DWP manager James Yannotta with Lauren Bon

100  Mules  Off  to  Good  Start

By  Charles  James

If  one  person  can  be  “stubborn  as  a  mule”,  how  stubborn  could  100  mules  be?  If  you  were  the  least  bit   curious,  you  might  have  found  out  on  Friday  at  the  L.A.  Aqueduct  Intake  in  Aberdeen.  That  would  be  if   you  could  find  it!  There  was  considerable  confusion  over  exactly  where  the  event  was  kicking  off,  with   many  people  confusing  the  Intake  with  Aberdeen  Station.

True Owens Valley sentiments were expressed too.

A  plaque  ceremony  at  the  Intake  was  followed  by  a  12:30  p.m.  departure  of  100  mules  managed  by   Roesers  of  McGee  Creek  Pack  Station  recruited  by  artist  Lauren  Bon  of  Metabolic  Studio  to   commemorate  the  100th  Anniversary  of  the  L.A.  Aqueduct,  which  first  opened  in  1913.        On  hand  were  a  number  of  dignitaries,  including  Inyo  County  Supervisors  Linda  Arcularius,  Mark   Tillemans,  and  Matt  Kingsley.  Los  Angeles  Deputy  Mayor  Doane  Lui  sitting  atop  his  mule  was  also   traveling  south  with  the  group.

Also  on  hand  was  Jim  Yannotta,  Manager  of  the  Los  Angeles  Department  of  Water  and  Power  Aqueduct.     According  to  a  spokeswoman  for  Bonn,  “The  DWP  could  not  have  been  more  cooperative.  Lauren  feels   that  they  genuinely  pulled  out  all  the  stops  to  help  us  make  this  presentation  a  success.”      Use  of  the  mules  to  symbolize  the  100th  Anniversary  of  the  Aqueduct  was  a  natural  choice.  Without  the   hundreds  of  mules  used  to  build  the  aqueduct,  it  is  unlikely  it  would  have  ever  been  built.  Stubbornness   has  also  been  a  common  hallmark  of  the  relationship  between  valley  residents  and  LADWP.

Traveling  all  the  way  to  Los  Angeles  took  some  serious  effort,  involving  some  serious  logistics.  To feed  and  water  mules  and  people  alone  would  have  been  a  challenge,  but  getting  all  of  the  approvals  from   government  agencies  and  private  land  owners  to  traverse  the  240-­‐mile  trip  for  27  days  along  the  L.A.   Aqueduct  was  a  considerable  achievement  all  on  its  own.  Bon  hopes  the  performance  will  remind  Los   Angeles  residents  that  they  have  been  receiving  water  from  the  Owens  Valley  for  100  years.      Interested  readers  can  follow  the  100  Mules  Walking  the  Los  Angeles  Aqueduct  performance’s  progress   at  a  special  Facebook  online  site   https://www.facebook.com/OneHundredMulesWalkingtheLosAngelesAqueduct.