Letters: Sun Village, then and now

Re “Feeling burned in Sun Village,” Column One, Sept. 24

Beginning in 1964, I participated in the Sun Village Waterworks District project. In contrast to the prejudice averred in your article, we in the L.A. County engineer’s department worked hard to provide the remote desert enclave with municipal water.

I was responsible for engineering Jackie Robinson Park. Ever since junior high, Robinson had been a hero of mine, as when he tore up the gridiron for UCLA. I followed him religiously when he broke Major League Baseball’s color line.

Jackie Robinson Park was a labor of love. I really gold-plated the work, drilling a huge well so there’d be an ample water supply and installing beautiful landscaping. When Robinson came for the dedication, he asked who was responsible and was told about the work of various politicians. He said, “No, who did the work?” He came over to thank me and had a picture taken with me.

So much for racism and Sun Village back then.

Ken Kvammen

Newport Beach

The article tells of a gentleman who had to travel 30 miles from his home in Sun Village to his job at Edwards Air Force Base. The implication is that because he was black, he had to live in Sun Village, which required him to drive 30 miles to work.

In fact, living in most population centers in the Antelope Valley requires a lengthy drive to Edwards. Perhaps the exception is Rosamond, but even then, if you work at Edwards for NASA, you will still drive a ways.

Curt Redecker

Lancaster

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