CORRESPONDENCE_2012 #1 (JAN-APRIL)

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Old city dump site attracte sients for decades-Lodi News-Sentineintage Lodi Page 1 of 2 Old city dump site attracted transients for decades By Ralph Lea and Christi Kennedy/Special to the News-Sentinel I Posted:Saturday,September 17,2011 12:00 am Since at least the early 1920s,the Mokelumne River's south bank under the railroad trestle has been a magnet for the homeless. Lodi used the riverbank land just east of the trestle for its city dump.And with its proximity to the railroad,the free resources of the dump and the fresh river water,the spot on the opposite side of the trestle was an attractive camp for the homeless. Over the years,as Lodi grew,the city periodically became concerned about the camp. But over the years,the city found it could do little to stop the camps and the characters who came to live beside the dump. George Wilson was a 46-year-old man down on his luck in February 1924. He was a college graduate and the son of a New York millionaire who enjoyed his"wine,women and song." However,when his father lost everything, George Wilson lost everything. He became"a physical and financial wreck"who ended up in California trying to find a rosier future. However,Wilson ended up homeless and living on the Mokelumne River's south bank next to the Lodi city dump, beside the railroad tracks.This settlement for transients was known then as"the jungles." Wilson built himself a crude shelter of old tin sheets"at the spot where the filth and debris of the city is deposited,"according to the Lodi Sentinel's description in the Feb. 26, 1924 edition. Wilson was the self-proclaimed "assistant and unpaid keeper of the city dumping ground,"the newspaper said. Wilson was a well-spoken man who pondered his words while thoughtfully smoking a pipe. He gave that careful thought to his next move,and his decision landed him on newspaper pages throughout the nation. In February 1924,Wilson found a discarded section of the American Weekly,a magazine section of the San Francisco Examiner. One article caught his fancy. Professor Robert H.Goddard,a college physics instructor and inventor from Massachusetts,wrote an article about his intent to shoot a giant"torpedo"to the moon. Wilson was inspired and decided to volunteer to be a passenger. He wrote to Goddard and offered his services. While he anxiously waited for a reply,the Lodi Sentinel learned of his plans and went to Wilson's shack in the jungles to interview him. "He has pictured himself whirling thousands of miles through space,and of finally stepping out on the moon and greeting the 'moonshiners'or whatever the inhabitants of the moon are called,"the reporter wrote in the Feb. 26, 1924 Lodi Sentinel. Wilson said he would willingly risk his life to help science. He said it would be"a wonderful experience"if he survived. "I have no one to mourn me should I never come back," he said. In his letter,Wilson said he assured Goddard that he did not want money or publicity for his services. "I will need no money if I arrive on the moon and will need none if I fail to come back,"he told the reporter. Within a few days hundreds of newspapers across the nation carried stories about Lodi's transient and his offer to ride to the moon on Goddard's torpedo. Wilson was called"Lodi's moon man." Goddard replied to Wilson in a letter,according to the Feb. 8, 1924 Lodi Sentinel. He said his plans were"early in the experimentation"and he was working on a model to prove his theory about escaping earth's gravity. Further work depended on further financial backing,he said, in a gentle way of saying Wilson's offer was premature. Wilson said he was not disappointed. He would still gather his affairs in order for the day when the torpedo would be ready. But that day,of course,did not come in his lifetime or Goddard's. http://www.lodinews.com/features/Vintage_lodi/article 2c54a836-Of62-511f--aca6-894999... 1/27/2012