Saturday, February 6, 2010

Cobe Frobes guest speaker at meeting


Meeting the author after reading a good book is always a treat and Cobe Frobes was a wealth of knowledge when she spoke at the Historical League February meeting. She entertained us with fascinating stories of old Arizona she learned while researching her book "Streets of Forest Highlands" in Flagstaff.

Bessie Kidd Best is a favorite. Born in Flagstaff, she went to the Normal School (now NAU) to become a teacher. She was hired in Williams, AZ, fell in love, married and was soon fired because "married women don't need jobs". She went on to serve 40 years on the Board of Education being instrumental in the growth of AZ school systems.

Cobe has been a fan of Tastes and Treasures cookbook since the beginning. Thanks to her, we corrected the misprint in reference to Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, the architect of El Tovar Hotel.

Cobe and Bruce, her husband, travel a lot doing geneology research. Recently they were in the Woolworth library in Connecticut working with the librarian. Tobe promptly sold her a copy of Tastes and Treasures cookbook. Sharing the history of Arizona is one of her passions and we are grateful to have such a lovely promoter.