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March 7, 2012 Hi Jolly Cemetery's Pioneers – Who Were They? By Dinice Ross, Hi Jolly Cem- etery, Records/Historian William "Bill" Keiser This story connects with "Buck" Conner through "Buck's" sister, Jessie Leah Conner. Jessie was married to Harvey Jasper and they had one son, William Donald Jasper. Har- vey died and she later married William "Bill" Keiser Aug. 29th 1915. According to all the records and obituaries that I have read, Jessie died Sept. 7th. 1939 in Loma Linda, San Bernardino, CA. at the age of 62 and was buried Sept. 10 1939 in Quartzsite, AZ. As sometimes happens, records don't always match, and in this case her headstone reads 1930. This headstone reads: KEISER JESSIE LEAH WILLIAM G. "BILL" 1877 – 1930 1873 – 1963 William "Bill" Keiser was born in Lykens, Pennsylvania September 12, 1873. At the age of 23 he came west, eventually settling in Quartzsite, AZ. in 1904. Bill died in 1963 at the age of 89. He was a friendly, energetic man who smoked big Havana cigars and had an opinion about everything and a story to match. Although there are some re- ports Bill had been married four times, he lived most of his life as a bachelor. He was a storyteller, writer, miner, and painter-artist, the village notary, unofficial drawer up of deeds, inspec- tor general on all election boards, landlord of numerous old shacks that he rented out to road workers and sur- vey crews at city prices, owned and operated the first telephone company here in Quartzsite, and also operated a small mortuary in connection with Johnson Mortuary in Yuma. Bill worked at the King of Arizona (KoFA) mine from 1898 until he came to Quartzsite, earning $3 for a 9 hour work day. In 1899 Bill went to Colorado to work at the Camp Bird Mine. After that he took up ranching in the mouth of the Trigo Wash (south of Ehrenberg, AZ.). "At first high water the summer of 1903 convinced me I should give up ranching on the Colorado" when his homestead was washed away. With his wife Jessie, they ran the Beacon Motel in QTZ. They also built a little grocery store on the north side of the highway. Between 1925 and 1934 he had home- steaded 160 acres around Quartzsite. www.DesertMessenger.com The McDonald's Restaurant was built where Bill Keiser's old home was. Bill kept notes on all the stories he heard regarding min- ing and knew more of the min- ing history of all the areas around Vicksburg, Kofa Mts., Quartzsite, LaPaz and Ehrenberg than anyone else around. The Lure of gold was always a temptation and thoughts of mining never were far behind. "I was now becoming very much in- terested in the possibilities of Quartz- site and took up claims whenever I had the opportunity." Also he took notes along the way on the people - what they did and where they had come from, mingling with politicians, educators, promoters and bankers – and always adding to his manuscripts with sketches of the lo- cal areas. Those notes included who raised the best garden, how big the watermelons were and how much cof- fee sold for. Regarding his manuscript, he wrote, "I was going to say that this has been a history of my trials and tribulations; but it has also been a story of the fun I have had. My life has been spent on the desert; not too well spent, by a long shot, but as it seemed best to me at the time. Hunting for gold has been the biggest part of it. I have seen and handled a lot of gold, but not much has stayed with me. The hills are a good bit steeper and rougher than they were; I often wonder how I climbed over some of them." "And, who knows: I may strike it rich yet" Some would say he died a poor man in monetary terms, but in living life to its fullest, Bill was wealthy beyond measure. No one knew the Quartzsite country better than Bill but more im- portant, he wrote it down. Hundreds of pages of his reminiscences concern- ing his life fell into the hands of the Yuma County Historical Society. You can read more about the early min- ing activities of Bill Keiser in Volume I of IN THE SHADOW OF SAGUAROS. The Quartzsite Historical Society also offers an adaptation of Bill's own writ- ings about his early years in and around Quartzsite, LOST MINES AND PROS- PECTOR'S LORE. (His stories are per- sonal and funny). Both are available at the Quartzsite Library. Page 35 50th Wedding Anniversary Quartzsite, Arizona- On February 18th, 2012 guests traveled from California and Arizona to celebrate Reese Ray and Virginia Mckissack's 50th Wedding Anniversary, which was held at the Quartzsite Improvement Association at 2:00pm. The party was given by their children; Susan, Terry, and Donna and grandchildren; Kyle, Kristina, Katie, Jason, Michael and Alex. Over a hundred guests attended to extent their con- gratulations to this wonderful couple, who are loved and appreciated. Reese Ray and Virginia were married on January 6th, 1962 in Las Vegas, Nevada in the Little Chapel of the Flowers. Because they didn't have a traditional wedding this celebra- tion was very meaningful to them as Virginia expressed after the cake cutting ceremony. An eloquent toast was given by Virginia's brother Chuck Doughty and How- ard and Sandy Andreason sang Old Love and You're My Best Friend, Ralph Jones recited a poem he wrote for Reese Ray and Virginia, Bill Toon gave a meaningful speech, Jim and Wilma sang Keeper of the Stars by Tracy Bryd and Gil and Erma Prier sang Look at Us by Vince Gill. Presented at the party by their family on behalf of everyone who was invited was a certificate for a surprise Alaskan Cruise, in which they gladly accepted. We are very proud of them. Congratulations Reese Ray and Virginia for setting an admirable example to all of us who aspire to have a successful and long-last- ing marriage!! We love you!! Mckissacks celebrate