attacked the Red Rock cross. It was shoved over the red cliff and used for firewood. Once again the difficult process of trekking and securing a cross high in the volcanic sedimentary rock was undertaken. The effort was well appreciated by all, including those who had travelled as far away as the mountains of Tehachapi to join in the celebration. The crowd this year, was large enough to form a semi circle as the minister spoke and the choir sang. Their long string of cars formed a backdrop behind them.

As the years went by, the Red Rock Easter Service grew even more. Martin Engel and his Boy Scout Troop spent the Saturday before the service cleaning the canyon. To ensure the cross would remain in tact, the boys spent Easter Eve camping out nearby. Many arrived several hours before sunrise in anticipation of the sunrise service. Gallons of coffee and a huge bonfire were provided by the Road Commisioner, Walter Tisch, to keep everyone warm in the chilly pre-dawn hours. The Jawbone aqueduct stationkeeper, Stover Lowe, was usually the first to arrive with an organ from Ross Rogers place, and women diligently worked on sunrise breakfast preparations which would be served after the service was over.

During the actual service everyone crowded close to the pulpit to hear, as there was no loudspeaker system set up. Fortunately, Lidia Atkinson' voice, normally too powerful for the community buildings where she usually performed, filled the canyon with joyous melody, encouraging others to join in the traditional hymns.

Old-timers who attended and helped each Easter at Red Rock, always felt that World War II brought the most impressive services. Gas was rationed, but it didn't stop the crowds from driving great distances to worship. China Lake church groups helped with the service during those years. The Navy even furnished a portable speaker system. The altar, draped in deep blue velvet cloth, held crosses from all religions that were present, and made an impressive sight against the soft pinks, tans, and yellows of the desert cliffs.

Cross vandalism, from year to year, was still cause for worry. One year Walter and Wally Bectel, who owned the store on the edge of Red Rock Canyon, built a cross in traditional Biblical style. Rope and tackle was used to slowly work the cross to the most difficlt to reach spot, but it too was gone before the next Easter came around. Stover Lowe decided to built a steel one that was the same dimensions of the original. Buckets of cement were hauled up to what they thought was the most inaccessible spot, so the metal cross could set on a permanent base. Leave it to Hollywood, however, to come along with a wrecking crew that following summer, because it interfered with a picture they were shooting. Needless to say that was the end of attempts to place a cross on a high canyon rim for Red Rock Canyon Easter Sunrise Services.

Throughout the years the attendance and performances would get more impressive. One memorable year, a Ridgecrest youth crawled up the high cliff and stood out on a narrow eroded shelf. As the sun rose everyone stood in awe of his trumpet playing welcoming the rising sun. The boy, his music, and the canyon revealing it's pink and yellow desert colors as the sun hit, with the congregation standing in blue shadow, provided great inspiration. As the solo ended, the boy remained on the cliff, like a statue, with his trumpet still in his hand. The audience waited for another solo, but a closing prayer was said and the service was over. No one moved, neither the audience or the young musician. The silence that followed was was like a thick fog in the canyon, until at last a man called out to the boy. But there was no return call from him, nor was there any movement from him. Gradually the congregation dispersed, but the trumpeter stood on the cliff petrified of the steep and narrow path back to the valley floor. Three men finally climbed up and helped him down.


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Bibliography:

Gold Gamble
Roberta Martin Starry
Engler Publishing

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Cecile
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Well behaved women rarely make history - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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