Why Is the Pearce Post Office in Sunsites?

In 1967 the Pearce post office moved to Frontage Road in Sunsites.

This photo of the Pearce Post Office was taken by John Pearce in the early sixties.

When did the Pearce Post Office move to Sunsites?

Heres’s the answer to an earlier trivia question.
The Pearce United States Post Office relocated to Sunsites and opened its doors on January 16, 1967.
According to Horizon Corporation literature, the growing population in Sunsites, combined with the need to replace outdated equipment, brought about the move.

The new building was stocked with new equipment. Gladys McLeon continued to serve as Pearce post mistress, a position she had held since 1934.

Remembering Billie Lally

Billie, far right, and her friends enjoy the sun in Sunsites.

One of Sunsites’ pioneers passed away on August 4, 2011. Billie typified the type of unique personalities who gravitated to our small village in the sixties and seventies. She and her first husband “Mac” McDonnell moved to Sunsites in 1970.
Although she grew up on the Mather family homestead in Montana, she was not content to let life pass her by. She rode in Montie Montana’s Wild West Show before she enered the Women’s Army Air Corps in World War II. She and “Mac” moved to Sunsites from Maryland.
Once she moved to Sunsites, she quickly jumped into the busy life of socializing and volunteering. She trained to become a volunteer EMT for the fire department, and she served on nearly every board from the library board to the homeowner’s association to the cemetery board.
She and her second husband John Lally were honored for their work with the Lion’s Sight and Hearing Foundation.
Billie was my mentor and my muse. She introduced me to people I might never have met on my own. She never grew tired of taking car rides down back roads and looking at the mountains and the skies around us.
It was hard-working people like Billie, most of whom are now gone, who understood the meaning of “community” and of community service and who created the foundation for Sunsites.

A Magical Day in Sunsites

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It seemed like everyone in Sunsites crowded into the building that was once the Sunsites Community Center to enjoy ice cream sundaes, to view history displays, to hear music by Frank and Anni and especially to meet Apolino and Bibi.

Magicians Apolino & Bibi To Pay Tribute To Howard Shonting

Apolino & Bibi

There’s magic in the air this week in Sunsites.
A very special young couple is arriving to grace our village with their generosity and their talent.
Until the Sunsites Memory Project contacted them, they had never heard of Sunsites or of Howard Shonting.
With their amazing sense of adventure, they are coming here to pay tribute to a man who was equally generous and talented.
We look forward to rewarding them with Sunsites’ own special hospitality. We can’t offer them payment for their time, but we hope to give them wonderful memories, lots of applause, and a brief moment of fame.
Please tell them “thanks” in person at their performance on Sunday, July 10th, or take a moment to view their websites: www.ourworldofmagic.com and www.portraitsbydiana.com

Howard Shonting, a Sunsites Tradition

When Howard Shonting arrived in Sunsites from New York, he brought his magic with him. Not only was he a well-known performing magician and entertainer, he was a skilled and articulate businessman. He led the citizens of Sunsites through many accomplishements, including winning an Action Arizona cash prize of $10,000, awarded to Sunsites for community-wide improvements. He also was one of the primary leaders of the very popular Way Off Broadway group that entertained audiences all over Southeastern Arizona.
On Sunday, June 10th, magicians Apolino and Bibi will perform on the same stage where Shonting so frequently stood to entertain his Sunsites friends. This special tribute is part of the countdown to Sunsites’ fiftieth anniversary, sponsored by the Sunsites Memory Project.

Sunsites book on Amazon

Check it out!
The Pearce and Sunsites book is now available for pre order on Amazon. Tell your friends and spread the word.

Amazon.com: Pearce and Sunsites (Images of America) (9780738584737): S.M. Ballard, Anna Nickell, Naaman Nickell, the Sulphur Springs Valley Historical Society: Books

Cochise Days…a Sunsites tradition

This photo was taken during the 1994 Cochise Days celebration. Sponsored annually by the Pearce-Sunsites Chamber of Commerce, Cochise Days draws residents and visitors to three days of events including lots of food booths and vendors on Frontage Road, a talent show, a parade and a golf tournament.
Learn more by checking out the blogroll links to the Chamber and to the Sunsites Sun located in the column on the right hand side. The Sunsites Sun has video of this year’s parade taken on April 30, 2011.
We continue to search for photos and memorabilia relating to Horizon Corporation and to Sunsites. The Memory Project Committee has begun work on Volume II of a series about the history of the area. Volume I, The Land Before Horizon by Harry O’Neil, was published in 2010.

“American Greed” or American Dream?

Joseph Timan: the answer to another trivia question.

Joseph Timan founded Horizon Land Corporation, and the company bought up huge acreages in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. In ten years time the company grew from one employee to 1,000 employees.

Arizona Sun Sites was one of the developments envisioned by Joe Timan. Building began in 1962, and in 2012 the town will celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Richard R. Wilbur, in a story written for the September 3, 1969, Tucson Daily Citizen, describes Timan’s Polish immigrant background, his movie-star good looks, his high intelligence, and his hobbies that ranged from painting to gardening to horseback riding.

Timan, a poor Polish immigrant boy, worked to achieve his American Dream. He achieved his dream, but Horizon Corporation in later years began a downward spiral. The company, like many other land developers of the era, was perceived by many of pursuing American greed instead of the American dream.

Arcadia Publishing

Today I have good news. It has taken almost a year, but the material for a book about the history of Pearce and Sunsites has been delivered to Arcadia Publishing.

S.M. Ballard (Susan Ballard), my husband Naaman Nickell and I collaborated on the compiling and writing. Susan’s husband Brian Ballard was very instrumental on making contacts and scanning and getting the final product put together.

Kathy Klump at Sulphur Springs Valley Historical Society in Willcox gave us special access to photos in the historical society’s files…in particular to early Sunsites photos. I was beginning to doubt whether I’d be able to come up with my share of images for this 50/50 partnership.

Keep an eye on Arcadia’s website for the actual release date, probably some time in August. We know that the books will be sold in stores and museums in Cochise County, but it is my understanding that it will also be available on Amazon. These books will be great gifts and mementos for those of you who love the history of the old west and for those of you who have any connection to the area.

Arcadia Publishing will send a marketing person to our area to make arrangements for publicity and for retail sales.  I’m not sure where the marketing person or people will be coming from, but unless they grew up in Cochise County, they are in for a big culture shock. Reality show, anyone?

Kathy Klump and Peta-Anne Tenney are doing their second Arcadia book together. The new book will be about Bowie, Arizona; their first book featured Willcox. Watch for it, too.

These books are part of the Images of America series, and we a so pleased to be represented.

We all need high fives for sticking with this project.

The “Dots” and The “It”

Here’s another trivia answer:

Texas Canyon has “The Thing”.

Sunsites had the “It”. Not only did Sunsites have the “It”, but the “Dots” owned the “It”.

Although I have a photo of the “It”, I’m having trouble learning very much about IT. Two women named Dorothy and nicknamed the “Dots” ran a store by that name during the mid to late eighties.  Located in the building that first housed the Sun Site Motel, it may have taken up two spaces on the north end of the building.

In addition to operating the store the “It”, the “Dots” also published a newsletter named the “It”.

If you have more information about either “It” or either “Dot”, please contact me.