DLD| Pam Anders | Ep 81

Pam Anders first experience with desert was after a drive from Oregon. Pam's first husband suffered with asthma and his mother, who was living in Twentynine Palms suggested they move down to improve his health. Arriving in the dark, they were a bit off course. With no signs or lights, they pulled to the side of the road and Pam got out of the Volkswagen to take a look around. She looked up and almost fell... the star-filled sky was like nothing she'd ever experienced. And the silence was nothing like she'd ever heard. After a few years they went back to Oregon. In this episode, Pam says the pull of the desert was so strong, she had to return, this time on her own, taking a number of jobs simultaneously to support herself. She worked at the bank (now Edchada's Mexican restaurant), a grocery store, a florist and Del's Shoes. She met and became friends with many of the Twentynine 'old timers', one couple being the J.B. Carrol's. When Pam told them she was looking for a house to rent they said, "Why rent, when you can buy?" Thinking it was not possible, the Carrol's sold Pam her first home - they even held the note. In 1976, Pam became San Bernardino County's first female Animal Control Officer, selected as one to fill eight openings with 145 applicants - most of whom were men. Pam says she believes in claiming your desires and the power of visualizing you already have what you want. At the age of 26, she was trained, provided a four-wheel drive truck, a shotgun and a come-a-long and was on-call twenty-four hours a day. Pam shares some humorous and touching stories from her time in that role. These days Pam doesn't live in Twentynine Palms, but maintains a cabin there where she spends hours and days at a time creating art and treating herself well. With her long-time interest in antiques, you may find her at Pioneer Crossing in Yucca Valley, tending to store displays and guiding out of town visitors to sites in the area they should not miss. Pam is excited to share a book she is currently reading: "The White Heart of the Mojave" by Edna Brush Perkins who, along with her friend Charlotte Hannahs Jordan, hired a guide to take them from their homes in Pasadena on an adventure through Death Valley. Pam's Links: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1198489.The_White_Heart_of_Mojave http://pioneercrossingantiques.com/