This apparent shoot-out took place at the offices of the Arizona Kicker in Flagstaff around 1900. The Kicker was a short-lived humorous weekly that was not above staging a phony hold-up to promote circulation and provide a little excitement for readers.

The building, which stood at the east end of today’s Monte Vista Hotel on Aspen Avenue, later became the first offices of the Coconino Sun, Flagstaff’s daily newspaper.

To carry off the Wild West theme, the Kicker enlisted the help of some famous Flagstaff pioneers, as well as a small boy and a local dog.

Stan Sykes is on the right with his hands in the air. He and Charlie McLain (far right, holding the rifle) were English immigrants who ran a small herd of cattle near Turkey Tanks, east of Flagstaff. Representing the law in the photograph is one of the Hochderffer brothers.

The Hochderffer brothers and their father arrived in Flagstaff in June 1887. They had located a clay pit near Flagstaff and began the production of bricks. They also ranched near the San Francisco Peaks.

Over the next several years, the Hochderffers became involved in developing Flagstaff and held numerous positions of authority in the town. It’s not surprising then that one of them was masquerading as the law for this photograph.

Fourth from the left is one of the Donohue boys, of the family that owned J.J.’s Senate Saloon. Sandy Donohue, who loved physical labor, dug the cellar for the saloon by hand with the help of one of the Hochderffer boys. The man standing in the doorway was named Stout.

The photograph, while humorous for the locals, did nothing to increase the fortunes of the Arizona Kicker, which soon folded and left no record for historians except this photograph.

In the 1950s, the photograph was reprinted in the Coconino Sun, which challenged its readers to tell why and where it was taken.

Several pioneers, including Stan Sykes, came forward and told the story, saying “a bunch of the boys” pretended to “rob the joint” for the benefit of a local photographer, since it was a well-known fact that “printing offices always have lots of money.”

—Arizona Capitol Times archive. Photo courtesy Arizona Historical Society, Pioneer Museum