By Marjory J. Sente
The Great Fire of July 14, 1900 destroyed B-B Co.’s three-story brick store on Gurley Street and nearby warehouses, as well as stock and fixtures. The warehouses on the Hill and Gooseflat were saved, according to a telegram Fredericks sent to Weeks (who was in Chicago). During early stages of the fire, Secretary Aitken entered the store, opened the safe and saved the cash and books. He reported he had sufficient records of B-B’s accounts to continue business.
By Marjory J. Sente
The Bashford-Burmister Co., or B-B Co., had a long history in Prescott before becoming the largest mercantile in the Arizona Territory. Carrying supplies from barbed wire and canned salmon to ready-made clothes, it met the needs of people on the frontier.
In 1863 Lincoln appointed Levi Bashford as Surveyor General of the Arizona Territory. In January 1864, he and his brother Coles, who had been appointed Territorial Attorney-General, arrived in Governor Goodwin’s party. Soon Levi set up the first store, described as a small trading hut, in response to the needs of miners and the Goodwin party. Miners used gold dust to buy a limited variety of food and supplies.
By Eric Jacobson
George Emory Goodfellow (1855-1910) was a frontier physician who became the United States’ foremost expert on the treatment of gunshot wounds.
Goodfellow attended Wooster University Medical School in Cleveland, Ohio, graduating in 1876. That same year, George joined his father Milton in Yavapai County, Arizona, where Milton was a mining executive with the Peck Mine Company. The mine in the Bradshaw Mountains produced $1.5 Million dollars in silver (approximately $37 million dollars today) between 1875-1885. For two years George was the Peck Mine Company doctor.
By Marjory J. Sente
Today, New Year’s Day is often spent watching the Rose Parade, bowl games, or even taking a Polar Bear Splash. In territorial Prescott, however, the custom of calling was a popular way to spend the afternoon and evening of the year’s first day.
Some say calling on New Year’s Day was a Dutch custom; others attribute it to the Scottish custom of Hogmanay. Whatever the origin, it had specific elements: women, and frequently their single daughters, held open houses; men, usually young, did the calling; refreshments were served and men’s calling cards were a must.
By Bob Baker
The Yavapai County Courthouse and plaza in Prescott have been the focus of Christmas celebrations since early in the town’s history. The Dec 28, 1867 Arizona Miner reported that on Dec 24th a Christmas Eve celebration was held in the “new Court House” on Cortez St. just north of Gurley and that “A tree had been erected and covered with everything imaginable that was obtainable in Prescott.” On December 31, 1874, the newspaper reported that hundreds of people entered the Courtroom on Christmas Eve where they saw the public-school children seated by a row of Christmas trees singing Christmas carols. Later, Santa Claus arrived and gifts were given to the children.
By Mick Woodcock
Herbert Bowers secured the appointment as post trader, or sutler, at the newly established military post of Camp Whipple before it was moved to the banks of Granite Creek in May 1864. By that time, he was headed to California, via La Paz, to bring back goods for his new store. By August, he was back with his brother Nathan to establish their business.
By Mick Woodcock
When Herbert and Phoebe Bowers were raising their family of twelve children in Greenfield, New Hampshire in the 1820s and 1830s, they had no idea that six of their sons would have an impact on America’s westward expansion. Bowers was a stonemason by occupation. He was afflicted with consumption, known today as tuberculosis, which caused his death in 1860.
By Worcester P. Bong
Fiorello La Guardia, Buckey O’Neill, and Barry Goldwater are among a few of the famous people who have been associated with Prescott at some point in their lives. Another lesser known yet successful Prescott resident was Lieutenant Colonel Raymond Whitcomb Bliss.
Born on May 17, 1888 in Chelsea, Massachusetts, he graduated as an honor student from Tufts Medical College in 1910 with a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree. In 1911 he joined the Army Medical Reserve Corps as a lieutenant. In 1913 he became a commissioned medical officer and attended the Army Medical School in Washington, D.C., graduating in June 1913.
By Susan Cypert
Life on the frontier was hard, both physically and emotionally, and survival often depended on new settlers learning to forage off the land by hunting, fishing and gathering berries, nuts and edible bulbs. The harsh reality of feeding a family, especially during the long winter months, was a constant concern. Homesteaders and ranchers were frequently isolated and had to be largely self-sufficient, especially until the seeds they brought west with them became gardens and crops, or if they had lost their milk cow on the journey or had not brought chickens with them.
By Elizabeth Bourgault
On July 9, 1946, a Boeing B-17G “Flying Fortress” bomber, converted into a transport plane, crashed into Mount Tom in Holyoke, MA, killing all 25 on board. Aboard were 15 U.S. Coast Guardsmen, 8 members of the Army Air Corps and two civilians, a U.S. Public Health doctor and an American Red Cross member. Two members of the Army Air Corps were from Prescott, the pilot, Flight Officer Herman (Joe) Valdrini, Jr., 24 and Radio Operator Sgt. Daniel Roberts (Pat) Roe, 20.
