Lone Pine Quilting and Designs
Wedding of the Waters

Lone Pine, California

 
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Wedding of the Waters

In 1937, Fr. John J. Crowley, (pictured to the left) decided that a dedication of the roads that joins the top and bottom of the nation together was needed. This would enable motorists to drive safely from  below sea level to Whitney Portal, at a height of 8,300 feet above sea level, near the base of the tallest peak in the lower 48 states.  Mt. Whitney stands 14,505 feet above sea level and is the tallest mountain in the continental United States.
The dedication was designed to take waters from the highest lake to the lowest point, in a decorated gourd. Lake Tulainyo is the highest lake on the continental U.S. 

Lacking a road to the lake, Father Crowley asked a Native American Indian runner to bring down a gourd full of water from the lake. This  would be a good beginning for the waters' journey.  So early on the morning of Friday, October 29, 1937 Jerry Emm, a Washoe Indian runner from Nevada dipped the gourd into the icy waters of Lake Tulainyo.

Next was Russell Spainhower, impersonating the Pony Express riders, galloped five miles down the canyon, with the gourd hanging behind him. After Russells ride,  the gourd was then pasted  on to  Ted Cookin  who road down the traffic-cleared street to the bank, where Bill Boyd deposited the gourd in the vault. The gourd would remain there to morning.

On Saturday morning, it was Governor Merriam, standing at the steps of the bank, handed the gourd to Sam Ball, a prospector of fifty-one years. Sam tied the container on the back of his burro and started to south to the Church.

Standing in front of the church stood a covered wagon, pulled by oxen driven by John Bremmerly accompanied by Josephine Breen, descendant of the Donner Party.

Two mile south they meet up with Johnny O'keeffe, a pioneer mule-skinner and driver of a the twenty-mule team hitched to one of the original borax wagons. The mules pulled the wagon for a mile where they meet up with the stagecoach.
 

Ollie Dearbor with Governor Merriam by his side, drove the stagecoach team to meet up with the narrow-gauge tracks, eight miles from Lone Pine.

At Keeler station, engineer Jim Henry took the gourd to Keeler station.

Early Sunday morning, Louie Meyer, a three-time winner at Indianapolis, climbed into
the 1938 Lincoln Zephyr, with the gourd and headed for the summit of the Argus Range,
twenty-five miles away, Where he meet with Chester Doty and Josephine, for the journey to Panamint Valley.

At Panamint Valley, Captain Carey, was handed the gourd, and flew off to Death Valley National Monument, where he emptied the gourd from his aircraft.
 

(Source of the information was from an article written by By Fr. John J. Crowley  entitled "The Wedding of the Waters")