125 Years Ago
From 1893 – Someone stole Fred Binker’s flock of burros last week. He has searched the country in every direction, but has failed to come up with either the burros or the thieves.
F. W. Scully, Superintendent of the Gold Bug Mine in Mohave County, who had been here the past week and been confined to his bed with hemorrhage of the lungs under the care of Dr. Francis, returned to Kingman Thursday morning.
Dog days do not seem to agree with the temper of our citizens, judging from the number of fights which have taken place during the week.
The Flagstaff Tennis Club gave their second monthly ball Thursday night. Dancing appears to be more pleasant than playing tennis.
Miss Annie Ross will teach the Ash Fork School, which opens the first Monday in September.
D. E. James, living south of this place, buried two children this week, one on Sunday and one on Thursday.
The stock of S. T. Elliott & Co. Merchant Tailors has been moved into Babbitt Bros. store.
Electric welding of the iron bars for railway tracks has proved eminently successful. Welding is especially good for the rail upon curves. Rough places in the rails are smoothed away as with a great press, and the wear and tear of both rails and cars are greatly diminished. Railway passengers will appreciate this side of the invention.
If the discovery of wonderful gold mines, both quartz and placer in Arizona continues, gold will in a short time be of as little value as silver.
Men working placer ground on Antelope Creek, Weaver District are reported to be taking out as high as $20 in gold dust a day to a man.
100 Years Ago
1918 – While Andy Erland and Eric Anderson, two employees of the Saginaw logging camp near Bellemont, were viewing the sites of the Cliff Dwellings one day last week, the latter slipped from a twenty-foot cliff and made a tumble of twenty or more feet before encountering a stopping place. The fall shook Anderson up considerably, slightly injuring his back but the accident was not of sufficient nature to prevent him from making his way out of the cliff canyon. He is now seemingly as good as ever.
Learn auto signals and avoid accidents. Arm extended upward—will turn to the right. Arm extended horizontally will turn to left. Arm extended downward will slow down without turning. The above is the “new common sense” code of traffic signals that originated in Portland and is destined to spread wherever automobiles are driven.
At midnight on July 31, the government took over all the telegraph and telephone lines and turned them over to the Post Office Department for handling.
Important Notice: The last installment amounting to 40 percent of the Third Issue of Liberty Bonds, plus interest, must be remitted by August 15th. It is necessary that your payments be made before that date. The Citizens Bank.
The Red Cross chapter in Flagstaff is “right there” when it comes to turning out the work. The supply of garments on hand was completed on Tuesday. It is expected that the material for the next allotment will come soon.
The call for women for the Student Nurse Reserve has been responded to by five women of Flagstaff. Anyone wishing to register in this service may do so at any time on Tuesday and Friday at the Red Cross workroom.
The pageant given by the Normal School last Friday night on the lawn was largely attended. Every one of the several hundred persons who witnessed the grand affair watched eagerly as the performances proceeded. Music was provided by a 13-piece orchestra. The event netted $230, which was turned over to the Red Cross. The Normal School is to be congratulated over the splendid success of the evening.
Night Marshall Poston is having his troubles in enforcing the new city ordinance, which prohibits automobiles from parking on the San Francisco railroad crossing while waiting for the evening trains.
The most trouble comes when soldier trains are going through and there is a regular jam. The station is located between the tracks and is difficult to reach from either side without being cut off by the trains. When the new depot is built after the war and things settle down again, it is probable that it will be moved to a more convenient place.
Quite a few changes have taken place at the local Santa Fe Depot this week. Ferol (Moki) Travis, formerly baggage man, but who for a few months has been holding a position with Babbitt Bros., is now night ticket agent, taking the place of Gaston Aubineau, who assumes the express agent’s job in place of J. F. Davis. The latter took over his old job of telegraph operator.
Charles Snyder and J. J. Cameron, the two youths who came almost to making their getaway one day last week with A. W. Bikker’s brand new auto, were given indeterminate sentences of ten to twenty years by Judge Perkins on Tuesday. They were taken to the state prison at Florence on Wednesday by Sheriff Dickinson and Deputies Fred Russell and Carl Dickinson.
75 Years Ago
1943 – H. C. Quarters of Flagstaff and Wm. W. Stevenson of Williams have formed a law practice. They will occupy quarters in the Bank of Arizona Building in space recently vacated. The practice will officially begin on September 1, although they are already present, busy moving in and setting up their offices.
The American Legion Molly Pitcher Day Stamp Campaign on Saturday, August 7 netted over $5000 in Series F Bonds and actual cash in savings stamps.
We pay top prices for good used cars of all makes, particularly Studebakers. We’re making straight cash deals for cars in good condition. Jos. J. Waldhaus, 202 E. Santa Fe Ave. Phone 55.
Flagstaff Public Schools are slated to open on Sept. 7.
50 Years Ago
1968 – Thursday’s rush hour traffic was reduced to one lane only on Rt. 66 as water flooded the roadway until city crews were able to clear the drains of debris.
An automatic sprinkler system valve went off at Babbitt’s Department Store Thursday night. It appears to have been set off by a small fire in some packing materials on the top floor of building. The Fire Department dispatched a truck to the scene at 10:30, which found the fire out. The sprinkler system did its work.
The Forest Service has begun a project to control bark beetle infestations in the Arizona Snow Bowl area on the San Francisco Peaks. The beetle, which is not much larger than a grain of rice, breeds in the Englemann Spruce trees, which have been blown down by the wind. They will emerge in June and July, and attack and kill standing living trees. The Forest Service is applying the insecticide ethylene dibromide by small ground applicators to infested logs.
A car stolen from E.D. Babbitt’s Used Car Lot in June has been found in Los Angeles with over $3000 in stolen merchandise inside. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office was informed of the find in a four-state all points bulletin announcing the arrest of Robert B. Gurney and Patricia Meehan.
Building permits have been issued for five new construction projects near where the city will build the First Avenue extension connecting East Flagstaff with South Fourth Street.
A Shamrock Service Station will be constructed at 2205 N. Fourth.
There will also be a collection of seven retail stores.
Full Service Banking has come to the university area with the arrival of the Valley National Bank at 381 S. Beaver.
A single engine Cessna-180B crashed in the back yard of the Winslow home of J. F. Sanchez, damaging a fence and a panel truck, but not the home. The craft, which had been taking off from the Airport, burst into flames as the Californians aboard leaped to safety.
25 Years Ago
1993 – A new walk-in Clinic, the Flagstaff Medical Center will be co-owned with the new FMC Walk-in Medical and a group of hospital physicians. It opened on Monday offering medical assistance for tourists, new residents, and victims of work place injuries. Flagstaff Urgent Care, a 1-year old facility owned by Dr. Henry Poore, is not affiliated with the Flagstaff Medical Center.
Four men were injured Sunday morning after a west bound Santa Fe train derailed six miles east of Seligman and ignited a diesel fuel fire that burned four engines. State Land Department and Forest Service crews responded to the accident. Six trains were rerouted on the Arizona-California short line. Thirty others waited for the tracks to be cleared. Some of the containers contained hazardous materials but none of them were damaged when they fell from the tracks.
About 175 passengers are stranded at the Flagstaff Depot awaiting the reopening of the line. The train originated in Kansas City and is bound for Los Angeles. Some passengers are being shuttled onward by bus. Amtrak travel is halted until the line is cleared.
Flagstaff Post Offices deliver the state’s best services in a customer rating survey. 3000 responses gave it a rating of ”good,” “very good” or “excellent.” Post Master Gary Parker said, “I think it is a real tribute to all the postal people working here in Flagstaff. They sure are going the extra mile.”
The County Board of Supervisors has adopted a budget that will allow property tax rate to stay level or possibly decrease with a last minute decision reducing the library budget and recalculating the fire district budget.
