Nogales, AZ April, 1982

[John Kasaian]

I was there on an Oso Negro run from Ft. Huachuca. On the street by the border crossing where rusty old railroad tracks where blocked by a high cyclone fence gate where it crossed the border, there was a Woolworth five and dime store---it must have been a very old one---it looked like something from a movie set.
I don't know what made me think of it just now, but it would have made a great photograph, so I was wondering---
Has anyone shot it?---let me rephrase that----has anyone here ever taken a photograph of it? Is the old place still there?

[Duane Polcou]

No. But I'm pretty sure once back in 88 while taking a break from being a roadie for the touring version of Rambo:The Musical, I made a peote button run into Sonora and after being beaten for 100 pesos by a half Jew Mexican named Howie Gomez, whom I shot with a gold plated Derringer which I 'borrowed' off of Sinatra's bodyguard, I might have gotten a hand-job from a Nogales five and dime hooker, dime got you a girl, five got you a she-male, at that very spot, but the fence was down which they replaced with a Blade Runner memorabilia /Italian Ice vending station, which I found odd, considering its' dissapointing box office gross.

[John Kasaian]

No. But I'm pretty sure once back in 88 while taking a break from being a roadie for the touring version of Rambo:The Musical, I made a peote button run into Sonora and after being beaten for 100 pesos by a half Jew Mexican named Howie Gomez, whom I shot with a gold plated Derringer which I 'borrowed' off of Sinatra's bodyguard, I might have gotten a hand-job from a Nogales five and dime hooker, dime got you a girl, five got you a she-male, at that very spot, but the fence was down which they replaced with a Blade Runner memorabilia /Italian Ice vending station, which I found odd, considering its' dissapointing box office gross.

Too bad you missed it

[Duane Polcou]

I couldn't resist. You had a Hunter Thompson-esque quality there.

[MIke Sherck]

Have you tried Google Earth?

[John Kasaian]

Have you tried Google Earth?

I'l give it a try, but I'm not sure what the area would look like from above except for the fence line and the railroad tracks---it was the combination of 19th century facade and bordertown disrepair/sleaze that I recall being such an interesting sight.

Oso Negro is, btw a sweet Dutch-type gin (as opposed to a London dry type) made in Mexico and makes for killer gin and tonics and Tom Collins

[Brian Ellis]

As Ruth Bernhard used to say - "Today is the day, now is the time."

[John Kasaian]

As Ruth Bernhard used to say - "Today is the day, now is the time."

So true! Ironically my time at Ft Huachuca is one of the forces that prompted me to take the step into large format. I accompanied the civillian base photographer on a shoot to record some parts of the installation that were being turned over to a private contractor. We started talking about cameras and I brought up meeting Ansel Adams and how I'd like to learn about big cameras. His advice: If that's what you want, why don't you? Get one. You'll figure it out." ThoughI didn't act on it (lf cameras were pretty expensive in those days) his advice stuck with me.
Years passed until I stumbled onto View Camera magazine, Roger Hick's writing in Shutterbug, and Steve Simmons' book about the time the digital devaluation of lf gear took place.
The rest is history---but I never did get to shoot that wonderfully sleazy border town street with the jurrasic gold leafed Woolworths store front.

I was hoping that someone here might have been smitten by that same sheet film muse.