Our Story
My dad was an only child; his parents were 2nd generation full Irish American. He was without a doubt the most fascinating man I have ever known. He was a wheeler-dealer, always looking for opportunities to make life better for his family! One of his many talents was his ability to write poetry. He filled notebooks with his poetry, some of which were recorded. The majority have been put into book form for his 10 children to enjoy and pass on to their children. He was not afraid of a fight and in some cases, he might have gone looking for one! He won most of them but at age 55 he realized it might not be such a good idea anymore so he stopped fighting and tried using more diplomatic approaches if situations arose. One of his favorite lines was “I kicked ass and took names later.”
Junipoak Poetry
At the age of 17 he joined the United States Army. He then served in the United States Air Force and found his niche as a chef and club manager. When he retired from the Air Force in the late 60’s in Tucson, Arizona he had a short stint in car sales. He then moved to Heber, Arizona where he taught cooking skills to young adults at the Heber Job Corps. When the Job Corps closed my dad was hired at the country club in Pinetop, Arizona as the manager. He had fallen in love with the area so he vowed and hoped he would never have to leave. Unfortunately, circumstances forced him to leave for a period of time but he came back and lived in the mountains until he passed in late 2008.
During his time away from the mountain he worked for the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) and Northrop Aviation on two “adventures” as he called them. The first adventure was with a USGS crew to the Antarctic for nine months with a team of six men. He was the chef for the team. The next adventure took place after being home for only two weeks which was just long enough to finalize a divorce from my mom and marry my stepmom. He then took off to Diego Garcia, again with the USGS for several months. During those travels he saw a big part of the world and even did a brief stint in the French Foreign Legion. It was only a few hours but he was able to keep the hat (Kepi) to prove it and loved telling the story.
After arriving back in the United States he worked for a short while in San Diego in the ship yards while my stepmom worked for Xerox. During that time, the son of a close family friend died in Tucson. My stepmother was told since the death was not a family member she could not have the time off to attend the services. That was the catalyst for them to pack their bags and move back to the mountains in Arizona which is how they ended up in Overgaard. My dad’s first endeavor was the purchase of a garbage collecting business. He also opened a second-hand store, worked as a cook at the one and only bar and restaurant in town, and started the Junipoak business. He was always hustling so he could take care of his family while living on the mountain.
One of his most gratifying undertakings was when he contracted with the United States Forest Service to feed firefighters during the fire season. He and the local bar and restaurant owner converted a school bus into a mobile kitchen and went to fire sites and fed hundreds of firefighters. Back in town after the restaurant closed, all the children and our mom would make hundreds of brown bag lunches that would be delivered to the fire site. I can attest to the fact of acquiring the school bus; as I was the one that drove my stepmother over the Mogollon Rim in our Datsun sedan in the dark of night and zero visibility to meet my dad on the other side so we could follow him home. It was a harrowing experience but one I will never forget.
With a loan from the Small Business Administration and help from many Overgaard residents, as well as his wife and children, my dad built and opened the first seafood restaurant in the area. “The Irish Castle” looked just like an actual castle including a faux draw bridge. The restaurant also had dining and dancing under the stars. All 10 children worked there at some point or another. One of my older brothers and his wife joined my dad and worked it day in and day out. After they sold the Castle, they went on to buy an existing pizza parlor in Show Low, Arizona and change the name to “The Irish Chicken Ship”. My brother and his wife stayed in that same location for 30 years and over time the restaurant came to be known as “Pat’s Place”. Click here to be directed to website and order their cookbook.