Kingman revisited

When describing my hometown in these pages six years ago, I concluded with the words: “Kingman, a good place for one to visit, and also a good place to live.” The article must have worked, for there are at least twice as many residents of Kingman today! The town still retains its charm of small-town friendships and interests, but is very much in tune with the spirit of the Soaring Seventies that are fast approaching.

Much remains unchanged. Dick Waters still puts out a fine newspaper each week. It is much fatter now, and even boasts a lithographed section devoted to the fast-growing area in the lowlands of the Colorado River, but it's still The Mohave County Miner, designated Arizona's best weekly in 1968.

Wally Stone continues to dispense interest-packed interviews and soothing music over radio station KAAA. His charming assistant Syd Clayton (that's a she!) also talks to local folks each morning in an interview program conducted in a 1931 Ford Model A located at McCarthy Motors showroom on Andy Devine Avenue. The Model A, which is in truly mint condition, is a reminder that this is still Ford Country, bene-fiting from ever-increasing activity at the Ford Proving Ground in nearby Yucca.

A unique Chinese tapestry of the Hong Kong skyline still hangs on the wall of the Jade Cafe, but the former owner of the Jade now has a new interest in life. Charlie Lum, one of Kingman's most civic-minded citizens, has opened a Kentucky fried chicken emporium, probably the only one in the nation shaped like a pagoda!

With all due respect to the drawing power of an ARIZONA HIGHWAYS article, it must be reported that other reasons exist for the sudden growth of Kingman in these few years to a city boasting no less than three banks! The first of these reasons has to do with the Duval Corporation.

For nearly one hundred years prospectors have maintained that the Cerbat Mountains, north of Kingman, contained major deposits of copper in addition to the silver, lead, and zinc ores that are mined extensively.

A few years ago the Duval Corporation found that copper ore was really there, although buried under several hundred feet of worthless rock. The result was removal of a mountain top. Several years and thirty million dollars later the first pound of copper ore was scooped out. Most of the Duval people have made their homes in Kingman and commute about fifteen miles to the new open-pit mine and concentrate mill at Mineral Park.

MOHAVE COUNTY MINER

A second major development in Kingman's growth was activation of the first really big project at the Kingman Airport Industrial Park. The General Cable building will soon enter production as an important new payroll for Kingman. Constructed at a cost of ten million dollars, the huge facility will turn out copper wire for use by the communications field and by other segments of industry.

Meanwhile proving-ground activities by the Ford Engi neering Staff continue to grow in scope.

So Kingman can now boast of three ultra-modern industrial operations in its immediate area, and with the prospects of more to come. However, it is still the Great American Tourist who contributes the most to the energy of this city, and it will be so for all time to come. As the network of superhighways continues to grow, traffic volume into Kingman also rises. The thirty-eight motels of 1962 must be nearly doubled by now, including some very large and luxurious units by leading national chains. The cool Hualapai Mountains still beckon nearby, and the cabins in the pines have more than tripled in number in these six years. However, there's still plenty of room up there for either the would-be cabin owner or the tourist who wishes to get out of the desert for a few hours.

There is a new attraction in Kingman for the tourist, and I think it is an extremely important one. The Mohave Museum of History and Arts was constructed literally brick by brick over a period of many years as monies became available from private donations.

The high caliber of exhibits and murals is a tribute to a young artist with fiery red hair who happened along at the right time to do this job and then to stay on as the museum's curator. Roy Purcell has created something here that is both imaginative and highly professional in execution. The museum is open daily from 1 to 9 p.m. There is no admission charge.

So life in Kingman goes on with a growing sense of excite ment and change. My copy of the Miner even reports that a learned committee is studying several locations for an all-grass golf course. I suppose this is progress, but I hope the present dirt course with its oiled-sand "greens" will be left intact. That's where I learned my golf, and I would hate to see it abandoned for a fancy new place where people worry about divots and things like that.

Some aspects of Kingman will never change. The clear air, the four very different skylines seen from the city, and the friendly people are all a mark of Kingman, a town to enjoy.

MOHAVE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE