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de Kehoe (Joe) Silence and the Sun Collection
AR.2010.001  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • 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