Oro Valley Historical Society: Oral History Series (Part 3)

Oro Valley Historical Society: Oral History Series
Before written language, information and stories were passed generationally via word of mouth. Oral histories are sometimes used to complement artifacts and archeological research. Oral history often gives human details to otherwise lifeless data. Oral interviews can provide narratives, social meaning and context to collected records. It is important to keep in mind that oral histories are in most cases not considered factual historical records. They can often be exaggerated, dates might be inaccurate and they might also have the storytellers biases and personal perspectives. That being said, they are invaluable resources that give meaning and experiential reference to history.

The Oro Valley Historical Society was fortunate to obtain an oral history from Henry (Hank) G. Zipf, grandson of George Pusch in 2006. This is Part Three of a four part series of Henry’s oral history of the Pusch family and the Oro Valley area.
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My Two Years at Feldman

I was eight or nine years old when my Dad, Henry W. Zipf, took over the management of the PZ or Feldman Ranch located north of the Aravaipa Canyon between Mammoth and Winkelman in Pinal County. My grandmother, Mathilda Feldman Pusch, owned the ranch, and over the years since my grandfather, George Pusch’s illness and subsequent death, various relatives had taken over the management of the property. My Dad was taking his turn.

My Dad, Mother, brother Frank, and stepbrother, Walter moved into the large old ranch house on the property about 1924. At that time, it appeared to me to be a very large structure with many rooms and a large screened porch which encircled the house. I remember the porch because that’s where we slept and spent a majority of our time.

Frank and I attended grade school on the property which was built like a lean-to next to the granary. Here Mrs. Kirkpatrick, who lived in Hayden, was our first teacher. She drove back and forth from Hayden every day to teach about ten pupils from the first through eighth grades in the one-room shack. Later a Miss Scott took over the teaching duties and our grades improved because she rented on of the rooms in the ranch house.

My stepbrother, Walter, ran the country store on the property and my mother, Gertrude, served as postmistress in the post office located in the store. My dad rose at daylight an usually worked till nightfall on the ranch. It was a large operation for that time. In addition to cattle, they raised hay and grain, had some pigs, chickens, and numerous horses. From time to time the old part of the ranch house would be filled with cowboys, who participated in roundups, and the place was usually pretty active.

My grandfather had given a small adobe building to the Catholic church, and from time to time the priest would arrive, ring the bell, and summon the faithful for services.

There was an encampment of Apache at the north end of the ranch and occasionally my Dad would take me there to see the Indians. Rumor had it that the Apache Kid, a well-known renegade, was born on the ranch. He and his band raided up and down the valley, but they never bothered the ranch or people on the ranch because they respected my grandfather, George Pusch, who always treated them with respect and generosity.

Life was rough for my mother on the ranch. We had no electricity or telephone or other conveniences. We rose at daybreak and went to bed at dark. We did have kerosene lamps and occasionally would store some ice, but things were primitive. I remember we had to heat water for a hot bath in a wash tub on the kitchen stove, which was fired with mesquite. There was a fireplace in the living room and there were kerosene stoves for the bedrooms.

Mother usually had an Indian woman as a helper, and they spent most of their time in a hot kitchen cooking for the family and guests and workers on the ranch. In spite of this, she had time to help my stepbrother with the store and time to serve as the postmistress.

It was as hot as Hades during the summer, and so we slept on the porch. On one or two occasions we found rattlesnakes under our cots and there was an old portion of the ranch house which my mother declared off limits to us because we could hear the snakes rattling on the floor.

A big event in our lives occurred about every other month, when my Dad would drive Frank and me to Hayden, where we would purchase groceries and supplies. There, we would make a stop at the local drugstore, where they had a marvelous soda fountain and we could guzzle wonderful ice cream.

Frank and I enjoyed our life there [at Feldman Ranch]. We each had a burro and we could ride down to the lake or the San Pedro River. My Dad would take us with him when he shot quail and dove and occasionally he and my mother would saddle up two horses and together we would go for a ride in one of the canyons. I particularly remember the parties in Aravaipa Canyon, where all of the neighbors would gather to drink apple cider. Apple trees flourished in the canyon.

On Sundays we’d hang out at the two-lane dirt highway to wait for the “stage”…an elongated automobile which ran between Tucson and Globe. The driver would drop off the newspaper, which was really our only communication with the outside world, since we had no radio or television.

Finally, my grandmother Mathilda’s eldest son, George, traded off the ranch for an apartment in Los Angeles. So, we moved back to Tucson, and my ranch experience during that happy two years came to an end. Note: Most of the buildings at the PZ Ranch mentioned in this oral history have been demolished or are now deteriorated beyond repair. The property is now owned by ASARCO mining.

Henry Zipf
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If you would like to learn more about the Pusch family and see pictures of Gertrude, and her son, Henry (Hank, author of this oral history) visit the Pusch House History Museum at Steam Pump Ranch. It also includes “Where Cultures Meet” an exhibit of German and Hispanic culture and traditions. You might be surprised at some of the things they have in common! The history museum is open on Saturday, October 8, 22, and 29 from 9 a.m. to Noon. On Saturday, October 15 tours of the Steam Pump Ranch Property are available from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Suggested donation for the museum and tours is $5.

The Historic Steam Pump Ranch is located at 10901 N. Oracle, Oro Valley. Visit ovhistory.org for more information.