Bisbee Memoir Project

For nearly 100 years the mines in Bisbee, Arizona produced enormous amounts of copper and the beautiful little mountain town, through times of struggle and prosperity, was particularly beloved by its residents.  In the mid-1970s, when Phelps Dodge announced it was closing the Bisbee mines, it was a devastating blow to the community. Businesses closed, the population plummeted, real estate prices collapsed, and it seemed Bisbee might be the next ghost town.

Soon, an unforeseen development presented yet another challenge to the locals as newcomers began arriving from all over the country. They were mostly young people unaware of the traumatic challenges facing the locals. To the newcomers, Bisbee seemed like a little bit of heaven, a place where you could buy a house and follow your bliss.

Not surprisingly, clashes and conflicts ensued.  But the newcomers seemed to love Bisbee, too, and over the years this mix of old-timers and newcomers found ways to appreciate one another and combine their energies and enthusiasm to help Bisbee reinvent itself.  Forty years after the mines closed, both old-timers and newcomers tell their stories in this diverse and entertaining collection.

The collection wraps up with several compelling accounts of ranch life, local geology, ecology and natural ranching in Cochise County with Dennis Moroney.