Desert Messenger

April 19, 2023 ww.DesertMessenger.com 7 Readership of free community papers is now higher than paid daily papers and continues to grow. And more than 70 percent of readers make their buying decisions from free paper advertising and editorial. Your free community paper, promoting connections at a local level – right under your nose. 928-916-4235 www.DesertMessenger.com Email: Editor@DesertMessenger.com Museum Musings BILL KEISER - THE QUARTZSITE YEARS By Maggie J Moody Bill Keiser's life in Quartzsite began in 1904 at the age of 23. Arriving in Quartzsite he found W.E. Scott in need of somebody to haul water to the mines so this was his fi rst job af- ter arriving. Keiser had several small jobs. He also did a lot of prospecting; and had a partnership with Solomon Pease in the Mariquita mine. Bill had "plastered" (put) papers on so many claims that he became known as "the plasterer" by the miners who hung around the saloons. Bill met Jessie Connor Jasper, a widow from Virginia. Jessie was the sister of Buck Connor. She had moved to Quartzsite around 1913 to be close to her father and brother. Buck Con- nor and his father each homesteaded 160 acres so Jessie fi led a claim for 160 acres adjoining theirs. About a year after fi ling the claim Jessie mar- ried Bill Keiser. Keiser built their home and the Beacon Hotel on the property Jessie had claimed, which was located where the present-day McDonald's was built. The Beacon Hotel was a group of small cabins on the property. There was also a small building across the street that, over time, served as a grocery store, a café and even a funeral parlor. Through the years Keiser kept up his prospect- ing and ran the Beacon Hotel on his property. He served as Postmaster, was a Notary Public, an artist, a writ- er and a businessman. Jessie Keiser became ill and passed away on Sep- tember 7, 1939. She is buried in the Hi Jolly Cemetery in Quartzsite. Bill Keiser later married Mary Stod- dard, who had been a friend to Jessie and had helped to care for her during her illness. Mary was younger than Bill and wanted more excitement from life than the small town of Quartzsite had to offer, so the marriage only last- ed a few years. After they parted ways, Mary moved to Las Vegas. Keiser continued living in the home he had originally built for Jessie, right alongside the road in Quartzsite. Keiser had to keep up his required annual work on all of his mining claims which meant he had to travel and spend times at these different locations. Travel- ing throughout the area to do this always provided many stories for Bill to type out on his typewriter as well as inspiration for his paintings. With his typewriter Keiser was pro- fi cient at writing the stories and lore of the area. These later were turned into Quartzsite Pioneer Bill Keiser's Lost Mines and Prospectors' Lore with the help of Pauline. The walls of the Keiser's home were covered in oil paintings that were the results of the inspiration he received from the area. One of Keiser's paintings was of a famous Arizona mining Pioneer named Charles B Genung. This painting was done from mem- ory and was used as the book cover of Lost Mines of Old Arizona by Harold Weight in 1959. In 1960 Keiser received a phone call from a woman in New Orleans who had read an article written by him in a magazine. The woman, Isabel, had known a Bill Keiser in Pennsylvania years ago and was wondering if he might be that person. When he told her he was, she told him that she had been in love with him all those years ago and had never forgotten him. She was now a widow as her husband, who had been a doctor, had passed on. Keiser invited her to come visit him in Arizona and she came that fall to visit. Isabell planned on only staying a short time but instead she and Bill ended up marrying. Isabell's daugh- ter had travelled to Arizona with her but returned to New Orleans for the winter. She returned the next spring to help Isabel travel to New Orleans for the summer. Isabel was return- ing to New Orleans again the follow- ing spring with the help again of her daughter when she passed away on the train about 10 miles out of Yuma. When Isabel's daughter phoned to let Bill know he was heartbroken. This was to his fourth and last marriage, as after this he chose to give his love to his many cats. Bill Keiser passed away from a heart attack on May 25, 1963. He is buried in the Hi Jolly Cemetery in Quartzsite, Arizona. ����� | H����� O. W����� | T�� D����� M������� 1949 William G. Keiser points out the approximate location of the Kofa area geode field on the huge map he has painted on the rear wall of his mineral and historical museum at Quartzsite, Arizona. You can learn more about Bill Keiser and other Quartzsite pioneers at the Tyson's Well Stage Station Museum. There are copies of Bill Keiser's Lost Mines and Prospectors' Lore available in our gift shop.

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