Mining opportunities brought the Tellez family to the United States of America
Pedro Tellez was recruited by the managers of United Verde Extension. He had been working mines in Mexico. UVX hired Pedro to be a foreman and moved his wife and two children from Mexico to Jerome, AZ, USA. SDHS's D-Day Normandy fallen soldier, Ruben, was born in Jerome and lived his early life there.
According to Wes Yeager, Arizona State Park Ranger, this is what his UVX work records show:
Pedro Telles [note misspelling]
* Birthplace Pascual, Michoacan, Mexico 1897
* Married to Patrociana Ruiz, dependents listed as 1 boy, and 1 girl (no names given)
* He worked as a shift boss at Cananea for 6 years (in Mexico)
* He was employed as a miner in the UVX, starting pay of $4.50/day
* His dates of employment: 4/12/1922 through 3/19/1923, 10/2/1923 through ? (no date given) 9/22/1937 through 4/30/1938
Wes Yeager
Jerome State Historic Park
Ranger
According to Wes Yeager, Arizona State Park Ranger, this is what his UVX work records show:
Pedro Telles [note misspelling]
* Birthplace Pascual, Michoacan, Mexico 1897
* Married to Patrociana Ruiz, dependents listed as 1 boy, and 1 girl (no names given)
* He worked as a shift boss at Cananea for 6 years (in Mexico)
* He was employed as a miner in the UVX, starting pay of $4.50/day
* His dates of employment: 4/12/1922 through 3/19/1923, 10/2/1923 through ? (no date given) 9/22/1937 through 4/30/1938
Wes Yeager
Jerome State Historic Park
Ranger
Slag--the black pile on the left--from the smelters, deposited in Verde Valley. Slag is what is left after removing the copper (or other precious metals) during smelting. During the copper mines' production years, the smelting operation was located in nearby Clarkdale. The smelter is no longer there. And slag? Unfortunately, there was and is little use for it and it is not a good thing for the environment. However in some cases it can be used in making concrete, so it is being slowly used. Jerome's slag was taken to the backcountry of Verde Valley so it would not impinge on nearby towns.. It was left in massive piles such as this black one that had been there a very long time but are finally being used in making concrete.