True West Blog
Christmas in the Pines

Christmas in the Pines

The first recorded Christmas in Northern Arizona north of the Gila River took place in 1853 at the foot of the snowy San Francisco Peaks where the...

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Swindlers & Bamboozlers

Swindlers & Bamboozlers

The wild, untamed mountains and barren deserts turned out to contain a bonanza in gold and silver. Wherever there was a rumor and a hole in the...

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Training for a Killer

Training for a Killer

John Heath is best known as the mastermind of the 1883 Bisbee Massacre, an attempted robbery gone bad that resulted in four deaths.  He was lynched...

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Judge Roy Bean

Judge Roy Bean

My father spent part of his youth living in Langtry, Texas. His first wife, Leta, was the daughter of the town constable, Bart Gobble. My grandpa,...

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Lieutenant Amiel Whipple

Lieutenant Amiel Whipple

Lt. Amiel Weeks Whipple was referred to as the wheel horse among the Army’s Corps of Topographical Engineers surveying Arizona during the 1850’s....

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Brothers to the End

Brothers to the End

Tom Jeffords is best known as an Indian agent in Arizona Territory—and for his close relationship with Apache Chief Cochise.  In fact, Jeffords was...

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Aimee Semple McPherson Part II

Aimee Semple McPherson Part II

On May 18th, 1926, Sister Aimee mysteriously disappeared off the coast of Santa Monica. According to her private secretary, Emma Schaeffer, she just...

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