Copper and Iron Men

Much work and many hours have been expended since my last dispatch. We drove to Phoenix one weekend to retrieve our little travel trailer, and then went back with a Uhaul truck to retrieve the balance of our worldly goods from their sweltering storage nest near the Sky Harbor airport. It was a driving feat on both occasions that I heartily wish never to repeat.

Bisbee’s history is full of tales documenting the extreme physical endurance of both man and beast. In the early years of the copper camp, burros were used to haul water, building materials, and firewood to the cabins scratched out on the canyon sides. Even today when viewing the seemingly endless concrete steps that lead to some of these dwellings one wonders how anyone gets furniture or even groceries from the street level to their home. In October the town hosts an “Iron Man” ice challenge where racers schlepping huge blocks of ice bound up a number of these flights in a timed competition. Having puffed my way up the 181 steps from downtown to the top of the Castle Rock twice now I realize I will never be a contender.

But endurance of another kind is also celebrated in Bisbee. Down the street from our house is the Courthouse Plaza Miners’ Monument , a statue of a bare-chested copper miner holding a hammer and a drill. Erected in 1935 to honor those “virile men” whose labor extracted the wealth from the Mule Mountains, the statue is actually made of copper-coated concrete. To make matters more confusing, some locals refer to the statue as the “Iron Man.” Yesterday we took a short walk to St. Patrick’s cathedral and the adjacent Cochise County Courthouse and paused at the statue on our way home. If nothing else it serves as an inspiration for me to continue my daily morning walks up the canyon.