R. O. Ackerman and the Grave Marker

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Potbelly Jim
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R. O. Ackerman and the Grave Marker

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Many firearms aficionados will recognize the name R. O. Ackerman. He was prolific in trade publications up until he passed away in 2000, specializing mostly in black powder and other antique firearms. He also published several pamphlets on black powder shooting and building muzzleloaders. He is often credited with helping drive the black powder renaissance in the U.S. after WW2.

In the late ‘40’s/early ‘50’s he was secretary of a local black powder club in Phoenix called “The Powder Horn Clan”. It was one of the first of its type (8th chartered nationally) which held events that would later evolve into sanctioned shooting matches and historical re-enactments/rendezvous’ of today. Barry Goldwater was among its early members.

The Powder Horn Club participated in the Dons Trek for many years, putting on period firearms displays and shooting demonstrations.

Powder Horn Clan 1949.jpg
By the early 1950’s Ackerman had married and was living over by where Christown would soon be developed. He moved up to Prescott some years before the mall would be completed. I still remember eating “Guggy’s” burgers over there in the strip mall. They put Thousand Islands dressing and pickles on them. I loved ‘em.

Back to Ackerman: Eventually he would relocate to Albuquerque, where he put down roots.

Ackerman was an artist by training, evolving into a writer by trade, and had a very distinct style I can only describe as “Art-Deco Western”. He illustrated many of the articles he wrote over the years. Like many of his time, he wrote for just about any publication that would pay. He also served in the Army Reserves for much of his life.

I don’t know if the rest of the country was like this, but when I was growing up you couldn’t drive anywhere in Arizona without running into some kind of swap meet. A lot of them were just general household goods, i.e. Junk. But they were everywhere. I remember going to the coin collector’s swap meets and electronics/radio swap meets in Prescott every year. The whole square around the courthouse had packed sidewalks filled with vendor’s tables. In Phoenix, they had all kinds of swap meets. Half the stuff (junk) I had growing up was some treasured find from a swap meet.

I picked up several boxes of old magazines and comic books along the way. Most people would sell them for 25 cents a box. Desert, Arizona Highways, True West, all manner of stuff. It was in these magazines that I first read some of R. O. Ackerman’s work, but years later when I was familiar with his work in the firearms industry, I had no recollection of reading his articles in old west magazines. I never made the connection. Nor did I realize that he had a history in Phoenix.

Ackerman penned an article in the February 1956 issue of True West, titled “Madman of the Superstitions”. I was going through this issue a few years ago and decided to read it, and I was surprised to see that he was the one who made the old grave marker for Elisha Reavis that we’re all familiar with. He wrote that he had inscribed the stone with a mule-shoe nail, and included a picture of it in the article. Sure enough, it’s the old grave marker that disappeared back in the 1980’s.

So it seems that Ackerman’s grave marker survived out there for 30 years or more. Since that first one disappeared, several more markers have been placed, none of which lasts for more than a few years. The place is popular with hikers, and with so many people moving through the area, eventually one of them will remove or destroy whatever they run across. Including, it seems, grave markers. Some people think it’s the Forest Service that removes them. Either way, the place is no longer safe for historical artifacts. Hasn’t been for decades.

Ackerman also wrote in the article about talking with Herman Petrasch and Billy Martin, and hearing tales of Jacob “Walzer”. He wrote the article at a time when little was known about Elisha Reavis, sometime well before the 1956 publication date. Many of those blank spaces about Elisha Reavis have been filled-in during the ensuing years since then. Here’s the article in its entirety for those interested:
Reavis Pg 1.JPG
Reavis Pg 2.JPG
Jim R.
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Potbelly Jim
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Re: R. O. Ackerman and the Grave Marker

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Last page of article:
Reavis Pg 3.JPG
Jim R.
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Re: R. O. Ackerman and the Grave Marker

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Good post, I enjoyed reading it.
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