The Town Too Tough to Die, Tombstone, AZ
Have you ever been to Arizona? Do you like the stories of the old West? I was born and raised in the Carolinas. I had never been west of the Mississippi until I enlisted in the US Air Force in 1973. I spent six weeks of Septmener at basic training in a place they called Happy Valley, Tx aka, Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas.
After six more weeks at Sheppard AFB for basic training, I got my first assignment at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Az. I never liked it. Mainly because it was so different from the South that I grew up in. It was an easy drive to SoCal, Phoenix and Mexico which were interesting.
I had a friend from HS who lived in Dallas, Texas who drove out with his wife for a visit. After their visit, they told me they were going to make a stop in Tombstone, Az on their drive back to Dallas. It was sometime later, that I learned about their trip. He just went on and on about how great the visit was. They went to the OK Corral, they took a Stage Coach tour and went to Boot Hill Cemettary.
It wasn’t long after that when I received orders to MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida. From one extreme to another, it was quite a change in many ways. So, I never made it to Tombstone. Like many others, my interest in the town was piqued after the movie came out with Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer.
In 2019, some 46 years later, I had an opportunity to visit Tucson, Az. It was certainly a walk down memory lane seeing the base and the city and how much it had grown and changed. I rented a vehicle and drove to Sierra Vista, Az and stayed over night. The next morning, I made the short drive to Tombstone, Az.
It was like taking a 100 year step back in time to 1877. The town grew up around the discovery of silver. It grew from a desert cross roads to a town of 7,000 people by 1881. Within a few short years there were 11 saloons, dozens of bordellos, hotels and casinos.
The story of the Shoot Out at the OK Corral of April of 1881 is well documented. Go check out the movie, it is as historically accurate as Hollywood will allow. I was there in July so the weather was warm but not extreme. Obvioulsy tourism is the main draw. Many of the old casinos and hotels have been restored. Unfortunately, the town has been impacted by two major fires over the years but has been quickly rebuilt.
During my stage coach tour, I saw this sign for Killer Bee Guy honey. So after te tour, I stopped in and met Reed Booth, who is The Guy. He told me about how he learned to exterminate the real killer bees who were migrating from South America into Mexico and then the Southern US.
Evidently it was a big problem for area farmers so he got the reputation as the guy to call to get rid of the bees. Over the course of time, he learned about bee keeping and the development of honey and honey butter. Now he sells his products all over the world. I purchased some while I was there and since then, I have purchased from his website and given it as Christmas gifts. They will ship anywhere and they are very reliable. The Cinnamon Honey Butter is my favorite.
I hope you get a chance to go and if you do, say hello to Reed Booth. In the mean time, check out it his web site:
