100 Mules Off to Good Start
By Charles James
If one person can be “stubborn as a mule”, how stubborn could 100 mules be? If you were the least bit curious, you might have found out on Friday at the L.A. Aqueduct Intake in Aberdeen. That would be if you could find it! There was considerable confusion over exactly where the event was kicking off, with many people confusing the Intake with Aberdeen Station.
A plaque ceremony at the Intake was followed by a 12:30 p.m. departure of 100 mules managed by Roesers of McGee Creek Pack Station recruited by artist Lauren Bon of Metabolic Studio to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the L.A. Aqueduct, which first opened in 1913. On hand were a number of dignitaries, including Inyo County Supervisors Linda Arcularius, Mark Tillemans, and Matt Kingsley. Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Doane Lui sitting atop his mule was also traveling south with the group.
Also on hand was Jim Yannotta, Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Aqueduct. According to a spokeswoman for Bonn, “The DWP could not have been more cooperative. Lauren feels that they genuinely pulled out all the stops to help us make this presentation a success.” Use of the mules to symbolize the 100th Anniversary of the Aqueduct was a natural choice. Without the hundreds of mules used to build the aqueduct, it is unlikely it would have ever been built. Stubbornness has also been a common hallmark of the relationship between valley residents and LADWP.
Traveling all the way to Los Angeles took some serious effort, involving some serious logistics. To feed and water mules and people alone would have been a challenge, but getting all of the approvals from government agencies and private land owners to traverse the 240-‐mile trip for 27 days along the L.A. Aqueduct was a considerable achievement all on its own. Bon hopes the performance will remind Los Angeles residents that they have been receiving water from the Owens Valley for 100 years. Interested readers can follow the 100 Mules Walking the Los Angeles Aqueduct performance’s progress at a special Facebook online site https://www.facebook.com/OneHundredMulesWalkingtheLosAngelesAqueduct.
I’d have to say that my favorite historical passage is one depicted in an old Inyo Register beneath an image of four children and their widowed mother. It reads… This woman’s husband, the father of this little family, broke under the strain of this valley’s water troubles, facing ruin for… Read more »
LADWP Aqueduct Manager Jim Yannotta told Eastern Sierra News at the plaque dedication ceremony of the 100th year anniversary of the LA aqueduct on October 18 that “We’ve been working in the Owens Valley here to protect the environment here and essentially it looks the same as it did a… Read more »
I believe W.A. Chalfant and Will Rodgers and so many others who have documented the devastation of the Owens Valley. I knew Mary Gorman, the sister of the Watterson brothers who tried to fight the complete drain of water. She verified the destruction. Thank you, Ron Alexander for so eloquently… Read more »
DWP archaeologists uncover grim chapter in Owens Valley history Researchers believe that bullets, musket balls, cavalry uniform buttons and Native American artifacts found in Owens Lake point to the massacre of 35 Paiute Indians by settlers and soldiers in 1863. June 02, 2013|By Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times LONE PINE,… Read more »
Meanwhile, Lieut. Robert Daley, having returned from the Owens Valley, reported on conditions there: – December 3, 1863 “Sir: In accordance with orders from headquarters Department of the Pacific, I have the honor to make the following report relative to the Indians in Owen’s River Valley: I found Indian supplies… Read more »
Art? Really? A political statement or a form of protest, even a means of educating the public I will buy, but this is emphatically not art. Where does such silliness come from?
This is a powerful ironic piece of art, it’s especially moving to see James Yannotta and Lauren Bon standing there together.
By the way; the Mules are absolutely beautiful!
I love the 100 blankets!
Best of luck on your journey!
Mongo
” Use of the mules to symbolize the 100th Anniversary of the Aqueduct was a natural choice. Without the hundreds of mules used to build the aqueduct, it is unlikely it would have ever been built. Stubbornness has also been a common hallmark of the relationship between valley residents and… Read more »
Michael, thank you for that very eloquent comment. James Thurber said, “Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness.” Let’s hope that this very brilliant, creative and masterful performance by Lauren Bon has the effect of creating greater awareness of those of us… Read more »