Halloween Coming

Well it's that time of year. Everybody around town is talking about their Halloween costumes. Of course Anne and Lisa have their's figured out, I think they started in March. Last year Lisa was the Moaning Lisa and Anne Picasso. Playing with words is fun. Tracy's cousin Rebecca said she dressed as the Bat Mobile one year, had a mobile on top of her head with bats hanging off of it. Her husband was a chick magnet, with chicken magnets stuck to him. Ah to be original. In Jerome it is a tough crowd, people's costume's are pretty amazing. Of course their are always the tons of prostitutes - the default costume in Jerome. I think people love the opportunity to live out their alter-ego.

My Geisha outfit was fun last year but a lot of work putting all of that white face makeup on. Karen was going as Kill Bill but was Kill Jim, she recently went through a divorce.

So, it out to be interesting this year. We shall see.

Here is a photo from last year's Halloween:

Kanzler Steam Transport

Met with Ernie Kanzler yesterday. He is looking for all the engineers who used to work for him in the 70s for KST or Kanzler Steam Transport. He had then created a very efficient engine that was lubricated by water before his company got mysteriously sabatoged by unknown important officials who couldn't AFFORD to have fuel replaced with water. Hmmmm. Imagine that, greed? Well, there is new interest in bringing back his ideas if such engineers can be rounded up again. If anybody out there knows how to contact people who worked for KST, have them reply here so I can pass their name on to Ernie...

Thanks

Jerome Books

There are a handful of interesting books on Jerome's history that everybody should read before visiting Jerome or while here. They tell great stories of Jerome's past, a definate microcosm of the happenings of the west. They all can be purchased at the Jerome Historical Society's website at http://www.jeromehistoricalsociety.org.


They include:
The Ghosts of Cleopatra Hill.
This book by Herbert Young describes Jerome's meager beginnings as an isolated mining camp in the late 1800s and its growth into the fourth largest city in the Territory of Arizona. Read about the five men of Spain that first visited Jerome's mines in 1583, the prospectors who staked new claims in 1876 and the men who settled Jerome.







They Came To Jerome
This is the most comprehensive book about Jerome's history during the mining era. It chronicles the town's life from its beginnings as a copper camp in the late 1800s through its mining heyday before the Great Depression.








Verde Valley Railroads
Another book by Russell Wahmann. The growth of Jerome into one of the great industrial mining centers of the Southwest could not have happened without the railroads. They brought miners and mining executive, cattlemen, merchants, madams, tools and equipment; and transported billions of dollars worth of copper, plus gold, silver and zinc ore. Russell Wahmann spent hundreds of hours to research and find the information and rare photographs that make this book a historic gem.

Tell us about your house

When I worked as the Jerome Historical Society director, we had numerous people that would come in seeking information about the home they just purchased in Jerome, wondering who it used to belong to, what its history was. Four years later, I had a thought. What if I created an online site/forum where anybody and everybody could go and post stories about the house they grew up in, or even a house they have knowledge about, so that others can use that information for research. That idea finally came to fruition with our new website - http://www.thatsmyoldhouse.com.

We are really excited about the site and the reponse we have had already. It has only been up less than two weeks and we have had over 2,000 visitors and over 50 people registered.

So tell us your story. You don't have to be a Jerome resident, the site is open to homes throughout the United States. On the About Your House page you will be guided through a series of questions such as what state was your house in, city, what years did you live in it and more.

We hope you enjoy the site and look forward to hearing from you.

Ernie Kanzler

I had the opportunity to work with an elderly man who I see often at the coffee shop, on his memoirs. His name – Ernest Kanzler Jr. His father, Ernest Kanzler Senior worked for Henry Ford and later Edsel Ford. Ernie Jr. told me many stories about his father’s power and prestige - but I had to do some background checks of my own. He was right. The man was quite powerful in his time. In addition, his wife and Edsel Ford’s wife were sisters. All of the wealthy then hung out together - especially those in the automotive industry – the Firestones, Fords, etc. But Ernie had been adopted and so he is on the quest for his real family.

Ernie also has some spiritual gifts of healing he has been writing about. He asked if I'd type up his writings. Since posting this site, I have had numerous posts and inquiries about Ernie along with pictures of the Kanzler car that he designed, the awards he won, etc. Maybe that autobiography he has been wanting to write will come together after all.