Though I had never ventured this deep into the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior, Arizona, as I looked at the rock jutting over the path, I felt like I had been here before. Then I realized: I had seen this site in the infamous Arboretum Picnic pictures. I say “infamous” only because my grandfather, William […]
Jimmy Filor and His Family Died in Plane Crash
Tony Thompson vividly remembers the day in 1951 when his uncle, Jimmy Filor, died in a plane crash. “I remember coming home from swimming at the Bronxville Field Club to find my mother in tears after having learned that Pop’s cousin, who they were very fond of, had crashed, along with his wife and two […]
Hunt for Homes Built by J.E. Thompson Turns Into Wild Goose Chase
Great grandfather Joseph Edward Thompson must have wanted future generations to find the homes he built as a young man in Bisbee, Arizona, in 1905-06. Why else would he have paid an architect to brand them with his initials, J.E.T.? Unfortunately, the J.E.T. brand, which was painted on the homes, was nowhere to be found on a recent […]
Cobourg Graveyard Romp Turns Up Few Clues, Just Buried Tombstones
The lawn beside the old St. Peter’s Church in Cobourg, Ontario, is so rough it would be easy to turn an ankle. The cause can’t be roots—only a few forlorn pines and maples ring the periphery. Even so, the forces of erosion haven’t worked their magic to create a level lawn. That’s because the side yard is full of sunken […]
William Thompson Remembered for Strong Personality Flaws
William Thompson was a very practical, honest, hard-working man. But he also had some some annoying personality quirks, friends and acquaintances weren’t impressed with his looks, and his children were scared to death of him. That’s the very mixed portrait of this great American pioneer that emerges from interviews done 80-odd years ago with the people who knew him. The sometimes snarky reminiscences […]
Joseph Ough Made a Big Impression on Great Grandfather Thompson
My great-grandfather, J.E. Thompson, really admired his uncle, architect and builder Joseph Ough. The respect didn’t stem from Ough’s financial success. It was due to the man’s artistic and spiritual achievements. “In your mother’s family, and mine, there were those that were stars in a financial way,” wrote J.E. Thompson in a letter to his son, “but the man […]