Ring Brothers History

Welcome to the Ring brothers website. We are brothers Bob and Al Ring and the purpose of this website is to share our research on the mining history of south-central Arizona, family genealogy, and the “projects” that have resulted from our work. These projects include books, history papers, newspaper columns, and an extensive collection of historical materials, including thousands of old photographs. 

Bob Ring is retired from the aerospace industry, where he worked for 35 years as both a technical contributor and a manager. He completed his aerospace career as a Senior Fellow at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson. Bob is a Professional member of the Society of Southwest Authors.

Al Ring was self-employed in Louisville, Kentucky for over 34 years, first in a retail business, then in sales and contracting companies. He also consulted for, or managed, several real estate offices and found time to volunteer as a firefighter. In 2004 Al published St. Matthews Firefighters, 84 Years of Firefighting in St. Matthews, Kentucky.

Natalia “Tallia” Pfrimmer Cahoon is a second-generation Tucsonan who lived in Ruby as a youngster, during the mining camp’s heyday in the 1930s. She is a retired teacher and has been conducting historical tours to Ruby for Pima Community College since 1994.  For more information on Pima Community College’s educational tours of Ruby, call 520-206-3952 or visit http://www.pima.edu/personalinterest/

Sparked by family genealogy research, we are long-time investigators of the history of mining in Arizona’s south-central borderland.

We are regular participants at Arizona History Conventions. We’ve presented papers ranging from the history of Warren, Arizona, a suburb of Bisbee, to the mining history of Oro Blanco and Ruby.

From October 2003 to February 2007, we wrote a bi-monthly newspaper column, “Along the Ruby Road” for the Green Valley News & Sun. The column highlighted the colorful history of the Oro Blanco Mining District, with emphasis on the mining ghost town, Ruby.

In July 2005, we self-published, Ruby, Arizona – Mining, Mayhem, and Murder.

In May 2007, Frontier Lady of Letters – The Heroic Love Story of Ines Fraser was published by Wheatmark, Inc.

In July 2008, we self-published, Detour to the California Gold Rush:  Eugene Ring’s Travels in South AmericaCalifornia, and Mexico , 1848 – 1850.

From left to right:

Bob Ring, Al Ring, and Tallia Pfrimmer Cahoon at a book sale and signing for Ruby, Arizona – Mining, Mayhem, and Murder.