Speakers Bureau Speaker
H. Christine Reid, Florence
H. Christine Reid is intrigued by Arizona’s diverse and rich western heritage as a writer and researcher at the Pinal County Historical Society and Community Scholar for the ASU Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. She continues that deep interest while serving on many of the town of Florence’s heritage projects and agencies. Committed to sharing history in a lively manner, she presents the sometimes hidden or forgotten aspects of Arizona’s characters and history.
Fascinating Florence AZ: Not Just a Prison Town
Why does anyone build a town in the desert? To many people, the desert is barren and not an appealing place to call home. Beginning in the mid nineteenth century, early settlers to Florence knew how to survive in the desert and passed that knowledge on for generations. That skill is reflected in how they built their homes and structured the town. Despite the tales of shootouts and stage robberies that echo off the historic adobe walls, many people find Florence the essence of a “small town” that is rapidly disappearing in Arizona. Reid will chronicle some of the more colorful characters who called Florence “home” and whose houses and workplaces remain and reveal what continues to attract people to this off-the-beaten-path Arizona treasure. This fascinating presentation explores the history, characters, and architecture of Florence.
Host organization provides PowerPoint setup.
Pearl Hart, the Lady Bandit- Victim or Vixen...or Both?
Separating fact from fiction is no easy task when it comes to flamboyant stage coach robber Pearl Hart. A mountain of conflicting stories abound, thanks in no small part, to Pearl herself. So enamored of the Wild West, she embellished her own tale to accommodate the interest of newspapers and public fascination. This presentation will follow Pearl from her modest beginnings in Canada and discover what set her down the road that led from Canada to Ohio, Illinois, New Mexico, and finally, Arizona. The road that took her from an innocent teenager to a life of crime is littered with stories of abuse, abandonment, and poor choices. Why does a woman who committed a fairly insignificant crime still garner so much interest that even a Broadway show was created to highlight her life? In this presentation, Reid will explore Pearl’s life from many angles and help shed some light on an Arizona figure surrounded by mystery.
Host organization provides PowerPoint setup.
Voices from the Past – Walking the Florence AZ Cemetery
How can the history of a town be revealed by looking at its cemetery? The Florence town cemetery is a final resting place for some of the unusual and hardy individuals who helped build a town from dirt and dust to a thriving county seat. So successful in its early days, the cemetery town was moved to its current location to accommodate a new county courthouse. From cowboys to a governor, this cemetery reveals the stories of the many characters and personalities that contributed to building a vibrant town in the desert. Walk the rows of graves with H. Christine Reid and discover the variety of markers and what they symbolize. This presentation explores what is revealed about the culture of the times by the settings of the graves and the epitaphs.
Host organization provides PowerPoint setup
