by Walt Johnson

Dorothy & Virgil’s Wedding 1937
Virgil and Dorothy met while attending Tucson High School and married in September of 1937. They moved to the Double H Ranch, owned by Walter and Ethel Johnson, Virgil’s parents, who had homesteaded the Double H around 1910 just south of Vail in the Santa Rita Mountains. Around 1940, Virgil and Dorothy purchased their own place. The Hidden Springs Ranch in the Santa Rita’s was southeast of The Double H Hidden Springs was a good size for a family ranch. They raised 150 head of cattle annually on the beautiful landscape covered with Oak, Juniper, some Mesquite, and dotted with Ocotillo, Prickly Pear, Amole, and an occasional Cholla. At 4500 ft. elevation, it was a perfect location for ranching.
Their adobe Hidden Springs Ranch home, built in the 1880s, got its water from nearby springs. Dorothy boiled it to drink, for household use and to take baths. The adobe was warm and cozy in the winter and cool in the summer. Its inside plumbing was a welcome luxury. There was no electricity; the only lighting was from oil lamps. Dorothy helped Virgil with all of the ranch tasks; riding, doctoring cattle and horses, and cleaning springs as well as cooking and cleaning the house. She used a wood stove in the kitchen and an ice box, with blocks of ice, to keep perishables cool. In 1949 they were able to get a Butane tank and buy a butane refrigerator, stove and oven. In 1952 they purchased a DC generator for lighting and electricity. What a change that was for the family.

Dorothy with her children, Sandra and Walter at Arizona Pioneers Meeting in 2007
Ranch life was not easy, but Dorothy loved every minute of it and settled in to raise a family as well as help Virgil raise their cattle. Their two children, Sandra and Walter, both attended the old three-room Vail School for 1st through 8th grade. They were the last to be dropped off and the first to be picked up; making a Vail school day last from 6 AM to 5 PM. Trips to Vail were about once a week to pick up mail at the adobe Vail Store & Post Office. They always made time to visit with Mary Jane, the postmistress and friends. On the way home, they stopped at the Matthew’s Texaco at Hwy 80 and Vail Road to get gasoline. This often included an invitation to stay for supper with owner Ruth Matthews.
In 1957, Virgil and Dorothy bought a house in Tucson so that their children wouldn’t have to ride the bus from the Hidden Springs Ranch to Pueblo High School every day. Sandra and Walter attended and graduated from Rincon High School. The family routine was to live in Tucson during the week, with Virgil commuting back and forth daily to the ranch. The family returned to Hidden Springs each Friday night to help with ranch work over the weekend.

Dorothy Johnson in 2016 and 1937
Dorothy began working for the Tucson Star and Citizen in 1962 until she retired. She worked her way up to classified supervisor. Dorothy will celebrate her 100th birthday on November 7, 2018. Born in Anna, Illinois and raised in Tucson, the daughter of a barber, she could never have imagined her life’s journey would lead to Vail to be a ranch wife. Dorothy was instrumental in founding the Tucson Cowbells, served as a 4 H, School Patrol, and Brownie Girl Scout leader, and volunteered for almost every pot luck put on during the Vail School year. She went on to be a president of the Tucson Cowbells, secretary of the Arizona State Cowbells, Grand Noble of the Rebecca’s and in 2002 was Arizona Cattle Woman of the year for the Arizona Cattle Growers Association and retired from the Tucson Daily Star. She is a true Vail pioneer and successful cattle woman. She is proud of her, and her family’s role in leading the way for the future of Vail and Corona.
You can hear more of Dorothy’s ranching stories in the Voices of Vail documentary film premiere on August 12, 2018 at 2:00 at the beautiful Fox Theatre at 17 W. Congress Street. Go to www.vailpreservationsociety.org for more information.