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.”

2 comments:

  1. He authored "A Mile in His Moccasins" in which he wrote an article about Alessio.

    Don was a newspaperman and he worked for The Arizona Republic between 1951 and 1969. He became a daily feature columnist in 1953. In 1958 he won the Ernie Pyle Memorial Award for his work.

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