March 2023 Globe Miami Times

MIAMI HIGH SCHOOL 13

The Art of Restoration

Life, Craft and Hard Work

By

“You take chances,” says Blue. “I’ve lost,

yeah. But I’ve gained more than I’ve lost.”

Blue’s Shop, located at 106 West Ash Street (Highway 60), offers quality detailing, custom body work and paint, fabrication and U-Haul rentals. Eastbound drivers turn right; for those

coming westbound, it’s a scary left. Drive under the Blue’s Shop sign, and up the hill, where you’ll find Blue and his crew and a great view of Globe.

RESTORATION, Continued on page 16

Odd Fellows of Globe: Old Building, New Ideas

The building at 110 Broad Street was the first two-story brick building in town. It stood alone for years. Built by the International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) in 1898, the second floor was then, and remains today, the meeting hall of the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs of Globe-Miami.

“There’s a lot of history in this building,” says Greg Parisoff, current lodge President. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”

Sometimes behind glass encasement, but often under harsh light, the second floor holds historical records and ceremonial relics of a social organization once prominent in our society, now struggling to survive.

“It’s a challenge just to keep this beautiful building open and to keep the Odd Fellows going,” says Greg, “not just here but in the whole state. The whole country.”

BUILDING, Continued on page 19

Story by Patti Daley. Photos by Linda Gross

Patti Daley Blue and Lisa Saiz have built a thriving automotive business in Globe, atop a steep dirt hill and a lot of hard work.

Lisa and Blue Saiz. Globe, Arizona

PHOTO BY ALEXIS SAIZ

Greg Parisoff, lodge President with Debbie Guthrey, a former State President of the order and a 30-year member.

Spring is in the air

Spring is in the air after a long month of cold temperatures, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s increasingly hard to predict when the poppies will burst forth on the hillsides and along the highways. In past years, they’ve appeared as early as mid-February and as late as April. Depends on sunshine and rainfall. As we go to press, we can report blankets of these beautiful flowers that can be found from San Carlos to Devil’s Canyon. And in honor of the local poppies, this April is designated as the AZ PoppyFest, with multiple events offered throughout the month (p. 2).

Also on the docket in April is the opening of Globe Cannabis in downtown Globe (p. 1). I had the pleasure of meeting the proprietors, Mike and Cheryl (and their FOUR dogs) while working on the story with GMT writer David Abbott. What didn’t make the article is simply the care they devote to the business, from ensuring their employees are happy to the quality of the product they grow. And they both talked about how much they enjoy being in this community. It’s a good sign for a successful enterprise, and I look forward to seeing their new retail business open on Broad.

We also feature the life and work of Blue Saiz and his wife, Lisa, whose work in auto restoration has put Globe on the map with collectors and helped him attract top talent. They moved the shop here in 2016, and as he says, “I’d like to show the United States what we can do in historic small-town Globe.” We will all benefit when he does.

Mike, Cheryl, Blue and Lisa personify the upward cycle that’s such a part of what makes Globe-Miami a great place to live - the way our community’s energy and vibe attract more folks here who help make it even better.

On that note, I’m off to walk the dog and enjoy the sunshine and spring blossoms. I hope you’ll get out, too, and enjoy the pleasures of springtime, whatever shape that takes for you.

Publisher Linda Gross

Editor Patricia Sanders

Creative Designer

Jenifer Lee

Contributing Writers

David Abbott

Patti Daley

Linda Gross

Patricia Sanders

Contributing Photography

Linda Gross

Tory Satter

Published Monthly

Copyright@2023

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My rescue dog, Deacon. I need a bigger dog or a smaller tag.

Planting Seeds in September

by Patricia Sanders

This year, I can hardly wait to start my vegetable garden. It will be my first spring in a new house, and I finally have plenty of space. There’s already lettuce, spinach, and even tomatoes sprouting in the windowsill, possibly way too soon.

It’s one kind of hope to start planting seeds when the winter isn’t over yet – it’s an easy hope, because you know spring is coming.

But I can’t help thinking about a couple of years ago, when for various reasons I got a very late start on planting. Seeds didn’t make it into the ground until the end of summer, and there was hardly any place to put them where they would get enough sun. I made a tiny little garden in a corner of the front yard, and put a few things in pots, and crossed my fingers.

It takes a different kind of hope to try anyway, when time is short and there doesn’t seem like much chance.

I turned 56 a few months ago, and the notion of collecting Social Security is starting to feel real. But in some ways I feel like I’m just getting started in life. I still want to finish a novel and get it published. I still want to learn to paint, and get good at dancing.

I’m surely not the only person who’s felt this way.

Claude Monet, the French painter famous for his water lilies, didn’t start painting seriously until his forties, and he produced his amazing lily paintings when he was in his seventies.

Annie Proulx, who wrote The Shipping News and Brokeback Mountain, published her first novel at 57, and Brokeback Mountain – one of my favorite stories – came out when she was 62. Proulx’s late start didn’t keep her from winning a Pulitzer, a National Book Award, and numerous other accolades.

Anita Brookner was an art historian who wrote novels on the side. She published her first book at the age of 53, and after that, she wrote a novel almost every year. She won the prestigious Booker Prize for Hotel du Lac, her fourth novel, when she was 56, and her last book came out in 2011, when she was 82. In her 29-year career, Brookner wrote 25 novels.

And of course, there’s Anna Mary Robinson Moses – better known as Grandma Moses, and possibly the most famous example of a late bloomer. Moses began making her stunning primitive paintings at the age of 78, fulfilling a childhood dream. She painted until she was 101, right up to her death, and now her paintings hang in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and many other museums across the country.

Closer to home, my brother was 28 when he decided he didn’t want to work as a security guard for the rest of his life. He went back to school, finished an associate’s degree, started medical school at 33, and became a doctor at 37. Today he’s a general surgeon and a specialist in bariatric surgery at a regional hospital in New Hampshire. It isn’t just the lateness of their starts that make these people heroes to me. It’s that they had a love for their work – and their life itself, I think – that energized them to start and to keep going, regardless of what might have seemed a small potential for success.

The kind of love that kept Paul Cézanne painting right up to his last days – although he had been rejected by the art world throughout his life. Cézanne contracted pneumonia while painting outdoors, at the age of 67, and collapsed on the way home. The next day, he worked on a portrait but collapsed again. He finished the painting just before he died, six days later.

Auguste Renoir, another French painter, famous for his graceful ballerinas, suffered from terrible arthritis in his later years but continued to work. On his own deathbed, with his family gathered around, he begged them to give him a pencil so he could keep sketching. (They said they couldn’t find one.)

The artist Georgia O’Keeffe lost her eyesight in her eighties – so she switched to sculpture and kept working for another fourteen years, even after she’d become almost blind, until she died at the age of 98.

And Michelangelo, the sculptor of the David, was still chiseling away at blocks of marble when he was 88. His heartbreaking last work, the Rondanini Pietà, now stands in a special museum in the Sforza Castle in Milan. Michelangelo was still working on it three days before he died.

Or Johnny Cash touring at the age of 71, frail but defiant, just nine weeks before his death from complications of diabetes.

Or Chadwick Boseman continuing to act on the sets of seven movies, including Black Panther, during the four years he was receiving treatment for the cancer that ultimately took his life.

I’m not putting these examples forward as models of toughness or stoicism – although that might apply, too. What impresses me most is their motivation. When you’re 83 or 99 or lying on your deathbed, knowing you don’t have much time (or any time at all), clearly your motivation isn’t to win a prize or make a name for yourself – especially if you’ve already built a celebrated career. There’s nothing left to prove or achieve at that point. The motivation can’t be anything but love of the activity. A love that’s been nurtured and cultivated and preserved so that when the opportunity finally arises – no matter how long it takes – that love bursts forth and continues to flourish for as long as it possibly can.

There’s something in humans that just wants to live and create, regardless. And it doesn’t have to be in art. Artists just offer such clear examples of a drive that I believe exists deep in every human.

Time doesn’t matter, success doesn’t matter, and even whether the work is any “good” or not doesn’t matter.

All that matters is doing the work, for the love of it.

So now I understand why I was planting seeds in September. Not because I really expected to get a harvest. Just because I love putting seeds in the ground.

I did get to enjoy some homegrown parsley, in the end, but that was just a bonus. The real reward was doing something I love to do, and knowing it’s never too late.

“Quality goods for a life well lived.”

It isn’t just the lateness of their starts that make these people heroes to me. It’s that they had a love for their work – and their life itself, I think – that energized them to start and to keep going, regardless of what might have seemed a small potential for success.

INSIDER’S SCOOP

Long-term planning paying off as City of Globe focuses on future

by David Abbott

Signs of progress are becoming more visible around town: Residents are flocking to events such as First Friday to fill the streets of historic downtown Globe; City parks have been cleaned up and refurbished; empty buildings on Broad Street are sprucing up with a variety of new businesses, and long-term projects such as the soon-to-open community pool and the replacement of essential bridges are getting shovels in the ground.

Thanks to several years of planning and a Council, staff and administration that share common goals, the City of Globe is well on its way to implementing its strategic action plan (SAP), with visions for future economic growth and quality of life improvements for residents.

The most recent SAP was approved in 2019 and covered a 3-year period through 2022, but in the midst of that set of “goals and objectives,” the COVID pandemic halted progress for a time and the following year, fire and floods further drew city administrators’ attention from implementing its goals.

But now, the city has regained footing and is building momentum on projects that have been in the works for several years.

“Sometimes residents aren’t aware of all that is being done, and now we’re starting to see it visually around the community,” says Mayor Al Gameros. “Connie’s Bridge replacement is getting underway, and the Community Center pool project is nearing completion, but these things don’t happen overnight.”

While creating a more diverse economy tops the list of priorities for Globe’s leadership, improved public safety, infrastructure development, and blight reduction are all interconnected to help achieve those goals to create a better quality of life for residents and visitors alike.

Infrastructure that lays the groundwork for more housing options will also allow future members of the workforce to live in the community where they work and draw needed professionals to critical jobs in the Copper Corridor.

One of the main areas of investment for the City has been in public safety, both in the police and fire departments.

Under the leadership of Police Chief Dale Walters, the Globe Police Department has stabilized after years of turnover in both officers ranks and administration.

“We’ve worked hard to build up public safety,” Gameros says. “It’s 60% of our budget and an important piece of the quality of life we’re trying to create for our residents.”

Public safety improvements include increasing staffing levels, purchasing modern equipment and renovating or replacing city-owned buildings that are at least a century old.

Along with additional staffing, the GPD will soon implement a new virtual reality training system that will provide training to de-escalate potentially violent situations and deal with individuals who may be experiencing mental or emotional challenges.

With an eye toward dealing with the constant threat of wildfires and improving safety for both firefighters and residents, the Globe Fire Department has also received a big boost in recent years.

With the help of an Arizona Department of Homeland Security grant

for $205,380, Council recently approved expenditures for the purchase of 800 MHz mobile and portable radios for GFD, Tri-City Fire and the Miami Police departments.

The project began in 2021 when local fire and police departments, as well as the Gila County Sheriff’s Department, applied for Homeland Security funding to standardize the regional radio system and give first responders access to modern equipment.

GFD Chief Gary Robinson told Council the system would enhance communication with other agencies during multi-departmental events such as the Telegraph Fire and help deal with the aftermath in the case of severe flooding.

What will become the most visible upgrade, though, is the impending construction of a new fire department on Ash Street to replace the current station that was built before Arizona became a state. The new building is essential to increased employee safety and to accommodate advances in technology over the past century.

To achieve that, the City is in the process of applying to USDA for a loan to build the station and to purchase a new wildland ladder truck to help fight what has become seasonal catastrophic fires in the region.

These projects represent about $10 million worth of investment but could not have been accomplished without the public and private partnerships the City has developed in recent years.

“We’ve built partnerships and developed relationships because people have the confidence that we can and will do the work we commit to,” says Mayor Gameros. “We’re excited to have the opportunity to increase our service to the

community, but it takes a lot of work and planning.”

In addition to the focus on public safety, City leaders have also invested in creating a more welcoming atmosphere in Globe, addressing blight and improving the look and feel of the downtown area.

But one of the main focuses looking to the future is rebuilding crumbling infrastructure and paving the way for more family housing in one of the only places where that is possible, the northeast area towards the Gila County Fairgrounds. Water infrastructure and sewer expansion — including sewer extension to the Community Center — are expected to connect the community from the Gila County Fairgrounds to Rayes Ridge, a subdivision in the early stages of development on 28.5 acres off Icehouse Road that was annexed by the City about three years ago. The creation of a modern sewer system will help see the city move forward with the development of single-family housing to draw young professionals and expand economic activity to Globe.

“We have a 100-year-old community, which is historical in nature, and we all appreciate that,” says Councilman Freddy Rios. “But we also understand that with aging infrastructure, aging housing, and blight issues, we can’t just look away: We have to address everything that’s underground and assess our ability to provide quality service to our citizens.”

Rios, a division manager for Arizona Water Company, has spent nearly 40 years on and under the ground, building and maintaining water systems throughout the state. He is also representative of a City Council that has a diverse makeup of professions and age groups working together towards a common goal.

In preparation for the upcoming 2023-2024 budget negotiations, Globe’s council members and department leaders gathered for their yearly planning retreat to discuss the future and gauge progress made in the past year.

The event was facilitated by Evelyn Casuga of Arizona Town Hall, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that “focuses on bringing diverse perspectives together to create consensus.”

Casuga has a long history of leadership in Arizona as city manager of the towns of Eloy and Marana, and in the Economic Development Department at Arizona Public Service. She says it was not difficult to create consensus within Globe’s leadership despite the diversity of age, experience and opinion within the group.

“We went into depth on pretty much all of these projects and there was a lot of unanimity among the council, and that’s not usual,” Casuga says. “Councils have their ups and downs, but Globe happens to be in the right time, the right place and with the right people. They understand the need for teamwork amongst themselves, as well as with the staff. It’s a wonderful story about how they’re going to get there, because they have that unified voice.”

Rios believes the Council reflects the diversity of the community, and the City’s efforts will eventually lead to creating an attractive place for people to come and thrive in whatever they endeavor.

“We have different groups of people that want modernization because we live in a modern world,” he says. “It’s reality and we have to be able to support that. If we don’t, they won’t live here. When I hear those voices and what they would like to see in their community, that’s an action plan for me and I think our council realizes that as well.”

City Council (L-R) Mariano Gonzalez (D-5), Fernando Shipley (D-6), Freddy Rios (D-1), Mayor Al Gameros, Mike Stapleton (ViceMayor/ D-4), Jesse Leetham (D-3) and Mike Pastor (D-2).

The Arizona Rangers: Arizona Territory’s “Rough-Riding Police”

by Patricia Sanders

In 1901, Arizona was a perilous place to be. Law and order had not yet arrived, and cattle rustlers, horse thieves, stagecoach robbers, and smugglers were making life – and business – difficult.

Two of the territory’s largest cattle owners were seriously considering moving to other ranges. And the level of violence was even standing in the way of Arizona Territory gaining statehood.

So in March of 1901, Governor Nathan Oakes Murphy pushed through legislation creating and funding the Arizona Rangers – and shaped Arizona history.

“Rough Riders” of the Range

At first, the Arizona Rangers consisted of just fourteen men: Captain Burton C. Mossman of Bisbee, Sergeant John E. Campbell, and twelve privates.

Mossman was former superintendent of the Aztec Land and Cattle Company – the “Hash Knife” outfit – covering 2 million acres in northern Arizona. Mossman was well practiced in dealing with cattle thieves, with a reputation for coolness and skill handling a revolver.

The rest of the men hailed from throughout Arizona, bringing familiarity with its trails, watering holes, hidden canyons, and hideouts. They were cattleman, cowboys, and police officers. One was a farmer, and one was a former waiter from New York. All fourteen had reputations for endurance and courage.

They were expected to be expert marksmen, trackers, and horsemen, as well as experienced cowboys.

Many of them were veterans of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry under Colonel Theodore Roosevelt – known as the Rough Riders – which saw combat in the Spanish-American War and won fame for its part in the Battle of San Juan Hill.

The Arizona Rangers were governed by U.S. military rules and regulations. The men received decent wages – $125 per month for the captain, $75 for the sergeant, and $55 for the enlisted men, which in today’s dollars would be equivalent to around $4,400, $2,640, and $1,900, respectively.

They had to provide their own horses, but the territory paid for their arms and ammo. According to one report, they carried the most modern weapons available at the time.

And they had carte blanche to arrest any criminal they encountered, anywhere in the territory.

Each Ranger had to submit a weekly report to the governor. One such report read:

Left Clifton and scouted toward San Francisco mountains river. Arrested Mexican at Rattlesnake Gulch, turned over to authorities at Clifton. Went out after Jose Jacon, murderer. Killed resisting arrest.

The Arizona Rangers had been modeled after the Texas Rangers, an organization founded in 1823 by Stephen F. Austin – the “Father of Texas” – to protect families who had settled in the border area after the Mexican War of Independence. Over the years, the Texas Rangers fought the Cherokee, the Comanche, and other Native Americans, and they mustered into federal service during the Mexican-American War. In the second part of the 1800s, the Texas Rangers served a crucial law enforcement role in Texas, similar to the one the Arizona Rangers provided in Arizona.

Daring and Effective

By March of 1903, the Arizona Rangers had earned a reputation for being daring and effective. “Arizona Rangers a Terror to ‘Bad Men’ of the Border,” one headline read.

They had already “cleaned out” much of the criminal element in the territory, making a total of 125 arrests. And the deterrent effect had led many more criminals to vacate the territory.

According to one news report of the time, thanks to the Rangers, cattle rustling was “getting to be a thing of the past in Arizona.”

The Rangers succeeded in part because they were outside parties, with independence from local politics. According to one newspaper report, in many areas of the territory, criminals and local politicians knew one another – they might have grown up together in the town – or had come to mutually beneficial agreements.

The Rangers had no such considerations.

Their success came, though, at the cost of two Rangers’ lives. These men’s places were quickly filled – there was a waiting list of those who wanted to wear the Ranger’s badge.

In 1904, the legislature voted to continue the Rangers

program for another three years, and increased the size of the force to twenty-six: one captain, one lieutenant, four sergeants, and twenty privates. Captain Mossman departed to return to ranching, to be replaced by Captain Thomas Rynning, a former lieutenant in the Rough Riders.

The Arizona Rangers garnered a reputation for integrity, determination, and commitment to public service. According to one writer of the time, “The history of the rangers, under whatever leadership, was one of devotion and rare courage.”

“Mistakes” and Repeal

There were problems, however. One report from Bisbee describes a Ranger pistol-whipping peace-abiding residents on the streets of the town in 1904, in a “savage and brutal display of unwarranted authority.” And a 1905 newspaper editorial refers to members of the Rangers making unspecified “mistakes.”

When the third and last captain of the Arizona Rangers, Harry C. Wheeler, took the reins in 1907, he established a rigorous training program and Code of Conduct, imposing a new level of discipline on the organization.

But the year 1909 brought an end to the Arizona Rangers. The legislature discontinued the program, apparently under political pressure from county sheriffs and district attorneys in the northern part of the state.

During the Rangers’ eight years of operation, a total of 107 men had served. The Arizona Rangers had made some 4,000 arrests, and approximately 1,000 of those had been for serious felonies.

They had succeeded in their mission – “to clean up the country” – and in the process created their own lasting myth: of competence, hardiness, and devotion to justice.

The Rangers returned in 1957, with the founding of a nonprofit organization that also called itself the Arizona Rangers, and included four members of the original group. The new Arizona Rangers received official recognition in 2002. Its 500+ members are all unpaid volunteers who receive special training. They have no law enforcement authority but provide “support and assistance” to Arizona law enforcement officials and officers, government and nonprofit security services, and youth support and community services. u

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARIZONA LIBRARY ARCHIVES

Arizona Rangers were used to keep the peace during a copper mining strike in the Morenci-Clifton area in 1903.

Globe set to get its second marijuana establishment

By David Abbott

“Home grown” is taking on a whole new meaning downtown as a new marijuana establishment is poised to open up on Broad Street, giving local connoisseurs a second option to purchase recreational cannabis in Globe.

Arizona Globe Cannabis Co. expects to open its doors the first week of April at 290 N. Broad Street, the former location of Bacon’s Saddle Shop. The new shop will give cannabis users on the east side of town an option closer to home than Mohave Cannabis Club on the west side.

Globe’s second recreational cannabis establishment will be operated by Mike Wingersky, who owns the cultivation facility in the old bowling alley on East Ash behind the Holiday Inn.

All approvals from City Council and the Planning and Zoning Commission have been given for the shop and even the Globe Historic Preservation Advisory Commission is on board, so all that is left is for the owners to tidy up after construction and put product on the shelves.

Globe Cannabis will sell its own specialty products created in the commercial kitchen Wingersky built at the cultivation facility, including CBD products for pets and cannabis-infused peanut butter cups created by his wife Cheryl Wingersky.

He says familiarity with the process and the community helped his team get through the regulatory hoops and he and Cheryl are happy to offer their products to Gila County residents.

“Everything is in place and the city has been great,” Wingersky says. “Dana (Burkhardt, zoning administrator for the City of Globe) and his crew did a great job helping us get through the process.”

City Council gave final approval at its Feb. 28 meeting, reporting no public resistance to the project. Both Globe Police Chief Dale Walters and Fire Chief Gary Robinson registered public support and City Manager Paul Jepson commended the Wingerskys for their positive contributions to local business.

“The applicant ... has stepped up and met his word and his commitments as we’ve worked through the bugs, and we do have a good history of him following up,” Jepson said prior to Council’s unanimous vote in favor of the project. “He invested what he needed to invest to meet his commitments.”

The only comment the City received was from Farley’s Pub owner Eileen Townsend, who had no objections to the establishment, but pointed out that there are already parking problems on Broad Street.

“Often times (sic) there is no parking available for my employees when they come to work in the early afternoon,” Townsend wrote. “I have several elderly customers with mobility issues who often have to circle the block repeatedly, waiting for a spot to open.”

She suggested two dedicated spaces for the establishment during normal business hours, to which Jepson replied that downtown parking is one of City Council’s top priorities in coming years.

The Planning and Zoning Commission received no public input or comment at its hearing held a week earlier on Feb. 22.

Arizona grown competition

Parking aside, more competition in the marijuana marketplace could mean lower prices and Wingersky hopes to provide that along with locally grown and produced creations, as well as a selection of edibles and products from other Arizona vendors.

“We’re going to price it so nobody has to leave Globe (to buy cannabis) and we’ll even give discounts to medical patients,” says Cheryl Wingersky. “We’ve been wanting to do this for a long time to make sure people have a place to buy legally.”

The grand opening of Globe Cannabis Company will take place at about the same time as the Mohave Cannabis Club expects to have its grand opening after a “soft” o pening last November. Mohave CC was slated to open in July 2022, but the after-effects of COVID — both on the supply chain and the health of people involved in the process — delayed that by several months.

CC is located in Cobre Valley Plaza, on the corner of Russell Road and Highway 60 near Judy’s Cookhouse, and is run by Shelby Jones, general manager of the Globe and Safford establishments owned by Mohave.

Jones believes there is sufficient demand in the region, given the only alternatives are the long drive to the Valley or a trip to Payson. Residents in communities such as Miami, Roosevelt and Tonto Basin are also within range.

Jones has been in the cannabis industry for more than five years and says Mohave CC has already cultivated a solid customer base in a few short months.

“Our customers are happy we’re here,” Jones says. “They don’t have to commute to buy cannabis, but I don’t think the competition is going to hurt.”

Mohave grows its cannabis in Bullhead City and ownership and management are home-grown as well. The company has been in the Arizona cannabis industry for more than a decade and specializes in serving the Arizona market.

Both of Globe’s establishments will be Arizona-owned and operated businesses — Wingersky is from Glendale — which is becoming increasingly rare as large cannabis companies take over the market throughout the state.

“Our company takes care of people in rural Arizona from a small-town perspective,” Safford native Jones says. “We care about what’s happening in rural Arizona, unlike the big, multi-state operators of the world.”

In an era of consolidation that has created huge national retailers such as Trulieve and Curaleaf, which have political and economic clout far beyond Arizona’s borders, Globe is fortunate to have local operators in the community.

Ensuring access

While medical patients will have to purchase lowerTHC products and be subject to the 16% excise tax levied on recreational products, there is a chance Globe Cannabis will soon be able to offer medical marijuana. Wingersky is one of 74 applicants for a “rural backfill” dispensary license and hopes to be able to sell both recreational and medical cannabis in the near future.

The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), which regulates cannabis in the state, distributed a tranche of six medical licenses on March 10 (after GMT went to press), to ensure residents in all 15 Arizona counties have access to medicinal cannabis.

Mohave

Mike Wingersky and Cheryl Wolff, Owners of Globe Cannabis

PHOTO BY LCGROSS

In ADHS lingo, medical marijuana outlets are designated “dispensaries” while adult-use, recreational shops are referred to as “establishments.”

Medical patients can possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana leaf and edibles containing higher doses of THC than what is allowable on the recreational side.

The tax rate on medical cannabis includes a 6% sales tax (TPT) along with a 2.3% local sales tax for the City of Globe.

Prop 207, which passed in November 2020, legalizes possession of up to an ounce for adults over the age of 21 and allows up to five grams of concentrates with a limit on THC content of edibles of 10mg per piece and 100mg per package. Given the level of taxation on recreational marijuana, consumers can get a significant tax break with a medical card in a dispensary.

The number of medical dispensary licenses is tied directly to the number of traditional pharmacies in the state, but there must also be at least one medical dispensary in each county. Gila County is one of six that will get the new licenses, as will Apache, Cochise, Graham, Greenlee and Santa Cruz counties.

The licenses are forever associated with the counties that receive them, so if Wingersky does not win the certificate lottery, it is likely the dispensary will go to an operator in Payson.

By statute, medical marijuana dispensary certificates are limited to one for every 10 traditional pharmacies registered in the state of Arizona, but ADHS “may issue nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary registration certificates in excess of this limit if necessary to ensure there is at least one dispensary registration certificate in each county where an application has been approved,” according to the ADHS website.

There are currently 131 active nonprofit medical marijuana licensed dispensaries in the state.

Cannabis users have spent $1.4 billion each year since the beginning of recreational sales in January 2021. Although the medical market has been around since 2013, recreational sales have skyrocketed while the medical market has nearly collapsed in that time.

In 2021, medical marijuana sales accounted for nearly

55% — about $760 million — of the total. In 2022, the recreational cannabis market represented nearly 70% of sales, or more than $950 million, as the medical market crashed to slightly more than $500 million.

Overall total cannabis sales for both markets since the advent of legal adult-use in January 2021 is $2.9 billion. u

Elsa Fregozo, Regional General Manager of Mohave Cannibus Club, and Shelby Jones, General Manager of the Globe and Safford locations.

PHOTO BY LCGROSS

Miami Varsity Golf

GLOBE-MIAMI-SAN CARLOS SPORTS

PHOTOS BY TORY SATTER

Globe Varsity Baseball

Miami Varsity Baseball

Hours: Mon-Sat 8am-6pm; Sun 9am-4pm 1930 E Ash, Globe 928-425-0060

Junior Russell Long makes a great throw from third base.

Senior Wendsler Nosie III connects for a base hit.

Freshman Jaeger Franco was solid on the mound against the Hayden Lobos. The Tigers went 1-3-1 for the Florence tournament.

Senior Kaleb Petty sends one long off of the tee box.

Sophomore Aydin LIght takes his first swing of the 2023 spring golf season.

Junior William Hickey tees it off for the Vandals Varsity Golf team.

Senior Izak Villalobos makes contact against the Bulldogs

Junior Jayven Salazar pitching against the Safford Bulldogs. The Vandals went 3-2 during the Florence tournament. Senior Larenz Combs with a deep drive to the outfield.

MIAMI HIGH SCHOOL MIAMI HIGH SCHOOL

Miami High School thinks outside the box for teacher recruitment

By David Abbott

Finding teachers has become increasingly difficult in rural Arizona, particularly in the past decade with waves of retirements and with enrollments in teacher certification programs dropping precipitously, but Miami High School has tapped into existing pathways for potential teachers and offered alternatives for established professionals seeking changes.

MHS has survived, in part, with the help of teachers who came from other walks of life, including former business owners, those who worked for years in industrial jobs and even a professional singer who worked on a cruise ship.

“It’s hard to explain to people, but teaching is really not something you do, it’s somebody who you are,” says veteran physical education teacher Janet Acevedo. “The good thing about being a teacher is the benefits are really good: Pay is not good, but you get really good benefits.”

Acevedo is a third-generation MHS graduate — K-12 in Miami schools as were her parents and siblings — but before she settled into teaching nearly three decades ago, Acevedo spent six years in the music business, singing on a cruise ship.

After graduating from college with a teaching degree, she entered the classroom as a teacher in Camp Verde, but music drew her in and the lifestyle was appealing.

“I actually wanted to be a teacher since I was a junior in high school, but then music really grabbed me,” she says. “I really didn’t have big aspirations, but when I got the gig on the cruise ship I thought, ‘I’m young and I have teaching to fall back on, so I’ll take my opportunity while I can.’”

During her time on the ship, Acevedo’s teaching certificate expired. She moved back to the Valley to get re-certified and attended a “teacher roundup” at ASU. Acevedo accepted an offer to teach in the San Carlos school system and spent several years there, but 17 years ago MHS reached out to her and she gladly accepted.

Her family is mostly gone from the area now and she is teaching the grandkids and great-grandkids of her former classmates. She still sings from time-to-time, but is happy with her decision to follow her youthful dreams of teaching and does not hesitate to encourage her students who want to pursue it as a career.

“I’ve talked to them and tell them they’re not gonna make a lot of money, but you really cannot stop somebody from being a teacher if that’s who they are,” she says. “I had a great lifestyle being a musician — I lived on a cruise ship — but teaching kept calling me back and I realized I could do both.”

Filling teaching positions in Arizona’s urban areas where there are more resources is difficult enough, but given economic trends in the past few years rural Arizona has unduly suffered, particularly in the wake of COVID. A system that funds schools on a per-student basis, aka “seat time,” was not prepared for the sharp drop in attendance.

While urban schools with a more affluent tax base can get as much as $18,000 per year, per student, rural schools get half that amount. That affects everything from paying the electric bills to teachers’ salaries, leaving Arizona pay near the bottom nationally.

Last year the National Education Association reported that Arizona’s average teacher starting salary of $40,554 ranked 27th among states, with the national average at $52, 157. Given the funding formulas in the state, rural instructors are at the low end of the spectrum, and either head to the Valley or Tucson area, or are lured to other states such as California, which ranks fifth in average starting salary and third with the national average in overall teacher pay.

Competition for certified educators is so tough that graduates are often hired at urban schools as soon as they graduate from state universities.

But it’s not all doom and gloom and many institutions are working to create new models to maintain a teaching presence in classrooms.

Locally, there is a “2+2” program through Eastern Arizona College Gila Pueblo Campus, where students can get a teaching degree from Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at ASU without the need to move to the Valley. Students can earn associates degrees and can virtually attend ASU classes from the Gila Pueblo campus through the program.

There are also internship programs placing teacher candidates in real classrooms that are then supervised by a qualified teacher monitoring multiple interns. Additionally, virtual learning networks are becoming more wide-ranging and efficient in the wake of the pandemic, although funding mechanisms are lagging behind the new instructional models.

MHS continues to give support to its students that are interested in the profession, but many teachers are drawn by the chance for a new beginning later in life.

Dan Hill, who runs the culinary program at MHS and is set to become the administrator of the Career & Technical Education program, owned and managed several furniture stores from Mesa to Alaska. He became a teacher when

the “Great Recession” of the late-00s shuttered his stores.

After spending a lifetime in the business he learned from his family, Hill “lost everything” and was suddenly looking for a way to survive. Taking advantage of the Obama-era Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Hill was able to get his teaching certificate and became qualified to teach English, Government, Japanese, Economics, Psychology, Criminal Justice and Culinary Arts.

After four years teaching at an alternative school in Globe, Hill was incoming MHS Principal Glen Lineberry’s first hire. Hill says that although modern classrooms can be a tough working environment, it not only gets easier, but is highly rewarding.

“I’ll have kids come back years later and thank me” he says. “I had a student who went to a college in New York and wrote an entire essay about me as her most influential teacher, so there’s gratification that comes down the road. But if you only teach for a year or two, it’s hard to stick with the profession.”

Similarly, Phys Ed instructor Sammy Gonzales came to teaching from an industry that took a big economic hit around 2009. Gonzales, currently a councilman and former mayor of the Town of Miami, graduated from MHS in 1987 and went into the automotive industry at the age of 16.

He was working at a Chevrolet dealership in the Globe-Miami area when the industry consolidated and his shop was on the verge of closing down. He had his AA degree from Eastern Arizona College, but was focused on the job where he “thrived.” At the time, he was going through a divorce and working six days a week.

Gonzales enrolled in the teaching program at Northern Arizona University during one of the worst teacher shortages in the 21st century and went to work in the San Carlos school district for two years.

As soon as there was an opening though, he grabbed the opportunity to teach at his alma mater.

For Gonzales, the transition from the fairly roughand-tumble, “testosterone-y” world of car culture to the classroom was tough, but he stuck with it and has been in the classroom for more than 12 years.

He says that the perception of teaching as a parttime job is not the reality, and people close to him have learned a different perspective through his efforts.

“People come from all walks of life into the education system,” Gonzales says. “There’s a possibility that people think they can’t get into the education field because they’re too old. They should understand that no, they’re not the only one thinking that, and yes, they can do it and achieve it.”

Dan Hill

Sammy Gonzales

Janet Acevedo

Building a Reputation, Ground Up

Blue’s Shop went into business as a detail shop. Then Blue hired a mechanic. A job doing detail on a single U-Haul vehicle led to a job doing the whole fleet. Blue and Lisa became U-Haul vendors. Soon after, Blues Fabrication was added.

Now Blue and his talented team are building cars valued at $90-100K, from the ground up. A ‘51 Chevy from Duncan AZ. ‘68 Camaro from Florida. A man who had business with the mine came in for a detail and then asked for a full restoration. .

“He asked if I’d build him a Camaro,” Blue says, “with stuff out of a brand new Corvette.”

Word of mouth has put Blue’s Shop on the map. The quality of his work is attracting top talent. A month ago a guy in Minnesota called; he wanted his 69 Bronco torn apart and built anew; he wasn’t asking for Blue’s references.

“I already did my footwork,” he told Blue, “I want you to build it.”

For Blue, the recognition is a bit overwhelming, but he has even bigger dreams for the future – a new showroom is in the plan, and in the dream, a TV show.

“I’d like to show the United States what we can do,” says Blue, “in historic, small town Globe.”

Blue also builds custom bikes; he has six of them but doesn’t ride any more. Lost too many friends that way. He still likes his hotrods. The ‘68 Chevy C10 has been a favorite for the past 30 years.

“All our hard work has paid off to an unforeseen blessing,” says Lisa. “If we wouldn’t have come this way, we’d still be down our dirt road.“

Humble Beginnings, Bold Moves

Blue and Lisa were young and just getting by when Blue saw a car on the side of the road and though they had bills to pay, he wanted to buy it.

“Within a week, I sold that car,” says Blue. “Doubled my money.”

That’s when Blue knew this was something he could do, and that someday he would own his own business. For 25 years, he worked as a miner for Asarco. He fixed cars in the evenings and weekends.

“We bought our first property in Catalina,” says Lisa. “Dug all of it by hand.”

Blue traded a Camaro for a “piece of junk trailer” that became their house. They lived in it for a year as a family of four without gas or electricity. Lisa warmed their baths by fire. An ice chest held eggs, cheese and milk. Blue hung out with an old-school painter and learned the skill.

PHOTO BY ALEXIS SAIZ

Blue and Lisa with some of the cars he has restored. His reputation has helped put Globe on the radar of car enthusiasts who seek him out to do work. Photographed here in historic downtown Globe, in front of the 30ft mural done by Chris Carnahan with Western Reprographics.

Word of mouth has put Blue’s Shop on the map and helped him attract top talent.

PHOTO BY PATTI

In 2014, Lisa was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her youngest child was in high school and she ran a full-time daycare at home. By the time she was in remission, the kids were all gone. Lisa and Blue purchased a fifth wheel.

“We bounced around,” says Lisa. “We had fun.”

Both originally from Oracle, Blue and Lisa have known each other since first grade. They made their first communion together. Her family was poor, his parents were divorced. In high school, they reconnected when she approached him at a car wash. He had his defenses.

“If you’re looking to get married, I’m not your guy,” Blue declared. “I’ll never have kids and I’ll never have a four door.”

In January, the couple celebrated their 35th anniversary. They have three children, grandchildren, and two Queensland Heelers. Their first four-door was a 1988 Ford Tempo.

Moving to Globe

“It’s all about taking chances and making changes in our lives,” says Lisa.

Blue had always wanted to live in Globe. As a boy, his father would bring him here, to fight chickens at Wheatfield and go fishing at the river. He was just a kid driving through, but he thought it was a cool town.

“If you want to go, let’s go now,” Lisa said to Blue.

Their 4-bedroom house in Catalina was paid for; the kids were grown and gone. Breast cancer was in remission.

“I think she just called my bluff,” says Blue, “You’d better man up and go do it.”

They moved to Globe in 2016. Both are glad they did.

“We knew that we liked it when we first started meeting people,” says Lisa.

“People are real here,” says Blue.

Blue had acquired a lot of vehicles by this time. A buddy led him to an old boat shop property for sale. Blue made an offer and Kenny Simpson, the old owner of the boat shop, responded.

IN LOVING MEMORY

RAYMOND DONALD BRICE, February 18, 1934 – February 28, 2023, age 89, passed away. Don was born in Claypool. He served in Korea and played baseball for UfoA and ASU, and was also a dive master and scuba instructor. (BM)

ROBERT F. KELLEY, December 20, 1935 – February 28, 2023, age 87, passed away at Haven of Globe. (LM)

GEORGE VALENZUELA ROCHA, January 4, 1948 –February 24, 2023, age 75, passed away. George served in Vietnam and then worked at Copper Cities and Pinto Valley Copper. During the strike, he started working as a serviceman for Arizona Water Company, where he stayed for nearly 30 years. (BM)

SHIRLEY JUNE STROM, November 26, 1950 – February 23, 2023, age 72, of Globe, passed away. Shirley was born in Morenci. (LM)

THOMAS LEON BROWN, March 26, 1951 – February 23, 2023, age 71, passed away. Thomas was born in Santa Rosa, California, and was a cultural leader and specialist for the Pomo people. (LM)

GEORGE DANIEL STEVENS, November 22, 1957 –February 23, 2023, age 65, passed away in Medford, Oregon. (LM)

JUDY KAY GAMBEE, October 20, 1943 – February 22, 2023, age 79, passed away. Judy was originally from Ray and was a stay-at-home mother. (LM)

DELBERT TALAWYMA SR., March 31, 1970 – February 22, 2023, age 52, of Peridot, passed away at Heritage Health Care in Globe. (LM)

CANDICE RAE RILEY, July 6, 1982 – February 22, 2023, age 40, passed away. (LM)

AURORA JIMENEZ HERRERA, April 25, 1932 – February 21, 2023, age 90, passed away in Chandler. Aurora was born in Miami and received recognition for her work crocheting for kids at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. (LM)

PATRICIA IRENE WOLD, November 19, 1945 – February 21, 2023, age 77, passed away at Haven Health of Globe. (LM)

HERLINDA VERONICA AGUILAR, March 11, 1939 –February 19, 2023, age 83, of Superior, passed away in Gilbert. Linda was originally from Pecos, NM, and was a stay-at-home mother. (BM)

DEBRA CLINE, January 22, 1956 – February 19, 2023, age 67, passed away at CVRMC. (LM)

GRACIE ELLEN NASH BROWN, March 17, 1941 – February 17, 2023, age 81, of Peridot, passed away at her home. Gracie worked as a teacher’s aide. (LM)

MARY KUBESH, November 17, 1945 – February 15, 2023, age 77, passed away at CVRMC. (LM)

RUBEN R. TELLEZ, August 24, 1953 – February 14, 2023, age 69, of Superior, passed away. Ray first worked in mining and then was employed at Boeing for 32 years. (BM)

KATHERINE STEVENS-LOMAYESVA, October 21, 1937 – February 13, 2023, age 85, passed away. Katie was an LPN for the Indian Health Services for 40 years and school nurse at San Carlos High School for 11 years. (BM)

ERNIE MEADE, May 28, 1928 – February 11, 2023, age 94, passed away at Haven of Globe. (LM)

BILLY JAMES SCHNEIDER, July 23, 1968 – February 10, 2023, age 54, of Hayden, passed away. Billy was originally from Keokuk, Iowa. He worked for Eddie Tire and later doing maintenance for the Town of Hayden. (BM)

FIDEL LOPEZ GONZALES, April 24, 1946 – February

9, 2023, age 76, of Kearny, passed away in Mesa. Fidel served in Vietnam, then worked for Asarco as a boilermaker. (BM)

RICHARD ALLEN LEASE, October 26, 1940 – February

8, 2023, age 82, of Hayden, passed away at his home. A veteran of the US Army, Richard worked for Asarco as a metallurgic technician. He served on Hayden’s town council for 10 years, and as mayor and vice mayor. (BM)

WILLIAM CHARLES PHILLIPS, October 25, 1938 –February 5, 2023, age 84, of Globe, passed away. Bill was quarterback on Globe High’s 1956-57 state championship football team, served in the Navy, and later owned his own business. (LM)

“Son, I’m not laughing at you,” he said, “but there’s more in concrete here than what you’re offering.”

A year later Mr. Simpson died and the realtor called; his kids accepted the Saiz offer. The house is currently under renovation. The property is littered with vehicles and other projects in waiting. Inside the huge shop, however, everything shines. A smokey custom paint job brings tears to a truck owner’s eyes. Next door, in the remains of his man cave, is Blue’s office and motorcycle showroom.

In addition to managing the detailing side of the business, Lisa cares for 4-6 children in her DES-certified home daycare. She began as a daycare provider 20 years ago; her first daycare kid is now 22 and a marine.

“They’re like family,” says Blue, of Lisa’s little ones. “It’s amazing how they grow up and come back and give us hugs.”

Self-professed workaholics, Lisa and Blue claim the biggest challenge is writing things down and remembering everything they need to do to keep everyone happy. Customers. Employees. The kids. Themselves.

“Couldn’t do it without her,” says Blue. “We have late nights to finish what we need to do to make it happen.”

He and Lisa also step up for the community. They sponsor a local softball team and motocross racer, Cason Olbera.

“I want to encourage people,” says Blue. “I’m here to help.” u

REYNALDO JERRY DOMINGUEZ, April 11, 1942 – February 5, 2023, age 80, passed away at his home. Rey worked at Inspiration Smelter for 45 years, as well as in the facilities department at San Carlos Apache Community College and as a carpet layer. (LM)

HAROLD ARTIMUS SWIFT, November 16, 1981 – February 5, 2023, age 41, passed away in Phoenix. (LM)

JACKSON DOYLE HOLLIDAY, November 26, 1950 –February 4, 2023, age 72, of Globe, passed away. Jack was born in Miami. (LM)

MYGRETTA RUSSELL SHORTEN, January 18, 1933 –

February 3, 2023, age 90, of San Carlos, passed away at her home. Mygretta worked as an enrollment clerk for Tribal elections, as well as a teacher’s aide, switchboard operator, and nurse’s aide. (LM)

MAXINE LEIST, August 18, 1936 – February 3, 2023, age 86, of Globe, passed away at Haven of Globe. (LM)

TOM COLBERT, July 4, 1943 – February 2, 2023, age 79, passed away. (LM)

ALICE FAYE NEWMAN, April 20, 1969 – February 2, 2023, age 53, passed away at Desert Banner Hospital in Mesa. (LM)

EARL JAY FRANKLIN, February 23, 1951 – February 1, 2023, age 71, passed away in Globe. (LM)

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

PHOTO BY PATTI DALEY

Blue and Lisa Saiz inside their shop. The couple has been together for 35 years and moved to Globe in 2016. RESTORATION, Continued from page 16

The shop, with the distinctive archway, is at the top of the hill just off hwy 60 in Globe.

PHOTO BY PATTI DALEY

BUILDING, Continued from page 1

Rich History

The original mission of the IOOF was to help widows and orphans. This was considered an odd ambition in the 1700s, and that’s how the Odd Fellows fraternity got its name.

Today the IOOF provides a framework that promotes personal and social development through the principles of friendship, love and truth. Regardless of race, nationality, religion, social status, gender, rank and station, everyone is welcome and worthy of care.

“Our main theme is to visit the sick, bury the dead, educate the orphans and help widows,” says Debbie Guthrey, a former State President of the order and 30-year member.

IOOF became the first national fraternity to include women when it adopted the Rebekah Degree in 1851, nearly 70 years before women were allowed to vote or run for public office in the United States. The general duties of the Rebekahs are “to live peaceably, do good unto all, as we have opportunity and especially to obey the Golden Rule, Whatsoever ye would that others should do unto you, do ye even so unto them.”

“We used to wear long skirts and suits,” says Debbie, “but that has kind of gone by the wayside.”

The original Globe Lodge No. 6 was chartered in 1885. Membership was limited to mining management at Old Dominion Mine. That charter was nullified as it went against the creed of inclusiveness and the current lodge was instituted as Globe Rescue Lodge No. 12 in 1891.

Famous local Odd Fellows included Gary Clark, Sheriff John Thompson, Senator Bill Hardt, Gila County Supervisor and minority house leader, Edward G “Bunch” Guererro, and Governor George Hunt.

Rise and Fall of Membership

Following a high point for active membership (over 100 people) in the 1960s and 1970s, the IOOF, along with other fraternal organizations such as Lions, Elks, Shriners, Jaycees and the Masons saw their membership drop 12-44% during the 1980s and 1990s. The decline in civic and social engagement is attributed to many factors including busy-ness, changing role of women in society, residential mobility, rise of the welfare state, and generational and technological changes.

“I think it’s the culture,” says Greg. “We’re losing some of the personalization of society.”

In Europe, where the Odd Fellows were founded, the IOOF remains a huge social organization with $10K dues and dinners in tuxedos and ball gowns. There is a huge waiting list.

One hard fact is that the members of social and civic organizations are getting older. One member of Globe’s IOOF lodge is 97.

“We got the elevator so that we could keep our members going,“ says Dan Guthrey, an IOOF member for 20 years and the go-to guy when something needs fixing.

The slow-moving elevator replaces the wheelchair lift that once carried the elderly up and down the 32 stairs in the alley. Purported to be “scarier than crap,” it is currently out of commission and too costly to fix to code.

Helping People

Everyone agrees there is a need to reach younger people to keep social and civic organizations alive and thriving. So what is the benefit of being part of I.O.O.F or the many other social fraternities?

“Helping people!” responds Debbie. “Geez, there are people that need help.”

She runs through the many needs that arise that the Odd Fellows step up to fill. For years, they supported the Summer Youth Musical Program at CVCA, baseball teams, and student pilgrimage to the United Nations in New York. Debbie is particularly proud of a toy drive conducted by the Rebekahs.. They collected and cleaned up stuffed toys and gave them to the fire department, DPS officers and hospital emergency room staff.

“When a fire truck pulls up, the kid is either going to be excited or scared,” says Debbie. “Handing them a stuffed animal really helps.”

The latest contribution by the Odd Fellows was at the Globe cemetery. Leon Garlinghouse noticed the cemetery gate was in disrepair and led the effort to get it painted, put the arch back on and new fencing up.

“It looks real pretty now,” says Debbie.

In 1910 a plot of land was acquired next to the Globe Cemetery for use by IOOF members and their dependents. When requested, the Rebekahs perform a graveside funeral service.

“The Rebekah service is like a regular service without a pastor,” says Debbie. “It’s very meaningful, very quiet.”

Like many social organizations, IOOF saw membership decline again in past years as meetings and events were knocked out by Covid. However, things are picking up at IOOF in Globe.

They’ve hosted two dinners since the pandemic. Nearly 60 members from the state of Arizona came the week before Thanksgiving for a turkey dinner. Members cooked at home and brought it in. They brought out the good china to serve it.

The group is currently working with the City to find a way to best use the beautiful building for community benefit and keep it maintained with funds from the two leases by businesses on the ground floor. Globe Hardware was the earliest occupant of the business space down below, currently occupied by Peace Out Salon.

A Big Idea - Call for Collaboration

There are currently only 7 IOOF lodges throughout Arizona, down from a high of 30-something. If a state drops below 5 lodges, they lose their State charter. 7 members are required to maintain a lodge. The IOOF lodge in Globe currently has 12-15 members. They recently grew their ranks by inviting friends. Low annual dues.

High camaraderie. Good eating.

“The reason I joined and the reason I stay is the people,” says Greg Parisoff.

He also loves the history of Globe and the history of IOOF – its building and its role in society. In a 21st century response to an 18th century mission, he and Rescue Lodge No. 12 have identified the need for a safe place for kids. Though Gila House exists as a haven for victims of domestic abuse, children that are displaced due to violence in the home often get sent to Tucson or Phoenix.

“If we could get people from several groups involved, we could staff a house,” says Debbie. “One adult for up to 4 kids. The more kids the bigger the whole thing gets.”

“It will need to be a collaboration,” Greg understates.

It’s bigger than an event or a drive. It’s a long-term commitment to address the impact of domestic violence in our community.* Talking about it is a good start. They’ll need a structure up to the standards of DPS and Dept. of Health, process, staffing and training for the care of traumatized children and communication amongst various stakeholders.

Most members of the Odd Fellows also participate in other civic and social organizations. Debbie and Dan Guthrey belong to the Lions and the Elks. Greg, too, is a member of the Elks, and the Rotary Club. When it comes to civic engagement, he estimates that about 100 people in the community are doing stuff and the rest are on the sidelines.

“If people want to see a difference,” Greg advises, “they ought to do something.”

“It’s fun,” insists Debbie, “when you share in the helping, share in the caring.”

*Arizona ranks 5th highest in the nation for domestic violence and Gila County has rates 3 times the state average. u

The Oddfellow building was constructed in 1898 and served not only the Oddfellows but the Elks, Masons, Knights of Pythias, Pythian Sisters and Globe’s Miner’s Union until those organizations built their own buildings.

Photos of Lodge presidents going back to the group’s founding line the walls of the Great Room. Leon Garlinghouse, 2nd from left, spearheaded the repair of the arched entrance to the Oddfellow section in the old Globe cemetery after it was damaged.

March 25 • 11am-4pm • Gila County Fairgrounds

Car, Truck & Motorcycle Show

All makes and models are welcome!

Free to the public! Set up-registration 7am-11am

Kids Booth: Foam Daddy, Rock Painting and Face Painting

Mental Health Resources

Live Entertainment Neto & Imagine Efrem Mayorga MC Free

March 2023

BY ALEXIS SAIZ