Central Arizona

Florence began as a small rural desert town. In 1875 a major silver strike and designation as Pinal County seat changed the character of the town.   Despite the past tales of shootouts and stage robberies that echo off the historic adobe walls, many people still find Florence the essence of a “small town” that […]

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 hide-hunters, and the disengaged U.S. Congress than George Bird Grinnell, the “Father of American Conservation.”  Grinnell […]

This engaging program, similar to a “Prairie Home Companion” but with an Arizona twist, uses live music, storytelling, video, and other visual aides to highlight stories of Arizona’s first century. Jay Craváth and Dan Shilling form the nucleus of the program, relating vignettes through song and story, such as the murder of reporter Don Bolles, […]

Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. was a multi-dimensional man all too often remembered solely for his “I Have a Dream” speech delivered at the March on Washington in 1963. Yet, there was another Dr. King that emerged after the Selma to Montgomery march and the subsequent Voting Rights Act of 1965. It was this King […]

With the exception of the most ardent collectors and the older generations, 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 that America listened and danced to for more than three decades.  Learn how iconic artists […]

The South Mountains in Phoenix contain more than 8,000 ancient petroglyphs. This program will discuss Dr. Bostwick’s long-term study of these Hohokam petroglyphs and will describe the various types of designs, their general distribution, and their possible meanings. Interpretations of the petroglyphs include the marking of trails, territories, and astronomical events, as well as dream […]

Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. was a multi-dimensional man all too often remembered solely for his “I Have a Dream” speech delivered at the March on Washington in 1963. Yet, there was another Dr. King that emerged after the Selma to Montgomery march and the subsequent Voting Rights Act of 1965. It was this King […]