Cindy G. and I did the morning tour today, and as we were getting organized, Marie mentioned that a number of evaluations have suggested more time in the castle. So, we decided to move the family histories into the great room of the castle--the Warners beside their display, EA's story beside his, and the story of Della's time with WP Stuart beside his. This had the advantage of allowing more time in the castle and less time in the sun. We also did the basement information in the kitchen, but I think a fair number of folks have already moved the basement info into the castle.
Anyhow, although there were some rough edges since we were making this up as we went along, it seemed to work well, and based on the evaulations, the guests enjoyed it--of course, our tour guests usually seem to enjoy the tours, which is what makes it all so gratifying and so much fun.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Phil1 saves a life...
According to James W. Byrkit in Forging the Copper Collar: Arizona's Labor-Manaement War 1901-1921 (pp. 238-240) after the kidnapping and "deporting" of anybody that Phelps Dodge felt was remotely involved in union activity, there was still vigilante type stuff going on, including a "kangaroo court" set up by Phelps Dodge--sounds like they maybe actually called it that.
Anyhow, one guy who was never a member of the union, not involved in the strike and therefore not "marked for deportation," had briefly run a pro-union newspaper, so he was still not a man to be trusted and he kept a journal, in which he relates a story about being jailed one day, then being turned over by the sheriff to the Loyalty League and taken by several men on a ride out into the desert in a car driven by Phil Tovrea. After about an hour they stopped, and "young Tovrea balked at the prospect of becoming a murderer" and said they'd do "the other," which meant beating him senseless and leaving him out there. The guy did survive, and I have found references to a case that involved Phil and several other men, separate from the main case against EA and all his buddies, but haven't gotten the details yet to know if it was about this incident or something else.. Will keep working on that, but isn't it nice to know Phil1 kept a guy from being murdered?
Monday, March 11, 2013
Yep, EA was divorced from his first wife before marrying Della
According to the marriage certificate that Don and Tamera found a while back, Della and EA were married in Cochise County on December 26, 1908 (not 1906, as we formerly thought). According to what I found at the State Archives last week, the papers from EA's divorce from his first wife were filed in Cochise County on the same date. Della and EA's marriage certificate wasn't actually filed until two days later--to make sure there was no chance the marriage could have been "official" before the divorce?
Is the dress in the Castle Really a copy of Della Dress?
In the main room of the castle is formal black dress that we say is a copy of one of Della's dresses. It was always my understanding that the dress was in the collection of the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott, so one day I decided to take some time to see if I could find any information on it.
After a bit of research with Google, I locate a page for the museum that included a page for the Della Tovrea Stuart Collection. It is a Facebook page so you may need a facebook page or you may not, the link is
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150964553720122.773982.91039685121&type=3
The first picture is the exact dress we have a copy of in the castle.
So we know for a fact that the one in the castle is truly a copy of an original dress!
Friday, March 8, 2013
From a 1958 interview with Alessio Carraro
AZ Rep – 1-12-58
Interview with Alessio Carraro by Don Dedera
“I had the great dream,” said Carraro. “I was going to subdivide the land and build
fine homes. The money I lost! The depression came along and I sold the
place in 1931, and today it is all worth millions and millions.”
About the grotto:
“All my life I searched for this place,” he said. “I wanted to build a grotto. People told me I couldn’t build a grotto in
Arizona, yet here I have built a grotto.”
(about water witching)
"I have the power,” said … Carraro. “It was given to me directly from up
above.” He held a machete in one hand
and a short-handled ax in the other. Chunky, frowning, almost belligerent, he
was convincing as all get out...
“I hold a string to a bob.
I sprinkle water on my hand, and the plumb line begins to vibrate, and
the water structure of the land for miles around is revealed to me. It is as clear as television.”
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Did you know that E.A.was arrested for kidnapping in 1919?
E.A. was one of the hundreds of Cochise County posse members involved in deporting/kidnapping (depending on your point of view) more than a thousand miners as Phelps Dodge began destroying the power of miners' unions in Arizona. Here's his arrest record:
http://azmemory.lib.az.us/cdm/
Here's a link to a 2011 article from the AZ Republic about the deportation/kidnapping:
http://www.azcentral.com/travel/articles/2011/08/17/20110817bisbee-deportation-1200-miners-shipped-by-train-new-mexico.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)