Daggett — Yousuf Khawaldeh, known to all in Daggett as "Joe," takes a breather outside his Desert Market, along old Route 66 near Barstow. The market, which has stood there for 140 years, is a thriving social spot in a town that's all but disappeared.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=29390

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Daggett — At the crack of dawn, the school bus moves past the Desert Market on the main street in Daggett. On the right is the fenced-off Stone Hotel; on the left, the old garage that once serviced equipment in the area's long-gone silver-mining days.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=29391

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Daggett — A Union Pacific freight train rounds the bend and heads through Daggett on its way to the seaports in Long Beach and Los Angeles.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=29392

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Daggett — Joe Khawaldeh cashes a check for customers in his Desert Market. It's the tiny community's center to cool off and hang out for gossip, lottery tickets, snacks, beer and bug spray.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=29393

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Daggett — The Desert Market is the place to go for most necessities, but no longer the public phone.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=29394

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Daggett — Joe Khawaldeh watches regular customer K.C. Lawill endorse his paycheck from Penny's Diner, where he's a cook, in the next town over. Joe cashes checks and gives credit to scores of customers, whom he greets on a first-name basis. But if people fall behind, he also draws the line: "I used to be nicer," he said. "But it takes a while to recover from that, if they don't pay their bills."

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=29395

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Daggett — Robert Husted's little boy watches the ceiling fan spin high above the counter at the Desert Market.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=29396

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Daggett — On a Friday after school, a youngster dashes out of the Desert Market with ice and a cool drink.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=29397

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Daggett — The tin outhouse next to the abandoned Sportsmans Club was probably a welcome stop for motorists along Route 66.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=29398

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Daggett — Jasmine Kennedy, 7, leaps across a crack and onward to get an after-school treat at the Desert Market.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=29399

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Daggett — Alex Razani tells his pooch to stay outside while he shops in the Desert Market.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=29400

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Daggett — Traffic is never a problem for Diane Greeson when she makes the trek between home and the Desert Market.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times

http://framework.latimes.com/?attachment_id=29401

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