The Coconino sun. (Flagstaff, Ariz.) 1898-1978, 1921-12-30

house, shed, barn and outhouses they
would build they cannot because the
price Of lumber is prohibitive. If this
road were completed it would surprise
the millmen Of Flagstaff and Williams
how quickly the farmers of this sec
ton would go to constructing new
buildings. And this building boom
would be felt by the laborers in the
mills, the merchant in the town and
the spud grower on his mountain
farm.
How we may house the people of
our mining town when the mines are
running full blast has always been a
problem, but once the Oak Creek road
is open for motor trucks we will have
the problem solved.
A Tourists Paradise
Think of what wonderful paradise
for tourists this road will open up.
Sportsmen who have fished in many
waters tell us that the trout nowhere
else in the world display the gameness
the rainbow trout of Oak Creek do.
While it is possible to make a large
catch in most of the streams of the
Sierras, still the trout there have
nothing of the dash and go found in
the denizens of Oak Creek.
All that is needed to make Oak Creek
an anglers paradise is road and
fish to catch. If the state game COM
mission would only spend small frac-
ton of the money collected from
sportsmen in Jerome, Clarkdale, Cot
tonwood, Clemenceau, Camp Verde,
Flagstaff and Williams in stocking
the creek annually with a few thous-
and trout fry, Oak Creek would sup
ply the people Of Arizona with the
finest trout fishing to be found any
where. And for camp sites and pict-
uresque scenery there is no stream
anywhere to be found that will equal
| it.
Our Arizona people spend scads Of
money every summer in California,
largely because it is so difficult to get
a good place to camp in their own
mountains. When this Oak Creek
road is built hundreds of our own
folks who, in the past, have gone to
California, will come up from the Yu-
ma and Salt River valleys to Oak
Creek, Flagstaff, Mormon Lake and
the Grand Canyon.
Yavapai county has provided in its
bond issue for a modern highway
from Pine to Camp Verde by way of
Fossil Creek. The money is in the
treasury and the highway engineers
have Just returned from survey of
the road. Preliminary estimates put
the cost of the road at around $780,
900. This road relieves Coconino
county Of the necessity for modern
highway from Mormon Lake south,
provided the Oak Creek road is built;
for tourists from Globe and Mesa can
then come by Roosevelt Lake, visit the
Natural Bridge on the way and then
come into the Verde valley by way of
Fossil Creek.
After visiting Montezuma Castle
and Well, they can see the billion dol
lar copper camp at Jerome and then
on to Flagstaff, after spending a week
or so on Oak Creek. Tourists along
either the northern or southern trans
continental highways may be able to
see the heart of Arizona north and
south and continue their journey east
or west on the other transcontinental
routes.
A Real Resource
The people of Arizona have not yet
begun to appreciate the wealth they
have tied up in their scenery. At first
it was thought that by building east
and west highways for the conven-
fence of transcontinental tourists con-
siderable money would be brought into
the state by these tourists. But we
have found out that unless we have
branch or feeder lines our tourists will
be "birds of passage" and they will
leave but little money behind them.
The opening of this road will give the
distance tourist chance to see
Arizona and he will not do as he is
doing at present = buy can OF beans
and hop along to California - butt
he will outfit in Flagstaff for sight
seeing trip of Arizona.
But after all is said, the most money
left behind by tourists is left by the
local Arizona tourist who is out to
see the wonders of his own state. Take
the toilers in the mines and shelters
of the Verde district. They receive
top wages and after buying the neces-
sites, put the rest in the bank. At
present there is no place for the high
salaried men to go to spend their
money but Prescott. They all have
cars and want to spend the week end
some place. At present they can run
up to Lyman Drumm's lake and catch
those little fummadiddles you call
pumpkinseeds, but if they essay to go
to Mormon Lake a thunder shower
may come up suddenly and maroon
them for days. In which case they
come back to spend forty dollars for
repairs on their cars and to find their
Jobs gone from being unable to get
back when expected. If they start to
Oak Creek they make her in high un-
til they come to the Coconino line at
the historic cedars just this side of
Sedona. From there on if they value
tho old hoat at all they walk For