A couple of miles west of Oatman, Arizona, on old Route 66, lies the former goldmining town of Goldroad. There’s nothing left of the original stone buildings other than a commercial gold mining operation still located where they once sat.
Gold was first discovered in the area around 1860, but it wasn’t until 1898 that things really took off. Prospector Jose Perez was walking the area and found quartz rocks with streaks of visible gold in them. He immediately staked a claim along with Henry Lovin, a partner.
A short time later, selling his mineral rights to Lovin, he was paid $50,000, a large sum at that time. Unfortunately, Joe basically drank his windfall away in Lovin’s saloon before going to his grave much too early by killing himself.
It’s believed that some 375,000 ounces of gold were pulled out of Goldroad. At today’s gold price of $3,360.00 an ounce, this equals 1.26 billion dollars. I have a souvenir of old Goldroad, but it isn’t precious metal. A Goldroad Bakery token found with a metal detector next to an old stone wall is in my box of treasures. It’s worth around $300.
Old Route 66, going through Oatman and Goldroad, was eventually rerouted in 1952. A section of the old highway going through Sitgreaves Pass is undoubtedly one of the most treacherous of “The Mother Road.” That’s the nickname for Route 66. Oatman is now a popular tourist destination.
A picture postcard sent by Nina and Bernard in 1939 to Miss Mary Ahern in Minneapolis, Minnesota, shows both a portion of the road, along with mining activity at Goldroad. This section was so steep and winding that numerous accidents took place there, and still do, especially with motorcyclists.
The message on the postcard written by Nina says the following:
Feb. 22, 1939
My dear Mary – we are staying tonight just a little way from here. These mountains are full of gold mines and very pretty. We will have to hurry if we get home by the first. Love, Nina & Bernard.”
Nina Nelsen & Bernard Franz were most likely on an adventure trip. Only 18 years old at that time, Bernard didn’t know it, but he was just about to enlist in the Army as a paratrooper and glider infantryman.
WWII had just started, and his 13th Airborne Squadron was sent to France. Why he didn’t marry Nina until March 11, 1950, is only known to them. The couple stayed together before passing in 2008 and 2012.
The person this card was written to, Miss Mary Ahern, was a young college student at that time. Her major was nursing, with her attending St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing in Minneapolis. Three years after she received the Goldroad postcard, she married William J. Tiffany.
Mary Margaret and William Joseph Tiffany stayed together for 57 years. Both born in 1910, they passed away in 1998 and 1999, respectively. Hopefully, the couple was able to make that same scenic drive to Arizona, as Bernard and Nina Ahern did in 1939.
I like to write junk... 