1932 — Sep 30, cloudburst, Tehachapi Creek Basin flash flood, Kern County, CA    — 16-21

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 1-13-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

—     40  Oakland Tribune. “Rain Halts Rescue Work As 40 Die in Tehachapi Flood.” 10-2-1932, p. 9.

–25-30  Bakersfield Californian. “Believe 30 Perished in Tehachapi Cloudburst.” 10-1-1932, 1.

–16-21  Blanchard tally from listing of fatalities at end of this document.

–17-21  San Mateo Times, CA. “Box Car Tomb of 21, Buried in Flood Debris, Fear.” 10-4-1932.

—     20  Bakersfield Californian. “Railway Traffic to be Resumed Saturday.” 10-13-1932, p. 13.

—     17  San Mateo Times, CA. “More Bodies in Tehachapi Debris Sought.” 10-5-1932, p. 2.

—     15  Bakersfield Californian. “Find Bodies of Ross and Williamson Girl.” 10-10-1932, 1.

—     15  Known lives lost. Bakersfield Californian. “Salvaging Huge Train Engine…” 10-24-1932, p.7.

—   >15  State of CA Dept of Public Works. Report on Flood of September 30, 1932… Jan, 1933.

—     15  NWS WFO San Joaquin Valley-Hanford. The Top 15 Weather Events…Central [CA].

Blanchard note: We show sixteen named individuals and six unidentified in a listing of fatalities at the end of this document (prior to Sources). Pat Gracey in “The Flood of 1932 (part 1),” 9-17-2022, writes that “During the ensuing months the bodies of many transients would be found strewn between Keene and Arvin but never identified.” Though we have sought to locate stories about the finding of additional bodies through to the end of December, we were unsuccessful. If such were true then our upper end notation of “at least” 21 deaths would perhaps be in need of increase. But, we do not know how many “many” turned out to be, so we do not manufacture a presumptive number.

Narrative Information

NWS: “Flash flooding at Woodford Station kills 15 people; train washed off tracks between Woodford Sta. and Tehachapi.”  (National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, San Joaquin Valley-Hanford. The Top 15 Weather Events in the Central California Interior. 1-6-2011.)

State of CA Department of Public Works: “On the afternoon and evening of September 30, 1932, a cloudburst occurred over the upper reaches of the drainage basin of Tehachapi Creek in Kern County, California. The resultant flood in that stream destroyed a large portion of the road bed of the Southern Pacific Railroad, washed out the State Highway near Woodford, demolished all buildings in its path and caused the death of at least fifteen persons…. [page 5]

 

“Rain was nearly continuous from 1:30 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. with fall up to 8:00 P.M. amounting to 4.38 inches….A study of the rainfall records in conjunction with the run-off measurements from small areas indicate that the cloudburst traveled in a north-westerly direction from Oak Creek across the Tehachapi Valley and down Tehachapi Creek; that the area of maximum intensity covered a comparatively narrow belt, not more than ten miles wide on a normal to the direction of travel; and that the maximum intensity of precipitation probably occurred over the divide between Oak and Cameron creeks and the Tehachapi Valley; and that this intensity diminished rapidly as the storm traveled to the northwest…. [pages 7 and 9]

 

“In the canyons of Tehachapi and Caliente creeks, the flood destroyed practically everything in its path.  The railroad lost nine trestles and bridges and many miles of track, built almost on the edge of the streambed, between Tehachapi and Bena….

 

“The major losses of life and property occurred at Woodford.  Owing to the severity of the storm, traffic on the railroad had ceased and two freight trains were standing on the side tracks. Rear the Woodford station the stream channel approaches the right of way and bends to run parallel to the track.  At this point the stream undercut one of the tracks…and dropped an engine [Santa Fe Engine 5036] into the flood.  When the water subsided this engine was found completely buried in sand….A second engine stood over the culvert….

 

“From the condition of the cars which remained on the siding above and below the break, it is believed that debris was so tightly jammed in the wheels and undercarriages of the engine and cars over the culvert that an almost water-tight dam was formed above the fill, and, consequently, when the fill failed, the collapse was in the nature of a blow-out of saturated material rather thaw a progressive erosion caused by overtopping of the fill. This collapse created a wave which swept across the canyon below the culvert and washed away a lunch counter and service station.  The proprietor and his family, the locomotive engineer and an unknown number of itinerants who had taken shelter from the storm in the lunch counter lost their lives in this catastrophe.  The fact that, as stated by survivors, the floor of the service station was flooded before the wave from the fill struck the building is evidence that a large flow was passing through the culvert before the collapse of the fill occurred.  The force of the flow after the fill had washed out is illustrated the fact that one of the box cars which fell into the stream was washed about 1¼  miles downstream where it jammed against the railroad trestle…. [10-11]

 

“Two lives were lost when buildings in the lower part of the town [Caliente] were destroyed….” [11]  (State of CA Department of Public Works. Report on Flood of September 30, 1932 on Tehachapi Creek, Kern County, California.  Jan, 1933.)

 

Newspapers

 

Oct 1: “At least 30 persons met death in the raging torrent that swept through the Caliente, Bealville and Woodford districts of Tehachapi pass last night, following a cloudburst, reports from residents, trainmen and rescue crews to The Bakersfield Californian indicated late today.

 

“As the, hours passed and scores of persons known to have been in the path of the 40-foot wall of water when it swept through the pass failed to reappear, the disaster assumed proportions worse than the gravest fears had indicated.

 

“Estimates ranging from 25 to 30 dead came from J. D. Brennan, superintendent of San Joaquin division of’ the Southern Pacific; E. Raymond Cato, superintendent of the California Highway Patrol, and Inspector William Snell of the patrol.

 

“The known dead include Southern Pacific Engineer A. H. Ross of Bakersfield, three members of the Peter Kaad family, which operated the Kaad Service Station at Woodford, an unidentified member of a freight train crew and two unidentified men whose bodies were found by the first rescue crews going into the district.

 

“A Doughty-Calhoun-O’Meara mortuary ambulance arrived here late today with three bodies, those of Kaad, his son and an unidentified transient.  From other sections came reports that many other bodies had been recovered but not identified.

 

“Virtually every means of communication with the ravaged area is gone—telephone and telegraph lines out, railroad lines washed away in several places and the highway blocked by landslides, gaping holes and racing rivers — but officials who returned from the scene during the early hours of the morning said the death toll may run as high as 50.

 

“As the water that blocked highways began to subside this afternoon, ambulances from Bakersfield mortuaries began the work of bringing the bodies and injured to this city.

 

“Reports that the community of Caliente had been wiped from the map by the cloudburst were proved groundless, although it was known that Nell S. Cooper, Southern Pacific Railroad telegraph operator at Caliente. and her grandchild were among those swept away in the flood and believed to be drowned.

 

“Greatest number of casualties, it is believed, will be found in the wreckage of a Southern Pacific freight train at Woodford. It was known to be loaded with transients and a locomotive and six freight cars were lying at the bottom of a 40-foot gulch cut by the torrent. Whether 10 or 100 men died in the cars is a matter for conjecture until they can be reached in the muddy water.

 

“At least 15 persons were seeking shelter from the rain in the Kaad service station when it was washed away and only five have been accounted for.

 

“Watches found on two bodies had stopped at 8:16, indicating the hour at which the flood struck.

 

“The wall of water brushed the steps of Stony Brook Hospital, Kern county’s tuberculosis sanatorium at Keene, and swept away several small buildings in the hospital yard while the inmates cowered in terror within the building.  There was little warning of the impending disaster and no time to escape….”(Bakersfield Californian. “Believe 30 Perished in Tehachapi Cloudburst.” 10-1-1932, 1.)

 

Oct 2, Oakland Tribune: “….The first eye-witness report here was brought in late this afternoon by Harry W. McGee, United Air-plane pilot. He was forced off his regular route and flew east of Bakersfield through Tehachapi Pass. He reported seeing the bridge which was washed out splitting…freight train in half and turning the engine on its back. Between Keene and Caliente, McGee said he counted four other bridges washed out. Mud covers most of the highways for miles and train tracks are twisted as if struck by an earthquake, he said. ‘Near Lancaster, in the Mojave desert, a dry lake bed, many miles in area, and long dry, has been filled by the cloudburst,’ McGee reported. ‘Scores of autos are stuck in the mud at Tehachapi and it looks as if the entire town is inundated.’

 

“Twenty-two patients in the Kern County Tubercular Sanitarium at Woodford cowered in terror within the main building as the deluge swept away several of the smaller structures.

 

“While the rescuers were working feverishly in the search for bodies, railroad officials announced they had suspended all train service on the valley line between Bakersfield and Los Angeles. Adding that it probably will be days before through travel can be resumed. Work trains sent out by the Southern Pacific early today were unreported for many hours. Both finally were located stranded, unable to proceed pending repairs to tracks and ties.

 

“The Tremendous force of the water had twisted rails as if they had been so much picture wire. A muddy river swept down Caliente creek bed to the outskirts of Arvin and effectively barricaded traffic from that district.

 

“Inspector Snell sent word to Los Angeles authorities not to dispatch help from here. It would be impossible to reach the area from here he said, there being a five-foot wall of water tumbling down over the highway about 15 miles south of Tehachapi….

 

“The storm descended during the night, 4½ inches of rain falling within a short period of time. Dry washes became raging torrents which demolished every movable object in their path. The swollen streams roared down both sides of the Tehachapi divided, converging upon the Mojave desert on the south and the San Joaquin Valley on the north.

 

“Three feet of water flooded Tehachapi, sweeping furniture out of houses and ruining supplies in stores. Caliente was under two feet of water and other small settlements were similarly damaged. Communication lines were torn down by high winds and transportation came to a standstill. All railroad traffic over Tehachapi Pass, the inland route between the San Joaquin Valley and the Los Angeles area, was halted when 600 feet of the Southern Pacific roadbed was washed away. Small communities in the mountains were isolated.” (Oakland Tribune, CA. “Rain Halts Rescue Work As 40 Die in Tehachapi Flood (continued from p.1).” 10-2-1932, p. 9.)

 

Oct 3, Bakersfield Californian: “Reported finding of 21 bodies in one of the buried box cars tossed two miles down stream by the Tehachapi pass flood Friday night [untrue], identification of seven of the eight dead lying in Bakersfield morgues and completion of a survey by railroad, county and state highway officials setting the material damage at $2,000,000 were highlights in today’s survey of the catastrophe. Discovery of so many bodies in but one of the six freight cars swept away by the torrent gave horrifying indication of the proportions of the disaster.

 

“Reconstruction of great railroad trestles crushed and shattered as though they had been made of cardboard, steel rails torn from their beds and bent like baling wire, power and telephone poles uprooted and strewn down a gaping channel miles in length and a highway cut and broken in many places presented engineers with a stupendous and disheartening task.

 

“Through it all, search for bodies of the victims goes on endlessly, a volunteer army of transients and residents of the district patrolling the long canyon cut by the water from Woodford past Bealville, Caliente and Bena far out onto the plains east of Arvin.

 

“Freight cars, suddenly become rolling death traps in which men were drowned or buried alive, contain most of the missing, officials believe. Some of the cars are buried so deeply they may never be found and it will take days to extricate others partly exposed.

 

“In Bakersfield morgues are the identified bodies of Peter A. Kaad, 45 , proprietor of the Kaad service station in which at least 15 persons were trapped by the wall of water that rushed through the pass; his wife, Louise Kaad, and their sone, Peter, Jr.; Mrs. Nell Cooper, Caliente telegraph operator; Clifford Barron of Bellingham, Wash.; Jerome Bake4r of San Diego, about 30 years of age; Frederick Keilser, Jr., 19, Milwaukee, and one unidentified transient.

 

“Known to be dead, but still missing, are A. H. Ross, 50, Southern Pacific engineer of Bakersfield; Brakeman Harry Moore, 42, of Bakersfield; Aranella Williams, 5, granddaughter of Mrs. Cooper; John Tempest, 50, of Caliente, and James Carter and James Stewart, transients.

 

(Bakersfield Californian. “Many Bodies Taken From Debris; Score More Being Sought; Known Dead Grows.” 10-3-1932, p. 1.)

 

Oct 4, UP: “Bakersfield, Cal., Oct. 4. – (UP) – The death list in the Tehachapi cloudburst last Friday night, has risen to 17 today, with the discovery of bodies of two unidentified men in Caliente wash, below Woodford, where the flood was most disastrous.  Five known dead remained unfound, in addition to the dozen bodies lying in morgues here.

 

“One of the bodies recovered yesterday has been identified as Harry Moore, brakeman on a Southern Pacific train, which was wrecked when struck by a torrent of water.

 

“Other identified dead included Frederick Kessler, 19, Milwaukee, and Jerome Baker, 30, San Diego.

Seek Buried Bodies

 

“The Kern county sheriff’s office and Southern Pacific railroad officials investigated a report today that a mud buried box car, washed from a trestle over Tehachapi creek in a cloudburst and flood Friday night, had yielded the bodies of 21 itinerants.  State highway patrolmen sought the car yesterday, but returned to Bakersfield last night unable to confirm the report that a group of men “bumming a ride” had been trapped and carried to their deaths when a 40 foot wall of water swept down Tehachapi pass.

 

“Another body was believed to be that of an Indian youth who played in an orchestra at Woodford-Keene. The other unidentified victims were itinerants riding upon the freight train which was swept into the flood, or who had sought shelter in a service station which was destroyed.

 

Rail Traffic Blocked

 

“Workers, machinery and equipment were rushed to the stricken area today to repair the $l,600,000 damage to railroad tracks and bridges, which completely blocked rail traffic over the divide. Five more trains pushed into the mountains from both sides of the Tehachapi, carrying equipment.  Speed was required to provide additional outlets for thousands of cars of produce from San Joaquin valley farms and orchards, which now only can take a devious route along the coast to Los Angeles markets.

 

“The state highway was passable between the hours of 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. under control of state traffic officers.  During daylight hours 200 men and road building machinery are busy repairing the damage. The highway was not expected to be repaired for several days. No trains will move over the Southern Pacific tracks for from two weeks to a month, and traffic cannot he fully resumed before several months.

 

“The bodies of A. H. Ross, Southern Pacific engineer, Harry Moore, brakeman; Aranella Williams, 6; John Tempest, 50, of Caliente, and James Stewart and James Carter, itinerants,. known to have been killed, still were missing today.”  (San Mateo Times, CA. “Box Car Tomb of 21, Buried in Flood Debris, Fear.” 10-4-1932, 2.)

 

Oct 5, UP: “Bakersfield, Oct. 5. – (UP) — Searchers probed huge piles of debris in Tehachapi creek today for additional bodies of victims of the cloudburst which swept the mountains east of here Friday night.  The known death list still remained at seventeen today, with twelve bodies recovered and five more known to be dead….

 

“Sixty-six freight cars are in a Southern. Pacific train marooned at Woodford, where a locomotive and six box cars were washed into the stream, while a forty-car Santa Fe train is standing nearby…. Searchers also were digging in the creek bed for a 100,000-pound Santa Fe locomotive which has disappeared from sight.”  (San Mateo Times, CA. “More Bodies in Tehachapi Debris Sought.” 10-5-1932, p. 2.)

 

Oct 5, Bakersfield Californian: “….Missing Santa Fe locomotive No. 3841 found buried under tons of sand and rock 40 feet from where it rolled from its track….The force of the rushing torrent that swept down the Tehachapi creek bed as a result of the cloudburst, was graphically revealed with the partial uncovering of the 225-ton Santa Fe Railroad locomotive which has been missing since the flood. The big engine rolled downward and sidewise as the bed crumbled beneath it and the water poured an avalanche of mud and rock over it until it was completely buried.” (Bakersfield Californian. “Giant Railroad Engine Swept 40 Feet by Torrent; Continue Hunt for Bodies.” 10-5-1932, p. 7.)

 

Oct 6, UP: “Bakersfield, Oct. 6 – (UP) – Graves in Union Cemetery were prepared today to receive the bodies of six Tehachapi flood victims who remained unidentified. Funeral services and burial were scheduled for noon, and unless the men are identified by that hour, their last resting places will remain unmarked.

 

“The bodies of more than a dozen persons believed certain to have perished in the disaster remained unfound today. Searchers feared they had been buried deeply under mud and debris of Tehachapi Creek and never would be located….” (United Press. “6 Unidentified To Be Buried.” Oakland Tribune, CA, 10-6-1932, p. 2.)

 

Oct 10: “Finding of the tiny body of 5-year-old Orrienell Williamson wedged beneath a crushing pile of debris less than a mile from her Caliente home, Sunday, and that of Engineer A. H. Ross of Bakersfield, Saturday, 12 miles from where the might rush of water tore him from the car of his locomotive, brought the known death toll of the Tehachapi pass flood disaster to 15, authorities announced today.  They extricated the body of the little girl while 15,000 camera-carrying motorists toured and hiked the length of the devastated area.

 

“Nine days since the cloudburst snuffed out the lives of at least a score of persons, invasion of its scarred path by thousands of curious and shocked spectators yesterday presented a never-to-be-forgotten scene….

 

“William Snare, chief of the Kern bureau of criminal identification, today announced identification of another of the unknown victims and verification of the identification of young Frederick Kessler, Jr., whose body was shipped to Milwaukee.  Finger prints taken by Chief Snare were checked in the Sacramento state bureau and two sets identified.  They showed the unknown man listed as No. 3 at the Payne & Son mortuary to be William Blonson of New York, alias Bill Dietrich, a waiter.  He had been fingerprinted by police of Los Angeles, Pasadena and Riverside.  The finger prints of Kessler were identified, also, confirming identification made by friends of the youth at Doughty-Calhoun-O’Meara mortuary.

 

Find Body of Girl

 

“Body of the Williamson tot, torn from the arms of her grandmother, Nell Cooper, Tehachapi operator, by the flood waters, was found in the railroad yard at Caliente by C. H. Freear, working with a crew of searchers provided by Sheriff Cas Walser.

 

“Mrs. Cooper’s body was among the first to be found. It is being taken to Sparta, Ga., by Mr. and Mrs. Alva Williamson, parents of the child.  They were notified in Colorado today that their little girl’s body had been found….”  (Bakersfield Californian. “Find Bodies of Ross and Williamson Girl.” 10-10-1932, 1.)

Fatalities Noted in Press

 

Note: While we show eight unidentified two were later identified by their fingerprints and we suspect that the first two, which are from early reporting, are among the named fatalities later found. If the last speculation is correct there would be 21 fatalities (17 named and 4 unidentified).

 

  1. Barron, Clifford, of Bellingham, WA.
  2. Blonson, William, of New York.
  3. Carter, James, itinerant
  4. Cooper, Mrs. Neil, Caliente telegraph operator.
  5. Indian youth who played in an orchestra at Woodford-Keene.
  6. Kaad, Peter A.
  7. Kaad, Louise, wife of Peter.
  8. Kaad, Peter Jr., 3.
  9. Kessler, Frederick Jr., 19, of Milwaukee.
  10. Linville, Roy E., 47, Oakland, OR. Body identified on or about Oct 17.[1]
  11. Mason, John Willburn, Waters AR. Body identified on or about Oct 17.[2]
  12. Moore, Harry, 42. Brakeman on Southern Pacific train wrecked when struck by torrent.
  13. Ross, A. H., 50, of Bakersfield. Engineer of Southern Pacific Railroad.
  14. Stewart, James, itinerant.
  15. Tempest, John, 50, of Caliente
  16. (Jerome Baker in a search party claimed that the body of Tydings was his.)[3]
  17. Williams, Aranella, 6. Found beneath debris less than a mile from Caliente home.[4]
  18. Unidentified person when building of lower part of Caliente was destroyed.[5]
  19. Unidentified person #2 when building of lower part of Caliente was destroyed.
  20. Unidentified person 1 of 6 buried in Bakersfield’s Union Cemetery Oct 6.[6]
  21. Unidentified person 2 of 6 buried in Bakersfield’s Union Cemetery Oct 6.
  22. Unidentified person 3 of 6 buried in Bakersfield’s Union Cemetery Oct 6.
  23. Unidentified person 4 of 6 buried in Bakersfield’s Union Cemetery Oct 6.
  24. Unidentified person 5 of 6 buried in Bakersfield’s Union Cemetery Oct 6.
  25. Unidentified person 6 of 6 buried in Bakersfield’s Union Cemetery Oct 6.

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Man Thought Dead in Kern Flood Jailed.” Bakersfield Californian. 10-28-1932, p. 9. Accessed 1-13-2025: https://newspaperarchive.com/bakersfield-californian-oct-28-1932-p-9/

 

Bakersfield Californian. “Believe 30 Perished in Tehachapi Cloudburst.” 10-1-1932, 1. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=156315795

 

Bakersfield Californian, “Broadcast Description of Unidentified Victims.” 10-7-1932, p. 1. Accessed 1-13-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bakersfield-californian-oct-07-1932-p-11/

 

Bakersfield Californian. “Find Bodies of Ross and Williamson Girl.” 10-10-1932, 1. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=156315852

 

Bakersfield Californian. “Giant Railroad Engine Swept 40 Feet by Torrent; Continue Hunt for Bodies.” 10-5-1932, p. 7. Accessed 1-13-2025 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/bakersfield-californian-oct-05-1932-p-7/

 

Bakersfield Californian. “Many Bodies Taken From Debris; Score More Being Sought; Known Dead Grows.” 10-3-1932, p. 1. Accessed 1-13-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bakersfield-californian-oct-03-1932-p-1/

 

Bakersfield Californian. “Railway Traffic to be Resumed Saturday.” 10-13-1932, p. 13. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=156315880

 

Bakersfield Californian. “Salvaging Huge Train Engine Is Now Under Way.” 10-24-1932, p. 7. Accessed 1-13-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bakersfield-californian-oct-24-1932-p-7/

 

Bakersfield Californian. “Two Victims of Kern Flood Are Identified Here.” 10-17-1932, p. 7. Accessed 1-13-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bakersfield-californian-oct-17-1932-p-7/

 

Gracey, Pat. “The Flood of 1932 (part 1).” The Loop Newspaper, Tehachapi, CA, 9-17-2022. Accessed 1-13-2025 at: https://www.theloopnewspaper.com/story/2022/09/17/community/the-flood-of-1932-part-1/9963.html

 

National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, San Joaquin Valley-Hanford. “The Top 15 Weather Events in the Central California Interior.” 1-6-2011. Accessed 1-29-2012 at: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/hnx/events/Top15WxEvents.pdf

 

Oakland Tribune, CA. “Rain Halts Rescue Work As 40 Die in Tehachapi Flood (continued from p.1).” 10-2-1932, p. 9. Accessed 1-13-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oakland-tribune-oct-02-1932-p-9/

 

San Mateo  Times, CA. “Box Car Tomb of 21, Buried in Flood Debris, Fear.” 10-4-1932, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=37259539

 

San Mateo Times, CA. “More Bodies in Tehachapi Debris Sought.” 10-5-1932, p. 2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=37259546

 

State of California Department of Public Works. Report on Flood of September 30, 1932 on Tehachapi Creek, Kern County, California.  Jan, 1933. Accessed at:  http://carroll.dss.ucdavis.edu/index/1933%20Report%20on%20Flood%20of%20Sep.%2030%201932%20on%20Tehachapi%20Creek%20Robert%20L%20Wing.pdf

 

United Press. “6 Unidentified To Be Buried.” Oakland Tribune, CA, 10-6-1932, p. 2. Accessed 1-13-2025 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oakland-tribune-oct-06-1932-p-2/

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Bakersfield Californian. “Two Victims of Kern Flood Are Identified Here.” 10-17-1932, p. 7.

[2] Bakersfield Californian. “Two Victims of Kern Flood Are Identified Here.” 10-17-1932, p. 7.

[3] Baker was wanted in Los Angeles for burglary. He explained when caught later back in L.A. that he “found the body of a man known to me only as ‘Tydings’ and identified it as my own. I though I could bring to an end the search for me.” (AP. “Man Thought Dead in Kern Flood Jailed.” Bakersfield Californian. 10-28-1932, p. 9.)

[4] Granddaughter of Mrs. Cooper.

[5] We speculate that this and the next unidentified person were in the six unidentified buried Oct 6 un Bakersfield’s Union Cemetery.

[6] Descriptions of five unidentified victims were printed by the Bakersfield Californian, “Broadcast Description of Unidentified Victims.” 10-7-1932, p. 1. Two were identified on or about Oct 17 (Linville and Mason).