Research Notes, Comments and Observations on the Pat Hope Article "Cave Creek: Famous Funeral Site"
Besides the common misconceptions, I have noted four misconceptions that are not so common. First the common misconceptions:
1. Uncle Bush was not a hermit. He lived with family members most of his life. He never married, but he did not live alone for most of his life, as is commonly asserted.
2. Mule was not his only companion. Bush and Mule had a special trust bond from being and working together for over 17 years, but Bush found companionship with friends and family. He was not introverted. He was a social person. He had a girlfriend.
Now the uncommon misconceptions:
1. Other eyewitness sources, recorded within hours of the event, have stated that Mr. Quinn rode in the car behind the hearse. The hearse driver was Buddy Robinson, who also sat beside Uncle Bush during the service. He and Uncle Bush were the only two in the front seat of the hearse, according to those sources.
2. I don't know if the lady's statement about the coffin being placed in the church and Bush sitting in the front row was just a manner of speaking or if she was thinking about something else. The coffin was never in the church. It was under a tent outside the church. Bush sat in front of the coffin. Maybe he was a one-man front row, or two if Buddy Robinson sat beside him.
3. Augustus Summers was not hired by Bush. Augustus Summers was the main engineer of the entire event. It was his discussion with Bush about the black walnut tree that planted the idea in Bush's head. When he convinced Summers that he was serious, Summers got the big wheel turning.
4. I have read several references that assert that the two churches are built side by side, but that's not true. The two churches are a quarter of a mile apart with a cemetery between them. One sits on top of a long sloping hill. The other is at the bottom near Cave Creek.
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