One destination of Gilpin Airline was Agua Caliente, Mexico. During the Golden Age there was a popular resort there that was frequented by Hollywood elite and other well-heeled travelers. Gilpin transported them there and back quickly and safely from Los Angeles and San Diego. The Agua Caliente resort, as the name implies, featured pools fed by natural hot springs. Below, a view of the opulent pool facade.
This is a high-resolution image and many details are revealed under a 10X loupe. Most of the people are in finery: hats, dresses, jackets, neckties. The couple on the far right is sitting and enjoying what appears to be an early cocktail. Recall that Prohibition was the law in the United States, and Agua Caliente was a place where parched Americans could go to enjoy liquor openly.
The Agua Caliente Swimming Pool, Circa 1930
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One interesting detail is what appears to be a small lump near the curb in the foreground just in front of the man walking. This is a young boy lying face down contemplating the mysteries of the gutter. The adults are milling about, not paying any attention to him. Some things change; some things remain the same.
Below, Gilpin's handwriting on the back of the photograph.
The Agua Caliente Swimming Pool, Circa 1930, Back
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Among the Gilpin Collection are the following two souvenir Christmas menus from Ft. Bliss, Texas, 12th Observation Squadron (see their insignia, left). These original documents, bound in ribbons, seem to be out of place, because Gilpin was not in the military. However, if you download the PDF file (1.14MB) of this 1922 menu and examine the list of people present, you'll find a few Register pilots.
Among them are Claire Chennault (as a 1st Lieutenant), Harvey Prosser, Fred O. Tyler and Fred I. Pierce. Staff Sergeant Dewey Simpson is also listed. I mention him not because he is a Register pilot, but because he was assigned as the military liaison based at the Davis-Monthan Airfield during the late 1920s and early 1930s. He is pictured among the Cosgrove Collection.
Christmas Menu, 1922
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Likewise, below the souvenir menu for 1924. Download this menu (PDF 740KB) you will find Register pilots who are listed include Charles Douglas, Ray H. Clark, Fred O. Tyler and Fred I. Pierce. Leonard D. Weddington was commander of the First Photo Section. Some of the non-commissioned officers and enlisted men show up as passengers with some of the pilots. The head shots of personnel on the cover add a surrealistic dimension to this Holiday item. Rest assured some of the images are of Register signers. Does anyone recognize any of the people? Please be cautioned that this document is difficult to read because of the printing technology used (some ink bleeding has blurred the text).
Christmas Menu, 1924
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