Desert Messenger

March 20, 2019 www.DesertMessenger.com 15 Keep Quartzsite Clean and Beautiful As snowbirds return home to their favorite winter nests, the Desert Messenger wishes to remind everyone not to put their trimmings/ brush in the washes. Please dispose responsibly, anytime, at the Town's chipper yard, near the transfer station on Hwy. 95, 1/2 + mile north of the Firestation. THE TRANSFER STATION IS OPEN SUN. - WED. 7:30AM-2:30PM. Also please remember coyotes are wild animals... please don't feed the wildlife! FREE Income tax preparation will be available at the Quartzsite Public Library, 465 N Plymouth Ave. HOURS: 8:00 AM till 12:00 noon, each Wednesday & Thurs- day, through April 12, 2018. Please bring photo ID for each tax payer (and spouse), social secu- rity card for all persons listed on return; a copy of last year's return if available; all W-2s, 1099s, any other income documents, and any other information pertaining to your tax return. For more information, call Joe at: (928) 927-7872. Free income tax preparation offered Town Manager meetings changed to 3rd Tuesdays Quartzsite Town Manager will hold meetings once a month for pub- lic input. They will be held on the THIRD TUESDAY of the month in the Library Meeting room, starting at 1:30 pm. The public is encouraged to attend. Topics will vary, however anyone may speak on any Town issue. The Library is located at 465 N. Plymouth Ave., Quartzsite. For details, contact Town Hall at 928- 927-4333. AFFORDABLE RV SERVICE & REPAIR Appliances, Solar, Plumbing, LP, Electrical, Levelers, Slide-Outs Fast, Friendly MOBILE Service We acept ALL Major Credit/Debit Cards BLM Approved 775-250-4131 www.facebook.com/ DesertMessengerNews Now and then... By QHS President Archie Lumbert For several hundred years our fa- mous saguaro lived on the desert two miles west of Quartzsite. Some- one counted and discovered that it had 47 arms, which topped a previ- ous record. "Giant 47 arm cactus" was put on a road sign and installed on the high- way with an arrow pointing toward the wash where it grew. Over the years, thousands of weary travel- ers stopped at the site to have their lunch and get their selfi e picture with the majestic beauty. Due to this traffi c and a prolonged drought, it expired near the turn of this millennium. To deter future souvenir hunters and additional vandalism, a local resident rescued the "bones" and spirited them away to his house in town. Years later, the Historical Society learned of this, and in 2016 the cac- tus was donated to the museum. A quick phone call to obtain a permit to move the giant yielded the in- formation that "dead cactuses on private property are not under the jurisdiction of the Agriculture De- partment." Local volunteers erected the speci- men on the Quartzsite museum grounds in April 2017 along with a time capsule. But, alas, there it was, a two foot arm twenty feet in the air, bobbing in the wind, ready to break off and fl y away. John Smith from "The Recyclers" came to the rescue. Using his lift, the arm was liberated from the "tree top." Quartzsite's local artisan Dave "Bear" Collier generously mounted the arm on a plaque. During the 2018-19 season, raffl e tickets were sold at the big tent, lo- cal seminars, and the Gold Show. Annie Oehler, a winter resident from Carson City, Nevada and QHS member won the drawing with a ticket she had purchased at the Mu- seum's booth at the Big Tent. Annie promptly donated the prize back to the Quartzsite Historical Society where mother and child can both be viewed Wednesday thru Sunday be- tween the hours of 10am and 4pm. Stop in and see this once living piece of Quartzsite's history, and get your own selfi e with this ancient relic now, and maybe a bit of history from back then! PHOTOS: Above: Mounted Arm of Saguaro Right: Saguaro Spine at Museum

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