Desert Padre: The Life and Writings of Father John J. Crowley

Desert Padre: The Life and Writings of Father John J. Crowley by Brooks, Joan. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780965652148.

Inspiring and entertaining biography of a civic and spiritual leader who served in Californias Owens Valley and Death Valley. He also served as chaplain to the CCC boys during the depression years and worked with other civic leaders to win concessions from the Los Angeles Dept of Water and Power, thus giving the residents hope and economic prosperity, especially in the area of tourism. His newspaper columns,"Sage and Tumbleweed written under a pen name of Inyokel were widely read and covered topics of interest to the local area, e.g. Death Valley stories, desert driving, descriptions of the desert environment, vignettes from the filming of westerns in the Alabama Hills in Lone Pine and many local events. The Padre is now memorialized by Crowley Lake in Mono County and by monuments at the site of his death in 1940 and a monument on the road to Death Valley.