Who builds a polo field in Phoenix? It’s so hot you can fry an egg on the sidewalk and bake cookies on a car dashboard. Sometimes airplanes can’t fly. Answer: My great grandfather J.E. Thompson. Though J.E.’s gesture seems foolhardy, it may may have actually paid financial dividends. That sly fox! Joseph Edward, who belonged […]
Great Aunt Gertrude Wanted to Buy Up All the Copies of Her Husband’s Biography
Gertrude Hickman, the wife of William Boyce Thompson, was so upset with the way her husband was portrayed in his official biography that she told relatives she wanted to buy up all the remaining copies.
J.E. Thompson Doled Out Frontier Justice at Rancho Joaquina
One Saturday in 1938, J.E. Thompson was playing cards with his staff at Rancho Joaquina, when a stranger came calling.
Shit The Y’s Taught Me
Don’t know if I’ve picked up any Christian values during my 20 years of going to the Y, but I’ve learned a bunch of important shit nonetheless.
Pop Thompson Left Merritt-Chapman & Scott Just in Time
My grandfather, William B. Thompson, who ran the construction accounting division of Merritt-Chapman & Scott, knew something was wrong.
Ely City Nevada: The Town That Went Poof!
William Boyce Thompson’s first crack at city building taught him a valuable lesson — never try it again.