The article “The Original Owners of DC Ranch” by Nancy Lucas was published in the June 2003 issue of A Peek at the Peak magazine. GPPA is re-publishing the article online, in four installments, as a series of blog posts. The series begins with The Original Owners of DC Ranch, Introduction. Ed.
The Original Owners of DC Ranch, Part 3
By Nancy Lucas
New Generation Takes Over DC Ranch
L to R: Mary Jane Zimmerman, E.O. Brown, Ruth Ellen Zimmerman, Alvin “Cotton” Brown, circa 1926. Photo Courtesy of Brown family.
Brownie and wife, Merle, had four children, Alvin “Cotton,” Edwin Oscar “E.O.,” (whom I interviewed for this article), Gene, and Ann. Their official residence was “in town,” on Brown Street, next to the bank and ice plant established by Brownie’s father, E.O. The women lived in town, though at the time “town” was rural in character and populated by few more than a handful of souls. The Brown women visited the ranch on special occasions, like family picnics, and were well-acquainted with ranch activities. Although ladies riding horseback were not the norm, all the Brown women were accomplished horsewomen.
“I know more about ranch life than anybody else,” said. E.O., Brownie’s son, now 80 years old and residing in Cottonwood. Listening to his memories, I, too, was transported back to those days. Being stung by a scorpion and spending the entire day bumping along dusty roads in a Model A to get to a doctor. Being lowered down a well in a bucket to scrub the insides. Counting among his friends the Cavalliere and Judson (of Judson School) kids, the latter of which defeated many a cowboy in a game of poker. Without his dad’s knowledge, taking his sheriffs car on a ride with sirens and lights blaring. Watching his dad set up a borrowed still, and later hearing it explode. Hunting quail with a shotgun, picking and cleaning them, and having them for supper. Driving a tractor across the Verde River out to a friend’s ranch near Four Peaks, which would not be possible today,
Goldie Brown. Photo Courtesy of Scottsdale Historical Society.
Brownie and Merle divorced in 1942 and he later married Goldie Chrisman. For Goldie, he built a new, two-room brick home with a wood stove and a fireplace on the Upper Ranch, about five miles north of Reata Pass. From all reports, Goldie was a person to be reckoned with, an independent woman who did pretty much as she pleased. Goldie and Brownie lived in the ranch house and were great friends of Doc and Marge Cavalliere, owners of Reata Pass and Greasewood Flat eating establishments. They spent many evenings together enjoying food, drinks and conversation. It was during this period that Brownie was appointed a Maricopa County deputy sheriff, and he served as Arizona State Livestock Inspector for a few years.
Big Brownie was prominent in Scottsdale, in both influence and physical size. In 1965, Arizona Republic columnist Don Dedera describes him as, “a mountain of a man, with a personality of granite. He has a bellow like a fire horn, a frown like a thunderstorm and the patience of a range bull at fly time.” Betty Crews recalls him as someone who enjoyed “raising hell.” His daughter-in-law, Virgie Brown, remembered him as about 6′ 4″ and more than 250 pounds. Granddaughter, Jeryl Brown Varsolona, remembers him visiting her at the Sugar Bowl, where she was a waitress, and downing two huge ice cream sundaes in one sitting. E.O. recalls him working in the ice plant, carrying with tongs two 300-pound blocks of ice, one in each hand. By all, he is recalled as a hardworking man of integrity, who enjoyed his family and liked to have a good time, all with very little scandal. Astride his 17-hand, sorrel horse, “Star,” with his ever-present Colt .45 strapped to his side and his ever-present cigar stuck in his mouth, he was quite an imposing figure.
Continued … The Original Owners of DC Ranch, Part 4 Post Date: 8/20/13
A Peek at the Peak magazine is published by the Greater Pinnacle Peak Association, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of the natural environment and enhancement of quality of life in the north Scottsdale Sonoran Desert.
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Greater Pinnacle Peak Association
Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Related Articles
The Original Owners of DC Ranch, Introduction Published: 8/14/13
The Original Owners of DC Ranch, Part 1 Published: 8/14/13
The Original Owners of DC Ranch, Part 2 Published: 8/16/13
The Original Owners of DC Ranch, Part 3 Published: 8/18/13
The Original Owners of DC Ranch, Part 4, Published: 8/18/13
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