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Panthers
Bowie Alumni Newsletter Vol. 11, No. II, January 2012
Please Note: Send subscription
and membership fee checks to:
Evelyn Lathram
1920 West Mountain Laurel Drive
Oro Valley, AZ 85737
Please send feedback and letters for
publishing to:
Susan Bickel
PO Box 834
Douglas, AZ 85608
From the Editor of the Bowie Alumni Newsletter
Susan (Spikes) Bickel
As Arizona gets ready to kick off the centennial celebration in February, Cochise County has developed a history project
documenting and celebrating the stories of those who made an impact on the development of the county. The project
includes a traveling exhibit, a companion booklet and an interactive website. The exhibit of three-quarter life-size cut-out
photographs of the men and women who helped tame the western frontier, will travel all over the county during the next
year. I saw the display for the first time at the Cochise County Fair in Douglas in September and was tremendously
impressed. A schedule of locations is listed inside; it will be in Bowie the last 2 weeks of September, 2012. I encourage all
of you to find a location near you and see it for yourself.
Since many of us still live in Arizona, we have followed the saga of redistricting after last year’s census. This year the
battle has come to Cochise County. As I write this, it seems that the Independent Redistricting Commission has heard our
united and emphatic request not to divide our county into two or more parts. It didn’t come easily though, and the
Department of Justice still has to review the maps and give their blessing. We look forward to the elections this year,
knowing that changes in our county and state are needed.
My thanks to Bobby Montana for sending me an interesting newspaper clipping from the August 2, 2011 edition of the
Arizona Republic. Entitled On This Date in Arizona History, the brief sentence reminds us of what happened: In 1929,
passengers on transcontinental trains, which were delayed by washouts, cleaned out the entire food supply of many small
towns. The town of Bowie reported nothing left but coffee.
I found an old newspaper clipping written by Pat Moran Benton. The name of the paper wasn’t identified and I don’t
remember where I got the article, or even when I got it. I do know that her mother, Lupe Guzman, is pictured in a photo
of her 8th grade graduation with my father and others in her graduating class. A copy of the article and the picture are
printed inside.
Many, many thanks to Ken Fousel for his kind words and thoughts on several articles from the last newsletter. You will
find all of them inside, too.
Finally, please accept my profound thanks to each of you who offered your condolences to me and my family after the
passing of my father, George Spikes. He had so enjoyed seeing many of you at Bill Allen’s Celebration of Life on
November 12 in Bowie. When we got back to Douglas, he said he was tired and decided to go to bed early. He never
woke up, dying peacefully in his sleep. We are all grateful for that, but for those of us who knew him well, we figure that
he probably scripted that part of his life too, just as he controlled so many other aspects of his long, successful and happy
life. He was proud to have grown up in Bowie and always enjoyed seeing those life-long friends who played such an
important part in his life.
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Bowie Alumni News:
Images of America: Bowie
It's finally here! If you have not picked up copies of
the Bowie book, I encourage you to contact SSVHS
to order your copies. The society has the best
shipping rates; $3.50 to ship up to 3 books, and
because the society is nonprofit, there is no tax.
So send your order with $21.99 per copy, add the
shipping charge, and mail to:
Sulphur Springs Valley Historical Society
127 E. Maley
Willcox, AZ 85643.
If you have a copy of the book, you might want to get
additional copies for children or grandchildren.
Christmas is coming up!
Thank you letters were sent to alumni who made
generous donations; Frank Tunnell, class of 1954, and
Nancy-Jean Welker, class of 1973. We thank them
for thinking of the alumni group.
The Bowie School Alumni Group has received thank
you letters from Bobbie Blandin and The Coast
Guard Mutual Assistance for donations in memory of
Ernie Blandin and Clyde W. Allen.
Bowie news and “old” stories
Please continue to send Bowie news and “old” stories
to the newsletter editor, Susan Bickel.
New Member on the Board of Directors needed
There is a vacancy on the Board of Directors and the
current Board will take nominations to be voted on at
the next meeting in the Spring of 2012. Please think
of members who would be willing to serve, and send
their names to Evelyn Lathram at
National Register of Historic Places
The application process to add the school buildings to
the National Register of Historic Places is still under
way.
Arizona State Tax Credit
It’s never too late or too early to make a donation to
the Bowie Schools for an Arizona State Tax Credit.
These donations make a big difference to a small
school. The credit is good for anyone paying Arizona
state taxes; otherwise a donation is a charitable
deduction. If the donation is received before
December 31, it applies to the current tax year;
otherwise, it will apply to the next tax year. A form
will be placed on the alumni page of the Bowie
Schools website: http://www.bowieschools.org, click
on the Schools tab, and then click on Alumni.
Bowie School Alumni Membership Fees
Membership fees are due at the beginning of the
calendar year. It is still $10.00 per family and a paid
membership means that you will continue to receive
the newsletters. There is an application form on the
alumni page of the Bowie Schools website:
http://www.bowieschools.org, click on the Schools
tab, and then click on Alumni. If you are renewing
your membership, send the membership fee to Evelyn
Lathram, 1920 W. Mountain Laurel Drive, Oro
Valley, AZ 85737. Email her at
[email protected], or call at 520-219-7930.
Alumni News
We remember…
Richard Jacques who died May 2011
Nieves Newell who died May 2011
Dixie Dickson who died June 2011
Vera Harman Murphree who died June 2011
Josie Ramirez who died July 2011
Bill Allen who died July 2011
Dr. George A. Spikes who died November 2011
Full obituaries can be found in this newsletter.
Veterans
In recognition of Veterans Day, the veterans buried in
Desert Rest Cemetery are listed here. One of the
earliest veterans fought in the Civil War, Capt. James
H. Tevis, founder of Bowie.
Joe Allen, Raymond Almadova, Larry Arriengdale,
Howard Barbaree, Ernie Baugher, Edward Beall,
Ernie Blandin, Ernest Branson, Thomas Brauda,
Frank Brdecko, Bruce Brown, Leroy Brown, Charles
Brubaker, Horace Carter, Billie Cawood, Don
Cawood, Arthur Closson, Neilan Creighton, Allen
Dailey, Tom DeLong, Bill Dempsey, Antice Dickson,
Cliff Dickson, Warren (Dixie) Dickson, Joe Doyle,
Glenn Duncan, Jack Duncan, Gene Engler, Martine
Enriquez, Adam Fries Sr., John Gates, Mike Griego,
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W. Gunneals, Manuel Guzman, Cliff Head, Manuel
Hernandez, Christian Hildebrand, C.P. Hoover, Jack
Kaiser, Dad (C.S.) Kellum, Susano Luna, William
Mantooth, S.C. McKee, Julian Navarette, Albert
Olander, Carl Olander, John Olney, Sie Pague,
Donald Pare, Walter Raleigh, Roy Reed, William
Reed, Jake Roller, James Roller, Norton Salyers,
Henry Saner, Bill Scanlon, Bill Sensor, Price Shipley,
Elmer Smith, Jim Snyder, A.R. Spikes, Jack Spikes,
Kermit Stine, Capt. James H. Tevis, George M.
Thomas, Robert Thomas, Eugene Tully, Mark Tully,
Edward Turman, Raymond Weber, Douglas Welker
Those We Will Miss:
Our condolences to those who have lost family and
friends.
Richard Vance Jacques
Jan. 9, 1952- May 17, 2011
Beloved Son and Brother,
Richard Vance Jacques went
home to be with his Savior
Jesus Christ on May 17, 2011.
Richard left behind his father
and mother, Chano and Velma,
and brother Wesley, and his
sister, Karen. He also had
many nephews and nieces,
who have wonderful memories
and will miss their uncle very much.
Richard graduated from Bowie High, where he
excelled in all sports and was a drummer in the local
band, The Human Mistakes. Richard went to Mesa
Community College, where he excelled on the track
team. Richard joined the U.S. Army and was an M.P.
with the rank of E4 Specialist. He served in Germany
for three years. He was also a foreman for Southern
Pacific Railroad along with his father and brother. He
not only served his country, he served his Lord. He is
loved and missed by many.
Besides the above mentioned, he will be missed by
his beloved little Chihuahua mix, Cheech. Published: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
Mrs. Nieves A. Newell 1922-2011
Nieves Aguilera Newell, 89, formerly of Bowie,
Ariz., died peacefully on May 27, 2011 in Lordsburg,
N.M. She was born in Lordsburg, N.M.
A Rosary service will be held at St. Joseph's Catholic
Church, Lordsburg, N.M. at 6 p.m. on June 1, 2011.
The Funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph's Catholic
Church at 10 a.m. on June 2, 2011. Interment will
follow at Shakespeare Cemetery.
Mrs. Newell was the daughter of the late Reyes and
Bruna Aguilera. Mrs. Newell was preceded in death
by her husband of 54 years, Manuel A. Newell, Sr.
She is survived by her children: Manuel Newell, Jr.
and his wife Terry; Luis Newell and his wife Nanette;
Sylvia Hudgins and her husband Harold; Daniel and
his wife Luz; eight grandchildren and 10 great-
grandchildren.
Her deceased brothers and sisters were "Nicho"
Aguilera, Reyes Aguilera, Frank Aguilera, Pat
Ortega, and Tonia Vargas. Her surviving brothers and
sisters are Manuel Aguilera, Raymond Ortega, Lucy
McDougal, and Sally Ortega.
Bright/Lordsburg Funeral Home is in charge of
arrangements, "Traditional Services and Care for your
family and friends", 408 Main. Street, Lordsburg,
N.M., 575-542-9444 or 575-388-1911. Published: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 6:29 PM CDT
Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
Vera H. Murphree
MURPHREE, Vera H., 89, of Pearce, AZ, passed
away on June 1, 2011. She is survived by her
daughter, Fay Murphree Sias, AZ; son, Jimmy Lee
Murphree, CA and grandchildren, Mark L. Sias,
Miranda C. Murphree, Jesse P. Murphree and many
other loving relatives and friends. Vera was preceded
in death by her husband, Preston Murphree, originally
of Dragoon, AZ and six brothers and sisters. She was
also preceded in death by her parents and
grandparents, all of whom came to Arizona in 1923.
She attended Bowie schools and Southwestern
Community College. While in California, she served
on the Board of San Diego Meals on Wheels.
Inurnment will be at Glen Abbey, Bonita, CA. In lieu
of flowers, the family welcomes donations to The
Muscular Dystrophy Association. (Arizona Daily Star, Jul 14, 2011)
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Warren “Dixie” Dickson 1923 (?) - June 2011
From Nancy-Jean Welker:
Warren “Dixie” Dickson passed away (June 2011).
He had been in a nursing home in Tucson for a few
years. Dixie was the son of Nora Dickson, the father
of Tony (Class of 1977) and the brother of Cliff (died
in 2002). I believe he attended Bowie Schools, but I
can’t seem to find out which was his class.
From Ken Fousel:
Dixie was about 4 years older than me, and he was in
my brother Ray's class, I believe ... He would have
graduated in 1944 I believe, but he didn't actually
graduate. He didn't finish high school, but dropped
out after the 8th grade, I believe, and opened his own
auto repair shop. Ray, Sam McKee, and Clyde Allen
were all in that same class I think, but any one of
them should be able to tell you more about Dixie.
From Ray Fousel:
A little info about Dixie. He was in the same class as I
in the early 1930's. He had a learning disability. At
that time it was unknown what it was. He tried to
learn for several years but had considerable trouble
with reading. I think he had dyslexia, but that was not
known in those days. Dixie stopped going to school
about 1940. He opened a garage and service station
and made a living from them I hope this gives you a
little info about him. We lived across the street from
him until 1941.
Josie Ramirez
Josie passed away suddenly after a brief illness. She
graduated from Bowie High School in 1986. Her
sister is Patricia Estrada Maldonado (1982). She was
the daughter of Jose Estrada.
Services were July 21 and burial was in the Safford
Cemetery.
Clyde William "Bill" Allen
Clyde William "Bill" Allen was
born in Comanche, Texas July 30,
1923, passed away July 8, 2011 in
Tucson. He was the sixth of ten
children born to William Clyde and
Mertie Belle Allen. The family
moved from Texas in his early
years to the foothills of the
Chiricahua Mountains near Bowie,
Arizona. Bill attended Bowie School and maintained
a close relationship with school throughout his life
organizing reunions and events to support the school.
After Pearl Harbor he enlisted in the Coast Guard.
Bill ultimately retired from the Coast Guard as a
Chief Damage Controlman in 1965 and the family
returned to Tucson. Bill is survived by his wife,
Wilma and their children, Thad Allen and Wanda
Allen-Yearout as well as six grandchildren and two
great- grandchildren. He has two living younger
sisters, Edna Buckmaster of Comanche, Texas and
Nellie Rice of Hamilton, Texas. In addition there are
countless nieces, nephews and other relatives that will
miss Uncle Bill's smile and unbounded optimism. Bill
and Wilma lived in the company of close friends for
16 years at Fellowship Square in Tucson. There will
be no funeral and donations may be made to Coast
Guard Mutual Assistance in Bill's name. (Arizona Daily
Star, July 14, 2011)
From Evelyn Lathram: Bill will surely be missed by
the Bowie School Alumni Group and all his Bowie
friends. He was a strong supporter of the town of
Bowie and the school system. He served on the
alumni group board of directors for years and was the
driving force behind a wonderful visit to Bowie in
2009 by his son, Admiral Thad Allen, then
Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, and the
Admiral's friend, Gabrielle Giffords, U. S.
Representative, Arizona District 8. We will miss you,
Bill
George Albert Spikes M.D.
George Albert Spikes, MD of
Douglas died on November 13,
2011 at the age of 90. Born in
Douglas on November 8, 1921 to
Albert R. and Nellie D. Spikes he
is survived by his wife, Lucia V.
Spikes; his daughter, Susan
Bickel (Brian) of Douglas; his
daughter, Mary Barnes (Jim) of Norfolk, VA;
grandson, Elliott Bickel (Melissa) and great-
grandsons, Matthew and Cody, all of Amarillo, TX;
step-son, Mark Elias of Tucson and special adopted
daughter, Ana Maria Abreu (Luis) of Lisbon,
Portugal. He was preceded in death by his parents, his
daughter, Jane Spikes, and his brother, Jack D.
Spikes. Raised in Bowie, AZ, he graduated from the
University of Arizona and received his medical
degree from the University of Chicago. He practiced
internal medicine at his Douglas Clinic, Ltd. and
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served as Chief of Staff at Southeast Arizona Medical
Center. He spent 10 years working as a physician
surveyor for JCAHO, surveying hospitals in 50 states
and Puerto Rico. He was instrumental in creating the
bill which established the Arizona Junior College
System of which Cochise College is a part. He served
as the chairman of the Arizona State Board of
Directors for Junior Colleges and as chairman of the
Cochise College Board of Directors. In 2001, he was
awarded the Douglas Chamber of Commerce Citizen
of the Year. In lieu of flowers and in honor of his
spirit of service, donations can be made to Southeast
Arizona Medical Center, 2174 W. Oak Ave. Douglas,
AZ 85607, at [email protected]; the Douglas Area
Food Bank, 660 N. G Avenue, Douglas, AZ, 85607;
or the Cochise College Foundation Spikes
Scholarship Endowment at [email protected].
At his request, there will be no services. A
Celebration of Life is scheduled for March, 2012.
Bowie Area News
Rollover accident takes life of Willcox teen From Arizona Range News, By Ainslee S. Wittig Published: Tuesday, May 31, 2011 6:20 PM CDT
A tragic accident claimed the life of a 16-year-old
Willcox girl and left three others injured Monday.
Carol Capas, spokeswoman for the Cochise County
Sheriff's Office said, "The initial investigation
revealed that the vehicle was being driven by 16-year-
old Sarah Broeder on South Railroad Avenue, which
is an unlevel dirt roadway with areas of soft sand, and
when she approached Arizona Street, she lost control
of the vehicle causing it to roll at least one time."
Broeder and one passenger, 15-year-old Nicholas
Osornio of Willcox, were ejected from the vehicle.
Neither was reportedly wearing a seatbelt, Capas said.
The other two passengers, 15-year-old Benjamin
Kiss of Bowie, and 15-year-old Cody Van Hoose of
Willcox, were wearing seatbelts and remained inside
the vehicle.
Broeder was deceased at the scene outside of the
vehicle and Osornio and Van Hoose were transported
by air to University Medical Center. Osornio is in
"guarded condition and being evaluated in the ER"
with non-life threatening injuries and Van Hoose is in
"serious condition," said the spokeswoman for UMC.
Kiss was taken to Northern Cochise Community
Hospital for treatment of his injuries, and he was later
released.
Chuck and Carol Broeder said, "The way in which
our daughter died is a tragic anomaly to us. Though a
brand new driver, Sarah Rose was usually a very
careful one. We beg all teens reading this to buckle up
every time they get into a vehicle. If even one person
now commits to doing this, then Sarah Rose' death
will not have been in vain. We hope and pray for the
complete recovery of the other victims of this tragic
accident."
"Sarah Rose was like a daughter to all of us at the
Arizona Range News. She has always been the most
sweet and generous person to everyone in her path.
We were blessed to be part of her life while she was
an angel in the making," said Ainslee Wittig,
managing editor.
Two accounts will be set up in Sarah Broeder's name,
at Cochise Credit Union and at Compass Bank.
Carter's Restaurant, where Sarah's sister Elizabeth
works, is also taking donations for the family.
A Rosary will be held Sunday, June 12, at 7 p.m. at
Westlawn Chapel, and a Memorial Mass will be held
at 10 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on
Monday, June 13. Editor’s Note: Sarah Broeder was the daughter of Carol Broeder, a
reporter for the Arizona Range News. Her articles about Bowie are
frequently featured in the Bowie Alumni Newsletter.
Arizona Eastern Railway sold for $90.1 million
By Ted Lake Published: Wednesday, August 17, 2011 3:51 PM CDT
Courtesy of Arizona Silver Belt
Iowa Pacific Holdings has reached an agreement to
sell its Arizona Eastern Rail Division, which it has
owned since 2004, for $90.1 million cash. The buyer
is another rail transportation company, Genesee &
Wyoming Inc. The deal is expected to be completed
by the end of the year.
Arizona Eastern Railway operates 265 miles of
railroad between Clifton and Miami. This includes
trackage rights over the Union Pacific rail lines
between Lordsburg, New Mexico, and Bowie. The
Arizona Eastern line serves the copper mining regions
of Eastern Arizona, including Globe-Miami along
with the agricultural areas of the Gila River Valley
and the east end of the Phoenix Metroplex.
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Iowa Pacific Holdings, based in Chicago, Ill, says it
owns railroad properties across North America and
the United Kingdom. Ed Ellis, President, said "We
are grateful to the hard working men and women of
Arizona Eastern Railway for their diligence and
creativity in assisting us with the turnaround of this
important rail property in Eastern Arizona. We also
acknowledge the instrumental contributions of the
major customer, Freeport McMoRan Copper and
Gold, toward the rehabilitation of the track and
bridges. We are confident that Genesee & Wyoming
will take Arizona Eastern to the next level in service
and condition of the physical plant."
The historic origin of what is now the Arizona
Eastern Railway Company first began back in 1885 as
the Gila Valley Globe and Northern Railway. Before
completion to Globe in 1899, GVGN came under the
control of the Arizona Eastern Railroad which was
later leased by the Southern Pacific Railroad
Company in the year 1905. By 1924, it was merged
into the Southern Pacific system.
It was around 1988 when Southern Pacific left Globe-
Miami and other mining communities it was serving
in Eastern Arizona and sold its Bowie-Miami line to
Kyle Railroad. Kyle in 1995 was purchased by a
company called States Rail. However in 2001, Rail
America purchased the local line from States Rail
who sold it to a division of Iowa Pacific Holdings,
LLC on December 9, 2004.
Arizona Eastern Railway announced in 2006 the
construction of a new 10 mile spur from Safford to
the new $650 million dollar Safford open pit mine
now owned by Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold.
Primary freight commodities transported by the
Arizona Eastern Railway are sulfuric acid, copper
concentrate, copper anode and cathode, copper rod
and other copper processing materials. The company
also handles minerals, chemicals, building supplies
and lumber. Arizona Eastern also offers a transload
location for lumber, building materials and other
consumer commodities. Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
Book Signing By Carol Broeder/Arizona Range News Published: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 1:18 PM CST
In the Fireside Room, Willcox Community Center,
the Willcox Friends of the Library sponsored a book
signing with two local authors during this year's
Apple Festival. Sulphur Springs Valley Historical
Society president Kathy Klump and member Peta-
Anne Tenney will be signing the "Bowie" book,
published in October by Arcadia Publishing.
According to the publisher's description of the book,
founded in 1880 along the Southern Pacific Railroad
line, Bowie was originally named Teviston after Capt.
James H. Tevis, operator of the Butterfield Overland
Stage Station. Later, the town was named after nearby
Fort Bowie, which was the scene of many battles with
the Chiricahua Apaches.
In 1886, the Apaches, including Geronimo and
Cochise's son Naiche, were loaded on trains in Bowie
and sent to Florida as prisoners of war. The Indian
Wars in America were over.
Bowie became a major shipping point for the military
and the mines. A beautiful train station with a first-
class hotel and dining room served the thousands of
passengers traveling through. Great soil, pleasant
climate, and artesian wells attracted homesteaders
who grew every kind of fruit and vegetable
imaginable. Ranchers in the nearby mountains
shipped cattle by hundreds of carloads at a time.
After U.S. Highway 86 was completed, Bowie
became a favorite stopping point for travelers. Pecans,
pistachios, and wine from local vineyards attract
visitors today.
Klump and Tenney had selected images from the
society's archives and Bowie School alumni who
shared their photographs and memories. Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
Bowie spring clean-up a roaring success
By Elizabeth Eyrich/for the Range News Published: Wednesday, May 18, 2011 2:13 PM CDT
The roaring of chain saws spelled the end to grossly
overgrown arborvitae and Italian cypress trees at the
Bowie Desert Rest Cemetery. Wielding the saws,
pruners, rakes and hoes was a highly skilled team of
workers from the Pistachio Corporation Of Arizona at
Bowie. Coming in to clean up the mounds of debris
was a back-hoe which was also donated, machine and
labor, by the Pistachio Corporation. Others on the
work crew, both from Pistachio Corporation and from
the Bowie community, hoed and raked every inch of
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the cemetery and cleared all the debris to the burn pit.
After six hours of intensive labor by these men and
women, the Bowie cemetery is, once again, a place of
beauty.
The Bowie Desert Rest Cemetery clean-up crew includes
Arizona Pistachio Corporation volunteers and community
members who volunteered recently. (Courtesy/ photo Elizabeth
Eyrich)
The Bowie Desert Rest Cemetery is well over 100
years old. It is the burial site of Captain James Tevis
(1837-1905), who came from Ft. Bowie and was one
of the original settlers of what is now Bowie. Arizona
Senator, A.R. Spikes (1892-1968), is also interred in
the Bowie Cemetery. Sixty-eight flags fly on
Memorial Day and Veterans Day honoring Bowie
veterans dating back to the Spanish-American War.
In the past few years, new features have been added
to the cemetery to accommodate the increasing
number of those who choose to be cremated. Memory
Lane borders the northwest section of the cemetery
and houses sites for 48 burials. Each of the four-by-
four foot sites is bordered by landscape timber. In the
center of the northeast section is our Memorial
Garden Wall. Constructed in Mission style, it
provides a central green zone and houses a bronze
plaque which bears the name-plates of former Bowie
residents whose cremains have been scattered
elsewhere or who have been buried elsewhere but
wished to be remembered at the Bowie cemetery.
Around the outside of the wall are 28 two-by-two foot
sites for the interment of cremation remains.
We of the Bowie Community are extremely proud of
our cemetery. In the past and continuing to the
present, volunteers have given of their time, effort,
equipment and finances to maintain the integrity of
this site. The cemetery is a fitting memorial to our
past. Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
Signs of Drought Published: Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Ainslee S. Wittig & Carol Broeder/Arizona Range News
A large crack in the earth near Highway 191 and Van
Ness Road are of great concern to area residents.
Reported to be anywhere from six to eight feet deep
and in some areas, that wide, they lie off Highway
191 near mile marker 54. The crack started about a
month ago after the first rain.
One of the cracks in East Van Ness Road, just off Highway 191
near Sunsites, making it hard for residents to safely have access
to their homes. (Dave Brown/ARN)
East Van Ness Street resident Dale DeWitt said, "You
never know when it's going to cave in, or what's
going to happen. I have two kids, ages 7 and 9, and
it's very dangerous."
His wife, Helen, added, "The kids don't play in the
road, but just riding a bike, they could really get hurt.
I also hate going out at night. And every time it rains,
it gets worse."
Unfortunately for area residents, it is on a non-county
maintained road, so the county will not be able to
repair it.
Because the county receives Highway Users Revenue
Funds (HURF) from the state, it "cannot allocate
those resources to non-county maintained roads," said
Engineering Tech Teresa Vasquez with Cochise
County's Department of Highways and Floodplain.
The county did, however, recently put up barricades
and a sign that says, "Non Maintained Road. Hazards
may exist."
Dale DeWitt said that both Sheriff's Department and
Border Patrol drive down Van Ness, as well, and
access could be limited due to the cracks.
Page 8 of 31
"We have nine to 10 families down this road and we
need access on this road. These are big gaping holes,"
he said.
Though geologists with the Arizona Geological
Survey (AZGS) have not had a chance to study it,
speculation is that they are desiccation cracks rather
than earth fissures.
"I manage the earth fissure mapping program here at
the survey and would like to visit this feature next
time we are in Cochise County," said Geologist Joe
Cook with the Arizona Geological Survey in Tucson.
"There are a lot of giant desiccation cracks (GDC) in
Cochise County, as well as earth fissures."
He explained, "The difference between the two is that
earth fissures are related to ground subsidence from
the over pumping of groundwater, while GDCs are
like giant mud crack networks related to soil
shrinking and swelling due to wetting and drying and
overall drought."
Cook said that desiccation cracks have been spotted
in aerial photos from the 1930s, "so they can occur
naturally but many are related to the position of roads
or disturbance of the ground through agriculture,
development, or really any ground disturbance that
would cause water to pond or accumulate in an area."
Looking at the Range News photo, Cook said that
because the crack is "located literally on the road, I'm
wondering if it's a GDC, rather than an earth fissure."
"We have seen other similar cracks in the vicinity
(just off 191 on North Cotton Tail Lane and south of
Dragoon Road, west of 191 along many dirt roads) so
I'm interested in visiting this one," he said.
Cook told the Range News he appreciates being
informed about this one, as "it's good to have a
catalog of candidate fissures and GDCs so we can tell
when new ones pop up (as they did last year across
Parker Ranch Road)."
In summer 2010, three new earth fissures formed
north of Sulphur Hills intersecting and temporarily
closing East Parker Ranch Road.
In a statement issued March 15 this year, AZGS
Spokesman Michael Conway said that geologists
mapped nearly 19 miles of continuous and
discontinuous earth fissures near Three Sisters Buttes.
The fissures are largely bunched in two locales: one
group circumnavigating the Three Sisters Buttes, and
the second north of Sulphur Hills, he said.
Earth fissure mapping of the Three Sisters Butte study
area south of Kansas Settlement in Cochise County is
now complete and the map is available at the AZGS
Earth Fissure Viewer,
http://services.azgs.az.gov/OnlineMaps/fissures.html.
The next areas the AZGS will map are Sulphur
Springs North and Bowie-San Simon.
The Dragoon Road area earth fissure map was
published in November 2009, he said. It can be
viewed at
http://repository.azgs.az.gov/sites/default/files/dlio/fil
es/nid784/dragoonroad12-09.pdf
"Besides posing a threat to infrastructure and
livestock, fissures are an illegal dumping ground for
tires, appliances, construction debris, manure and
other sundry items," Conway said.
"Because the fissures are believed to extend down to
the water table, earth fissures represent a potential
threat from surface runoff contaminating groundwater
resources."
"The AZGS Earth Fissure Mapping Program will
continue to update maps as the earth fissures grow
and new ones form," said Conway.
"AZGS geologists will begin focusing on ways to
predict where and when the fissures will appear and
work with local building officials and engineers on
way to mitigate existing earth fissures to minimize
their impacts." Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
Editor’s Note: The following article was condensed. To read the entire
article or more on this subject:
http://azstarnet.com/news/science/environment/article_92bf83bf-57a6-
5106-810d-eed40411a1c2.html#ixzz1e4hXYnab
Casa Grande Still Haunted by '09 Dust-storm
Pileup Tom Beal Arizona Daily Star
Posted: Sunday, September 25, 2011 12:00 am Warning system in use east of Willcox
Page 9 of 31
The Arizona Department of Transportation has
developed a prototype sensing-and-warning system
along a notorious stretch of Interstate-10 - east of
Willcox to the New Mexico state line. There, dry
lake beds combine radio channel will warn motorists
of reduced visibility.
Strategies that work best can be deployed along other
troublesome stretches of Interstate with farm fields to
produce a ready supply of dust, said Mike Harmon,
ADOT engineer for the Safford district.
ADOT has added four more sensors to two that have
long been in place near Bowie and San Simon, said
Mike Harmon, ADOT engineer for the Safford
district. The agency also added cameras that let
engineers see dust storms forming, Harmon said.
The monitors will help highway workers and the
Department of Public Safety decide when to detour
traffic or lower the speed limit, Harmon said. In
those cases, dust-warning signs will flash. Electronic
message boards and the emergency 10, as well as I-8
and I-40. Copyright 2011 Arizona Daily Star. All rights reserved.
ACE President’s Award presented to Lieutenant Todd
“T.C.” Brown – FCC Tucson
Editor’s Note: Leroy Brown was killed in the line of duty in Bowie and
left two very young sons. Leroy is on the Wall of Honor. Todd is one
of his sons. He is on the right in the attached picture and has attended
some of our luncheons.
Ernest Rose, ACE President, and Kim Chumley, ACE Past-
President, present the Arizona Correctional Educators Award to
Lieutenant T.C. Brown on May 13, 2011. Photo by: Joellen
Brown
The 2011 Arizona Correctional Educators President
Award was presented May 13, 2011 for outstanding
contribution and service to the field of Correctional
Education. Lt. Brown provided assistance that had
direct influence and provided incentive to inmates at
the Federal Prison Camp, Medium Security FCI, and
Maximum Security USP while assigned as an
Education Technician for the Federal Bureau of
Prisons Complex in Tucson.
The actions of Lt. Brown provided outstanding
contributions to the Correctional Education field.
Steam Locomotive Engine No. 844 will stop in
Willcox Thursday, Nov. 10 By Carol Broeder/Arizona Range News Published: Wednesday, November 2, 2011 1:29 PM CDT
Photos by George Eppler (I was at Benson when the train
came through.)
Willcox will be the scene of an Arizona Centennial
Signature Event, as the Union Pacific Heritage Train
makes its first stop in Arizona on Thursday, Nov. 10.
The historic Union Pacific Steam Locomotive Engine
No. 844 is reprising the Southern Arizona "Sunset
Limited" route, traversing the state through
Wednesday, Nov. 16. in recognition of Arizona's 100
years of statehood, said Katie Sauer with the Arizona
Centennial Commission.
Steam Locomotive Engine No. 844 is scheduled to
arrive in Willcox at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10.
After departing Willcox, No. 844 will travel through
Benson and Vail for "whistle stops," said Sauer,
adding that it will arrive in Tucson for its first display
day, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 11.
That schedule is subject to adjustment by Union
Pacific.Director of Public Relations Zoe Richmond,
with Union Pacific, invites everyone to visit their
website, UPsteam.com.
Page 10 of 31
"We have an interactive map which allows folks to
see exactly where the steam train is as it approaches
their community," she told the Range News.
"One of the rail cars that travels with No. 844 has a
Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) transmitter
integrated with a map on UP's website," said
Richmond, adding "Enter the word 'steam' in the
search box on the home page for a shortcut to the
map."
Willcox City Manager Pat McCourt said the train will
stop for about 30 minutes. While the Stewart Street
crossing will be closed, the Maley Street crossing will
remain open.
"No. 844 is the last steam locomotive built for Union
Pacific and will travel more than 2,900 miles from its
base in Wyoming on a 32-day, nine-state tour that
will honor the rich railroad heritage of the scenic
southwest," Richmond said.
"Union Pacific long has been a part of the Western
United States landscape," said Scott Moore, vice
president of public affairs for Union Pacific's western
region.
"It is fitting that No. 844 will be the flag bearer for
these centennial celebrations."
The "New Mexico/Arizona Centennial Tour" began
Oct. 29 when No. 844 departed Cheyenne, Wyo.,
Richmond said.
The train, which includes passenger cars from Union
Pacific's renowned Heritage Fleet, will have traveled
through Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona,
California, Nevada, and Utah before arriving back in
Cheyenne Nov. 29, she said.
"We're honored to deliver another very special
Centennial Signature Event and see that mammoth
engine travel through Southern Arizona, Phoenix, and
on to Yuma during this momentous year," said
Executive Director Karen Churchard, with the
Arizona Centennial Commission and 2012
Foundation.
"The adventures of steam locomotives captivate us
even today. They literally blazed the trail westward,"
she said.
A self-proclaimed "train buff" here locally is City
Councilman Bob Irvin, who will ride by special
invitation that morning from Lordsburg to Willcox.
As an elected official, Irvin will have to pay to make
that ride, while wife Joanne gets to ride for free.
Irvin, who has lived in Willcox since 1986, has had
an interest in trains his whole life.
"My grandfather worked on the railroad near Bisbee,"
he said.
"My uncle was an engineer in Texas. The company he
worked for used to go right by his house, and we'd
wave at him as he went by."
Irvin remembers learning a lesson in railroad
terminology from his uncle when as a young person,
Irvin made referencing to "driving a train."
"'You don't drive a train - you run a train," his uncle
corrected him.
"I never forgot that," Irvin said.
The skilled engineers who operated No. 844 years ago
"are still required today, and especially so for this
ceremonial Arizona Centennial tour, which
traditionally fascinates history buffs and attracts new
fans, as well," Sauer said.
"The massive steam engine, two-and-a-half times
larger than today's streamlined, computerized
locomotives, makes a modern-day expedition a
challenging task," she said.
Page 11 of 31
"A team of engineers travels with the historic train
that consumes oil, water, and needs adjustment every
20 to 30 miles."
Sauer called the engineers who run the train "another
historical aspect of the expedition, since they work for
years studying the generational knowledge passed on
from railroad workers before them."
"They apprentice to master the inevitable adjustments
and sometimes on-the-spot ingenuity required during
travel," said Sauer, adding that No. 844 will travel
with a "souvenir car, water tanker cars (vital for the
steam locomotive's operation); transport cars for the
engineers and conductors, and more."
The celebratory Union Pacific tour originated in
Cheyenne, Wyo., where the massive Engine No. 844
is housed, and continues south to Tucumcari, N.M. on
Nov. 4, in honor of that state's Centennial, which is
Jan. 6, 2012, she said.
The train then enters Arizona six days later, making
its first stop in Willcox on Nov. 10.
It has been 34 years since a steam locomotive made
its way through Southern Arizona, as part of a cross-
country tour for the United States Bi-Centennial in
1977.
"The exultant whistle stops are expected to be greeted
by enthusiastic residents and visitors alike this fall,
just as cooler temperatures embrace the Southwest
region," Sauer said.
Also known as Union Pacific's "Living Legend," No.
844 "returned to service in 2005 after one of the most
extensive steam locomotive overhauls" in the U.S.
since regular steam service ended, Richmond said.
The work, which started in 2000, included
overhauling that locomotive's running gear, pumps,
piping, valves and springs, along with replacement of
its firebox and extensive boiler work, said Richmond,
adding that the cab interior was also refurbished.
"No. 844 was the last steam locomotive built for
Union Pacific Railroad and was delivered in 1944."
A passenger locomotive, it pulled such widely known
trains as the Overland Limited, Los Angeles Limited,
Portland Rose, and Challenger, she said.
"When diesel locomotives took over all passenger
train duties, No. 844 was placed in freight service in
Nebraska between 1957 and 1959," said Richmond,
adding, "It was saved from being scrapped in 1960
and held for special service." Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
Arizona Centennial Celebration News
Cochise County Centennial Celebration Includes
Publication of Historic Pioneers
By Shar Porier/Wick Communications Published: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 3:22 PM CDT
BISBEE - As Arizona gets set to kick off the
centennial celebration in February, the county's
centennial committee has been busy putting together
the contribution made by county residents.
One of the ideas was to print a booklet of the county's
most influential residents, and now that idea can come
to fruition thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Arizona
Humanities Council to the Bisbee Council on the Arts
and Humanities.
The funds will support that portion of the history
project documenting and celebrating the stories of
those who have made an impact on the development
of Cochise County. The county project includes a
traveling exhibit, a companion booklet and an
interactive website.
Carrie Gustavson, director of the Bisbee Mining and
Historical Museum and co-chair of the county's
centennial committee, said the pocket booklet, four
inches by nine inches, will highlight each of the
historical figures who put Cochise County on the
map. The booklets will be free.
They will be part of the traveling show of life-size
cut-out photographs of the men and women who
helped tame the western frontier, starting off at the
Cochise County Fair in September.
Called "Cochise County History on the Move:
Coming Face to Face with History," the show will
move from town to town in the county over the
course of the year.
After the fair, the show will move to Willcox in
October, Tombstone in November, Cochise
Community College Douglas campus in December,
Cochise Community College Sierra Vista campus in
Page 12 of 31
January 2012, Bisbee Copper Queen Plaza in
February, the Cochise County Supervisors building in
March, Benson in April, Huachuca City in May, Fort
Huachuca in June, Sierra Vista in July for the
Independence Day celebration, back to Douglas in
October and Benson again in December, said
Gustavson. Right now, there is no particular
destination for November 2012.
"We are so excited that we got the grant," said
Gustavson. "And it's thanks to Sulphur Springs
Valley Cooperative, Arizona Public Service, Wick
Communications, Freeport McMoRan, Inc. Copper
Queen Branch and the Arizona Electric Power Co-op
that we got the grant. They provided $5,000 as a
match for the funding."
Wick Communications, owner of the Sierra Vista
Herald, Bisbee Daily Review, Douglas Dispatch,
Arizona Range News and the San Pedro Valley News
Sun, will also offer 5,000 insert publications of
historical information on the movers and shakers of
the county that will be given out at the fair, added
Gustavson.
The 87th annual Cochise County Fair runs from
Thursday, Sept. 22 through Sunday, Sept. 25. Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
Southern Arizona's Oldest Businesses Tuesday, September 13, 2011 2:00 pm Name: Bowie Unified School District No. 14
Type: Public
Year: 1885
Notable: Town founder donated the land and railroad
gave a portable building Bobbie Jo Buel, editor Read more: http://azstarnet.com/special-section/az-at-
100/businesses/article_969a696a-18f1-5ada-9975-
9cc6d540a4c1.html#ixzz1Yyb0wtAs Copyright 2011 Arizona Daily Star. All rights reserved
Cochise County Centennial History on the Move
is an outdoor, travelling exhibit comprising 33 life-
size photo cutouts based on historic images from our
County’s museums & archives. The exhibit will travel
to schools, libraries, public parks, indoor and outdoor
community festivals until the end of Arizona's
centennial year, 2012. Check local papers or websites
for the location in each community. For more
information, go to cochise100.org.
The people chosen as history makers of Cochise
County include the Native American people of
Cochise County who have roots stretching back
thousands of years. As the Arizona Territory was
born, the Native people here found themselves at war
with the Arizona’s American settlers.
On both sides of the conflict, courageous leaders
fought for their people’s future. We touch upon a few
of these leaders here, namely Cochise, Naiche and
Alchesay.
The American settlement of Arizona proceeded on the
dreams of miners such as Nellie Cashman and Ed
Schieffelin and ranchers such as Henry Hooker and
Brannick Riggs.
The local economy attracted an astonishing group of
entrepreneurs from distant places and all walks of life.
Our county produced civil servants, elected officials,
military leaders, and philanthropists such as Margaret
Carmichael, A.R. Spikes, and Charles Young.
Cochise County leaders such as Lorna Lockwood and
B.A. Packard served the people of Arizona at the state
level. You also will find here the people who helped
build our communities through education, healthcare,
and the arts, such as Rex Allen, George Goodfellow
and Madeline Wyatt.
Cochise County History on the Move - EXHIBIT
SCHEDULE
January Cochise College, Sierra Vista
February Bisbee
March Cochise County Melody Lane Facilities
April Benson
May Huachuca City
July 1st -23rd Sierra Vista
Jul 24th – Aug 31st St. David
Sept. 1st -17th Portal
Page 13 of 31
Sept. 17th -30th Bowie
October Douglas
November Palominas/Sierra Vista
December Benson
This exhibit celebrates important people in Cochise
County history who influenced the history of the
Arizona Territory and the State of Arizona through
the 20th and early 21st centuries. It will be in Bowie
the last 2 weeks of September, 2012. For more
information, visit, www.cochise100.org. For
information on Arizona’s Centennial, visit,
www.az100years.org
Arizona At 100 Years- The Bowie
Connection Arizona Daily Star Posted: Monday, September 12, 2011 12:00 am
In this year leading up to Arizona's centennial, Feb.
14, 2012, we'll reprint a story or excerpts each day
from the Arizona Daily Star or Tucson Citizen
archives.
Sept. 10, 1912
PRESCOTT - A very interesting incident took place
in Clerk Farley's office of the superior court, when
Paul Mettenberg, a well known mining man of
Weaver district, filed his declaration to be admitted as
a citizen of the United States, which recalls the era
when he was a soldier of the nation and figured
prominently in the capture of Geronimo as a trooper
of the famous Fourth cavalry.
At that time, when southern Arizona was ablaze to
subdue the Apaches and to effect the capture of the
chieftain of the Apache tribe, Sgt. Mittenberg was
detailed as a courier on special and hazardous duty.
After being in the saddle continuously for days and
nights patrolling the border and in performing other
perilous service, toward the end of the campaign he
was sent to Camp Bowie by the late Gen. Lawton for
reinforcements. The country was infested with the
renegade Apache, but the feat was accomplished and
the troops arrived at an opportune time.
Sgt. Mittenberg filed his credentials as being
honorably discharged from the service in June 1886,
with an endorsement from Gen. Lawton that is very
commendable. Mr. Mittenberg stated that he believed
his good military record of that far-away day was
sufficient to entitle him to citizenship, but in this he
was informed that congressional acts made no
provision for such a distinction to be enjoyed.
In 1898, the veteran soldier again demonstrated his
patriotism when he enlisted in Col. McCord's
regiment of infantry, and was a private of Capt.
Donaldsen's company, again receiving an honorable
discharge. He is yet in fine physical condition, 49
years old, and wants to get under the folds of Old
Glory in the right way and as soon as possible.
He has valuable mining interests near the Octave
camp and is performing development. He is a native
of Germany. - Arizona Daily Star
Michael E. Kinchila, Pioneer Who Died Here Was
Veteran Of Civil And Apache War Tucson Daily Citizen 2 Feb 1912
Bowie, Feb 1 – On Sunday, G.O. Tevis received a
telegram from Tom Davenport of Tucson announcing
the death of Michael E. Kinchila. About a month ago
Mr. Kinchila, who was suffering from a severe attack
of bronchitis, concluded to go to the hospital in
Tucson for treatment, and died there Sunday morning.
Mr. Kinchila was one of the few patriots still
remaining who are growing less every year. In 1860
at the age of 15, he enlisted in a New York regiment
and went to the front, joining the army of the
Potomac. He took part in all the great battles that the
army of the Potomac was engaged in. After the war
he came west to California and after a few year’s
residence there, he drifted into Arizona. He again
enlisted at old Fort Bowie in the fourth cavalry and
for the next ten years he played an important part in
the warfare against the Apaches. After leaving the
army he was employed as a scout and was with
Generals Crook and Miles during the campaign
against Geronimo, where he had many hairbreadth
escapes. After the Geronimo campaign, Mr. Kinchila
resigned and came to Bowie where he devoted his
time to prospecting and mining, and where he resided
up to the time of his last sickness. At his request the
body was brought back to Bowie for burial. The
funeral was held Tuesday at 2 o’clock, the Rev.
Father Underlick conducting the services. In the
passing away of Mr. Kinchila, Bowie loses a good
citizen and a man of sterling worth, who was
respected by all.
Page 14 of 31
Bowie Desert Rest Cemetery
Find A Grave Memorial# 18816208
Photo Added by: Diane L; 4/14/2007
Note: The name on the gravestone is “Kinchalla”.
G.O. Tevis was the oldest surviving son of James H.
Tevis, the founder of Bowie, AZ. Tom Davenport
was the husband of his daughter, Minnie Ella. Mr.
Kinchalla’s gravestone is in Bowie Desert Rest
Cemetery and is printed here with the permission of
the FindAGrave.com contributor. Mr. Kinchila
assisted James Tevis in digging the first water well in
Bowie, anticipating the arrival of the railroad through
that town.
Personal Stories About Bowie and the
People Who Lived Them
The following is from an email from Ken Fousel to the editor of
the Bowie Newsletter.
I really did enjoy the whole very NEWSY newsletter,
especially the "1st half"! The best Newsletter ever!
I was especially interested in the story about using
computer technology in the court system. I am going
to copy that story and share it with some people who
work in the court system here (San Diego) ... our
system is nowhere near as good as the one in Bowie.
I was also very interested in the story about the earth
fissures! I had never heard of such a thing, but I am
not surprised, as back east they have lots of "sink
holes" where underground mining caused massive
collapses at the surface.
I was also interested in the story about the ceremony
at Ft. Bowie. I haven't been up to the Fort since 1945
or '46, and back then it was a 2+ mile walk up a sand
wash to get there from the road .. but it was also a bit
easier to come over the hill from the old Levi Knape
place.
Now, for a few memories to add to your excellent
paper:
In your story about the original Bowie school: The
first school in Bowie was the building now known as
the Kathern Hall residence. At the time it sat in the
center of the Hall lot and the Dr. Parrish lot and faced
north. My folks lived in that house for several years,
starting in 1929, and I was born in the front room of
that house on 16 September 1930. It only had 2 large
rooms then, and the blackboards were still on the
walls -- and my older brothers used them to work on
their schoolwork. We always had chalk on hand. It
didn't face NORTH as stated in your story, as it faced
the street just as it does now, 80+ years later. There
was no kitchen and no indoor plumbing. A lean-to
addition and a screened in porch (where the kids
slept) was built along the back side of the house to
use as a kitchen, and the outhouse was out back.
There were no buildings on the south side or behind
(The large vacant lots behind the house were often
used as the site for travelling carnivals and minstrel
shows, in tents! I remember those well into the '30's ).
"... made it possible for the Bowie Schools to have
ample water for our lawns, trees and shrubbery."
There was no outdoor piping for the water, and no
pool water filter system, so every Friday night the
pool had to be drained, and the pool cleaned on
Saturday by a bunch of highschool boys. The water
was drained into a series of ditches along the edges of
the grassed area, routing the water to various parts of
the huge lawn area for the high school, the gym, and
the grammar school. Each grass area was surrounded
by a 6" high "dike" to hold the water in ... and the
water was "turned in" to each area in turn, flooding it
to about 2 to 3 inches deep, then directed to the next
area ... it looked like a bunch of rice paddies! There
were no pipes or pumps, and everything was a
"gravity flow" system. Someone had to stay up almost
all night to tend to the water ditches. My father did
this for years, as he had an agreement with the school
that any excess water could be routed through a large
pipe from in front of the Gym into our back yard (the
old Milner-Fousel-Knape place on the corner, across
the street from Mrs. Dickson's place. We moved into
that house about 1935 or so, and lived there until
1941). My dad had a huge garden and many fruit trees
that were watered for years from the excess water
from the pool.
Page 15 of 31
A footnote to the history of the church. The old
church and the adjoining parsonage, (in which Pastor
Seymour) lived, burnt down the same night (about
1938 or '39). The fire started in the church and spread
to the parsonage. Almost everyone in town was there
(including me), but with absolutely no fire equipment
there was nothing we could do but watch it burn (we
saved a few chairs and songbooks!). The adobe bricks
for the new church were made by "Faustino" (an old
Mexican who had a small farm out east of the coal
chute), in a mud pit he dug just south of the grammar
school. Using the local dirt, and water hauled in by
the barrel, he mixed the mud and straw by tromping
around in it with his bare feet!. Using wooden frames,
he made/formed 6 adobes at a time, and as soon as the
bricks were dry enough, he would move the frame
over a bit and make six more. On a good day, he
could make nearly a hundred adobes. It took several
months to make enough adobes to build the church.
When the church was built, it had two bathrooms
included, but there was NO water pipes laid to the
church, so for years there was no running water,
When I was about 13 or so, (I was the acting
Assistant Sunday School Secretary -- at the age of
14!) I decided I wanted to "pretty up the place" so I
decided to plant grass and flowers in the enclosed
front "plaza" or yard of the church ... it was nothing
but hard dirt and sticker weeds for years! I personally
dug a ditch across the street to the curb of the
Grammer school and tapped into the water line that
had been laid to supply water to the school. I ran the
pipe across the street and under the concrete
foundation of the adobe garden wall, and put in a
single water faucet, but it was enough that, with a 50'
hose, I could water the entire area. The first summer
all I had was a bountiful, lush, green crop of "goat
head" sticker bushes and lots of weeds ... but I
chopped them all out before they could re-seed (no
weed-killers or Round-Up back in those days), and
the second summer, about 1944 or 45, I planted
Bermuda grass in the yard, and lots of flowers
between the sidewalk and the church itself, so finally,
the church had a splendid green front yard! Many
years later, the water line was extended so they could
put in the toilet fixtures.
Masonic Picnic Area For many, many years the senior class would declare
a "ditch day" in April, and the entire class (and
usually a lot of Juniors and other played 'hooky' that
day -- but no teachers or adults) and we all went out
to the Masonic Picnic grounds and had a lot of fun
climbing and sliding over the huge rocks -- (for some
reason, they were A LOT BIGGER back then than
they are now!) We all took picnic lunches and had a
great time. On my senior ditch day, I was running
down a rock and met a huge Gila Monster coming up
.. I jumped about 15 feet over that bugger and landed
in the sand ... but I caught the Gila Monster and took
him home and kept him until I left for college.
Well, that's enough reminiscing for tonight! It was
fun for me to remember those "good ole days".
Keep up the excellent work on the paper ... as I said,
the best ever!
KEN FOUSEL
Graduations Stir Memories Arizona Daily Star? 1982?
Pat Moran Benton
The story in the Star's Neighbors Southern Arizona
section told how the school authorities in Bowie were
worried about their dwindling enrollments. The 1982
high school graduating class consisted of just nine
students.
In this day and age of bigger is better, that figure must
have stirred up memories in the minds of past Bowie
High school graduates.
My mother, for instance, was one of five to graduate
from Bowie High School. That was in 1938. George
A. Spikes, son of the superintendent, was the
valedictorian, but Lupe Guzman had the distinction of
being the only woman graduate.
Unlike the 1982 class, the 1938 graduating class wore
no cap and gown to ceremonies. Nor did the
governor, then R.C. Stanford, speak to them, as Gov.
Bruce Babbitt did to the recent graduates. But like all
high school graduates, Bowie’s class of '38 had
dreams and ambitions.
George Spikes is a Douglas physician. My mother
went first to nursing school at St. Mary's Hospital,
then to cosmetology school, before falling in love and
marrying Alfonso Moran, then an apprentice sheet
metal worker. Her career was that of wife, and mother
to four children. And Superintendent Albert R. Spikes
wound up serving 22 years in the Legislature, retiring
the year he died, 1968.
Page 16 of 31
Eighth grade graduation class, left to right Edward Fousel, girl
unknown, Lupe Guzman, Pearl Johnson and George Spikes. Not
present Douglas Welker (Photo from “Servant to Society, the
Life of George A. Spikes, MD)
Years and miles spread the students apart. But four
years ago, “Bowie was the site of a reunion to end all
reunions." My mother went, and so did more than 200
alumni, including the two graduates of the first class
of 1923. A camp out on the school grounds was
organized for those who couldn’t get a room
reservation. Bowie never was a big town and there
just weren't enough motels in the vicinity to
accommodate everyone.
The small enrollment today hasn’t caused any
financial worries, but it's hard to hire teachers for all
subjects, says Principal Tom Pace. Last year, there
were no music or home economics classes. But back
in 1938, when all of Arizona was small, Lupe
Guzman learned to play the saxophone. And she
dutifully took home economics in an age when boys
wouldn't be caught dead in such a class.
Today, Bowie is dependent on a depressed
agricultural economy. In 1938, it also was a Southern
Pacific tank town. My grandfather was one of those
who worked for the railroad.
Through the late 1940s and early '50s, Bowie, a small
town between Willcox and the New Mexico border,
remained a peaceful dot on the map. Or so it seemed
to me. My sister and I would spend summer vacations
there with my grandparents and my cousins, who
lived next door. By then the high school had a
swimming pool. That may have been its heyday
because it also boasted a movie house and a doctor.
By the time I was old enough to swim, Mexican-
Americans no longer had to wait until the day the
pool was cleaned to swim. Still, I can remember
going to the pool only once.
The daily hustle and bustle of my grandparents' lives
escaped me. Everything seemed leisurely, like
summers are supposed to be. Walks to the general
store on errands were a treat. In fact, everything
seemed within walking distance. It had to be if you
expected to get there. Although my great-uncle had a
car, a sleek green sedan, it was reserved for long
journeys or for riding to church on Sunday.
On special occasions, such as birthdays, there was ice
cream to be churned. The railroad supplied the salt
and the ice. An older cousin who lived in an
apartment at the edge of the compound had a windup
Phonograph and the records to go with it. Or we
would sing from an uncle's collection of sheet music.
Washing was done in big black tubs over burning
wood. Meals were cooked on a wood-burning stove.
And the bathroom - actually there were several - was
located along with the showers in a log building set
away from my grandparent's three room, L-shaped,
gray house. There were three of those, in dull contrast
to the traditional, wooden yellow railroad housing.
My grandmother always had I canary and the great-
uncle with the car had a small goldfish pond in front
of his home" My great aunt raised vegetables and
flowers in a garden tucked in the "L" of the house.
My favorites were the four o'clocks because they
knew how to tell time.
The train roaring past the house in the middle of the
night was frightening. If it derailed, would it fall
through the house, which seemed to be situated so
close to the tracks? And it seemed like every summer
a hobo would fall asleep on the rails and either be
killed or maimed by a train.
One summer I got to drive a locomotive a few feet
down the track. Another time, my legs were sprayed
by a blast of hot steam as I watched the trains. For
some odd reason, I stood my ground, refusing to even
flinch. Fortunately, the water must have cooled as it
shot out from the engine, for I wasn't burned. But I
remember it was hot. I never could climb to the top of
the coal chute or the big black water tank, like my
cousins, the chute and tank were to high and scary.
Page 17 of 31
People could enter the housing compound through
two driveways that spanned a ditch. Once during a
summer rainstorm, we were all crowded on the wider
of the two bridges, the one that seemed large enough
to carry two cars. I became mesmerized by the
swirling, muddy water and toppled in. Somehow I
bobbed to the surface beneath the bridge and found
just enough air to sustain me as I swirled under to the
other side. Fished out by anxious relatives, my reward
for not drowning was a good spanking. I was
perplexed at the time but I know now that my
grandmother administered the paddling out of relief.
When my grandfather retired, he and my grandmother
moved to Tucson. Summer trips to Bowie were no
more. But they are days I'll never forget. They were
lazy, sometimes exciting days of summer.
This is an excerpt of an interview of Clyde “Bill”
Allen in 2004.
Interviewee: Chief Damage Controlman Clyde Allen,
USCG (Ret.) World War II Coast Guard Veteran
Interviewer: Chris Havern, Assistant Historian
Date of Interview: 2 August 2004
Place: Chief of Staff's Office, Coast Guard
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Q: Good morning Sir. How are you today?
Allen: I’m fine, thank you.
Q: Sir, could you tell us how you first entered the
Coast Guard and what made you think of selecting the
Coast Guard as a service?
Allen: Yes. Mine is probably a little bit unusual from
most of them because as a small kid when I first
started to school I used to pick up the mail sometimes
and when I went in the Post Office they had a small
poster there of a Coast Guardsman with leggings,
uniform and a small boat there, and it was advertising
then for recruits for the Coast Guard; one year. So I
was told one time - even the Postmaster was kidding
me about it - so that kind of stuck in my mind. So
after Pearl Harbor it seemed to just regenerate so
that’s why I went down to the Coast Guard Recruiting
Office.
Q: And perhaps I should have started with this; where
are you from originally and what did you do before
you joined the Service?
Allen: I was born in Comanche, Texas, and when I
was five years old we moved to Arizona; an old
homestead my father had out there, and things were
rough, but I guess they were rough for everybody else
and we survived. But it was rough. Then when I was
15, times were rough and I went off and joined the
CCC [Civilian Conservation Corps] camp. I lied
about my age. I was 15. I told them I was 18 and I got
in. So I went into the CCCs and was sent to Yuma,
Arizona and it was more of a training for me but I ran
into a person there that had bees and since my dad
had bees I asked him about a job - everybody was
looking for jobs - and they gave me a job and they
said that they would let me go back to school if I
wanted to move in with them. So I moved, left the
CCCs, went up to Parker, Arizona and started back
my junior year of high school and on weekends and
off times we worked with the bees and shipped
honey.
Q: Okay. After your enlistment where did you receive
your initial training for the Coast Guard? Where did
you do your basic [training]?
Allen: When I enlisted in Phoenix, Arizona I was sent
to Government Island, which is known today as Coast
Guard Island, and there I had my basic training, and
from there I was sent to Seattle, Washington, and
from Seattle, Washington I went back down to
Newport, Oregon where they were starting the Beach
Patrol.
Q: Could you tell us a little bit about what the Beach
Patrol was like for those who were actually
conducting those patrols and maybe a little bit about
your organization and what you would do as part of
your daily routine and your patrol requirements while
you were serving there?
Allen: Yeah, it was a good life. You met a lot of
people because in patrolling up and down the beach
there were people that would come there and there
was nothing really drastic that ever happened, but the
weather, as you know in Oregon, was wet, rainy and
things like that. But the people around there we met
were all good. So yeah, it was with some regrets, but
after I’d been up there about a year I volunteered for
sea duty and left there.
Q: Okay. Could you describe a little bit of your daily
routine of patrolling? I mean I know you said you
went up and down the beach. Was there anything in
particular; certain procedures for reporting and things
of that nature?
Allen: Oh yes, and what I forgot too was there was
quite a few little stations set up on these peninsulas
that stick out and there were watches out there, so you
were on watch and you reported airplanes even
though they were American airplanes, which that was
the only thing. Every time they flew over you had a
number you called and you reported the airplane in,
Page 18 of 31
and they were called Coastal Lookouts and there were
probably as many of them as there was the guys
pounding the beach. I forgot about that. I’m glad you
mentioned that.
Q: Certainly Sir. I also know that from the
photography in the Coast Guard Historian’s Office
there are a lot of images of beach patrolmen using
horses and dogs as part of their patrols. Were you
ever involved in that? Did you ever see the mounted
patrols and the use of the dogs at all?
Allen: Well the horses came after I left, but we did
have dogs and that was another thing too. They were
sure some good dogs and you really had to watch
yourself. You know you wanted to make a pet out of
them rather than use them for what they were trained
for. But yes, those were good dogs too. I’d forgotten
that. That’s something else.
Q: Yes Sir. You said you volunteered for sea duty.
What made you want to do that?
Allen: Hearing people talk and reading the
newspapers and stuff it sounded exciting, but as I
found out later on it wasn’t all that exciting.
Q: Yes Sir. Once you volunteered for sea duty could
you talk about what your first assignment was?
Allen: Yes. I was sent down to Pleasanton, California
with the other town right by that, which was Dublin.
It’s about 30 miles south of Oakland or San
Francisco, California, and we were up there for
details while the ships were being made. At that time
there were three troop ships being made in Richmond,
California and they were all fitted with Coast Guard
crews, and the [General Hugh L.] Scott [AP-136] was
the third one to be built. Then when it was
commissioned we went aboard it but we worked
loading it and making preparations for it before we
left for San Diego on a shakedown.
Q: Okay. We were talking earlier and you had
mentioned that you had an encounter with Jack
Dempsey or he was onboard your ship. Could you
talk a little bit about that?
Allen: Well that’s one of the favorite stories I like to
talk about. We were in Hollandia, New Guinea and he
came aboard and we had plenty of room to set up a
full ream for a smoker, and we probably had a half of
dozen or more – it depends on his time – as you could
see. There’s a picture. He’s legible enough.
Q: Yes Sir.
Allen: But towards the last fight they mixed it up.
There was a black fellow and a white guy and the
fight, to me, I don’t think it could have been any
closer. It was close and it was a good fight too. And
finally I don’t know why he went over and he took
the white guy and he held his hand up and when he
did this black fellow, he just came unglued. He said
he knew he was better than that and he was going to
whip anybody on this ship and he says, “And that
includes you”, and he stuck his finger at Jack
Dempsey and the crowd starting agitating him on,
“Don’t let him do that. Go ahead Jack, show him”,
and all that stuff. So he took his shirt off and when he
did he put on the gloves. It looked like he had made a
mistake because this kid, what he did to him, and I
mean he got in two or three punches and you could
see it hurt old Jack but he was just waiting a minute
and finally he got a chance, and that right he was
famous for, he shot that right out and he got him, and
years later I was reading some of his autobiography
and they asked him which were the toughest fights he
was ever in and he mentioned that one about being on
the Scott there when this young black Solider liked to
whipped him [laughter].
Q: Yes Sir. After your time on the Hodges, was that
when you got out of the Coast Guard?
Allen: Yes, I got out of the Coast Guard and went up
to Oregon since I was stationed up there on Beach
Patrol and I thought I’d like to work in the timber as a
logger, and so I did go work as a logger in Oregon.
Q: And how long where you there working as a
logger?
Allen: I was working there about a year-and-a-half
and then I realized that in that mud and rain and stuff
- and I had spent three years and some months in the
Coast Guard - that there was a better life for me so I
headed for the Recruiting Office. The only thing was
when I got back there I couldn’t go in with my rate. I
had to go in as a Seaman and that’s how I came to
change my rate then. I was a Boatswain’s Mate when
I got out, but when I came back in the second time I
went to DC school and became a Damage
Controlman.
Q: I see. And insofar as your reenlisting, did you
have to go through Basic again or did you just have
some sort of refresher training?
Allen: I went right on the Minnetonka [WPG-67] and
right out to . . . there’s a weather ship out of San
Francisco. While I was out there on the weather ship
my son was born and I don’t know whether they can
see this but you can read that and then flip it when
you get through reading it.
Q: Okay. It says, “Aboard the Coast Guard Cutter
Minnetonka on Weather Station November. I just
received a message that I had a new son born January
16th, 1949. We named him Thad William Allen. See
the backside for a surprise.” There he is; current Vice
Page 19 of 31
Admiral and Coast Guard Chief of Staff, Thad W.
Allen. Here you go Sir. For the entire interview go to
http://www.uscg.mil/history/weboralhistory/clyde_allen_oral_history.as
p.
“REMEMBRANCE OF OUR FALLEN COMRADE” SGT. MANNY TAPIA Come and join us on January 7th, 2012 to remember Sgt. Manny Tapia. We will first start with the Adopt-A-Highway cleanup and will be meeting on Rio Rico Drive and be shuttled onto Interstate 19 for the cleanup. From there, we will meet at his memorial site on North Grand Avenue for a small service. Afterwards, we will meet at the Arizona Department of Transportation yard for lunch. “Sgt. Tapia was shot on Jan. 7th, 1991, in Nogales by a drug suspect. He died on Jan. 8th, 1991, at Tucson Medical Center. Sgt. Tapia was assisting a Nogales police officer with a traffic stop. Upon asking the suspect to open the vehicle's trunk, the suspect fled on foot with Sgt. Tapia in pursuit. The suspect then turned and shot Sgt. Tapia. The suspect was fatally shot by the Nogales police officer.”
Contact information: Mary Castro (Tapia), Phone: 520-296-8439 / e-mail [email protected]. Hope to see you there, Mary & Tapia family.
Bowie School News
Bowie youth passionately tells The "Beef" Story Published: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 12:04 PM CST
(Centennial, CO) - High School Senior Megan
Skiles from Bowie, Arizona won top honors at the
inaugural Beef Promotion Prepared Speech Contest
sponsored in part by the Beef Checkoff and American
National Cattle Women, Inc. The competition was
hosted at the Arizona Mid-Winter FFA Career
Development Event, Dec. 2 at the Arizona State
University Polytechnic campus in Mesa.
High School students from across the state composed
and delivered five to seven minute speeches centered
on current beef industry issues. Topics ranged from
marketing beef in a technical world to implementing
science-based research to build a strong and profitable
beef cattle herd to feed a growing world. Contestants
were scored on the content and composition of their
speech manuscripts, voice, stage presence and power
of expression. They were also judged on their ability
to accurately answer questions related to their content
and the overall effect of their beef messages.
Skiles, the daughter of Michael and Kristin Skiles,
receives a $1,000 cash prize and a trip to the annual
cattle industry convention to be held in Nashville the
first week in February. At this event the San Simon
high school student will deliver her speech to
convention attendees. When asked why she entered
the Beef Promotion speaking contest Skiles said: "I
entered this contest because I've competed in
numerous public speaking contests before and really
enjoy it. I also loved being able to speak and promote
a subject I have a passion for."
Top placers: Brooke Griggeory, Alicia Smith, Suzanne Menges-
ANCW Animal Well-being chair, Tori Summey, and Megan
Skiles. (Submitted photo)
Second place honors and a $500 cash prize went to
Tori Summey, from Cave Creek, Ariz. Third place
honors and a $250 cash prize went to Alicia Smith,
from Safford, Ariz. Fourth place honors and a $125
cash prize went to Brooke Griggeory, from Gilbert,
Ariz.
Please contact the Telling the Beef Story Program
Manager, Sarah J. Bohnenkamp at 303-850-3440 or
[email protected] with questions or for
additional information. Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
USDA Grant Will Improve ITV Classes For
County's Schools
By Ainslee S. Wittig & Carol Broeder/Arizona Range
News Published: Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Jonathan Adelstein, national administrator for USDA
Rural Utilities Service (RUS), was in Arizona
recently to announce funding for distance learning
and broadband projects in Arizona.
Among the three projects announced is a $246,586
grant to the Cochise County ITV Consortium /
Cochise Technology District. Funds will be used to
offer classes online and to connect rural and border
Page 20 of 31
schools.
The RUS grant requires a match from the
Consortium, which can be satisfied through all of the
high schools through dollars and in-kind funding,
such as purchasing needed equipment. The Cochise
County Superintendent's Office is also helping with
the match.
Joel Todd, Superintendent of the Cochise Technology
District, said the classes will include career and
technology training and provide an important bridge
so that multiple schools can interact simultaneously.
"The Joint Technology Education District
(JTED)/Cochise Technology District is the face of the
grant because it uses rural utilities services to connect
rural schools for technology education here in
Cochise County. That's a key part of it," Todd said
about receiving the grant.
Todd said the Interactive TV Consortium, coordinated
about a year and a half ago by Cochise County
Schools Superintendent Trudy Berry, involves all the
county's high schools, along with Cochise College.
Previous funding helped equip most schools so that
they could receive classes on their interactive TV, but
not all can send classes to other schools.
Each school can connect to another school, but if two
or more schools need to be connected for a class, they
must connect with a bridge through Cochise College.
The Consortium, for which Willcox Schools
Superintendent Dr. Rich Rundhaug is president,
applied for and received the RUS grant. Cochise
Technology District/JTED is the fiscal agent,
Rundhaug said.
"This funding will allow us to upgrade and improve
each school's equipment allowing all schools to send
and receive, as well as buy a bridge, which may be
located at Willcox School District, so more than one
school can connect," Todd said. "Cochise College has
a lot of ITV classes, so scheduling (high school)
classes (with the bridge) is tough."
Funding may also add mobile ITV equipment that
will help in scheduling classes, so schools are not
limited to one ITV room, Todd said.
"Through added equipment, the grant will allow us to
deliver classes to schools which are without personnel
or do not have the ability to hold a particular class,
especially electives," he said. "Right now, Cochise
College is teaching a higher-level math ITV class to
Benson High School and Willcox is delivering
Spanish to Bowie and a higher-level Spanish to
Benson."
"As things get tighter and schools lose staff or can't
replace people, schools will still be able to fill the
gaps," Todd said. "ITV allows us to offer courses to
schools that have never had them before. For example
Bowie and San Simon may get courses from Buena
(Sierra Vista) or Douglas high schools that they've
never had available before."
Rundhaug agreed. "We want to be in the position to
help each other out if necessary, and if possible, be in
a budget saving situation. There may be cases where
this can fill a need (for a class) and the school won't
have to pay a full-time teacher."
"We are also hoping that this can give our schools a
higher quality teacher. A highly qualified teacher
could teach for all the high schools - if we could have
a more qualified person, we'd rather have that," he
added.
Todd said the funding has not yet been received, but
the plan is to get the ITV systems up and running over
the summer and operational in the fall.
The Consortium hired Tim Bowlby for IT and Doug
Miller for curriculum and scheduling, both Willcox
District employees, and the schools are now working
on "trying to match up daily bell schedules for all
county schools, " Todd said. "In the future, we are
working on getting a Certified Nursing Assistant
program using ITV. It would be the first JTED
Central Program with Cochise College instructors for
high school students"
Central programs are extended to 10 hours as opposed
to the usual five-hour satellite JTED programs. The
central program would be five hours of classroom
work and the rest labs and hands-on work, which may
require traveling, he said. The additional revenue the
added hours per student would bring to the
technology district would be used to offset the costs
for students.
The Cochise Technology District Consortium "helped
Page 21 of 31
make the grant possible. Now, when one high school
has a program and another high school wants it, it can
be done. We are taking down the walls of schools --
we are starting to have more cooperation," Todd said.
Further in the future, Todd sees the possibility of
getting the State of Arizona Counties Communication
Network (SACCNET) in Cochise County, which
would allow for very high speed broadband internet
for video and audio, which takes more broadband
width, he said. "They have it in Gila Valley, but that's
looking into the future here. It's very expensive," he
said.
…an announcement last month by USDA Secretary
Tom Vilsack (indicated) that funding would be
available to increase education access to rural
communities. …Vilsack's commitment to prioritize
broadband technology, (is) "one of the pillars of his
strategy to revitalize rural America."
USDA Rural Development's RUS has invested
millions into broadband for rural Arizona over the last
year.
The Cochise Technology District began on July 1,
2001 as an idea shared by seven public school
superintendents and governing boards. Douglas
School District joined July 1, 2004. The eight satellite
high schools in the District are Bowie, Benson,
Douglas, San Simon, St. David, Tombstone, Valley
Union and Willcox. The Cochise Technology District
Governing Board and Administration have worked
with the Governing Boards and Administrations in the
eight satellite high schools to develop and improve
Career and Technical Education Programs for their
students.
For the 2009-2010 school year Cochise Technology
District reported to the Arizona Department of
Education 2,221 students enrolled in the seven
satellite high schools' Career and Technical Programs.
This enrollment generated $2,256,594 in revenues for
the eight high schools to improve and expand their
Career and Technical Programs. The source of the
funding is state aid and local tax dollars, an average
of $3 to $5 per household per year. Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
WUSD, Cochise County Ahead On The Learning
Curve
By Ainslee S. Wittig/Arizona Range News
Published: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 1:49 PM CDT
Willcox School District and Cochise County are
ahead of the learning curve - in ITV classes, that is.
Willcox Unified School District Superintendent Dr.
Richard Rundhaug, said, "We are on the cutting edge
- Cochise County is the only county in the state to
instruct students via ITV (or Interactive Television)
classes."
Through the Cochise County Educational Technology
Consortium (CCETC), President Rundhaug and
Director Doug Miller, have worked with Cochise
County Schools Superintendent Trudy Berry, the
Joint Technology Education District (JTED) in
Cochise County and the school districts in the county
to jump ahead in the game of digital classroom
instruction.
Teacher David Chaim talks to Bowie students from his
classroom at Willcox High School. (Ainslee S. Wittig/ARN)
Rundhaug said studies have shown that 50 to 70
percent of secondary students in web-based online
classes fail or do not complete the online courses,
making ITV classes, with instructors interacting with
students, a better option.
Rundhaug said there are four major purposes for ITV
instruction:
Provide remote rural schools with courses needed
to meet graduation requirements.
Provide advanced courses necessary for students'
acceptance into post secondary institutions.
Alleviates geographic isolation, limited resources,
and difficulty attracting and retaining highly
qualified teachers.
Provide interactive collaboration and live social
environment for students.
Grants have helped CCETC connect the county's rural
Page 22 of 31
schools, making it the first county in the state to start
ITV classes.
County Superintendent Berry's office provided close
to $13,000 in grant funds per rural high school for the
purchase of a Telepresence system to initiate an ITV
classroom. This allows the schools to receive
interactive TV.
Four ITV classes are currently being offered in
Cochise County schools:
Math 187 (Pre-Calculus) is instructed as a
dual credit course at Cochise College and sent
to Benson and St. David schools.
Spanish III is instructed at WHS and sent to
Benson.
CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) JTED
program is instructed at Benson and received
at Willcox, Benson and Valley Union.
Spanish I/II is instructed at WHS and sent to
Bowie.
There are 65 students currently receiving ITV
instruction in the county.
Rundhaug said ITV classes are a viable solution to
curriculum crises. An example: Bisbee High School's
Math Department normally has three teachers, but in
2010 - 2011. due to unforeseen circumstances. Bisbee
had only one math teacher after the school started.
With collaboration from other high school members
within the county, the consortium was able to provide
teachers to accommodate the math classes at Bisbee
High School alleviating a major curriculum crisis, he
said.
ITV classes can also help with other challenges rural
schools face, including geographic isolation (teachers
not available), inadequate funding to pay teachers,
declining enrollment where opportunities could be at
risk, and the threat of consolidation or closure of
small rural schools, Rundhaug said.
Spanish ITV classes instructor, David Chaim at WHS,
said, "I teach three different groups -- the locals
(WHS), Benson and Bowie. It was different at first,
but we've gotten used to it. It's just a matter of trying
to talk into the camera."
He said the students in the other cities ask questions
and respond just as those in his classroom do.
"But it doesn't end there ... there's times when I travel
to Bowie to work out issues for those students. I have
a very good rapport with the students at each location.
I tell the students, 'Welcome to the brave, new world
of technology. It's advantageous to all!'"
"Cochise County Educational Technology
Consortium is Arizona's solution to today's K-12
educational instructional challenges," he said. Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
Willcox-San Simon NRCD holds 40th Annual
Range Field Day (Bowie team of Estaban Juarez, Tyler Klump and Riley
Klump won team and individual awards)
By Bonnie Thompson/For the Range News Published: Wednesday, November 16, 2011 2:45 PM CST
Agricultural Education students from Willcox, San
Simon, Bowie, St. David and Valley Union High
Schools joined at the 40th Annual Willcox-San Simon
NRCD Range Field Day on Oct. 13. Students
competed in the areas of soils, rangeland utilization
and plant identification, and wildlife. The event was
cosponsored by the Willcox-San Simon Natural
Resource Center for Environmental Education and
was hosted by NRCD advisor, Richard Riggs, who
has been hosting the event for the past 24 years on his
7VT Ranch.
"This is really a great event that the NRCD has
enjoyed sponsoring. Watching these FFA students get
excited about conservation and take an interest in
agriculture excites us, as they are the future," said
Riggs.
Willcox NRCS Range Management Specialists,
Wilma Renken and Chase Skaarer and Soil
Conservation Technician, Tobiah Salvail, conducted
the range event. Students were asked to identify types
of forage as well as estimate the utilization
percentage. The team results are the following: 1st
place team Tyler Klump, Esteban Juarez, and
Riley Klump, from Bowie; 2nd place team Eli
Webster; Tony Vasquez; and Robert Todd, from
Willcox; and 3rd place team Rachel Claus-Walker,
Breanna Watkins and Hope Redhawk, from Valley
Union. The range top individuals are Robert Todd of
Willcox in 1st place, Rachel Claus-Walker, from
Valley Union and Esteban Juarez from Bowie in a
Page 23 of 31
two way tie for 2nd and 3rd place goes to Tyler
Klump from Bowie.
Taking home the 1st place Sweepstakes team award is
Valley Union, Hope Redhawk, Rachel Claus-Walker,
and Breanna Watkins. Placing 2nd is the Willcox
team, Eli Webster, Tony Vasquez and Robert Todd.
Third place goes to Bowie team of; Estaban Juarez,
Tyler Klump and Riley Klump. Congratulations to
the 1st place "Sweepstakes Individual", Robert Todd
from Willcox. Valley Union student, Rachel Claus-
Walker placed 2nd, and Hope Redhawk, also Valley
Union, takes home the 3rd place Sweepstakes award. Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
Pearce Miners Win Volleyball Tournament
(Bowie Panthers in overall third place for the
tournament)
By Cori Little/For the Range News Published: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 12:53 PM CST
The boys’ small schools volleyball tournament finals
took place at Cochise Elementary School on
Saturday, Oct. 22. Four teams participated in the
event.
The first game was played by the Pearce Miners and
the Bowie Panthers. Pearce won both matches 25, 20
and 25, 13. The second game was played was by the
Elfrida Mustangs and the Cochise Warriors. Elfrida
won both games 25, 23 and 25, 12. The third game
was played by the Bowie Panthers and Cochise
Warriors. Cochise won the first game 25, 19. Bowie
won the next two games 25, 15 and 15, 4. This
placed the Bowie Panthers in overall third place
for the tournament.
The championship match was played by the Pearce
Miners and the Elfrida Mustangs. Elfrida won the first
match 25, 23. Pearce won the following two matches
25, 19 and 15,4. Pearce placed 1st overall in the
tournament and Elfrida placed second overall. 7
players were chosen by coaches for the all tournament
team. Students were selected based on attitude and
ability demonstrated over the entire volleyball season.
All tournament team members were: Cochise-7th
grader Matt Gonzales #21, Bowie- #14 Daniel
Molina, Elfrida-8th graders Jr. Gomez #24 and Isaac
Lopez #21, Pearce- K.J. Nyberg #17, Tristen
Reynolds #15 and Nick Hernandez #20. Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
Schools Met AYP
By Ainslee S. Wittig/Arizona Range News Published: Wednesday, August 3, 2011
For 2010-11, both Bowie Elementary School and
Bowie High School met federal standards for
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).
A July 27 press release from the Arizona Department
of Education (ADE) explained the federal standard:
"AYP is measured using data from the AIMS test and
was designed to set and measure the academic
achievement of all students at a school. To meet AYP,
a determined percentage of the students in a school
must take and meet the necessary requirements on the
AIMS test. This includes separate measurable
objectives for all student groups, including
racial/ethnic groups, economically disadvantaged
students, students with disabilities and students with
limited English proficiency." Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
SSVEC to send students to Washington D.C.
By Wayne Crane/SSVEC Public relations Published: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 1:17 PM CST
Six high school juniors will be touring the nation's
capital for one week this next summer as winners of
Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative's
(SSVEC's) 32nd annual Washington Youth Tour
competition. The students were recognized on
Wednesday evening, November 16 following a dinner
honoring them and their parents at Cochise College in
Benson, Arizona.
The students who earned all-expense-paid trips next
June to Washington, D.C., are April Fry, Jessy
Kartchner, and Ryan Yokono from St. David High
School; Dillon Snyder and Adriana Valentin from
Buena High School; and Ashley Floyd from Benson
High School.
The cooperative's Washington Youth Tour program is
open to all high school juniors in SSVEC's service
area. SSVEC personnel visited the nine high schools
served by the cooperative in September and explained
the program and left study materials for a preliminary
test. Those who scored highest on this test at each
high school moved to the next level of competition-an
essay. This year's essay topic asked students to
develop a marketing campaign on renewable energy
and "Going Green." Thirteen students whose essays
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scored highest were invited to the final stage of
competition on the afternoon of November 16. The
students took a second test covering more complex
materials about SSVEC, cooperatives, energy, and
electricity terminology, and each student was
interviewed by a panel of four judges.
SSVEC CEO Creden W. Huber with the students who earned
$100 and the opportunity to attend the upcoming tour at their
own expense, from left: Zane Tremmel (WHS), Carmen De La
Cruz (VUHS), Geoffrey Dunlap (WHS), Briana McCloskey
(Buena HS), Nathan Phifer (Bowie HS), Breanna Kern, and
David Coleman (Benson HS - not pictured). (Submitted photo)
The seven students who advanced to the final
competition but did not win the trip, earned $100 each
for their efforts and the opportunity to attend the
upcoming tour at their own expense. These students
are David Coleman from Benson High School;
Carmen De La Cruz from Valley Union High School;
Geoffrey Dunlap and Zane Tremmel from Willcox
High School; Breanna Kern and Briana McCloskey
from Buena High School; and Nathan Phifer from
Bowie High School. Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
Uneven Playing Field for Winter Sports
By Steve Reno/Arizona Range News Published: Wednesday, November 16, 2011 2:44 PM CST
The Arizona Interscholastic Association's stated
intention is to save money by eliminating three state
basketball tournaments in both the boys and girls
sports, and doing the same this spring. Football and
volleyball were saved from the budget cuts, for the
most part, but the changes to basketball could appear
radical. We're not even including wrestling, as their
inequities will be addressed in another article in the
future.
The upper half of the former 2A division was
combined with the former class 3A this year, while a
few former 4A teams will also be part of the new
"Division III." Schools with enrollments as low as
350 (Morenci) will compete with schools triple their
size, as schools with enrollments as large as 1,236
(Rio Rico) are now in Willcox's division.
It could have been worse, as several Tucson schools
(Santa Rita, Sabino, Palo Verde, Salpointe and
Catalina) petitioned up to play in Division II to keep
their natural rivalries and avoid rural travel while also
facing their own daunting task of playing schools
with enrollments 600-700 students larger.
It's bad enough that Willcox boys basketball coach
Ted Dunlap said "I don't know if there's anything to
like about (the realignment). Maybe less travel is the
one positive. But we'll be playing three times a week
while losing natural rivals and teams we share a
history with."
They won't play Bisbee or Tombstone in favor of new
match-ups with Valley Union and Bowie, and they
lose Desert Christian and Empire on the schedule in
favor of Douglas and Duncan. The original AIA
schedule did not have any games with Benson until
athletic director Jim Hughes petitioned for it.
It would be more natural for Willcox to face nearby
rivals like Bisbee and Tombstone, but a lack of
geographic rivals for remote teams like Morenci and
Duncan forced the AIA to draw Willcox in their
"pod" for regular season games while taking the
Cowboys away from their south and west rivals.
"We go west on I-10 just once this year to Benson,"
said Dunlap, "While everything else is east."
It gets worse for the girls. In section 1 of Division III,
all of the winners from the past 24 years in Class 3A
reside in that section. The Native American teams
from that division have absolutely dominated the 3A
girl's ranks, with only Round Valley breaking the
streak once in 2003. Class 2A is dominated by the
girls private schools, although St. John's broke the
streak in the last seven years with a title in 2009,
beating an upstart Willcox team that year. However,
2A has usually paled in girls' competition compared
to 3A in those years.
"I don't think anybody has a real sense of what's
going to happen" in this new competitive
environment, said Dunlap, but he predicts it won't be
good. Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
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Area residents to be featured on American Pickers Published: Wednesday, June 8, 2011 4:16 PM CDT
American Pickers filmed in the Willcox area Feb. 14
at Wally Hozjan's and Fargo Graham's homes in the
Kansas Settlement. Mary Hozjan, Wally's step-
daughter, contacted the show in the fall, and Wally,
above with radio during the show, suggested they also
visit her neighbor, Fargo.
It was an exciting visit from the production crew and
hosts Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe. Watch and see
what happens!
The third season show airs Monday, June 13 at 6 p.m.
on The History Channel. A potluck dinner and
watching of the show with Wally and Fargo will be
held at the VFW in Sunsites Monday at 6 p.m. All are
invited with a dish. Copyright © 2011 - Arizona Range News
Update
Tommy & Mickey Cooke - long time Bowie
residents have two new "Great Grandsons".
Jett Landon Ayers - Born in 01-23- 2010 to Chad &
Samatha Ayers in Tucson, Arizona - Chad is the son
of Ginger Cooke Cunningham -Class of 1973
Clay Gunner Cooke - Born 12-23-2010 to Shawn &
Tamara Cooke in Mesa, Arizona - Shawn is the son of
Vicki Cooke-Schindler Class of 1970 and home
economics teacher from Jan of 1974 to May of 1976. Thanks to Vicki Schindler for sending this information.
Celebration of Life for Clyde “Bill” Allen
On November 12th, over 150 friends and family of
Clyde "Bill" Allen attended "Bill's Going Home
Party" in the Bruce E. Brown gymnasium, in Bowie,
AZ. Bill had died at the VA Hospital in Tucson on
July 8, 2011. It was his wish to not have a sad funeral
but a lively party. The immediate family scattered his
ashes in the hills south of Bowie, where he grew up,
just prior to the party starting at noon. The food was
Bill's favorites, beans and corn bread, and Mexican
food. It was lovingly prepared and served by his niece
and family, Anne Hartman Catering. There was toe
tapping music provided by The Bluegrass Angels,
with amusing stories of Bill and his love of music.
Bill and Wilma Allen family
Thad Allen (retired Coast Guard Commandant),
Wanda Allen-Yearout, Wilma Allen
The family had also set up displays of Bill’s life and
adventures, including 20 years of service in the Coast
Guard. Bill is survived by his wife, Wilma Allen, son
Thad (Pam) Allen, and daughter Wanda (Tom) Allen-
Yearout, six grand children, and two great grand
children. Bill's two surviving sisters, Edna
Buckmaster and Nellie Rice, came from Texas for
the party. Bill and Wilma were instrumental in
starting the Bowie School Reunions and naming the
historic grammar school building in Bowie after Eva
Hall, one of Bill's teachers.
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Bill and Wilma Allen family
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Can anyone identify the blonde in the picture?
Editor’s Note: Thanks to Brian Bickel for helping me with the
newsletter. Thanks to my cousin Evelyn (Spikes) Lathram for
sending articles and pictures for the newsletter.
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![David Bowie[1]](https://img.pdfslide.us/doc/110x75/555e4416d8b42a63048b5613/david-bowie1.jpg)
