History Up Close & Personal
Bisbee’s storied past is recorded, reflected, and retold in the Museum’s oral history collection. Share a smile at the memories of growing up, living, and working in Bisbee in its heyday as a thriving industrial city with a definite personality. If you are interested only in certain topics, such as mining, banking, holidays, ranching… you name it, use the keyword search.
Carl Nelson interviewed by Kieth Stewart-May 21, 1970
Content: Coming to Bisbee 0:28, Brewery Gulch/various business 2:40, Flooding 5:15, Lowell School 9:28, Prospecting 10:29, Tin Town 12:40, Working conditions and wages of miners 12:28, Miners 18:05, Fire Dept 19:42, Drilling Contest 23:38, 4th of July 25:40, Baseball teams 26:00, Coaster races 28:38, City park 33:50, Traveling shows and theater shows 34:58, Pastimes 37:20, Rodeos 40:00
Date Recorded: 21/05/1970
Interviewed By: Kieth Stewart
ListenCarl Nelson interviewed by Kieth Stewart-Oct 29,1970
Content: Coming to Bisbee 0:45, Central school 1:03, Teachers 2:48, Tool Company 3:30, Payday 4:59, Fire 5:46, Flood 7:39, Gambling 9:56, Wood burros/water burros 10:46, Gambling 11:39, 4th of July 11:56, Theater 12:39, Prohibition 13:27, Statehood 13:42
Date Recorded: 29/10/1970
Interviewed By: Kieth Stewart
ListenCarl Nelson interviewed by Unknown 1979
Content: Coming to Bisbee 0:20, Illness 2:00,Lumber theft 3:20, employment 6:01, gambling houses 8:05, flooding 10:52, railroads 11:10, Brewery gulch 13:55, Various businesses 15:25, Water burros 17:09, Bisbee Naco water company 17:41, Various businesses 17:55, Various employment 21:50, 4th of July celebration 22:17, Ethnic organizations 24:15, Bisbee Deportation (eye witness-very long) 25:30, Population of Bisbee 37:58, Various buildings 42:20, Blacksmith 45:21, 10 day miners 45:49, Hunting parties 50:32
Interviewed By: Not Set
ListenCarl Nelson Interviewer Unknown
Content: Coming to Arizona 00:30, New Horse 5:40, Schooling 6:50, Sports 10:20, Arizona Water Company 11:50, Employment 20:50, Bisbee Settlement 21:00, House Fire 28:50, Bisbee Deportation 31:10, Population in Bisbee 39:10, Mining Jobs Explained 44:50, Pay Day 47:10, Schoolyard 53:00
Interviewed By: Unknown
ListenCarl Nelson Interviewer Unknown
Content: Bisbee Hospital 00:10 IWW 3:40, Bisbee Deportation 7:41, Pancho Villa 8:10, Organizations 14:00, American Legion Post 15:05, Leasing Agreements 19:15, Arizona Statehood 22:20, Banks in Bisbee 25:10
Interviewed By: Unknown
ListenCarl Nelson Interviewer Unknown December 3rd 1976
Content: Coming/Moving to Bisbee 00:20, Central School 1:35, Recreation for Kids 2:10, Brewery Gulch 3:50, Dubaker Block 5:00, Brewery Gulch 5:50, Methods of Mining 6:50, Growing of Neighborhoods 8:20, Strikes 9:15, Bisbee Deportation 9:40, Cemetery 11:40, Streetcar 13:00, Saloons 15:00 Pancho Villa 18:05, Subway Debris 24:40, High School Graduation 26:00, CNA Mining Company 26:45, Tin Town 28:20, Public Transportation 29:50, Streetcar 30:20, Working Conditions and Wages in the Mines 30:40, Street Dances 41:40, Baseball 42:20, Coaster Races 45:05, Opera House 51:05
Date Recorded: 03/12/1976
Interviewed By: Unknown
ListenCarl Vidano interviewed by Unknown
Content: Bisbee 0:30, Postal service 0:47, Copper mining 1:05, Shattuck Denn Mining Co 2:00, Arizona Statehood 2:13, Family Tree 2:25, Native American raids 2:55, Italian Immigration 4:25, Family tree 5:25, Death by flooding 7:08, Family tree 9:01, Real estate 10:12, Family tree 12:02, Douglas, Arizona 14:03, Streetcar 14:30, General Pershing 15:40, Border culture 16:25, Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution 17:16, Singer 20:03, Homemade fireworks 21:32, Glory hole 22:59, Family dog 24:58, Mine Shaft 26:53
Interviewed By: Not Set
ListenCele Peterson interviewed by Beverly Woods, Jun 7, 1997
Content: Fashion clientele 0:05
Date Recorded: 07/06/1997
Interviewed By: Beverly Woods
ListenCharles Flanigan interviewed by Rod Hutchinson
Content: Governor of Arizona 0:07, Dirt Roads 1:10, Civil War battle in Arizona 1:52, Marriage 2:57, I.W.W Wooblies 6:14, Various business locations 6:45, Railroad 7:14, Prisoner workers 8:10
Interviewed By: Rod Hutchinson
ListenCharles Flanigan interviewed by Rod Hutchinson-Oct 2, 1980
Content: Family names 0:39, Family tree 3:00, City Council 3:30, City park 4:36, Street car 5:21, Irish Immigration 7:23, Miners shift 8:15, Employment 9:55, School mine 10:29, Carbide lights 10:58, Southwest mine 11:29, Mining 12:35, Ore carts 15:15, Tool nipping 16:50, Mining Drills 18:53, Blasting 22:11, Sacramento Pit 27:50, Hardhats 33:55, Cooper Ore sores 35:30, Supply work 36:40, Pay 39:01, Mining and Mucking 44:00, Mining Accident 45:16, Irish,Czechoslovakian, English Immigration 48:09, Mexican Miners 49:40, Homes 51:18, Marriage 54:31, Turn of the century Bisbee 56:50, Train 59:50
Date Recorded: 02/10/1980
Interviewed By: Rod Hutchinson
ListenCharles Orr interviewed by Dr. Harry French
Content: Billy Brophy 0:35, Phelps Dodge Mercantile company 1:10, Population of Bisbee, Baseball 1:54, Train 3:16, Death of Billy Brophy 3:54, Children 5:29, Chihuahua hill 7:00, Chinese Immigration 8:05, Train 8:45, Flooding, Dam 11:00
Date Recorded: 05/01/1973
Interviewed By: Dr. Harry French
ListenCharles William Hull interviewed by Roberta Vaughn
Content: Birth 00:22, Family Tree 00:40, Coming/Moving to Bisbee 1:20, Building a House 3:30, Schooling 4:10, Entertainment 6:40, Traveling in Bisbee 7:45, Schooling 8:30, Sports 9:40, Naco 10:00, Working after leaving High School with Leasing 12:50, Running Water 24:15, Religion 27:30, Garden 28:45, Picnics 30:20, Childhood Dreams 34:15, Transportation 36:50, Weather 40:25, Leasing Accidents 40:50, Work in California 42:05, Courtship 43:15, Family Employment 43:50, Spending Money 45:00, Dances 46:05, Children 49:00, Herbal Remedies 49:40, Outside World Connections 50:30, High School 52:25, Prejudices 53:10, Huachuca Mountains 54:40, Dances 55:40, Fights 57:15, Helping Family Around the House 57:20, Lunches 57:50, Working with Family 58:00
Interviewed By: Roberta Vaughn
ListenCharlie Carnahan interviewed by Art Kent - unkown date
Content: Early mining conditions 3:30, Strike & Deportation 5:29, Boarding houses & Community life 10:21, School life 16:00, John C. Greenway 28:10
Interviewed By: Art Kent
ListenCharlie Phillips interviewed by Carl Nelson - Sept 7, 1972
Content: C&A Mining Company 0:15 Mining mules 1:00, Lunchtime 3:00, Three car Tex 5:10, Training mules 11:20, Driving Chili 13:20
Date Recorded: 07/09/1972
Interviewed By: Carl Nelson
ListenChris Dabovich interviewed by Beverly Woods November 8th 1994 (one of two)
Content: Serbian Immigration 0:05, Chihuahua Hill 1:20, Family Tree 2:50, Wallace Pool Hall 15:11, City Hall 16:50, Sacred Heart Church 23:50, City Bus transportation 34:15, Discrimination 40:00, Ice Plant 48:50, Depression WPA 53:00, Arizona Edison Utilities 55:00, Strike 56:30, Youth Hangouts 57:30
Date Recorded: 08/11/1994
Interviewed By: Beverly Woods
ListenChris Dabovich interviewed by Beverly Woods November 8th 1994 (two of two)
Content: Pranks 2:00, 4th of July parade 3:15, Buffalo Soldiers 3:45, Coaster Races 4:45, Depression and Christmas 6:10, Brewery Gulch 11:50, Midnight Mass and Holy Week 13:25, Floods 14:40, Dubaker and Jones Canyons, 19:50, Phelps Dodge Mercantile 21:20, Marriage and Courtship 25:30
Date Recorded: 08/11/1994
Interviewed By: Beverly Woods
ListenClarence Malley (1 of 2) interviewed by John Kuehn Sept 24, 1980
Content: Parents 0:29, Coming to Bisbee 1:21, Phelps Dodge Corporation 2:49, Mining 3:40, Football rivalry versus Douglas 5:00, College Football 8:14, Mucking 8:49, Jiggerville name origin 9:20, Building homes 11:38, Streetcar 13:15, mucking 23:01, Underground mining 28:20, Mucking 28:21, Mule Skinning 30:50, Various mining companies 32:37, Practical jokes 36:55, Cage system 40:55, Miner safety 44:30, Lunch boxes and Rats 46:40, Rat infestation 49:45, Cockroaches 51:26, Mining accidents 53:00, Nightlife 54:35
Date Recorded: 24/09/1980
Interviewed By: John Kuehn
ListenClarence Malley interviewed by John Kuehn November 20, 1980
Content: Miner wages 0:48, Modern 1920's Homes technology 1:49, Miner wages & payroll deductions 5:58, Entertainment in Bisbee 9:11, Smuggling liqueur from Mexico during prohibition 12:30, Naco, Arizona 13:25, Discrimination against Mexican -Americans 14:18,Religious friction 17:26, Ku Klux Klan 17:53, Discrimination against Chinese 20:38, Hot Tamales 29:04, Silent films 32:10, Miner wages 34:15, Sundays 38:34, Hippies 39:05, Vietnam War and crime rates 42:48, Climate change & deforestation 45:34
Date Recorded: 20/11/1980
Interviewed By: John Kuehn
ListenClarence Wittig interviewed by Carl Nelson Feb 18,1971
Content: Phelps Dodge Corporation 0:17, Family tree 0:34, Graduating class 1:02, Schoolhouse 1:25, Central School 2:16, School teachers 4:03, High School graduating class 4:55, High School gymnasium 6:30, Football 6:45, Football district champion 8:46, Lowell elementary 9:19, School Teachers 9:45, 4th of July celebration 10:51, Rock Drilling competition 12:00, Races 14:28, Climbing 16:25, Tug of War 16:35, Fireworks 16:48, Gambling saloons 17:16, Opera House 19:55, Musical bands 20:50, YMCA 22:15, Water Burro 23:49, Refrigeration 24:25, Bisbee deportation 25:55
Date Recorded: 18/02/1971
Interviewed By: Carl Nelson
ListenCleveland A. Dodge interviewed by Unknown-August 9,1974
Content: Phelps Dodge corporation 0:30, William Phelps 0:42, Phelps family 1:20, Phelps company 2:05, Dodge family 2:59, copper mining 5:10, Tin plate 5:45, Phelps Dodge mining Company 8:00, Phelps Dodge family 13:00, Dodge military service 14:10, Pastimes 14:35, Chief executives of Phelps Dodge corporation 16:23, Railroad routes 21:05, Cleveland "cleave" Dodge 22:00, Dr. James Douglas 24:40, WWI and Turkey 27:05, Cleveland A. Dodge 31:17, Various mining positions 33:45, Various mining claims 34:40, Pancho Villa 36:19, Marriage 37:09, Bisbee deportation/I.W.W 37:23, Open pit mining 39:36, Mexican miners 40:58, Underground mining 41:50, Open pit miners 42:40, Depression 44:19, Merger of Phelps Dodge and Calumet 45:50
Date Recorded: 09/08/1974
Interviewed By: Not Set
ListenClifford Wylie interviewed by Carl Nelson
Content: Burning in Bisbee 00:40, Getting a Job 4:50, Birth 7:30, Family Tree 7:50, Mining 9:50, 27th Engineers 14:20, College in Chihuahua 21:10, Children 21:40
Interviewed By: Carl Nelson
ListenConrad Brashear and Betty Brashear-Cavallo interviewd by Beverly Woods March 9th 1993 (One of Two)
Content: Biography 0:06, Ranch Life 2:00, Birthdays 3:30, Marriage 3:45, California 4:10, Gambling 5:25, Lowell 6:00, Pharmacy 6:17, Post Office 8:20, Crystal Hodges 9:24, Marriage 10:00, Military 10:35, Childhood Home 11:22, Swimming Pool 11:48, Vista Park 12:55, Ramsey Canyon 15:48, Siblings 18:30, Ivan Van Buren 21:10, Jack Howard 22:40, Death 23:14, Mother 27:00, Family 34:50, School 35:24, Greenway 35:37, Dumps 36:09, Greenway House 38:30, Downtown Warren 41:56, Working in the Mines 44:20, 4th of July 47:25, Dairy Delivery 51:55, Local Hangouts 54:35, Leaving Bisbee 59:55
Date Recorded: 09/03/1993
Interviewed By: Beverly Woods
ListenConrad Brashear and Betty Brashear-Cavallo interviewed by Beverly Woods March 9th 1993 (Two of Two)
Content: Teaching 0:13, Moving Back to Bisbee 1:40, Life after the Army 2:50, Christmas 7:33, Streetcars 9:20, Hillcrest Hospital 9:40, Christmas 10:05, Baking 11:05, Chores 12:54, Mrs. Brodders Store 16:15, Changes in Bisbee 20:15, Billiards vs. Pool 22:10, Rides to School 22:40, Lyric Theatre 25:10
Date Recorded: 09/03/1993
Interviewed By: Not Set
ListenCopper Queen Library Centennial Celebration (1 of 2)
Content: Background conversations 0:50, Copper Queen Library Centennial 1:44, Navajo Indian education system ? 2:59, Dixie Canyon 3:34, Civil War P.O.W in Andersonville 4:51, George Warren 6:29, Apache attack 7:59, Indian kidnapping and enslavement 8:35, George Warren sold for 14 pounds of sugar 10:20, Opata Indians 11:12, Gold Prospecting 12:00, Copper discovery 13:45, Copper Boom 14:40, Spanish mining 15:30, George Warren 17:01, Irvin Bond 19:28, Cave creek 20:20, Background conversation 24:08
Interviewed By: Not Set
ListenCopper Queen Library Centennial Celebration (2 of 2)
Content: Copper Queen Library Centennial 0:09, Proclamation 1:01, Bena Cook 2:45, Establishment of Bisbee Library 3:47, Daily life 5:47, Renovations to Bisbee library 7:40, Art show winners 9:05, Ginny Williams 12:57, Bisbee deportation 18:45, Native American Massacre 20:30, Glenn Boyer 23:43, Jokes 27:39, Biography 29:00, Social consciousness 30:40, Old Western genre 31:30, Typewriters 33:32, School system 37:50, Library system 40:08, Television 42:25, Mrs. Womack 43:20, Patrons of library 45:00, Library budget 47:23, Reading books 50:00, Book availability 52:00, Library funding 54:50, Mayor of Bisbee receives award 1:00:09
Interviewed By: Not Set
ListenCornelius Smith (1 of 2)(Father received the Medal of Honor!)interviewed by Carl Nelson
Content: Family 2:01, Army posts throughout the United States 5:00, The battle of the Alamo 5:50, Tucson, Arizona 14:40, Camp Grant Massacre 20:19, Arizona Territory 27:15, U.S Army in the Arizona territory 28:10, Billy the Kid 31:39, Father Kino 34;30, Mexico 36:35, schooling 39:15, Apache & Navajo 40:15, New Mexico 41:03, Philippines 44:07,Philippine Moors a.k.a Mindanao 48:47, 5th Calvary in Arizona territory 53:05, South America 54:32
Date Recorded: 04/12/1977
Interviewed By: Carl Nelson
ListenCornelius Smith (2 of 2)(Father received the Medal of Honor!) interviewed byCarl Nelson
Content: Types of grenades 0:05, U.S Army patrols U.S Mexico border 1:55, Boxcars 2:45, Mexican revolution 3:35, Railroads 7:41, Battle of Nogales 9:28, WWII 13:29, Pearl Harbor survivor 21:00, Experiencing the sounds of War 28:41, Hawaii during WWII 29:58
Date Recorded: 04/12/1977
Interviewed By: Not Set
ListenDan Kitchell interviewed by Roberta Vaughn (One of Two)
Content: Coming to America/Family Tree 00:40, Coming/Moving to Bisbee 12:30, Working for the Czar 21:10, Wages and Hours 24:50, Boarding Houses and Housing 25:50, Cafeteria Business 30:10, Courtship 31:45, Housing 33:00, Entertainment 37:10, YMCA 48:50, Chinese in Bisbee 54:33, Bisbee Deportation 1:00:00
Interviewed By: Roberta Vaughn
ListenDan Kitchell interviewed by Roberta Vaughn (Two of Two)
Content: Bisbee Deportation 00:02, Mexicans Working Underground 9:10, Ku Klux Klan and Discrimination 11:50, Wages as an Engineer in the Mines 19:30, Work Schedule 19:53, Vacation Time for Hunting 20:20, Parades and Celebrations 25:30, Bisbee Cemetery Association 28:40, Garbage Collection 31:10, Nicknames in the Mines 34:45, Unions 39:20, Accidents in the Mines 40:00, Training to be an Engineer 47:09, Family Tree 49:00
Interviewed By: Roberta Vaughn
ListenDan Vucurevich interviewed by Boyd Nicholl July 15th 2003
Content: Birth 00:09, Coming/Moving to Bisbee 00:20, Mining Company Work 4:00, Douglas Smelter 4:19, Mucking and Stope Work 6:00, Church Drill and other Heavy Machinery 6:40, Neighborhoods 12:00, Pit Operations and Process 14:40, Copper Extraction 45:00, Filter Drum 46:20, Douglas Smelter Operations and Process 52:35
Date Recorded: 15/07/2003
Interviewed By: Boyd Nicholl
Listen