Hi
There!
Glad you could make it to my Yuma
page. We desert rats fondly remember this place as hotter than
hades! Temperatures of 120 are not unheard of! 
It's a place of sand and cactus, but surprisingly one of green fields
too. One of Yuma's biggest enterprises is agriculture. Thanks to lots of
irrigation they have lettuce, melons and mile after mile of citrus groves.
Yuma sits right on the Colorado
River, which is the border between Arizona and California. The desert area in and around Yuma has been used in several movies and TV shows. Even parts of Star Wars were filmed there, although under a code name at the time. I have seen it twice on JAG, it was used extensively for "The Flight of the Phoenix"(a very old movie with Jimmy Stewart) and the Pauley Shore movie where he joins the Army. It is
also about 25 miles from the Mexican border. One of our favorite
pastimes was going down to the "Gulf" for the weekend. Mexico also
proved to be a rather neat place to go when we were teenagers. Yuma
is a pretty old city by Western terms and is often referred to in old movies.
There are several Indian reservations in the area so our culture was mixed
with both a Native American and Mexican influence. I have to say,
the one thing I do miss most about Yuma is the Mexican food. I have
never failed to return from a visit without an extra suitcase filled with
Green Chilie Burritos from El Charro's. When my parents were still
alive they always brought them when they visited me. They brought
them to me in Texas, Virginia and they even brought them to me in Germany!
"The
Crims"
Now
I'm sure you've all heard of Yuma Territorial Prison.
This is frequently referred to
as "The Hell Hole" in books and it's easy to understand why. A good
portion of it is still standing and almost makes you feel
sorry for any man or woman who had to do time there. I'm sure
all of us who grew up in Yuma remember the "Indian Mummy" in the museum.
The museum is still a neat place to visit. There is an old cemetary
from the prison days and the Guard/Water tower are still standing.
All of this looks out onto the Colorado River. A scenic view for
tourists, but I doubt it did much to lift the spirits of the convicts.
What
you probably don't know is that it was used as the local high school
(way back before my time) due to a fire. As a result of that little adventure,
Yuma Union High School became known as home of "The Criminals".
This picture is what our mascot looked like, prison stripes and all.
So let's hear it for the Crims of the class of "69"!
Well guys for some reason I have neglected to put a link to one of the best web pages around...It's Joe Crim's Website.....a site designed and maintained by fellow Crims. Keep up the good work guys!
Joe Crim
Yuma High School - Class Mates
Online
Keep
checking Back For More Information On Wonderful Yuma 
Home--