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Onofre “Taffy” Tafoya, who worked in the Magma Copper Mine at San Manuel for 38 years, will give a presentation of his personal experiences on Friday, May 24, starting at 6 PM at the Acadia Ranch Museum, 825 E. Mt. Lemmon Hwy., Oracle.
The program is sponsored by the Oracle Historical Society and is open to the public without charge. Mining items, and a selection of historic mining photographs, including some from the Tiger Mine, will be on display for the program.
Tafoya has authored two books: Mother Magma, a Memoir of Underground Life in the San Manuel Copper Mine; and Los Mineros, the Hard Rock Miners of San Manuel which continues the story and includes more than 200 photos of miners.
Among the stories to be shared, he tells of quitting a brickyard job in Phoenix and coming to Mammoth. “I got hired one day and went to work the next, and my life changed forever. It took me a few weeks to get to know the job. What made me decide to stay was that we were working six days a week, so we got extra pay and I was always in the shade, 1,415 feet underground, where the sun never shines (not like the brickyard job).”
Books will be available for sale and refreshments will be served.
The Acadia Ranch Museum is open to the public every Saturday from 11AM to 4PM; there is no admission charge.
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