Spiritual Flowers Grew Out Of Brewery Gulch
AGES ago volcanic activity dissolved copper, silver, and gold deep in the earth. Steam pressure forced huge amounts of these minerals through fissures and deposited them in what is now called the Mule Mountains of southern Arizona, U.S.A. In 1877, Jack Dunn, an army scout employed at nearby Fort Huachuca, was searching for water and discovered evidence of this immense mineral wealth. He grubstaked a prospector, George Warren, to work the claim.
George Warren filed many claims but dishonestly kept his partner, Jack Dunn, in the dark. These claims could have made Warren very rich, but influenced by an excess of whiskey, he foolishly wagered his findings on a race, betting that he could outrun a horse. Of course, he lost everything. These claims eventually became the Queen Mine. Over the years, large mining operations took nearly four million tons of copper and untold amounts of gold and silver from the Mule Mountains before the closing of the mines in 1975.
Hard-rock mining requires hard-rock miners. These were brought in from England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Serbia. Because of incentive programs offered by most mines, hard-rock miners are also hardworking miners. Because these miners were thousands of miles from their families, they also became hard-drinking miners—so an enterprising German brewer built a brewery near the mines. Breweries produce a product requiring a small amount of processing before consumption. Many prefer that it be served chilled, in a friendly atmosphere, and with some entertainment. So, on a street near the brewery, a large number of bars were built. These became filled with hardworking, hard-drinking hard-rock miners. Entertainment was provided, namely, prostitution and gambling along with alcohol—a mixture not unlike dynamite. This street became known as Brewery Gulch and earned a reputation for being more dangerous than the notorious town of Tombstone, just 25 miles [40 km] down the road.
Eventually, most of the miners married and built homes in which to raise their families. The miners from England built houses that 19th-century English miners would live in; those from Serbia, Serbian miners’ houses; Germany, German; Italy, Italian; and Ireland, Irish. The original city, old Bisbee, was built in a steep-sided canyon, so its homes were hung all over the sides of the canyon walls, wherever a place could be gouged from the rocky earth. This unique collection of homes eventually housed over 20,000 people, mostly miners and their families, and it now draws tourists from all over the world. The town was named Bisbee after a man who invested heavily in the mines but never actually came to the town bearing his name.
As the town grew, so did the number of bars on Brewery Gulch. At one time over 30 bars were operating in a two-block area, and a large red-light district also flourished farther up the gulch.
A few Witness families moved to Bisbee about 1950. Their preaching led to the forming of a congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which grew to 12 members by 1957. They needed a place to meet, so they rented one they could afford—a storefront on Brewery Gulch, across the street from St. Elmo’s saloon. They had few problems with the people who frequented the immoral establishments surrounding them. Occasionally a drunk wandered in during the evening meeting but would just sit in the back and listen—some even made a donation before leaving.
In time the congregation purchased land for a Kingdom Hall—seven miles [11 km] away from Brewery Gulch and its immoral atmosphere. The hall was built and dedicated in 1958. The building has been renovated and expanded three times and still serves the congregation well.
When the mines closed in 1975, the town almost closed with them. The miners and their families moved to towns that still had mines operating. Those residents who remained were mostly retired miners and their families.
Famous Brewery Gulch is now just a tourist attraction. Only one bar operates there, and the brewery building presently houses a family restaurant. The red-light district has been torn down, although traces of it may be seen in the fences around some homes in the area. They are made of rusted bedsprings and frames. The once grossly immoral Brewery Gulch is now only an oddity that attracts the curious.
The congregation currently has 48 publishers and is growing. Preaching from house to house is very interesting. The Witnesses meet retired miners originally from England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and Serbia and also many artists, some of whom display their work on their front porches.
Part of the growth is because a woman who once frequented the one remaining rowdy bar on Brewery Gulch, called St. Elmo’s, no longer does. Her name is Julie. Julie not only went there but was one of the rowdier patrons. She used to participate in all the various forms of immoral entertainment offered, as well as frequent fights, sometimes with men. Julie was attracted to the message of Jehovah’s Witnesses because of the striking difference in the people who came to her door. Julie had to make tremendous changes, and this took several years, but she is now an active, baptized Witness. Her husband and three children also attend meetings regularly and are progressing.
Bisbee became a town because of the geological treasure deposited there ages ago. Men no longer search for that, but many are searching for true treasure, knowledge of the true God, Jehovah, and his Kingdom. The atmosphere around the old Kingdom Hall on Brewery Gulch was that of gross immoral decay, but spiritual flowers were nurtured inside that hall. Of the original 12 publishers that met in the old hall, 7 were regular pioneers. There were also seven children. It would appear that the positive spiritual atmosphere enjoyed by this small zealous group inside the hall overpowered the immoral atmosphere outside.
Six of these children went into some form of full-time service as ministers of Jehovah’s Witnesses. John Griffin went to the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. Although no longer in missionary service, he is still serving Jehovah as an elder in his assigned country, Costa Rica. His sister, Carolyn (now Jasso), is a regular pioneer in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Nancy Pugh also went to Gilead, served as a missionary in Chile, and is still there, although no longer a missionary. Her brother, Peter, pioneered and went to Spain to serve where there was need. Susan and Bethany Smith have been regular pioneers in Bisbee for a combined total of 50 years and are still serving there.
God’s Word truly “exerts power,” even to the extent of growing spiritual flowers in Brewery Gulch. (Hebrews 4:12)—Contributed.
[Picture on page 23]
The Kingdom Hall was formerly on the upper floor of this building