by Sharon Hall | Jun 17, 2015 | Digging History Magazine, Wild Weather Wednesday
In the early 1890’s several men claiming to be rainmakers were making headlines — from explosive-laden balloons launched to blast rain from the sky (see Part One of the series) to the super-secret formulas Frank Melbourne, a.k.a., the “Rain...
by Sharon Hall | Jun 3, 2015 | Digging History Magazine, Wild Weather Wednesday
Frank Melbourne, The Rain Wizard Just because General Dyrenforth was on his way to being exposed as a fraud (see Part One of this series) didn’t stop others from trying, nor end the public’s fascination with so-called rainmakers. Frank Melbourne immigrated to...
by Sharon Hall | May 19, 2015 | Digging History Magazine, Wild Weather Wednesday
Let’s face it folks, weather patterns are cyclical – always have been, always will be. One of my favorite quotes, originally attributed to George Santayana in his book The Life of Reason (1905), is: “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” One...
by Sharon Hall | Jan 21, 2015 | Digging History Magazine, Ghost Town Wednesday
According to Southern Arizona Guide, this is one of the best preserved ghost towns in Arizona. Off the beaten track and twelve miles south of Arivaca, visitors are warned to NOT rely on their GPS to find Ruby. The Spaniards discovered minerals there in the...
by Sharon Hall | Dec 17, 2014 | Digging History Magazine, Wild Weather Wednesday
From beginning to end, the year 1913 was a meteorologically-challenging year. Earlier this year, “Wild Weather Wednesday” articles covered two 1913 historic weather events: The Great Flood of 1913 (Part One and Part Two) and The White Hurricane. On July 10, 1913...
by Sharon Hall | Dec 10, 2014 | Digging History Magazine, Ghost Town Wednesday
There were actually two towns in Arizona with the same name, one “Silverbell” and one “Silver Bell”, situated about four miles apart. Both were mining towns, but “Silverbell” has the most colorful history. According to the...
