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P��� 18 GUIDING LIGHT FROM PAGE 16 1898 two miners expired almost within sight of Cullen’s Well and in February of 1900 another prospector’s body was found near the station. Not long after that incident a young German lad had staggered towards the station. He was very thirsty and weak with exhaustion as he laid down to die. Just before he closed his eyes he saw what looked like a ray of lamplight coming from a win- dow. With his strength almost gone he somehow managed to struggle on towards the light where he found the water trough and began to sip its life sustaining water. It was after this lad’s experience that Cullen decided to assist in guid- ing weary travelers who attempted to cross the desert during the night. Cul- len hung a lantern from a tall pole that he had created by lashing several dried saguaro ribs together and nailed it to a stout board on the roof of the sta- tion. Every night he lit the lantern and hoisted it to the top of the saguaro-rib pole. The lantern was a beacon of light that could be seen for miles across the level plain. Time after time, the lan- tern proved to be a light of promise and a beacon of hope to many a weary traveler. This “desert lighthouse” was certainly different from the lighthous- ���.D����� M��������.��� es found along the ocean’s seashores, but provided much the same ability to rescue. When I last visited Cullen’s Well, I expected to find a lonely desolate place without a trace of how important the station had been over a hundred years earlier. To my surprise the site was clean and tidy. Even the graves were well-tended with recently painted markers. As I walked around I couldn’t help but wonder who was taking such loving care of the final resting place of those who met their maker at this very picturesque place. I was touched by the quiet solemnity I found there. Some time around 1905, after the grading of a road just north of the station, the nightly ritual of hanging a lantern at the top of a saguaro rib at Cullen’s Well was silently extin- guished. Gone was the guiding light to water that for years had been a beacon to many weary travelers to where they would find water and a refuge along this section of southwestern Arizona’s pioneer trail. (The next story will be: “The History of Conner Airfield”) QUARTZSITE-The 2010 Census statistics were released to Arizona on March 9, 2011. the Town of Quartzsite popula- tion stands at 3,677. This is a growth of 9.63% over the 2000 Census of 3354. M���� 16, 2011 2010 Census Figures released for Quartzsite & La Paz County Quartzsite: 3,423 are over the age of 18. 92.5% of the population is white. Total housing units are: 3,378 Occupied housing units: 2,027 Vacant housing units 1,351 La Paz County population is now 20,489. Arizona’s population now stands at 6,392,017. LA PAZ COUNTY POPULATION: PLACE: Alamo Lake 25 Bluewater Bouse Brenda Cibola Cienega Springs 1,798 Ehrenberg 1,470 La Paz Valley 699 Parker town 3,083 Parker Strip 662 Poston Quartzsite 3,677 Salome Sunwest Utting 1,530 15 Vicksburg Wenden 126 597 728 285 725 996 676 250 via FTP download at http://www2. census.gov/census_2010/01-Redis- tricting_File–PL_94-171/. The data is posted on the Census Bu- reau’s new American FactFinder site http://factfinder2.census.gov. The data includes summaries of pop- ulation totals, as well as data on race, Hispanic origin and voting age for multiple geographies within the state, such as census blocks, tracts, voting districts, cities, counties and school districts. According to Public Law 94- 171, the Census Bureau must provide redistricting data to the 50 states no later than April 1 of the year follow- ing the census. As a result, the Census Bureau is delivering the data state-by- state on a flow basis in February and March. All states will receive their data by April 1, 2011. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census. 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Tables P1 and H1 The full set of data will be available The Coming ECONOMIC ARMAGEDDON What Bible Prophecy warns About the New Economy 10 Week Video Series Beginning January 22 Saturdays at 7:00pm at The Alliance Church 720 Desert Vista (nr.Kofa), Quartzsite, AZ 928-927-5332