The Gila: River of History

Apache Junction Library 1177 N. Idaho Rd., Apache Junction, AZ, United States

Six hundred miles long from its source in the mountains of southwestern New Mexico to its confluence with the Colorado River above Yuma, the Gila has been an important avenue for the movement of birds, animals, plants, and peoples across the desert for millennia. Many cultures have sprung up on its banks, and millions of […]

China Mary: History and Legend

Paradise Valley Community College - Buxton Library 18401 N 32nd St, Phoenix, AZ, United States

A 1960 episode of The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, the first Western television series, immortalized China Mary as a strong, powerful and ruthless Asian female figure in American popular imagination. The legend of her as an infamous Dragon Lady who ruled Tombstone’s Chinatown with an iron fist cannot be substantiated by historical research. […]

Arizona’s Great Escape

Mohave County Library Lake Havasu Branch 1770 McCulloch Blvd N., Lake Havasu City, AZ, United States

During the night of Christmas Eve in 1944, twenty-five Nazi German prisoners of war escaped from Papago Park POW camp on the outskirts of Phoenix and headed towards Mexico. These men were hardcore Nazis, ex U-boat commanders, and submariners, who had successfully dug a nearly 200-foot underground tunnel that took four months to complete. Many […]

Borders, Walls, and Immigration in Arizona

Patagonia Public Library 346 Duquesne, Patagonia, AZ, United States

The Arizona-Mexico border is a line of separation and a place of coming together. This paradox shapes the borderland region and its people in fascinating and important ways. In this talk, Dr. Warren offers a historical and geographical overview of the formation of the Arizona- Mexico border and its evolution since the 1800s. The program […]

Theodore Roosevelt Slept Here

Quartzsite Community Center 295 E. Chandler, Quartzsite, AZ, United States

Theodore Roosevelt exhibited a greater influence on Arizona than perhaps any other president. He was the first sitting president to visit Arizona, employed an executive order to preserve the Grand Canyon, established a variety of wildlife refuges and reclamation projects, and enjoyed outdoor recreation in the area. This program will share Roosevelt’s widespread influence in […]

Arizona’s Great Escape

Mohave County Library Bullhead City 1170 E. Hancock Dr, Bullhead City , AZ

During the night of Christmas Eve in 1944, twenty-five Nazi German prisoners of war escaped from Papago Park POW camp on the outskirts of Phoenix and headed towards Mexico. These men were hardcore Nazis, ex U-boat commanders, and submariners, who had successfully dug a nearly 200-foot underground tunnel that took four months to complete. Many […]

Rock Hounds and River Rats: The 1937 Carnegie-CalTech Grand Canyon Expedition

Casa Grande Public Library 449 N. Dry Lake St., Casa Grande, AZ, United States

In 1937, a team of CalTech geology professors and rough-and-tumble boatmen set out in three small wooden boats on a six-week journey through the Grand Canyon to study the ancient rocks of the canyon’s Inner Gorge. At the time, fewer than a dozen river parties had successfully run the canyon–often with a loss of boats […]

The Planet Mars in our Dreams and Reality

Arivaca Old School House 17080 W. 4th St, Arivaca, AZ, United States

The Red Planet, Mars, has always held our fascination, more so than any other planet. The very word ‘Mars’ conjures up visions of Martians as well as great voyages of exploration in our imagination. What was once a distant, mysterious, cinnamon colored orb in our night sky is now literally a New World that we […]

Mescal Agave Use in Arizona: Food, Fiber, and Vessel

Burton Barr Central Library 1221 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ, United States

The agave plant was used by Native peoples for numerous utilitarian items. Mescal served as a valuable food source still being harvested and prepared to this day by many Indigenous groups. For millennia people have pit roasted the heart of the plant yielding a nutritious food staple rich in calcium and zinc. This talk includes […]

The Spirit of Spirituals: Famous and Stirring Songs of Faith, and their Stories

Chandler Hamilton Library 3700 S. Arizona Ave, Chandler, AZ, United States

People the world over express Divine Devotion through humbly coming together and creating blessed sounds, blending their energies and hearts to help bridge that sometimes narrow, sometimes great, divide between us, as temporal beings, and the Infinite. One example of this bridge is African American sacred music: Negro Spirituals, and the Gospel tradition. Many have […]

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