Desert Messenger

8 www.DesertMessenger.com January 6, 2021 • Birth • Obituary • Anniversary Place it FREE in the: Desert Messenger! 928-916-4235 Got something to share? Hi, This is Kenny King over at the BIG TENT writing to all of you fine citi- zens of Quartzsite. For many-many years, rumors have spread through- out town regarding my moving the show to Yuma, Blythe or some loca- tion other than Quartzsite. Almost every year we hear the rumor that we are shutting the show down. There have also been several re- ports of my demise. (I think some of them were just positive thinking…) This year I am nipping all of those rumors in the bud. 2020 has been a year like none of us has ever experienced. Personally, on June 22nd I exhibited my first Covid 19 symptoms and I immediately put myself in self-quarantine until July 14, when I had my second negative test. I had a hard time with my lung capacity and stamina for months thereafter, finally getting worse and worse until on November 2nd my daughter Kimmy took me into the emergency room at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, CA. Long story short is that I was suffering from congestive heart failure. While con- ducting the normal blood work-up the doctors discovered some very startling blood count numbers and more tests were begun. After a few days of tests and several transfusions it was determined that I may have leukemia and a bone mar- row sample was taken. The results were not what we wanted to hear. I had contracted acute myeloid leuke- mia (AML). This is one of the most ag- gressive strains of the disease. I imme- diately started treatment and am just finishing my second round of chemo infusions while also taking a very ag- gressive type of oral chemo daily. I am seeing a second doctor at City of Hope. I am also registered in their transplant program hoping for a per- fect match for a bone marrow donor transplant. That has been unsuccess- ful at this point. We are now exploring the possibility of using one of my two sons' bone marrow, who are actually only half-matches, as an alternative and that process is ongoing. I came to Quartzsite in 1973 sell- ing RV awnings at a small show on the east end of town named Cloud's Jamboree. John and Dick Cloud ran the operation for the family and I was one of several hundred ven- dors. We did so good that first year that we paid extra to get a better location directly on the road com- ing in from B-10 (Main Street) and added more products. Business got better accordingly. At that time it was only Cloud's & The Pow Wow and the east end of town was packed with customers. The following year, or shortly thereafter, Howard Arm- strong opened The Main Event just off exit 17 at the end of B-10. This really helped all the businesses as now the people had a reason to go all the way to the other end of town for another event. Howard was quite the promoter and we became pretty close friends over the years. There was a very large camp- ground off Highway 95 called Ty- son Wells. Wally Byam Airstream Caravans leased the entire facility that year. Seeing an opportunity to sell lots of RV awnings, my crews immediately went in to sell. That lasted about 10 seconds before a gentleman named Lloyd Dyer pro- ceeded to throw them all out, as he was not making anything from their sales. The next year Tyson Wells Sell-A-Rama appeared. By that time I had locations at Clouds and The Main Event. I took space in Lloyd's show and business got even better. I can tell you Lloyd Dyer stories all day but he was one of the most hon- est and straight forward individu- als that I had ever met and I soon became his largest exhibitor and, I believe, a good friend. Soon I had 4 or 5 locations in Quartzsite, including at the Quartzsite Trailer Park that fronted The Pow Wow. Business got even better. But the operation was be- coming too large and disorganized so I decided to concentrate solely on Tyson Wells, as that is where the ac- tion was, primarily. By that time the 4 Corners Swap Meet (the La Mesa RV property) was rolling strong and the town was busting at the seams. (BTW, I owned the 4 Corners prop- erty twice for 5 hours each time, but that's another long and funny story) Over at Tyson Wells, I decided to take my large spot on the end of K & L rows, I believe, and put up a large tent for protection. I then decided to sell the 10x10 areas on the cor- ners (tips) of the tent to pitch men selling pots and pans, slicer-dicers and the like. That ended up cover- ing my entire rent at Tyson Wells. That was January of 1983. My wife came out at the end of that show and on the way home, while sharing a herb that is now legal, I asked her this question; "What do you think? If I drop a huge circus tent in the middle of Quartzsite and call it an RV Show do you think anyone will come?" She said "Are you kidding, of course!" I asked her to take notes and I just let everything spill out of my head and upon our arrival home in Hunting Beach, 3 hours and twenty minutes later, I had a busi- ness plan and went to work. The next year we opened the 1st Annual Quartzsite RV Show on the northeast corner of Hwy 95 and B- 10. I had this fantastic idea to charge a quarter ($.25). ("EVRYONE HAS A QUARTER RIGHT?") Well we turned them away by the thousands even though we had entertainment, free drawings, etc. After the first weekend of slack crowds I put my tail between my legs and opened the gates for free. The people swarmed in. Business was fantastic for all of my vendors and the rest is history. I can go on for a few more pages of stories and anecdotes but space is limited and time is getting short. We open our 38th Quartzsite Sports, Va- cation & RV Show on January 16th. Due to my condition, this will be the first Pow Wow I will have missed in almost 50 years. This part is almost worse than dealing with this insidi- ous blood disease. I do not know what the future holds but I know this, Quartzsite is near and dear to my heart and I will miss all the fun and excitement and seeing old and meeting new friends. I actually felt important for a couple of weeks! Bottom line, the show is not mov- ing, closing or anything else you might hear in the future as it is now in great hands. My daughter Kim- my and her husband Bryan are now running the show and both have been in training for this transfer of power for several years and are more-than-qualified. I would also like to acknowledge the 30+ years of dedication, insights and all of the other intangible things that he did to make the show what it is today, my partner, Mal Mallory, who retired in 2016. His vision and imagination were invaluable and I thank and love him dearly. Well folks, you got it from the source this time. I would like to thank all of you for allowing me to come into your community all these years and conduct my business. I know that for many of you it is quite an inconvenience with all off the traffic, dust and people we attract, but just think… where would we all be if a few visionaries had not start- ed the rock and mineral show over at the Pow Wow in 1967? It's re- ally hard to imagine. They are 'The Straw That Stirs Quartzsite". I hope you all have a long and fruitful life and if I can somehow beat this thing you can count on see- ing me there in 2022 and beyond. With love, Kenny King Show Promoter Letter to Quartzsite from Kenny King

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