April 2025

There will be several community events at Camp Nelson in the coming months. Look for the “Calendar of Community Events” flyer from the Communities of the Giant Sequoias Group.
To the scholars of the Western Era, Till Goodan’s paintings are benchmarks of authenticity.He was born Tillman Parker Goodan in Eaton, Colorado on March 27, 1896. After moving to California in 1905 and settling on a little farm, Till spent much of his boyhood working on a cattle ranch. There he developed his expertise as a calf roper and the skills of a working cowboy. As a young man he worked for the famous Miller and Lux Ranch in California. He packed mules and ran pack trains into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He broke horses and competed in local rodeos riding saddle broncs and roping calves. And during the quiet hours he would draw pictures of ranch life and the action of the rodeo. People began commenting on his talents as an artist. In 1917 he left the rodeo circuit and turned his full attention to a career in art. He studied with several highly respected California artists. Till soon became a free-lance commercial artist doing work for Grauman’s Chinese and Lowe’s Theaters, Helms Bakery and Security Bank. He later assumed a position as Art Director for the Richfield Oil Company. However, his first love was still the art of the
Old West, horses, cowboys, and ranching. So, he left Richfield and gave his full attention to the field of fine arts. By the 1930’s he was beginning to receive recognition for his western art and by the early 1940s, he was illustrating comic books for his longtime friend, Gene Autry. Till Goodan spent
his entire adult life in California. He had a studio/home in Hollywood and over the years he owned a ranch near the town of Lebec, along with a mountain retreat at Camp Nelson in the Sierras. He painted the California landscape, but, many of his paintings reflect his love for the Arizona and New Mexico desert. His artwork was always authentic in every detail because he painted what he knew from first-hand experience. He enjoyed his western lifestyle until the day he died. On May 24, 1958, while serving as Grand Marshall of the Tulare County Rodeo, he succumbed to a heart attack while sitting on his horse. Serious collectors seek out all of Till Goodan’s work. He was a versatile artist whose love for the rodeo and the West was reflected in all of his work. The street Goodan Court in Camp Nelson is named after Till Goodan. The green with white trim art studio building is still noticeable at the cabin that he once owned. (look right as you are going up Poop-a-lo Hill) A lithograph of his painting “Range Baby” is on display in the John M. Nelson Conservancy/Museum.
The annual work-day for the Conservancy will be Saturday May 10th. We can use your help doing several chores. Thank you. Please come at about 8:30AM to the JMNC, 388 Smith Drive. Lunch will be provided.

The Meadow Trail begins at the gate by Nelson Drive and Smith Drive. Go inside the gate and follow the signs around the meadow for a half mile stroll. There is a bench at the high side of the trail for your comfort.
The JMNC Live Streaming Webcams with views of the meadow and conservancy yard can be accessed on the Conservancy website.
We invite you to check the current weather conditions in real time by using the Weather Underground app on your smart phone or go to www.wunderground.com on your computer. Our station’s designation is “KCACAMPN10”.
The Camp Nelson RV Park is open. Springtime is here. If you have friends or relatives that enjoy RVing/camping, invite them to make their reservations for the upcoming months. Call 559.542.2471 for information.
Visit our website to volunteer, make a donation, read the monthly Conservancy Article, buy a memorial brick, or purchase a copy of “The Tule River Middle Fork and its People” written by Malcolm Sillars. Read about the Tule River communities on the middle fork and see for yourself the history of

this wonderful mountain home for many people. Here is an excerpt from Chapter Nine of the book for your enjoyment:
Chapter Nine; Kramer’s Sheep Meadow, Quaking Aspen, and Pete’s Ponderosa. “The Sierra Nevada sheep were the descendants of fine wool French Merino Sheep that Solomon W. Jewett first brought from Vermont to Kern County in 1860. The sheep were brought into the Sierra Nevada mountains at many locations but the biggest operations in the south came by
Tehachapi and Greenhorn and ranged in what Bob Powers in the Kern River County calls a “great circuit” through the Owens River Valley and western desert across the Kern Plateau as far north as what would become the national parks. It is estimated that they frequently ranged as
much as 600 miles in a season.” Page 123.
As members of the conservancy, our common interests include the Meadow,
Conservancy Yard, buildings and the RV Park. It takes the dedication of volunteers who serve willingly to insure that we preserve and maintain these areas for the enjoyment and use of the community and visitors. Thank you to everyone that continuously serves.

If you are interested in helping, contact any JMNC Board Member. The annual work day for the Conservancy will be Saturday May 10th.

Such purposes for why our corporation was organized are to acquire, preserve and maintain for public enjoyment those natural and historic features of the Upper Tule Region of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We work closely with Communities of the Giant Sequoias, Volunteer Fire
Department, Camp Nelson Ambulance Association, Camp Nelson Women’s Club, Camp Nelson Chapel and the local businesses to promote the communities. Please support your Conservancy and
Museum. Donations from community members are one of our sources of funds. The John M. Nelson Conservancy is a California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation and your donations are tax deductible. We want to express our sincere thanks to all those who have donated to the
Conservancy and thank you for your continued support. You may send your contribution to 801 Highway 190, Box 110, Springville, CA 93265 or log-on to the JMNC website. Thank you.
For more current information and events, you can follow us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/jmnconservancy
We invite you to attend our monthly Board meetings on the second Saturday of each month at 8:00AM in the Conservancy building; 388 Smith Drive, Camp Nelson. The next meeting will be April 12th, 2025. Come and meet our new Board members; Jerry Libecki and Melissa Eurton.
Check-out the web page at;
www.johnmnelsonconservancy.org
Mailing Address is; 801 Hwy 190, Box 110, Springville, CA 93265
Respectfully Submitted, April 2025.
Dan McFadzean, Director; JMNC
Email; mcfadzeand@yahoo.com phone.661.978.4679