by 
Sam Hosler
This is the first of what I hope to be a weekly column on the towns and people of the Copper Basin. The title “Along the Gila” is a bit generic, but I mean to include the people along the San Pedro as well.
We do, after all, have much in common. Our histories, our work, our families are very much entwined. Yes, we have town rivalries (mostly around sports), but everyone here knows that we have a common economy, a common and beautiful location, and a pride in our rural setting.
For more than two years I wrote a column as Mayor of Kearny. I don’t know if you noticed, but when I started that column it was all about Kearny – Council doings, meetings coming up, explanation of ordinances, and publicity for various events which focused on Kearny happenings. Over time, however, I found myself writing about regional things which affected Kearny, especially since the emergence of the Mayor’s Group.
Well, I want to focus on that larger picture, that of all the towns and unincorporated areas. Kelvin, Riverside and Dudleyville are part of our whole, part of us. So are our winter visitors, those wonderful snowbirds who choose to stay with us.
I will do my best to keep in touch with town governments, schools, and all our businesses. Our government services and medical services are important too, and new developments should be reported.
But I will also try to keep up with other, quieter things which might go unnoticed. For example, “Railroad Jim” McDaniels was commemorated in a memorial service at the General Kearny Inn last Friday. This quiet, gentle man, worked for years on the Santa Fe and Copper Basin Railroads. He was a voracious reader, and served on the Board of the Kearny Town Library.
It was his wish that the Kearny Library be remembered after his death, so at the memorial service his long-time friend Doug Beatty presented a check to Janet Danilow, Kearny’s Librarian, for $2,500. I think his love of Kearny should be known and remembered by us.
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