Globe Miami Times March 2024

The heyday of uranium mining in Gila County: Is there more to come?

By David Abbott

After WWII at the outset of the Cold War, the production of atomic weapons and dreams of a future powered by nuclear energy led to a boom in the uranium market that set off a mining craze in Arizona reminiscent of earlier booms of gold, silver, copper and other rare and valuable minerals.

Globe was at the heart of a region that would eventually see thousands of mining claims resulting in fewer than 100 active mines during a brief frenzy of prospecting that was over within a decade.

The Gila County boom began in 1950 with the discovery of uranium in the Sierra Ancha Wilderness. By 1957, it was all but over.

The U.S. had become the leading uranium producer in the world by the mid-1950s, with most of the mining taking place in the desert southwest. Much of the activity centered on the Colorado Plateau, a massive formation encompassing a 120,000-square-mile area radiating out of the Four Corners region where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona meet.

Workman Creek, about 30 miles north of Globe, and the Mescal Mountains, abutting the San Carlos Apache Reservation southeast of Globe, were rich in uranium, although the deposits were difficult to access due to a lack of roads.

MINING, Continued on page 23

Bullion Plaza celebrates 100 years as Miami icon

By David Abbott

Miami’s Bullion Plaza Cultural Center and Museum celebrates its 100th anniversary this month.

Now a centerpiece of the town’s identity and a gathering place for celebrations and festivals, the building started out as a segregated school. It has also become one of the premier museums in the state, thanks to the work of a handful of people who saved it from demolition some 30 years ago

The transformation of Bullion began one night during a Miami school board meeting in 1994, when former County Attorney Jerry DeRose received a late evening phone call from his Chief Deputy Attorney Candyce Pardee.

BULLION PLAZA, Continued on page 18

KIP

MIAMI

Contributing Writers

David Abbott

Patti Daley

Linda Gross

Patricia Sanders

Contributing Photography

I’ve been in Globe for 23 years and covering this community for 17 - soon to be 18 years - and during 15 years of those, I had the honor of watching Kip Culver bring life to Globe’s Historic District, which is such a unique and special place. He gathered community and supporters around him like bees to honey. He envisioned a place that “attracted curb appeal”, which covered everything from preservation, restoration and reinvigoration of all the elements so unique to our community and historic downtown. He engaged us all - from state and regional partners to local residents - in helping to achieve the lasting changes that we enjoy yet, today.

Whenever I ride the elevator at the Arts Center, attend an event at the Train Depot, or stroll our tree-lined downtown, I think of Kip.

So I hope you enjoy our coverage of Kip’s lasting legacy (p. 11) and will join us either on March 21st for A Nite Out to view one of his plays, or on March 29th when we co-host an Irish Celebration with our friends at the SilverTap (p. 8).

Seeing what Kip accomplished, on his salary of $35,000 (pp. 11-12), it is hard to see the wisdom in the City’s plan to cut funding to those who sustain the Arts Center, Train Depot, and other important anchors of the historic district, so they can shift monies into the budget for First Fridays.

The City believes its efforts to market Globe since 2018 justify the move, noting increased tourism and economic activity. But we must remember they were able to build on the work of Kip Culver and organizations like the Downtown Association (which manages the train depot and jail), the Chamber of Commerce, the Arts Center and the Historical Museum, who have spent decades serving as our ambassadors.

The city has done an admirable job creating First Fridays and marketing the City. Still, they have done so with an overall budget for Economic Development that is projected to jump to $944,408 this year. This includes an additional $98K for personnel and an additional $50K for First Fridays, which is coming out of the Bed Tax fund currently reserved for the organizations above.

Our bed tax organizations each currently receive up to $51,000 annually from the bed tax fund, which is vital to covering their overhead, maintaining the historic buildings, putting on events, and paying staff. The City’s plan would cut out 20% to 25% of their funds in order to put $50,000 more towards First Friday.

This action would have vastly different ramifications for the current bed tax organizations versus the City.

If the City doesn’t get the additional $50,000 from Bed Tax, we might not see as many live bands or novelty entertainment venues during the five-hour monthly event on Broad Street. But I would offer that First Fridays should be able to thrive and grow on the current $76,000 budget the City has now.

However, if the current bed tax organizations don’t get the money, reducing their income will affect their ability to maintain these historic buildings, run many of our signature community events, and pay their staff. They all work on behalf of community, and deserve our support and to know they can rely on these bed tax funds.

The Council has scheduled a meeting with the bed tax organizations to address the matter on March 21st. If you share our belief that maintaining the funding for these organizations would benefit the City and our community more than shifting more funds to First Fridays, we encourage you to express your support by texting or calling your council representative prior to the meeting.

Cover photo: The Ryan cattle crossing the Verde River at Box Bar. Photo courtesy of Janice Bryson

by Patricia Sanders

Last summer I gave away my corkscrew. I enjoy wine, but my enthusiasm for imbibing the fermented grape waxes and wanes, and that summer the corkscrew was gathering dust. So when my neighbor Stefan appeared on my doorstep begging to borrow it, I told him to take it and keep it.

Fast forward a few months, and my boyfriend was here, a bottle of Portuguese “tinto” - red wine – in hand. But no corkscrew. So we got creative. I made an attempt to open the bottle with my Swiss Army knife, trying to lever the cork out by sliding the blade in beside it. No luck. So Joseph took over, with a confident glint in his eye. I suspected he had done this before. Certain that he would handily solve the problem, I left the room for a moment.

I returned to find my beloved happily sipping from a glass, and dabbing at his face with a kitchen towel. Happily but sheepishly. I gave him a questioning look, he pointed upward, and what did I behold but a reddish spattering in a wide swath across the ceiling.

Well, the wine was good. But that burgundy-colored galaxy hung over our heads for weeks. It would need to be painted over, it couldn’t be washed off, due to the special paint (which isn’t actually paint) used in houses in this area. The wine simply soaked into the ceiling’s surface and would be there until it was covered up. I arranged to hire someone for the job, but the only person available was booked up for weeks.

So every day when I sat in the kitchen, I looked up at those red rash-like stains, and became more and more despondent. I couldn’t invite anyone into the house lest they think Joseph and I must have an alcohol addiction, or, worse, that the stains had been made by a fluid other than wine. At best, they made me look like a Very Bad Housekeeper.

Alcohol isn’t my problem –housekeeping is. As a housekeeper, I’m both compulsive and incompetent. I can’t stand to see, for example, the yellowish grime that slowly accumulates in the ridges in the old-fashioned doors of my house – which of course are painted white. But I don’t really know how to

clean them. How do you get all the dirt

ironic and painful, because I love a clean

out of the corners? Is there some special tool or trick? I’ve tried searching YouTube but haven’t found any answers that actually work.

So I just keep trying – scrubbing with sponges and microfiber towels and paper towels and various cleaning products – and the grime just sits in the corners sticking its tongue out at me. Every time I walk through a doorway, I feel like a failure. No wonder I want a glass of wine now and then.

Then there’s the bathtub. I love taking long, hot baths with candles flickering and music playing, and when I do this I want the tub immaculate. But there’s something about cleaning the tub that has always defeated me. I seem to have a housekeeping disability. It’s

house so much. I’m like one of those guys who always wanted to be a fighter pilot, and built model planes when he was a kid and hung them around his bedroom, and then it turned out he had myopia or a heart murmur. Only my F-16 is a bucket and mop.

I have always felt like an imposter, a fake housekeeper, like the bunny in The Velveteen Rabbit. I wished someone could come and give me a hug, or wave a magic wand – or maybe it would be a broomstick – and turn me into a Real Housekeeper.

Recently, though, I seem to have had a breakthrough. It started with a case of Internet serendipity. Somehow I came across a blog post that held the secret key to cleaning a bathtub. I have

to confess I didn’t put it into practice immediately – I’ve had too many housekeeping disappointments, and anyway you can’t believe most of what you read online.

But eventually I found myself one afternoon crouched over the tub, a sponge in one hand and a bowl of the magic elixir in the other. A bit of light scrubbing and abracadabra – the tub was spotlessly clean. Like new.

I didn’t even have to work hard. In fact, it was so easy it was almost fun.

From that moment, I felt myself beginning to transform. Maybe it was the first step in becoming a Real Housekeeper.

The next thing happened a few days later, when I was feeding the cats. We have five of them: a calico named Cleopatra Jones, who lives in the house, and four black cats that live outdoors: Serafina Pekkala, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Lixivia – which is Portuguese for bleach. The neighbor’s niece named her Lixivia/Bleach because she has a white spot on her chest.

I was watching them eat on the patio and suddenly I thought: Bleach!

The next day Joseph found me up on a stepstool with a bucket of bleach in one hand and a sponge in the other. Magic! I wiped the bleachy sponge over the stains and they immediately began to vanish, like the opposite of a Polaroid picture. It reminded me of erasing a whiteboard. In thirty minutes the stains were all gone and the ceiling was pristine again, white as snow, as it had been before.

This made me so happy. Even now, I will sit in the kitchen just looking up at the clean ceiling. When I do that, someone who doesn’t know the situation might think I was crazy, or drunk. But I’m not, I promise. I’m just feeling fulfilled as a housekeeper.

Patricia Sanders lived in Globe from 2004 to 2008 and at Reevis Mountain School, in the Tonto National Forest, from 2008 to 2014. She has been a writer and editor for GMT since 2015. She currently lives in the Azores. You can follow her writing on the website medium.com, under the pen name SK Camille.

MAYOR’S MONTHLY REPORT

AL GAMEROS | CITY OF GLOBE

RCAC RETURNS TO GLOBE

The Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) held their annual board meeting February 14th thru 16th returning to Globe to see how the city has progressed since their last meeting. RCAC consists of 21 board members that provides funding, technical support, and training to thirteen states. RCAC assisted Globe to get started in 2018 when the city’s first ever Economic Development Department was established. We are appreciative of the initial technical support, training, and funding that they initially provided to get started and their continued support for the future.

City Council and staff has continued their efforts to meet their vision and goals of a sustainable economic base for our city. It has only been five years since initiating our plan, but we still have a way to go to get to the finish line. RCAC’s Assistant Director stated that “Globe has become one of the most successful programs”. Because of the continued success to our plan, we were asked to present at this year’s annual International Economic Development seminar held in Tucson. Globe was also featured in the Brookings Institute Podcast on Developing a Resilient Downtown and were also interviewed by Business News Magazine that is a national magazine with 2 million subscribers and will be featured in the March edition with an eight-page spread of the City of Globe.

BED TAX FUNDS

At the February 13th meeting, council discussed and heard comments from organizations of the recipients of the bed tax funds. This topic was discussed by council in last year’s city retreat and budget discussion to increase the

distribution from five organizations to six which would include the City of Globe. The council appreciates all the comments and all the work that is done by these organizations as we look forward to working together.

Numbers and statistics were presented at the meeting on the increase of bed tax revenue since 2017-2018. The amount received by each organization annually has doubled since the city began its marketing initiative. The City’s marketing initiative is not just concentrated on just one organization or group, but is a program that re-invests back into the entire community. At the end of discussion, a vote was held to table this topic at this time and to set up meetings with a three-member council work group and two current board members of each organization to further discuss all options.

NORTHEAST CORRIDOR STUDY

Kimley-Horr made a presentation to council regarding the Northeast Corridor Sewer Study. The goals of this study are to:

• Identify new infrastructure for currently unserved areas

Gauge impacts on the existing collection system

• Identify improvements needed for the existing wastewater plant

• Review all funding opportunities

Provide a path forward for future development

Our current city wastewater plant has 1.2 million gallons per day permitted capacity. It is currently Class B effluent and the goal is to upgrade to a Class A plus effluent with the recommendations from this study. There will be testing

monitors placed throughout the city to help calculate the actual current flows. The evaluation of the flows will help us determine if another wastewater plant would better serve the future northeast corridor development.

ANNUAL CITY RETREAT

The annual City of Globe Strategic Action Plan Retreat was held on February 23rd. This annual retreat is a time to review and reinforce what the council’s vision and goals are both short term and long term. Our goal has not changed and has continued to be that of building a financially strong sustainable economic base for our city by controlling our own destiny. Our main goals continue to be focused on upgrades to our aging infrastructure, an increase of recreational opportunities for quality of life for our residents, increasing the housing stock in our community, and economic development and tourism.

There were over 50 projects discussed, that have been either completed, in progress, or anticipated for the future. The statistics presented since 2017 were astounding to hear. The city’s sales tax revenue has increased by 87% and does not include the 1% sales tax increase. One of the most amazing numbers is the total amount of federal and state grant funds received since 2017 by the city that includes all departments in the amount of $127,156,846.00

A third-party report was presented that was completed by the Dean Runyan review on the Economic Impact of tourism for 2022. The report shows the following:

Visitors spent $31.8 million in GlobeMiami, a 7.3% (or 2.2 million) increase compared to 2021

Visitors spent $9.5 million in accommodations; a 4.8% increase compared to 2021

Visitors who stayed in a hotel, motel, or short-term vacation rental spent a combined $19 million, a 6.7% increase from 2021

Overall, the travel industry gained 10 jobs, a 2.8% increase from 2021

• Taxable lodging sales grew to 8.4 million in 2022, a 4.5% increase from 2021

Overnight visitor volume increased by 10.7% to 84 thousand in-person trips in 2022, of this total hotel, motel, and stvr volume increased by 11.8% and all other overnight volume increased by 9.5%

The First Friday third party report from Placer.ai for the past twelve months is based on a geo fence around our downtown area, comparing that Friday activity over the last 12 months. The report is as follows:

• Peaked in April at just under 8K visitors

• Plus 105% visits over the last three years

• Peak hours for visits in the downtown district in Globe on First Fridays are between 12pm and 8pm

RESOLUTION 1885 CALL OF ELECTION

At the February 27th meeting, council approved Resolution 1885, designating the Primary Election for July 30, 2024 and the General Election for November 5, 2024.

FIRST FRIDAYS

First Fridays have become a monthly signature event and continue to grow each month with more participation from downtown businesses, vendors, and cruisers. This event is not only enjoyed by our local residents in the community, but by many more people who are now coming from out of town on this day to enjoy the event. Everyone is invited to participate in the downtown cruise that begins at 5:30 pm starting at the Active Adult Center. We invite the community to come downtown and support the participating businesses and enjoy live music, food trucks, and vendors. Anyone wishing to set up a vendor booth during any First Friday event may do so at no cost by contacting Melissa Steele at 928-425-7146.

Globe City Council begins Strategic Action Plan update process

By David Abbott

City leaders have begun the process of updating Globe’s three-year Strategic Action Plan (SAP) and are working to have Council’s new goals identified for the 2024-2025 budget approval in June.

As Globe City Council prepared to set off on its second historic lobbying visit to Washington DC this month, the initial meeting, a “brainstorming session,”was completed, and when the Council returns, discussions will take place to prepare for the FY 2024/25 budget.

“Our initial meeting was very productive; it gave us time to reflect and review where we were, where we are, and where we want to go,” says Mayor Al Gameros. “It reinforced what our vision and goals will continue to be, both short-term and long-term for the future, and that is critical.”

The SAP is a tactile guide for City Council’s future meeting agendas. It is created through a collaborative process with Council members. As part of this process, council members identify priorities that will eventually be included in the existing blueprint of the SAP.

The most recent SAP covered the years 2019-2022, and the Rural Community Assistance Corporation facilitated the process, but since 2020, City staff has facilitated the planning efforts with training received from RCAC.

District 6 Councilman Fernando Shipley has been involved in previous SAPs during his earlier service on Council. Shipley served on Council and as Mayor from 2002 to 2012, returning in 2018 to fill the seat vacated by Lerry Alderman.

He was re-elected to the seat and has been back on Council for six years. Shipley says the Council did strategic planning in its early days but did not have the resources or the Economic and Community Development Department to take the lead on the project.

“We did a lot in 2008 when there was no money, and I’m very proud of what we accomplished,” Shipley says. “But now we have a really good Council, and having an economic development team has helped tremendously because council members are usually busy with their fulltime jobs.”

Shipley would like to see downtown Globe become more of an entertainment district, but says there would have to be a lot of buy-in from residents and the business community as well as a change in the way the City funds certain activities.

The SAP is modeled on themes culled from the 20152017 plan that previously consisted of three overarching goals with three objectives per goal. The current SAP is now much more faceted and complex.

The existing document focuses on four main areas: economic & community development, infrastructure, public safety, and quality of life for residents.

Among the economic development goals are increasing revenues through business development, downtown revitalization, and tourism marketing.

Infrastructure goals include replacing failing infrastructure; planning infrastructure for future development, and sustainability.

Quality of life includes revitalization of historic downtown, blight reduction, and improving recreational and service facilities.

Goals for public safety include continuing steps towards the building of the new fire department, securing a new ladder truck to replace the 30-plus year old apparatus, and working with regional partners for the development of a law enforcement training center.

Many of the goals are well on the way to fruition, so the SAP update will become something of a balancing act between finishing what has been started and embarking on new projects that build upon the foundation of planning.

Thanks to concerted efforts by recent Councils, City coffers have received a big boost in the past six years, including more than $127 million in outside funding for many aspects of the existing SAP, from building bridges and sidewalks to rehabilitating parks and beautifying the downtown historic district.

District 1 Councilman Freddy Rios points to the successes of projects such as the Community Center Pool & Splash Pad, the Connie’s Bridge replacement, and the Hill Street School housing development as examples of how the City’s strategic planning has worked.

“It’s encouraging because it keeps us thriving and believing this can happen,” Rios says. “We went from a thought, a vision, and networking to get resources and stakeholders, and it came to fruition.”

Partnerships that have been developed have not been limited to funding from outside government agencies. Many gains have been made through partnerships with private entities, such as the Phoenixbased division of Gorman and Company LLC, which is currently building 64 units of mixed-income senior housing and rehabilitating the historic Hill Street School.

Local initiatives such as I Art Globe and the newly formed nonprofit Love Where You Live have led urban renewal projects, including the mural project, dog park and the Stairizona Trail, designed to beautify the town for residents and act as a draw for visitors.

“The thing some people might not realize what’s behind all this is the partnerships we’ve built with the stakeholders,” Rios says. “Their buy-in to some of the vision of the City of Globe is inspiring, because some of those other regional entities are realizing that this can happen, that if we come together, we can move the dial.”

Gameros says the City has seen an 87% increase in sales tax revenues since establishing the Economic and Community Development Department in 2018, thanks to focusing on goals, collaborating with community partners, and training opportunities.

But he adds that education goes both ways, as the Council is ultimately there to serve the needs of the people.

“When we talk about big developments in our community, we also can’t forget the small businesses in our city because they’re just as important,” Gameros says. “They’re all a part of everything we’re doing: From the small businesses to the downtown Historic District, it’s all important.”

With a focus on collaboration and innovation, the SAP guides the Council in aligning its vision with the community’s needs. As Globe continues to thrive through past successes and new partnerships, Council remains dedicated to enhancing economic vitality, community development, and resident well-being.

Livable to Lovable with Love Where You Live

Who would have guessed that quilting could lead to community mosaics? This was the surprise revelation for Kate Stewart, our featured artist in this month’s Livable to Lovable column.

Two years ago, Phil and Kate Stewart moved to Miami and opened Stewart Antiques Nook. Working the shop on weekends, Kate also taught first grade midweek. With a packed schedule, one might not expect Kate to sign up for projects that require six months of work. Fortunately for us, Kate agreed to share her mosaic talent on three staircases along the Stairizona Trail. Her last two installations are the newest to join the nine decorated staircases in historic Globe and will be celebrated with an on-location ribbon cutting on April 5 at 4:30 pm.

Originally, I Art Globe wanted to use mosaic art to decorate all of the staircases on the trail believing they would last longer than paint. However, most of Globe’s historic staircases are so long that tile work proved cost prohibitive. Fortunately, three staircases were shorter (12-13 steps) and fit within the bounds of the I Art Globe grants. Kate was hired as the artist for these staircases and given a broad “Arizona flora and fauna” theme for her designs.

Her first and most prominent mosaic on Yuma Street featured an adult quail and quickly became a community favorite. Her second staircase led from East Globe School to the pedestrian bridge that crosses Ash Street. She created a lovely roadrunner piece with several “hidden Mickies” (or special treats) tucked within the tiles. Her latest creation is a jackrabbit on the staircase going from Fourth Street into the East Globe faculty parking lot. Again, she added little bonuses to the piece.

When asked about her work, Kate explained, “I used to do quilting and loved the piece work, so it seemed like a natural switch to tile.” She went to YouTube to learn the process and then the pandemic helped push her to greater proficiency. “Before COVID, I decided I was going to try to create a tile tree in my backyard and I did, but then no one got to see it. Because I couldn’t share this, I just started mosaicking like crazy while home during the pandemic.”

Her process changed as she learned more. “When I began, I was using broken plate pieces from Goodwill, but then I discovered these amazing glass shops in the valley. Most of my work now is glass because I have more control to make the shapes I want.” She adds, “I do still like to mix

it up!” The glass and tile she incorporates bring wonderful changes to her mosaics as the light of the day shifts.

If you haven’t discovered Kate’s work yet or the creations of the 22 other artists featured along the Stairizona Trail, you have something wonderful to experience. This urban trail was featured in the February issue of Arizona Highways and is one of the projects sponsored by Love Where You Live (LWYL), a new nonprofit focused on placemaking and placekeeping along the Copper Corridor.

LWYL strives to give people an emotional connection to their towns. Led by Regina Ortega and Thea Wilshire, LWYL works to turn livable spaces into lovable places by creating public-private partnerships and collaborating with other Copper Corridor nonprofits. If you would like to support LWYL’s work through volunteering, sharing ideas, or donating funds, please call 808-373-0032 or email livable2lovable@gmail.com.

Sipping Stories, Tasting Traditions

I r e l a n d

Celebrating Our Irish!

Friday, March 29th • 6-9 pm

Kip Culver Nite

Celebrate the legacy of Globe’s Man About Town featuring stories of Irish sons and daughters, plus a Game of Wits & Wisdom, a quiz on all things Irish and those who made us proud. Bragging rights and prizes for those who participate.

Your MC for the nite is Margo Flores

Hosted by GlobeMiamiTimes & SilverTap

Please come celebrate with us at the SilverTap, and see the newest renovations including our favorite – a stage & dancefloor!

SilverTap.928

230 No. Broad Street | Globe, Arizona (928) 812-1497

AN IRISH TALE

By Janice Bryson, Arizona Beef Blog (https://arizonabeefblog.com/2017/03/17/luck-o-the-irish-the-ryan-family/)

The Ryan Family

William Ryan was born in County Tipperary, Ireland and arrived in Globe in 1881. He met and married Anna Mary Moloney who came from County Limerick to work for her Uncle Denis Murphy… William Ryan became the night foreman at the Old Dominion Smelter and bought and sold cattle as a sideline. He was also a livestock inspector and with his brother-in-law, John Moloney, established the first real dairy in Globe using range cattle.

BRAVO SPECIAL!

March 20-23

Irish Stew will be on the menu at BRAVO for Irish Week. It is a traditional and hearty dish that holds a special place in the culinary heritage of Ireland. The stew is renowned for its slowcooking method, allowing the flavors to meld and intensify over time, resulting in a rich and savory broth. The following recipe was submitted on the Arizona Beef Blog, by Janice Bryson, whose family had deep Irish roots and ranched here.

Irish Beef Stew from Fidel Murphy’s Irish Pub, Grand Cayman

Ingredients

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces

6 large garlic cloves, minced

8 cups beef stock or canned beef broth

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups)

1 large onion, chopped

2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

– Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add beef and sauté until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef stock, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

– Meanwhile, melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 20 minutes. Add vegetables to beef stew. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves and serve topped with chopped fresh parsley.

Kip’s grandfather was an engineer for the Southern Pacific (Center). Courtesy photo

“In a world full of ordinary beers, be Guinness.”

GUINNESS – KEEPING TRADITIONS ALIVE ONE PINT AT A TIME!

Guinness, the iconic Irish stout, has a rich history intertwined with the cultural and political fabric of Ireland. In 1759, Arthur Guinness, a visionary brewer, signed a 9,000-year lease for the St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin. The brewery’s early success can be attributed to Arthur’s decision to focus on brewing a dark, robust beer that would later become the world-famous Guinness stout.

The 19th century marked a significant period for both Guinness and Irish history. The Great Famine ravaged Ireland, leading to widespread suffering and migration. During this challenging time, Guinness provided employment opportunities, supporting local communities and becoming a symbol of resilience.

KIP MCCLAREN CULVER

BY DEBORAH YERKOVICH

No one has done more to safeguard the legacy of those who constructed downtown Globe at the Turn of the Century or to champion the city and its cultural heritage than Kip Culver. Born and raised in Globe as the grandson of an Irish railroad engineer, Kip graduated from Miami and ASU, and traveled widely, interning with Entertainment Tonight and managing real estate properties, before returning home in 2003 where he assumed the role of Director for Globe’s Mainstreet Program and the Center for the Arts. And even though the salary for doing so was paltry, his vision and work on behalf of the downtown district was extraordinary. Through his dedicated efforts, Kip played a pivotal role in shaping Globe’s future by preserving architectural treasures such as the Arts Center, Train Depot, Globe Cafe, St. John’s Episcopal, and more. His transformative work not only secured these assets but also elevated Globe in the hearts and minds of all those fortunate enough to be part of his endeavors.

PHOTO

One Man’s Legacy in Preserving and Promoting Historic Downtown Globe

Kip always wanted to recreate an old photo of local residents packing the steps at the courthouse. When he passed away, a photoshoot was organized to do just that.

Photo by Diana Tunis

“Attracting Curb Appeal”

By Linda Gross

Possibly no Irish son left a more lasting legacy benefiting Globe’s historic downtown than Kip Culver, the community leader, preservationist, and creative visionary whose passion for his hometown led to more than a decade of work preserving, protecting and promoting its historical uniqueness.

Serving as director of the Cobre Valley Center for the Arts and Globe’s Main Street Program for over a decade, Culver was a visionary and doer who accomplished more than anyone else to transform downtown Globe.

Culver’s legacy is hard to overstate. Coming at a time when monies were tight and a laissez-faire attitude about preservation and community pride was common, Culver’s accomplishments are noteworthy. He consistently managed to put together a magic combination of people, resources and vision enabling progress to be made on several fronts. The enduring impact of his accomplishments in the downtown area still serves the initiatives led by the Downtown Association, the Center for the Arts, and the City of Globe.

Once asked what guided his efforts, Culver said, “I approach projects by looking at whether or not they will create the hometown I would want to live in.”

He focused on “hometown curb appeal” - so when he secured a $98,000 grant for landscaping, he gathered a committee of local businesses on Broad Street and other partners to explore how best to use the money. The result was the treescape you see lining the downtown streets, the brick sidewalk on the north end, the custom pillars in front of the Courthouse, the vintage light poles lining Broad, and the wayfinding signage.

When it became apparent that the old Globe Cafe was in danger of being lost because of a huge crack in the back wall, it was Kip and his friend Tom Thompson who rescued the building and found the right builder/investor with the necessary know-how and passion for restoring historic buildings. Today, the old Gobe Cafe serves as a community space downstairs and apartments upstairs.

“Kip was a big vision sorta guy and was really good at relaying his excitement for a project, no matter how grandiose, to anyone who would listen… Everyone in town had at least one conversation with Kip about the things he saw, about the potential for things to be changed, rebuilt, or done.”

Culver’s work in bringing an excursion train to Globe began with a conversation he had with the new owners of the Arizona Eastern in 2003. Promising to restore the old freight office in exchange for a trial run with a rail car operated by the new owners, the response was so positive, it resulted in Iowa Pacific pledging to bring in more cars and bigger engines. At the same time, Culver found the funding and volunteers needed to fully restore the main train depot. The Copper Spike Excursion Train would quickly become a destination, bringing over 20,000 people to Globe each season. In 2007, Culver was awarded the Governor’s Award for Excellence for his work in bringing an excursion train to Globe.

Kip found the money to tear down a wreck of a building next to the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church, which was then turned into a beautiful landscaped courtyard. And later, when he was told of the horrible condition of the church roof and the lack of funding to do anything about it, he secured lottery funds for the church to replace the roof.

When he realized the old electrical panel on the Arts Center would prevent anyone from ever thinking about putting in air conditioning on the third floor or adding a real elevator to the 1906 building to open up the third floor for greater use, he set his sights first on a new electrical panel and on raising $250,000 for a matching grant that would pay for it.

It would take ten years of community fundraising events envisioned, hosted and managed by Culver, Molly Cornwell and the Arts Center Board to raise the money for the Arts Center improvements. The fundraisers themselves became grand gatherings for community members – both whose families went back generations and those new to Globe. The events were fun, but at the same time they served a much bigger cause, and they contributed to the big picture, which Culver was so good at communicating.

Once the air conditioner was in place, it would still take several more years to secure the funding for a new elevator. And all along, Kip was the one working behind the scenes to put the final packaging together. He was able to work with the City in securing CDBG funds, and got a big assist from United Fund of Globe-Miami and FMI at the ninth hour to close the deal.

Always humble about his successes, Kip never took credit when he could point to others for their roles in each achievement like the elevator. But to anyone who looked at the changes taking place, it was hard to miss the points he was racking up on behalf of the downtown district.

When Kip passed away in 2015, the City debated ending their financial support for a Director of the Main Street Program. The amount - $35,000 - seems small now compared to current budgets at the City, but at the time Kip’s salary was competing with the City’s desire to have a Code Enforcement officer.

Main Street lost, despite letters imploring the Council to keep the program going.

Kimber Lanning, Executive Director of Local First Arizona and Arizona Rural Development Council, wrote to City Council saying,

“Our organization, Local First Arizona, has worked with Kip and the Globe Mainstreet program for over five years, bringing people, funding and ideas to the Globe area. As you know the work Kip did ranged from such important projects as facilitating a rare $60,000 Heritage fund award to restore the roof on St. John’s Episcopal Church, to the facilitation of the lease transfer to Historic Globe Main Street program of the original two-story depot facility for active re-use and restoration.

– Paul Tunis

The program was instrumental in having a Building Condition Assessment report done for the depot complex, securing the $300,767 transfer of TERC funding previously secured for the burnt building.

In all, the Globe team, in both a design and economic restructuring role, has solicited, applied for and leveraged grant awards totaling more than $700,000 for property design, technical assistance, building improvements, and other funding to enable adaptive re-use of properties.

From our perspective as a statewide organization, Globe is leading the way to creating successful collaborations between many different institutions and assets, including historic preservation, a thriving business community, economic development, tourism, and arts and culture. Additionally, Kip’s team helped organize such events as the Centennial Celebration, Historic Globe Home and Building Tour, as well as the much beloved Ghosts of Globe Tour, the farmers market and myriad parades and downtown festivities, all of which brought new people to Globe to spend money and invest in your amazing town.”

Paul Tunis, who took over as the Art Center director said,

“Kip was a big vision sorta guy and was really good at relaying his excitement for a project, no matter how grandiose, to anyone who would listen…Everyone in town had at least one conversation with Kip about the things he saw, about the potential for things to be changed, rebuilt, or done.”

“While Kip may have suggested many grandiose things, what he would do would always be the thoughtful and useful thing.”

“Globe has a self-esteem problem sometimes, and there are many who think the city is not enough or talk about it’s problems… but Kip never saw any of those things.

Kip’s life at the center and in our

Once Upon A Play

Kip both performed and directed plays at the Art Center. He joined the Copper Cities Community Players in 2003 and soon became an integral part of the local theater scene. He performed in more than 25 shows, including Four Plays for Coarse Actors, Once Upon A Mattress, That 60s Show, Justa Cafe, Is He Dead, and The Addams Family.

Please join us on

Thursday, March 21 at 6pm for A Nite Out showcasing a Kip Culver performance on the third floor of the Cobre Valley Center for the Arts. See p.13.

The Copper Spike Excursion Train began with the renovation of the freight office and grew into a major statewide attraction that brought 27,000 visitors to Globe to ride the train in year five.

Kip gave hundreds of tours to visitors interested in the area and statewide organizations who looked to his successes to emulate.

A $98,000 streetscaping grant was secured by Kip who set up a committee of downtown merchants and community leaders who then spent months deciding on how best to use the funds. Volunteer labor helped stretch the dollars.

Adding an elevator to a historic building took ten years and the leadership of a guy who never quit or saw a

The old Globe Cemetery is rich in stories of those who settled here and made their mark on the town and the state’s history. Each year, GDA and our community players bring these stories to life, offering an engaging look at Globe’s glorious past. For tickets see us on FB or call 480-345-7477.

The Health Fair returns on April 20

The Health Fair returns this year at Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center, promising a family-friendly event with lots to do for both adults and kids. A combination of fun and informative, the fair will offer food trucks, live entertainment and vendor booths. Kids can look forward to a yet-to-be-determined play feature - possibly a bouncy house or a rock climbing wall.

Booths will also feature non-profit and community services, as the fair aims to showcase a wide array of health services available through the hospital and the Gila County Health Department.

Attendees can take advantage of free screenings, including oral, hearing, and developmental screenings. There will also be information on creating advanced directives or living wills.

This year, four keynote lectures are scheduled, covering Radiation/Oncology with Dr. Gremminger, Cardiology with Dr. Menon, and specialists in Wound Care and Medicare coverage will round out talks and provide opportunities for questions.

Nick Smyers, Public Relations for

the hospital, is excited to see the event return after a two-year hiatus. Smyers and Tiffany Solberg, the Hospital Foundation’s Development Coordinator, are heading up the fair this year, drawing on past efforts and creating new opportunities.

Smyers and Solberg highlight their outreach efforts to a wide array of community partners and local entities to ensure the fair offers something for everyone.

Solberg took the opportunity to remind people of CVRMC’s impressive capabilities. For example, she said, “I think a lot of people don’t realize that we have oncology services. And it was a really big deal for us to bring that in because there is a ton of treatment and travel associated with that.”

Solberg said the hospital has focused on trying to make services available close to home in order to reduce the burdens on patients and their families.

“I think a lot of people think of rural healthcare as a ‘backwater,’” Solberg said. “But we are nothing close to that. We are the biggest small hospital in Arizona.”

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS

Miami Varsity Golf

Miami Varsity Softball

Globe Varsity Baseball

“I am the greatest. I said that before I knew I was.”

– Muhammad Ali

Senior William Hickey chips the ball up onto the green on hole 2.

Freshman Treshawn Kumparak sends a nice putt towards the pin.

Senior Austin Rubin drives the ball off of Tee 1 for the Vandals.

PHOTOS BY TORY SATTER

Sophomore pitcher Jaeger Franco secured the win on the mound over San Carlos. Franco has 9 strikeouts in 5 innings.

Senior Russell Long drives the ball to deep left field. Long leads the team with a .600 batting average.

Freshman Ayden Olvera is one of 5 freshman on the Tiger Varsity squad. Olvera went 1 for 2 against the Braves.

Sophomore Kaylynn Porto makes great contact against the San Tan Foothills Sabercats. The Lady Vandals won with a score of 24-12.

Junior Nevaeh Figueroa lays down a beautiful bunt for Miami and would reach home safely. Figueroa leads the team with 4 runs scored.

Senior pitcher Gabby Gonzales throws the heat for the Lady Vandals. Gonzales has 17 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings.

MIAMI HIGH SCHOOL MIAMI HIGH SCHOOL

In mid-year pivot, Vandals get able fill-ins for teaching positions

by David Abbott

Maintaining staffing levels at Arizona high schools can be difficult under the best of circumstances, but sometimes positive changes can come when the lives of teachers change.

For Miami High School, the 2023-2024 school year has seen some comings and goings and longtime instructors returning to help.

“We’ve had to make some mid-year adjustments and temporarily fill a position as we search for a permanent faculty member,” says MHS Principal Shawn Pietila. “But we’ve been able to bring in some excellent teachers with deep connections to the community.”

As the search for a permanent, full-time science teacher has gone on behind the scenes, Pietila has been fortunate that a long-time former instructor has stepped into the classroom to help bridge that gap to the end of the year.

Science teacher Nema Udom has nearly 20 years of experience teaching in both the Miami and Globe school systems. Her bonifides include certificates for teaching chemistry and physics, so when the district needed a science teacher to finish the school year, she was more than happy to step into the role.

“This is my home, and my children came through the Miami Unified School District,” Udom says. “We’ve lived here some 33 years and my kids are all Vandals. Unfortunately, my situation is questionable because I’ve been a Vandal and I’ve been a Tiger.”

Udom is originally from West Africa, but came to Arizona around 1986. She taught in the MUSD for 13 years, leaving in 2004 for San Tan Valley to work for her church.

“I could say I left reluctantly,” she says. “I was having a good time here, but I answered another call in San Tan Valley and did some church work there. But while I was there, I continued to work in the schools.”

She taught at several districts in the Valley and even tried her hand working for the prison system for three years in Florence, but returned to teaching when a position opened up at Globe High School in 2017.

At the end of the 2022-2023 school year, Udom decided to take a sabbatical from teaching to focus on her church work and contemplate retirement. But when she received a call to re-enter the classroom after the departure of Erika Vargas, she was more than happy to return to the school she had devoted so much of her life to.

While the faces have changed and the school district has received an almost complete overhaul, Udom has not seen much difference in Vandal classrooms.

“The kids are the same kids I’ve been teaching continually,” Udom says. “The big difference is now everybody has a cell phone in their pockets: All the extra technology is very helpful, but of course, sometimes it’s a distraction.”

When English and Drama teacher Liz Barangot abruptly announced her departure in December for a job in Minnesota, Pietila recruited another longtime Vandal, Rebecca Baker.

Baker, a Phoenix native raised in Prescott, spent some time in Houston, Texas before returning home. Her family lived in Gilbert for eight years, where two of her daughters graduated high school, and 20 years ago she and her family moved to Top of the World.

“I started here mid-year in January and, of course, students thought I was a substitute so they were a little unruly,” Baker says. “I have a history of teaching eighth and ninth grade, so I quickly whipped them into shape. But the administration and the other teachers and everyone here has been super accommodating and friendly.”

Three of her five children have been Vandals or Tigers at some point and she even briefly taught at Globe High School with one of her daughters.

Her educational journey has been an interesting and uncommon one. Baker says she was not a good student who struggled from second grade on because she felt as if she “didn’t fit in.”

“I ended up dropping out of high school myself,” Baker says. “The last graduating day, I had one credit for all four years of high school.”

She said the reason for her lack of success was that she did not feel smart enough to succeed and her teachers “made her feel stupid.”

She married young and once she had her fifth child, she decided it was time to finish her education so she could help them with theirs.

She attained her GED and began taking classes at the Gila Pueblo campus of Eastern Arizona College when the family moved to Top of the World. With 80.5 credits on her way to becoming a surgeon physical assistant, Baker found she had to take calculus to graduate.

However the thought of passing such a tough course intimidated her, so she wound up getting her bachelor’s degree in sociology at ASU with honors.

“That shocked me to death because I thought, ‘How did I do this,’ but I could do it,” Baker says. “I had to overcome many obstacles while raising a family at the same time and going through all of that.”

Once she graduated, she answered an advertisement for a substitute teacher position at High Desert Middle School. Three weeks into the class, the original teacher quit and Baker was asked to take over full-time and within the year she was teaching English at Globe High School.

“I was told I needed more education to actually teach, so I got my master’s degree the first year and a half I was teaching high school, juggling family and a lot of things,” Baker says. “I ended up with my master’s from GCU and working on my PhD back at ASU.”

Her daughter Danielle Baker similarly did not do well in high school and at the age of 14 earned her GED and started taking college classes at Gila Pueblo. She had her bachelor’s degree by the time her contemporaries were graduating high school.

Mother and daughter taught together briefly, but Danielle eventually married and moved to Texas.

“I’ve been teaching—this would be my ninth year—in Globe-Miami and I’ve never taught anywhere else,” she says. “I absolutely love it: The students are such a unique set of people and I really enjoy them.”

Her remaining children are spread about in Arizona— daughter Brandi Baker is currently teaching sixth grade Science at High Desert—Texas or in the military, so now Baker and her husband are empty-nesters. Now that they’re used to it though, they look forward to living life far from away from the city and she feels as if she has found a home in Miami.

She also feels that her educational experiences will be an asset in her ability to relate to her students, particularly if they are having problems adjusting to school.

“I feel that my experiences gave me the opportunity to see the students from a different perspective, rather than just as an educator,” Baker says. “I recognize the individual in them and that they’re facing challenges we can’t even begin to comprehend.”

Although the search for a science teacher will continue, Pietila is satisfied he has found a long-term solution to his English classroom and appreciates everything Udom and Baker bring to the table.

“We are so grateful for the talent and dedication of these women,” says Pietila. “We appreciate Mrs. Udom’s legacy and willingness to step up and Mrs. Baker’s amazing talents.”

For Baker, it represents both a challenge and an opportunity.

“I love change, I think it’s part of what we need to do in order to continue to grow,” she says. “I love it here and believe I can teach here until I retire.”

Rebecca Baker with her apple collection.

Nema Udom in the chemistry lab.

BULLION PLAZA,

Continued from page 1

Pardee, who specialized in educational law, was the county representative at a meeting announcing the findings of an engineering firm hired to determine the stability of the school after it experienced tremors from nearby mining activity.

When DeRose heard about the report, he decided to shut down the school the next day for the safety of everyone involved.

“I said ‘Candy, there will be no school tomorrow at Bullion Plaza School,’” DeRose remembers. “I don’t want to be in the headlines as the guy who allowed them to ignore professional opinion and end up killing 100 little children. I don’t want that on my soul.”

At that point, the building was 70 years old. Little did those involved know at the time, but Bullion and its grounds was on the cusp of its second life as a monument to

the past and the region’s deep and diverse cultural history.

Bullion was the work of architect Henry Charles Trost, whose firm Trost and Trost designed several buildings in Globe-Miami, including Divine Grace Church and the original Miami High School, as well as Hill Street School and the Masonic Temple in Globe among others.

From the time Bullion Plaza School had its formal opening on March 24, 1924 through 1951, it was segregated, being built specifically for Mexican Americans and Apaches, who were often punished for speaking their native languages.

During that time, Miami neighborhoods were also separated by culture, and the Miami pool was only available to Mexican and Apache children on Fridays before it was drained for cleaning.

While the passage of the Brown v. Board of Education decision happened in 1954, the Town of Miami decided to get ahead of the curve and desegregated the school in 1951.

The 2003 Fundraiser to save Bullion Plaza

That was also the year the Miami Vandals won the Class B State Championship with a team composed mostly of Mexican students from Bullion.

By 1994 though, age and neglect were beginning to have an effect on the building, which led to its demise as a school. Destiny Charter School briefly took up residence there before moving to Globe a few years later.

The following year, in 1995, the Committee to Save Bullion Plaza School was organized by Otto Santa Anna and Robert Reveles, a Miami native who graduated in 1951 and went on to become

a social justice advocate who worked for several prominent Representatives, including both Stewart and Morris K. Udall.

Thanks to the work of the committee, the Miami School Board agreed to sell the school to the Town of Miami, and in 1997 entered into a purchase agreement for the price of $75,000.

At the time, Miami Mayor Joe Sanchez, who was also the town’s postmaster, appointed Santa Anna and Reveles as co-chairs of the Bullion Plaza School Committee.

BULLION PLAZA, Continued on page 19

Bullion Plaza School upon completion by Trost & Trost Architects, 1924. Courtesy Photo

United States House of Representative and Miami native, Ed Pastor, with Shirley Dawson, two term Gila County Supervisor, and her husband Judge Ed Dawson. Photo by LCGross

Janet Gibson, Rosemary Castenada and Mary Valentine. Photo by LCGross Sal Munoz, Mike Terrill, George Sanchez came back to Miami to kick off the fundraising for Bullion Plaza. Photo by LCGross

Artist Patty Sjolin completed a large mural in the McKusick tile room which represents all the flora and fauna of Gila County. Photo by LCGross

BULLION PLAZA,

Continued from page 18

“They said it was a safety hazard for the kids and were going to tear it down,” Sanchez, who is now 88, says. “We couldn’t let it happen: There was too much history there so we approached the school board and eventually won the bid.”

Sanchez says at the time, the school district was considering consolidation to a single campus, which may have influenced the decision to close the school. There

were also murmurs that mining interests wanted to purchase the property and raze the buildings.

Throughout 1998, the committee conducted a series of workshops with history and museum consultants to develop a mission statement and set policies for collections and exhibit criteria. It also conducted oral history training and initiated long-term planning.

That was the year the name Bullion Plaza Cultural Center and Museum was adopted. The following year, the museum attained its nonprofit 501c3 status and in 2000, the National Park Service officially recognized Bullion Plaza School on the National Register of Historic Places, based on the school being historically important for its association with the Mexican Americans and school segregation in Arizona. It was also a nod to the neoclassical revival architecture of the building.

In 2001, the IRS granted the museum nonprofit status as well. That was the year Sanchez was elected to the Gila County Board of Supervisors, so he had to step down from the Bullion Plaza board to avoid a conflict of interest. But as Supervisor, he was able to help in other ways.

“I hated to leave the town,” Sanchez says. “I was the mayor and we had a good Council, a good town manager and a good police and fire department as well as a good county clerk.”

After he moved on though, he was able to help secure funding for the Miami Library and additional funds to help the transition of Bullion Plaza to what it has become today.

In 2012, the Museum got a facelift, thanks to the Kannegards and RAM construction.

Before

After

Tom Foster in his office. Photo by LCGross

Foster put in landscaping at the museum thanks to grant monies and volunteers.

Photo by LCGross

Senator Bill Hardt was known as Mr. Rural Arizona, with a reputation for getting things done. His daughter Jo Foti, shown here with her husband Vince, worked with Tom Foster to create a room in his honor.

The second floor has undergone massive renovations including this room which got new floor and stage upgrades. Photo by LCGross

BULLION

Sanchez served on the Board of Supervisors from 2001 to 2008 and continued to champion his hometown and the project it had taken on.

He says one of the best things that happened in those early days was the hiring of Executive Director Tom Foster, who began as a volunteer in 2001. He became executive director in 2009, and now oversees museum operations and has become a much sought-after expert throughout the country.

Foster was born and raised in Southern California, but came to Arizona to attend Arizona State University in 1971, eventually earning his bachelor’s degree in education with a minor in art in 1974.

From there he moved to Prescott and taught throughout Yavapai County and sharpened his museum skills working for Sharlot Hall Museum.

He has always been intrigued with mechanical antiques and the rich mineral and mining history of his adopted state. An avid collector of antiques, Foster lent his expertise to several museums around the U.S., but after a visit to Miami in 1994 for the Miami Boomtown Spree, became

intrigued with the Copper Corridor.

“They were just getting started and needed volunteers with museum experience, so I went to a board meeting,” Foster says. “They had gone through a laundry list of ideas for the building: a FEMA management center, a retirement home, police station or town hall, but instead, decided to turn it into an economic development engine.”

He found a temporary place to stay as he volunteered and in 2003 or so moved to Miami full time. When the Bullion Plaza board hired him he never looked back.

“Bullion is becoming a destination,” Foster says. “But none of this would have been possible without the help of Freeport McMoRan, the Gila County Board of Supervisors, the Arizona Historical Society, United Fund and Kino Floors.”

He adds that many other businesses and individuals contributed time, talent and money—too many to name here—and sees the museum as an effort that would

not succeed without participation from the entire community.

In addition to his many accolades as a professional museum director, Foster is an Arizona Historical Society board member, which is governor appointed and legislature approved.

As Bullion Plaza prepares to celebrate, planning is underway for a public celebration on March 23, beginning at 11 a.m. with a welcome speech from new board president Phil Stewart, who was recently appointed to the position.

“Tom and the board have cultivated some wonderful relationships, which we very much value and cherish and we’re always adding new stakeholders,” Stewart says. “If we can get the message out there, if Bullion can become a powerhouse of knowledge and knowledge acquisition it’s a win, win, win: Everybody wins.”

The celebration will also feature a reception in the gym at noon and docent tours of the museum beginning at 1 p.m. u

The Rotary helped to bring a storyboard walk to the grounds of Bullion Plaza. Photo by LCGross

Roberto Reveles and Mike Terrill attended the Miami Centennial Celebration in 2018. Photo by LCGross

The Serbian Room represents the large Serbian community in Globe-Miami.

Photo by LCGross

JOHN G. HILL SR., July 23, 1937 – February 29, 2024, age 86, of Mammoth, passed away. John worked most of his life at the San Manuel mine. (BM)

WAYNE ROY CLARK, February 2, 1953 – February 29, 2024, age 71, passed away at CVRMC. (LM)

ALBERT SALAZAR CHAVEZ JR., April 28, 1949 – February 28, 2024, age 74, of Roosevelt, passed away at his home. (LM)

VINCENT STEPHEN FOTI, July 30, 1937 – February 26, 2024, age 86, passed away. Vince was originally from Philadelphia and was a computer programmer at Honeywell. He also worked for APS. (LM)

MARLENE A. SMITH, May 25, 1939 –February 25, 2024, age 84, of Peridot, passed away at her home. Marlene was born in Scottsdale. (LM)

ANDERSON LEE PACKARD, July 29, 1951 – February 23, 2024, age 72, passed away. (BM)

ABEL J. KEY JR., April 23, 1962 –February 23, 2024, age 61, of Peridot, passed away in Abrazo Central Campus in Phoenix. Abel worked as an EMT for San Carlos Emergency Medical Services. (LM)

IN LOVING MEMORY

DEBORAH RENEE LASSWELL, December 27, 1963 – February 23, 2024, age 60, of Globe, passed away at her home. (LM)

INFANT EMILIO ANTHONY

HERNANDEZ passed away on February 22, 2024. (BM)

RANDY JAMES HUNT, September 26, 1948 – February 21, 2024, age 75, of Globe, passed away at his home. (LM)

GEORGE SARGENT, February 14, 1952 – February 20, 2024, age 71, of Globe, passed away at his home. (LM)

TANYA GATES, March 25, 1976 –February 20, 2024, age 47, of San Carlos, passed away in Phoenix. (LM)

ADRIAN TIBOR JOSEPH GALL, May 21, 1957 – February 18, 2024, age 66, of Globe, passed away. (LM)

SHARON NOSIE, July 31, 1959 –February 18, 2024, age 64, of San Carlos, passed away at her home. (LM)

MELISSA ANN KINDELAY, February 7, 1977 – February 16, 2024, age 47, of Peridot, passed away in Phoenix. Melissa worked as a medical assistant at the San Carlos Apache Health Care Center. (LM)

ISABEL A. NOBLES, April 10, 1920 –February 13, 2024, age 104, passed away. She was originally from Pascoe, Washington. (BM)

VERONICA BELVADO, June 15, 1953 – February 12, 2024, age 70, of San Carlos, passed away at San Carlos Apache Health Care. (LM)

BIENVINIDO SISON CERDA, March 10, 1951 – February 11, 2024, age 72, passed away at CVRMC. (LM)

DELMER MAYNARD STEELE, June 10, 1989 – February 10, 2024, age 34, of Peridot, passed away. (LM)

ETHEL LORRAINE HARVEY, January

12, 1930 – February 8, 2024, age 94, passed away in Globe. She was originally from Pitcher, Oklahoma. (LM)

VISTA MAE CAYADITTO, April 3, 1952 – February 8, 2024, age 71, of Bylas, passed away. (LM)

JESSE JOSEPH HINTON, December 7, 2013 – February 8, 2024, age 10, of Bylas, passed away in Bylas. (LM)

ANGELA JEAN GUERRA, August 27, 1939 – February 7, 2024, age 84, passed away in Globe. (LM)

ANITA PADILLA, June 5, 1948 –February 7, 2024, age 75, of Claypool, passed away at her home. Anita worked as a a teacher’s aide and at the detention center. (LM)

INFANT CLAIRE NEVALYNN ALLEN passed away on February 7, 2024. (LM)

WILLIAM BARNEY HAYES, October 5, 1948 – February 6, 2024, age 74, of Tonto Basin, passed away in Phoenix. William worked as a driller for a gold mine. (LM)

MARGARET M. RUIZ, February 27, 1933 – February 4, 2024, age 90, of Winkelman, passed away at her home. Margaret was employed at one time or another by all the grocery stores in Winkelman. (BM)

JOSE R. BECERRA, January 6, 1975 – February 4, 2024, age 49, of Kearny, passed away. (BM)

ESTANISLADO BRAVO JR., April 13, 1935 – February 2, 2024, age 88, of Winkelman, passed away. Lalo served as Winkelman’s public works supervisor for 17 years. He also worked for Kennecott Mining and drove the preschool bus for Leonor Hambly Winkelman School. (BM)

LUTHER EDWARD HOPKINS, January 13, 1953 – February 1, 2024, age 71, of San Carlos, passed away at his home. (LM)

(LM= Lamont Mortuary. BM=Bulman Miles Funeral Home)

MARCH 1 HISTORIC DOWNTOWN GLOBE

RECOGNITION

Opening day on February 26th in their game against San Carlos. Seen here are GHS Coaches L-to-R: Jonathan Sukosky, James Reede, Wes Sukosky, Matt Nobar and Jason Ramos, with new GUSD Superintendent Christa DalMolin East and players.

Miami Girls Vandal Basketball Team got 2nd in the 2A State Championship playoffs on February 24th. Courtesy photo

Miami and Globe participated in the Arizona State Wrestling Tournament on February 16th and 17th. Luke Grainger a Junior at Miami qualified for state by placing 1st at the sectional meet on February 10th at Mogollon High School. Luke placed 3rd at state in the 138-pound division. Luke’s record for the season was 35-3. Gary Perkins a Junior at Globe qualified for state by placing 1st at the sectional meet on February 10th at Morenci High School. Gary placed 5th at state in the 126-pound division. Gary’s record for the season was 35-13

Linda Gross, Publisher of Globe Miami Times, enjoying the beautiful Spring weather and live music.

Gabe Marcott and a fellow ASU student hosted a booth at First Friday to talk about their work with the City.

Debbie Yerkovich hosts a cotton candy booth at First Friday and stopped to talk with Carol Bradford and friends.

Cecilie Hudson, owner of Round Mountain Baking is a regular at First Friday.

According to the book “History of Globe Arizona” by Donna Anderson, a man by the name of Karl “Swede” Larsen led the charge in 1950 when he discovered uranium in an old asbestos claim and from there the floodgates opened for a mid-20th century version of prospectors flooding into the desert in hopes of “getting rich quick.”

People from all walks of life, from city dwellers to federal employees to grizzled desert rats became miners overnight, wandering into the desert to seek fortunes that, for the most part, never came to fruition.

Larsen eventually gave up and sold his claims to the Pittson Company in 1953. The other prospectors who made money during the 1950s uranium rush did so in large part by selling their claims to mining companies. One of the biggest transactions was in the Workman Creek area, where 14 claims were sold to the Continental Uranium Company for the then-staggering price of $1 million.

The “winners” came to be known as “uraniumaires,” but the boom was short-lived and relatively few people actually succeeded.

In addition to the lodes to the north, uranium was also discovered in Pinal and Mescal mountains and before long, the hills were dotted with mining camps similar to the earliest days of activity in the region.

In all, about 7,000 claims were filed during that time with about 80 substantial enough to offer legitimate returns on investment.

According to Arizona Republic reporting at the time, it was the biggest mining boom in 81 years, but prospectors faced daunting challenges, from the heat to the lack of roads in the area. Even the mining companies had problems with logistics.

“Dozens of prospective miners are virtually land-locked,” according to one report. “There aren’t any roads. Right now at least six producing mines—firms that have spent many thousands of dollars in exploration and development—are piling up their ore at the mine because the summer’s rainwashed roads must be rebuilt before trucks can haul the ‘hot rock’ to the sampling plant.”

One firm spent $10,000 to build three miles of road, which was promptly washed out by a monsoon flash flood.

By spring 1954, Pittson’s Sierra Ancha Mining Company was shipping uranium ore to a government buying station in New Mexico. By the end of that year, the Atomic Energy Commission was in the process of building a sampling and collection station in Cutter, about eight miles east of Globe, that commenced operations in the summer of 1955.

For two years, the station— operated by the American Smelting and Refining Company—processed about 500 tons of uranium ore per month, but as often happened in the boom/bust cycle of mining, by 1957 the boom had ended after the AEC announced the remaining ore was too low grade and the costs of shipping it for processing were too prohibitive to continue.

Thus ended Gila County’s uranium mining boom.

All told, from 1953 to 1960, 14 uranium mines in and near the Sierra Ancha Wilderness produced a total of 21,851 tons of ore with more than 80 percent of the production from the Workman Creek and Red Bluff properties.

Mining companies kept an eye on the region in the following years, and exploration activity resumed in the 1970s through the 1980s. During that time, mining, drilling and sampling continued, according to the Department of Forestry, and mine access roads were built throughout the area.

Uranium in the news

Global nuclear energy production is expected to increase through 2050 and is one aspect of energy production intended to reduce carbon emissions in the future.

Gila County and Arizona have been big players in the production of uranium in the past and, despite protests by Native tribes and environmentalists, production appears to be ramping up.

Controversial mining is taking place near the Grand Canyon where, last year, President Joe Biden created the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument to help protect the fragile area that is sacred to the Havasupai and other tribes in Northern Arizona.

The 917,000-acre area was intended to permanently stop the development of nearly 600 active mining claims within its borders.

In 2012, the Obama Administration issued a 20-year mining ban on about 1 million acres of public land, but the Pinyon Plain Mine, then known as the Canyon

Mine, was in development prior to either presidents’ actions and thus has been allowed to go through, thanks to the Mining Act of 1872.

High Country News, a nonprofit environmental news source based in Colorado, reported in January that mining companies throughout the southwest are in the process of ramping up production, as the price of uranium has increased dramatically.

Uranium prices hit 17-year high in January, reaching $91 per pound, more than doubling what it was at the beginning of 2023. Uranium prices have not been so high since 2007 in the wake of the Fukushima reactor disaster, thanks in part to the actions of the U.S. and 20 other countries announcing nuclear energy production will triple by 2050.

In response to the surge in pricing and the anticipated surge in demand, Energy Fuels Inc. began operations at the Pinyon site in December 2023, 10 miles south of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon inside the national monument. The region has some of the highest-grade uranium ore in the country.

Despite assurances by Energy Fuels, opponents of the project are concerned about the effects it will have on water supplies and the tribes’ sacred places.

The mine is expected to operate for 28 months and produce about 1.57 million pounds of uranium, but reclamation will take 30 years of monitoring to complete. Currently, the U.S. uses about 40 to 50 million pounds of uranium per year.

Another Gila County boom on the horizon?

According to a February 2023 report by the Uranium Energy Corp, the Workman Creek Project “inferred resources”—estimates with a low level of confidence—is 4,459,000 lbs, with 198 unpatented mining claims on three parcels, totaling approximately 3,871 acres around Workman, Pendleton and Oak creeks.

The project is in development with no timeline to begin, pending a feasibility study. u