Name/Title
An Arizona Odyssey by Kel M. FoxEntry/Object ID
1990-002-F4Description
An account of life as an Arizona Rancher in and around the Verde Valley. It begins when the family arrives in Arizona in 1921 and concludes in the 1990’s when Kel ends the story. Pictures included.
Kel is born on October 17, 1912 in Connecticut. He and his family wander across the United States and ended up with extensive land holdings in the Verde Valley. Kel graduated from Princeton University and returned to Arizona to a life of ranching. He was active in Arizona’s politics for many years, he was a state legislator, a state senator and served on many boards such as the Water Board, Land Board and other appointed boards.
One of the hazards in being a rancher or farmer is you are at the mercy of the weather. December 1967 is a case in point. The snowstorm that dumped 84 inches of snow in the Flagstaff, Munds Park area left many cattle snowed in and many froze to death. It destroyed fence lines and brought travel to a halt. It also brought flooding when it began to melt. This same storm also dropped 30 inches of snow in Camp Verde which is at 3,000 feet in elevation! The Weather service called this a “100 Year storm”.
Three tears later, September 7, 1970 another “100 Year storm” brought 8 ½ inches of rain in 16 hours. This storm turned the land into muddy Goo, impossible to drive in or walk in. Flooding roads, fields, destroyed water tanks on ranches drowning cattle and horses in the fields. These storms were unusual, to get 2 “100 Year storms” in such a short span was very odd. Of course, the following dry years were the normal weather for Arizona.
Fox acquired other properties in the Verde Valley. One was the Apache Maid ranch of a quarter million acres which adjoined his ranch. The Fox ranch itself covered 27,000 acres, of which they owned only 2%, the rest was land they leased from the United States Forest Service. Quite a remarkable story.Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Notes
Early members of the Church of the Red Rocks
