ArizonaRealCountry.com 9 August 2018 Monday, June 12th, 1961 was another hot day in the desert north of Scottsdale, Arizona. This was a day Marv and Herman Dickson would never forget. After another busy weekend, more trash had to be hauled to the local landfill (actually a mine shaft on Boulder Mountain). They had dumped several loads on Friday, and after the last load, set it all on fire. This fire could smolder for days. Now on Monday, they had dumped a couple more loads with just one more to go. Again they carefully backed the pickup to the edge of the hole so the tailgate hung over the 65-foot deep mine shaft. Some smoke was still wafting up from the smoldering trash. They wanted to finish this job before it got too hot. This time of the year the temperature could normally go from 110 to 115 degrees in the shade, and there was no shade. Oh yeah, it’s a dry heat alright. By Bob Roloff, “The Arizona Duuude” You can follow Bob Roloff on Facebook. THE ARIZONA DUUUDE Rescue on Boulder Mountain Marv didn't want to leave his brother, but Herman finally convinced him. Marv had to go for help. Marv jumped in his truck and roared off down the trail, spilling the remaining cans and 55-gallon drum and its contents along the way. Down the road, he sped, through the dry wash and over humps he normally drove in low gear. Dust flying he came into the parking lot on two wheels and skidded to a stop. Running inside hollering for someone to help. Marv was so panicked and out of breath, he couldn't even talk. Bill Depew the owner asked him what was wrong. After they had radioed the Sheriff’s Department, they gathered up all the ropes and chains they could find to piece together to reach down the full 65-foot shaft. Then Marv along with Bill, Jim Capron, and a steak salesman that happened to be there, raced back to the mine shaft. Herman said it seemed like Marv was gone for hours. Herman had now been down in the smoky mine shaft a little over an hour. After tieing these sections of rope and chains together, then throwing one end down to Herman, they tried pulling him up by hand but couldn't, so they tied their end to the back of the truck. Bill got in and started it moving forward. Herman had tied his end around his waist and was hanging on As tight as he could. Slowly the truck moved forward and slowly Herman began to rise up from the dark, hot, smoky pit. Slowly as he came up the shaft he could see the opening getting larger, where frightened faces and safety were waiting. As he got nearer the top he could also see where the rope was being pulled through a jagged notch in the rocks. Then just as he got close, the rope broke. Herman fell back down the shaft, only this time he was tumbling and bouncing from one side of the jagged rocky shaft to the other. He hit the bottom hard, knocking the wind out of him. He hit his head but somehow wasn't knocked out. He could hear them hollering down to him, but he was unable to answer. The pain in his left wrist immediately drew his attention and what he saw scared him. He saw two white cords sticking out and blood squirting everywhere. Tearing off his shirt he manages to tie a tourniquet on his left arm. Having gotten his wind back he hollers up to them. When the rope broke Bill jumped out of the truck and ran back to the mine shaft. While they were all hollering down into the darkness, they heard something behind them and to their horror, they saw the truck rolling back toward them. The nearest one managed to get in the truck and stop it before it pushed all of them down the hole and followed them in. Luckily they had a couple more pieces of rope they could tie to the end and throw back down the shaft. Now Herman can't use his left arm or his right leg. So he just wrapped the rope around his right hand and hung on tight. Bill put the truck in gear and again slowly drove forward dragging Herman slowly back up the shaft. Herman hung on knowing it had to work this time, he had been losing blood, he was thirsty and weak. He tried to push himself away from the rocky walls to avoid being dragged against the jagged rocks, but as he tries to push away from the wall he began to spin one way or another. As he again neared the top he saw the rope being dragged through the same groove in the rocks. He couldn't let go and now his right hand was being dragged through this jagged groove. Skin and flesh were torn, but he hung on until he felt many hands grabbing onto him. He would not go down the shaft a third time. He was out. They raced back to Pinnacle Peak Patio, where the Sheriff was waiting for them. There was no one there to tell him where the accident had happened. He had come all the way from Apache Junction. The Sheriff had called for an ambulance and Herman was rushed to Doctors Hospital in Phoenix, located at 20th St. and Thomas. He would stay there for three weeks. When the ambulance pulled up at the hospital’s emergency room there were police and news people everywhere. Herman was rushed in and his mother began to come in but Herman told her to get out he'd be okay. He didn't want her to see how bloody and really hurt he was fearing she might faint. Then Marv came in, and jokingly Herman says to him, “ Why'd you push me down there ?” trying to lighten up the tension. It was the wrong thing to say, Marv felt bad enough as it was, and worse yet the police heard it and took Marv outside for questioning. Did he really push Herman in the mine shaft? They were reassured by Herman that he was only joking when he said that. When Herman finally got out he was in a wheelchair. His right leg was in a big cast and so was his left arm. He would be in a wheelchair for three months, then on crutches. When he returned to Paradise Valley High School that fall some of his classmates were surprised, they'd heard he died. Herman went on to graduate in 1963. He would return to Pinnacle Peak Patio in 1964 working as a cook. All this time Marv kept on working at Pinnacle Peak Patio as a cook, maintenance man, and sometimes as a night watchman. Big Marv 1962 Pinnacle Peak Patio Steak House A heavy 55-gallon barrel of trash had to be dumped, so Marv climbed up into the bed of the truck and got behind the barrel to push it back onto the tailgate, but it was too heavy so Herman climbed up to help. They still are not sure how it happened, but the tailgate suddenly gave way as Herman put his weight on it. Down Herman went, straight down the center of the shaft. Landing on the slope of the trash and tumbling on to the bottom. He had sprained his ankle and wrenched his back but was otherwise okay. Now Marv turning around saw Herman was gone. Panic-stricken he begins hollering down into the mine shaft. Herman hollers back letting him know he is okay. Herman's lucky, if this had happened a week earlier before more trash was added, glass shards from broken bottles and Spanish Dagger cactus with sharp spear points would have been waiting for him. As it is the fire was still smoldering, so it’s hot and smoky. In a way, Herman says the fire was a good thing, usually, there are rattlesnakes down in those abandoned mine shafts, but because of the fire, there were none in this one. Herman found some tin cans to sit and put his feet on because the fire is still burning below him. It’s hot down there with smoke and not much oxygen to breathe. The space at the bottom was only about ten foot square. When Herman looked up, the light at the top was about the size of a postage stamp.