By Tiar’a Literary & Illustration
The more extensively our Coachella Valley gets developed, the more difficult it is to conceive a valley whose basin was barren but one-hundred-fifty years ago. Since the days of the real Old West that was loitered by stagecoaches, tented wagons, cowboys, and cowgirls trailblazing the Western frontier, our valley has borne witness to its own nuclear-stimulated particle accelerator of industrial revolution.
On a toasty summer’s day, temperatures can reach one-hundred-twenty degrees Fahrenheit or more. Modern society complains frequently about said temperatures but ponder for a moment the men and women whose jobs it was to tame this valley’s wild basin. Not only were these “true captains of industry” forging the unknown they were doing it in the scorching heat without the sweet umbrella of an air-conditioned building, car, or bag of ice to cool their blistering woes. Further, these fierce men and women battled yet another life force outside the elements. Native Americans.
If you are too young, ignorant, don’t know, or perhaps never considered, this Coachella Valley of ours was once under unilateral ownership of Native Americans. Perhaps, if we were able to travel back through time and be a proverbial “lizard on a rock”, we may find that it was the Native Americans who truly helped cultivate our valley into an agreeable landscape enough for those who eventually arrived from the east to “settle” it.
History is as fascinating as it is complex. Even though we may have read, heard, or learned via the established educational system that this way, that way, and that way – was the way, doesn’t necessarily mean that it is true.
In the last twenty or so years, modern-taught history is being turned on its head almost daily. At one time, those who dwelt within the Coachella Valley knew that this was an area once thriving beneath ocean waves. Then, some time passed, and this reality was brushed aside in favor of wide-open dusty plains where cowboys and Indians engaged in battle, and where pioneers with dreams of gold came frolicking through from the east. The reality of the Coachella Valley can be found by casting one’s gaze southward and observing for a moment the water lines clearly cast upon its mountains. For a mountain to show water lines would mean that water sustained its level for a considerable time.
History tells an exciting tale of humankind all around us. It’s up to us to manage the use of and to pry ourselves away from gadgets, gizmos, and internet, start living and start learning again. After all, internet and the world of social media, commercialism will come and go. Nature has and will stand the test of time, no matter the weather until the Day of Judgement.
Whenever discussing the topic of history, evolution, strength, and ingenuity, we must not overlook our present men and women who labor arduously in the blistering valley heat year upon year, and to establish the cultivated beauty that we view daily. Blessed by God are we who live in the Coachella Valley, to have certain ordinances in place preserving His natural beauty all around while we attempt to build personal sanctuaries amidst. From color codes, boundary lines, to the heights of buildings, to what can or cannot be built in certain areas.
The modern “country club” or “gated community” was introduced during the 1950’s-1960’s. It was at that time planners, contractors, artists, architect’s, builders, and laborers combined talents to break many a ground and design the habitats in which we live today. Without this select group of passionately driven and dedicated individuals who bravely fought those harsh summer heats, we wouldn’t live in bliss year-round, inside, and out.
One of the more difficult mediums in the construction trade to work with are heavy and large materials, and the glue that ultimately anchors it all and indeed any home, office building, or community together – CONCRETE.
When we think of concrete, most of us see a sandy moist product that if not evened out quickly hardens and leaves an unsightly mess in one’s yard, driveway, or can wreak havoc to a home or office building slab. Concrete is a particular product that requires a skilled, albeit – artist’s mind, hand, and eye coordination to be effectively rendered to produce safety and enjoyment thereafter. A well designed and laid patio, driveway, garden path, home slab, community park walkways, sidewalks, or any other myriad of concrete design project provides peace of mind and enjoyment for all who use or depend upon them.
JRC CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION is a locally renowned company with nearly two decades of concrete construction. Recipients of the LA Times “Home of the Week” award for a home they helped complete in La Quinta some time ago, JRC Concrete Construction have infused the art of the construction trade with tougher than nails hard labor to realize its execution.
“From pillars to posts, the titans of concrete construction” – JRC Concrete Construction (760) 625-1300
