STALEY, Keith Everett *

Vistoso Funeral Home, Oro Valley, Arizona Keith Everett Staley January 13, 1913 - November 19, 2013 Everett “Keith” Staley celebrates his 100th Brithday on Sunday January 13, 2013. Keith Staley’s story begins with his birth in Clayton, New Mexico on January 13, 1913 to Everett John Staley – called J.W. by his friends and Nellie Logie Mitchell who came to Clayton in 1914 from Trinidad, Colorado. Clayton was one of the stops between the division points of Trinidad Colorado and Texline, Texas in those times; and, Keith’s father worked for the railroad. He was transferred to Clayton from Trinidad, Colorado.After three years he resigned and on August 21, 1917 accepted a position as a bookkeeper for the Otto and Johnson Mercantile Co. This was the most prominent business establishment in the northeastern part of New Mexico. The Mercantile sold almost everything a farmer and rancher needed from dry goods, groceries, meats, shoes, ready to wear clothes, horse tack to Dodge automobiles. Keith’s parents bought a two bedroom house in the mid twenties located at 122 Cedar Street and raised their family – Keith and Alan there until J.W.’s death in 1969. The house was purchased for cash as during this time there was no such thing as a mortgage. It had porches on the east and north sides with entry doors at each with a screen porch on the back of the house. The small garage at the back of the house the automobile and was the roost for the flock of chickens. This house provided a new style of living for the Staley’s. For the first time in thirty seven years of their lives, their new home offered complete toilet and bathing facilities. In their new home, there was hot and cold water and an indoor privy. There was a large coal burning furnace in the basement to provide heat but the construction wasn’t’ the best so only the two rooms above the furnace were warmed sufficiently. So, the kitchen was the room that everyone spent time in. There was no television so the family read and finally in about 1930 purchased a radio. The garden and the fruit trees were a mainstay in providing food for the family meals. In the late 1920,s as the country began to experience the financial crisis which became known as the Great Depression, many small business faltered. Such was the case of the Otto and Johnson Mercantile Co. and in 1927 it closed its doors. J.W. had been serving as the bookkeeper for the Clayton Publishing Company for a number of years and saw this time as a opportunity to purchase an interest in the company. He bought an interest and took over as Publisher and Editor of The Clayton News, a weekly paper. For twenty two years until his retirement he ran the newspaper. J.W. was also in 1928 selected to membership on the Clayton school board where he also served for twenty nine years. He was also involved in the Masonic order, Blue Lodge, Scottish Rite and the Eastern Star, a boy scout leader, Salvation Army chairman and the Lions Club. While J.W. was involved in all of the above, Nellie Logie Mitchel was by his side. She was a charter member of the Twentieth Century Club when it became federated in 1925. Her major interest was the formation of the Clayton public library. Her efforts lead to the construction of a library building by the WPA and the acquisition of thousands of books and periodicals. She stayed involved in the library for over 50 years. The couple was very close to their boys and the newspaper was a family run business. Nellie gathered and wrote the local society news. The boys, Keith and Alan served their terms as “printer’s devils” – sweeping, cleaning presses, melting lead for the Linotype machine and assembled the weekly paper as it came off the press. All the printing presses were fed by hand, and both became adept at this work. J.W. sold the newspaper and for the last ten years of their retirement they gardened and enjoyed their leisure hours reading and volunteering. J.W. died on November 12, 1929 two weeks short of his eighty second birthday. Nellie died on September 8, 1980. Both are buried in Denver Colorado. Everett Keith Staley known to his friends as Keith attended and graduated from Clayton High School in 1931. He obtained a scholarship for the Colorado School of Mines in Golden Colorado and entered into a study for mining engineering. At the same time after four years of ROTC, he held a commission as 2nd Lt. in the US Army Corps of Engineers Reserves. He graduated in 1935 and was the first class in the history of the school whose diplomas were made of silver. Striking out to look for employment in 1935 wasn’t an easy task as few mines were operating or if they were they had curtailed their operations. Everyone would take whatever job they could find regardless of a college degree! Keith’s first job was a surface laborer at the American Smelting and Refining Co. mine and coke plant at Cokesdale Colorado near Trinidad for $.4.75 a day. After ten months he went to a clay mining operation in Trenton, New Jersey but this was not the type of mine operations he was familiar with so in spring of 1937 he headed WEST. After visiting his folks in New Mexico, he did what most folks did for transportation during this time – he stuck out his thumb to hitchhike further west. As he was standing by the road he saw another hitchhiker on the other side of the road going East and realized they had both attended the Colorado School of Mines. The other graduate told Keith about Morenci Arizona. Keith began to hitchhike there to see what the new operation to start an open pit copper mine would hold. He was hired August 23, 1937 as a mine laborer at $3.76 per day working six or seven days a week. After a stretch doing this labor, he began working as a truck driver at $6.08 per day. These trucks were the larges dump trucks in the industry at that time. By October 1938 the company mine engineer department was enlarged and he became a junior engineer/surveyor for $125 per month. The mine developed Keith devoted more and more time to layout and survey of the railroad fills, grade and connections from the plant and mill site to the mine. He supervised the work of two fifty man crews laying track. During his time in Morenci, he met and married Edith Peterson (1940) and had three boys over their marriage. On January 23, 1941 he was ordered to activate his duty and went to Fort Belvior, VA then the Army Engineer School. From there he went to Mississippi and Washington state before being sent to Alaska in 1941. Before leaving for Alaska Keith remembers being in Camp Lewis Washington and having difficulty getting outfitted with his men for their new adventure in Alaska. He remembers one consignment of winter underwear from J.C. Penney, Sears and Montgomery Ward. They had to use what they got! On March 25, 1942 he was Company Commander of C Company and set to Juno Alaska. There they had to establish a tent camp and begin construction of a permanent camp site to house troops who were to operate a new airfield. Before the construction was finished the entire company was ordered to Nome Alaska by air. He knew of very few if any outfits that were flown to an assignment in World War II. Shiploads of lumber, cement, prefab huts and other construction material arrived for structures to house troops that were to remain in Nome arrived. (Terry there is so much information on Alaska but I will skip unless you tell me to send) The company was ordered to Attu Island in July 1943 shortly after the Japanese had been subdued there. Their assignment was to keep the roads free of snow, build a water works and pipeline and construct barracks, warehouse, ammunition storage and other necessary facilities for the troops. In mid July 1944 Keith returned to Camp Lewis Was. But in the spring found out he had been transferred to the 93rd Engineer General Service Regiment as 2nd Battalion Command and the regiment was order to Burma. He returned home in 1945 and was discharged. COPPER MINING After his service time , November 19, 1945 found Keith employed as a junior engineer by the Eureka Corporation Limited in Eureka Nevada. While working there he had heard about a copper mine development beginning in San Manuel, Arizona. He enquired about employment and was offered a position in Arizona and off he went to begin a long career with Magma Copper Mining. He was considered a shaft expert and his first job at San Manuel would be to sink 5 shafts from surface to 1600 feet. By June of 1948 he was working as a shaft lead man, drilling, blasting, timbering and pouring concrete for $12.50 a day. He was promoted during this period of time and continued to be promoted until he was Development Foreman. Mine production began in Mid 1955 and he was made Assistant Mine Superintendent in 1956. 35,0000 tons per day became the quota for the mine. His career went on to include being promoted to Mine Superintendent in Superior Arizona where he remained until 1965. He had been divorced in 1958 and in 1965 met and married a young Army widow with one daughter. In San Manuel Arizona the mine was increasing shafts and production. He continued to be promoted between Superior and San Manuel copper mines and at the end of his career he was the General Manager of one of the largest if not the largest underground copper mine in the world as it related to ore production holding the Guinness Book of World Records. He worked thirty years at San Manual and retired at the age of 63. In 1986 he and his wife moved to Sun City Vistoso retirement community in Oro Valley, Az. In early days he was instrumental in setting up and teaching silversmith and lapidary to the new community members as he had been teaching fifteen years prior to his retirement. Today he continues to work silver and cut rocks to design amazing silver jewelry with a tradition flavor. At almost 101, he is still doing what he loved. (The above biography was written by Keith's daughter Cindy for a series of articles in Keith's home town Clayton New Mexico newspaper, The Union County Leader.)