Having grown up in Ajo in the 60s and 70s I have a couple of first hand observations. First off I’m not proud of any segregation that has occurred in the U.S. . That being said Phelps Dodge did not start that in Ajo. Mr. Heath needs to get his facts straight. That was started long before PD took over. Also I noticed how he called the northern part of town “white Ajo”. We never called it that and that district had many Hispanic and Native Americans living there as well. Ajo was not perfect and neither was PD but PD largely built this town and it was filled with good people that gathered together for festivities and school meetings and ball games as well as church services and when we lost one the town would show for funerals no matter what color your skin was. Just like it is today. Ajo was and is a good town. There would not be much here had PD not poured so much into Ajo. I’m curious if Mr. Heath is aware of any of that. By the way in his pompous judgment of my home town did ge stop to think that when he showers or gets a drink of water or uses his car, phone, drone, camera equipment and just about everything in his home that copper is used to make it all? There was most definitely an environmental impact on our desert processing copper but if you cry foul on something that you are using or benefiting from is that not somewhat hypocritical? I’m not sure why at the end of some really nice filmography of some very select parts of Ajo that he felt he needed to make it political but ok. “Make your vote count”. Yes absolutely! Be informed with ALL the facts though. And get them straight. I did enjoy the film footage. That’s my humble opinion and I’m not looking to stir up a bunch of ruckus I just wanted to set a few things straight since I was here then and now.
Thank you for your comment. Please see my previous comment. Obviously copper is important in electricity and I don't deny that, but to destroy a pristine desert where folks have invested millions and millions in their homes because of an absurd law dating to 1870. I would think it through more carefully, the pros and cons. Will you be happy if they return to Ajo to mine when the price drops? There is copper in places other than Ajo, as special as it is to the people living here, and with the most biodiversity in the lower 48. And what do mines invariably leave behind when the price of copper drops: polluted water, enormous holes in the ground, a landscape ruined by tailings and old machinery and broken communities. These are not saintly enterprises concerned with your lands. They are extractive and rob the land with impunity. The Rosemont Copper mine will spoil the mountains in the distance that make my home special. People want to pay and employ many more people than mines to guide them through this wonderful country and protect it. Please keep that mind. Thank you.
Obviously Mr. Heath you come from someplace to make negative commentary about nothing you know about. I was born and raised in Ajo Along with many other Native Americans, Mexicans, and Whites in the same hospital provided by Phelps Dodge. We all saw the same doctors and nurses. No one had to live in the housing provided by PD. The Gibson area was home to a mixture of ethnic groups. I never heard anyone complain about the housing areas provided by PD. Apartheid is a pretty strong word. Some people were prejudiced, but they brought their prejudices from other parts of the USA. Phelps provided parks, healthcare, grocery stores, clothing, you name it PD provided. In return, the community members worked in the mine. From cradle to death. Even provided a burial plot. The school system produced doctors, lawyers, dentists, engineers, carpenters, painters, locomotive engineers, heavy equipment operators, plumbers, and more. Ajo was/is a safe place to live. What other industry in the US provides housing for employees? A living wage whereby only one person had to work to support a family. Ecological costs? Perhaps, but scrape away the skyscrapers from cities and you will find that our big hole is nothing compared to the destruction of habitats in all cities of the US. There were no social costs. Everyone got along and everyone knew everyones business. Incidentally, I lived in Mexican town and later in Tortilla flats. What great times were had. I wouldn't trade places with anyone.
Thank you for your comment Mr. Morales. You're right, I've only been to Ajo twice, but have been a ranch owner 12 miles north of the border for 26 years. I am 72 years old and was active in the civil rights movement as a member of the NAACP. My roots are from Virginia, once head of the Confederacy. If you noticed, I opened with something quite complimentary, about Ajo today, being a multiracial community in harmony with the desert. What I learned about the segregation in Ajo was from a local expert in the field, and from the installation in the park. Phelps had no choice but to provide services that would have been unavailable otherwise and made it impossible to have the workers they needed. They didn't think twice about housing folks in segregated towns with the whites clearly in the best spot. You're cool with that? In the nineteen-seventies they were forced by the civil rights movement to stop. You have a right to be as nostalgic as you want, but if we are to end racism we must study the past and call it out for what it was. Can't have it both ways. Cities are a given, spoiled already. We're talking about vanishing wild lands here. Open-pit mining is bad and current proposed mines violate the rights of Arizona residents, animals and the environment. Take a look at Oak Flat and Rosemont Junction.
Comment from a third party:Maggie Mcquaid I was born in Ajo. My mom's siter (my Aunt Brownie) was married to John O'Neill, one of the P-D bighsot managers. We were in and out of town a lot, and I started first grade there. I clearly remember that my little class at Leo J. Curley was all white. The Mexican and Indian kids were in classes on the other side of the courtyard and got out to recess after we'd already gone inside. We never interacted. I remember this because my kindergarten was on an Air Force base in Ohio, and my classmates were all colors and races. I may be mis-remembering the situation at Curley, but I'm pretty sure classes were completely segregated. Aunt Brownie would take us over to what we called the "Indian Village" sometimes to drop off clothing donations. I remember that the Mexican part of town was north of downtown Ajo, on the road out of town. That's where the best little restaurants were. My husband and I went back last year and stayed at my old school, which is now a conference center and inn. I enjoyed seeing the old place, but felt constantly overwhelmed by memories of sadness and injustice.
I agree. Thank you for the additional comment. Nobody is saying Ajo isn't a jewel of a town. We loved it and got to know a lot of locals touring the city. I love remote, Mexican, black and indigenous, and most whites too and would consider it a place to live. Pretty hot though. I think we can find common ground. Thank you.
Wow, incredible film and music!💎 bringing out how sad this dirty mining is. We watched 13 families homes get burried in south bisbee, by 'reclamation', which is actually moving dump#7 in warren, to the present site on hwy 92. Its Full of rare earth wealth. They dont tell locals many details of thier future plans. Btw, can a small tractor, dozer, or truck pull down those wall sections? Your videos made me hate that wall even more. Years ago they vowed not to put it up out there by you. I guess they lied again. Thanks for all you do❤
Thank you for watching and your generous comments. Regarding your question, no, they can't be pulled down (and that would be illegal) very easily, but the folks coming across routinely cut holes in the wall with simple tools. If someday we get our way and America realizes a wall is wrong for many, many reasons, it could be taken down. We can only pray. Thank you for your support. -TH
Trying to figure-out an alternative to copper so we can continue having stuff like film & stage arts, the internet, air conditioning & heating systems, mechanically powered transportation, windmills, hydro turbine generators, solar panels, sewing machines, refrigerators, surgery tools and reliable ships to move people & stuff between continents.
Where do you live? Do you want it in your back yard? Consumerism is a terrific waste and if we learned to live with less (like I do) we'd make it. Recycling copper could go a long way to making up for the demand. I'm not an expert but I hallow the beauty of the mountains, the animals, clean water and air, the way it is naturally, and my home the ranged!!!!. Only a tiny bit of copper goes into my operation. These are all valid considerations but I think my first two sentences touch on the essence. Who should have their homes ruined and investments squandered by foreign companies who could care less about us? I've been thinking about the threat of this issue for 26 years now. Thank you.
Earth first....... we'll mine the other planets later! Was Ajo ever an underground mine? What haul trucks brought the ore out of the pit! Are there leach pads or just tailings? Beautiful town!
![Megan Thee Stallion - Bigger In Texas [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/QxTkZTLWdo4/mqdefault.jpg)
Having grown up in Ajo in the 60s and 70s I have a couple of first hand observations.
First off I’m not proud of any segregation that has occurred in the U.S. . That being said Phelps Dodge did not start that in Ajo. Mr. Heath needs to get his facts straight. That was started long before PD took over. Also I noticed how he called the northern part of town “white Ajo”. We never called it that and that district had many Hispanic and Native Americans living there as well.
Ajo was not perfect and neither was PD but PD largely built this town and it was filled with good people that gathered together for festivities and school meetings and ball games as well as church services and when we lost one the town would show for funerals no matter what color your skin was. Just like it is today. Ajo was and is a good town. There would not be much here had PD not poured so much into Ajo. I’m curious if Mr. Heath is aware of any of that.
By the way in his pompous judgment of my home town did ge stop to think that when he showers or gets a drink of water or uses his car, phone, drone, camera equipment and just about everything in his home that copper is used to make it all?
There was most definitely an environmental impact on our desert processing copper but if you cry foul on something that you are using or benefiting from is that not somewhat hypocritical?
I’m not sure why at the end of some really nice filmography of some very select parts of Ajo that he felt he needed to make it political but ok. “Make your vote count”. Yes absolutely! Be informed with ALL the facts though. And get them straight.
I did enjoy the film footage. That’s my humble opinion and I’m not looking to stir up a bunch of ruckus I just wanted to set a few things straight since I was here then and now.
Thank you for your comment. Please see my previous comment. Obviously copper is important in electricity and I don't deny that, but to destroy a pristine desert where folks have invested millions and millions in their homes because of an absurd law dating to 1870. I would think it through more carefully, the pros and cons.
Will you be happy if they return to Ajo to mine when the price drops? There is copper in places other than Ajo, as special as it is to the people living here, and with the most biodiversity in the lower 48. And what do mines invariably leave behind when the price of copper drops: polluted water, enormous holes in the ground, a landscape ruined by tailings and old machinery and broken communities. These are not saintly enterprises concerned with your lands. They are extractive and rob the land with impunity.
The Rosemont Copper mine will spoil the mountains in the distance that make my home special. People want to pay and employ many more people than mines to guide them through this wonderful country and protect it. Please keep that mind. Thank you.
Obviously Mr. Heath you come from someplace to make negative commentary about nothing you know about. I was born and raised in Ajo Along with many other Native Americans, Mexicans, and Whites in the same hospital provided by Phelps Dodge. We all saw the same doctors and nurses. No one had to live in the housing provided by PD. The Gibson area was home to a mixture of ethnic groups. I never heard anyone complain about the housing areas provided by PD. Apartheid is a pretty strong word. Some people were prejudiced, but they brought their prejudices from other parts of the USA. Phelps provided parks, healthcare, grocery stores, clothing, you name it PD provided. In return, the community members worked in the mine. From cradle to death. Even provided a burial plot. The school system produced doctors, lawyers, dentists, engineers, carpenters, painters, locomotive engineers, heavy equipment operators, plumbers, and more. Ajo was/is a safe place to live. What other industry in the US provides housing for employees? A living wage whereby only one person had to work to support a family. Ecological costs? Perhaps, but scrape away the skyscrapers from cities and you will find that our big hole is nothing compared to the destruction of habitats in all cities of the US. There were no social costs. Everyone got along and everyone knew everyones business. Incidentally, I lived in Mexican town and later in Tortilla flats. What great times were had. I wouldn't trade places with anyone.
Thank you for your comment Mr. Morales. You're right, I've only been to Ajo twice, but have been a ranch owner 12 miles north of the border for 26 years. I am 72 years old and was active in the civil rights movement as a member of the NAACP. My roots are from Virginia, once head of the Confederacy.
If you noticed, I opened with something quite complimentary, about Ajo today, being a multiracial community in harmony with the desert. What I learned about the segregation in Ajo was from a local expert in the field, and from the installation in the park. Phelps had no choice but to provide services that would have been unavailable otherwise and made it impossible to have the workers they needed. They didn't think twice about housing folks in segregated towns with the whites clearly in the best spot. You're cool with that? In the nineteen-seventies they were forced by the civil rights movement to stop.
You have a right to be as nostalgic as you want, but if we are to end racism we must study the past and call it out for what it was. Can't have it both ways. Cities are a given, spoiled already. We're talking about vanishing wild lands here. Open-pit mining is bad and current proposed mines violate the rights of Arizona residents, animals and the environment. Take a look at Oak Flat and Rosemont Junction.
I am 77 years. Unfortunately, Ajo only had three black families. One of them lived in Mexican Town. We need more towns like Ajo.
Comment from a third party:Maggie Mcquaid
I was born in Ajo. My mom's siter (my Aunt Brownie) was married to John O'Neill, one of the P-D bighsot managers. We were in and out of town a lot, and I started first grade there. I clearly remember that my little class at Leo J. Curley was all white. The Mexican and Indian kids were in classes on the other side of the courtyard and got out to recess after we'd already gone inside. We never interacted. I remember this because my kindergarten was on an Air Force base in Ohio, and my classmates were all colors and races. I may be mis-remembering the situation at Curley, but I'm pretty sure classes were completely segregated. Aunt Brownie would take us over to what we called the "Indian Village" sometimes to drop off clothing donations. I remember that the Mexican part of town was north of downtown Ajo, on the road out of town. That's where the best little restaurants were. My husband and I went back last year and stayed at my old school, which is now a conference center and inn. I enjoyed seeing the old place, but felt constantly overwhelmed by memories of sadness and injustice.
I agree. Thank you for the additional comment. Nobody is saying Ajo isn't a jewel of a town. We loved it and got to know a lot of locals touring the city. I love remote, Mexican, black and indigenous, and most whites too and would consider it a place to live. Pretty hot though. I think we can find common ground. Thank you.
Thanks Dan. I hate when people come to our town and tell us how bad it was. They have no idea and Mr Heath you can kiss my Ajo born ass
Wow, incredible film and music!💎 bringing out how sad this dirty mining is.
We watched 13 families homes get burried in south bisbee, by 'reclamation', which is actually moving dump#7 in warren, to the present site on hwy 92. Its Full of rare earth wealth.
They dont tell locals many details of thier future plans.
Btw, can a small tractor, dozer, or truck pull down those wall sections?
Your videos made me hate that wall even more. Years ago they vowed not to put it up out there by you. I guess they lied again.
Thanks for all you do❤
Thank you for watching and your generous comments. Regarding your question, no, they can't be pulled down (and that would be illegal) very easily, but the folks coming across routinely cut holes in the wall with simple tools. If someday we get our way and America realizes a wall is wrong for many, many reasons, it could be taken down. We can only pray. Thank you for your support. -TH
Trying to figure-out an alternative to copper so we can continue having stuff like film & stage arts, the internet, air conditioning & heating systems, mechanically powered transportation, windmills, hydro turbine generators, solar panels, sewing machines, refrigerators, surgery tools and reliable ships to move people & stuff between continents.
Where do you live? Do you want it in your back yard? Consumerism is a terrific waste and if we learned to live with less (like I do) we'd make it. Recycling copper could go a long way to making up for the demand. I'm not an expert but I hallow the beauty of the mountains, the animals, clean water and air, the way it is naturally, and my home the ranged!!!!. Only a tiny bit of copper goes into my operation. These are all valid considerations but I think my first two sentences touch on the essence. Who should have their homes ruined and investments squandered by foreign companies who could care less about us? I've been thinking about the threat of this issue for 26 years now. Thank you.
Earth first....... we'll mine the other planets later! Was Ajo ever an underground mine? What haul trucks brought the ore out of the pit! Are there leach pads or just tailings? Beautiful town!
Gold is a gteat conductor of electricity!