Freelance writer marks 25 years of chronicling Inland history

Mark Landis marked the 25th anniversary of his first local history column in the Inland Valley region.

His debut article appeared in The Sun on Nov. 30, 2001. A friend who wrote for the newspaper convinced her editor to give Landis a chance. His first assignment covered tours of the restored Casa del Desierto railroad depot in Barstow.

Landis, a longtime railfan, used a new 1-megapixel digital camera and research from books and magazines for the piece. Since then, he has written approximately 275 articles covering the valleys, mountains, and desert regions of San Bernardino County.

The work involved meeting numerous local figures who have since passed away. One of Landis's earliest friendships was with Nick Cataldo, a local historian and columnist. They arranged to meet at a cafe, but Landis forgot the appointment. They rescheduled, and the awkward beginning developed into a long friendship.

Bill Mann, a Barstow resident, miner, and author, was another key figure. Known as Shortfuse, Mann knew the Mojave Desert landmarks and backroads extensively. He told Landis, The materials for any product we use in life were either grown or mined. In October 2003, Landis joined Mann and his wife Dottie for a California State University field course titled Mysteries of The Mojave Desert, Part Five. The group traveled into the desert in a caravan of four-wheel-drive vehicles.

Albert Okura, founder of Juan Pollo Restaurants, provided free chicken for a 2012 presentation to the San Bernardino Historical Society. The event drew a standing-room-only crowd. Okura bought the site of the first McDonalds building in San Bernardino in 1998 to establish a museum. In 2005, he purchased the town of Amboy to preserve the Route 66 landmark. He died in 2023 at age 71.

J. Putnam Henck, the contractor who built Santa's Village in the San Bernardino Mountains in 1955, gave Landis a tour of the closed park in Skyforest. Henck recalled that staff had to ensure visitors never saw more than one Santa Claus at a time on busy days. He died in 2010. The property reopened as SkyPark at Santa's Village in 2016.

Chard Walker, an author and rail fan, lived in a converted funeral car at Summit until 1955. He worked for the Santa Fe Railroad starting in 1947. Landis took Walker to the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris in 2005. The museum is now called the Southern California Railway Museum. Walker died in 2007.

John Weeks, a long-time editor at The Sun, called himself the Emperor of the Inland Empire. He presented a book to the San Bernardino Historical Society using 3.5 by 5 inch postcards instead of PowerPoint slides. Weeks died in 2024.

Landis can be reached at Historyinca@yahoo.com.