Joe Kozezak: Merchant Marine and prospector

Prospector Joe was a slender, wiry character with a thick Chicago accent who appreciated most simple things in life.

He was just retired from the Merchant Marines when we (Patricia and Harry Brock) first discovered him in 1964, and he proudly announced, “I get $250 a month for the rest of my life.” It was on one of our many backcountry excursions exploring the unknowns of the desert with all its mysteries that we came upon him in the Sierra Estrellas. 

Joe had built a well-constructed cabin in the remote area of the mountain range and was prospecting for ore. The cabin was spotless and carefully organized with everything in place. He had built a shower in a corner with a pipe that carried the water outside and a screen attached at its end to filter out unwanted critters. A near row of gallon bottles of water lined one wall. Joe pointed to one and remarked, “That bottle is for my shower.” 

We talked about many things during our trips to the Estrellas and our visits with Joe. We learned that he had spent over 20 years at sea and had made five trips to Viet Nam during the 1960s. He told us about the time a pack of coyotes woke him up one night. He took his flashlight out to check the cause of all the commotion and found the coyotes chasing a mouse. He spent the following days pondering the wisdom of this action. Another time, a lion checked out his cabin, but found nothing of value, and soon wandered off. 
    
We learned that Joe had spent part of the year in Idaho panning for gold and when it became too cold, he headed for Arizona and the Estrellas. We had been visiting him for some time before we found out he knew someone in Phoenix. He had a partner in his mining operation who lived and worked in Phoenix and brought him supplies and water every two weeks. 
    
Most prospectors have a mule or some sort of vehicle, but not Joe. Whenever he felt a need for supplies or company, he headed for Phoenix or Maricopa; sometimes hitching a ride with some kind soul and other times walking the full distance. 
    
On one of his long walks into Phoenix, and this time for dynamite, he headed home with his heavy load hitched across his shoulders, hoping today would be his lucky day.  However, it was a long, long trek across the desert and into the mountains that day. He shared his thoughts, “It’s hard to get a ride if you are carrying dynamite strapped over your shoulders.” 
     
Prospector Joe’s cabin was eighteen miles northwest of Maricopa. He seldom saw human beings and spent most of his daylight hours mining for ore or just listening to the sounds of the desert. One time, when we were visiting him, he remarked that he had seen a train yesterday when perched atop a nearby hill. Sometimes, he walked down to Maricopa to attend the Catholic church on Sunday mornings and sometimes he stopped to visit with us. 
    
Joe was a kind man who did not require much in the way of material things, yet, he lived an enriched life full of incredible luxury and beauty with the glorious sunrises to herald the day and the heavenly stars to put him to sleep at night. When he closed his cabin at the end of his stay, he nailed a sign at its front door with these words of welcome, “Please use my cabin, but leave it clean, and close the door when you leave.”
    
Sometime later, we drove up into the Estrellas to his place, hoping to see him. We did not see him, but did see that someone had destroyed his cabin. They had ripped it apart, thrown empty bottles and their trash about, and taken away anything of value. Sadness enveloped our journey home…for our friend…who shared all he had with strangers…and sadness for the strangers who never had an opportunity to know him.
    
Later we took another side trip into the Estrellas to see if there were any signs of our old friend, Joe. Someone had been there because the cabin site was clean. After spending some time exploring the area, the old desert “tracker” who was with me, began to climb up one of its many crooks and crevices and came back with a smile on his face. It was a good day. Clever Joe had built another cabin atop a huge boulder, deep in the walls of the Estrellas, and available only to those who have a true appreciation of its worth.

Photo courtesy of Maricopa Historical Society

Editor’s note:  Maricopa factoids are a regular feature on InMaricopa.com. They are provided by the Maricopa Historical Society, a branch of the Friends of the Maricopa Public Library. Most information comes from “Reflections of a Desert Town” by author and historical society chairperson Patricia Brock. 

Gift Cards are available for Brock’s the new book: “Images of America: Maricopa” along with a short story of Maricopa. Contact Brock at 480-821-0604 or [email protected] to purchase a gift card or to reserve a copy of the book.