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BENSON REVISITED
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In May, 2007, Clarence and I and another couple visited Benson, Arizona, the home of Vern Parker for many years. Now a quaint, quiet town, it was once a bustling railroad stop, full of history and rioteous living. It is now best known as the Gateway to Kartchner Cavern and Tombstone.
For more information on Benson, go to: http://www.desertusa.com/Cities/az/benson.html |
| We made five important stops, including the Horseshoe Cafe and the Riverside Inn. For more information on these places, go to: http://www.vernparkerwesternartist.com/Horseshoe%20Cafe.html. Our guide, Stan Benjamin, volunteer and historian for the San Pedro Valley Arts and Historical Society, took us first to the museum where there is a small Vern Parker oil painting of a cowboy on a horse, donated by a Benson resident. It measures about 5" x 7" without the frame but is very charming. Look at all the detail in such a small area. |
  
| Parker Oil Painting Stan Benjamin San Pedro Valley Arts & Historical Society |
| The next stop was the home of Christina Richards, who is in the possession of "Quarterhorse Stallion" given to her husband, Doc Richards by Vern Parker. The Richards ran the local Dairy Queen for many years and Doc was a science teacher at the high school. It seems Doc took a special interest in Alan, Parker's stepson. They were both rock hounds and enjoyed exploring during out-of-school hours. Alan was assigned to the arranging and labeling of the samples in a glass cabinet at the Richards' home, where it is still displayed. Parker gave the painting to the Richards as a token of appreciation for the kindness he showed to Alan during his high school days. There is a special inscription on the back of the painting. The painting is about 12" x 18" unframed, very beautiful and delicate, a real example of Parker's best work. |
  
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Quarterhorse Stallion Christina Richards Inscription
The inscription on the back reads: " Quarterhorse Stallion, Benson, Arizona--To Doc Richards a really nice guy--Vern Parker--66. " Then in block letters below the inscription is written "Colorado Springs." |
| The third and perhaps most productive, definitely the most interesting was meeting Vey Fenn at his homemade adobe house. As a young Bensonite and deputy sheriff, Vey knew Parker personally. He is an artist in his own right, specializing in water color. He owns two large Parker landscape oil paintings. These painting hung for year in the restaraunt of Vey's brother in Benson. When Vey's brother died, Vey took the paintings for preservation. |
 
| This is the largest painting, about 5' x 3. The inscription reads: "Mt. Vale Swatch Range, Colorado, Alt. 14,000 feet. Signature is to the far right, and typical Parker mark. |
 
| This painting is the smaller of the two, measuring about 4' x 2'. It is beautifully detailed and colorful. The signature is practically hidden in the landscape. |
| The original town of Benson has changed very little since the days of Vern Parker. The stores are still small storefront, the sidewalks are narrow, and the small town feeling remains. The types and names of the shops have changed, but the atmosphere of the West is evident everywhere. The town is proud of their Western history. In many shop windows there are signs that mark that store as historical in some particular way. The signs are painted in black block letters on hardboard. Although there are no names, I feel certain that these simple signs were also the work of Vern Parker. |
Benson in the 60s.
  
| Some views of the streets of Benson. Notice the Horseshoe Cafe at the far end of the third photo. |
  
 
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Vern and Eloise Parker had his studio and their gift shop along the main highway. It is really undetermined just whereit was, but by comparing two photos, one of the Parker era and one today, it is quite possible that the site is here, although totally changed, of course. But the mountain range in the back remains the same, thus deciding that this must have been the place.
 
It was a very nostalgic day for me to know I walked where my uncle walked and saw the same things and places that he did. There is little or no chance that I will return to Benson, so for me, it was the end of the Odessey, and a very rewarding one.
COLOSSAL CAVE MOUNTAIN PARK
Vail, Arizona
 
| Colossal Cave, 1929 Colossal Cave, 1960 |
Nestled in the Rincon Valley, Colossal Park was discovered in 1879. Ever since, it is a popular tourist attraction. In her book, Vail andColossal Cave Mountain Park, Sharon E. Hunt shows photos of Vern Parker art. For more information about Colossal Cave Mountain Park, go to: http://www.colossalcave.com/welcome.html. Photos are used through the courtesy of CCMP.
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Photo 1: Radio and television broadcaster Ray 0dem (left) and Colossal Cave operator Joe Maierhauser pose in front of the camera with the cowboy figure from the cave"s dioramam created by Western artis Vern Parker in 1959.
Photo 2: Operator Joe Maierhauser jokes around with Colossal Cave's bandit cut-out made by Western artist, Vern Parker. (pg. 26) |
| Well-known Western artist and woodcarver Vern Parker shows his painting of the Colossal Cave "Bandit's Legend" to cave opeator Joe Maierhauser. Parker is best known for his postcards of horses and the West , published by Petley Studios, Phoenix, Arizona, in the 1950s. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Parker created dioramas and billboards for the cave. (pg. 29) |
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