Author: Rocky Point Times

Growing up in Ajo during its hay days as a mining town meant feasting on juicy pomegranates in the fall – the old-timers tell us that kids used to know very well which neighbor had the biggest sweetest fruits and when they ripened. Burlap bags stuffed full of ripe fruits were shared across the old Mexican town, as well as often being brought back from Magdalena, Sonora after the St. Francis Feast. But what used to be Ajo’s staple fruit quickly disappeared from the diets after the mine closed and families moved away, as several of the best trees were left to die off at abandoned houses, or were cut down by new owners.