A Special Section of the Daily PressMay 10, 2013

1913

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efore there was a city of Victorville, there was the

Victor Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber, which predates all of the Victor Valley’s incorporated cit-ies, celebrates its 100th anniversary Friday. As it looks toward a future of economic growth, the organization has returned to its regional roots while celebrating a history of business development.

“When I look at the leadership in our com-munity, the movers and shakers, almost every one of them at some time or another has been involved with the cham-ber,” said Desert Valley Hospital CEO Margaret Peterson, a chamber board member and past chairwoman. “I think historically, chambers of commerce have an incredible amount of influence in their com-munities because it’s the leaders in the community that are the members.”

In many ways, the story of the Victor Valley Chamber of Commerce is the story of the settle-ment and growth of the Victor Valley itself.

The Victor Valley Chamber of Commerce was “organized May 10,

1913, by 800 settlers from Apple, Lucerne, Sunrise, San Antone, Mirage, Baldy, Mesa, Hesperia and Oro Grande,” according to the old-time Victor Valley promotional magazine “Kingdom of the Sun.”

The hub of the area was a train stop called Victorville. Apple and pear orchards dotted the surrounding region, and developer Arthur E. Hull saw potential.

Hull, the founder of Beaumont, arrived in the Victor Valley in 1912 and sought to grow it with the help of Los Angeles newspaper publisher Max Ihmsen, who grew award-winning apples and promoted the valley’s agricultural opportunities.

Hull founded the cham-ber the next year and was its first president, serving until 1920. Hull and his associates were apparently forward-thinking enough to open membership to women in 1916 — four years before the fed-eral government granted women the right to vote.

The chamber’s main focus was procuring water to support more agriculture. They hoped water reclamation efforts would establish 200,000 fertile acres and produce $10 million worth of food annually — a staggering figure at the time.

Those numbers proved a tad optimistic, and various factors even-

Friday, May 10, 2013

Daily Press

Victor Valley Chamber of Commerce celebrates 100 years

tually led to the demise of Victor Valley agricul-ture. Water rates spiked; World War I created a shortage of workers and owners; and growers in Washington and Canada produced quality apples at cheaper prices.

The area nonetheless saw growth in the years before the Great Depres-sion as a service economy sprung up around farms, ranches and rock quarries.

In those days, a trav-eler could step off the train near E Street and get a meal for a quarter at Turner House. At Sev-enth and D streets were Turner’s General Store, Friend’s Dairy Ranch and Mrs. Friend’s Rooming House. Those in need of a stiff drink might head to Hardy’s Saloon near Sixth and E streets.

The chamber was the de facto local government that oversaw the area’s early development.

“These leaders came together under the cham-ber to create a vision; they were the foundation of what is today the High Desert,” Peterson said. “Whether or not they intended for it to be what it is today, they set the stage.”

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But their agricultural vision was never quite realized. The Great Depression dealt a near-fatal blow to the industry, and by the mid-1940s, three consecutive years of poor weather and an outbreak of vegetation diseases spelled doom for the last of the valley’s large apple orchards.

World War II brought new jobs between 1941 and 1943 with the con-struction of the Victor-ville Army Flying School, later named George Air Force Base. The base grew with the onset of the Cold War and would become a boon to the area in the next five decades as the local econ-omy found a new focus — housing.

The prosperity of post-World War II America found its way to the Vic-tor Valley, though the High Desert lagged behind other residential areas in Southern Cali-fornia. Most emigrants

settled in the housing tracts of suburban Los Angeles, but a few made their homes in the desert.

Oil-drilling partners Newton T. Bass and Ber-nard J. “Bud” Westlund came to Apple Valley looking for oil, but what they found was ground-

water. They immediately changed course, turning the acres they’d purchased into recreational facilities and residential neighbor-hoods — a so-called bed-room community looking to attract commuters and retirees.

Clyde R. Tatum was

growing potatoes in Hes-peria when he saw an opportunity at the end of the war; the increas-ing activities at George Air Force Base neces-sitated more housing and services. Tatum went on to build the Green Tree Inn (a chamber member

since 1969) and its adjoin-ing golf course in addi-tion to some 7,000 local homes and numerous other projects.

The population of the Victor Valley more than quintupled between 1950 and 1972, from 9,400 residents to roughly 50,000.

During that same span, a number of notable businesses joined the chamber and remain with the organization to this day, including Veri-zon (known as California Interstate Telephone Co. when it joined in 1956), Victorville Glass (1958), the Daily Press (1969) and Burrtec Waste (known as Victorville Disposal when

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Submitted by the Victor Valley Chamber of Commerce

Congratulations to theVictor Valley Chamber of Commerce

on their 100th Anniversary

From your friends at

www.communityhospicevv.org888-293-4170

Friday, May 10, 2013

Daily Press

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it joined in 1969). The chamber was

essentially a government agency during its first 50 years. Its role was “establishing municipal improvements priorities and working toward their accomplishment,” accord-ing to historian Edward Leo Lyman’s book “History of Victor Valley.”

Chamber members began pushing hard for the incorporation of Victorville in the late 1950s, and in 1962 they got their wish.

With the city now taking over municipal government, the cham-ber narrowed its focus to business development.

The recession of the 1970s brought an end to post-war prosperity, and another small recession hit in the early 1980s. The Victor Valley nonetheless grew steadily, with the chamber adding high-profile members from the late ’70s through the end of the ’80s.

In 1986, the Mall of Victor Valley opened its doors with the marketing tagline “A place to call

your own” — a nod to the fact that the High Desert finally had a major shop-ping mall and residents no longer had to drive “down the hill.”

The mall has been a chamber member from the start, as have many of its major stores. Another member, Costco, came to Victorville in 1988.

The economic down-turn in the late 1980s and early ’90s, coupled with the closure of George Air Force Base in 1992, created a challenging business atmo-sphere in the Victor Valley.

The chamber weath-ered the lean years by reorganizing and revital-izing itself, hiring a full-time president and CEO, Michele Spears, who had been the executive assistant for the Upland Chamber of Commerce before coming to the Victor Valley in 1990.

The organization continued its tradition of electing a new chairperson every year, but Spears began running the day-to-day operation. She remains in the position to this day.

“It became more of a full-fledged business,” said Paula Porter, who chaired the board in 1996. “Michele brought the professionalism to the chamber. She just put

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Congratulations To The Victor Valley Chamber

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Daily Press

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vitality into the cham-ber and she was very innovative.”

The desert once again survived a drought, and it would soon see its biggest boom ever.

Between 2000 and 2007, an oversaturation of the housing markets in Los Angeles and Orange counties and the

abundance of afford-able homes in the Victor Valley led to an influx of roughly 120,000 people.

That kind of growth couldn’t sustain itself. But after the burst of the housing bubble and subsequent recession, the Victor Valley is showing signs of life again — and so is the chamber.

The mall has under-gone a rebirth with the addition of the area’s first upscale department store (Macy’s, a chamber mem-ber), and the unused Air Force base has become a bustling industrial park,

having filled so much square footage that it will soon build more.

Chamber membership and participation has risen in recent months, according to current chairman David Greiner. He said membership took a dip during the reces-sion but is now climbing toward the 500 mark.

The organization called itself the Victorville Chamber of Commerce for many years, but it has recently returned to its regional focus. In Janu-ary, the chamber was rechristened with the

name Hull gave it in 1913: The Victor Valley Cham-ber of Commerce.

“Only 65 percent of our members even have one location in Victor-ville,” Greiner said, add-ing that the chamber has been bringing more regional speakers to its functions, such as Con-gressman Paul Cook.

This year, Greiner will hand over the reins to incoming chairwoman Anita Tuckerman of Stirling Development, who plans to carry on the increasingly regional focus.

“We’re ideally posi-tioned to represent all High Desert businesses by providing a single point of contact for busi-ness programs, resources and legislative action,” Tuckerman said.

Though Greiner rec-ognizes that each of the local communities has its own qualities, he believes “as a marketing area, they’re unified. From a business perspective, it’s one market.”

That market is larger and more diverse than the chamber’s founders could have ever imag-

ined. The Victor Valley is home to roughly 350,000 people, and more growth is on the horizon.

Hull’s dream of an agricultural paradise never came true, but he and his contemporaries planted the seeds of a community that found new ways to thrive.

Sources: Mohahve Historical Society,

California Route 66 Association, Victor Valley

Chamber of Commerce, and “History of Victor

Valley” by Edward Leo Lyman.

Congratulations Victor Valley Chamberfor serving businesses in theHigh Desert for 100 years!

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Victor Elementary would like tocongratulate the

Victor Valley Chamber of Commerce on 100 years of success!

Mission Statement: All students will be ator above grade level in reading, writing,mathematics, and science as measuredby results on state exams.

Vision Statement: To prepare students to be able to select from a variety of career opportunities and to be successful in the world of work.

The Victor Elementary Education Foundation offers students who attend Victor Elementary

Schools through 6th grade the opportunity to receive a 2-year scholarship at a local

community college or approved trade school. For more information or to make a donation,

please go to: http://vesd.net/vesd-foundation/

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Victorville Chamber of Commerce!You have accomplished so much for businesses in the

High Desert with energy and commitment!

Here’s to another successful 100 years!Board of Directors and Staff

Desert Communities United Way

Friday, May 10, 2013

Daily Press

Dan SmithInsurance Agency, Inc.

Margy Smith, President • Jack Betterley, Sr. Vice President • Donna Munson, Vice PresidentPO Box 1457 • 14950 Circle Drive • Victorville, CA 92393

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Serving the insurance needs of the High Desert since 1917

Congratulations Victor Valley Chamber of Commerceon your 100th Anniversary.

Your professionalism, support and dedicationto the businesses in the Victor Valley have made

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Daily Press

Friday, May 10, 2013

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to the Business Community

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Terry E. Caldwell • Jeanne Kennedy • Kevin PorterClarissa A. Dodd • Rose C. Rosado

15476 W. Sand Street, VictorvillePhone 760245-1637 • Fax 760245-1301

email: cklaw@mscomm.com

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE

CHAMBER FOR A JOB WELL DONE,WATCHING OUT FOR THE

BUSINESSES OF THE

VICTOR VALLEY

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Friday, May 10, 2013

Daily Press

We believe insparkling cider.

Congratulations Victor Valley Chamber of Commerce

on your 100th Anniversary!

It’s always good to think healthy. Even when you’re celebrating. So from one healthy organization to another, we congratulate you in reaching another milestone. Be well, and may all your wishes for a sparkling future come true.

For more information about Kaiser Permanente, call 1-800-464-4000 or visit kp.org.

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12402 Industrial Blvd. E-10Victorville, CA 92395

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Extra charge for graphic design. Banner includes Grommets. Flyers are printed on one side.

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CongratulationsVictor Valley Chamberon a Century of Service

to the High DesertThank you for the loyal support you have given

Victor Valley College since 1961.

Congratulations on 100 yearsof commitment and service

to the High Desert!All of us at A2Z would like to thank the Victorville Chamber of Commerce for your unwaivering dedication to

helping our business remaina success over the years.

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Friday, May 10, 2013

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CONGRATULATIONS ON 100 YEARS!

Thank you for helping to make our business a success!“The chamber has been there alongside us, from our groundbreaking

to our ribbon cutting, and remains a guiding force in our successful operation.”

with a purchase of $10.00 or more.

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Friday, May 10, 2013

Daily PressAs Victor Valley Personnel Services Celebrates

Our 42nd Anniversary in the Victor Valley...

We Congratulate theVictor Valley Chamber of Commerce

on Their 100th Anniversary

Service To TheVictor ValleySince 1971

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BEST SERVICE

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www.victorvalleypersonnel.com • fax 760-245-7690 • vvps@victorvalleypersonnel.com

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Don FerrareseCharitable FoundationHonoring Students for their community and charitable service

• Awarding (11) $4,000 scholarships annually• Sponsors Annual Veterans Holiday Tribute• Sponsors Santa’s Sleigh Toy Drive

Thanks to the Victorville Chamber for their loyal support and valuable service

“What we do in life, echoes in eternity”To see about becoming a member or board member,

please email Dan@don-frse.com or call 760-951-8003

Friday, May 10, 2013

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of Victorville/Adelanto/Victor Valley

Thank you so much for all of your hard work and dedication.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Daily Press

Full Service Real Estate CompanyInvestments

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