I lived in Arizona from 1960 til 1971. I went to school grades 1-8 in Bagdad, Arizona. My dad worked at an open pit copper mine for 10 years and 1 year on a ranch out there. Those 10 years were the only time in my dad's life, other than the Army, where he had to be at a job at a certain time. It was the most unusual town I've ever lived in because the mine owned all of the houses and the grocery store. My parents paid $5 a room as rent (about $30 a month) and all of the utilites were paid except a phone. If the employee wanted a different house, they'd put their name on a list and as a house came open, it would go by seniority. We had an apartment at a beginning and then 2 houses before we moved out onto the ranch. And part of my dad's pay was in "script", money that could only be used in the company grocery store, which also had drygoods and a pharamcy. I'm not sure it is legal to pay someone in other than US money and it was probably illegal even then but it seemed to work at the time. I also rememeber other businesses--a privately owned variety store, a bank, a barber shop, a beauty shop, a hamburger place and a gas station. That was it.
The company that owned the town was called Bagdad Copper Corp. There was technically another company in the town that owned an underground mine called Cypress Copper that paid Bagdad Copper for the houses. It was a more dangerous mine because it was underground and my dad was lucky to work at the other mine. Later, the mines merged into Bagdad-Cypress and were eventually sold to a company called Phelps-Dodge.
My mom and I went back to Bagdad a few years ago and things had changed a lot. The mine is still the primary employer but there were different stores and not much looked the same. We did not have enough time there but I'd like to go back again and explore.
3 comments:
I also grew up in Bagdad, but a later generation, as did my parents. My Grandfather was Sid, the local cop. He had cowboyed around that country as well, so your Dad would have known them as they were the same generation. You may have remembered my parents from the corrals -- Jan and Lloyd Smith.
My name is Ray Smith and my email address is z03789@msn.com.
Thanks!
i also grew up in bagdad. but i rem my father roger elm telling me that they would put a bid on a house and the highest bidder won. i remember your family ray. you were in my brothers class or year behind and your brother clint was in mine.
holly (elm) mathews
My name is Jim Fowler and I also grew up in Bagdad. I was there from 1943-1970.The script you were talking about that you got paid in you could spend just about any where in Prescott and Wickenburg. All the stores and other places of business would take it just like they would any other money. Bagdad just doesn't feel like home anymore though sense they tore down all the old house and re-did all the streets. I know the street I grew up on doesn't exist anymore and there are very few people there that I knew when I was a kid growing up there. But I still call the place my home town even though I was born in Prescott.
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