If you haven’t heard the music of Chris Mathews, you’ll have your chance this Friday, June 17 when Sam Palmer’s Good Junk Bakery hosts ‘Ma & Jack Antelope’. The show starts at seven and if past performances by the two artists featured are any guide, you’re in for a treat.

‘Ma & Jack Antelope’ is the band name of Mathews and his pal Alicia Jones. Her slow, almost somnolent voice is a perfect counterpoint to his plaintive vocals, and his natural vibrato works exceptionally well with the material he’s written. Of special note is his original song, ‘Alexandria’s Burning’ which frankly feels like it was written by someone decades older than the twenty-one year old singer. It’s a moving, wistful and eloquently penned piece which had me dabbing at my eyes- and I’m not a crier.

Here I wake in this crumbling catacomb, with tattered papyrus of Kodachrome and an aching arc of thoughts…

And then there’s this:

Our phosphorescent songs are but glacial silt as Anubis wraps and entraps us tight…

Chris shared the lyrics of some fifteen other original songs he’s written when I saw him at a Vida e Caffe show earlier this month and the depth and precision of his writing is both surprising yet delightful. It’s rare to see this level of communication at all, let alone in someone of his age.

Jones has been performing for a couple of years and while her quirky behavior (guitar-knocking and a haunting, otherworldly presence) have been noted by past audiences, her pairing with Mathews is a fresh approach. She’s exotic and sultry, while he’s open and animated. These two distinct voices, melded with guitar, harmonica, keyboards and percussion are worth listening to.

Sam’s Good Junk Bakery offers coffees and other beverages, plus handcrafted pizza straight from a professional grade oven. His cinnamon rolls and cookies are quickly becoming the reason folks stop by his place on their way to work.

Check out the You Tube link below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JQbNR293U8

The 2011 Miami Boomtown Spree was considerably different than those of years past.  The major difference was the moving of the event from Sullivan Street to the Bullion Plaza property.  This decision was one that was met with mixed feelings by most local people I talked to.

Boomtown Spree was held at Bullion Plaza Museum & Cultural Center this year.

Most, I would say, did not like this move, either because they liked it as in the past, or because of the issues that became apparent as the event went on such as parking, scheduling, and problems with the facility itself.

The Haul Pack Stage was kind of neat in one sense but there was no seating and a total lack of shade in the area where an audience would have sat for performances.

One good thing was that the weather was very cooperative other than some occasional wind.  Saturday morning the temperature for the start of the race was 61 degrees with a predicted high of 84.  This is the kind of weather we live in Arizona for! I personally feel that the Boom Town Spree should be utilized to showcase the historic downtown area, promote tourism and assist those who have invested in our town’s main street.

Copper Crawl Hill Run…

Of all of the events, The Annual Copper Crawl race was the most successful with a total of 204 participants essentially doubling the numbers from years past.  Kudos to Brandon Parker who, according to what I learned, was largely responsible for this increase.  The only issue was the delay of the awards ceremony because they had so many more participants to deal with.

Rene Lazos, from Superior, took 1st in the 13K in his age group (40-50yr) and 1st OVERALL with a time of 1:00:34. The 2nd fastest time of the day was put in by Aaron Bechdolt in 1:02:25. Third fastest time was,Mark Babieracki ,of Globe, in the (30-39 age group) with a time of 1:04:58

The 5K race was completed in a time of 24 min and 31 sec by Brandon Thompson, age 17!  A huge surprise was a time of 30 min 09 sec recorded By Aakala Hatch, age 9!  The fastest time set in the 13K race was 1 hr 34 sec by Mr. Rene Lazo, age 41.  Crossing the line second was Aaron Bechdolt at 1 hr 2 min 25 sec.and third was Andrew Salcido just two seconds behind Bechdolt.  The first woman to finish was Carley Breman, age 25 at 1hr 17 min 30 sec followed by Janet Gensler age 58 at 1 hr, 17 min 58 sec. Go Janet, can you imagine beating out the rest of the field at 58 years old!  Janet is from Queen Creek and was running the Copper Crawl for the first time.

The contestant who traveled the furthest I’m told was from Switzerland!  Check the GMT for complete race results and stats:  Copper Crawl Hill Run Results

Arizona Mining Championships…

Matt Decker, All Around Mining Champion 2011

The Arizona Mining Championships were entertaining and included eleven men with a crew of four miners from the Gold Road Mine in Kingman AZ.  The All Around title was secured by Matt Decker who placed 1^st in Hand Mucking, Hand Drilling, Spike Driving and Team Drilling and 2^nd in Machine Drilling.  Eight ladies competed in the women’s events with Billie Parish finishing first in Hand Mucking and Sheryl Cormack in Spike Driving.

No Bed Races…

On Sunday, the only event which came to fruition was the children’s mining events as the ever popular Bed Races were canceled.  I heard several different reasons for this canceling but I believe it was because there were issues regarding where the races would be run as cars were lining all of the streets surrounding the Bullion Plaza property.  In any case, there were quite a few kids who participated in the Children’s Mining Events of Mucking and Spike Driving and a good time was had by all.  I was told by the organizers that about 8 different vendors did not return for Sunday but all of the food booths were open.

Despite the issues which arose mainly from the moving of the event from its original location, the Miami Boomtown Spree for 2011 was still a success.  I’m sure discussion will continue for some time regarding the move and I would like for the organizers to at least consider returning the event to the original location next year.

By: LCGross

Several years ago I spent time in Alaska hiking the Resurrection Trail which stretches through 43 miles of wilderness and makes you forget all civilized notions of comfort and human-scale.

This is nature on a grand scale in all it’s glory. The trail head ends up just outside of Seward, Alaska, which is where my friends and I spent the last several days before flying back to sunny Arizona. The landscape everywhere you look in Alaska is breathtaking. That is, until you arrive in Seward, a town which was devastated in the ’60’s when a tsumi rolled in and sucked everything which man had built for the last hundred years back into the sea.

Seward re-built, but as you can imagine the re-building took on a more utilitarian approach.Concrete replaced wood and tilt-up buildings and tin sheds were erected quickly where once there had been ornate cornices, native stone buildings and wood porches.

Where once the town’s legacy involved character and content, lending a thread of continuity between the old and new, there is now function over form.

Historic Downtown Globe, Az still functions as the community's primary shopping and social hub

Coming this March, the Globe Miami Chamber of Commerce, will once again host a thousand visitors for Globe’s popular Historic Home and Building Tour.

Most locals consider it a ‘tourist event.’ Something for outsiders.  It certainly is well attended by visitors who flock to our little community to look at old homes and “try out” our small-town community for the weekend.

But consider for just a moment… what if Globe-Miami had a “Seward-Event” – something that wiped out all our old buildings and houses with their history, family ties and community character?

Just ask Seward  Alaska.  The old buildings represent a heritage that can never be replaced – once lost.

Whether you are a visitor or a local resident, be sure to put the Home Tour on your Calendar and help us celebrate the buildings – still standing.

27th Annual Globe Historic Home & Building Tour

March 5- 6th

9am – 3pm

Tour begins at Oak & Sycamore: Downtown Globe

For more information, please contact the Globe-Miami Chamber of Commerce   928-425-4495

The Historic District looking north. A majority of Globe's buildings were constructed between 1904-1916 during the boom days of Copper.

Featured story in the Globe Miami Times: Winter Edition 2011

By: Linda Gross

The voice in the morning of gila101.9FM belongs to Bill Taylor, the irascible, irreverent, station owner who has made the jingle “Keepin’ you in the Know” a household word in the Globe Miami region.

Taylor, who wears many hats as owner, disc jockey, salesman and chief bottle-washer of the station, is the familiar voice on the morning show between 6am -9am of Globe-Miami’s hugely popular radio station – gila101.9FM. Every morning Monday thru Friday  he entertains, educates and confounds his audience with local news and politics and his own unique take on both.

As a radio broadcaster, Taylor has had a long and colorful career in the industry which included stints in L.A., Miami Florida  New Orleans, Baltimore, Charlotte, Orlando., and was recognized by Hee Haw when the show began spotlighting radio personalities across the country in the 70’s. He was the innovator of a syndicated broadcasting casting system similar to 8-tracks which ensured the integrity of recording no matter how many times the song was played . When he came to Globe, he brought over 3000 cartridges which grew to 5000 before switching to CDs and computers. At a time when the other stations frequently played scratched records, Taylors’ station was a marked improvement. His biggest success was a bingo type promotion played with  music instead of numbers, went through 32 million cards in three  countries. This was the initial  funding for the station.

Taylor's extensive library of tapes

We caught up with Taylor during one of this morning shows…

GMT: What brought you to Globe?

Bill:   I was working in L.A. I knew the job had no future as I was getting too old to be a rock Jock and I didn’t want to look for another job in L.A. Radio.it wasn’t easy getting there.  Plus, I do things that get me canned. I’d worked for The General Manager at KIQQ, at 3 other stations and he’d fired me before. If I wanted to do things my way I knew  I’d better have my own station.  I was also doing syndicated promotions.

I looked for places with a vacant channel to build a station, as it costs less than buying one. I’d filed in other locations and lost out. That’s when my consultant said,  “I know a place that is so ugly, nobody will file on top of you, but you better go look to see if you can hack it.”

I flew to Phoenix, rented a car, came to Globe and heard the worst radio I’d heard in years.

The stations would  play scratchy records, sometimes at the wrong speed.

Bill Taylor on the set with a corn to his ear. The line was, "I have never heard so much corn in my life!" (referring to silly humor). The year was '73 and the program was recorded at Chnl 5 in Nashville and edited in LA.

I thought to myself, if I can’t be a winner in this market, I’m really bad.  Easier said…Willard was tough. Took years to beat him. He always made more money, ran more  commercials. It’s just that fewer people heard them.   I’d started on the air in radio in a small South Carolina mill town so I knew what it was like in a one economy town where there was only one major employer. No different than when the mines shut  down.  .
II remember how the kids felt there was nothing to listen to on Sunday mornings with all the preachers. . I made up my mind, if I ever had my own station. We’d play music on Sunday morning.   An exception, We recently picked up the Mormon Choir 5:30-6am  when KIKO AM dumped them

GMT: The Station changed its call letters from Kiss FM to Gila1019. What is the story behind the change?

Bill:  While at KIQQ in  Los Angeles, KIIS “Kiss FM”  constantly beat us, and I liked the moniker. It was catching. However, the name did not relate to the community and when I had a chance to change when we moved on the dial, I took it. There are now Kiss FM’s all over the place. There’s one in Phoenix. Now we are “The Gila County Station” Monster Hits…Gila1019. People can relate.  After 20 years. We will always be KISS FM to most of our listeners. And at times we still say it on the air.  The Rating services still give us credit if someone responds by saying Kiss  FM. .

GMT: You get in trouble sometimes for the things you say on the air. Tell us about that.

Bill: This is a good ole boy town and I ain’t one of them. So there are people who don’t like me. I’m not here to be liked. I’m here to make people think. In every major market, the most popular air personality is also the most disliked.  A good example is  Howard  Stern.  Sometimes I get a good  laugh. Like the time someone stole a car from Ellsworth Motors, and I said it had to be an inside job – as only an employee would know which one ran.

GMT: I heard Ellsworth wanted to sue you over that one?

Yes he called.  I followed that with the story when a truck rolled out of McDonald’s and hit a vehicle on his lot.  My comment was, “ lucky there was an eye witness so they could tell  which one was hit.“
I’ve said things that have made advertisers cancel, but freedom has it’s price.  I’ve watched things being swept under the rug and thought, “where the Hell is the Silver Belt!” So we’d blew a whistle. My favorite was Judge Carol Nichols in 1994. One of her employee’s alerted the state as to problems and the state shut the court down. In the process they found a mess that made Patty Nolan look pure as the driven show.  We were the only media that covered it.  The only time she was mentioned in  the  Silver Belt was when she ran for  re-election  and that was in a campaign ad paid for by members of the Gila County Sheriff’s office.   I’m very proud of our support of Gary Geotteman which contributed to his election to Southern Gila County J.P. Judge.  This will be an honest well run court.

I think one of my best bits was the Family Business’ contest where the idea was to name the most people who were related that worked for the county.

GMT: You’ve given quite a bit back to the Community…

Bill:  Even when times were tight I’ve always tried to financially support local projects. The Lord calls it seed money. I got some decent dollars for moving on the dial to 101.9 so that 98.3 could cover the Valley.  It gave me the opportunity to do more.

I brought in The Wall (a reproduction of The Wall in Washington DC) during the Gila County Fair.  And then things most people don’t even know about…like the giant TV, X-Box Guitar Hero at the Boys and Girls Club and the gas range at the Safe Home. Plus the station  helps pay for the light parade every year, paid to paint a Miami fire truck, paid for the security system at the Miami Library, help Audrey with her monthly power bill. Every year little league.  This year paid for Santa at the Miami Small Town Christmas.. It goes on. We don’t turn our community work into a station promotion as then we’re not giving  we’re advertising. .  So most folks have  no idea how much cash we pour back into the community.  A greater percentage of advertising dollars on KQSS stay in our community.

If I went on people would think I was bragging. It’s mostly behind the scenes and many I help don’t know where it came from.  It feels good to be an anonymous giver. There is constant fund raising and being quiet allows me to pick my projects.   This is my home. The Lord blessed me by plunking me down in Globe Miami, Thank you Jesus. . If I die and go broke on the same day, it will have timed out.

GMT: You have a style all your own. How would you describe it?

Donna Anderson, Bill Taylor and Leora Hunsaker at a 2007 fund raiser for the Center for the Arts, Globe

Bill: One on One.  This is me. If you don’t like it, turn the knob.  I’ve always been sarcastic, irreverent, and enjoy that kind of humor. How can you look at Washington, DC and not think that most are slimy bastards. Poor Miami is a Banana Republic. Globe fought progress but had money in the bank, Now the new crowd owes plenty. The county doesn’t know how many vehicles it owns or who has them. Just when you think they’ve reached a peak, they do something even dumber. I do wish we could do live programming all day long. Play requests. We have a huge library. But since Wal Mart killed Broad Street there’s not enough retail biz left to cover the cost. So we’re on the hard drive. However, if there’s a major news story we break in.   We’re the only station with Generators in case of an emergency.  That’s an investment that may save a life.

GMT:   What do you like most about your work?

What I like most is my freedom to try new things. I don’t have a New York Corporate office squeezing every dollar out of this town, telling me I can’t do something. We run fewer commercials  because they get better results. There’s .Finding lost dogs, Playing special requests, feeling good when I know I’ve touched someone. Our Leader said. When you do it for the least of them, you’ve done it for me. . ..A lesson that took most of  my life to learn.

Talking with Bill, I couldn’t help but remember what he had said earlier about a cardinal sin of broadcasting.  “It’s a sin to be boring,” he said.

Amen, to that.

This short video clip was shot by Paul Wolterbeck last year and shows the Apache Crown Dancers,

The Conductor calls Aaallll Aaboaard! for the afternoon train

The Globe Miami Times has teamed up with the Copper Spike Excursion Train and Cable One advertising to film a commercial for the new 2010-2011 Train Season. Thursday, Dean Seyfferle with Cable One was in town and spent a good part of the day shooting in the Depot, on the Train and North of Globe where the train winds its way through low desert scenery.

The 30-sec commercial is scheduled to run on CNN, Fox News, A& E for the next 5 months and will be seen by audiences from Apache Junction to Safford. It is part of GMT’s year-long ad campaign featuring the tag line :

“GlobeMiamiTimes and GMTeconnect  bringing Globe-Miami to you!” The Copper Spike ad will rotate with GMT’s latest testimonial ad: Community_2.

Filming inside the Old Depot

This will be the third full season of the Copper Spike and the first season they will be offering meal service on-board. The trip has been extended by a half hour, making each trip two hours long. A lunch menu is offered on the train 4 days a week, with a Dinner Car on Fridays and Saturdays. Bar service is now available.

The train brings in thousands of visitors to the Globe community each season and serves as an economic boost to the local shops, restaurants and hotels. With the addition of meal-service and new events it is anticipated to be another great season for all!

Globe Miami Times and GMTeconnect will be hosting an Events Page for the Copper Spike on their website to help visitors navigate the community while they are in town for the train. The new page will include special offers from local merchants and hotels for visitors riding the train, as well as local railroad history and how the Copper Spike came to be!

The Copper Spike makes it's way over the trestle at the south end of Broad street , Globe Az

Since launching its own website a year ago, GlobeMiamiTimes has seen traffic on the site increase every month. And Google now recognizes many of the feature articles and postings about the area because of the on-line presence of GMTeconnect.com. The site also includes a business directory with over 700 business where local businesses can list for free, or pay an annual fee for a host of services including a full business page and net-tools. Business owners such as Sarah Bernstein, who owns Simply Sarah’s, acknowledge the importance of having a web presence…even if she herself does not spend any time on-line.

Promoting good business and fun times in Globe-Miami. Come ride the Copper Spike and explore all there is to do and see in the area at gmteconnect.com

It has become a tradition in Globe to welcome Santa to town – riding the rails of the Copper Spike and hosting kids and their families at the Old Depot, while he listens to their wishes.

This morning, a crowd had begun to build long before the train pulled into the station. Carloads of kids with parents ‘in tow’ begin to arrive and fill the platform in anticipation. Arriving on the 10am train, Santa was escorted off the train to an awaiting “throne” in the Old Depot where a line had formed to little ones to pass along their wishes…and parents to get a holiday picture with Santa.

The event is hosted by Kip Culver, and the Main Street Program, the Copper Spike Excursion Railroad and a host of volunteer ELFS, who do everything from keeping a list of who’s been good, to handing out candy canes and chatting up the crowd.

Thanks to everyone for a fabulous event to kick off the Christmas season!

You better watch out

You better not cry

Better not pout

I’m telling you why

Santa Claus is coming to town

HAVEN GILLESPIE, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”

Kaden knows what he wants for Christmas, and brought Santa the newspaper ads so he would get the right ones!

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph. Shirley Temple, Halliwell’s Filmgoer’s Companion

For all the photos see us on FACEBOOK!

And don’t forget: Pictures on the Porch and fullcirclePHOTOWORKS will be hosting a DAY of Family Portraits on Saturday December 11th.  See more info HERE.

This little guy couldn't WAIT to see Santa!

My hat is off to the Arizona Silver Belt for initiating a ‘Shop Local’ campaign. With the high cost of gas, maintenance and time involved in a run to the Valley, shopping locally isn’t only a loyalty pledge- it makes sense. There are independent shops in our area that sell everything from cars to cosmetics, from soap to knickknacks. With the exception of the little Nob Hill Grocery in Globe, the days of the small neighborhood market is over. Picking up beer and coldcuts at Fry’s or Safeway is a necessity (a man’s gotta eat) but shopping at a Wal-Mart, for example, isn’t shopping locally- it’s feeding the coffers in Arkansas.

That said, a trip to Wal-Mart was on my to-do list last week- my annual trek for socks, tees and underpants (I love that word- underpants. It makes me laugh). I rarely go to Wal-Mart, the Big Box behemoths such as this being the primary reason for leaving the Valley. Too big, too bright and waaay too noisy for my taste, and the air always smells funny from the coughing, sneezing, farting crowds. I prefer the small shops of downtown Globe to get most of my goods. Think of it as ‘shopping Globally’.

Besides- I’m not your typical American consumer, throwing anything and everything shiny into a cart and yanking a credit card from an accordion file. My needs are simple, my tastes complex: I am a junker. Junkers like old stuff- flotsam from another era- sturdy, reliable, and noble. Wal-Mart sells new stuff, most of it made overseas- gimcracks and gewgaws which sometimes break before I can even get out of the parking lot. If I could find my tightie-whities downtown, folks, I’d get them on Broad Street.

Alas, Wal-Mart has changed the face of small town America, and I accepted this some time ago. Mom & Pops are so last century. The issue I had last week with them was not only moving the socks, tees and underpants, but that they opened a flippin’ grocery store where the Fruit of the Looms used to be. Their press releases whooped a lot of hoopla about the remodeling, making it sound like a gut rehab of the Sistine Chapel, as though there wasn’t a crumb of bread to be found in this town until Wal-Mart stepped up to the plate.

This, of course, is not the case, since there is an overstocked Safeway store not a hundred yards away, which also went through a major remodeling. (There are two Safeway stores in Globe; the ‘Baby Safeway’ on Hill Street and the ‘Glamour Safeway’, on US 60, where I pretend I’m in Sedona, shopping for prosciutto and melon).

I don’t know if Safeway buys products assembled in China by ten year old children working twelve hour shifts, and I don’t know if Safeway bullies wholesalers into cutting their prices. Safeway employee benefit plans and pay scales aren’t my business, though I do know they’ve not been excoriated in the press over these issues. And yes, I realize business is business, and we could have seven different grocery stores in that location because this is America, dammit, and it’s our God-given right to have unlimited choices at deeply discounted prices. That’s all fine and good, but Wal-Mart deliberately going to toe to toe with Safeway? It’s just plain tacky.

Perhaps Wal-Mart is planning an antiques department next- shelves of vintage pottery and petite figurines, rows of railroad clocks and old oil paintings on the wall, reams of toile and retro Fortuny fabrics in a bin? With that one fell swoop, downtown Globe can pack it up and when the last shopkeeper leaves he can turn off the light.

Napoleon Hill once said, “Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.” A ‘Global’ economy begins at home. When we patronize our local retailers, we all grow and prosper. This is called loyalty, and this is acting ‘Globally’.

In the attacks on 9/11, just under three thousand people died in the World Trade Center.

Three thousand people in one day. A day that has become not only a national anniversary of sorrow, but was also a call to war on those who claimed to be involved, and on others who had nothing to do with it. We were an angry nation.

Three thousand people died and almost five thousand U.S. Troops and over one million civilians have died as a result. Our entire country, and world of nations, has been forever changed by the deaths of three thousand people in one day.

Even Worse

By the year 2035, the entire city of New York and the entire city of Houston, Texas will have died due to something just as horrible. By the year 2035, the entire population of the state of Alabama and the state of Arizona will have died due to a different sort of ‘attack’. Within 25 years from now, the city of Chicago and the entire state of Virginia will have completely been destroyed in another way.

In the next 25 years, 10 million people will be dead. This is the equivalent of  two attacks on the World Trade Center, every week of the year, for the next 25 years. This is bigger than an Axis of Evil, this is deadlier than a man in a cave and this will be the costliest war this nation has ever seen.

In the next 25 years, 10 million women will have died from Breast Cancer.

3000 deaths in one day has motivated an entire  nation to declare war against an enemy that was destroying its citizens. Can you imagine, if we had two 9/11 attacks every week, what that would do to this country? Well, it’s already happening, and it has to stop.

Wearing pink is great, changing your Facebook status is fine and buying products that give a portion of proceeds to research is wonderful…but there is something else.

From 2005 to 2008 I volunteered at the Climb for Cancer in Flagstaff. In 2009 I worked at a Run for Cancer in Phoenix and in 2010 I worked at the Walk for Cancer in Globe. The people I met there were the most amazing, wonderful people you could ever want to meet.

They were cancer survivors, people currently in the battle and people who had lost loved ones. Their were families, office groups, church groups and individuals who came out for the cause. But one thing has always bothered me about these days set aside to raise awareness. Where was everyone else?

Don’t get me wrong, there were MANY groups who are doing what they can to help make a difference, many individuals who are working day and night to find a cure and make a difference and millions of Americans who are donating time and money to end this nightmare.

But…

But, when I think about the population of Globe and think about the amount of people I saw during my 12 hours there, it didn’t really add up.

When I think about the population of Phoenix and saw how many were running or supporting, the numbers weren’t that amazing. When I think of how many people in Northern Arizona will gather for a beer festival or a rock concert, and then remember how many were climbing the hill that day, it seemed a little sad.

A majority of people at these events were either survivors, families of survivors, families of victims, coworkers of victims or were in the middle of their own battle. There was an extremely amazing portion of people there who were there to lend their support not because they have been personally affected, but because they understand the enormity of the situation.

I loved that so many of them came out, but it was not enough.

It was not enough, because if I told you that a 9/11 would happen, two times a week for the next twenty five years in every town and city in America, you would not stand for it. If I told you that 10 million would be dead in 25 years, or that 5 million would be dead in 12 1/2 years or that in just over six years from today, around 2.5 million people will be dead from breast cancer…do you really think this isn’t going to touch your life someday?

Why wait?

One more thing.

I have only been talking about Breast Cancer. I didn’t even give you the numbers for cancers of the lung, brain, liver, colon, stomach, blood and on and on. If you would rather go that direction, around 1,500 people die in ONE DAY in this country.

That is a 9/11 attack happening every TWO days in this country. How many people would sit by if that was happening?

It’s happening.

Eventually, we are ALL going to be INVOLVED in this one way or another, why not do it voluntarily, so that some day you won’t do it as a statistic?

Get involved.

http://ww5.komen.org/

http://www.cancer.org/

(Publishers Note)

The Chamber of Commerce recently completed a year long study of travelers to the Globe-Miami area and chief among the findings is that visitors spend an average of seven hours here. We thought it would be fun to kick off a new column on-line to get your suggestions for what visitors should see and do while they’re here! We will develop these into a feature article in the next GMT and a reference guide on-line for visitors. You and I both know that the best advice on what to see and do in an area is from locals.

With a nod of appreciation to our Chamber of Commerce, we know it’s not always the “Official Chamber Tour” that is the most fun. It is the back roads and the local haunts which make for memorable moments. So we’re asking both LOCALS  and VISITORS  to weigh in on this question. (See Below for our Readers Poll)

Our favorite writer, Darin Lowery, who works with visitors all the time in his official capacity of Minister of Fun at The Pickle Barrel Trading Post, agreed to kick things off with a list of his Seven random top suggestions for Travelers.

Seven Hours – Seven Wonders of Globe-Miami

Joe's Broadstreet Grill

1) Have breakfast at Joe’s Café. You’ll be glad you did: the decor is the real McCoy, the food is down home and tasty, and after meeting your waitresses Tina, Tina & Trina, why not have dessert? Even at breakfast, save room for his outstanding homemade peach cobbler with heavy cream. You’ll never go back to store bought dessert again. Or ask for your lunch to go (the chicken salad is dynamite) and picnic with your pals up at the Globe Community Center, which has a park with ramadas south of town.

Postcard Image by: Rick Benning. Available at The White Porch

2) Park the car and take the train. We have an exciting excursion train here which runs from late November til’ early May. This is the Copper Spike Railroad and it runs from our lovingly restored Globe Depot (across from Joe’s) out to the Apache Gold Casino and back. Short hops to Miami will be added soon. The Black Widow locomotive is massive- little boys and old men love it. The rolling retro ride in a 1930’s Calumet Club car and a 1954 Domeliner is complete with a uniformed conductor. You get bonus points for showing up in spats, hats, and vintage furs.   (see: www.copperspike.com)

3) Bring on the buckskin and beads. The Pickle Barrel is a real live Trading Post, showcasing our Old West traditions. You really won’t believe what’s inside, and Jim and Kelly Moss ensure the entire family has a good time. Located at the south end of Broad Street, the long building with the flying horse at its peak is the former Old Dominion Mine Warehouse, built in 1903. The place is loaded with antiques, turquoise and Native American arts and crafts. (see: www.picklebarreltradingpost.com)

Simply Sarah's on Broadstreet

4) Find oceans of lotions, potions and notions. Simply Sarah’s is an elegant little shop on Broad Street catering to those who love color. Women adore her clothes and beauty products. Further south, the White Porch has made Molly a household name in our town because of her amazing eye for the unusual in antiques and home décor, and the heady scent of candles in her shop is like paradise. Wrap it all up at the Adobe Ranch Spa with a soothing massage and holistic tips for living a healthy, happy life. (see: (www.gmteconnect.com/SimplySarah)

5)The Salado is not a diet plan. Besh-Ba-Gowah is the best-kept secret in Arizona, and definitely worth visiting. The Salado Indians inhabited this pueblo along the Pinal Creek beginning in the thirteenth century and disappeared a hundred years later, leaving their village behind. It is a serene place, almost hypnotic. Make sure you watch the twenty-minute video first; this will give you the history of the ruins. You’ll then be able to walk the site inside and out and even climb to the top floors for a peek at how the Ancient Ones lived. It’s an incredible experience and kids as well as adults love it.

The Burger House in Miami AZ

6) Make mine Miami. Globe’s sister city Miami is brimming with a colorful history and is replete with sturdy, likable residents. If you love Mexican fare (and missed lunch in Globe at Libby’s El Rey), then grab a bite to eat at the Burger House. Don’t let the name fool you: they make a terrific green chile burro. Then take a stroll down Sullivan Street and stop into antiques shops such as Miami Rose and Soda Pops. You’ll find a map for Globe-Miami’s twenty-six vintage venues in the middle of this paper.

7) C.U. @ the CVCA. The Cobre Valley Center for the Arts was the county courthouse for years. Through painstaking restoration at the hands of volunteers it has been transformed into the Jewel of Gila County and represents the best of what made America great. The first floor houses an art gallery and gift shop; the second contains the Governor’s Room (used for receptions and fundraisers) and the top floor holds a theatre with a full stage. Productions range from summer youth extravaganzas to holiday revues. The building’s ghosts, said to roam the halls, are a different sort of entertainment.

Darin Lowery, Minister of Fun at the Pickle Barrel Trading Post

There’s a feeling when living in a small town- or just visiting- which fulfills our primal desire for belonging, a basic need missing from the big cities. To be connected in a human sense, not a technological one, of feeling we’re a part of something larger than us. Sometimes it takes years to feel this interdependence and kinship; occasionally one can find it in a matter of hours.

Welcome to Globe-Miami!