Comments on: Ygnacio Garcia's Gifts to the Community http://www.wickenburg-az.com/2006/08/ygnacio-garcias-gifts-to-the-community/ Your independent source of information about Wickenburg, AZ. Mon, 06 Sep 2010 00:07:00 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Rick Garcia http://www.wickenburg-az.com/2006/08/ygnacio-garcias-gifts-to-the-community/#comment-277 Rick Garcia Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:05:58 +0000 http://www.wickenburg-az.com/?p=458#comment-277 Pretty cool story. I had heard these stories from my Dad and grandfather (Gabriel Garcia), but to see them in print is pretty nice. Thanks much, the big Garcia family in the Bakersfield Ca. area are enjoying them. Rick Garcia Buttonwillow Ca P.O. Box 272 93206 Pretty cool story. I had heard these stories from my Dad and grandfather (Gabriel Garcia), but to see them in print is pretty nice. Thanks much, the big Garcia family in the Bakersfield Ca. area are enjoying them.

Rick Garcia
Buttonwillow Ca
P.O. Box 272 93206

]]> By: Maria Langer http://www.wickenburg-az.com/2006/08/ygnacio-garcias-gifts-to-the-community/#comment-276 Maria Langer Mon, 11 Sep 2006 13:48:22 +0000 http://www.wickenburg-az.com/?p=458#comment-276 My understanding of the story is that although Ms. Smith was a prominent business woman and her hotel was a shining example of civilization come to the west, as outsiders began coming to town, they brought their prejudices with them. It soon became "unfashionable" to socialize with a black woman. When she passed away, the prejudices put her in the same category with the Mexicans and Chinese and she was buried with them rather than the white people who had once been her friends. A few years back, there was a town play (for lack of a better description) that depicted several incidents in Wickenburg history. Among them was a performance by a black actress doing a monologue from the point of view of Ms. Smith. It was the most moving performance of the show. It gave me insight to the feelings of a person who had once been an outstanding member of the community and was reduced to an outcast because of the color of her skin. There's an <a href="http://www.sharlot.org/archives/rosegarden/show.pl?woman=ELIZABETH%20HUDSON%20SMITH" rel="nofollow">article about her</a> on the Sharlot Hall Museum site (http://www.sharlot.org/). My understanding of the story is that although Ms. Smith was a prominent business woman and her hotel was a shining example of civilization come to the west, as outsiders began coming to town, they brought their prejudices with them. It soon became “unfashionable” to socialize with a black woman. When she passed away, the prejudices put her in the same category with the Mexicans and Chinese and she was buried with them rather than the white people who had once been her friends.

A few years back, there was a town play (for lack of a better description) that depicted several incidents in Wickenburg history. Among them was a performance by a black actress doing a monologue from the point of view of Ms. Smith. It was the most moving performance of the show. It gave me insight to the feelings of a person who had once been an outstanding member of the community and was reduced to an outcast because of the color of her skin.

There’s an article about her on the Sharlot Hall Museum site (http://www.sharlot.org/).

]]> By: Martha Maxon http://www.wickenburg-az.com/2006/08/ygnacio-garcias-gifts-to-the-community/#comment-275 Martha Maxon Mon, 11 Sep 2006 03:23:25 +0000 http://www.wickenburg-az.com/?p=458#comment-275 Another irony about the Garcia Cemetery is that not only are Mexicans and Chinese buried there, but at least one black person, Elizabeth Smith. She was a prominent business woman, establishing the Vernetta Hotel, a two-story brick building on Frontier Street in 1905 (currently used as offices for Remuda.) According to Fry (1997), she was also one of the founders of the Presbyterian Church in Wickenburg. She is depicted in the Desert Cabelleros Western Museum. Since I first observed her grave, I have wondered about the story behind her being buried in Garcia Cemetery. Does anyone know? Martha Maxon Fry, Mark. 1997. "The Town on the Hassayampa." Desert Cabelleros Western Museum. Another irony about the Garcia Cemetery is that not only are Mexicans and Chinese buried there, but at least one black person, Elizabeth Smith. She was a prominent business woman, establishing the Vernetta Hotel, a two-story brick building on Frontier Street in 1905 (currently used as offices for Remuda.) According to Fry (1997), she was also one of the founders of the Presbyterian Church in Wickenburg. She is depicted in the Desert Cabelleros Western Museum. Since I first observed her grave, I have wondered about the story behind her being buried in Garcia Cemetery. Does anyone know?
Martha Maxon
Fry, Mark. 1997. “The Town on the Hassayampa.” Desert Cabelleros Western Museum.

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