Category: All Stories

Mark Krider moved to Tombstone and opened his western apparel store in February on the north side of the city’s main transportation drag, Fremont Street.

He said that, so far, “it’s been kid of slow” at his shop, Bandit & Belle, 302 E. Fremont St.

That’s not to say he’s pessimistic. While many in town see Fremont Street as a barrier between the tourist-heavy Allen Street and the rest of town, Krider said he’s hoping for a near-$1 million transportation project to bring tourism north of Fremont Street.

Arizona Route 80 becomes Fremont Street through Tombstone.

Narrowing the street to provide room for lighting, wooden boardwalks and awnings will give the highway more of the old west feel, said Steve Troncale, city councilman and city project manager for the improvement.

[caption id="attachment_24" align="alignright" width="864"]The Santa Cruz Chili and Spice Company was founded in 1943. (Photo by Samantha Sais/ASNS)[/caption]The odor of spices inside Santa Cruz Chili and Spice Company in Tumacacori greets visitors even before they open the front door.

Here, spices are not just a product. They’re a craft and a tradition. Sauces, powders and pastes of all colors fill the store from wall to wall.  Some are local flavors, such as the company’s own brand of chili sauces and powders made from fresh peppers harvested on family owned farms each fall and processed at a factory in Pearce.

The company was founded in 1943, though its origin dates back to 1931 when Gene England came to the Southwest and bought a ranch in the Santa Cruz River Valley. Over time, the business expanded, and now the store only has to handle retail sales as well as packaging, labeling and shipping of online sales.

For John Fields, or “Johnny One Dog” as he’s known around town, an old and possibly unstable adobe garage is the perfect place from which to sell sarsaparilla.

The 67-year-old’s business is known as Johnny One Dog’s Tombstone Sarsaparilla. It’s located on Third Street between Fremont and Allen streets and has been open since late last year.

Johnny said the idea to sell sarsaparilla came to him during one of his regular walks with his dog, Jenny. He noticed that the town’s shops only sold Sioux City Sarsaparilla.

“Sioux City has had the market for years, and I saw a need for Tombstone’s own private label,” he said. “Tombstone is a famous town in the Old West. I thought it would be a good souvenir item.”

Johnny then scribbled a few sketches for a label, which included a logo that consisted of a “J,” “1” and “D” to symbolize his nickname, which evolved from locals saying, “There’s John and his one dog,” Jenny.

With his sketches, he turned to John Ludwig, a Tombstone art designer.

Two weak puppies sat on a couch on the front porch that spanned the length of the Southwestern-style, one-story home, struggling to keep their heads upright.

On an adjacent couch, flies swooped over the body of a dead puppy.

Welcome to an area south of Tucson near Old Vail Connection Road and the Old Nogales Highway, a place some people call “Dogpatch.” It’s an area where small houses and trailers on dirt roads spread across the desert, and where residents own a lot of animals.

It’s also a place some people come to abandon animals they no longer want – or dump carcasses.

“Dogpatch is an area that we’ve known about for a long time,” said Jayne Cundy, public service supervisor for Pima Animal Care Center. “It’s an area where dogs are known to wander and animals are abandoned there.”

The rescue group Angels for Animals of Tucson has been going to Dogpatch on weekends for the past year to rescue dogs. Nancy Maddry started the nonprofit rescue group in December 2009 when it became evident there was a need to rescue abused and abandoned animals in the area.

Ever since his son was diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 16, H. Clarke Romans has made it his life’s mission to break down the stigma surrounding mental illness.

And Romans, director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Southern Arizona, was furious when the state cut funds this year for seriously mentally ill people, limiting many of the services available to them.

The budget cuts passed July 1 have meant that seriously mentally ill people who do not meet state Title XIX requirements for reimbursable services started losing funding.

The cuts meant that anyone who does not qualify for Medicaid also does not qualify for aid. Now, these people are state-sanctioned only for generic medication and some crisis services.

Previously, seriously mentally ill patients were provided name-brand medication, therapeutic services and in extreme cases, housing.