Happy Bottom Riding Club
Encyclopedia
The Happy Bottom Riding Club, more formally known as the Rancho Oro Verde Fly-Inn Dude Ranch, was a dude ranch
restaurant and hotel operated by Pancho Barnes
on the site of current-day Edwards Air Force Base
in southern California
's Antelope Valley
, in the southwestern part of the United States
.
"Oro Verde" is Spanish for "green gold".
, raise pig
s, cattle
and start a dairy
. As the nearby U.S. Army Air Corps base at Muroc Army Air Base expanded in the post World War II
period, the ranch's other business as a restaurant, bar, and hotel quickly outgrew its humble beginnings. The hospitality arm of the Ranch had an all-female staff, and was the place of choice for test pilot
relaxation.
stadium, and its own FAA
-licensed airstrip, the first amenity Barnes created upon establishment of the Club in 1935 to stay in touch with her aviator-friendly social circle south of the San Gabriel Mountains
. Visiting civilians and military men alike flew into the strip to stay at the Rancho Oro Verde, and Pancho often held events to ensure that her guests were entertained, including a treasure hunt
for 200 silver dollars.
The swimming pool was originally rectangular, and was one of the first built in the Antelope Valley
. It was enjoyed by residents and guests alike before being destroyed by the July 21, 1952 Tehachapi earthquake. The replacement pool was circular which, legend has it, allowed Barnes to ride her horse into the pool. This later pool was modeled after one Barnes had owned in the Pasadena
area. One account says this pool was lit at night - an aid to aerial navigation.
The rodeo stadium would present a three day weekend rodeo which was jointly sponsored with the local VFW
post in Lancaster
.
A tradition was started when Chuck Yeager, who became friends with Pancho during Mexican
hunting and fishing expeditions, broke the sound barrier
in the Bell X-1
and Pancho gave him a free steak dinner. After that, pilots were given a free steak dinner when they broke the barrier for their first time. After Yeager's achievement, she sometimes gave this dinner to multiple pilots in a week, reflecting the frequency with which the sound barrier was broken in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
, an admirer and friend of Pancho's, after assuming command of the Base, would berate her if her clientele came too close to his airspace. After Pancho refused to sell the ranch to the government to facilitate a runway expansion, allegations surfaced that the Happy Bottom Riding Club was a brothel
. Pancho's posted rules for hostesses were strict, and many discredited the allegations. The Air Force then prohibited servicemen from visiting the club. When the government added a suit to appropriate the ranch, Pancho countersued for slander, harassment, inappropriate taking of land, and conspiracy. Under suspicious circumstances, the ranch was destroyed by fire on November 13, 1953, shortly before Pancho won every lawsuit. Disgusted, Pancho resettled in nearby Cantil
, and the land was appropriated by the Air Force. Interestingly, the proposed runway extension was never implemented.
Barnes intended to reestablish the Happy Bottom Riding Club on her and her husband's land in Cantil, but never did so.
Servicemen at Edwards hold an annual barbecue
on the site of the Happy Bottom Riding Club (adjacent to Edwards Rod and Gun Club) in remembrance of Pancho and the ranch. Visitors may still see the remains of the pool, the restaurant's foundation (including chimney), the barn, and - if they are allowed to overfly the site - a fading outline of the airstrip.
In its heyday the Happy Bottom Riding Club had over 9,000 members worldwide.
The Happy Bottom Riding Club was immortalized in Tom Wolfe
's book The Right Stuff
and Lauren Kessler
's biography of Pancho, "The Happy Bottom Riding Club." Pancho's life was chronicled in a 2009 documentary film for PBS station KOCE-TV
, entitled The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club
. The documentary continues to air on PBS stations in the United States.
Dude ranch
The guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agritourism.-History:...
restaurant and hotel operated by Pancho Barnes
Pancho Barnes
Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes was a pioneer aviator, the founder of the first test pilots union and the owner of the Happy Bottom Riding Club, a bar and restaurant. She broke Amelia Earhart's air speed record in 1930...
on the site of current-day Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
in southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
's Antelope Valley
Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley in California, United States, is located in northern Los Angeles County and the southeastern portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert...
, in the southwestern part of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
"Oro Verde" is Spanish for "green gold".
Establishment of the Club
Barnes had purchased the land in 1935 to grow alfalfaAlfalfa
Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...
, raise pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s, cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
and start a dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
. As the nearby U.S. Army Air Corps base at Muroc Army Air Base expanded in the post World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
period, the ranch's other business as a restaurant, bar, and hotel quickly outgrew its humble beginnings. The hospitality arm of the Ranch had an all-female staff, and was the place of choice for test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
relaxation.
Amenities
The Rancho Oro Verde had a swimming pool, a rodeoRodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
stadium, and its own FAA
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
-licensed airstrip, the first amenity Barnes created upon establishment of the Club in 1935 to stay in touch with her aviator-friendly social circle south of the San Gabriel Mountains
San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...
. Visiting civilians and military men alike flew into the strip to stay at the Rancho Oro Verde, and Pancho often held events to ensure that her guests were entertained, including a treasure hunt
Treasure hunt
A treasure hunt is one of many different types of games which can have one or more players who try to find hidden articles, locations or places by using a series of clues. This is a fictional activity; treasure hunting can also be a real life activity. Treasure hunt games may be an indoor or...
for 200 silver dollars.
The swimming pool was originally rectangular, and was one of the first built in the Antelope Valley
Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley in California, United States, is located in northern Los Angeles County and the southeastern portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert...
. It was enjoyed by residents and guests alike before being destroyed by the July 21, 1952 Tehachapi earthquake. The replacement pool was circular which, legend has it, allowed Barnes to ride her horse into the pool. This later pool was modeled after one Barnes had owned in the Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
area. One account says this pool was lit at night - an aid to aerial navigation.
The rodeo stadium would present a three day weekend rodeo which was jointly sponsored with the local VFW
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a congressionally chartered war veterans organization in the United States. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, VFW currently has 1.5 million members belonging to 7,644 posts, and is the largest American organization of combat...
post in Lancaster
Lancaster, California
Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the high desert, near the Kern County line. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California, and the 148th largest city in the United States. Lancaster is the principal city within the Antelope Valley...
.
A tradition was started when Chuck Yeager, who became friends with Pancho during Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
hunting and fishing expeditions, broke the sound barrier
Sound barrier
The sound barrier, in aerodynamics, is the point at which an aircraft moves from transonic to supersonic speed. The term, which occasionally has other meanings, came into use during World War II, when a number of aircraft started to encounter the effects of compressibility, a collection of several...
in the Bell X-1
Bell X-1
The Bell X-1, originally designated XS-1, was a joint NACA-U.S. Army/US Air Force supersonic research project built by Bell Aircraft. Conceived in 1944 and designed and built over 1945, it eventually reached nearly 1,000 mph in 1948...
and Pancho gave him a free steak dinner. After that, pilots were given a free steak dinner when they broke the barrier for their first time. After Yeager's achievement, she sometimes gave this dinner to multiple pilots in a week, reflecting the frequency with which the sound barrier was broken in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Run ins, personality clashes, lawsuits and the end
Despite a close friendship between Pancho and many powerful men in the military, relations grew sour after a 1952 change of command - four years after Muroc Army Air Base was renamed Edwards Air Force Base. One reason for friction between Barnes and the Base's commander is the increase in flights at the base, along with an increase in flights at the Club's landing strip. Gen. Albert BoydAlbert Boyd
Albert Boyd was a pioneering test pilot for the United States Air Force. During his 30 year career, he logged over 23,000 hours of flight time, flying an astounding 723 military aircraft...
, an admirer and friend of Pancho's, after assuming command of the Base, would berate her if her clientele came too close to his airspace. After Pancho refused to sell the ranch to the government to facilitate a runway expansion, allegations surfaced that the Happy Bottom Riding Club was a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
. Pancho's posted rules for hostesses were strict, and many discredited the allegations. The Air Force then prohibited servicemen from visiting the club. When the government added a suit to appropriate the ranch, Pancho countersued for slander, harassment, inappropriate taking of land, and conspiracy. Under suspicious circumstances, the ranch was destroyed by fire on November 13, 1953, shortly before Pancho won every lawsuit. Disgusted, Pancho resettled in nearby Cantil
Cantil, California
Cantil is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California. It is located southwest of Saltdale, at an elevation of 2018 feet . Cantil is located in the northern Antelope Valley in the Fremont Valley section....
, and the land was appropriated by the Air Force. Interestingly, the proposed runway extension was never implemented.
Barnes intended to reestablish the Happy Bottom Riding Club on her and her husband's land in Cantil, but never did so.
Servicemen at Edwards hold an annual barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
on the site of the Happy Bottom Riding Club (adjacent to Edwards Rod and Gun Club) in remembrance of Pancho and the ranch. Visitors may still see the remains of the pool, the restaurant's foundation (including chimney), the barn, and - if they are allowed to overfly the site - a fading outline of the airstrip.
In its heyday the Happy Bottom Riding Club had over 9,000 members worldwide.
The Happy Bottom Riding Club was immortalized in Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...
's book The Right Stuff
The Right Stuff (book)
The Right Stuff is a 1979 book by Tom Wolfe about the pilots engaged in U.S. postwar experiments with experimental rocket-powered, high-speed aircraft as well as documenting the stories of the first Project Mercury astronauts selected for the NASA space program...
and Lauren Kessler
Lauren Kessler
Lauren Kessler is an American author, as well as Director of the Literary Nonfiction Program and Professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon....
's biography of Pancho, "The Happy Bottom Riding Club." Pancho's life was chronicled in a 2009 documentary film for PBS station KOCE-TV
KOCE-TV
KOCE-TV is a Public Broadcasting Service member Public televisionstation, and is the primary PBS member for Los Angeles and Southern California. KOCE also features programming focused on the communities of Orange County, California. It airs Orange County's only nightly newscast, Real Orange, with...
, entitled The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club
The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club
The Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club is an Emmy award-winning documentary that chronicles the life of aviation pioneer Florence Lowe 'Pancho' Barnes.-Production:...
. The documentary continues to air on PBS stations in the United States.