Dennis G. Casebier

Dennis G. Casebier. Dennis Casebier was a scientist, explorer, and historian. Raised in Topeka, Kansas, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1953 and was stationed in Twentynine Palms, CA, where he became enchanted with the wide-open expanses of the Mojave Desert. , Leaving the Marines in 1956, he attended Washburn University receiving a degree in mathematics and physics. There was a need for scientists and engineers after the Soviets put Sputnik in space in 1957. In 1960 he took a position at the Navy Guided-Missile Laboratory in Norco, California, which turned into a 30-year career. , Dennis continued his exploration and research of the Mojave. He authored many books, including the Mojave Road Guide and the East Mojave Heritage Trail series. He formed a group of like-minded enthusiasts called Friends of the Mojave Road. , After Dennis retired from federal service in 1989, he and his wife Jo Ann purchased the crumbling Goffs Schoolhouse and the surrounding 100 acres and moved to Goffs with his books and research materials. In 1993, the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association (MDHCA) was formed to ensure that the historical research collection and the work being done on the schoolhouse property at Goffs would exist in perpetuity. Over the years the Friends of the Mojave Road and members of the MDHCA contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars and innumerable hours of volunteer work at Goffs. In late 1998, restoration of the schoolhouse was completed. , The foundational groundwork that Dennis laid will continue to live on through the MDHCA and through everyone that shares his vision of responsible exploration and historical preservation of the Mojave Desert.