Postcard: Benson, Arizona

c. 1950s

Passed through Benson many times on the way to Bisbee--mostly as a youngster. My parents would typically stop at Zearing's Mercantile (and "Trading Post") at the end of town. Advertising curios, relics, and gifts, it contained a mysterious collection of antiques, guns, scorpions and tarantulas encased in plastic, old newspapers, flags, photos, and signs. The same old man was always there, usually his wife too. The place was dimly lit and dusty and seemed like it was stuck in the early 1900s; I never got tired of stopping there.

c. 2008