YUMA CROSSING HISTORIC PARK
DISPLAY AND DRY DRESS-IN

A display to honor Al Christie and his crew for their work on the Colorado River Siphon in the early 1900's was set up in cooperation with the Yuma Crossing State Historic Park in Yuma, Arizona. A dry dress-in was held on Sunday, December 3rd to give observers a chance to see what it was like to use the heavy gear of that bygone era. Mark V gear was used along with a hand operated one-cylinder air pump.

The Yuma Crossing State Historic Park is located on 20 acres along the Colorado River at the site of the Ft. Yuma Quatermaster Depot. The Depot was used by the U.S. Army in the 1800's to distribute supplies for military posts in Arizona as well as others located in Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas. Several structures still stand and are currently used to house the artifacts on display at the Park.

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The Park is currently working to set up a permanent display about the Colorado River Project, the Siphon, and the men who made this engineering feat a reality. This project, completed in 1912, was considered one of the greatest achievements of engineering at the time and was considered to be the leading story of the 20th century in the Yuma area. The Colorado River Siphon still exists and has been instrumental in making agriculture the number one industry in Yuma County today.

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80 year old Lester Ritchie dresses in with the help of Charlie Orr (CCED) and Jerry Emert, Director of the Yuma Crossing State Historic Park. Mr. Ritchie is a Pearl Harbor Survivor and spent two years diving on the USS Arizona after it was sunk in 1941.

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Lester Ritchie in the classic "Hero Pose"

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Left: Lester Ritchie in full Mark V gear.
Right: As Mr. Ritchie removes the dress notice the medalion he wears around his neck. He was required to wear this medalion at all times when he was a diver. It gives instructions that if he is in need of medical attention to immediately take him to a decompression chamber.

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