Desert Author Heralded in New Book

Tanya with handmade crafts at Yaquitepec, Rudyard on right and Rider on left. PHOTOS COURTESY OF RIDER SOUTH

By Ruth Lepper

Stories written by Marshal South and published in Desert Magazine more than 50 years ago have been compiled in a new book published by Sunbelt Publications.

“Marshal South and Ghost Mountain Chronicles: An Experiment in Primitive Living” is the joint effort of South’s eldest son, Rider South, and Sunbelt publisher Diana Lindsay. They will lecture about the book and present slide shows at several locations during January.

“It is hoped that through the publication of this book that Marshal South receives the recognition for his writing that is long overdue,” Lindsay said. “(He) deserves to be recognized as one of the outstanding writers and promoters of the California desert.”

Rider and Rudyard South sitting by a cistern in front of the house.

Marshal South and his family lived on Ghost Mountain from 1930 to 1947. The house he built for his family was known as Yaquitepec, located at the end of a steep trail in the Anza-Borrego Desert’s Blair Valley.

During a 10-year period, South, an artist, poet and author, wrote about their primitive lifestyle in monthly articles for Desert Magazine. His poetry and other works were widely published in the United States, Great Britain and Australia.

Marshal works on his pottery under the ramada with Rider watching.

“Drawing on his poetic skills, he wrote vivid word pictures about the desert, its beauty and natural history, as well as their daily life at Yaquitepec, creating both a very loyal and supportive readership and naysayers who objected to his philosophy and lifestyle,” Lindsay said.

South, whose real name was Roy Bennett Richards, died at age 59 in 1948. Shortly before his death, his wife, Tanya, left him, taking their three children with her to live in Point Loma. Rumors abounded about their abrupt divorce but the true story had never been made public. Tanya died in 1997, a few months before her 100th birthday.

Marshal and Tanya carry water up to Yaquitepec, 12 gallons at a time.

“Although South explained in his articles what drew him and his wife Tanya to the desert and Ghost Mountain, how they built their home and why they chose an unconventional lifestyle, questions still remain,” Lindsay wrote in the foreword to the book.

Rider South, 70, who wrote the introduction to the book, said it is time “to set the record straight” with this work, which includes many of his personal recollections of his parents and growing up on Ghost Mountain. The book also includes many family photographs not previously published.

Rider South and his wife, Lucile, now live in New Mexico.

The book tour will include a visit to the Haven of Rest Cemetery in Julian, where Rider South will unveil a headstone to be placed on his father’s grave. An informal ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. Jan. 22 at the cemetery.

“Marshal was buried in an unmarked grave and during the 1970s, cemetery records were destroyed in a fire and the location of Marshal’s grave was lost,” Lindsay said. “During the research for this book, the location of Marshal’s grave was discovered in an old letter written by the Julian librarian.”

Lindsay was joined in the research for the book by, among others, Kristi Hawthorne, president of Oceanside Historical Society. The South family lived in Oceanside before moving to the desert. Marshal South was considered the “poet laureate” of Oceanside, where many of his poems appeared in newspapers serving that area.

The first in the lecture series in the book tour will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 7 at the Guy B. Woodward Museum, 645 Main St., Ramona. For more information about this engagement, call the museum at (760) 789-7644.

The next day, South and Lindsay will lead a hike from 8:30 a.m. to noon to the ruins of the family homestead on Ghost Mountain. The event is sponsored by the Anza-Borrego Institute as a fundraiser for a proposed film about Marshal South to be made for the state park’s visitor center. There is a charge for the hike: $100 for members of the institute and $125 for others.

A lecture and slide presentation will be offered at 7 that evening at La Casa del Zorro Resort in Borrego Springs. The cost is $5. For more information on the lecture and hike, call (760) 767-4306.

The next presentation in the series will be at 6 p.m. on Jan. 11 at Oceanside Public Library, 333 N. Coast Highway, Oceanside. For more information, call (760) 435-5575.

The tour then moves to the San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park at 7 p.m. Jan. 12 and to D.G. Wills Books in La Jolla on Jan. 14.

Warners Ranch is the site of the next lecture, hosted by Warner Springs Historical Society. It begins at 2 p.m. Jan. 15. Call (760) 782-3652 for more information.

The following day, South and Lindsay will be at Borders Books & Music in El Cajon.

Julian Historical Society will welcome the speakers at 7 p.m. Jan. 19 for its monthly meeting at Julian Woman’s Club, 2607 C St. Call the society at (760) 765-1397 for more information.

The tour will conclude at 6 p.m. Jan. 20 at Barnes & Noble bookstore in Point Loma.

Books will be available for sale at each event and can be autographed by South and Lindsay. Lindsay can be reached at (619) 258-4905, ext. 104.