In past issues we have mentioned a few of the people who resided in Paradise during its heyday. This time we will give you the names, occupations and as much other data as we remember regarding each person mentioned. 

 

Charles M. Randolph was born and grew up at Roswell New Mexico. His uncle A. T. Prather was in the mercantile and hotel business at Rodeo for a good many years; Being the builder and one time owner of the building which now houses the Rodeo Post Office also the Gypsum Block store building presently owned by Buford Martin. Charley came to Paradise in 1903 and went in partners with W. K. Morrow in the Saloon Business. 

 

There is an old road sign now in the John Hands Museum at Portal which advertised their business among others. They remained partners for only a short time when he bought Morrow's interest (More about the Morrow tribe later). Charley was a tall extremely thin man and wore a big handle bar mustache in keeping with the times. He was kindly, Gentlemanly, and universally liked. He suffered most of the time with some sort of stomach trouble, probably cancer, and died in 1906, while still in his thirties. he was the second person buried in the Paradise Cemetery. 

 

Patrick Welch was a little old fat Irishman who came to Paradise from the Old Country Via. God knows where. He was always well dressed and mannerly and just about as wide as he was high. His Saloon Building was one of the last of the business structures to be torn down and moved away. 

 

After the mine shut down and the town started going to pieces, Pat became his own best and just about only customer. Some time before his liquor stock was entirely depleted and the Pink Elephants, Green Lizards etc. got to chasing him and he was committed to the Insane asylum at Phoenix. He probably died there as nothing has been heard of him since. 

 

Alejo Bedoya owned and operated the Mexican Saloon. It was located on the road leading up to the Chiricahua Mine just West of the main drag. He had a family of two daughters and one son, Frances, Minnie and Alejo Jr. His wife had died some time before he moved to Paradise from Solomonville, Arizona, she was a sister to old Mart Moore's wife, Maria. 

 

Frances was a big fat girl and Minnie was as cute as a speckled pup. Several of the young blades of about Walter Reeds vintage used to squire her around when they got the chance. Alejo Jr. was almost a genius at arithmetic and often did Carson Morrow and other's lessons for them just for fun. 

 

When the crash came old Alejo moved back to Solomonville where he finally cashed in; The girls both married Syrians who used to run fruit and vegetable stands in Douglas, and later moved out to California. They visited the writer at Border patrol headquarters in Tucson about ten years ago and they were both so big and fat that they could hardly get in through the wide door. 

 

Alejo Jr. died of acute alcoholism at Solomonville before he was thirty years of age. He had acquired the habit while he was still going to school at Paradise from snitching liquor out of his old man's saloon.