Acclaimed author and journalist Marshall Terrill will return to his roots on Thursday, May 8, when he appears at the Bullion Plaza Cultural Center Museum as the featured guest for the community’s popular Second Friday Program. The event will celebrate Terrill’s newest book, a deeply personal work that preserves the life story and legacy of his father, Leo Mike Terrill, and the rich cultural history of the Globe–Miami mining communities.
Drawing from hours of recorded conversations, family memories, and lived experience, Terrill’s new book, “Dust, Copper and Curveballs: A Globe-Miami Childhood” chronicles a vanishing way of life shaped by copper mines, immigrant families, baseball fields carved out of alleys, and the powerful bonds of faith, friendship, and work ethic. At its heart is the voice of his father — an Army veteran, Air Force colonel, educator, and tireless community volunteer — whose story mirrors the broader American journey of service, perseverance, and hope.
The book was born out of a single day in the summer of 2020, when Terrill and his father made a four-hour round-trip drive from Mesa back to Miami for Mexican food at Guayo’s El Rey on Sullivan Street, a longtime family favorite. The world was shut down by the pandemic, but memories flowed freely as they revisited the streets, stories, and people that shaped a lifetime. Weeks later, Terrill’s father passed away from COVID-19 complications, making that journey their final adventure together.
“For years, my dad talked about writing a book but never slowed down long enough to do it,” said Terrill, the author of more than 30 books, including best-sellers on Elvis Presley, Steve McQueen, Johnny Cash, Billy Graham and Pete Maravich. “After he was gone, I realized those stories were too important to lose. Not just for our family, but for anyone who grew up in a place like Miami or understands what those towns meant to Arizona.”
During his appearance at Bullion Plaza, Terrill will discuss the making of the book, read selected passages, and reflect on the history of Globe–Miami — from the underground life of the mines and the fight for safer working conditions, to the cultural melting pot of Serbian, Mexican, Italian, Apache, and Anglo families who built the region. He will also explore how sports, music, and shared hardship helped unify a diverse community long before the word “integration” became common.
The Second Friday Program offers a fitting venue for the event, which will receive proceeds from book sales that day as well as several donated items from the Terrill family. Housed in the historic Bullion Plaza School, the Cultural Center Museum stands as a living reminder of the area’s educational and social heritage — a place where some of the stories in Terrill’s book once unfolded.
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![2nd Friday: "Dust, Copper & Curveballs" by Marshall Terrill, 8 May | Event in Miami | AllEvents](https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events9/banners/46fe8026c90f838f286515600f081aa4d211a888b66007fccf2815b67291ded3-rimg-w1080-h1350-dc301512-gmir?v=1771055360 "2nd Friday: "Dust, Copper & Curveballs" by Marshall Terrill, 150 N Plaza Cir, Miami, AZ, United States, Arizona 85539, 8 May 2026 | AllEvents")
