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October 5, 2011 TELEPHONE FROM PAGE 6 had assigned him to serve in ra- dio and telecommunication. When the war was over Billy came to Quartzsite to visit his stepdad and was surprised that the town where he grew up had not progressed in modern communication. The two men came up with a plan and went over to the Colorado River Tele- phone Company in Blythe to see if they could tie into their system and connect with the rest of the USA. They learned they had to first go to the Arizona State Tax Commission for the assessment of a telegraph and telephone line with four tele- phones that would be connected from Blythe, across the Colorado River, and onto Quartzsite. Keiser and Jasper bought 22 miles of telephone wire and from the abandoned army camps around Rice, California they bought hun- dreds of 12-foot lengths of iron pipe for telephone poles. Keiser had a Model T truck that he had used to haul ironwood for his Beacon Hotel and fixed it up to haul the pipe and wire. Over and through the moun- tain passes, where the old Model T couldn't go, they had a four-wheel rubber-tired wagon with rented mules so they could set up the poles and string the wire. Keiser told me this was not an easy job and he had to draw on experiences from his mining days out at the King of Ari- zona mine. "Mules can pull a good load," he said, "But, they have to want to do it. And I was pretty darn good at sweet talkin' those mules www.DesertMessenger.com into doing what we needed." After the poles were up, lines strung, and the first call made the two men had much to celebrate. The next telephone was wired for E. B. Hart, the Justice of Peace. Keiser was kept pretty busy per- sonally delivering Western Union telegraph messages for $1. Billy Jasper took his knowledge back to Los Angeles and found a great job in the telephone industry. By the early 1950s Keiser had 12 telephones on one line that shared service with Judge Hagley, Scott's Store, Carson's Toy Cafe & Garage, Cross Roads Cafe & Texaco Service, Yuma County Sheriff's Deputy Fred Kuehn and five private telephones before Keiser sold out to Leroy Ka- mrar's Colorado River Telephone Company. Reverse River Run 23rd Annual The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Yuma Field Office and the Amigos del Rio need volunteers with boats to participate in the 23nd Annual Reverse River Run. The event is a two-day clean up of the Colorado River shoreline between Yuma, Ariz., and Blythe, Calif. Volunteers will meet at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8, at Fishers Landing for a pre-trip signup and briefing. They will then clean the shorelines as they cruise up-river approxi- mately 70 miles north to Blythe, Calif. A traditional halfway point is Walters Camp where gasoline may Desert Rose Beauty Salon WE'RE BACK! Stop in and say hi! STYLISTS: JO AND LONI ACRYLIC NAILS BY JO! Hair & Nails 165 E. Main (west of Main St. Laundromat) Open Mon.- Thurs. 8-3 928-927-8953 be purchased and a lunch break is taken. Participants may camp overnight at the KOA (previously the Riviera Marina) for $6 per person, and a barbecue consisting of hamburgers and hot dogs will be held Saturday evening. The cost of the barbecue is $4 per person. Following the barbecue, prizes will be awarded for various categories of trash col- lection. On Sunday morning, par- ticipants will begin their leisurely return to Fishers Landing. Safety is a primary concern. Par- ticipants are asked to come pre- pared for overnight camping and weather extremes typical for this time of year. Participants must have life vests, hats, sturdy gloves, sunscreen, insect repellant, and plenty of water. Volunteers are responsible for bringing their own food and beverages for the week- end. No pets please. Full Service Cardiovascular Office in Quartzsite! Page 7 Arizona's rivers and streams are a precious commodity. Please help keep the Colorado River shoreline clean by joining us for this excit- ing event. For further informa- tion, please contact Amigos del Rio member Smokey Knowlton at 928- 783-6353 or Yuma River Tours at 928-783-4400. CARDIOVASCULAR DIVISION OF IMS Diagnose and Treat • chest pain • shortness of breath • leg pain • varicose veins • leg swelling • palpitations LOCATED in Palm Plaza 255 N. Central Blvd. #5 Quartzsite Cardiac Services Provided • stress testing • echocardiograms • vascular ultrasound • PAD screening • coronary angioplasty/stenting • peripheral angioplasty/stenting All testing done on-site No need to travel 928-927-6105