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HISTORY
He made a splash Maricopa pioneer and farmer
This undated photograph depicts John Smith (right), Jack Smith and Fred Enke posing at their farm.
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John Smith, 96, died peacefully in his sleep at his home in The Villages at Rancho El Dorado Sept. 1. Smith is survived by his wife of 73 years, Mary Lou, four sons Jim, Jack, Matt and Mark, daughter Lisa Balcer, 22 grandchildren and 49 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his son Paul. One of Smith’s proudest achievements was helping build the Rotary Pool for the Maricopa community in 1956 after children drowned in the canals on farms in Maricopa. Smith and his farming partner Fred Enke donated 3½ acres east of Maricopa on the Casa Grande Highway for the pool and park, according to the historical society. The pool cost an estimated $50,000, but Rotarians provided labor that cut the cost in half. “It was a really great thing for a little dirt town back in the day,” daughter Balcer said.
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This 1957 image of Maricopa Rotary Club members pictures Bob Baker, Jay Baldock, Bill Storie, Fred Groff, Bart Rust, Sonny Dunn, Frank Banks and John Smith attending Stagecoach Days.
Read more about Smith here >
THIS MONTH IN HISTORY For these and other historical stories, visit InMaricopa.com.
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Geeks and nerds rejoiced when the first comic book shop opened in Maricopa. Brian Lindblom opened Mr. E Comics in the Shops at Maricopa Fiesta, offering rows upon rows of current issues, vintage titles, trading cards and collectibles. The store would later serve as a place to play tabletop and card games.
A train struck a car on the Union Pacific Railroad tracks after the crossing arms failed to go down on North Porter Road. The driver, 55-year- old Zack Coryellbattle, was transported to Chandler Regional Medical Center with injuries and released hours later. A westbound service train was working on the tracks and, according to a Union Pacific representative, kicked up debris that blocked the railroad crossing arms’ sensor. Coryellbattle unsuccessfully sued the city of Maricopa, then- City Manager Rick Horst and the Maricopa Police Department in 2021.
Maricopa Police Department Lt. Larry Eckhardt and several other city employees were disciplined after improper use of the city’s email server, according to then-MPD Chief Kirk Fitch. Then-Maricopa Police Association President Aki Stant uncovered an email written by Eckhardt to Lt. Willie Payne containing pictures of naked women on Canadian currency. The email was a chain message Eckhardt had originally received from a source outside the city joking about a new form of currency designed to stop counterfeiting by “terrorists.”
Maricopa Unified School District and city officials broke ground on Maricopa’s second elementary school, Pima Butte. “This is what we’re here for, these children,” said then-Superintendent Alma Farrell. “We are trying to grow with our community, trying to meet the challenges and rise above them.”
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InMaricopa.com | October 2024
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