Photos by Richard Mayer

Transcription

1 Second Quarter 2012 Riding the Winds of Time, Through peeples Valley Historical Newsletter Today, Tomorrow and Yesteryear Yarnell Society Mr. & Mrs. Wyatt Earp-The Sunset Years May 20th was a very special day for those who attended this play performed by Wyatt & Terry Earp. The old school was filled with eager history buffs as they awaited the arrival of the couple to the stage. Set in 1938, with the sound of a train passing by, Terry, (Mrs. Earp,) entered, and began speaking to a cat about life with Wyatt, who had died nine years earlier. Wyatt then entered, chatting to biographer Stewart Lake, of his life, including his participation in the OK Corral gun fight. When the two of them began speaking to each other, the audience was given true and accurate information that isn t found in the books and movies portraying their lives together. The play was so believable and engrossing that we journeyed back in time and felt as if we were really listening to Wyatt Earp & Josephine Marcus as they might have spoken to each other so many years ago. We thank Wyatt & Terry for preserving this important time in American History, and sharing it so willingly with us. They truly enjoy what they do, and we are privileged to have had them here for us. Photos by Richard Mayer Kate-Woman of Many Names On Sunday July 15th at 2pm at the Old School House Terry Earp will be performing the one-woman play she wrote about the life of Big Nose Kate, (Mary Katherine Haroney,) Doc Holliday s Woman. This 45 minute performance is set in a cemetery in Dos Cabezas, Arizona, in 1930, as Kate speaks to the ghost of John Howard, the man she shared the last years of her life with as Mary Cummins. She completes the story of the turbulent lives of Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday, disclosing things that they would never say about themselves. Kate also speaks of the circumstances that plunged her life from an Hungarian upper-class woman to a prostitute, and how she survived..for Reservations call $15 Per Person at the Door

2 **Gold Bar Ranch Picnic 2012** What a great day! It sure was nice to see all the PVYHS supporters as well as a few new faces. Everyone came out to enjoy the day together, and the weather was perfect! Thanks to the McCracken s for the use of their campgrounds, a scenic & serene place to picnic & relax. You guys go that way & we ll go this way. Wait, what are we looking for? Ya Shoulda Seen The One That Got Away! I gotta volunteer for somethin else next year! I m First! No, I m First, You Wait! Page 2

3 This Here Is A POW-WOW If ya wanna eat, ya put yer money right here! Could it Have Been a Better Day? Nope, don t think so! Where s The Beef! We re hungry! To contact the Gold Bar Ranch about using the campgrounds or staying at their quaint Bed & Breakfast, call Here, Fishy, Fishy, Fishy goldbarranchbb@yahoo.com Page 3

4 The Old-timers Talk The Old Chisholm Trail.does that ring a bell? Well, among us is a descendant of Thornton Chisholm, a cattleman who blazed the cattle trail from Cardwell Flats, Texas to St. Joseph, Missouri in Yvonne Bonnie Chisholm Helten, from Congress, a member of PVYHS, is a Chisholm, and Glenn Thornton Chisholm was her great-grandfather. Bonnie has written a bio on herself to include in their family genealogy book, and it was so interesting, I decided to share parts of it with you. Cowgirl, most certainly suits her, as you will see in her story about growing up in Glendale, AZ. *The Chisholm Trail info following Bonnie s story is from a collection of family history she and her sister Zenna have laboriously gathered for their genealogy book, and we appreciate them sharing it with us. DJ I was born on May 24, 1940 in Glendale, Arizona, to Tom & Marie Chisholm, the youngest of six girls. Since there were quite a few years between us, it was almost as though I were an only child. Photo by Herb Allen I cannot remember a time that I didn t ride a horse. I was usually helping my Dad work cattle or just riding and spending time outside with my four legged friends. I even raised and trained a Brahma Bull, Blue. I was the talk of the town when I rode him in the Rodeo Parade in Glendale. When Dad and I would go out to check on the cattle, Blue would load in the horse trailer right along with Dad s horse. Sometimes Dad s boss would go away for the summer and I would water his yard. I would ride Blue over to his place, and while I watered, Blue would lie down until we were ready to head for home. Dad used to say, he didn t need a boy, he had Bonnie. When I was about ten, the first horse that was actually mine, was given to me by neighbors. I was thrilled to have my own horse, and named him Sixguns. I began entering gymkhanas and soon our living room wall was filled with ribbons. Many years later, I helped start a therapeutic riding center for mentally and physically challenged youngsters. We put on a horse show and I donated my ribbons. After seeing the enjoyment of the kids receiving the ribbons, I felt that they were more excited than I had been when I won them. I went to the Glendale Schools, and was in the National Honor Society, on the varsity tennis and softball teams, and had perfect attendance in grammar school, high school, and at work. After graduation, I went to work for Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Co. and retired after 32 years. I have always been active in waterskiing, riding motorcycles, riding horses, & hunting. In the 1970 s I was a licensed guide and guided bird hunters for Mearn s Quail in southeastern Arizona. I had several of my articles published in hunting magazines. When I started hunting, there weren t many women hunters, so hunting articles by a woman were unusual. I have since put away my gun and now my shooting is with a camera. I have trained and shown horses, but now trail riding is my passion. My home is adjacent to public lands so I am able to ride from my house, my friends and I have ridden every trail in the surrounding area. Once my niece Karol and I rode to the top of Kendrick Peak near Flagstaff, where the elevation is 10,418 feet, we were able to see the north rim of the Grand Canyon. The trail down to Havasu Falls was steep, but a good trail. The real challenge though, was riding a mule down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon on the Bright Angel Trail and out on the South Kaibab Trail. I would say it was breathtaking, I am afraid of heights! From the back of my beloved horse Warrior, I saw beautiful country that I would not have been able to see if it weren t for him. He carried me down to the beautiful Havasu Falls in the western part of the Grand Canyon and along some awesome trails in the Colorado Rockies. He was my compadre for 20 years. After loosing my buddy, I wasn t sure I wanted another horse, but, my dear friend Mary Ann Wunderlin, who couldn t imagine me without a horse, gave me a beautiful eight year old Appaloosa, named Mikey, who is turning into a great trail horse. Mikey and I are making some wonderful memories. There is nothing like sitting on a mountain with just you, your horse and dog and seeing the beauty around you. That s my church. I am looking forward to seeing much more of this beautiful country that God created, in the best possible way, from the back of a horse. Page 4

5 I am a volunteer for The Arizona Site Stewards. We adopt prehistoric and historic sites and monitor them for vandalism. It never ceases to amaze me at the disrespect people have for these wonderful sites and it is a challenge trying to preserve these precious places. I feel blessed to have my sister, Zenna living nearby in Wickenburg. The two of us sometimes travel the back roads, the lure of wide open spaces is in both of us. Our sister Tommie is in Colorado now, but when she lived near, we all had some great times together. I currently live in Congress, Arizona, with my husband Richard, a dog, Levi, and my horse, Mikey. My heroes were the Silver Screen Cowboys, and I guess like the song says, My heroes have always been cowboys, and they still are it seems. Happy Trails, Bonnie Chisholm Helten ************************************************************************ History of the Chisholm Trail Beginning in the 1830 s, there were many trails with many names used by Indians for hunting and raiding, and by settlers from the Midwest. Starting in Texas, where the longhorns were, drovers herded the cattle north, branching out to the east and west. The Shawnee Trail, possibly named that because it passed by a Shawnee Village in north Texas, was the first major route to deliver cattle to the Midwest. Then in the 1840 s a trail opened to the railheads in Missouri and was referred to as The Sedalia Trail. In 1848 the California Gold Rush increased demand for cattle hides and tallow, and for several years the Shawnee Trail was heavily used. By the 1850 s, Kansas City, Missouri was the largest stock market in the west, and the Texas cattle trailing industry was well established. In 1853, farming became popular & farmers tried to keep Texas Fever, a tick-borne disease brought in on the longhorns, from their local herds. In 1859 farmers passed a bill through legislature, limiting access to cattle drives, causing violence to erupt, when drovers encountered blockades. At the end of the Civil War, cattle were used to feed Indians on reservations, and soldiers, as the demand increased, drives resumed on the Shawnee Trail. There were three Chisholm trails, all blazed within the space of a few years by equally courageous, unrelated pioneers, whose names were pronounced the same. In 1865, Jesse Chisholm (no relation to Bonnie,) who had blazed many trails in his life, along with James R. Mead, loaded up a train of wagons with many of them friends, and headed for present-day Oklahoma City, where they established a trading post. Their route later became the Chisholm Trail. John Chissum, (also no relation,) raised cattle in Denton County, Texas and delivered for the Confederate Government and the trails parallel to the Red River. The most important trail he blazed was from Texas to New Mexico. He never drove cattle through the Indian Nation to a Kansas or Missouri market. In 1866 Crockett Cardwell had eighteen hundred longhorn cattle gathered at Cardwell Flats, north of present-day Cuero, Texas. Realizing an opportunity, with the growing demand for beef, he called on his friend Glenn Thornton Chisholm, a Texan, (Bonnie s great-grandfather,) to trail boss and drive the longhorn cattle from Cardwell Flats, to St. Joseph, Missouri, a 728 mile trip. The herd was split into two groups of nine hundred, with thirty drovers herding them along. They arrived at their destination seven months & 10 days later, after enduring a multitude of hardships. This branch of the Chisholm Trail is named for him. The Thornton Chisholm story will be continued in the PVYHS 3rd quarter newsletter The Old-timers talk in person On Sunday, August 19th, at 1pm at the Old School PVYHS will be hosting a presentation by Cindy Gresser, Executive Director of the Smoki Museum in Prescott. Cindy will be speaking about the Smoki People and the Smoki Museum. admission is free for this one hour informative session, please come & join us Page 5

6 Peeples Valley Historical Yarnell Society Membership Form Name Address City ST ZIP Address $15.00 Individual Annual Membership $25.00 Per Household Annual Membership $ Life Time Membership Peeples Valley Historical Yarnell Society S. HWY 89 Peeples Valley, Az Calendar Kate-Woman of Many Names Sunday July 15th 2pm at The Old School Reservations $15 per person at the door Smoki Museum Presentation Sunday August 19th 1pm at the Old School Free Admission Address Correction Requested