May 12, 2002:   Aletha Wood, great granddaughter of Clarence Badger, visited Lone Pine May 10-11, touring the Badger Ranch (now know as Cuffe Guest Ranch of Movie Fame) and seeing several film locations use by Badger in his pictures. Clarence Badger was a director who filmed what may be the first film in Lone Pine, Water, Water Everywhere in 1919, predating The Round-Up with Fatty Arbuckle by a few months. He had built a ranch there a few years earlier, and introduced the film industry to Lone Pine as a film location. A letter from Badger to Irene Cuffe recently uncovered by Film Historian Dave Holland identified seven of Badger’s films as having been made in Lone Pine between 1919 and 1937. The letter and several stills from the films were recently recovered upon Mrs. Cuffe’s death. Aletha, accompanied by Dave and Holly Holland, Festival Director Dorothy Bonnefin, and Foundation President Chris Langley also visited several sites of filming identified by stills of Sidney Blackmer in the movie Woman Hungry (1937), the last of the Badger pictures made locally. Finally, Aletha brought many photos from the family collection which she is allowing the Museum to copy and keep in the growing historical collection. Aletha and her mother will be attending the 2002 Festival as special guests. Look for a feature on Clarence Badger and Lone Pine Film History coming soon to this website.