Desert Messenger

February 3, 2021 www.DesertMessenger.com 3 Bouse Museum hosts Grand reopening 1265 W. Main St., Quartzsite West of McDonald's • 928-927-6014 Times Three ����������������� OPEN DAILY 6am-8pm 7 Days a Week! We Invite You to Come Celebrate Valentine's Day with Us! VALENTINE'S DAY Steak & Shrimp DINNER 10 oz New York Steak with Shrimp. Choice of Potato, Soup or Salad, & Cake for Dessert for $ 18 99 February 14th • Starting at 3pm Hope everyone is thinking of LOVED ones on this day! Thank you ~ Times Three crew By Pat Walch After more than 18 months of fundraising activities and work crews to put the new addition on the Bouse Historical Museum, Chamber mem- bers and Bouse area folks gathered to look and join in the Grand Opening celebration on Jan 23. There was a steady crowd from 10am throughout the day, checking out the displays of early area settlement, mining, farm- ing, and railroad history to WWII army days at the "top secret" Camp Bouse in 1943/44. Highlight of the new addition is a movie corner showing "Sands of War," a DVD video production of Patton's 13 Desert Training Camps scattered across CA, AZ, and NV. Many "new" additions have been rescued from the archives to be put on display now that we have room to show them off. It's a walk down history lane and hosts Charlie and Dorothy are there to answer ques- tions and tell stories related by some of the veterans who trained here and returned to visit in years gone by. "We were able to retain our U.S. Historical Society Certification sta- tus," said long-time Chamber Of- ficer and Board Member, Rhonda Bennett, "by constructing the addi- tion so as not to damage the original structure which was built in 1902. It was in pretty bad shape when we, with the help of Bouse residents, raised the money to purchase it in 1991, before it fell to complete ruin." The building served as Assay Of- fice and living quarters for P. P. Thompson, the territorial assayer and surveyor during the mining days. After the mines were closed, so did the Assay Office. We don't know much about the assay office building between the mid-20s and early 60s, but have learned that hos- pitality did reign in Bouse during those days. In the late 60s, a down- on-her luck lady landed in town and used the dirt-floored building as her home until around 1972. Neighbors and local business people were kind to assist her with necessities while the old office served as her tempo- rary home. A photo from those days displaying her laundry hanging be- SEE BOUSE PAGE 9 ����� | P�� W����

• Cover