6021/2016 Spring Clampout \"The Tudor House\"

THE ANCIENT AND HONORABLE ORDER OF
E CLAMPUS VITUS®
BILLY HOLCOMB CHAPTER 1069
PRESENTS ITS SPRING CLAMPOUT
LAKE ARROWHEAD
April 29, 30 and May 1
6021
Article written by
Michael “Digger” Kindig

THE ANCIENT AND HONORABLE ORDER OF
E CLAMPUS VITUS®
BILLY HOLCOMB CHAPTER 1069
PRESENTS ITS SPRING CLAMPOUT
LAKE ARROWHEAD
April 29, 30 and May 1 2016
Or, in the year of our order,
The Six Thousand and Twenty-first
Held under the aegis of
Karl “Pretty Boy” White, Noble Grand Humbug
Article written by
Michael “Digger” Kindig

Table of Contents
San Bernardino Mountains and Bear Valley ................................................................................................ 2
Arrowhead Landmark and Arrowhead Springs ............................................................................................ 2
Logging and Sawmills ................................................................................................................................... 3
Little Bear Valley and Lake Arrowhead ........................................................................................................ 4
Hollywood and the Mob .............................................................................................................................. 5
Rise of the Atkins Corporation ..................................................................................................................... 6
Arrowhead Villas and Club Arrowhead in the Pines .................................................................................... 7
Tudor House ................................................................................................................................................ 9
Bracken Fern Manor .................................................................................................................................. 10
Bath House ................................................................................................................................................ 11
Folklore and Ghost Stories ......................................................................................................................... 11
Fall of the Atkins Corporation .................................................................................................................... 13
Snow Valley Mountain Resort ................................................................................................................... 14
Santa’s Village ............................................................................................................................................ 14

San Bernardino Mountains and Bear Valley
The San Bernardino Mountains are part of the Transverse Ranges of Southern California and
were formed by tectonic forces along the San Andreas Fault about eleven million years ago. This
tectonic activity created some of the most diverse environments in the state—including both hot
and cold springs. The rich biodiversity resulting from this region was utilized for at least 10,000-
20,000 years by indigenous peoples who traveled here to hunt and to escape the desert heat (San
Bernardino Mountains, 2015).
The Yuhaviatam (“people of the pines”) began frequenting this region about 2,500 years ago and
named their favorite food gathering and hunting area Yuhaviat (“pine place”). They did not,
however, hunt the grizzly bear—neither was bear meat eaten nor was bear fur ever worn. They
thought of these huge animals as their ancestors and treated them with respect. Spanish
missionaries in the late 1700s named these peoples Serrano (“mountaineer” or “highlander”)
(“The history of Big Bear Valley,” n.d.).
In 1810, Spanish priest Francisco Dumetz established a supply station at a location between
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel and the Colorado Desert. On May 20th, a capilla (“chapel”) was
completed at Gaucháma (“place of abundant food and water”) and Dumetz named the valley
after Saint Bernardino of Siena who died on this day in 1444. Controversy exists regarding the
evidence of an expedition conducted from Mission San Gabriel, the exact location where the
capilla was established, and the date (Harley, 1988). What is not controversial is that the name
San Bernardino was later applied to the mountain, the forest, the city and the county.
In May of 1842, Paiute Chief Walkara and nearly one hundred of his followers—including four
mountain men—conducted one of the largest livestock raids in California history. This group of
horse thieves and cattle rustlers drove a herd that numbered in the thousands into the high desert.
In 1845, Benjamin Davis Wilson (aka “Don Benito”) was asked to pursue this renegade group of
marauders and assembled a posse of 44 men composed of Californios and New Mexicans. He
sent 22 men through the Cajon Pass and led the remaining 22 men through the San Bernardino
Mountains. The posse found neither the stolen herd nor Walkara. What Wilson did find was
Yuhaviat—the ancient and mysterious forest swarming with grizzly bear. However, unlike the
Yuhaviatam, Wilson and his men hunted the grizzly and skinned them for their fur. This event
prompted Wilson to refer to the area as Bear Valley (Core, 2002).
Arrowhead Landmark and Arrowhead Springs
On the southern face of the San Bernardino Mountains, clearly visible from the San Bernardino
Valley, is a landmark in the shape of an arrowhead. The landmark is 1,375 feet long, 449 feet
wide, covers 7.4 acres, and is at an elevation of 2,800 feet. It is unknown how and when this
peculiar landmark was formed. Indigenous peoples of various tribes in the area recount their
respective creation stories that include an “arrow of light” that descended from the heavens.
There is no mention of the landmark found within the journals of Spanish expeditions in the
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1770s, the Dumetz expedition in 1810, Mormon settlers in the 1850s, or the transcontinental
railroad survey compiled by Robert Stockton Williamson in 1853. The first evidence of the
landmark is a photograph taken in 1864, which shows the original buildings of Arrowhead
Springs Hotel (Meek, 2007).
In 1857, a young immigrant from Ohio named David Noble Smith proposed to establish a
hygienic infirmary at a location referred to by Spanish missionaries as “Agua Caliente”. In 1863,
he opened a road to the hot springs and constructed the original infirmary building and
bathhouses. In 1864, he opened the hot springs as a resort—Arrowhead Springs Hygienic
Infirmary or Arrowhead Springs Hotel—and managed it until his death in 1885. Controversy
exists regarding the origin of the landmark (Meek, 2007). What is not controversial is that Smith
was the first to bestow the name of “Arrowhead” to the hot springs and the “Arrowhead” name
was later applied to companies, the lake, and the city. On March 20, 1885—three days after
Smith’s death—the first Arrowhead Springs Hotel was destroyed by fire. A second hotel was
built, but on July 4, 1895, it was destroyed by fire. A third hotel was built, but on November 23,
1938, it was destroyed by fire. A fourth hotel was built and operated until 1962.
L. Burr Belden suggested that Arrowhead Springs “probably has the distinction of having more
untruths written about it and recorded as fact than any other place with the possible exception of
Death Valley” (Belden, 1952).
Logging and Sawmills
In 1857, many logging operations changed ownership when Brigham Young recalled the
Mormons to Utah. Sawmill owners quickly sold their sawmill businesses or equipment to willing
buyers. In 1860, William Stewart La Praix purchased equipment and opened the Excelsior
Sawmill in Little Bear Valley. In 1885, he moved his mill to a different location in Little Bear
Valley to shorten the distance from the mill to the trees he was cutting. His mill was producing
between six hundred thousand and one million board feet of lumber per year. In 1887, La Praix
was accidently killed when he fell into his machinery. His nephew, James Fleming, inherited his
estate that not only included the mill, but 1,700 acres of virgin timber. In 1891, Fleming sold his
operations, which he had renamed Fleming Creek Sawmill, to the Arrowhead Reservoir
Company (Tetley, 2014).
In the 1880s, most sawmills were producing about six million board feet of lumber per year. By
the 1890s most of the large sawmills closed down in Little Bear Valley, but opened up in
Running Springs. In 1899, the Brookings Lumber Company—the largest logging and lumbering
operation ever in the San Bernardino Mountains—operated on 8,000 acres and produced
between ten and twelve million board feet of lumber per year. In 1905, logging in the San
Bernardino Mountains peaked and by 1911 most of the virgin timber in the area was gone. In
1912, the Brookings Lumber Company ceased production and moved to Oregon.
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Little Bear Valley and Lake Arrowhead
In April 1859, gold was discovered in Bear Valley and miners began working claims all over the
San Bernardino Mountains. During this time, another valley was discovered to the west of Bear
Valley near what is now referred to as Lake Arrowhead. The new valley was called Little Bear
Valley to distinguish it from neighboring Bear Valley. The prefix of "Little" referred not to the
size of bear, but to the size of the valley.
Figure 1 - San Bernardino Mountains (1884)
In 1890, San Bernardino City Engineer Adolph Heliodor Koebig had a plan to capture the vast
watershed within the San Bernardino Mountains and supply it to the San Bernardino Valley. The
plan was to collect the tributaries from the headwaters of the Mojave River above 4,800 feet in
elevation, to store this watershed in one or more reservoirs, and to deliver it for irrigation
purposes to the valley below. He selected Little Bear Valley as the location for a large reservoir
and dam and traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio to seek funding for the project. In December of 1890,
the Arrowhead Reservoir Company filed articles of incorporation in Kentucky. Principle
shareholders included James Norris Gamble, the son of Proctor & Gamble Company co-founder
James Morris Gamble, and James Edmund Mooney (“The history of Lake Arrowhead,” n.d.).
In 1892, construction on the dam began in Little Bear Gorge, land was purchased around the
proposed reservoir, and water rights were obtained. In 1905, the Arrowhead Reservoir Company
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e-incorporated as the Arrowhead Reservoir and Power Company. In 1918, the reservoir was
filled for the first time. The resulting lake covered 782 acres, was 185 feet deep, and was called
Little Bear Lake (Creason, 2015). On December 22, 1919, Mooney died. In 1921, the lake and
over 5,000 acres of land around the lake were purchased by the Arrowhead Lake Company—a
group of Los Angeles millionaires—for the sum of $625,000 with plans to develop a private
resort for the elite. This group of millionaires included James Benton Van Nuys, the son of San
Fernando farmer and rancher Isaac Newton Van Nuys, and Los Angeles attorney John
O’Melveny. In 1922, the dam was completed, Lake Arrowhead Village was established, and the
reservoir was renamed from Little Bear Lake to Lake Arrowhead.
Figure 2 – Lake Arrowhead, by R. Winters (1925)
Hollywood and the Mob
More than 150 movies have been filmed in the San Bernardino Mountains. Maxwell Henry
Aronson—often referred to as the father of the movie cowboy—was one of the first persons to
use the San Bernardino Mountains in film. On March 11, 1911 he released a silent short film
entitled The Romance on the ‘Bar O’, which he not only directed, but wrote, produced and
starred under the name Gilbert M. “Broncho Bill” Anderson. Cecil Blount DeMille—
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acknowledged as a founding father of the Hollywood film industry—was another person to use
the San Bernardino Mountains in film. On February 15, 1915 he released a silent film entitled
The Squaw Man starring William Faversham. Filming peaked between 1940 and 1970, but
several movies continue to be filmed here each year.
On January 16, 1920, when Congress ratified the Eighteenth Amendment, a nationwide
prohibition period began that would last for nearly thirteen years. As a result, those who found
pleasure in drinking—or the potential profits therein—found entrepreneurial ways around the
law. Between 1930 and 1940, moonshine was illegally produced throughout the San Bernardino
Mountains and bootlegging, as well as gambling and prostitution, operated quite effectively in
these remote places.
In December of 1938, the Arrowhead Springs Hotel was purchased by the Arrowhead Springs
Corporation—a Hollywood consortium—for the sum of $800,000 with plans to develop a highend
health spa for the elite. This consortium included 20th Century Fox founders Joseph M.
Schenck, Darryl F. Zanuck, and William B. “Bill” Goetz, Jacob “Jay” Paley, the uncle of
Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) founder William S. Paley, leading actresses Constance
Bennett and Claudette Colbert, and singer/comedian Al Jolson. The Arrowhead Springs
Corporation also purchased “Fish Camp” ski resort. Unfortunately, the hotel fell into financial
trouble within a year, was briefly leased to Hollywood Reporter founder William Richard “Billy”
Wilkerson, and closed in 1941 (San Buenaventura Research Associates, 2005).
Wilkerson used his experience from the Arrowhead Springs Hotel toward a new project in
Nevada. Financial investments and construction guidance soon came from Benjamin Hymen
“Bugsy” Siegelbaum, a mobster who moved from New York to Los Angeles in 1936 (Bugsy
Siegel, 2016). Siegel developed a friendship with Wilkerson when he began visiting his
nightclubs, but eventually edged Wilkerson out and took over the project that he would later
become famous for. On December 26, 1946 the Flamingo hotel and casino opened on the Las
Vegas Strip (Fischer, 2005). Less than a year later, on the night of June 20, 1947, Siegel was shot
dead in his girlfriend’s Beverly Hills home.
Rise of the Atkins Corporation
In 1918, two sets of brothers began conducting business together: Samuel and William
Markowitz from Missouri and Joshua F. and Milton F. Simons from Wisconsin. The Markowitz
brothers operated clothing and dry goods businesses in Venice as early as 1923 (Stanton, 2003).
Having developed mutual ideals and sharing a desire to build a noteworthy business together,
William Markowitz and Joshua Simons organized three corporations in Los Angeles, California:
Atkins Realty Company (for the purpose of public sales); Atkins Corporation (for the purpose of
holding the leases); and Atkins Development (for the purpose of construction). The principle
headquarters were located at the Pacific National Bank Building in Los Angeles.
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In December of 1925, the Atkins Realty Co., Inc. purchased 160 acres of land in the amount of
$100,000 from Elida Wagner Fleming, the widow of James Fleming (Fleming Woods, 1925).
The property, known as Fleming Woods, was the largest piece of privately owned land around
Lake Arrowhead. Their original vision was to subdivide the land into lots, to erect summer
homes on those lots, and to create a unique recreational center that would both adhere to the high
standards of the Lake Arrowhead community and stand above other mountain properties being
offered to the public. This vision culminated into Arrowhead Villas and Club Arrowhead in the
Pines—one of the first mountain recreation resorts ever planned.
Arrowhead Villas and Club Arrowhead in the Pines
In 1926, construction began on the complex of buildings that would transform the old Fleming
Woods estate into the new Arrowhead Villas and Club Arrowhead in the Pines. The buildings
included private homes comprising the Arrowhead Villas and the clubhouse, bathhouse,
administration building, and stores comprising Club Arrowhead in the Pines. On February 27,
1926, the Atkins Realty Co., Inc. ran a special 15-day pre-opening offer in the newspapers
(“Atkins Realty Co. presents Arrowhead Villas,” 1926). They marketed Arrowhead Villas as
income property, whereby they would sell their client a lot and upon payment in full for the lot,
they would finance, build, and furnish a home that could be used by the client or rented to the
public. The offer made claims that all improvements would be put in absolutely free of cost to
the buyer.
On July 4, 1928, Club Arrowhead in the Pines officially opened. To coincide with this milestone,
Markowitz and Simons published their first newsletter called Atkins Activities (Hochbaum,
1928) along with an illustrated brochure with more details about the commercial mountain resort
they were building. With respect to Arrowhead Villas, the newsletter and brochure teased
potential buyers with options of one-room cottages, double cabins, or spacious lodges. Each
mountain home was replete with electric lights and running water, private bath and showers,
fireplaces or wood stoves, and kitchens or kitchenettes. Pure mountain spring water was piped to
every site and telephone service would be available soon. Furnishings were provided by pioneer
furniture company Barker Bros. Of the 1,500 available lots, 80 of those had mountain homes
built on them.
In Arrowhead Villas, with which most of you are familiar, we are building a recreational
center which is yours to have and enjoy, and we trust that with Arrowhead Villas
completed it will bring you many years of untold pleasures.
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Figure 3 – Club Arrowhead in the Pines (1920s)
With respect to Club Arrowhead in the Pines, the newsletter and brochure enticed potential
buyers with descriptions of myriad recreational opportunities such as swimming, golf, tennis,
horseback riding, boating, fishing, and hunting—all for a $250 Associate Life Membership. The
newsletter and brochure also flaunted winter recreational opportunities such as ice skating,
snowshoeing, tobogganing, and skiing—featuring the first downhill ski run with a single towline
in the San Bernardino Mountains. Over $1,500,000 was invested to make Club Arrowhead in the
Pines an exceptional recreation center.
The main clubhouse was generously proportioned and contained a spacious lounge forty feet
wide by ninety feet long with lofted ceiling. The lounge included a radio, grand piano, and a
polished maple floor for dancing. On special events, an orchestra would play there. The
clubhouse also contained a dining room, library, fireplace, and game rooms. Adjacent to the
main clubhouse was an Olympic size swimming pool filled with pure mountain spring water.
The nearby bathhouse contained lockers and showers. Lifeguards were on duty and swimming
instructors could be requested.
The club property included a concrete tennis courts and tennis lessons could be requested. It
maintained a stable of horses for horseback riding and trainers could be requested. There was
also a children’s playground, which included a wading pool, sand court, swing and teeter-totter,
and marble shoot.
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Less than a mile from the club property was lovely Lake Arrowhead, which provided members
with boating, fishing and hunting opportunities. Trout, perch, and catfish were re-stocked
annually for interested anglers and ducks were abundant for waterfowl hunters. The club also
had access to a nine-hole, championship golf course and practice putting green.
On September 13, 1928, Markowitz and Simons filed articles of incorporation for the Arrowhead
Villas Club at the San Bernardino County Clerk’s Office. The new company will be
headquartered in Los Angeles and has large holdings in the Lake Arrowhead district (“Resort
corporation files its articles,” 1928). On August 29, 1929, Markowitz and Simons filed articles of
incorporation for the Arrowhead Villas Mutual Service Co. at the San Bernardino County
Clerk’s Office. The new company will principally supply electricity and water to the Arrowhead
Villas, as well as maintain roads and playgrounds. The new company was capitalized for
$170,000, divided into 1,700 shares at a value of $100 per share (“Utility corporation,” 1929).
Tudor House
The Tudor House (aka “the clubhouse”) was built over two years and was dedicated on July 4,
1928. It was architecturally influenced by the Tudor Revival style—a nod from architect William
Henry Kraemer (Tetley, 2008b) to Henry the Eighth and the Tudor Dynasty. The 13,000 sq. ft.,
two-story, special purpose building—and 10,000 sq. ft. finished underground works complete
with tunnels and various trap doors—sits on a 36,958 sq. ft. lot adjacent to the Bracken Fern
Manor.
The clubhouse, known to longtime locals as the “Great Old Building,” has served many
intermittent purposes since the closure of Club Arrowhead in the Pines. Such purposes include
an antique furniture store, an apartment rental, a church, a club, a private residence, a real estate
office, and a restaurant (Tetley, 2008a). In 1951, Robert Lee and Martin Eger purchased the
property and operated a popular dining and dance hall (Walton, 1951). In 1975, Richard G.
Bernier operated Club Arrowhead Square Realty there (“Club Arrowhead Square Realty,” 1975).
In 1986, John H. Traband purchased the property and operated a restaurant he named the Tudor
House. In 2013, local residents John Connor and Peggy Butler purchased the clubhouse and
formed Tudor House Productions, LLC—a dinner theater staging live plays.
The clubhouse includes a main hall, industrial kitchen, wine cellar, office, master and upstairs
apartments. The main hall is thirty feet wide by seventy feet long with a lofted ceiling. This
arched construction allows for both impressive lighting and remarkable acoustics. Equally
notable is the 16-foot wide fireplace composed of 70 tons of native stone. The mantle reads: This
Seventy Tons Of Rock Is Here - To Bring You Comfort Warmth and Cheer - Through Winter
Nights And Frosty Days - Its Genial Warmth And Ruddy Blaze - Will Bring To You The Sunshine
Still - That Gathers From the Native Hills. The industrial kitchen is fully equipped and can
provide multiple courses for over 100 dinners in a single night. The wine cellar is located below
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ground in one of the old tunnels and can accommodate over 100 cases of wine. The High Tea
Room is accessed through a door made with antique stained glass imported from an 1830s
English pub. There are two upstairs apartments. The upstairs east apartment includes a bedroom,
large parlor and grotto, office, and bathroom with Jacuzzi. The upstairs west apartment includes
a kitchen, dining room, bedroom, dressing room, and bathroom.
Figure 4 – Sketch by M. Mehan (2013)
Bracken Fern Manor
Bracken Fern Manor (aka “the cottage”) was dedicated on July 4, 1929. It was architecturally
influenced by the Alpine style—a nod to the origins of skiing in the Swiss Alps. The 4,500 sq.
ft., three-story, hotel/motel building sits on an 8,500 sq. ft. lot adjacent to the Tudor House.
The cottage was originally built as a lodge and market to accommodate visitors or potential
property investors. Over the years, it has also served many intermittent purposes since the
closure of Club Arrowhead in the Pines. Such purposes include a cabinet shop, a general store, a
grocery store, and a hotel. In 1989, the hotel was purchased and restored over the next few years.
On May 20, 1993 the Bracken Fern Manor Bed and Breakfast opened for business. It was named
after the world’s most common type of fern (Pteridium aquilinum), which grows abundantly in
this area.
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On September 9, 1986 the cottage was evaluated as a potential California Point of Historical
Interest and the evaluation was published in 1989 (Hatheway, 1989). According to the Office of
Historical Preservation, a property cannot be listed as a California Point of Historical Interest
(CPHI) and a California Historical Landmark (CHL). On August 14, 1989 the application was
submitted for CPHI approval and a resource number of 36-015500 was assigned to it. An inquiry
was sent by the property owner in February 1993, which stopped the approval process but a
hearing by the State Historical Resources Commission was never scheduled. It is quite likely that
additional documentation was required and was never submitted. As a result, there is no CPHI
file on record for the Bracken Fern Manor.
In 2014, Tudor House Productions, LLC purchased the cottage and retained its operation as a
bed and breakfast. The Bracken Fern manor contains ten rooms: Ivy on the first floor; Lilly,
Camellia, Rose, Violet, Jasmine, Dahlia, Daisy, and Heather (the Honeymoon Suite) on the
second floor; and Fern (the Bridal Suite) on the third floor.
Bath House
The 4,000 sq. ft., three-story “bath house” building sits on a 45,000 sq. ft. lot adjacent to the
Tudor House and Bracken Fern Manor. Originally, this building provided club members with
many outdoor activities, including the Olympic size swimming pool, tennis courts, and riding
stables. In 2015, Tudor House Productions, LLC also purchased this building and brought all
three of the original Atkins Corporation buildings back under joint use ownership. Today, the
lower level contains a microbrewery, the main level contains a second theater stage, and the
upper level contains a gathering hall.
Folklore and Ghost Stories
Local legend suggests that Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was involved in illicit activities at Club
Arrowhead in the Pines. Stories about his bootlegging enterprise include reference to a 500-
gallon still that produced high quality liquor, Hollywood celebrities transporting it within special
fuel tanks welded onto the undercarriages of their cars, and a trapdoor used to dispose of liquor
bottles during Prohibition. Stories about his gambling enterprise include card and dice tables,
“cash payout” slot machines, sliding wall panels, and hidden walkways used to observe gaming
practices. Stories about his prostitution enterprise include reference to a high-class brothel that
employed beautiful young women who catered to guests through underground tunnels. Some
stories about law enforcement raids describe advanced warning systems where a mirror was used
to send a signal from the Sheriff’s office to a child lookout on the mountain, which would
provide operators enough time to conceal any illegal activity. Other stories about law
enforcement raids describe the confiscation of a single slot machine’s outer casing and the
charade of destroying it in front of local media (“The illicit side of the Tudor House,” 2015).
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It is unknown how and when this notable folklore originated. Gambling in the San Bernardino
Mountains likely existed as early as 1860 in the town of Belleville, located in Holcomb Valley.
However, local newspapers didn’t begin reporting on illegal gambling raids in San Bernardino
until after Prohibition ended in 1933. In April 1937, San Bernardino County Sheriff deputies
raided the Morongo Lodge. Four men were arrested and gambling equipment—including a
roulette wheel, slot machines, card and dice tables, and a chuck-a-luck cage was confiscated
(“Officers raid gambling hall,” 1937). In July 1937, San Bernardino County Sheriff deputies
raided Club Arrowhead in the Pines. Five men were arrested and gambling equipment valued at
several thousand dollars was seized. (“Mountain club gamblers fined,” 1937). There is no
mention of Siegel, but both reports refer to those clubs being operated by Los Angeles "big
shots”.
In March and April of 1949, the Los Angeles Daily news published a list of slot machine
statistics it had obtained from federal IRS tax records (“Slot machines,” 1949). Those articles
provided the following data:
California
California
San Bernardino County
Big Bear
Crestline
Lake Arrowhead
– 11,000 “amusement” slot machines
– 3,322 “cash payout” slot machines
– 1,096 “cash payout” slot machines
– 137 “cash payout” slot machines
– 43 “cash payout” slot machines
– 10 “cash payout” slot machines
The first evidence of mob involvement in Lake Arrowhead is testimony given by Meyer Harris
“Mickey” Cohen in his 1961 tax fraud trial (“Mickey Cohen,” 1961). Cohen admitted running
several illegal gaming operations in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino Counties. The big
casinos—each bringing in between $15,000 and $20,000 per month—were in Burbank, Lake
Arrowhead, and Watts. There is no mention of Siegel, but it is acknowledged that Cohen worked
under him from 1939 to 1947. The first mention of Siegel having any relationship with Club
Arrowhead in the Pines appears in 1989 (Weeks, 1989).
Bracken Fern Manor has often been cited as being haunted based on strange scents, sights or
sounds. Some visitors have reported seeing the apparition of a young woman referred to as
Violet or reported smelling the lingering scent of her delicate perfume (Logue, 2011). Local
folklore suggests that she was a former prostitute who committed suicide after the Mob killed her
lover. Other visitors have reported hearing the playful noises of a young boy referred to as
Rodney or reported seeing his little footprints in the snow (Clydesdale, n.d.). Local folklore
suggests that he was the child of another prostitute who was accidently trampled by a team of
horses. These stories were featured in the October 29, 2001 episode of Haunted Hotels:
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Season 1 Episode 101: The Ghosts Are Waiting
And gangsters in the 1930’s were the downfall of a beautiful young woman named Violet,
whose ghost still pines for a lost love at Lake Arrowhead’s Bracken Fern Manor.
Fall of the Atkins Corporation
The Arrowhead Villas and Club Arrowhead in the Pines projects appeared to be commendable
enterprises. Markowitz and Simons had certainly developed the Fleming property by taking raw
mountain land and beautifying it by adding homes and recreation facilities. However, this was
accomplished through fraudulent acts. Markowitz and Simons directed salesmen to coerce
purchasers to sign membership application blanks for an ostensible fee of $10, which were in
fact $100 promissory notes (Simons v. United States, 1941).
On March 27, 1934 Markowitz and Simons organized three corporations in Olympia,
Washington: Peoples Gas & Oil Company (for the purpose of public sales); Peoples Gas & Oil
Corporation (for the purpose of holding the leases); and Peoples Gas & Oil Development (for the
purpose of drilling wells). The principle headquarters were located at the Pacific National Bank
Building in Los Angeles.
On April 4, 1934, Markowitz and Simons filed articles of incorporation for each of the three
companies at the Thurston County Clerk’s Office. Each of the three companies as originally
organized had a capital stock of 640 shares of $1.00 par value—with the Atkins Corporation
receiving 224 of those shares.
In 1938 several Peoples Gas & Oil employees were indicted in ten counts for violation of the
mail fraud statute, in two counts for violations of the Securities Act of 1933, and in one count for
conspiracy to violate the mail fraud statute and the Securities Act.
On February 14, 1939 the Peoples Gas & Oil fraud trial began with federal grand jury
indictments against 11 men on 33 counts of mail fraud, violation of the national securities act
and conspiracy. On August 22, 1939 Markowitz and Simons were convicted with defrauding
30,000 investors throughout Washington of $1,980,000. They appealed. On April 21, 1941 the
appeals court affirmed the district court’s judgment (Simons v. United States, 1941).
Markowitz and Simons each faced a $10,000 fine and eight years in a penitentiary, but were
given an extension to clear up their affairs before beginning their respective penitentiary
sentences. When the two failed to appear in Seattle and begin serving their respective terms, their
$55,000 bonds were forfeited and the two were considered fugitives from justice.
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William Markowitz and Joshua Simons—both aged 43 years—died on December 7, 1941 in
Fresno. Their bodies were found in a locked car, which was discovered by a farmer in his fig
orchard. Investigators said that the windows of the car were sealed with newspapers and that a
hose was attached between the exhaust pipe and front of the car (“Fugitives”, 1941).
Snow Valley Mountain Resort
In the 1920s, John Joseph Swetkovich, III and his brother George James Swetkovich developed
and operated a roadside resort in the San Bernardino Mountains on the site of their father’s Six-
Bits Lumber Mill. The resort—named after a nearby pond known to fisherman and hunters—was
referred to as “Fish Camp”. In 1924, local skiers began laying out trails and world-renowned
aviation designer John Knudsen “Jack” Northrop built the first “sling lift” to transport skiers up
the hill. In 1937, Norwegian ski jumper Sverre Engen built a small lodge to accommodate the
increasing number of skiers and promoted the site as a commercial ski resort. In 1938,
Arrowhead Springs Corporation acquired the resort so they could offer their guests skiing in the
winter, as well as swimming and tennis in the summer. In 1941, former United States ski jump
champion Johnny Elvrum acquired “Fish Camp” for $5,000 and officially renamed it “Snow
Valley Ski Resort” (“About us”, n.d.).
Santa’s Village
On December 19, 1953, the Saturday Evening Post published an article about a New York
businessman who opened a theme park called Santa’s Workshop (White, 1953). The article was
called Christmas is Their Business and was read by Crestline resident Harold Glenn Holland.
Holland discussed the article with Richard James “Dick” and Maurice James “Mac” McDonald
who suggested that he franchise a set of similar theme parks. In 1954, Holland hired general
contractor Joseph Putnam “Putty” Henck to begin construction on the first of five franchised
theme parks under the newly formed Santa’s Village Corporation. On May 28, 1955—six weeks
prior to Disneyland—Santa’s Village in Lake Arrowhead was opened to the public. In 1957,
Santa’s Village in Scotts Valley (Santa Cruz Co., CA) was opened and in 1959, Santa’s Village
in East Dundee (Kane Co., IL) was opened. The two remaining theme parks—Richmond Co.,
VA and Camden Co., NJ—were never built. On March 1, 1998, the theme park closed due to
reduced attendance and revenue. In 2014, local real estate developer Bill Johnson purchased 154
acres of land in the amount of $6,000,000 with an ambition to redesign and to reopen the park
(History of here.” n.d.; Santa’s Village, 2015).
Page 14

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