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Sara Wallach paints Red Cross pictures of the Soviet atomic threat at the Rexall Drug Store.
Evan Wallach | Submitted
The three Wallach boys in 1954. Les was 10, Andy 7 and Evan 4. Evan Wallach | Submitted
Al Wallach, left, works as a mucker at Magma in Superior. Evan Wallach | Submitted
Superior Sun
Evan Wallach is a federal judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by a Senate vote of 99-0 in 2011. Prior to this he was a President Bill Clinton nominee and served as a judge on the United States Court of International Trade from 1995 to 2011. Judge Wallach was born in Superior, Ariz. in 1949 and although he left Superior at the young age of six, the small town made such an impression on him and his family’s lives that he has written a book of fiction that takes place in Superior.
The book is titled “Jake and Me” and is about a 15-year-old boy named Jake Smith who is being raised by his grandfather, also named Jake Smith who is the Constable of Superior. It takes place in and around Superior in the 1920s. The grandfather character is based on Jake Arnett who was Constable in Superior for many years whom Judge Wallach knew as a kid. The book covers a period between Jake’s sophomore year in high school until the first semester of his junior year. During that time, he works on a ranch, helps catch a bad man, makes some good friends, gets in a fight, and goes hunting for the Lost Dutchman Mine. Mostly, it’s about him facing life’s challenges, learning, growing and having fun. Some of the characters are modeled after people who lived in Superior and the events in the book are adapted from stories Evan’s parents and other people told him about Superior.
Judge Wallach says that some of the places that appear in the book are Apache Leap, Picket Post House, the mine and mill, the high school, and lots of desert. The place where Jake works for the summer is based on Evan’s memories of Billy Martin’s ranch. Even the Superior Sun newspaper is mentioned in the book. It includes some history of the area and talks about Boyce Thompson and Mattie Blaylock among others.
During an interview Evan was asked about some of his memories of Superior. He said he remembered an old lady they called “Granny Crow”. She came from Missouri by wagon to Arizona and taught young Evan how to shoot. Some of his other memories were, “Going to a movie and then a burger at the Rexall drug store with Pop when Mom was out of town.” He also remembered, “The counter seats were red leatherette, and I thought them incredibly cool. Mexican food at the Triple X where I loved the rice and frijoles. Going around eating menudo in other’s people’s kitchens. Carlos, the butcher in Mrs. Sawaia’s grocery store, slipping me pieces of raw meat to chew on. The “goat man” who used to fill a milk bottle for my Mom by milking right into the bottle. My brother catching a burro in the desert and getting bitten when he tried to drag it home. Story hour at the library where my Mom would read to the kids and Constable Arnett would come in to listen.”
Evan’s family connection to Superior began in the summer of 1935 when his father went to Superior to work in the mine periodically while attending the University of Arizona. His father Albert graduated in 1940 and would join the army. He would marry Evan’s mother Sara during World War II. They would move from New York to Arizona in 1947 where Albert would continue his education at the U of A. By 1949 they were living in Superior where Albert was a mill worker when Evan was born.
Evan had two older brothers Les and Andy. Evan’s mother was an artist and wrote and produced plays, designed and painted the sets for the “Little Theater” in Superior. She studied art in New York City and was doing art illustrations for the New York Times and Esquire magazine. During World War II she worked on propaganda posters. A collection of her work resides at the University of Arizona Art Museum. The cover of Evan’s book is a desert painting done by his mother while they were living in Canada. Les is a renowned architect in Tucson and designed and built the Visitors Center at the Arboretum in Superior. Andrew lives in Sacramento, Calif. where he has a consulting business.
Evan’s father worked underground on the graveyard shift until becoming a foreman. He also worked at the mill as a repairman and a foreman. He then went to work in the lab. Albert got his Masters degree in metallurgy. In 1956 the family moved to San Manuel where Albert went to work for the San Manuel Copper Corporation as a mining engineer. The family stayed there for one year before they settled in California and Albert went to work for Kaiser. At Kaiser he went from mining engineer to executive vice president in charge of ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals until he retired in 1980. Evan’s father had built the house where his family lived in Superior from scratch. Evan visited Superior six years ago and found out their house on Ray Street had burned down.
Judge Wallach joined the Army in 1969. He spent a year in Vietnam where he received a bronze star for valor. He received a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Arizona in 1973. He then went into law attending the University of California, Berkeley among others. He practiced law in Nevada representing most of Nevada’s newspapers. In 1981 he received a Bachelor of Laws with honors from Cambridge University. He was a major in the Nevada National Guard. During the Gulf War he served in the United States Army Judge Advocates Corps in the International Affairs Division at the Pentagon. He was an adviser in the Law of War and assisted in investigating war crimes allegedly committed by the Iraqi leaders. He is considered an expert in the Law of War.
Jake and Me is a coming of age story that will be enjoyed by adults and teenagers alike. It is available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Amazon has the Kindle edition. Any book sellers or businesses interested in selling the book, can buy the book at discount prices direct from the printer, Createspace.com by going on line and registering there as a reseller.
John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.
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