This is a sign posted at the Little League baseball diamond and I thought it was particularly noteworthy.
Hayden, AZ was a unplanned stop for us, and we found it so pleasant there that we stayed for 3 days, to recoup from a small mishap that we had regarding our bike rack and bikes that were mounted on the back of the Little House (LH.)
As were were driving north out of Tucson, we were in a congested area on the edge of town and another motorist pulled up beside us, waving like mad and yelling "Bikes". I was driving and so pulled over and found that our new bike rack had experienced some metal fatique in the shaft holding our bikes in the air and it had literally broken apart, the bikes came down and dragged on the highway until I couold get stopped and pulled over. We were not going fast, maybe 30 mph but it was fast enough to badly damage our bikes. The rack is toast, and the bikes need quite extensive repairs. So we took everything apart, put the wreckage into he LH and pressed on for the next town. That's how we come to stop in Hayden.
We were sorely disappointed about the bicycles, and miffed, and hungry and hot, and crabby, so we stopped at Maria's Mexican Food. There we asked about where we could park our rig for the night, and where we could get our bikes fixed, a haircut and find internet. As luck would have it we found a great little spot down by the city golf course, along the river, with trees and shade.
Hayden is a copper mining town and the mine is the only payroll of any consequence. The mine was booming many years ago but now it's production is waning and the people aren't making the money they once were. Every building in town is dilapidated.
The schools, the public buildings are in disarray. I tried to get my haircut in this little burg, and asked for directions to Lupe's. She cuts hair from her home. So after finding her home, it too had a closed sign in the dusty window, and it looked like the only thing living there were mice. No haircut for me! We drove around the corner and passed the Police Station. PHOTO There are as any as 8 nice police vehicles parked out front. Evidently this little place spends money on police cars. It seems like a gross over expenditure of the few resources scraped together by the poor folk around here, but there must be something we don't know. According to the locals, the mine is not taxed very high, and the city charges a pittance for utilities and services, (we can attest to that, they only charged us $10 per day to stay at the best place in town!), and the whole economy is in a downward spiral. It is a sad and forlorn little speck on the Arizona landscape. I wonder what will happen to these little towns? there are lots of the m in Arizona, big nasty open pit mines everywhere you look. We all enjoy the copper, but hate the mine, that ruins the landscape, taints the water, and pollutes the air. I am so sad to say this little town is doomed.
On a happier note, the locals are good folks, trying to raise families here. But their future looks rather grim. They actually live in these shacks, and barely make ends meet. There is a small grocery store, Guisetti's that has been here for 3 generations. I asked there if there was a place in town to cut my hair and senior Guisetti, (3 generations were lolling around at the cash register), said he could cut my hair because he was also the meat cutter. Great. We bought our bottled water and passed on the offer. Everybody does their shopping up the road in Kearny or Globe. Did I mention that on telephone poles and billboard all over town were warning notices recommending residents be tested for arsenic and lead. Sheesh! I feel for these people.
We attended a Little League game because it was in our back yard. We sat in the bleechers with the rest of the parents and grandparents, half of the total population was there, and cheered on the 5-7 year olds. I was surprised at what lengths the Haydenites go in support of Little league. There were two games back to back, and the kids took it very seriously. The teams were girls and boys, each with crisp white and blue uniforms and plenty of zeal. A whole platoon of parents were making it happen, by coaching, umping, and keeping score; volunteers were grilling, scooping, and doling out food at the snack shack (we bought nachos) and it was pretty obvious that this was a main event in Hayden. They did it all again the next night with bigger kids.
We were sorely disappointed about the bicycles, and miffed, and hungry and hot, and crabby, so we stopped at Maria's Mexican Food. There we asked about where we could park our rig for the night, and where we could get our bikes fixed, a haircut and find internet. As luck would have it we found a great little spot down by the city golf course, along the river, with trees and shade.
Hayden is a copper mining town and the mine is the only payroll of any consequence. The mine was booming many years ago but now it's production is waning and the people aren't making the money they once were. Every building in town is dilapidated.
 |
| A remains of a house that simply crumbled away |
On a happier note, the locals are good folks, trying to raise families here. But their future looks rather grim. They actually live in these shacks, and barely make ends meet. There is a small grocery store, Guisetti's that has been here for 3 generations. I asked there if there was a place in town to cut my hair and senior Guisetti, (3 generations were lolling around at the cash register), said he could cut my hair because he was also the meat cutter. Great. We bought our bottled water and passed on the offer. Everybody does their shopping up the road in Kearny or Globe. Did I mention that on telephone poles and billboard all over town were warning notices recommending residents be tested for arsenic and lead. Sheesh! I feel for these people.
We attended a Little League game because it was in our back yard. We sat in the bleechers with the rest of the parents and grandparents, half of the total population was there, and cheered on the 5-7 year olds. I was surprised at what lengths the Haydenites go in support of Little league. There were two games back to back, and the kids took it very seriously. The teams were girls and boys, each with crisp white and blue uniforms and plenty of zeal. A whole platoon of parents were making it happen, by coaching, umping, and keeping score; volunteers were grilling, scooping, and doling out food at the snack shack (we bought nachos) and it was pretty obvious that this was a main event in Hayden. They did it all again the next night with bigger kids.
No comments:
Post a Comment