Celia’s Rainbow Gardens

A story is told in Quartzsite, Arizona, of a little girl named Celia Anne Winer.  This community holds the story of her short life close to their hearts – memorialized in a town park named Celia’s Rainbow Gardens. 

Joanne and Paul Winer never expected to have a child.  In fact Joanne had been told she never would have one.  Then at the age of 36, Joanne heard the miracle words, “You are pregnant!”  But her miracle baby would come into the world prematurely at 23 weeks gestation, weighing only 1¼ pounds with a tiny head the size of a lemon.  Never had a baby this size survived here.  But Celia fooled everyone.  She survived, thrived and grew into a very intelligent little girl.

Celia memorized books that were read to her by the age of 2½.  When she learned to read, her quest for knowledge was insatiable.  She loved the world, animals and other children – taking concern for all of these upon her little shoulders. 

Then at the mere age of 8½, Celia fell ill – the victim of a viral infection that ultimately infected her heart.  Her concerned parents took her to the hospital where she soon lost her battle against the infection in 1994. 

Joanne and Paul longed to create a memorial for their little daughter.  Joanne had a vision she wished to create.  First she had all of Celia’s classmates make individual handprints in clay tiles.  Then she commissioned the building of a circular wall where the tiles were mounted in a portion of a town park.  Here also a smaller wall was built naming the spot “Celia’s Rainbow Gardens” bearing the last photo of Celia taken at her school a few days before she fell ill. 

The community has embraced the park, creating a memorial garden for its residents.  No one is buried here.  But in this place anyone may create a remembrance of someone they love, even a beloved pet.  Chimes sing in the wind swinging from tree branches.  Figurines grace cleared patches of desert.  Native plants are planted, nurtured, and watered here.  Whatever creative expression seems fitting to an individual may be designed within the section of this park designated as Celia’s Rainbow Gardens.  It is charming.

Only the sounds of the wind crossing the desert, or tinkling chimes, break the silence.  One can imagine Celia wandering from one bench to another in the light of the moon, or when the park is empty, admiring what has been done in her memory.

The park is a nice place to visit while in Quartzsite.  Next time I will bring a cup of coffee and sit with her awhile.

Yuma Territorial Prison

We stopped on our return to California for two nights in Yuma.  Having a day to explore Yuma proved to be an interesting step back into the history of this region when we took a guided tour of the Yuma Territorial Prison.  The main cell block is pictured above and a cell interior is below.

 In 1876, the Yuma Territory was a remote and unruly place and Arizona was not yet a state.  Arizona would not join the United States until Valentine’s Day on February 14^th 1912.  Only county jailhouses could contain the criminals before 1876.  These were not conducive to long term incarcerations.  So in an attempt to remedy the situation, a territorial prison was proposed.  Inmates from Yuma were conscripted into service to build their own jail.  On a hill made of clay and sand impregnated with crystalline salts called caliche in Spanish (resembling cement when it is formed into walls), these prisoners fashioned prison cells lined with strap steel surrounded by 18-foot high walls.  On July 1, 1876, the men moved into their handiwork.  The prison operated on this site for 33 years.  Over that time period, 3,040 men and 29 women called this place “home” under the strict rule of wardens, known as superintendents, and guards. 

Six men spent the nights in each cell locked with double strap steel doors on straw mattresses ridden with lice, bed bugs and termites.  The strictly enforced rule that they not talk with one another while in their cell was punished with solitary confinement in the “dark cell” – a windowless cell with two solid doors leading into it that was dug into the caliche hill upon which the prison stood.  Here, stripped down to their underclothes, the prisoners were chained in a cage-like box of strap iron to serve out their punishment for infringement of any of the prison rules.  One prisoner spent 104 consecutive days in this version of hell.  It is said they were fed only once a day; the cell had no accommodations for them to relieve themselves and was only cleaned every couple of months.  The only light and fresh air entered through a small hole in the ceiling, which also gave entry to snakes and scorpions.  Above photo is the interior of the "dark cell" and Jim emerges from it below. 

On a brighter note, the prison housed the only library in the surrounding territory.  Locals where allowed to checkout books for 25 cents from this great resource and the money collected was used to further improve the library’s offerings.  Prisoners were taught to read and write in the library if they wished to take advantage of the opportunity.  Another benefit the prison offered was the best hospital in the surrounding area, which served both prisoners and the locals. 

The prisoners were kept busy continually building and maintaining the prison, gardening, making and mending their own clothing, and even working in town doing construction and repairs after the Colorado River floods that occurred each year until the Hoover Dam was built.  The few prisoners that tried to escape were generally tracked, found and returned by local native trackers who were paid the huge sum of $50 to retrieve them.  Those who successfully escaped to Mexico suffered a worse fate – they were found and conscripted into the Mexican army for life.  Their life was so much worse there in the army, than in prison, one wrote to the superintendent and begged him to tell the others left behind not to go south to Mexico!  Above, I enter into the exercise block through a low entry.

In their free time, the prisoners were allowed to create craft works such as belts made of horsehair, white knitted lace, carved onyx jewelry and wooden picture frames, to name just a few.  Photo below is an example of knitted lace. 

After the prison closed, it became home to hobos (the term used in those days for the homeless) trying to find a safe place to survive during the Depression as they attempted to get into California across the Colorado River here.  So many were attempting to cross into California over the only bridge for 1,200 miles, that the Governor of California setup guards on his side only permitting the homeless to come across when they could prove they had savings of $25!  Finally, the prison was emptied of these people and a museum today protects the history found at this site.  Restored and maintained, it has even become the site of movie sets for Hollywood westerns with actors like John Wayne.  A photo of the library when it was in use is shown below. 

There was more to the Yuma Territorial Prison story and you will find this an interesting stop along Interstate-8 should you travel in this direction.  The photo below is the women's cell, where up to five women were housed.