North Central Arizona

A more personalized talk on the effects of the Holocaust and war on German society, family and German post-war generations. It begins with the story the presenter’s family (including his father’s war experience as a 17-year old German soldier, in the vicinity of a Jewish slave labor camp in Poland), addresses more general themes in […]

In 1937, a group of CalTech geology professors and hardy boatmen set out in small wooden boats on a 6 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 […]

Plants, Inspiring the People: Reflections on Hualapai Ethnobotany of the Grand Canyon 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 […]

Lee Wee Kwon, Chinese Grocer in Tucson, 1917-1965 The Chinese had once dominated Tucson’s grocery business. Lee Wee Kwon was among the successful Chinese grocers whose business relied on the patronage of a Hispanic clientele. Lee entered the US as a refugee from Mexican Revolution. Before he came to Tucson, he had lived and worked […]

Swing Into History 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 […]

Sheep Ranchers and Herders of Arizona An early viable economic activity of the 1800s in Arizona has been mostly forgotten. Basque, Canadians, Danes among others arrived in the mid to late 1800s to graze sheep on thousands of acres practicing transhumance. Many of these men worked for other established ranchers until ultimately they gained a […]

Little Sur Shot – Annie Oakley and the Closing of the American West Annie Oakley is perhaps the best recognized, but little know personalities that came out of the American West. Her life story is one which is enmeshed deeply into the fabric of the American character.  However it was not a cookie cutter life. […]

The Long Walk of the Navajo People, 1864-1868 In 1864, Navajo people were forced to walk over 450 miles to Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico.  Imprisoned on a 40-square mile reservation for four long years the people suffered from hunger, loneliness, illnesses, and severe environmental conditions. On June 1, 1868, U. S. officials and […]

Instruments and Music of Arizona’s Pioneers The story of our state is not complete without music. This program will focus on the various genres of music that reflected the milieu and personalities of our various immigrants.  Using musical instruments and stories, audience members will be presented an artistic tableau of our past: heroes, villains, and […]