Wandering Arizona

I'm back from the wilds of Southeastern Arizona. I was born and raised in this state, but there are so many places I haven't been. Mom and I went to Sun Lakes to visit her cousin Dorris last Monday. We exchanged lots of family history information. Dorris is amazing, she's almost 90, lives alone and even drives the "old people" to doctor's visits, etc. She volunteers with a group that helps each other when ill, etc, by sitting with someone to give their family a break, or runs errands, it's great that she is so active. She has lived and traveled all over the world; her husband was in the air force. He survived WWII and Korea, only to be shot down over Vietnam after 24 years in the service. She's also a retired teacher, it was great to get to know her a little.

Tuesday we drove to Oracle to visit Dorris younger sister, Edna Mae. She has lived in Oracle for about 60 years, 50 in the house she and her husband Harry built. Another fascinating couple- married 62 years, she was a Justice of the Peace there for 16 years, and he was a superintendent at the mine. She had located lots of pictures and family records for me, and after I put everything in my computer, I printed both Dorris and Edna Mae copies of all the Family Group sheets and pedigree charts for their side of the family. I was so happy to get their family birth, death and marriage dates, I had very few on their part of the family.

I'd never been to Oracle before, it's northeast of Tucson, back off the beaten track. It's beautiful desert country- very lush, surprisingly. Their family had a goat farm near Hayden Junction, and remember hauling water in 2 gallon buckets from the creek to the house. The had no electricity, running water, nothing we take for granted. They also had to herd goats, tend them and shear them twice a year, as well as weed the vegetable garden. The nearest town was 10-15 miles away, and they were so excited when their Dad brought home a car, so they didn't have to ride in a wagon to town. We have no idea how hard life was in the 1920's and 30's, especially for those living in the country.

Lastly, we went to Globe. I know it's a tough little mining community, but I love that area. We spent the night in the local casino parking lot, and Mom got to indulge her pasttime- slot machines. She likes to play the nickel slots of poker, but this casino didn't have them. Nevertheless, she passed the time with what they had for a couple hours. I used that time to read and rest. Globe and Miami have been building a tourist trade over the past 10 years, but they are still mining towns at heart. It is the county seat and I spent several hours researching marriage records there. It was great to gather all the information, but it was sure nice to get home. I slept for 2 days when I got home!