Ashfork is classic small town Arizona -- hanging in there despite a life of boom and bust. The railroad -- big and then rerouted. Its main street fabled US Highway 66 -- bypassed by the interstate. And, currently, a possible slow-down in its current employment mainstay, flagstone, thanks to Arizona's real estate bust. Nonetheless, a local development association has a few plans up its sleeves.
However, today was a big day in this small town just north of I40. A local boy who made good as Arizona's official historian was in town to sign copies of his just published
Images of America: Ash Fork. The sponsor, the local historical society, was overwhelmed with the number of people who turned out for the event at the local museum.
Here's a first look at the line of folks waiting to get their copies of the book autographed.
And here's the author,
Marshall Trimble, who lived in Ash Fork from 1947 to 1955.
Those were my formative years, and many of the stories in this work are gathered from a youngster's personal experiences and observations, he writes in the introduction. He arrived early to begin signing books at 1 p.m.; the original schedule included a talk by Trimble after the signing.
A splendid array of homemade goodies awaited people who finally got through the long line.
Later: the line is still long.
It was thanks to Georgene that I was able to photograph this event; here she talks politics with local residents. Note line in the background.
Since the author was still busy signing books, local talent entertained the audience in the small seating area.
With a long drive ahead, at 4;30 we gave up waiting for the program. Though the line was beginning to dwindle, Trimble was still signing books! BTW, this small town museum holds many fascinating relics of the Arizona past -- coming soon, a sampling.
I suspect that the Flagstone Capital of the World is ominously quiet in 2009. Probably next year, as well. Without yesterday's building boom, there is not much call for that yellow and pink and orange Coconino sandstone quarried northeast of Ashfork and over in the canyons by The Matterhorn. (Don't laugh -- look at your topo map while you motor east on the Drake Road and there it is, a big bluff that juts out from The Rim. I don't know why someone picked that memorable name.)
When the LH and I first moved to Arizona, a regular highway sight was the big flatbed truck loaded with slabs of flagstone, wired together in bundles for stability on the road. The trucks were heading out from Ashfork and Drake, destination those ever-expanding tracts of homes down in the Valley of Death.
The big flagstone yards are located in Ashfork; that is where I took these pictures the winter of 2007-8. BTW, if you want just one or two pieces of the stone for your yard or other use, take a ride out the Drake Road. There are plenty of drop offs by the roadside, free for picking up.
These reddish slabs are the same material as the famous Red Rocks of Sedona. The sandstone which is quarried comes from one of many differing sedimentary layers that comprise the Colorado Plateau.
Above, the standard packaging for the Phoenix market via flatbed truck. Other types of packaging below.
The pallet may be made in Canada, but the stone is certainly a native Arizonan.
Because the stone splits into neat flats, its main use is underfoot. Above, a staircase; below, stepping stones. A proper southwestern patio is almost always fashioned from flagstone. My fireplace is made entirely from flagstone.
The sandstone is also fashioned into bricks (above) or used locally for architectural details, such as the window lintel (below) at the Sparkes Activity Center (armory).
Then there is this sculpture in the gardens at Yavapai College. Quintessentially Arizona.
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