President's Message By Dick Moran     SPRING 2008   This is the 13th President's Message I have written. The presentation by the 29 Palms Band of Mission Indians on the proposed Casino/RV Park, et' all, was well received. Due to space limitations a decision was made to invite the Society members who live in 29 Palms. With space for 65 in the Old Schoolhouse museum, there was a calculated risk that all 185 members living in 29 Palms would not RSVP. But, 75 did and we had to use a shoehorn to squeeze members in. The Tribe itself came with 12 additional folks. Last week the Band became life members of the Historical Society. I am writing this on a Saturday morning when the desert is serene, and the only movement outside is a pigeon fluttering around my patio. The last two days at the schoolhouse here was no serenity. The 3rd grade students from Condor Elementary School toured the museum. No chaos, but controlled enthusiasm might be a polite way of describiong the activities those two days. A special 'kudo' to Jim Woolsey who rode the school bus and gave the students, parents, and teachers a tour of the murals before bringing them to the museum. Then Sue McMahan and her docents gathered the students into three groups for exhibit tours, a talk on our local history, plus, each child could purchase souvenirs from the gift shop. Manning the cash register during these visits is above and beyond the call of duty. Doing this is very taxing, especially when these school tours averages six schools a year with approximately 80 students from each school. A well deserved "thank you" to Sue and all her docents. The Society research and archiving is coming along in fine fashion. One of the favorite times and frustrating moments of the Accessions Committee is trying to identify folks in photographs. Taken many, many years ago, the person taking the photo knew everyone in the photo. Now 30 or so years later the photos are donated to the museum and we do not know who is who. Luckily, there are some members archiving that can actually remember that far back. But, it is very frustrating! If you are thinking of donating photos, if possible, please identify the photo with it's approximate date. On April 12th the Old Schoolhouse will host the Little Miss Doll Tea, co-sponsored this year by the Friends of the Library and the 29 Palms Historical Society. This year's theme is 'Homesteading' and how could we not fit in? The event has grown in the past 15 years to approximately 100 young girls plus their parents. It appears that we are going to have another outstanding community event at the Old Schoolhouse reminiscent of years gone by.         Best wishes to all~