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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPHOTOSPhotos of Frank Bogert and of relevant topics from the Rebuttal / PHOTO #1 Bogert with the all-female Agua Caliente Tribal Council in the late 1950s. Throughout his time as Mayor, Bogert would work with the Council on a variety of projects, including Section 14, purchasing Airport land, and the development of the Spa Hotel. Bogert traveled to Washington, D.C., with the Tribal Council to lobby Congress to pass the Equalization and Long-Term Leasing Acts of 1959. From left to right: Eileen Miguel, Elizabeth Pete Monk, LaVerne Saubel, Palm Springs Mayor Frank Bogert, Dora Joyce Prieto, and Priscilla Gonzales. / PHOTO #2 Bogert with the Rev. Jeff Rollins in Washington, D.C., in 1967. Bogert and Rollins went to Washington the year after Bogert left office to seek funds and approval from the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) to build low-cost housing for Section 14 residents. From the Desert Sun: Bogert “said the local delegation made the FHA officials aware of the Section 14 cleanup in which a large number of residents were forced to leave Palm Springs for Banning and Garnet and other nearby areas. ‘These residents,’ Bogert said, ‘still work in Palm Springs and would prefer to live here.’” / PHOTO #3 Bogert displaying a housing certification to city officials that he and the city were able to secure for Section 14 residents. This certificate would provide Section 14 residents with 100% financing for relocation with only $200 down. The “Housing and Home Finance administrator proclaim(ed) that Palm Springs has qualified for Federal Aid in its Workable Program for community improvement.” / PHOTO #4 Bogert, city officials and the Agua Caliente Tribal Council at a meeting in 1962 to discuss long-range zoning guidelines for Section 14. 1958-1966 was a period of tremendous cooperation and collaboration between the Tribe and the city. Eileen Miguel stated in 1986, “As Frank Bogert said, ‘We are two governments in this town.’” Given the city’s checkerboard layout and the significant amount of land the Tribe owned in Palm Springs, it was (and is) vital for the council and Tribe to work together for the good of the city. From left are Robson Chambers, city planning commission member; Vice Mayor Ted McKinney, committee chairman; Dick Coleman, planning director; Mrs. Vyola Olinger (Ortner), former Agua Caliente tribal council chairman; Ray Simpson, tribal attorney; Mayor Frank Bogert; Mrs. Dora Prieto, tribal secretary; Mrs. Eileen Miguel, tribal chairman; and Councilman Harry Paisley. / PHOTO #5 Frank Bogert and Pete Siva at Bogert’s victory party after being reelected Mayor in 1982. Siva and his wife, Bernadine, held Bogert’s victory party at their home. Bogert reluctantly served as Siva’s conservator from 1960-1963 as a favor to the Siva family. He was the first conservator to voluntarily release a Tribal member from conservatorship. Siva became Tribal Chairman and in 1966 sent a letter thanking the City Council for assisting the Tribe with clearing Section 14. Doing so allowed the Tribe to begin developing its land and lifting Tribal members out of dire financial conditions. Bogert and Siva would remain lifelong friends. Bernadine Siva, Pete Siva’s widow, stated “I believe the statue should not be removed or destroyed. Frank Bogert was an Honorable and Honest man.” The daughters of Pete Siva called the HRC’s report “disgusting” and “slander(ous)” and demanded that the HRC stop using their father’s name in regards to his relationship with Bogert. / PHOTO #6 Bogert with Tribal Chairman Vyola Ortner and Congressman D.S Saund in Washington, D.C., in the late 1950s. Bogert and Ortner worked with Congressman Saund to lobby Congress to pass the Equalization and Long-Term Leasing Acts in 1959. / PHOTO #7 Agua Caliente Tribal Chairman Richard Milanovich speaking at Bogert’s funeral (top right) in March 2009. “At Bogert’s funeral in 2009, Milanovich said the cowboy mayor had been an inspiration to him growing up.” Bogert and Milanovich were close, lifelong friends and worked together on various projects while Bogert was Mayor and Milanovich was Tribal Chairman in the 1980s. Milanovich’s daughter, Trista, said that the HRC’s Report was “disgusting” and that the family was “appalled” that they would take her father’s words out of context in order to defame Bogert. / PHOTO #8 A diagram of the city’s checkerboard layout enacted in the late 19th century. This ill-conceived layout created numerous problems for the city, the Tribe, and especially for Section 14 residents. Because the red squares were not conducive to development due to federal restrictions on long term leases, 1) the Tribe was unable to develop its land and generate income for its members, 2) the city’s residential and commercial growth was constrained, and 3) Section 14 became a slum, at no fault of its residents. / PHOTO #9 Bogert with the Rev. Jeff Rollins (holding shovel in middle) in 1963 when development of the First Baptist Church broke ground. Bogert would later partner with Rollins and the Church in 1967 to develop low-cost housing for Section 14 residents. / PHOTO #10 Bogert (seated far right) with the Rev. Jeff Rollins (speaking) at the unveiling of the Bishop College Extension Center in Highland-Gateway. Bogert and Rollins would work together on numerous projects between the 1960s and 1980s, including 1) asking the Human Relations Committee to provide assistance to Section 14 residents, 2) lobbying in Washington, D.C., in 1967 for low-cost housing for Section 14 residents, 3) opening the Bishop Center, and 4) the creation of the Palm Springs Center for Employment Training, (GET). Rollins and Bogert were close friends and Rollins was one of the first to visit Bogert at his house to offer his condolences after the death of his first wife Janice in 1974. / PHOTO #11 Bogert with Mayor Ron Oden at a tribute to Bogert in 2005 at the Agua Caliente Casino. Oden was the city’s first Black and openly gay Mayor and also was the first Chairman of the Human Rights Commission, the same commission that authored the defamatory Report on Bogert. In 2009, Oden was quoted as saying: “He was my friend”...Bogert warned him that ’some rednecks’ had made threats against (Oden). He let the men know he had Oden’s back. ‘What he was saying was ‘I’m looking out for you...And he did.” / PHOTO #12 Charles Jordan in 1976. Jordan, a former Section 14 resident, was hired by Bogert as the city’s first Black employee. Jordan was instrumental in the development of Seminole Gardens, the first federally funded housing project that was prioritized for Section 14 residents. From Palm Springs, he went on to have an illustrious political career, serving as Portland’s first Black city councilmember and city commissioner, running the Conservation Fund, and working with Bogert on Ronald Reagan’s President's Commission on Americans Outdoors. He gave the commencement speech at Palm Springs High School in 1987 and thanked Bogert for taking a chance on him by giving him a job in 1961. / / PHOTO #13. A Desert Sun article from May 18,1967. Bogert continued seeking low-cost housing for Section 14 residents the year after leaving office in 1966. / PHOTO #14 Article from the Desert Sun on June 27, 1961. Bogert and the city issued a six-month moratorium on legal evictions to allow residents time to seek housing alternatives and to provide time for the city to explore both private and publicly funded low-cost housing projects. / PHOTO #15 Bogert (seated far right) with Tribal Chair Eileen Miguel (seated middle) in 1960 looking over an appraisal of land on Section 18 which would become the airport. To Miguel’s right is Dora Joyce Prieto, who became Tribal Chair in mid-1966. Miguel and Bogert worked closely together on many projects including zoning ordinances for Section 14. In 1962 she said: “Our appreciation goes to: ...Mayor Frank Bogert of Palm Springs who has consistently demonstrated that he had both the interests of the Indian people and the City of Palm Springs at heart, and who has time and time again expended commendable effort in helping find a solution for some of our problems.” / PHOTO #16 Desert Sun headline from August 18, 1961. The HRC claims this development was proposed in 1968 after Bogert was Mayor, when in reality it was Bogert himself who pushed for the development as Mayor in 1961. The article states, “The Mayor, working tirelessly for a low-cost housing project, had asked (the developer) some months ago if he couldn't come up with a solution to the ever increasing problem of homes for the scores of people who are residing in Section 14.” / PHOTO #17 Editorial by the Desert Sun in 1966 lambasting the AG’s report on Section 14. This was one of several articles by the newspaper criticizing the AG’s findings. / PHOTO #18 Bogert with the Marmolejo family in the 1940s during “Mexican Night” at the Chi Chi. Bogert was extremely fond of Mexico and its culture. He called the country his second home and was beloved by its citizens and by residents of the city’s Latino community. Several years after the death of his first wife, Janice, Bogert married Negie Romero, a Mexican citizen from San Miguel de Allende. He would lead “Cabalgata” horseback rides in Mexico to introduce Americans to the country and to Mexican culture. Pascal Quiroz, the first Mexican-American child born in Palm Springs, said, “Frank Bogert did a lot for Mexican people…When Mexicans had any kind of fiesta, he was always there. They invited him and he was the main speaker.” Manuel Gonzales, a Mexican friend of Bogert’s said, “He was a white man, but he understood my culture” Pictured from left to right: Rafaela Marmolejo, Cydronia Valdez, Frank Bogert, Omar Valdez. / PHOTO #19 Frank Bogert riding in a Palm Springs parade and wearing a traditional Mexican Charro outfit. “Charro” is a Spanish word used to describe a Mexican horseman. Bogert was given the Golden Spur award by the Mexican Charro Association — he was the first non-Mexican, Caucasian to ever receive the honor. In 1986, over 200 Charros attended Bogert’s 76th birthday in Mexico City. / PHOTO #20 Newspaper clipping from the Desert Sun on October 22, 1959, of President Dwight Eisenhower signing the Equalization and Long-Term Leasing Acts. Vyola Ortner and the all-female Tribal council (with Bogert’s help) lobbied extensively for these two bills to be passed. These long-term leases allowed the Tribe to finally develop its valuable land (specifically on Section 14) and to improve the dire financial conditions of its members. These laws were heralded as the “two most important pieces of legislation ever affecting Palm Springs.” / PHOTO #21 Editorial by the Desert Sun on the Department of Interior’s (via the BIA) investigation on the Indian Conservator program. Titled “The Indian Probe Incompetent,” the editorial states, “it becomes more clear that the (BIA) itself is not competent to take over the job. In fact the (BIA) has shown it is not even competent to conduct the investigation. As more examples of carelessness and lack of objectivity in the investigation come to light, one has to question the motives of the investigators.”