Wild Women in Old West Mining Town, Mayer, AZ

A different kind of hanging happens in Mayer, AZ these days. Characters that make history or know history hang out sipping their complimentary coffee at Big Bug Station or heat up a danish in the microwave while listening to a bit of local history unfold. Take for instance, the story about some women all dressed in black who were around nearby Cleator, AZ. I failed to get the exact years they raised a bit of hell but I think it was twenty or thirty year ago. I will be looking into this story a bit more in future. Anyway, The leader of the group wore guns on each hip and a big hat. Nobody to mess with I was told. Rumor has it that one should be careful raking up ground near where she lived in Cleator as locals reckoned she was buried somewhere near by her friends. Boy wouldn't I love to have a photograph of any of the women who called themselves "The Black Widows!" Does anyone reading this have a photo or some stories to tell about this group. I figure some more mornings of "hanging" at the Big Bug Station I will hear more. These old mining towns of Arizona have some great human interest stories to be gleaned from some of the old timers and it is great fun to rub elbows with a few that made history or had kinfolk that did. The old dance hall on Central in Old Town Mayer is not a campfire but tale telling time over coffee sure has the feel of jawing over a campfire. I like it.

Wells Fargo Express Stagecoach Stop Mayer, AZ

The Phoenix to Prescott stagecoach run in the 1880s stopped at a station on Big Bug Creek hence the name Big Bug Station. Big Bug Creek was the second largest placer gold producing area in Arizona. So the mind boggles at thoughts of what ilk those who were passengers were! GOLD! Starts my heart pounding right here and now.

This morning at Mike Connors' comfy neighborhood hangout, the old dance hall at Big Bug Station, I heard mention of a fellow that was seen strolling the streets of Mayer recently with a gold pan in his hand. Seems Mike stopped him to have a yarn and checked out the pan, gold by golly is what he saw. Little flecks of gold! I think I spoke phrases like, "Crikey" "Dad gum it" and "Shore nuff" for the rest of the day. See how easily one can slip into the feel of the Old West just with a freindly cuppan and yarn at Big Bug Station. Good thing noone sittin' there today had a plug of "chewin' tobacky" on hand!

Carver in Mayer, AZ

The Tagua Nut is commonly known as "vegetable ivory." So called because of its ivory-like color and texture. Chris Brown brought in a case of his small fetish like carvings of Tagua nut. I marvelled at a walnut sized ram's head necklace. He also had done a mountain lion and a remarkable buffalo head. The detail in his horse's head astounded me. The horse's ears were laid back giving his mouth a formidable look. the detail in the carved horses teeth and tongue are indicative of Chris' talent with detailed carving. The talent one runs into at Big Bug Station in Mayer. A visiting Canadian shared her Northern neighbor stories with us and we all admired the workmanship of a Native American rug brought in from a nearby reservation. I noticed that not only were the gregarious among us enjoying the conversation, but also the more shy patrons were having a good time listening in.

I marvel at how hard "look we are your friendly newscaster hosts" work at making a tv audience tune in and fill the void of friends in the real world. All one really needs to do is find a local coffee house hang out like Big Bug Station to truly enjoy human company with its humor, wisdom, foolishness and fun a group of evolved monkeys can bring one. There is something special about this place in Mayer, AZ where you can get a complimentary coffee or purchase a pre-packaged danish or breakfast sandwich for breakfast. Our host Mike Connors is open and ready to meet you and share the history of this historic western town. I like my new home two doors down. I like that patrons at the Big Bug eventually call you by name. I like that if I want, I can just stroll around the spacious once upon a time dance hall and read Arizona history on its walls. I like being able to use the laptop there to check my email as the place has WiFi. It's fun to watch newcomers faces as they begin to let the charm of the place seep in. Nice, really nice.

Mayer, Arizona is a Source of Onyx

Some conversation in the Big Bug Station was on Mayer, Arizona's onyx. Just google "Mayer Onyx Quarry" for a bit of information on it. It seems ?Chris' dad had a gear shift knob off a car that had Mayer Onyx imprinted on it and that started the conversation. Another tid bit on this town with a big mining history.

Old Skull Pipe for Big Bug Station Owner

Drove to Phoenix to buy a carved wooden skull pipe from my sister. It was part of her husband's antique pipe collection. I had been promising our host at our complimentary coffee mornings next to the Old Mercantile Store on Central Ave. In Mayer, Arizona that I would get it for him. Mike is an avid collector of odd and/or old things....hmmm and that is reflected perhaps in his collection of people in the morning at Big Bug Station?

Mike's historic 1903 building on Central houses a few antique stores and a custom furniture store. The wonderful old wooden dance floor vibrates happy times when you walk on them. A couple of lovely women who are old time residents of Mayer area and veritable walking history books came into the Big Bug Station several days ago and I overheard, "I remember when one of the cowboys danced so hard he went through the floorboards. Now nobody can say those cowboys couldn't dance!"

I spent the rest of my complimentary coffee sippin' and thinkin' on that picture she painted in my mind's eye.

Laughter in Old Town Mayer, Arizona

My new friend Carol was minding the antique shop/gathering place later than usual this morning while Mike ran errands. Six in the morning till eight is a good time to catch her sitting still (no mean feat) and to get her to tell us some Carol tales. Carol has led an adventurous life. Just for starters…she traveled up the Alcan Highway to Alaska when it was a hundred percent dirt track while carrying her baby in a shoebox in her lap. Her husband worked building the Fairbanks airport. Years later, while her husband managed a big mine in New Guinea, she flew to the mountain head hunting tribes and provided aid to the villagers. And here she is in Mayer, Arizona swapping stories at Big Bug Station, a place both locals and world travelers come to share both personal and historic anecdotes.

Hey, I don’t remember what it was I shared (yes I do but it was some proof of me being a bit nuts so I refuse to go into it here and now) but it caused a big basso laugh, half mellow and half bellow, to fill the old dancehall. The laugh originated from local Don Charles, a talented musician and singer. After I finished banging my forehead on the antique wood bar, he talked to Carol and me of his years managing a ranch nearby. It seems he reveled in the solitude, the closeness to nature his hours of being out alone on his horse “managing” brought him. It was there he met and married the other half of the professional musical duo called D- Squared, Deb Gessner. Check out http://www.dsquaredmusic.com/biography

Mike arrived So Carol and I left to catch a yummy roast beef open faced sandwhich lunch at the Senior Center for a mere $3.50. Besides as a new person in town I didn’t want too many of those inklings of my being nuts to slip out in conversation so early in my settling into the community now did I? Run away. Run away.

Old Mayer, Az Historical Buildings

Someone I met in town had a house warming today. Gina's new home was once an outbuilding of the historical Mayer Hospital itself already used as a residence. Gina's son and she took the ruins of four crumbling walls and built her a two story bungalow keeping much of the original base wall made up of river rock in tact. Hey, leave it to Gina not to live in an "ordinary' house. Just another architectural expression of the unique personalities that make up the population of Mayer my new home town.