The Great Depression was in full bloom and hard times had fallen on the rural communities of Tempe and Mesa, Arizona that Christmas of 1932. It was...
The Man Who Killed Santa Claus
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Fleming Parker’s Last Request
George Ruffner and Fleming Parker had cowboyed together over on the Agua Fria River in their younger days. As time went by they went their separate...
It’s Hamer Time!
Long vilified as a treacherous lawman, Texas Ranger Frank Hamer survived 52 gunfights, was wounded 23 times in the line of duty and, he was declared...
Gold Fever
A story is told of a farmer in a Midwest American town who heard a circus with an elephant was coming to a nearby town. He wanted to see the...
A Show-Biz Career for Ken Curtis
Actor Ken Curtis is best known for portraying Festus Haggen on Gunsmoke from 1959 to 1975. He also made a mark as a member of director John Ford’s...
The Christmas Mine
In 1880 rich deposits of gold were found in the Dripping Springs Mountains south of Globe by Dr. James Douglas, president of the Phelps Dodge Mining...
Denis Kearney
Denis Kearney was an Irish immigrant/naturalized citizen who became a political organizer in 1870s California. He was a founder of the Workingmen’s...
Arizona’s Contention City
Contention City was an Arizona boom town that soon went bust. Founded in 1879, about 10 miles outside Tombstone, the place had possibilities. It...
Flame Delhi
On the morning of April 16th, 1912 headlines across America told the story of the tragic sinking of the Titanic. On its maiden voyage across the...
Oliver “Ol” Yantis
Oliver “Ol” Yantis should have stuck to farming. He ran a cotton operation near Orlando, Oklahoma when his sister started dating outlaw George...
Cactus Derbies
It wasn’t long after the first railroads crossed Arizona in the 1880s and many people in the territory had yet to take a ride on an iron horse when...
Wilford Brimley’s Cowboy Roots
Wilford Brimley is known to Western fans as a walrus moustached, portly, somewhat curmudgeonly character who usually offers sage advice and a little...