The Winnedumah Hotel in Independence
celebrated its 50th year — built in 1927. As the only hotel in the County
Seat, it housed Supervisors, Judges and State officials who had long
distances to travel to come to Independence, since its early years.
Simultaneously with its 50th Anniversary,
its owners, Fred and Hattie Schaefer celebrated their 50th Wedding
Anniversary.
Fred tells the story of the fragile batik
(painted silk hanging) in the lobby. It was created by Frances Kirk and is
a scene done from a ridge on the White Mountains, east of Independence. The
foreground is of apple trees in Manzanar, backed by the Alabama Hills, with
the Sierras behind them. To one side is a huge boulder, the Paiute
Monument.
In Paiute language “Winnedumah” means stay
where you are Tinnemaha, another area place name, was Winnedumah’s brother,
according to Indian legend.
{*Copied without permission from Saga of Inyo County
©1977 by Chapter 183, Southern Inyo American Association of Retired
Persons.}
