With the exception of the most ardent collectors and older generation, the influence and legacy of the big bands is largely forgotten despite their overwhelming popularity and significant role in early radio. Join Larson as he revisits the sounds America listened and danced to for more than three decades. Learn how iconic artists like Glenn […]

Ghost towns dot Arizona's landscape and provide unique insights into a diverse history. Some ghost towns tell a boom-to-bust story with few remaining traces of the people who once lived there, while others, like Jerome, have become thriving tourist destinations. Many are old mining locations that once bustled with life, while others tell more modern […]

Consider the taco, that favorite treat, a staple of Mexican and Mexican American cooking and an old standby on an Arizonan’s plate. The corn in the tortilla comes from Mexico, the cheese from the Sahara, the lettuce from Egypt, the onion from Syria, the tomatoes from South America, the chicken from Indochina, the beef from […]

Did you know that Aztec history in Arizona goes back to before the time of the Hohokam? It's evidence is all around you if you know what to look for (even in Old Town Scottsdale!) Alberto Olivas gives a brief history of the Mexica (Aztec) people in Arizona and tells the story of discovering his […]

Sharlot Mabridth Hall was an unusual woman for her time: a largely self-educated but highly literate child of the frontier. Born October 27,1870, she traveled with her family from Kansas to the Arizona Territory in 1882. Her impressions of this journey remained with her all of her life. She loved ideas and the written arts […]

John Wayne was born in Iowa and lived for most of his adult life in California. Yet, he spent many years exploring, living, and investing in Arizona, where he produced his own films, raised cattle, operated a game ranch, and was seemingly everywhere at once. Wayne remains an iconic presence in American popular culture. In […]

The great West that George Bird Grinnell first encountered in 1870 as a 21-year old man was shortly to disappear before his eyes. Nobody was quicker to sense the desecration or was more eloquent in crusading against the poachers, the hidehunters, and the disengaged U.S. Congress than George Bird Grinnell, the “Father of American Conservation.” Grinnell […]

U.S. Route 66, known as the “Mother Road,” was built in 1926. It ran from Chicago to L. A. During the depression of the 1930s, it became the major path by which people migrated west, seeking work, warm weather and new opportunities. Shore shares the history of Route 66 in Arizona, including the impact it […]

Violet M. Irving, Liz Warren’s grandmother, spent most of her life in Skull Valley, Arizona, as the postmaster and owner of the general store. Born in 1900 in Walker, Vi was the daughter and granddaughter of miners. Her life spanned the century, and she witnessed statehood, two great wars, the Depression, and Rural Electrification first […]

The great West that George Bird Grinnell first encountered in 1870 as a 21-year old man was shortly to disappear before his eyes. Nobody was quicker to sense the desecration or was more eloquent in crusading against the poachers, the hidehunters, and the disengaged U.S. Congress than George Bird Grinnell, the “Father of American Conservation.” Grinnell […]

Similar to NPR's "A Prairie Home Companion" but with and Arizona twist, this program uses music, storytelling and live radio-style newscasts to present important but often neglected events in Arizona history. The "Hoosiers"-like story of a Miami, AZ High School basketball team comprised of the sons of Mexican-American mine workers who won the state championship […]

Written in Thread: Arizona Women’s History preserved in their Quilts traces the history of Arizona through women who recorded pieces of their lives in their needlework.  The colorful patterns of women’s quilts added a spot of brightness to their homes and their lives. They also celebrated and recorded special events with their quilts. Beginning with […]

This PowerPoint program explores the lives of 5 artists whose talents personify the beauty of the early western frontier. Hopi potter Nampeyo shaped clay vessels with an intricacy seldom duplicated today. Writer Sharlot Hall described images of Arizona’s past and preserved our history. Author Martha Summerhayes wrote of her adventures following her husband from one […]

Similar to NPR's "A Prairie Home Companion" but with and Arizona twist, this program uses music, storytelling and live radio-style newscasts to present important but often neglected events in Arizona history. The "Hoosiers"-like story of a Miami, AZ High School basketball team comprised of the sons of Mexican-American mine workers who won the state championship […]

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this program could fill a seven-volume history of Arizona. From the geological wonders of the Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forest to cutting-edge biotech industries and Native American art galleries, this whirlwind pictorial history tour of Arizona from prehistory to the present shows it all. In addition […]

During WWII a select group of young Navajo men enlisted in the Marines with a unique weapon. Using the Navajo language, they devised a secret code that the enemy never deciphered.  For over 40 years a cloak of secrecy hung over the Code Talker’s service until the code was declassified and they were finally honored […]

When the African slave was brought to the Caribbean and North and South America, s/he brought her oral literature and performance style.  This presentation focuses on the transfer of those oral traditions from African culture to African American culture. Such traditions can be heard in trickster stories, but also observed in the narration of myths, […]

Throughout history, the ability of a people to survive has been tied to environmental conditions.  The skill to predict the seasons was an essential element in the ability to “control” those conditions. Seasonal calendars became the foundation of early cultures for hunting and gathering, planting and harvesting, worshiping and celebrating. The goal of cultural astronomy […]

The deep time perspective that archaeology and related disciplines provide about natural hazards, environmental change, and human adaptation is a valuable supplement to historical records and can help modern societies make decisions affecting social sustainability and human safety. Examples include scientific evidence that virtually all prehistoric farming cultures in Arizona and the Southwest eventually surpassed […]

The occurrence of meteorites on archaeological sites in North America has been known since the early 19th century. From the Hopewell culture in the eastern United States, to the Polar Eskimo, to the Indians in the American Southwest and northern Mexico, meteorites have been found on these ancient sites. Much like meteorite hunters of today, […]

In 1933, at the nadir of the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was born. This New Deal program was designed to help unemployed young men learn new skills and earn a dollar a day to support both themselves and their families. CCCers fervently claim that this opportunity gave them the confidence and skills […]

When America entered the Second World War, Arizona's sparse population and mild weather made it an ideal location for training facilities and prisoner of war camps.  By war's end, Arizona had trained more pilots than any other state, hosted the country's largest POW camp, and was part of the largest military training grounds in history.  […]

Consider the taco, that favorite treat, a staple of Mexican and Mexican American cooking and an old standby on an Arizonan’s plate. The corn in the tortilla comes from Mexico, the cheese from the Sahara, the lettuce from Egypt, the onion from Syria, the tomatoes from South America, the chicken from Indochina, the beef from […]

Where lies the cure to diabetes? “Ask the prickly pear, or the mesquite bean pod...maybe they will tell you.” This is the answer you may hear from elder instructors of the Hualapai Ethnobotany Youth Project. The ethnobotanical story of the Hualapai Tribe  begins with the plant knowledge the people have inherited from their great grandparents […]

Father Kino is one of two Arizonans recognized in the U. S. Capitol Hall of Heroes.  The Padre was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, map maker, explorer, rancher, and friend to the Indians of the Pimería Alta.  Journeying on horseback or foot, multiple explorations of the Pimería Alta were made by the padre, resulting in the […]

Violet M. Irving, Liz Warren’s grandmother, spent most of her life in Skull Valley, Arizona, as the postmaster and owner of the general store. Born in 1900 in Walker, Vi was the daughter and granddaughter of miners. Her life spanned the century, and she witnessed statehood, two great wars, the Depression, and Rural Electrification first […]