Rosamond festival honors warrior, Congressman
by Bill Deaver -Mojave Desert News ....A personal memoirNote - this article was written in 2006.
On September 24th, the citizens of Rosamond will again honor the memory of a man few,
if any, may remember.
William M. "Bill" Ketchum helped put Rosamond on the map back in the 1970's when he
recognized the community's efforts to honor American fighting men and women. Ketchum
memorialized these efforts in the Congressional Record.
Bill Ketchum had a very personal reason for honoring people who saluted members of the
U.S. Military.
Veteran of two wars
As a young man growing-up during World War II, Bill joined thousands of his fellow-citizens
in leaving college to join the U.S. Army.
He became an officer and participated in some harrowing Pacific Island landings and
campaigns.
Born in Los Angeles, he moved to Paso Robles and after the war ran a Western Auto store and
farmed. Never one to wait for others to take care of him, he recalled a season shearing
sheep to keep food on the table.
When war broke out in Korea, Bill again donned his uniform and became a counter-intelligence
officer working in Japan and Korea, learning to speak Japanese, a talent he sometimes put
to use with Nisei farmers when he returned to his California home and in his service in the
state legislature and U.S. Congress.
Involved
Bill rarely discussed his military experiences but they left him with an abiding love of
his country and a dedication to making it better. Back home from two wars, he was active in
the local Farm Bureau. During a coffee-shop conversation about the man serving as his area's
state assemblyman, someone suggested Bill challenge him.
Never one to back away, Bill filed for the office, won the Republican primary, and defeated
a very strong incumbent, John Williamson, in the year that Ronald Reagan became Governor.
On election night Bill went to bed thinking he had lost, awaking to learn otherwise.
As an assemblyman serving what one local leader called "the greater part of San Luis Obispo
County, the western part of Kern County, and the poorer part of Tulare County," Bill, a
staunch conservative, was able to work with liberals - including John Burton - to craft
legislative responses to problems rather than just pointing fingers.
Congressman
Elected to Congress in a district that included East Kern, Inyo, and northern Los Angeles
counties, Bill was soon elected by his colleagues to serve on the important Ways and Means
Committee, which his successor, Bill Thomas, now chairs.
As a member of Congress Bill fought to protect defense and aerospace jobs in East Kern and
the Antelope Valley, especially at Edwards Air Force Base. He was an especially strong
champion of the B-1 bomber, which President Jimmy Carter tried to kill.
Bill's untimely death in 1976 ended an impressive life of the sort of community service
that involves hard work rather than cheap talk.
Three Desert News writers worked for or with Bill during his career. "Travels with Tracey"
columnist Tracey Meloni was Bill's press secretary in Congress. I was his field
representative in the Assembly and later when he was in Congress, and Prop Turns columnist
Cathy Hansen was an active Republican volunteer working on Bill's campaigns.
For Tracey and myself, he was probably the best boss we ever had - certainly the most
memorable, even though, like all humans, he had his moments. He could stay up all night
discussing politics and a world of other subjects while his younger staffers tried to stay
awake.
In continuing to recognize a man who was a warrior for his nation, state, county, and
community, the people of Rosamond are honoring the men and women with whom Bill served, on
the battlefield and in the communities he represented.