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"Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding. Find out what you already know and you will see the way to fly."
— Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)
* Pentax K20D and Pentax SMC DA 18-55mm Lens
“Life is not like water. Things in life don't necessarily flow over the shortest possible route.”
Lying under this shade all day, reading Haruki Murakami's 1Q84, listening to the pounding surf... priceless!!!
* Pentax K20D + Pentax 18-55mm Lens - 3 Shot HDR
Selected images are available high res and unframed at RedBubble
You can find Irene Astral (model/styling/editing) here: www.facebook.com/ireneastral
Accessories by: AstralWork Creations (www.facebook.com/AstralWorkCreations?fref=ts)
And many thanks to Jim Keith (www.facebook.com/JimKeithCosplay?fref=ts) for his assistance.
This series was featured in:
1.) Dark Beauty Magazine: www.darkbeautymag.com/2015/03/spirosk-photography-irene-a...
2.) Ladies of Steampunk Magazine (print, too): www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/901617
3.) The Greek book of Steampunk stories "Gods of Steam" (as illustrations and cover): www.goodreads.com/book/show/24293119---steampunk
Shot in my home studio.
Jackson, MS (est. 1821, pop. 165,000)
Marker:
front
"On May 28, 1961, a Greyhound bus with nine Freedom Riders aboard arrived here, the third group of Riders into Jackson. The first two came on Trailways buses May 24. That summer 329 people were arrested in Jackson for integrating public transportation facilities. Convicted on "breach of peace" and jailed, most refused bail and were sent to the state penitentiary. Their protest worked. In September 1961, the federal government mandated that segregation in interstate transportation end."
back
"Greyhound Bus Station This former Greyhound bus station was the scene of many historic arrests in 1961, when Freedom Riders challenged racial segregation in Jackson’s bus and train stations and airport. The Freedom Riders, part of a campaign created by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), pressured the federal government to enforce the law regarding illegal racially separate waiting rooms, rest rooms, and restaurants—common in public transportation facilities across the South.
"On May 4, 1961, thirteen Riders—blacks and whites, men and women—left Washington, D.C., on two buses. Trained in nonviolent direct action, they planned to desegregate bus stations throughout the South. They integrated stations in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia with few incidents but were attacked by vicious mobs in Anniston, Birmingham, and Montgomery, Alabama. The Kennedy administration implored them to stop, a call echoed by the media and some civil rights leaders. The Riders, however, reinforced with new volunteers from the Nashville Student Movement, were determined to continue.
"On May 24, two buses of Freedom Riders left Montgomery bound for Jackson, with highway patrolmen and National Guardsmen as armed guards. Instead of a protest mob, policemen met them in Jackson, urging them to “move on” when the Riders tried to use facilities denied them. When the Riders refused, they were arrested, charged with “breach of peace,” and quickly convicted.
"Embracing the "jail-no bail" tactic, they invited new Riders from around the country to join them in Jackson. Within three weeks the city’s jails were full, and the Riders were transferred to the state penitentiary at Parchman, where most served six weeks, suffering indignities and injustices with fortitude and resolve. Between May 24 and September 13, 329 people were arrested in Jackson—half black, half white, and a quarter of them women. Most were between the ages of eighteen and thirty. They came from thirty-nine states and ten other countries; forty-three were from Mississippi.
"On September 23, the Interstate Commerce Commission mandated an end to segregation in all bus and train stations and airports. The victorious Freedom Riders left a legacy of historic changes, proving the value of nonviolent direct action, providing a template for future campaigns, and helping jump-start the movement in Mississippi."
Old Greyhound Station History
• in the mid-1930s, as America struggled through the Great Depression, Greyhound Lines adopted a Streamline Moderne design for their buses & terminals, echoing the speed lines of their Super Coaches which, like the Greyhound logo, promised a swift, state of the art ride • brought in engineer Dwight Austin (1897-1960) to create the new Super Coach design & Louisville architect William Strudwick Arrasmith (1898-1965) to reimagine Greyhound terminal design
• in 1937, Greyhound Lines contracted for a Streamline Moderne style terminal in Jackson, topped by a vertical, illuminated "Greyhound" sign • the bldg. was faced with blue Vitrolux structural glass panels and ivory Vitrolite trim • included a coffee shop with a horseshoe-shaped counter & bathing facilities for women (a bath tub) and men (a shower)
• the design is widely believed to be one of the ~60 Moderne Greyhound stations credited to Arrasmith, although photographic evidence suggests that Memphis architect William Nowland Van Powell (1904-1977) — working with George Mahan Jr. (1887-1967) — was responsible for the design, with or without Arrasmith as the consulting architect
• restoration architect Robert Parker Adams acquired the then threatened bldg. in 1988, moved in after restoration, retaining the original neon sign —Wikipedia
The Farish Street Historic District
“but out of the bitterness we wrought an ancient past here in this separate place and made our village here.” —African Village by Margaret Walker (1915-1998)
• during the Reconstruction era that followed the American Civil War, white Southerners struggled to reclaim their lives as millions of black Southerners sought new ones • with the stroke of a pen, the Emancipation Proclamation had transformed African slaves into African Americans & released them into hostile, vengeful & well-armed white communities amid the ruins of a once flourishing society
• the antebellum South had been home to over 262,000 rights-restricted "free blacks" • post-emancipation, the free black population soared to 4.1 million • given that the South had sacrificed 20% of it's white males to the war, blacks now comprised over half the total population of some southern states • uneducated & penniless, most of the new black Americans depended on the Freedman's Bureau for food & clothing
• the social & political implications of this disruptive shift in demographics fueled a violence-laced strain of American racism • in this toxic environment, de facto racial segregation was a given, ordained as Mississippi law in 1890 • with Yankees (the U.S. Army) patrolling Jackson & Maine-born Republican Adelbert Ames installed in the Governor's Mansion, the Farish Street neighborhood was safe haven for freedmen
• as homeless African American refugees poured into Jackson from all reaches of the devastated state, a black economy flickered to life in the form of a few Farish Street mom-and-pops • unwelcome at white churches, the liberated slaves built their own, together with an entire neighborhood's worth of buildings, most erected between 1890 & 1930
• by 1908 1/3 of the district was black-owned, & half of the black families were homeowners • the 1913-1914 business directory listed 11 African American attorneys, 4 doctors, 3 dentists, 2 jewelers, 2 loan companies & a bank, all in the Farish St. neighborhood • the community also had 2 hospitals & numerous retail & service stores —City Data
• by mid-20th c. Farish Street, the state's largest economically independent African American community, had become the cultural, political & business hub for central Mississippi's black citizens [photos] • on Saturdays, countryfolk would come to town on special busses to sell produce & enjoy BBQ while they listened to live street music • vendors sold catfish fried in large black kettles over open fires • hot tamales, a Mississippi staple, were also a popular street food —The Farish District, Its Architecture and Cultural Heritage
“I’ve seen pictures. You couldn’t even get up the street. It was a two-way street back then, and it was wall-to-wall folks. It was just jam-packed: people shopping, people going to clubs, people eating, people dancing.” — Geno Lee, owner of the Big Apple Inn
• as Jackson's black economy grew, Farish Street entertainment venues prospered, drawing crowds with live & juke blues music • the musicians found or first recorded in the Neighborhood include Robert Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson II & Elmore James
• Farish Street was also home to talent scouts & record labels like H.C. Speir, & Trumpet Records, Ace Records • both Speir & Trumpet founder Lillian McMurry were white Farish St. business owners whose furniture stores also housed recording studios • both discovered & promoted local Blues musicians —The Mississippi Encyclopedia
• Richard Henry Beadle (1884-1971), a prominent Jackson photographer, had a studio at 199-1/2 N. Farish • he was the son of Samuel Alfred Beadle (1857-1932), African-American poet & attorney • born the son of a slave, he was the author of 3 published books of poetry & stories
• The Alamo Theatre was mainly a movie theater but periodically presented musical acts such as Nat King Cole, Elmore James & Otis Spann • Wednesday was talent show night • 12 year old Jackson native Dorothy Moore entered the contest, won & went on to a successful recording career, highlighted by her 1976 no. 1 R&B hit, "Misty Blue" [listen] (3:34)
• in their heyday, Farish Street venues featured African American star performers such as Bessie Smith & the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington & Dinah Washington —Farish Street Records
• on 28 May, 1963, John Salter, a mixed race (white/Am. Indian) professor at historically black Tougaloo College, staged a sit-in with 3 African American students at the "Whites Only" Woolworth's lunch counter in downtown Jackson • they were refused service • an estimated 300 white onlookers & reporters filled the store
• police officers arrived but did not intercede as, in the words of student Anne Moody, "all hell broke loose" while she and the other black students at the counter prayed • "A man rushed forward, threw [student] Memphis from his seat and slapped my face. Then another man who worked in the store threw me against an adjoining counter." • this act of civil disobedience is remembered as the the signature event of Jackson's protest movement —L.A. Times
"This was the most violently attacked sit-in during the 1960s and is the most publicized. A huge mob gathered, with open police support while the three of us sat there for three hours. I was attacked with fists, brass knuckles and the broken portions of glass sugar containers, and was burned with cigarettes. I'm covered with blood and we were all covered by salt, sugar, mustard, and various other things." —John Salter
• the Woolworth Sit-in was one of many non-violent protests by blacks against racial segregation in the South • in 1969 integration of Jackson's public schools began • this new era in Jackson history also marked the beginning of Farish Street's decline —The Farish Street Project
"Integration was a great thing for black people, but it was not a great thing for black business... Before integration, Farish Street was the black mecca of Mississippi.” — Geno Lee, Big Apple Inn
• for African Americans, integration offered the possibility to shop outside of the neighborhood at white owned stores • as increasing numbers of black shoppers did so, Farish Street traffic declined, businesses closed & the vacated buildings fell into disrepair
• in 1983, a Farish St. redevelopment plan was presented
• in 1995 the street was designated an endangered historic place by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
• in the 1990s, having redeveloped Memphis' Beale Street, Performa Entertainment Real Estate was selected to redevelop Farish St
• in 2008, The Farish Street Group took over the project with plans for a B.B. King's Blues Club to anchor the entertainment district
• in 2012, having spent $21 million, the redevelopment — limited to repaving of the street, stabilizating some abandoned buildings & demolishing many of the rest — was stuck in limbo —Michael Minn
• 2017 update:
"Six mayors and 20 years after the City of Jackson became involved in efforts to develop the Farish Street Historic District, in hopes of bringing it back to the bustling state of its heyday, the project sits at a standstill. Recent Mayor Tony Yarber has referred to the district as “an albatross.” In September of 2014, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sanctioned the City of Jackson, the Jackson Redevelopment Authority, and developers for misspending federal funds directed toward the development of the Farish Street Historic District. Work is at a halt and "not scheduled to resume until December 2018, when the City of Jackson repays HUD $1.5 million." —Mississippi Dept. of Archives & History
• Farish Street Neighborhood Historic District, National Register # 80002245, 1980
Just like the spacemen of Classic Space, the explorers of Mars Mission commissioned several vehicles from Llwyngwril Systems. A perfect example of Hegel's assertion that, “What experience and history teaches us is that people and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.”.
The rocky surface of Mars was causing severe tyre wear to 4x4 vehicles. Various design teams were asked to come up with a solution. Llwyngwril Systems simply removed a wheel, thereby reducing tyre wear by 25% (in theory). The MT-32 Trike was the result.
"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious - the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science."
— Albert Einstein (Albert Einstein (Living Philosophies))
Photographic Memory: Bay of Plenty Series #3
* Pentax K20D + Pentax 18-55mm Lens - Single Shot
Selected images are available high res and unframed at RedBubble
-Emily Dickinson
Shot and edited this sometime around the end of April then forgot all about it. I found it in my scraps folder while I was sorting some files earlier this week.
This was inspired by the cover of the book "The Watcher" by Lisa Voisin. I came across it a few months ago on Goodreads and I loved the cover. (Unfortunately I can't say the same thing about the book itself. I abandoned it after the first few chapters.)
Feather brushes came from shadowsmyst on deviantArt.
Forsyth, Frederick: The Fourth Protocol. London: Corgi Books/ Transworld Publishers Ltd. 1985.
At the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland 2024.
Praktica MTL3
Asahi Pentax Super-Takumar 105mm f2.8
Agfaphoto APX 400 shot at ISO 1600
Compard R09 One Shot 1+100 semi-stand development 70min at 19°C
Agitation 1min + gently at 30min
"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."
— Jon Krakauer (Into the Wild)
Day 21 - Best Viewed Large On Black
Beyond Kapiti Island, visible here on the Horizon amidst the clouds, the next landmass is Australia; 1400 miles or 2250 Km away....
"For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. - Ephesians 6:12"
— St. Paul (The Epistles of Paul and Acts of the Apostles (Thrift Edition))
One from the big freeze of the Winter just past, that I never got around to posting. St Paul's Cathedral taken with a Fujifilm point and shoot from the Tate Modern gallery on the South Bank.
Postcards From London Series #4
"In a place far away from anyone or anywhere, I drifted off for a moment."
— Haruki Murakami 村上春樹 (The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)
Day 12 - Best Viewed Large On Black
For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers. I revere them when they live in tribes and families, in forests and groves. And even more I revere them when they stand alone. Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.
-- Herman Hesse
[The entire brief essay if you'd like: www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/27688]
You can find Irene Astral (model/styling/editing) here: www.facebook.com/ireneastral
Accessories by: AstralWork Creations (www.facebook.com/AstralWorkCreations?fref=ts)
And many thanks to Jim Keith (www.facebook.com/JimKeithCosplay?fref=ts) for his assistance.
This series was featured in:
1.) Dark Beauty Magazine: www.darkbeautymag.com/2015/03/spirosk-photography-irene-a...
2.) Ladies of Steampunk Magazine (print, too): www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/901617
3.) The Greek book of Steampunk stories "Gods of Steam" (as illustrations and cover): www.goodreads.com/book/show/24293119---steampunk
Shot in my home studio.
Reading and shutting off all electronics for a while.
The news is not worth reading or listening too at the moment.
I chose to seek a different path at the moment and it doesn't include social media per se, and the news.
Needing a rest.
I read this because I was intrigued by Dr. Melfi recommending it to Tony Soprano - both why she did and how he applied it. Needless to say, I have no interest in power or war and I can now know for certain I would be a lousy general. The wine was really good though. For any other Sopranos fans there IS a list of books appearing in the show www.goodreads.com/list/show/93950.Books_appearing_in_The_...
You can find Irene Astral (model/styling/editing) here: www.facebook.com/ireneastral
Accessories by: AstralWork Creations (www.facebook.com/AstralWorkCreations?fref=ts)
And many thanks to Jim Keith (www.facebook.com/JimKeithCosplay?fref=ts) for his assistance.
This series was featured in:
1.) Dark Beauty Magazine: www.darkbeautymag.com/2015/03/spirosk-photography-irene-a...
2.) Ladies of Steampunk Magazine (print, too): www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/901617
3.) The Greek book of Steampunk stories "Gods of Steam" (as illustrations and cover): www.goodreads.com/book/show/24293119---steampunk
Shot in an abandoned factory in Drapetsona, Greece.
At the beginning of the year, I posted that I had a goal of reading 50 books this year and now I can happily say that 🎉 I've completed my goal! 🎉
Oh, and I also had a goal of finishing the Bible in a year. Which I also completed. I now have a new favorite book of the Bible. Romans!😁
These are the books I read if you're interested.¯\_(ツ)_/¯
www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2019/86440923
Stay Safe, Eat Doughnuts, and Read Good Books (╭☞ ⌐■ ◞ ■ )╭☞
"Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.
But you are the eternity and you are the mirror."
— Khalil Gibran (The Prophet)
Photographic Memory: Otaki Beach Series #2
* Pentax K20D + Pentax 18-55mm Lens - Single Shot
Selected images are available high res and unframed at RedBubble
"But this road doesn't go anywhere,” I told him.
“That doesn't matter.”
“What does?” I asked, after a little while.
“Just that we're on it” he said.
16.02.2010
I read 2 or 3 books a week so I think it's about time I started using some of them as inspiration for my photos. I'm currently reading The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster for my online reading group. So far it seems to have a lot of interesting points about language in it but it's not gripping me. Therefore I decided to use it to make a cityscape out of books.
Also submitting to MSH for: A Picture Worth a Thousand Words, though there's a bit more than 1000 words in all those books.
A year ago today I was hating make-up.
With all the wildfires raging, I've been thinking about my days spent working in a fire tower, best job I ever had! (1982/83?)
Also currently reading: "Fire Season" by Philip Conners (yes I can read)
www.goodreads.com/book/show/9341909-fire-season
And of course this scene from "CaddyShack" is an all time favorite.
This little bear is posing with Something For Christmas, a 1958 book by Palmer Brown.
My parents read this book to both of my older brothers and to me over the course of many Christmas times, many years ago.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone on Flickr! Cheers!
Something For Christmas by Palmer Brown (Goodreads):
www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/11533513-something-for-chr...
There are a hundred things she has tried to chase away the things she won't remember and that she can't even let herself think about because that's when the birds scream and the worms crawl and somewhere in her mind it's always raining a slow and endless drizzle.
by Neil Gaiman
"Raindrops falling from heaven
Could never take away my misery
But since we're not together
I pray for stormy weather
To hide these tears I hope you'll never see
Someday when my cry is done
I'm gonna wear a smile and walk in the sun
I may be a fool
But till then, darling, you'll never see me complain
I'll do my crying in the rain"
You can find Irene Astral (model/styling/editing) here: www.facebook.com/ireneastral
Accessories by: AstralWork Creations (www.facebook.com/AstralWorkCreations?fref=ts)
And many thanks to Jim Keith (www.facebook.com/JimKeithCosplay?fref=ts) for his assistance.
This series was featured in:
1.) Dark Beauty Magazine: www.darkbeautymag.com/2015/03/spirosk-photography-irene-a...
2.) Ladies of Steampunk Magazine (print, too): www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/901617
3.) The Greek book of Steampunk stories "Gods of Steam" (as illustrations and cover): www.goodreads.com/book/show/24293119---steampunk
Shot in my home studio.
“Missiles and earth satellites command the attention of the world. Already seven pilots have been chosen to train for man’s first venture into space. Here are the stories of the Air Force today – of planes that fly at twice the speed of sound, missiles that can hit a target 5,000 miles away, and here are the Air Force technicians and space pioneers who will soon launch a manned satellite into orbit around the Earth!
“Frank Harvey is an aviation writer who knows this exciting new field in both its scientific and military aspects. He has visited the launching sites and Air Force laboratories where the conquests of tomorrow are made. And he writes with electric tension of the men whose complex skills are tested every day in the high cold frontiers of space.” [From the back cover]
“A series of exciting slice-of-life vignettes depicting the thrilling and dangerous exploits of test pilots and others on the cutting edge of the 1950s Air Force . . .” –Goodreads.com
There are eight stories in all, including three that describe unique challenges posed by the new frontier:
“Moon Shot” (from “The Saturday Evening Post,” 1958) – On the brink of one of history’s most fateful moments, something went terribly wrong . . .
“Destruct Button” (from “Argosy,” 1959) – It’s bad enough pushing a destruct button on two million dollars’ worth of Atlas missile. And now there was something even more precious in the nose cone – a living human being!
“100 Miles Up” (from “Argosy,” 1958) – An unforgettable story of a man who conquered space – and couldn’t find the way back.
"Everything changes. Everything is temporary, except for the sky. When you find yourself caught up in the horrors or heroes of a lifetime, look up. Don't look down. That which is beneath our feet is liquid, but the sky, the sky is solid, constant, ever ready and ever hopeful that the sun will rise in the morning and the moon will rise at night. They don't really set, you know. They're always rising, just rising for someone else."
— Amber Kizer (Meridian (Fenestra, #1))
Day 37 - Best Viewed Large On Black
“You should always be taking pictures, if not with a camera then with your mind. Memories you capture on purpose are always more vivid than the ones you pick up by accident.”
- Isaac Marion, Warm Bodies -
You can find Irene Astral (model/styling/editing) here: www.facebook.com/ireneastral
Accessories by: AstralWork Creations (www.facebook.com/AstralWorkCreations?fref=ts)
And many thanks to Jim Keith (www.facebook.com/JimKeithCosplay?fref=ts) for his assistance.
This series was featured in:
1.) Dark Beauty Magazine: www.darkbeautymag.com/2015/03/spirosk-photography-irene-a...
2.) Ladies of Steampunk Magazine (print, too): www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/901617
3.) The Greek book of Steampunk stories "Gods of Steam" (as illustrations and cover): www.goodreads.com/book/show/24293119---steampunk
Shot in an abandoned factory in Drapetsona, Greece.
archive.org/details/time-peice-with-time-peice-interview
obituaries.times-news.com/obituary/dr-j-rn-bramann-108441...
www.goodreads.com/author/list/751043.Jorn_K_Bramann
www.amazon.com/Wittgensteins-Tractatus-Modern-Arts-Braman...
www.amazon.com/stores/Jorn%20K.%20Bramann/author/B001KCAC4Q
archive.org/details/waterwoman-part-2
sis.piopend.info/?Unemployment-And-Social-Values:-A-Colle...
The author wants to convey to the reader that life holds a potential meaning under any condition; even the most miserable ones.
"The contemplation of beauty, whether it be a uniquely tinted sunset, a radiant face, or a work of art, makes us glance back unwittingly at our personal past and juxtapose ourselves and our inner being with the utterly unattainable beauty revealed to us."
— Vladimir Nabokov (The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov)
Day 55 - Best Viewed Large On Black
Being doing a lot of contemplation lately... glancing back, looking forward! This shot taken looking east at sunset...
those bones are not my child by toni cade bambara
review www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1289121
display fabric a charity shop find
if you have any book recommendations a discussion page www.flickr.com/groups/a_personal_viewpoint/discuss/721577...has been posted by tong www.flickr.com/photos/tongkm/
Doz Cabezas, AZ, (est. 1879, pop. <25), elevation 5,082 ft. (1,549 m)
"The Dos Cabezasite is the only person on the globe who can sit serenely down and smile, and smile again, amid conditions and adversities which would madden a lowly follower of the lamb. When Gabriel blows his horn he will find some of these genial old fellows sitting on a rock telling each other of the promising future of the camp, or how rich the Juniper mine is." —“Tombstone Epitaph,” 28 Apr 1887
• Dos Cabezas, AZ is a "living" Sonoran Desert ghost town with few remaining residents • located in the Sulphur Springs Valley [photo] of Cochise County • lies beside the Dos Cabezas ("Two Heads") mountain range, named for its twin bald summits
• an historically significant spring with potable water, once known as Dos Cabezas Spring, stands about a half mi. southwest of the town by the old Southern Emigrant Trail, a principal artery of the westward movement • the trail descends to the valley from Apache Spring through Apache Pass
• on 4 Sep 1851, John Russell Bartlett & his Boundary Survey Commission were heading west through what was, for over 300 yrs., Spanish/Mexican territory • most of the land had been ceded to the U.S. in 1848, ending the controversial Mexican-American War, but much of southernmost Arizona & New Mexico remained under the Mexican flag • Bartlett's mission was to work with a Mexican survey team to formally define the post-war US-Mexico border
• the survey was a prelude to the 1853-54 Gadsden Purchase which, for $10MM, acquired 29,670 sq. mi. of Mexican territory south of the Gila River, Cochise County included • the deal was signed by President Franklin Pierce, a northern, anti-abolitionist ("doughface") Democrat • it was intended to facilitate development of a road, canal and/or New Orleans-LA railroad, & to open the southwest to Southern expansion, seemingly ignoring the fact that an economy based on slave-produced cotton was unlikely to flourish in the desert — “Cochise and his Times”
• with potable water a precious commodity for both 2- & 4- legged desert travelers, Apache Spring – like many watering holes – became the site of a stagecoach stop c. 1857 • was operated by the San Antonio-San Diego "San-San" Mail Line, commonly known as "Jackass Mail" • Chiricahua Apache attacks made Apache Pass the most perilous stop on the line's Birch Route [map], named for company owner James Birch (1827-1857) —“The West is Linked”
• the 1,476 mi. daylight-only journey — with daily stops for 2 meals (45 min. each) & team switches (5-10 min.) — typically took less than 30 days & could be as few as 22 • a one-way ticket cost $150, meals & 30 lb. baggage allowance included —“Deconstructing the Jackass Mail Route”
• the Jackass line had a fleet of celerity (mud) wagons, vehicles suited for travel in intense heat over rugged terrain • it also operated fifty 2,500 lb. Concord stagecoaches [photo] manufactured by the Abbot Downing Co. in Concord, NH
"To feel oneself bouncing—now on the hard seat, now against the roof, and now against the side of the wagon—was no joke. Strung beneath the passenger compartment, wide leather straps called 'thorough braces' cradled the coach, causing it to swing front to back. Motion sickness was a common complaint, and ginger root was the favored curative." —Historynet
• each stage could accommodate 9-12 passengers on three benches inside & up to 10 more on the roof • the coaches were drawn by four- & six-mule teams • the company maintained 200 head of mules in its western corrals
“The coach was fitted with three seats, and these were occupied by nine passengers. As occupants of the front and middle seats faced each other, it was necessary for these six people to interlock their knees; and there being room inside for only ten of the twelve legs, each side of the coach was graced by a foot, now dangling near the wheel, now trying in vain to find a place of support..." —”The History of Stagecoaches in Tucson, Arizona”, Bob Ring
• Tips For Stagecoach Travelers, “Cowboy Chronicles”
• The Passenger Experience, “Desert USA”
"The company recommended that each passenger:... should provide himself with a Sharp's rifle, (not carbine,) with accoutrements and one hundred cartridges, a navy sized Colts revolver and two pounds of balls, a belt and holster, knife and sheath..." —“San Diego Herald” 21 Nov 1857
• the line's stations were built 10-40 mi. apart • some provided rudimentary sleeping accommodations; all had water for passengers, drivers ("whips") & their teams • equipped with corrals, the depots served as relay stations where drivers & draft animals were changed • "swing stations" provided no meals, but larger "home stations," often operated by families, were "meal stops":
"…tough beef or pork fried in a grime-blackened skillet, coarse bread, mesquite beans, a mysterious concoction known as 'slumgullion,' lethally black coffee, and a 'nasty compound of dried apples' that masqueraded under the name of apple pie." —True West
• in Sept 1857 Jackass founder James Birch, sailing to California via Panama, was lost at sea along with 419 other passengers & 30K lbs. of gold, in the S.S. Central America disaster • that same month, the Butterfield-Overland Mail line [photos] began St. Louis to San Francisco service, gradually displacing the Jackass line & absorbing many of its stations
• by 1858 a new, fortified stone depot, Ewell's Stage Station [photo] , rose 4 mi. south of Dos Cabezas Spring • it's unclear which stage line erected the building, but around the time of its completion Jackass Mail quit the route, Butterfield-Overland later decided to bypass "Ewell's" & by 1861 it lay in ruins, destroyed by Apaches
• the Ewell name lived on at a tiny, hardscrabble settlement called Ewell Springs & at Dos Cabezas Spring, renamed Ewell's Spring when the original station was built • by 1879 the National Mail & Transportation Co. had established a new Ewell's Station
• Virginia-born Richard Stoddert "Baldy" Ewell (1817-1872) was a Captain in the First U. S. Dragoons, stationed in the Southwest in the 1850s • he resigned from the U.S. Army in 1861 to join the Confederacy • served in the Civil War as senior commander under Stonewall Jackson & Robert E. Lee • it has been argued that his decisions at the Battle of Gettysburg may have decided the outcome of that engagement
• during Ewell's service in the West, Gila Apache raids along the Southern Emigrant Route prompted a military response • he advocated unrestrained combat: "How the Devil can a soldier stop in the midst of battle and summon a jury of matrons to decide whether a redskin pouring bullets into the soldier is a woman or not." • the 1857 Bonneville Expedition, in which Ewell commanded about 300 men, engaged against Apaches at the Gila River
"…the June 27 fight... was short and sweet …Ewell walking away with the lion's share of the honors… Scarcely an Apache escaped. Nearly 40 warriors were killed or wounded and 45 women and children taken captive. … Ewell was freely acknowledged as the hero of the day; his unhesitating leap to action crushed the western Apaches and forced them to sue for peace." —“Robert E. Lee's Hesitant Commander”, Paul D. Casdorph
• From Lt. John Van Deusen Du Bois's account of the engagement: "An Indian was wounded and his wife carried him in her arms to the chaparral and was covering him with brush when the troops came upon them and killed them both... One fine looking Indian brave was captured and by Col. Bonneville's desire, or express command, was taken out with his hands tied and shot like a dog by a Pueblo Indian—not 30 yards from camp... May God grant that Indian fighting may never make me a brute or harden me so that I can act the coward in this way..." —“Journal of Arizona History”, Vo. 43, No. 2, Arizona Historical Society
• c. 1850, gold veins & a few gold nuggets were discovered around Ewell's Station • in the 1860s wildcatters found gold on both sides of the Dos Cabezas range • by 1862 claims were staked & worked near the mountains & in the Apache Pass area —“Index of Mining Properties”
• in 1866 Congress passed a mining act that proclaimed "mineral lands of the public domain... free and open to exploration and occupation" • in 1872 additional stimulus was provided to "promote mineral exploration and development… in the western United States" —“Congressional Research Service”
• in 1878 John Casey (c. 1834-1904), an immigrant from Ireland, staked the first important claim in the Dos Cabezas area • the Juniper, locally known as the "Casey Gold," was located just ~2 miles NE of Ewell's Spring • John & his brother Dan moved into a cabin at the site • by the end of the year a dozen employees were working the mine
• the news that Casey had struck pay dirt & word that a Southern Pacific RR station would soon be built at Willcox – just 14 mi. away – lured scores of prospectors, e.g., Simon Hansen (1852-1929), a recent immigrant from Denmark who filed 27 claims • with the arrival of the new settlers, a small school was erected • on 20 Oct, 1878, the Dos Cabezas Mining District was officially designated
• in 1879 the “Arizona Miner” reported rich silver & gold deposits & claimed a population at Ewell Springs of 2,000 • other accounts, however, suggest that prior to 1920 the local population probably never exceeded 300 —“The Persistence of Mining Settlements in the Arizona Landscape”, Jonathan Lay Harris, 1971
• amid the rapid growth of 1879, the Ewell Springs settlement gave way to Dos Cabezas, a town with its own post office located a bit uphill from Ewell • John Casey is generally considered its founder • Mississippi-born James Monroe Riggs (1835-1912), once a Lt. Col. in the Confederate Army, became Dos Cabezas' 1st postmaster & opened a store he named Traveler's Rest
• by 1880 the nascent town had ~30 adobe houses & 15 families • sixty-five voters were registered in 1882, the year the town's newspaper, the “Dos Cabezas Gold Note”, launched, then promptly closed • in 1884, 42 students enrolled in the town's school
• at its height, Dos Cabezas had ~50 buildings, 3 stores, 3 saloons, 2 dairies, carpenter shops, telegraphic facilities, a mercantile, barber shop, butcher, brewery, brickyard, hotel, dancehall, boarding house, blacksmith shop, 3 livery stables, 3 stamp mills for gold ore & about 300 residents though actually, the area's population was at least 1,500 counting prospectors, miners & other mining co. employees living in the nearby mountains & valleys —Books in Northport
• Dos Cabezas ("Two Heads") was often spelled & pronounced "Dos Cabezos" with an "o" replacing the 2nd "a" in "Cabezas" • the postmaster settled on both spellings, as seen in the town's postmarks • the English translation of Dos Cabezos is "Two Peaks," arguably a more accurate — if less poetic — description of the twin summits than the original • given that the erroneous version was only name registered at U.S. Post Office Department in Washington DC, the interchangeable spellings persisted well into the 20th c.
• in 1880 the railroad arrived in Arizona, a station was established at Willcox & a cranky Scotland-born miner, John Dare Emersley (1826-1899), arrived at Dos Cabezas to prospect for mineral deposits • J.D. was a grad of the U. of Edinburgh, a writer well-versed in science & a botanical collector with a drought-tolerant grass, muhlenbergia emersleyi (bull grass), named for him • was a correspondent for the Engineering & Mining Journal • several other magazines including Scientific American also published him
• according to a miner who knew him, Emersley was apparently a greedy – and unusually tall – claim jumper: "Every old settler in the Globe District remembers Emersley, a seven foot Scotchman who had more claims located than he could work, and jumped more than he could hold." -“Arizona Silver Belt” (Globe, AT), 06 Jan 1883
• the "Scotchman" soon found a gold deposit & staked about 20 claims • he built a cabin nearby at an elevation of ~6,000 ft., & lived a reclusive life • entered into a pact with God, vowing not to develop any of his claims unless he received a sign from above • nevertheless, the work legally required to retain title to his claims produced several tunnels, one, the Roberts, 160' long • the sign from God never materialized and while awaiting it, Emersley died of scurvy
• shortly thereafter “Starved Amid His Riches”, the story of J.D. Emersley, a religious recluse who lived & died on a "mountain of copper," appeared in newspapers throughout the country • Emersley willed his claims to the Lord to be used for the good of all mankind • though this final wish was never fulfilled, the "mountain of copper" story brought yet another wave of prospectors to the Mining District & sparked a local copper boom
• in 1899 a new town, Laub City, was being laid off at the mouth of Mascot Canyon, 2 mi. above Dos Cabezas • John A. Rockfellow (1858-1947) [photo], author of "The Log of an Arizona Trailblazer," performed the survey • Rockefeller's sister was Tucson architect Anne Graham Rockfellow (1866-1954), an MIT grad & designer of the landmark El Conquistador Hotel [photo]
• the townsite was near the Emersley claims, which had been acquired by Dos Cabezas Consolidated Mines • America's coast-to-coast electrification required countless miles of copper power lines, thus "copper camps" like Laub City proliferated & prospered • the town grew & by 1900 warranted its own post office
• Laub City was named for (and possibly by) Henry Laub (1858-1926), a Los Angeles investor born in Kentucky to German-Jewish immigrants • made his first fortune as a liquor merchandiser • later invested in mining, oil & Southeast Arizona real estate
"There is every reason to believe that Dos Cabezas will be one of the greatest mining districts of Arizona" —Henry Laub, 1902
• a worldwide surge in mining caused copper prices to fall as supply outstripped demand • several mining concerns colluded to restrict production in a failed attempt to stabilize the market • Consolidated Mines' financing subsequently dried up & by 1903 Laub City was a ghost town • Dos Cabezas also suffered from the mine closings but managed to hang on as some mines continued to operate
• in 1905 a Wales-born mining engineer, Capt. Benjamin W. Tibbey (1848-1935), arrived in town with a "Mr. Page" • Ben Tibbey's mining career began as a child in a Welch mine • Page was actually T.N. McCauley, a Chicagoan with a checkered career in investment & finance • the two surveyed the mining district • McCauley apparently remained, later claiming he had resided in Emersly's abandoned shack for 2 yrs. • he also quietly filed & acquired claims covering 600 acres
• in June, 1907 McCauley, organized the Mascot Copper Company with a capitalization of $10MM & began large scale development • euphoric reports of massive ore deposits appeared in the local press, e.g., "Many Thousands of Tons of Ore in Sight— Property Bids Fair to Become Arizona's Greatest Copper Producer"
• in 1909 Mascot acquired control of Dos Cabezas Consolidated Mines Co., the original Emersley claims that Laub's group had purchased • McCauley launched a campaign to sell Mascot stock at $3/share, later $4 & finally $5 • his extravagant promotions included investor & press junkets to the mine in private railroad cars, wining & dining at the property's Hospitality House & a lavish stockholders' banquet at the Fairmont Hotel In San Francisco, with the company logo, a swastika, prominently on display [photo]
"The management of the Mascot has to its credit a remarkable series of sensational ore discoveries and few, if any other copper mining companies can match their enviable record in point of actual tonnage when at the same stage of development." —Bisbee Daily Review, 10 Mar 1910
• though stock analysts familiar with McCauley's history as a con artist cautioned their clients, by August, 1910 reports had sales at $300,000 • shareholders owned 25% of the company, the remainder was retained by the promoters
• while actual mining & ore shipments were limited, the company announced that a store, a boarding house, sleeping quarters for employees, & a new office building had been completed • in 1912, as Mascot continued its costly build out & occasionally shipped ore, Arizona Territory gained statehood
• in 1914, the company launched the Mascot Townsite & Realty Co. to sell lots in a new town they were developing in Mascot Canyon:
"UNUSUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR PERSONAL PROFIT By the Purchase of a Lot In the MASCOT TOWNSITE This new town should have a population of 5000 within a few years." - May 1915
• by 1915 the town of Mascot had been established • homes accessed by winding paths rose one above another on terraces • residents pitched in to build a community hall in a single day • a band called the "Merry Miners" was organized to play at Saturday-night dances
"King Copper, the magic community builder, has once more raised his burnished scepter—and once more a tiny mining camp, a mere speck of Arizona landscape, has received the industrial stimulus which should shortly transform it into a factor to be reckoned with among the bustling little cities of the southwest… The tiny mining camp of the past was Dos Cabezas. The coming city is Mascot. —El Paso Herald, 25 Jun 1915
• within 10 yrs. the town would boast ~100 buildings & a population of ~800 • its children were educated at Mascot School & a second school, with 4 teachers between them • many of the town's boys "grew up panning gold to earn money" —Arizona Republic, 04 Mar 1971
• though most of the area's Mexican residents lived in Dos Cabezas, a few, like Esperanza Montoya Padilla (1915-2003), resided in Mascot:
"I was born in Mascot, Arizona, on August 28, 1915… In the early days, when I was a young child, Mascot was very built up; it was blooming. It was also a beautiful place. There were a lot of Cottonwood and oak trees on the road going up towards the mine and streams coming down the mountain. The school was on that road along with a grocery store and even a pool hall. There was a confectionery in the pool hall where they sold goodies like ice cream and candy. There was a community center on the hill where they showed movies. I remember silent movies with Rudolph Valentino. Even the people from Dos Cabezas came up to Mascot for the movies.
At Christmas they put up a tree in the community center, and all the children in town would get their Christmas presents. There was a road coming up from Dos Cabezas to Mascot and all kinds of houses along that road all the way up to the mine. Our house was on that road. I remember a time when everything was caballos – horses pulling wagons. The cars came later of course. —Songs My Mother Sang to Me
• on January 27, 1915, a celebration in Willcox marked the beginning of construction of the Mascot & Western Railroad • a large crowd watched a jubilant T. N. McCauley turn the first shovelful of dirt • the final spike - a copper one - was driven 15 June, 1915 at The Mascot townsite, followed by a "monstrous barbecue" for 4,000 guests [photos] • activities included a tour of a mine and the company's "2-mile" (10,6000') aerial tramway [photo]
"I feel that only great and lasting good can come of this project. It not only means that the Mascot, in itself, is established but it means that many people, who have known Arizona only a place in the desert before, may take home with them the idea of permanency which we enjoy in this great commonwealth." — H.A. Morgan, Bisbee Daily Review, 27 Jun 1915
• in 1916 a drought ravaged the mining district — wells dried up, cattle died & many mines shut down • on 1 July 1917, American Smelting & Refining took out a 20 yr. lease on the Mascot property only to relinquish it less than a yr. later, presumably because the operation was losing money
• with Mascot Copper facing insolvency, McCauley reorganized it via merger • the "new" Central Copper Co. began operations 15 Feb 1919 • McCauley devised a multi-level marketing scheme where stockholders became stock salesmen • the price was set at $0.50/share, purchases limited to $100/person with $10/mo. financing available • the salesmen, using portable hand-cranked projectors, screened movies of the property at small gatherings of prospective buyers
• reportedly 70,000 stockholders invested & were stunned as the price dropped 50% when the stock hit the market • lawsuits were filed • in a display ad published in several newspapers, McCauley denied each charge against the company
• by Jan, 1924, McCauley reported $4,500,000 spent on new construction • by 1926 400 employees were on the payroll, but output of the mines proved marginal • in 1927 stockholders were informed that falling copper & silver prices dictated that ore extraction be reduced to the minimum necessary to cover operating expenses
• the following year the enterprise was taken over by Southwestern Securities Corporation, a holding company • by late 1929 the payroll was down to 26 employees • on February 29, 1932, Southwestern Securities purchased the Mascot Company at public auction for $100,000 • McCauley promptly moved to Tucson, was implicated in a bank scandal, fled to California then disappeared without a trace —“A history of Willcox, Arizona, and Environs”, Vernon Burdette Schultz
• with the failure of Central Copper [photo] & exodus of miners, Dos Cabezas began its final descent, although not devoid of diversions • in spite of frequent mine closings & the onset of the Great Depression, the town fielded a team in the Sulphur Springs Valley Baseball League, which also included a squad representing a C.C.C. camp • Willcox had 2 teams in the league, the Mexicans & the Americans
• among the dwindling Dos Cabezas population was Jack Howard, the man who "sharpened the first tools that opened up the first gold discoveries of Dos Cabezas district" & spent his last 30 yrs. with Mary Katherine Cummings, history's "Big Nose Kate" [photo], memorialized in movies as Katie Elder —“Tombstone Daily Prospector”
• John Jessie “Jack” Howard (1845-1930) was born in Nottingham, England • as one of the first miners in the Dos Cabezas mining district, he is memorialized by Howard Peak & Howard Canyon • lived in the hills near Dos Cabezas • remembered as a crusty churl who hid in a manhole behind his shack to fire at intruders as they rode into range • on the other hand, some of his fellow Dos Cabezans considered him friendly • divorced his wife Mary who, according to court records, "displayed a vile and disagreeable disposition coupled with frequent outbursts of the most violent temper until she made his life a burden he could stand no longer.”
"…witnesses testified about Mary’s barrage of insults that included publicly calling Howard a white-livered son of a b—. She kept a filthy house, never washed dishes or clothing and even threatened to burn down his house and poison his stock." —“He Lived with Big Nose Kate”, True West
• Mary Katherine "Big Nose Kate" Horony (1850-1940) was born in Pest, Hungary, 2nd oldest daughter of Hungarian physician Miklós Horony • emigrated to the U.S. with her family in 1860 • placed in a foster home after her parents died • stowed away on a steamboat to St. Louis, where she became a prostitute • in 1874 was fined for working as a "sporting woman" (prostitute) in a "sporting house" (brothel) in Dodge City, KS, run by Nellie "Bessie" Ketchum, wife of James Earp [video (8:59)]
• moved to Fort Griffin, TX in 1876 • met dentist John "Doc" Holliday, who allegedly said he considered Kate his intellectual equal • Kate introduced Holliday to Wyatt Earp • Doc opened a dental practice but spent most of his time gambling & drinking
• the couple fought regularly, sometimes violently • according to Kate they married in Valdosta, Georgia • moved on to AZ Territory where Kate worked as a prostitute at The Palace Saloon in Prescott • they parted ways but she rejoined Holliday in Tombstone [photos] • claimed to have witnessed the 26 Oct 1881 Gunfight at the O.K. Corral from her window at C.S. Fly's Boarding House
• 19 years later Kate, nearly 50 [photo] & divorced from an abusive husband, was long past her romance with Doc & too old for prostitution • in June 1900, while employed at the Rath Hotel [photo] in Cochise, AT, she answered a want ad for a housekeeper at $20/mo. plus room & board • the ad had been placed by Jack Howard • Kate lived with him as his employee ("servant" according to the 1900 census) until 1930
• on 3 January, Kate walked 3 mi. to the home of Dos Cabezas Postmaster Edwin White.
“Jack died last night, and I stayed up with him all night.”
• Howard was buried in an unmarked grave in Dos Cabezas Cemetery • after living alone for 2 yrs. Kate sold the homestead for $535.30 • In 1931 she wrote Arizona Gov. George W.P. Hunt, requesting admission to the Arizona Pioneers Home at Prescott • although foreign born thus not eligible for admission, she claimed Davenport, Iowa as her birthplace & was accepted • she died 5 days shy of her 90th birthday • was buried under the name "Mary K. Cummings" in the Home's Cemetery—“Big Nose Kate, Independent Woman of the Wild West” —Kyla Cathey
• the Mascot Mine closed in 1930
• the Mascot & WesternRailroad discontinued operations in 1931 — the tracks were taken up four years later
• 1940s Dos Cabezas photos
• in 1949, the U.S. Postal Dept. corrected its spelling of the town's post office from Dos Cabezos to Dos Cabezas
• mid-20th c. Dos Cabezas family [photos]
• the Dos Cabezas's post office was discontinued in 1960
• in 1964 the town's population was down to 12
• McCauley's Mascot Hospitality House was repurposed as part of the Dos Cabezas Spirit & Nature Retreat Bed & Breakfast [photo]
• today, Dos Cabezas is considered a ghost town, its cemetery the town's main attraction