Content Description
Biographical / Historical
Conditions Governing Use
Conditions Governing Access
Preferred Citation
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Arrangement
Processing Information
Publication Rights
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Mojave Desert Archives
Title: Joe de Kehoe Silence and the Sun Collection
creator:
de Kehoe, Joe
Identifier/Call Number: AR.2010.001
Physical Description:
180 Audio Cassette Tapes
containing 124 oral history interviews
Physical Description:
8.31 Gigabytes
containing 124 interviews reformatted to Windows Media Audio
Physical Description:
12.2 Megabytes
containing 87 interviews transcribed in MS Word
Physical Description:
12 Volumes
of printed and bound interview transcriptions
Physical Description:
817 Photographic Prints
Physical Description:
47 Envelopes
of subject files
Date (inclusive): 1856-2010
Abstract: The Joe de Kehoe Silence and the Sun Collection highlights the stories of women and Hispanic families living in California's
Mojave Desert along U.S. Highway 66 during the Great Depression. The content was generated during the course of Mr. de Kehoe's
research for his book titled,
The Silence and The Sun: An historical account of people, places and events on old Route 66 and railroad communities in the
Eastern Mojave Desert, California
. The materials include audio cassette tapes of oral histories, digitized audio, electronic transcriptions, bound volumes,
captioned photographs, and subject files.
Content Description
The Joe de Kehoe Silence and the Sun Collection highlights the stories of women and Hispanic families living in California's
Mojave Desert along U.S. Highway 66 during the Great Depression. The materials include audio cassette tapes of oral histories,
digitized audio, electronic transcriptions, bound volumes, captioned photographs, and subject files.
Biographical / Historical
Joe de Kehoe is the son of a career U. S. Navy chief petty officer and grew up on and near Navy and U. S. Marine Corps bases
in California, Japan, Florida, and South Carolina. Joe graduated from California State University, Northridge, in 1970 with
a BS in geology and earned an MS degree in geology from San Diego State University in 1972. As a result of his geologic field
work as a student that he acquired an enduring appreciation for the outdoors and love for the subtle beauty and solitude of
the Eastern Mojave Desert. During a 30-year career as an international petroleum exploration geologist, working in overseas
posts for Mobil Oil and Diamond Shamrock Petroleum Corp., Joe lived and traveled extensively in the United Kingdom, Europe,
Southeast Asia, Africa, and India including two mountaineering trips to the Nepal Himalayas.
In 1999, Joe de Kehoe began transcribing oral history tapes for the Mojave Desert Archives, adding great value to the Oral
History Program. In the early 2000s, Mr. de Kehoe began conducting oral history interviews on his own, gaining access to collections
of historical photographs in private hands. His geographical focus was roughly along old Route 66 in the California Desert.
This work, which spanned a decade, resulted in his writing and publishing a book titled,
The Silence and The Sun: An historical account of people, places and events on old Route 66 and railroad communities in the
Eastern Mojave Desert, California.
As of 2010, he is retired spending most of his free time driving back roads and hiking trails in the Rocky Mountains from
his home in Estes Park, Colorado.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association. For permission to reproduce or to publish,
please contact the Archivist at the Mojave Desert Archives.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research. For access, please contact the Archivist at the Mojave Desert Archives at archivist@mdhca.org.
Preferred Citation
Joe de Kehoe Silence and the Sun Collection. AR-2010-001. Mojave Desert Archives, Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association,
Goffs, California.
Date accessed.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gifted by Joe de Kehoe to the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association, 18 February 2010.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in 3 series:
Series 1. Oral History Interviews, 1980 - 2009
Series 2. Photographs, 1888 - 2010
Series 3. Subject Files, 1856 - 2011
Processing Information
Processed by Carol Brown, Hugh Brown, Chris Ervin, Leslie Ervin, and Loris Mitchell
Publication Rights
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Archivist,
Mojave Desert Archives, 37198 Lanfair Road # G-15, Essex, CA 92332. Consent is given on behalf of the Mojave Desert Archives
as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission
must be obtained from the copyright owner.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Mojave Desert--History, Local.
Mojave Desert--Social life and customs--20th century.
Mines and mineral resources--California--San Bernardino County.
United States Highway 66
Ghost towns--California--Mojave Desert.
Highway business districts
Abandoned mines
de Kehoe, Joe