On the weekend of November 15-16, 1941, the first scheduled activity of Chester's new group was held - a climb of New York butte led by Niles Werner. The Angeles Chpater schedule proclaimed in typical Versteegian prose: "Here is your opportunity to knock down one of the seven peaks required to make you eligible for the new Desert Peaks section. New York Butte presents one of the grandest alpine views on the entire continent, the Sierra Crest from Olancha Peak clear to Mt. Tom. Ten prospective members made this initial climb successfully: Nile Werner, Braeme Gigas, Harry Paley, Pat Carmical, Katherine Smith, Freda Walbrecht, Bill Crookston, Carl Durrell, James Tow, and Harry Greenhood. (How many do you know today?) As fate would have it, momentous outside events intervened to put a temporary damper on the fledgling section. With the Pearl Harbor attack plunging the U. S. into World War II, desert climbing activities were reduced to occasional forays by a handful of enthusiasts. The 1942 Chapter schedule noted tersely; "Scheduled activities are temporarily suspended until the transportation situation is improved." Parker Severson writes; "We did manage to get to some of the desert peaks that were not too far away during the war years when gas rationing was on. Getting enough gas was a problem. We doubled up in cars, and got gas by scrounging gas coupons a in all sorts of devious ways (short of nocturnal raids on car tanks). With the end of the war, all the pent-up energies of Chester and his small band of desert enthusiasts burst out in renewed and expanded activity. The first post-war scheduled outing was a climb of Waucoba on November 10-12, 1945, led by Niles Werner and James Tow, announced in the chapter schedule with-the comment that "The Desert Peaks Section comes to life again". Niles qualified for membership on this, his seventh desert peak. He was the first climber to qualify after Chester. Chester made a formal occasion of the event, with a crown for Niles and appropriate speeches. Late in 1945 the group was organized as a formal section of the Angeles Chapter with dues, officers, and business meetings instituted. Chester declined the chairmanship, so James 0. Tow was elected the first chairman. Other first officers of the DPS were Freda Walbrecht, vice-chairman, and members-at-large Niles Werner, and Chester Versteeg. Membership zoomed to new heights (23), and the beginning of 1946 saw the section as a well-established fixture of the Ange1es Chapter. The flame was bright; no longer was it a tiny flicker kept going sole1y by the eloquence of its founder.

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