Benjamin “Red” Hammock was born on October 23, 1919, in Miami, Arizona, and died in the Phoenix area on April 16, 2001. He lived in the copper mining town of Miami until he left to attend the University of Arizona in Tucson. During World War II, he served in England in the U.S. Army. After the war, he married Rosalie Mason and the couple made their home in Phoenix, where he became an auditor for the Internal Revenue Service.
No online remembrances have been found. His obituary was printed in The Arizona Republic on April 20, 2001.
Transcription
of the interview abstract. All typos and misspellings appear as in
the original.
Craig R. Schill
Dr. Hinton, Hist. 399
INTERVIEW: Mr. Ben Hammock. Born in 1919 in Miami, Arizona. Interview took place on March 17, 1989.
I.
Copper mines
a.
Magma (largest)
b.
Inspiration
c.
Vandike (richest ore, smallest)
II.
Miners
a.
made 50 cents/hr.
b.
8 hr. shifts, workers working 24 hrs.
c.
Many were Mexican
III.
Parts of Miami
IV.
School in Miami
a.
Miami High
b.
Rivalry between Globe High
V.
Mines
a.
went from pit to open mines
VI.
His father
a.
came to Miami in 1915. working construction
b.
built 1/2 of the town, theatres, homes, etc.
c.
built cells at state prison in 1932
d.
worked for Gov. Hunt
VII.
Early memories of Miami
a.
sports
b.
school
c.
played Rose Mofford in softball
d.
getting into trouble stories
-
janitor story
-
police car
VIII.
Prejudice
a.
yes, there was a lot
b.
gang wars, rock rights
IX.
Story
a.
stolen burros
X.
Indians
a.
Indian hill
b.
against the law to sell liquor to them
XI.
Transportation
a.
walked
b.
not too many cars
c.
floods
XII.
Town medical facilities
XIII.
Entertainment
a.
dance hall
b.
Sat. - white night, Sun - Mexican night
XIV.
Mining town
a.
town council
b.
wine story
XV.
1936 drought
XVI.
Roads
a.
Tortilla flats
b.
1934 Nash
XVII.
Moved to Tucson
XVIII.
Description of University of Arizona in 1937
XIX.
Working history
XX.
No worker tension
XXI.
Were changes for the better for the worse
a.
for the better
-
development
-
big firms / expansion