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Lesson Preparation |
Teacher ReadingYou'll definitely want to use Sunshine, Citrus and Science, by Keld Reynolds. Bibliography |
Outline |
1. Habitat: The developers of the original Loma Linda were physicians from Los Angeles. They saw this place as a chance to use the Mound City Hotel as a sanitarium. They did not intend to treat the sick here, but wanted to make a resort where the wealthy could rest in the country. It was a great idea, but many of the wealthy already had their own country homes in Redlands, Pasadena and other places. The idea of advertising Loma Linda as "The Switzerland of America" seems ludicrous to us, but it must have made sense to desperate investors. Imagine the chagrin of someone stepping off the train in Loma Linda after reading the advertising pamphlet. I would guess that word-o-mouth soon depicted Loma Linda as the desert place it really is! 2. Food: The real change would come with the Adventists in the next segment. The Loma Linda resort had its own dairy farm, artesian wells and fruit orchards. 3. Housing: Eastern construction styles were being adopted to suit visitors and settlers from the East (United States). Compare the construction style of the Morey Mansion on Terracina Avenue in Redlands with the Asistencia or the Frink Adobe. 4. Social Structure: Despite its failure, a hotel had been established here. Even though it failed financially, it raised the possibility that a town could eventually grow here. 5. Footprints: More settlers equals more effect on the land. 7. Demise: Was the West growing too fast? That seems to be the case, at least for Loma Linda. There just weren't enough tired-but-not-sick people with money who wanted to stay in the fancy sanitarium on the hill. Would Loma Linda have succeeded if they had allowed "consumptives" (people with tuberculosis) to stay here? |
Projects and Activities |
1. Students can think of ways they would "recycle" a failed town. Write advertisements to make more people want to come to "Lonesome Linda." 2. Design an advertising pamphlet for Loma Linda that doesn't stretch the truth. Take advantage of the hot, dry climate instead of hiding it! |
Worksheet - Lonesome Linda |
The worksheets may be used as either a lesson guide and written in as you go along, or as a test. Feel free to make up your own to fit your approach to the curriculum |