John A. Williams Field in Demuth Park, Palm Springs

John W. Williams Field in Demuth Park, Palm Springs in the early morning

Talk about obscure names--John W. Williams. Who was he? I mean if they name a field after someone, why not someone whose name you recognize a little bit--say Pearl McCullum, one of the first hotel owners in the city of Palm Springs.

Just who is John W. Williams? The obscure figure can be found in Frank Bogert's book Palm Springs: First Hundred Years. Evidently, Williams was a councilman from one Palm Springs "wards," or neighborhoods. My guess is he lived around Demuth Park, though back in 1938, I can hardly fathom that anything was built in the neighborhood.

I had heard the Demuth Park neighborhood was built for "The Help," service people who worked for the rich, then living very close to the mountain (Mt. San Jacinto) near the Las Palmas neighborhood. Supposedly a few stars lived here, but I have to wonder why, since few of the homes are very elaborate.