Description

Charles Raymond “Tony” Hartin was the Prescott Volunteer Fire Department Chief from 1934 – 1943.

Charles “Tony” Hartin was born July 30, 1907 in Prescott Arizona. He was the son of Henry and Gertrude (Smith) Hartin.  His parents moved to a ranch in Simmons, Arizona after Tony was born and lived there until Tony’s graduation from High School, when they then moved back to Prescott. Tony took over the management of his father’s Standard Oil gas station. This was the first gas station in Prescott and was located where his grandfather, John Carson Hartin, had owned his blacksmith shop, on the corner of Gurley and McCormick Streets.  He ran this station until the Great Depression of the 1930s forced its closure.

After the closure of the station, Tony went to work for the City of Prescott‘s Department of Weights and Measures. It was during this time that Tony met and married stenographer Helen Palmer of San Diego, California.  She joined Tony in Prescott where they lived at 2134 South Marina Street.   
Tony capped off these years by joining the Prescott Volunteer Fire Department and in 1934 was elected to Fire Chief of the organization. He held this position until 1943. He continued to be connected with the Fire Fighters until his death.  Tony was also a lifetime member of the Prescott Smoki People, a group of Caucasian re-enactors that performed Native American dances.

In 1944 Tony moved from the Department of Weights and Measures to work as a projectionist at the Studio Theatre in Prescott. He held this position until 1959. In addition, he turned his carpentry skills into a fulltime business by starting “Mile High Wood Craft” which eventually morphed into the “Hartin Saw Shop” in 1968. He operated this business until his death on July 16, 1982. He was survived by his wife Helen (Palmer) Hartin, son Charles Hartin Jr. of Tempe, Arizona, daughter Anitaraye (Hartin) Shehi of Scottsdale, Arizona, and six grandchildren.

Sources:
Collection: Roberts- Hartin Family Collection, PC-40. Sharlot Hall Archives
Newspaper: Prescott Daily Courier, July 19, 1982. Page. 3, Column 1.
Journal:  “When they are Gone…”: The Smoki People of Prescott and Preservation of Indian Culture by Jennifer DeWitt.  Journal of Arizona History. Volume 37, Number 4 (Winter 1996) Page 319.