Rancho Mirage

Dr. Leo Mallette is an adjunct faculty at Pepperdine University’s doctoral program. He has collected postcards depicting Rancho Mirage starting with the dude ranches in the 1940s and accelerating with the country clubs in the 1950s.

The city of Rancho Mirage is a low-density resort town with a population that was about 17,000 during the 2020 census. It is in the Coachella Valley, near Palm Springs, and about 110 miles east of Los Angeles. Rancho Mirage encompasses an approximately three-mile-wide swath that includes most of the area south of Interstate 10, extending south past the Whitewater River, Highway 111, and into the Santa Rosa Mountains. It was incorporated in 1973 and is home to many world-class golf courses.

Dr. Leo A. Mallette is an adjunct faculty at Pepperdine University’s doctoral program. He retired after 40 years of managing satellite-system projects at The Aerospace Corporation, Boeing, and Hughes Aircraft Company. He is the author or coauthor of several academic and history books. He and his wife, Kathryn, have lived in Rancho Mirage, California, since 1999. He enjoys his granddaughters, gardening projects, traveling with his wife, writing, and wood turning.