Echoes of the Southwest

You can't miss the tall stacks when driving down the historic area of Mesa. The structure is the F.P. Nielson and Sons Mesa Flour Mill. It was built in 1938 with the grain elevator and mill providing the distribution from all the grain fields south of the mill. Today, it sits abandoned since it shut down in 1975 and all the grain fields are currently dwellings.

For three generations, Honeyville’s “beekeeping and honey bottling family business” has been going strong.   It is situated just outside of Durango, CO and started by Vernon Culhane in the 1920’s.   Vernon began his venture by taking away some of the honey bees from a tree close to his house to initiate his own hive.   The honey these bees were creating tasted amazing and soon the whole area heard about Vernon’s honey.   He started selling his honey in and around Durango which gained him the nickname of “The Falfa Honey Man”.   He started out taking honey to downtown Durango on his old flatbed truck where the town’s folks would be able to fill up their jars with honey.   After a while, people started coming to the Honey House for honey where people not only filled up their containers but was greeted with a tour of the farm.   Vernon’s pastime with honey turned out to be a flourishing business. Today, you can shop at the Honeyville factory s...

A view from above several years ago. 2010 I have been to the Domes a couple of times.  The back dome was unsafe and crumbling back in 2010.  I am not surprised that it finally collapsed.  I found a video of what it looks like now from a witness of its demise.  I posted the history of the domes.  Here is the link: http://www.echoesofthesouthwest.com/2010/09/secrets-of-domes.html https://youtu.be/xr4R1a24Lmg TristansAdventures

From the moment you walk in the door, you are hit with the wonderful smell of mint and chocolate.  Cerreta Candy Co. is known for their mouth-watering French Mint, but they manufacture many other types of sweet treats.  Located near the downtown historic district of Glendale, AZ, this candy factory has been around for over 40 years.  The company was started by Jim Cerreta Sr. who learned how to make candy from his father-in-law while living in Canton, Ohio.  The establishment has been maintained by the Cerreta family where three of his sons currently have a hand in every facet of the candy enterprise.  Even Jim’s grandchildren are doing their part and helping out in the family business. Not only do you get to shop the many varieties of sweets they manufacture, but they offer tours so you can see how the candy is made.  You are escorted throughout the back area of the place which takes about 30 minutes and is presented Monday through Friday from 10a...

This big factory sits in Glendale, AZ and can be seen by many who drive pass.  I went by this enormous building in 2010 and decided to return to get more pictures.  (For a history of the place, check out my early  post .)  My dream is to get beyond the chain link fence and see what the inside of this incredible structure looks like.

November 2010 The big tin factory is gone!  We had heard from a friend living in Casa Grande that they demolished the huge tin building.  From what we found inside, we thought it might had once been a factory.  Now, all that is there is the boulder with a pipe inside of it and a large slab of cement where the building once stood. November 2010 November 2010 November 2012 November 2012 November 2012

Hayden Flour Mill Tempe, Arizona