If you drive about 45 miles northeast of Tucson on Highway
77 and exit on Redington Road,
you'll come across a small community of salmon, while
many people have never heard of this place, let alone visited.
But this was once home to the largest
underground copper mining operation in the world.
That's what brought Donald Burch and his wife to this area.
Jobs were plentiful if you were willing to work hard.
Employees could make a decent living for their families.
Whenever I first got here,
I mean, this town
was every house in this town was completely full.
Kids are everywhere.
Businesses were booming.
I mean, it was a thriving little town here.
Burch worked for the copper mine for 20 years,
but when the operation closed
unexpectedly in 1999, he had to find employment elsewhere.
About 2500 people lost their jobs.
Once they shut that
mine down, this town started going downhill.
People moving out and it left us like a little ghost town here.
The current signs of distress include locked up storefronts
at one location and boarded up businesses elsewhere.
This large strip mall
used to be a hub for commerce, but now it is mostly deserted.
Only in ace hardware and a few other businesses remain.
According to official figures, Salman will had close to 4400
residents at one point and people drove here
from other cities to work at the mine.
The population had dropped to about 3600 in 2010,
but it has increased again in recent years.
The town has relatively large
groups of veterans, retirees and families.
The median annual income is about $42,500,
compared to around $65,700 for the whole country.
Today, the mammoth salmon well, unified school
district is the largest local employer, but
many other working age adults have to leave town for jobs.
However, residents are joining forces to try to increase
opportunities locally.
Kennedy Ivey is the president
of the Ceremonial Revitalization Coalition.
It was founded in 2020 after like-minded
residents expressed an interest in improving their community.
The coalition is collaborating with local first Arizona,
Pinal County and other groups to address concerns.
I'd say some of the biggest things here
would be like the blight issues,
and there was a lot of vacant residences, but those have
actually all pretty well been filled now.
We have a small drug problem that's that's been improving
quite a bit since the sheriff
has been taking an interest in Sam and well.
It's really economic development, I think that is
our biggest issue
and then giving something for the kids to do.
Happy that one over this weekly
gathering for kids and parents is an example.
It's called first Things
first, and Ivy's wife is an enthusiastic supporter.
Brianne and Kennedy, both in their thirties,
could have chosen
to live elsewhere, but they decided on San Manuel.
This town is absolutely amazing.
I mean, all the people here care so much about one another.
We don't have a lot of resources, so a lot of peopl
really help each other
and they really like to come together.
And that's really important to me and it's something
I want to share with my family.
Slowly but surely, there are some signs of progress,
and one is as basic as simply something.
So for the first time in years, residents in town
have a grocery store
with a variety of
fruits and vegetables or other essential items.
Cecilia Trujillo
and her husband opened the shop earlier this year.
They had moved from
Tucson to salmon well with the intention of retiring.
However, I don't like driving 30 miles for food.
That's really the truth.
We I work for Food City and bashes for a lot,
a lot of years and now
to come here and not be able to get anything produce wise
that doesn't cost under $4 for like a lettuce. And
it's just really crazy prices unless you drive into town.
And our closest area is bashes in Catalina,
so it's 32 miles one way.
When we corral scheme has lived in this area
for more than 20 years.
This story is fantastic because we didn't have anywhere
to have fresh food.
And you know, a lot of people live in
salmon oil, are retired people, and they don't always
have someone to go to the grocery for them.
And especially during the pandemic, it was terrible.
Residents say this destination has a lot of possibilities,
especially if they
focus on the outdoors, which is what this company is doing.
The community overlooks the scenic Ilaro Mountains
and the San Pedro Valley.
It's also a gateway city to the Arizona Trail.
Endorse the Salmon Well, Historical Society Museum has
information about this master plant community.
It was built in the 1950s for the mining companies employees.
Sharon Mathews is the president of the Historical Society,
and she's also a member of the Revitalization Coalition
We're a bit of a
struggle getting started because of the pandemic,
and so this year has been just really active.
Kennedy's keeping us all hopping, which is good.
But you know, he wants to us to make connections and.
Have more activities, have more people come
to our public meetings content
and just to let us know
what you want, what you're concerned about.
I can help whoever is next.
Kashif Afzal has owned the only gas station in town since 2005.
He also bought the Ace Hardware and another business,
and he plans to work here until he retires. Pray for us!
Pray for us, and if you can do something, do it,
there is a lot of potential in this town. A lot of potential.
So we have to be together, support each other,
help each other and sail this boat together again.
The Coalition's President Kennedy, I've really
that's kind of the way that we approach
a lot of the problems here.
And well, is nobody else is going to do this for us
We're out here on our own.
So let's get the community together and get behind it
and see what we can do together.
Back at the house he has owned for decades.
Veteran Donald Burch says he joined the coalition
because he wants to make a difference.
He's living comfortably
on his retirement, but he says that's not enough.
We got to take care of our children.
The reason I care about kids
because I had kids, I got grandkids, I got great
grandkids, and I feel that they deserve the same
that I had when I was growing up, if not better.
I want to see this town thrive again.
You know, we're trying.
That's all we can do.