More "Household" Chores and Updating of the Blog

March 7, 2015

So today was another do nothing in particular day. Some projects around the Crusader and honestly more laundry.

Continuing:  January 12th through the 18th 2015
(Parked Huachuca City, AZ)

While in Tombstone we also took a walk through BootHill Graveyard.



Laid out as a burial plot called "The Tombstone Cemetery" in 1878 it was the burial place for the town's first pioneers. It was used as the towns main cemetery until the current "Tombstone Cemetery' opened at the end of  Allen Street in 1884.

 

The cemetery gives mute testimony to the hardships of Western Frontier Life. The people buried here were housewives, painted ladies, outlaws, gamblers, miners, business men, and women. In all it is believed 300 persons are buried here, 205 which are recorded.

 

By the 1920's it had fallen into ruin. It was restored from early burial records by Tombstone citizens in the late 1920's. At that time a Boy Scout Troop also set about to clean up the cemetery.

 

Opened in 1878 it was closed to new burials in 1884 with the exception of Emmett Crook Nunnelley in 1946. In the 1940's, he organized an effort to restore the cemetery to its original state. At that time steel markers, crosses, were place on the graves. He spent the last years of his life seeking to restore as much as could be restored of the cemetery. It was his request to be laid to rest there and the town complied.

 



The steel markers have now been replaced with new period correct ones. Below are a few pictures of cemetery.

 

Billy Clanton, Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury (Oct, 26, 1881
Murdered in the streets of Tombstone 1881

Newman Hayey
"Old Man Clanton"
Killed Aug 1881

Tex Howard                                                        Bill Delaney
Hanged 1884                                                      Hanged 1884



John Heath
Taken from County Jail & Lynched
by Bisbee mob in Tombstone
Feb 22, 1884
 

Six-Shooter Jim
1885
Shot by Burt Alvord

Mrs. Ah Lum (China Mary)
born in China died in Tombstone
Dec 6 1906 Aged 67



Killeen 1880
Shot by Frank Leslie

 

Unknown
There are many of these throughout the cemetery.

 

Boothill Grave Yard, in Tombstone, is Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

 

Tom had read about the Gunfighter Hall of Fame before we arrived and talked about taking the time to go through it. (Not something I was really interested in touring so I brought my Kindle and spent the time reading so he could take his time and enjoy the exhibits.) He said it was very interesting to learn about the various exhibits, including Billy the Kid's cowboy boots and how they were acquired, from the owner of the establishment. The owner had many stories to tell about the old west memorabilia in his museum. Tom said, you could tell he was really passionate about the old west and this made it interesting to listen to him.



 

Gunfighter Hall of Fame in Tombstone

 

 

Epitaph was founded May 1, 1880 and is the oldest continually published newspaper in Arizona. It has long been noted for its coverage of the infamous Gunfight at the OK Coral on Oct 26, 1881.





Tombstone Epitaph

 

 

One of our last stops in Tombstone was to take pictures of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. We had planned on returning for Mass on Saturday evening, January 17, 2015 but sometimes circumstances jump in and change everything. That evening instead of getting ready to attend Mass we were anxiously waiting, with cellphone in hand, for updates on our daughter, Rachel, and the birth of our newest grandson, Nathaniel Thomas, born at 8:19pm Eastern Standard Time in Marquette, MI  (More information will be coming about this in future updates.)

 

Current Church building built in 1947

 

Front building, restored 1881 Church Rectory serves as Church Offices.
(sign in front identified this building)
Building behind: restored 1882 Church Building serves as Church Hall.
(could not see any sign but this looked like it was the church hall)

The Sacred Heart Catholic Church was dedicated on January 1, 1881. It was the first church building of any denomination in Tombstone.
The first building, a one and one-half story adobe building housed a rectory on the top floor and a church on the bottom.
In 1882 a second building was built to the house the church and the first one became solely the rectory.
The building of both these structures was spearheaded by Nellie Cashman. They served the community until 1947 when they were moved to their current location and a new church was constructed.

 

The Sacred Heart Church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

 

Laundry and Some Blog Updating

March 6, 2015

What can I say it needs to be done and since we have full hookups it is the time to do. So laundry it is plus relaxing and enjoying the day.

So, I thought this would be a good time to start filling in the blanks about what we have been doing since I last blogged on January 11th when we were in Huachuca City, AZ.

January 12th through the 18th of 2015
(Parked in Huachuca City, AZ)

We did have the opportunity to go back over to Tombstone, AZ one more time. We both wanted of visit the Old Bird Cage Theatre a registered National Monument. It is Tombstone's only Original Historic Building, it is not a restoration, surviving from 1881.

 

The Bird Cage Theatre is listed as the #1 Most Haunted Building in America by TAPS, the Epicenter of the Paranormal by the Travel Channel, and Ground Zero for the Paranormal by the History Channel. So according to Tom we could not miss this tour. They have self guided tours during the day and a special Adults Only guided tour in the evening. Up to three depending on interest. They also have a Family Tour, earlier in the evening, for children 12 and up accompanied by an adult.

Tom was also going to do the nighttime one but decided after the daytime one to skip it for this year.

Though he did take a lot of pictures hoping to fine some unexplained phenomena in one but sadly no luck. He had read a lot of people find this sort of things in their pictures.

 

The Bird Cage closed it doors in 1889 and everything in the building was left as it was at that moment in time. For almost 50 years it stood closed and in 1934 it was reopened for the public to visit. It is Tombstones only Historic Landmark in its original state.

 

The placard in the corner reads: This is the Original Faro Table
were Doc Holiday played and dealt Faro. Doc Holiday and Johnny Ringo
had their famous duel between the Faro Table and the Grand Piano.

 

The Grand Piano is still in the Orchestra Pit.
This stage saw performances of the Nightly French Circuit CanCan Dancers,
risqué performances for the male gender, and national headliners
such as Eddie Foy, and Lotta Crabtree.
This hand painted stage includes it original stage curtain.





The placard reads: These three bullet holes were made
by a drunken cowboy who one night shot at an actor.
The shots missed and lodged here next to the stage. 

 

The Bird Cage is said to have been the most famous Honky-Tonk in America between 1881 and 1889. The New York Times referred to it as the wildest, wickedest night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast. It was open 24 hours a day and before it closed its doors it was the sight of 16 gunfights. Besides the bullet holes mentioned above there are an additional 137 that riddle the walls and ceilings. Mute evidence of these happenings.

 

Information posted about the song "Bird in a Guilded Cage".
Introduced by Lillian Russell 

Pictures of and Newspaper clippings about
Lillian Russell

The "Bird Cages" with their original red velvet drapes and trimmings.

There are many items that belonged to and pictures of the famous and infamous characters of Tombstone in the 1880's throughout the Bird Cage. I am including a few below.


Curly Bill, according to the placard, was recognized
while getting a haircut in this chair.
He was later tracked down and killed by Wyatt Earp.

 

This is the Black Moriah. An original Boothill Hearse. It is trimmed
in 24k gold and sterling silver. The coffin seen on the right
is from the movie "Tombstone".

Baton owned by Bat Masterson
A Tooth Extractor owned by Doc Holiday
and one of his stirrups.



Left to Right
Louisa Houston Earp, Common Law Wife of Morgan Earp
Morgan Earp 1881
Alvira Packingham Sullivan, Wife of Virgil Earp
Virgil Earp mid 1880's

John Peters Ringo
"Johnny Ringo"

Wyatt Earp 1926

Downstairs below the stage you find the wine cellar, the dressing rooms, and the poker room. It is the site of the longest poker game in western history. The game ran continually for 8 years, 5 months, and 3 days. That table is pictured below and still stands as it was left with its chairs on the dirt floor.

According to the placards along the railing to get into this game the house gaming steward would receive a $1,000 deposit from the prospective gambler and place his name on a waiting list of players. When a seat was open someone would be sent for the player. The waiting time could be from 3 to 4 days to get into the game. A player could stay in as long as they wanted or had money. Many notable persons sat in the Big Game at this table.

Original Service Bar.
A liquor steward ran this bar to supply refreshments to the players
and the ladies and their customers.
The two mirrors, one behind the bar and on far right, have
hung in the same place since 1881.



One last picture to share, a warning to the "Shady Ladies".
According to this sign they were ordered to stay on the shady side of the streets
or they would find themselves in jail or be asked to leave for good.



This is just a small amount of  what we saw in the Bird Cage and just a few of the pictures. There is a lot inside this, what can only be described, small building. It was interesting and entertaining to take the tour and if we get back this way again I am sure we will do it again. I am guessing next time it will be the Adult Nighttime Historic Ghost Tour.



"Yooper Picnic"

March 6, 2015

Where are we and where have we been will be summarized in the next few postings but for now the answer is we are in Mohave Valley, Arizona at the Moon River RV Resort.

Yesterday afternoon we drove over to Lake Havasu City, Arizona to attend the "2015 Lake Havasu Yooper Picnic". Held at the Rotary Park.  (For those of you who may not know what a "Yooper" is we are in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.  Definition: A native resident of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan--used as a nickname.)

It was a great day, the sky was blue, and the temperature was perfect for a picnic. The location, right on Lake Havasu, was beautiful.

Alice and Tom Vermullen

Alice is the one who set this picnic up and she did a wonderful job. This is the first one we were able to attend but I heard from several others it is always a great time. Thank you, Alice for a wonderful party!

Jill and Rick LaChance

Jill is the one who let us know about the picnic. So thank you for getting us to the party. Jill, Alice, and I all graduated from Holy Name High School in Escanaba together and it always nice seeing them. Actually Jill and I go back to first grade at St. Thomas and no I am not going to mention how many years ago that is.

Debbie and Jim Baker

Jim is another one of our classmates from Holy Name High School. It was a nice surprise to see them there.

Jay Gannon in the black t-shirt and Rick in white

Jay also graduated from Holy Name High School with us. It was nice to see him also. It seems like otherwise we only run into each other every 5 years at class reunions.

More of the people from our area of the UP we ran into today.

Alice and Pat Stammer
What a nice surprise to run into them here.
It had been way to long since we had seen them.

Lynn and Gary Bisson
Lynn and I spent some time together on a bowling team
a "few" years ago.

Karen and Fran Ettenhoffer
We met them when Tom and Fran were rival canoe racers.
Karen and I, along with several other wives, spent more then our
share of time standing on river banks freezing in our UP spring.



Cheryl and Floyd Eade

Tom and Floyd worked together and were both on

the Union board together.





Sharon and Carey Prey
They are from Escanaba also, it was nice seeing the two of them.
Tom and Carey both worked at the paper mill.





Tom talking with Al Hansen and on the right his lovely wife Sheila.
Sheila was the Aide when our daughter was in Pre-School and Kindergarten
she nicely disconnected her from me more then once.

Tom standing between to lovely ladies, Mary on the left and Carol on the right.
They all graduated the same year from High School
 and no ladies I am not publishing the year.

More "Yoopers" enjoying the sun and a great day visiting.

It was a great day re-connecting with people and enjoying the sunshine in Arizona. I think, as a group, we all agreed it was nice to be out of the snow and the below zero temperatures our family and friends are experiencing back in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We talked with people from across the UP some now living out in the West, some spending the entire winter out here, and others only visiting for a week or two. Everyone with the same goal to be some place warm but with special ties to a place we call  home, The UP.

 

“Where we love is home. Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.”

                                                                                                      ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

                               





One of Life's Moments

January 11, 2015

Today was just one of those days we enjoyed just being in this place in our lives.

Tom went over to the clubhouse to watch the Packers beat the Cowboys so he enjoyed the game...:). Yes we are from Michigan and yes we are Packer fans. First of all we live about 2 hours from Green Bay and 7 hours from Detroit so we are more connected to Green Bay. Secondly, his father followed the Packer's and he has been a fan his entire life through the good years and bad.

I stayed back at the Crusader to get some things together I will need when I fly back to Michigan next week. I wanted the packing pretty much out of the way so I could just enjoy our time here and watching the game is not on my priority list.

When the game was done Tom came back and cleaned the outside of the windows. Now our view is a lot clearer.

He later grilled steaks while I put vegetables in the oven to roast. It was a delicious meal and with leftovers we will enjoy it again.

The rest of evening was spent enjoying the rest of the day.

As I write this the rain is coming down this morning but there is the promise of sun this afternoon. So who knows what the day will bring.

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather,

always bring your own sunshine."

~Anthony J. D'Angelo

Afternoon "Adventure"

January 10, 2015

We took a drive over to Tombstone, AZ this afternoon.

We are about 20 miles away and it is a nice drive.

 

We visited the Tombstone Courthouse. Where we were able to read about the history of Tombstone, AZ. We learned Tombstone reached a pinnacle of riches with the silver mines and then faded when the silver mines flooded and could not be worked. This all happened within eight years and by 1886 Tombstone's heyday was over but by then $37,000,000 worth of silver had been taken from the mines.

Tombstone owes its beginnings to Ed Schieffelin, who prospected in the hills in 1877. He was warned, by friends, all he would find would be his own tombstone. When miners first built a shanty town near the mines it was known as Goose Flats. Then remembering the prophecy given Schieffelin, with tongue and cheek, they renamed it Tombstone.



The Cochise County Courthouse
was built in 1882 at a cost of $50,000.

It housed the offices of the sheriff, recorder, treasurer, and the board of supervisors. The jail was in the rear under the courtroom. Cochise County was established in 1881 and Tombstone remained the county seat until 1929. The last county office left the courthouse in 1931.

There was an attempt to convert it into a hotel in the 1940's, which failed. It remained vacant until 1955 when the Tombstone Restoration Commission acquired it and began the courthouses rehabilitation and the development as a historical museum. It has continued to operated as a State Park since 1959.


 

 

These three pictures are of the Sheriff's office. 

There are many pictures including these three that tell the story of Tombstone and the people who lived there.

Gambler
Bat Masterson

Wyatt Earp - Age 30

John Henry Holiday

 There are several exhibits throughout the court house that highlight the history of Tombstone. Included is information about the Gunfight at the OK Corral and findings it actually never took place at the OK Corral. There is a mining, transportation, and communications exhibit in what was the jail. They also had information about the jail itself. Upstairs is the courtroom, law library and several other exhibits.

A reproduction of the gallows in the courtyard.

Afterwards we took a walk down part of Allen Street and stopped for a late lunch at Big Nose Kate's Saloon. According to information provided on the menu it was once the Grand Hotel built in 1881. The night before the Gunfight at the OK Corral, October 25, 1881 the Clantons and the McLaurys were guest here.

There is also said to be paranormal activity at the Big Nose Kate's Saloon. Part of the legend is "the Swamper" hid his silver in the building and comes back to protect it. Staff, locals and tourist claim to have had experiences with the "Swamper" appearing in pictures and fleeting appearances as he wanders the building especially the basement.

Picture taken of information on the menu.

 

Mick is the gentleman providing
the afternoon's entertainment.

We had a nice lunch and did a little more walking and visited a couple of the shops along the street. We then headed home (clarification: Right now we do think of the Crusader as home. We have always felt wherever we lived together was home.)  and were treated to a beautiful view of the sun dropping down behind the mountains. I just wish the pictures did it justice.

 

 

 

"Maybe it is not about the happy ending.

May it's about the story."

                                               ~unknown