Ola Elizabeth Steussy
California Death Index
Name Ola Elizabeth Steussy
Event Type Death
Event Date 25 Nov 1996
Event Place Los Angeles, California, United States
Birth Date 16 Jan 1901
Birthplace Oklahoma
Gender Female
Father's Name Harrel
Mother's Name Riley
Buried Nov. 29, 1996.
Obit: STEUSSY, Ola Harrell
Author: Don Stowell Date: 12 Jul 2004 8:49 PM GMT
Surnames: Harrell, Harrel, O'Reilly, Blan, Bennett
Classification: Obituary
Posted by East Kern Genealogical Society
Courtesy of Mojave Desert News, California City, Kern, CA
Published: 02 Dec 1996
Ola Steussy – A Desert Life
By William D. Harrel
Ola Harrell Steussy passed away on November 25, 1996 . . . She took with her 72 years of living in the Boron area. She was giant among us, and foremost a Mojave Desert pioneer.
Ola was born in 1900 on the Cherokee Strip of Oklahoma, with only her mother and elder brother present for the event. Her father, Charles Harrel (the writer's great grandfather), a frontier adventurer and general bum was not present for any of his four children's births. He had, however, made the historic run on the Cherokee Strip to stake out a homestead for his family. Ola's mother, the former Delia O'Reilly, died at the age of 37.
Ola's father, his daughter and three sons migrated to Los Angeles. While the boys went with her father, 16-year-old Ola took a job at a cafe in Los Angeles. She worked at the cafe, and occasionally as a photographer's model, until she met Clarence Steussy. They married and eventually settled on Clarence's father's alfalfa ranch in 1925 at Muroc (Edwards Air Force Base site). There were about six operating ranches around Muroc dry lake before the Army Air Force took the land during the Second World War.
While still at Muroc, Ola's youngest brother Chet, contracted red smallpox and was near death. Ola went to care for him, disregarding her own health. When she returned to the ranch a few weeks later, she found Clarence down with black smallpox. She nursed him back to health.
Because of the newly discovered sodium borax deposit near Kramer Junction (later Amargo, then Boron), Ola and Clarence settled a mile south of the borax works on what is now Boron Avenue in 1927. Clarence dug a shaft, mining borax and gold.
Ola's home for the first two years was a tent, which rattlesnakes had an affinity to visit along with other denizens of the desert. The tent caught on fire and burned to the ground. The fire didn't set off the two boxes of dynamite stored under their bed.
By that time, they decided to stay indefinitely on their property, and built their first house. Clarence went to work for the new expanding borax company, and drilled a water well. Then the Gunns, the Slacks and the Pollocks settled on the property and the tiny settlement was called "Steussyville."
Will Harrell (the writer's grandfather), Ola's elder brother, came back from Missouri to the Steussy's in 1931 to get on at borax without success, he drowned in a log jam off the Puget Sound, north of Seattle in 1933. Louis Harrel (the writer's father) came to Steussy's in 1934, to hire on with Pacific Coast Borax. While waiting for the job that never came he covered the five story water tank tower at Steussy's with corrugated metal for pocket money. The tower is a well-known landmark of the Boron area. Borax employees passed the tower to and from work for at least 30 years.
Ola was the first Boron resident my mother and I met in 1935 (I was two-years-old) when we came out from Missouri. My father landed a job at Trona. In 1960, Ola backed Louis Harrel in a restaurant venture at Four-corners, he was a restaurateur at the corners for 20 years.
Ola took in a young boy to live with them in the mid-thirties and kept him until he joined the Marines. Warren Hubbard became a brigadier general in the Marine Corps. The Steussys helped many families and people get on their feet down through the years. "Steussyville" was a place for homesick G.I.s from Muroc Army Air Base to go during the Second World War.
Ola and Clarence developed a propane business to supply bottled gas to the area. They also built up a hardware and appliance business to serve the burgeoning Boron settlements.
In 1958, Clarence died from a propane fire. The overwhelming flames were ignited when a propane tank rolled off his truck and sheared a valve. The fire burned their first house, three vehicles, sheds and garage. Air Force fire trucks arrived in time to foam down the new house, so their new home survived.
Ola and Clarence adopted two babies in late 1939 and the early 1940s, to raise as their daughters, Doris and Donna. Donna Steussy Blan lives in Oregon. Doris Steussy Bennett lives at "Steussyville," where Ola spent her last days. Ola would have been 97 years in January. She was interred with Clarence at Lancaster Community Cemetery on November 29, 1996. She will be missed and remembered by Boronites young and old.
When my Aunt Ola was about 90, she took myself and two of my grown children out for breakfast. About an hour after I returned home, I received a call from my great aunt: She
apologized for her hairdo not being nice enough.
(transcriber's note: the discrepincies in the spelling of the name Harrel/Harrell are as in the article by the nephew)
1900 United States Federal Census
VIEW IMAGE
VIEW RECORD
Name Ada E Harrel
Age 5/12
Birth Date Jan 1900
Birthplace Oklahoma
Home in 1900 Alva, Woods, Oklahoma
Race White
Gender Female
Relation to Head of House Daughter
Marital Status Single
Father's Name Chas L Harrel
Father's Birthplace Indiana
Mother's Name Della P Harrel
Mother's Birthplace Illinois
Household Members
Name Age
Chas L Harrel 37
Della P Harrel 23
Wm J Harrel 5
Bertie G Harrel 3
Ada E Harrel 5/12
1910 United States Federal Census
VIEW IMAGE
VIEW RECORD
Name Ola Harrel
Age in 1910 10
Birth Year abt 1900
Birthplace Alabama
Home in 1910 Fort Worth Ward 12, Tarrant, Texas
Street Rose Ave
Race White
Gender Female
Relation to Head of House Daughter
Marital Status Single
Father's Birthplace Indiana
Mother's Name Della Harrel
Mother's Birthplace Illinois
Native Tongue English
Attended School Yes
Able to read Yes
Able to Write Yes
Household Members
Name Age
Della Harrel 31
William Harrel 15
Albert Harrel 13
Ola Harrel 10
Raymond Harrel 7
Chester Harrel 5
D M Big 37
1920 United States Federal Census
VIEW IMAGE
VIEW RECORD
Name Ola C Harrel
Age 19
Birth Year abt 1901
Birthplace Oklahoma
Home in 1920 Los Angeles Assembly District 74, Los Angeles, California
Street Wall Street
Race White
Gender Female
Relation to Head of House Sister
Marital Status Single
Father's Birthplace Nebraska
Mother's Birthplace Indiana
Able to Speak English Yes
Occupation Waitress
Industry cafe
Employment Field Wage or Salary
Attended School No
Able to read Yes
Able to Write Yes
Household Members
Name Age
Raymond C Harrel 17
Ola C Harrel 19
Ola E Stensey
in the 1930 United States Federal Census
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Name: Ola E Stensey
[Ola E Steussynsey]
[Ola E Steussy]
[Ola E Stensay]
Birth Year: abt 1900
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Oklahoma
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Homemaker?: Yes
Home in 1930: Muroc, Kern, California
Map of Home: View Map
Dwelling Number: 185
Family Number: 185
Age at First Marriage: 25
Attended School: No
Able to Read and Write: Yes
Father's Birthplace: Indiana
Mother's Birthplace: Indiana
Able to Speak English: Yes
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Clarence H Stensey 29
Ola E Stensey 30
Warren J Hubbard 7
Ola E Stinsey
in the 1940 United States Federal Census
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Name: Ola E Stinsey
[Ola E Steussy]
Age: 39
Estimated birth year: abt 1901
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Oklahoma
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Home in 1940: Kern, California
Map of Home in 1940: View Map
Inferred Residence in 1935: Sp, Kern, California
Residence in 1935: Same Place
Sheet Number: 18B
Attended School or College: No
Highest Grade Completed: Elementary school, 8th grade
Weeks Worked in 1939: 0
Income: 0
Income Other Sources: No
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Clarence Stinsey 39
Ola E Stinsey 39
Doris Stinsey 8/12
California Death Index
Name Ola Elizabeth Steussy
Event Type Death
Event Date 25 Nov 1996
Event Place Los Angeles, California, United States
Birth Date 16 Jan 1901
Birthplace Oklahoma
Gender Female
Father's Name Harrel
Mother's Name Riley
Buried Nov. 29, 1996.
Obit: STEUSSY, Ola Harrell
Author: Don Stowell Date: 12 Jul 2004 8:49 PM GMT
Surnames: Harrell, Harrel, O'Reilly, Blan, Bennett
Classification: Obituary
Posted by East Kern Genealogical Society
Courtesy of Mojave Desert News, California City, Kern, CA
Published: 02 Dec 1996
Ola Steussy – A Desert Life
By William D. Harrel
Ola Harrell Steussy passed away on November 25, 1996 . . . She took with her 72 years of living in the Boron area. She was giant among us, and foremost a Mojave Desert pioneer.
Ola was born in 1900 on the Cherokee Strip of Oklahoma, with only her mother and elder brother present for the event. Her father, Charles Harrel (the writer's great grandfather), a frontier adventurer and general bum was not present for any of his four children's births. He had, however, made the historic run on the Cherokee Strip to stake out a homestead for his family. Ola's mother, the former Delia O'Reilly, died at the age of 37.
Ola's father, his daughter and three sons migrated to Los Angeles. While the boys went with her father, 16-year-old Ola took a job at a cafe in Los Angeles. She worked at the cafe, and occasionally as a photographer's model, until she met Clarence Steussy. They married and eventually settled on Clarence's father's alfalfa ranch in 1925 at Muroc (Edwards Air Force Base site). There were about six operating ranches around Muroc dry lake before the Army Air Force took the land during the Second World War.
While still at Muroc, Ola's youngest brother Chet, contracted red smallpox and was near death. Ola went to care for him, disregarding her own health. When she returned to the ranch a few weeks later, she found Clarence down with black smallpox. She nursed him back to health.
Because of the newly discovered sodium borax deposit near Kramer Junction (later Amargo, then Boron), Ola and Clarence settled a mile south of the borax works on what is now Boron Avenue in 1927. Clarence dug a shaft, mining borax and gold.
Ola's home for the first two years was a tent, which rattlesnakes had an affinity to visit along with other denizens of the desert. The tent caught on fire and burned to the ground. The fire didn't set off the two boxes of dynamite stored under their bed.
By that time, they decided to stay indefinitely on their property, and built their first house. Clarence went to work for the new expanding borax company, and drilled a water well. Then the Gunns, the Slacks and the Pollocks settled on the property and the tiny settlement was called "Steussyville."
Will Harrell (the writer's grandfather), Ola's elder brother, came back from Missouri to the Steussy's in 1931 to get on at borax without success, he drowned in a log jam off the Puget Sound, north of Seattle in 1933. Louis Harrel (the writer's father) came to Steussy's in 1934, to hire on with Pacific Coast Borax. While waiting for the job that never came he covered the five story water tank tower at Steussy's with corrugated metal for pocket money. The tower is a well-known landmark of the Boron area. Borax employees passed the tower to and from work for at least 30 years.
Ola was the first Boron resident my mother and I met in 1935 (I was two-years-old) when we came out from Missouri. My father landed a job at Trona. In 1960, Ola backed Louis Harrel in a restaurant venture at Four-corners, he was a restaurateur at the corners for 20 years.
Ola took in a young boy to live with them in the mid-thirties and kept him until he joined the Marines. Warren Hubbard became a brigadier general in the Marine Corps. The Steussys helped many families and people get on their feet down through the years. "Steussyville" was a place for homesick G.I.s from Muroc Army Air Base to go during the Second World War.
Ola and Clarence developed a propane business to supply bottled gas to the area. They also built up a hardware and appliance business to serve the burgeoning Boron settlements.
In 1958, Clarence died from a propane fire. The overwhelming flames were ignited when a propane tank rolled off his truck and sheared a valve. The fire burned their first house, three vehicles, sheds and garage. Air Force fire trucks arrived in time to foam down the new house, so their new home survived.
Ola and Clarence adopted two babies in late 1939 and the early 1940s, to raise as their daughters, Doris and Donna. Donna Steussy Blan lives in Oregon. Doris Steussy Bennett lives at "Steussyville," where Ola spent her last days. Ola would have been 97 years in January. She was interred with Clarence at Lancaster Community Cemetery on November 29, 1996. She will be missed and remembered by Boronites young and old.
When my Aunt Ola was about 90, she took myself and two of my grown children out for breakfast. About an hour after I returned home, I received a call from my great aunt: She
apologized for her hairdo not being nice enough.
(transcriber's note: the discrepincies in the spelling of the name Harrel/Harrell are as in the article by the nephew)
1900 United States Federal Census
VIEW IMAGE
VIEW RECORD
Name Ada E Harrel
Age 5/12
Birth Date Jan 1900
Birthplace Oklahoma
Home in 1900 Alva, Woods, Oklahoma
Race White
Gender Female
Relation to Head of House Daughter
Marital Status Single
Father's Name Chas L Harrel
Father's Birthplace Indiana
Mother's Name Della P Harrel
Mother's Birthplace Illinois
Household Members
Name Age
Chas L Harrel 37
Della P Harrel 23
Wm J Harrel 5
Bertie G Harrel 3
Ada E Harrel 5/12
1910 United States Federal Census
VIEW IMAGE
VIEW RECORD
Name Ola Harrel
Age in 1910 10
Birth Year abt 1900
Birthplace Alabama
Home in 1910 Fort Worth Ward 12, Tarrant, Texas
Street Rose Ave
Race White
Gender Female
Relation to Head of House Daughter
Marital Status Single
Father's Birthplace Indiana
Mother's Name Della Harrel
Mother's Birthplace Illinois
Native Tongue English
Attended School Yes
Able to read Yes
Able to Write Yes
Household Members
Name Age
Della Harrel 31
William Harrel 15
Albert Harrel 13
Ola Harrel 10
Raymond Harrel 7
Chester Harrel 5
D M Big 37
1920 United States Federal Census
VIEW IMAGE
VIEW RECORD
Name Ola C Harrel
Age 19
Birth Year abt 1901
Birthplace Oklahoma
Home in 1920 Los Angeles Assembly District 74, Los Angeles, California
Street Wall Street
Race White
Gender Female
Relation to Head of House Sister
Marital Status Single
Father's Birthplace Nebraska
Mother's Birthplace Indiana
Able to Speak English Yes
Occupation Waitress
Industry cafe
Employment Field Wage or Salary
Attended School No
Able to read Yes
Able to Write Yes
Household Members
Name Age
Raymond C Harrel 17
Ola C Harrel 19
Ola E Stensey
in the 1930 United States Federal Census
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Name: Ola E Stensey
[Ola E Steussynsey]
[Ola E Steussy]
[Ola E Stensay]
Birth Year: abt 1900
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Oklahoma
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Homemaker?: Yes
Home in 1930: Muroc, Kern, California
Map of Home: View Map
Dwelling Number: 185
Family Number: 185
Age at First Marriage: 25
Attended School: No
Able to Read and Write: Yes
Father's Birthplace: Indiana
Mother's Birthplace: Indiana
Able to Speak English: Yes
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Clarence H Stensey 29
Ola E Stensey 30
Warren J Hubbard 7
Ola E Stinsey
in the 1940 United States Federal Census
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Name: Ola E Stinsey
[Ola E Steussy]
Age: 39
Estimated birth year: abt 1901
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Oklahoma
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Home in 1940: Kern, California
Map of Home in 1940: View Map
Inferred Residence in 1935: Sp, Kern, California
Residence in 1935: Same Place
Sheet Number: 18B
Attended School or College: No
Highest Grade Completed: Elementary school, 8th grade
Weeks Worked in 1939: 0
Income: 0
Income Other Sources: No
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Clarence Stinsey 39
Ola E Stinsey 39
Doris Stinsey 8/12
Ola Elizabeth Steussy
California Death Index
Name Ola Elizabeth Steussy
Event Type Death
Event Date 25 Nov 1996
Event Place Los Angeles, California, United States
Birth Date 16 Jan 1901
Birthplace Oklahoma
Gender Female
Father's Name Harrel
Mother's Name Riley
Buried Nov. 29, 1996.
Obit: STEUSSY, Ola Harrell
Author: Don Stowell Date: 12 Jul 2004 8:49 PM GMT
Surnames: Harrell, Harrel, O'Reilly, Blan, Bennett
Classification: Obituary
Posted by East Kern Genealogical Society
Courtesy of Mojave Desert News, California City, Kern, CA
Published: 02 Dec 1996
Ola Steussy – A Desert Life
By William D. Harrel
Ola Harrell Steussy passed away on November 25, 1996 . . . She took with her 72 years of living in the Boron area. She was giant among us, and foremost a Mojave Desert pioneer.
Ola was born in 1900 on the Cherokee Strip of Oklahoma, with only her mother and elder brother present for the event. Her father, Charles Harrel (the writer's great grandfather), a frontier adventurer and general bum was not present for any of his four children's births. He had, however, made the historic run on the Cherokee Strip to stake out a homestead for his family. Ola's mother, the former Delia O'Reilly, died at the age of 37.
Ola's father, his daughter and three sons migrated to Los Angeles. While the boys went with her father, 16-year-old Ola took a job at a cafe in Los Angeles. She worked at the cafe, and occasionally as a photographer's model, until she met Clarence Steussy. They married and eventually settled on Clarence's father's alfalfa ranch in 1925 at Muroc (Edwards Air Force Base site). There were about six operating ranches around Muroc dry lake before the Army Air Force took the land during the Second World War.
While still at Muroc, Ola's youngest brother Chet, contracted red smallpox and was near death. Ola went to care for him, disregarding her own health. When she returned to the ranch a few weeks later, she found Clarence down with black smallpox. She nursed him back to health.
Because of the newly discovered sodium borax deposit near Kramer Junction (later Amargo, then Boron), Ola and Clarence settled a mile south of the borax works on what is now Boron Avenue in 1927. Clarence dug a shaft, mining borax and gold.
Ola's home for the first two years was a tent, which rattlesnakes had an affinity to visit along with other denizens of the desert. The tent caught on fire and burned to the ground. The fire didn't set off the two boxes of dynamite stored under their bed.
By that time, they decided to stay indefinitely on their property, and built their first house. Clarence went to work for the new expanding borax company, and drilled a water well. Then the Gunns, the Slacks and the Pollocks settled on the property and the tiny settlement was called "Steussyville."
Will Harrell (the writer's grandfather), Ola's elder brother, came back from Missouri to the Steussy's in 1931 to get on at borax without success, he drowned in a log jam off the Puget Sound, north of Seattle in 1933. Louis Harrel (the writer's father) came to Steussy's in 1934, to hire on with Pacific Coast Borax. While waiting for the job that never came he covered the five story water tank tower at Steussy's with corrugated metal for pocket money. The tower is a well-known landmark of the Boron area. Borax employees passed the tower to and from work for at least 30 years.
Ola was the first Boron resident my mother and I met in 1935 (I was two-years-old) when we came out from Missouri. My father landed a job at Trona. In 1960, Ola backed Louis Harrel in a restaurant venture at Four-corners, he was a restaurateur at the corners for 20 years.
Ola took in a young boy to live with them in the mid-thirties and kept him until he joined the Marines. Warren Hubbard became a brigadier general in the Marine Corps. The Steussys helped many families and people get on their feet down through the years. "Steussyville" was a place for homesick G.I.s from Muroc Army Air Base to go during the Second World War.
Ola and Clarence developed a propane business to supply bottled gas to the area. They also built up a hardware and appliance business to serve the burgeoning Boron settlements.
In 1958, Clarence died from a propane fire. The overwhelming flames were ignited when a propane tank rolled off his truck and sheared a valve. The fire burned their first house, three vehicles, sheds and garage. Air Force fire trucks arrived in time to foam down the new house, so their new home survived.
Ola and Clarence adopted two babies in late 1939 and the early 1940s, to raise as their daughters, Doris and Donna. Donna Steussy Blan lives in Oregon. Doris Steussy Bennett lives at "Steussyville," where Ola spent her last days. Ola would have been 97 years in January. She was interred with Clarence at Lancaster Community Cemetery on November 29, 1996. She will be missed and remembered by Boronites young and old.
When my Aunt Ola was about 90, she took myself and two of my grown children out for breakfast. About an hour after I returned home, I received a call from my great aunt: She
apologized for her hairdo not being nice enough.
(transcriber's note: the discrepincies in the spelling of the name Harrel/Harrell are as in the article by the nephew)
1900 United States Federal Census
VIEW IMAGE
VIEW RECORD
Name Ada E Harrel
Age 5/12
Birth Date Jan 1900
Birthplace Oklahoma
Home in 1900 Alva, Woods, Oklahoma
Race White
Gender Female
Relation to Head of House Daughter
Marital Status Single
Father's Name Chas L Harrel
Father's Birthplace Indiana
Mother's Name Della P Harrel
Mother's Birthplace Illinois
Household Members
Name Age
Chas L Harrel 37
Della P Harrel 23
Wm J Harrel 5
Bertie G Harrel 3
Ada E Harrel 5/12
1910 United States Federal Census
VIEW IMAGE
VIEW RECORD
Name Ola Harrel
Age in 1910 10
Birth Year abt 1900
Birthplace Alabama
Home in 1910 Fort Worth Ward 12, Tarrant, Texas
Street Rose Ave
Race White
Gender Female
Relation to Head of House Daughter
Marital Status Single
Father's Birthplace Indiana
Mother's Name Della Harrel
Mother's Birthplace Illinois
Native Tongue English
Attended School Yes
Able to read Yes
Able to Write Yes
Household Members
Name Age
Della Harrel 31
William Harrel 15
Albert Harrel 13
Ola Harrel 10
Raymond Harrel 7
Chester Harrel 5
D M Big 37
1920 United States Federal Census
VIEW IMAGE
VIEW RECORD
Name Ola C Harrel
Age 19
Birth Year abt 1901
Birthplace Oklahoma
Home in 1920 Los Angeles Assembly District 74, Los Angeles, California
Street Wall Street
Race White
Gender Female
Relation to Head of House Sister
Marital Status Single
Father's Birthplace Nebraska
Mother's Birthplace Indiana
Able to Speak English Yes
Occupation Waitress
Industry cafe
Employment Field Wage or Salary
Attended School No
Able to read Yes
Able to Write Yes
Household Members
Name Age
Raymond C Harrel 17
Ola C Harrel 19
Ola E Stensey
in the 1930 United States Federal Census
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Name: Ola E Stensey
[Ola E Steussynsey]
[Ola E Steussy]
[Ola E Stensay]
Birth Year: abt 1900
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Oklahoma
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Homemaker?: Yes
Home in 1930: Muroc, Kern, California
Map of Home: View Map
Dwelling Number: 185
Family Number: 185
Age at First Marriage: 25
Attended School: No
Able to Read and Write: Yes
Father's Birthplace: Indiana
Mother's Birthplace: Indiana
Able to Speak English: Yes
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Clarence H Stensey 29
Ola E Stensey 30
Warren J Hubbard 7
Ola E Stinsey
in the 1940 United States Federal Census
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Name: Ola E Stinsey
[Ola E Steussy]
Age: 39
Estimated birth year: abt 1901
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Oklahoma
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Home in 1940: Kern, California
Map of Home in 1940: View Map
Inferred Residence in 1935: Sp, Kern, California
Residence in 1935: Same Place
Sheet Number: 18B
Attended School or College: No
Highest Grade Completed: Elementary school, 8th grade
Weeks Worked in 1939: 0
Income: 0
Income Other Sources: No
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Clarence Stinsey 39
Ola E Stinsey 39
Doris Stinsey 8/12
California Death Index
Name Ola Elizabeth Steussy
Event Type Death
Event Date 25 Nov 1996
Event Place Los Angeles, California, United States
Birth Date 16 Jan 1901
Birthplace Oklahoma
Gender Female
Father's Name Harrel
Mother's Name Riley
Buried Nov. 29, 1996.
Obit: STEUSSY, Ola Harrell
Author: Don Stowell Date: 12 Jul 2004 8:49 PM GMT
Surnames: Harrell, Harrel, O'Reilly, Blan, Bennett
Classification: Obituary
Posted by East Kern Genealogical Society
Courtesy of Mojave Desert News, California City, Kern, CA
Published: 02 Dec 1996
Ola Steussy – A Desert Life
By William D. Harrel
Ola Harrell Steussy passed away on November 25, 1996 . . . She took with her 72 years of living in the Boron area. She was giant among us, and foremost a Mojave Desert pioneer.
Ola was born in 1900 on the Cherokee Strip of Oklahoma, with only her mother and elder brother present for the event. Her father, Charles Harrel (the writer's great grandfather), a frontier adventurer and general bum was not present for any of his four children's births. He had, however, made the historic run on the Cherokee Strip to stake out a homestead for his family. Ola's mother, the former Delia O'Reilly, died at the age of 37.
Ola's father, his daughter and three sons migrated to Los Angeles. While the boys went with her father, 16-year-old Ola took a job at a cafe in Los Angeles. She worked at the cafe, and occasionally as a photographer's model, until she met Clarence Steussy. They married and eventually settled on Clarence's father's alfalfa ranch in 1925 at Muroc (Edwards Air Force Base site). There were about six operating ranches around Muroc dry lake before the Army Air Force took the land during the Second World War.
While still at Muroc, Ola's youngest brother Chet, contracted red smallpox and was near death. Ola went to care for him, disregarding her own health. When she returned to the ranch a few weeks later, she found Clarence down with black smallpox. She nursed him back to health.
Because of the newly discovered sodium borax deposit near Kramer Junction (later Amargo, then Boron), Ola and Clarence settled a mile south of the borax works on what is now Boron Avenue in 1927. Clarence dug a shaft, mining borax and gold.
Ola's home for the first two years was a tent, which rattlesnakes had an affinity to visit along with other denizens of the desert. The tent caught on fire and burned to the ground. The fire didn't set off the two boxes of dynamite stored under their bed.
By that time, they decided to stay indefinitely on their property, and built their first house. Clarence went to work for the new expanding borax company, and drilled a water well. Then the Gunns, the Slacks and the Pollocks settled on the property and the tiny settlement was called "Steussyville."
Will Harrell (the writer's grandfather), Ola's elder brother, came back from Missouri to the Steussy's in 1931 to get on at borax without success, he drowned in a log jam off the Puget Sound, north of Seattle in 1933. Louis Harrel (the writer's father) came to Steussy's in 1934, to hire on with Pacific Coast Borax. While waiting for the job that never came he covered the five story water tank tower at Steussy's with corrugated metal for pocket money. The tower is a well-known landmark of the Boron area. Borax employees passed the tower to and from work for at least 30 years.
Ola was the first Boron resident my mother and I met in 1935 (I was two-years-old) when we came out from Missouri. My father landed a job at Trona. In 1960, Ola backed Louis Harrel in a restaurant venture at Four-corners, he was a restaurateur at the corners for 20 years.
Ola took in a young boy to live with them in the mid-thirties and kept him until he joined the Marines. Warren Hubbard became a brigadier general in the Marine Corps. The Steussys helped many families and people get on their feet down through the years. "Steussyville" was a place for homesick G.I.s from Muroc Army Air Base to go during the Second World War.
Ola and Clarence developed a propane business to supply bottled gas to the area. They also built up a hardware and appliance business to serve the burgeoning Boron settlements.
In 1958, Clarence died from a propane fire. The overwhelming flames were ignited when a propane tank rolled off his truck and sheared a valve. The fire burned their first house, three vehicles, sheds and garage. Air Force fire trucks arrived in time to foam down the new house, so their new home survived.
Ola and Clarence adopted two babies in late 1939 and the early 1940s, to raise as their daughters, Doris and Donna. Donna Steussy Blan lives in Oregon. Doris Steussy Bennett lives at "Steussyville," where Ola spent her last days. Ola would have been 97 years in January. She was interred with Clarence at Lancaster Community Cemetery on November 29, 1996. She will be missed and remembered by Boronites young and old.
When my Aunt Ola was about 90, she took myself and two of my grown children out for breakfast. About an hour after I returned home, I received a call from my great aunt: She
apologized for her hairdo not being nice enough.
(transcriber's note: the discrepincies in the spelling of the name Harrel/Harrell are as in the article by the nephew)
1900 United States Federal Census
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Name Ada E Harrel
Age 5/12
Birth Date Jan 1900
Birthplace Oklahoma
Home in 1900 Alva, Woods, Oklahoma
Race White
Gender Female
Relation to Head of House Daughter
Marital Status Single
Father's Name Chas L Harrel
Father's Birthplace Indiana
Mother's Name Della P Harrel
Mother's Birthplace Illinois
Household Members
Name Age
Chas L Harrel 37
Della P Harrel 23
Wm J Harrel 5
Bertie G Harrel 3
Ada E Harrel 5/12
1910 United States Federal Census
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Name Ola Harrel
Age in 1910 10
Birth Year abt 1900
Birthplace Alabama
Home in 1910 Fort Worth Ward 12, Tarrant, Texas
Street Rose Ave
Race White
Gender Female
Relation to Head of House Daughter
Marital Status Single
Father's Birthplace Indiana
Mother's Name Della Harrel
Mother's Birthplace Illinois
Native Tongue English
Attended School Yes
Able to read Yes
Able to Write Yes
Household Members
Name Age
Della Harrel 31
William Harrel 15
Albert Harrel 13
Ola Harrel 10
Raymond Harrel 7
Chester Harrel 5
D M Big 37
1920 United States Federal Census
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Name Ola C Harrel
Age 19
Birth Year abt 1901
Birthplace Oklahoma
Home in 1920 Los Angeles Assembly District 74, Los Angeles, California
Street Wall Street
Race White
Gender Female
Relation to Head of House Sister
Marital Status Single
Father's Birthplace Nebraska
Mother's Birthplace Indiana
Able to Speak English Yes
Occupation Waitress
Industry cafe
Employment Field Wage or Salary
Attended School No
Able to read Yes
Able to Write Yes
Household Members
Name Age
Raymond C Harrel 17
Ola C Harrel 19
Ola E Stensey
in the 1930 United States Federal Census
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Name: Ola E Stensey
[Ola E Steussynsey]
[Ola E Steussy]
[Ola E Stensay]
Birth Year: abt 1900
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Oklahoma
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Homemaker?: Yes
Home in 1930: Muroc, Kern, California
Map of Home: View Map
Dwelling Number: 185
Family Number: 185
Age at First Marriage: 25
Attended School: No
Able to Read and Write: Yes
Father's Birthplace: Indiana
Mother's Birthplace: Indiana
Able to Speak English: Yes
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Clarence H Stensey 29
Ola E Stensey 30
Warren J Hubbard 7
Ola E Stinsey
in the 1940 United States Federal Census
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Name: Ola E Stinsey
[Ola E Steussy]
Age: 39
Estimated birth year: abt 1901
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birthplace: Oklahoma
Marital Status: Married
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Home in 1940: Kern, California
Map of Home in 1940: View Map
Inferred Residence in 1935: Sp, Kern, California
Residence in 1935: Same Place
Sheet Number: 18B
Attended School or College: No
Highest Grade Completed: Elementary school, 8th grade
Weeks Worked in 1939: 0
Income: 0
Income Other Sources: No
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
Clarence Stinsey 39
Ola E Stinsey 39
Doris Stinsey 8/12
Family Members
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