Hello Friends and Family,

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Jerome, Arizona - Gold Mine & Ghost Town, Part 3

What Old West mining town would be complete without a brothel? Certainly not Jerome. There she is, the "lady of the evening", la "fille de joie", the "woman of ill repute". By the way, we were told that this building actually was a bordello during the town's heyday.



Up the hill are a couple of old shacks. It is hard to imagine living in a tiny place like that — but I guess it beats laying on bare ground not knowing when the next rattlesnake will join you.


This shack is actually constructed like a log cabin — although it has fallen into disrepair. Note the corrugated tin roof (although it is probably actually galvanized steel that has seen better days) — can you imagine trying to sleep through an Arizona monsoon downpour in one of those dwellings?


Parked here permanently is a 1954 Dodge truck. Hey, finally something that is younger than I am. And it is showing only the first stages of rust which eventually will melt it away.


This one is my favorite this week — a Corbitt truck — the lettering on the bumper suggesting that it is a 4WD vehicle. I was not familiar with this truck brand and a quick Google search revealed that the Corbitt Company began making "motor buggies" (automobiles) in 1905. By 1910, the company began making trucks which proved to be so much more profitable that they stopped making cars by 1913.

Corbitt was quite successful but as a family-run business without a successor in place to take over with the founder's health began to decline, it was sold to a liquidator and closed its doors in 1955. Interestingly, there are still fans of Corbitt trucks and even a Corbitt Preservation Association complete with website.

One of the trivia items on their website is the following. "Another example of Corbitt quality and longevity was 'Geraldine', a 1951 Corbitt diesel sold new by dealer R.E. Daniel to the Daniel’s Company of Springfield, MO. By the early 80s she had run up 2,600,000 miles in 48 states! In 1984 she was sold to a dump-truck operator."


Nearby was another old truck — this one a Ford dump truck — which appears to be a Model T chassis. Love the old tires.


Speaking of tires — do you know what happens to a tire that sits in the Arizona climate for years and years? It appears that the rubber evaporates leaving the underlying cord exposed. This is a first for me.


This is the Shoe Repair shop. I loved the look in black and white — takes you back to the good ol' days.


Inside is a shelf with boots that have been repaired or waiting for repair.


Plus all the equipment needed to do those repairs. And I would bet that the shoemaker could actually fabricate a custom pair of boots in those days. Things are so different now.



And what would you need if the ghost town caught fire — a ghost fire truck, of course. Brings back memories of my time in high school when I was selected as Fire Chief For-A-Day as part of a government awareness program. What kid would not love to ride on this baby?

To be continued...

Life is good.

Aloha,
B. David

P. S., All photos and text © B. David Cathell Photography, Inc. — www.bdavidcathell.com