
There are very few distractions along U.S. 70 as it winds its way through the cotton fields and flatlands at Fort Thomas in southeastern Arizona. Mount Graham is a blue-gray mass on the horizon and a few other peaks rise gently from an otherwise level landscape. But suddenly, on the western edge of the community, a spire rises more than 50 feet above the semi-desert. What makes it unusual is that it’s standing there all by itself, with no church attached. A quick stop for an inspection reveals that it’s a memorial to Melvin Jones. Since a 50-foot obelisk doesn’t just pop out of the ground all by itself, this raises the question…

