Posted By The Peak on Nov 30, 2015

Don Pablo stands on his property on the northeast corner of Pinnacle Peak Road and Scottsdale Road. In the background, vacant desert and Lone Mountain.

Based on the December 1997 A Peek at the Peak Article, “The Saga of the Last of the Mountain Men” by Don Schoenau
Edited by Les Conklin

Imagine a vast expanse of remote desert in Maricopa County separating the small farming town (Scottsdale) and the tiny village of (Cave Creek). Imagine present day Scottsdale Road and Pinnacle Peak Road as dirt tracks cutting through a saguaro-studded landscape populated by many more cattle and sheep than human-beings. Imagine that it’s 1951.

Don Pablo is “Born”

In 1951, an adventurous Paul Voelker purchased 160 acres on the northeast corner of present-day Pinnacle Peak and Scottsdale Roads, where The Pinnacle shopping center (Safeway) is now located. Soon after, Voelker changed his name to “Don Pablo.” From that day and until the day he died, he maintained that his name was Don Pablo and that he was part Chippewa and part Flathead Indian. However, Paul Voelker also had two sons living in Ishpeming, Michigan, where he was born.

There’s no doubt he came from a creative family. Paul’s brother, John Voelker, authored the best-selling novel “Anatomy of a Murder,” under his pen name Robert Traver. John’s book was the basis of the Academy Award nominated film, directed by Otto Preminger and starring Jimmy Steward that was released in 1959. In addition to being a writer, Paul’s brother was an attorney and a Michigan Supreme Court justice.

The House of Relics

Don Pablo at House of Relics. (Courtesy Days and Ways)

Not long after he purchased the land, Don Pablo built nine Navaho-style hogans with the help of “drifter” cowboys. The hogans became his trading post. He called his trading post “The House of Relics” and described himself as the “Tiffany of Pack Rats.” His home was a block house with a gravel floor. He built the place himself. He slept on the shelves under one of his counters to thwart any possible thievery.

Don Pablo shared his home and trading post with a cat named “Cat,” a dog named “Stick in the Mud,” a wolf on a chain, and a collection of rattlesnakes. He always dressed in a “used” shirt. He said, “I always wear my clothes until they are pretty dirty, then I throw them away.” Those who got near him confirmed the accuracy of Don Pablo’s statement.

Don Pablo was interested in antiques. He owned a large collection of early-American relics and once remarked, “I’ve got an incurable case of antique-itis; it’s the history of America.” He traveled throughout the West and Mexico buying a wide variety of antiques, furs, guns, and Indian jewelry, anything that struck his fancy. The House of Relics, featuring Don’s Pablo’s interesting items and stories of adventure, became a favorite destination for Cave Creek students and teachers on class outings.

Pack Ratting

Arizona has always been a magnet for adventurous people. Don Pablo was born in 1898 and arrived in Arizona sometime prior to 1927, when he opened the New Arizona Territorial Museum. The museum was located at 621 North Central in Phoenix. In those days, Don Pablo had a pet monkey that often sat on his shoulder and shared his shop living quarters in the long, empty storefront across from the Hotel Westward Ho. Don Pablo began collecting items, “pack ratting” as he called it, when he trapped and traded with the Indians as a young man.

Malamutes and Guatemala

He served in the Army field artillery during the Second World War until it became known that he was an authority on Malamute dog breeding. He was released to establish a Malamute breeding kennel to provide sled dogs for the armed forces assigned to Arctic service. In 1943, with a Malamute sled dog, he travelled 6,000 miles from Phoenix to Guatemala and back in a one-ton commercial truck. According to Don Pablo, it was the first truck ever used over the entire route. The trip resulted in his becoming involved in the importing business.

Perambulatory Purveyor

An article published in December, 1953 stated that “Don Pablo, erstwhile perambulatory purveyor of puppies, parrots and sundry wampum has curtailed his roaming of Scottsdale streets and touched anchor on Brown Avenue.” Don Pablo, who was also known as “Guatemala Joe” and other exotic names, had emptied his truck, which was festooned with murals, and fixed up a small warehouse of the lot between the offices of Cliff Carpenter and the Chamber of Commerce in Scottsdale. At that location, he stored items that he had gathered during his travels, including artifacts from the ruins of Latin America and handicraft created by Indians north and south of the border. Among the articles labeled “collector’s items” were an assortment of Spanish combs and old music boxes.

Delivering Justice

In December of 1956, The Arizonian reported that Don Pablo sauntered by Al Montrose’s Holiday House on East Main Street in Scottsdale with one of his new monkeys and a bag of Fritos. He observed an unknown man lifting several choice suede jackets from the front rack of the shop, stuffing them under his coat, and quickly exiting. Don Pablo grabbed the man, stopping him in his tracks. Don Pablo suggested firmly, if not politely, that the jackets be returned to their proper place inside the store. Once the jackets were returned, Don Pablo sped the culprit along with as big a kick as the weight of his shoes allowed.

Collecting, Trading

In 1960, Don Pablo appeared in Marquette, Michigan to showcase and sell Indian jewelry worth thousands of dollars. He was dressed in a handsome beaded Indian vest and sported a General Custer beard. He was passing through Marquette on his way to Scottsdale after a buying trip with the Penobscot Indians in Maine. Don Pablo claimed that he was the only dealer in channeled designs, or inlaid stone, and that “The Navaho makes them only for me.” He had rings, necklaces, cufflinks, bolo ties, Indian clothes and Indian fetishes used to keep the gods happy. Don Pablo traded turquoise to the Indians for jewelry, rugs, and clothing.

Don Pablo was an avid collector. He collected lanterns, urns, fireplace pokers, paintings, old stoves, fetishes, turquoise jewelry, wind-bells, and more. He labeled his gun collection, “The greatest in America” and had the “foremost collection of antique bicycles” in the world.   In his hogans were Italian armor, glass rolling pins, and old freight wagons. Moose horns, stone axes, tin and zinc bath tubs, antique iron door stops, a portable dentist chair, ice skates from the late 1800’s and much more. No wonder tourists, locals, and young students loved visiting the place.

End of the Road

In 1972, Don Pablo suffered a stroke and was confined to his hogan. A modern Annie Oakley (real name unknown) came on the scene to care for him and became his nurse, cook, and caretaker. Her uniform included two six shooters, blue checked gingham bloomers and a pink felt hat. He lived in one small room with his collections, books, and his intellectual magazines, representing every shade of political thought, and his nightly copy of The Phoenix Gazette which he drove 15 miles daily to buy. He spent his time in a screened porch that was added to his home, so that he could live his last days as close to the outdoors as possible.

The Auctions

After a second stroke, a court conservator was appointed and he was confined to a nursing home in Phoenix. Shortly before his death an auction was held at the hogans on his property at Pinnacle Peak and Scottsdale Roads, to sell the relics that he had spent his life collecting. The auction lasted for seven days and was attended by thousands of people.

The auction contained so many items that additional auctions were held in local hotels. Among the items offered was a metal bell, dated 1466 and made in Spain, which Don Pablo obtained years before in Santa Fe. There were scores of little pottery “rain gods” from the Tesuque Pueblo in New Mexico that were snapped up by auction patrons. These were wrapped in yellow editions of the Santa Fe newspaper dated August 23, 1899. Among the items Don Pablo had gotten from Indians were war bonnets, eagle feathers, and Indian drums, clothing, and Apache pitch baskets. Also sold off was perhaps the first dial telephone ever constructed. It was dated 1839.

It took three days to sell the Indian jewelry and three days for his guns. In addition, a separate art sale was held. Well known personalities such as Lew Grubb and Barry Goldwater bought paintings, kachinas, and turquoise fetishes. The auctions took 25 days and produced over $300,000 in sales.

“Commonness” Allergy

During his life, he was described by many as irresponsible, anti-social, and independent. Barbers thought of changing their occupations when they saw his long beard and hair and got a whiff of his battered clothes. In addition to his unique presence, Don Pablo was intolerant. In his words, “I am allergic to commonness”. He didn’t smoke or drink, “it clouded up the mind,” and he said that he considered smokers as common. Nobody smoked or drank around him or in his home. Don Pablo, died on November 14, 1974 at age 76. Unfortunately, he didn’t leave a written account of his many adventures!

Don Schoenau, fondly known by many as “The Mayor of Pinnacle Peak,” served as president of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association and as publisher of this magazine during the 1990s. Don enjoyed researching and then writing about the interesting people and places that were part of the rich heritage of the Desert Foothills and Pinnacle Peak communities. Don played an essential part in the development of GPPA’s newsletter into the community magazine that you are reading. “The Saga of the Last of the Mountain Men,” which was the basis of this article, is just one of the editorial gifts Don has left for our community. Don died in August 2000. His wife, Ginger, is the treasurer of the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association.

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