Globe history with Norma Hinton

 Memories and history abound with Historical League member Norma Hinton. Rose Mofford lived across the street from Norma's grandparents in Globe. Norma's father, Norman Clements, taught Social Studies to Rose and also coached the 1939 State Track and Field Championship which included Edwin and Lewis Tewksbury, sons of the Pleasant Valley War family in AZ.

Norma Hinton recently chatted with Christine Marin, ASU Professor originally from Globe, AZ. "I talked to her at the January meeting because I knew her from my work on the Globe High School Hall of Fame, of which she and my father are both members. She also said my father, Norman Clements, was her father's coach in Globe in the 1930's. I noticed the HL gave a copy of Tastes and Treasures to Christine which includes my Globe grandmother's recipe of Cornish Pasties."

Fascinating family background and so glad to have Norma as Historical League member at Arizona Heritage Center at Papago Park.

Norma Hinton and Dr. Christine Marin

National History Day inspirations

"Hanging with a couple of my favorite grades, 7th and 8th! Students from the Tucson Baptist Academy came today to learn about what was happening in Arizona at the same time as the Roman empire and the American Revolution. We developed a scavenger hunt for them to explore what was happening in Arizona who was doing what in Arizona and how life was in Arizona during these two time peroids. Leonard Moody, NHDAZ Coordinator had some time to introduce the NHD experience. This is a great recruiting class".

From AHS Chief Education Officer Dr. Kristen Rex who does a fabulous job of engaging students! 

January 2025 meeting

2025 Historical League is off to a great start. The January meeting had education-filled stories from guest speaker, Dr. Christine Marin,

Dr. Christine Marin

enthusiastic Historymakers report from Diana Smith

Historymakers co-chair Diana Smith

and a report from AHS Deputy Assistant Director Vincent Bradley accompanied by his sons. They were off school and decided to dress like Daddy for the presentation.

A new category of Co-Presidents featuring Pam den Draak with Pat Faur is working well for the 2024-2025 Historical League. They both supervised the January meeting.

We are delighted to introduce four new members of the Historical League.

Left to Right: Jane Robertson, Christine Phillips, Caroline Bissell, Melissa Johnson

Goldwater's Ham Radio Exhibit

Arizona Historical Society posts: 

 🎉 Yesterday we celebrated the birthday of Barry Goldwater (1909-1998). A prominent political figure, he also began his second term in the U.S. Senate on this day in 1969, serving Arizona until 1987. Barry was also a dedicated ham radio operator with the call sign K7UGA, whose passion for the hobby extended beyond personal enjoyment. During the Vietnam War, Goldwater used his ham radio to help soldiers overseas stay connected to their families back home. Through his efforts, he facilitated thousands of messages, known as "phone patches", allowing servicemen to communicate with their loved ones in a time before widespread digital communication. This act of service highlighted the potential of amateur radio to bridge distances and provide comfort during challenging times. Goldwater's ham radio work remains a powerful example of how technology can be used to foster human connection and community. Starting January 6th, you can visit the Arizona Heritage Center to see his original ham radio setup in person! Stop by to explore this fascinating piece of history.

 Barry Goldwater was honored as an Arizona Historymaker in 1992. The Historical League noticed this ham radio on a tour of the Goldwater home, conducted by Susan Goldwater Levine. Now the ham radio can be enjoyed by visitors to the Arizona Heritage Center at Papago Park.

Dr. Christine Marin January guest speaker: topic Gràcia Liliana Fernàndez

Do you remember taking Spanish in high school? As guest speaker at the January meeting, Dr. Christine Marin explained how Spanish became a major course of study thanks to Gràcia Liliana Fernàndez.

Miss Fernàndez was a bilingual teacher of English and Spanish. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from the University of Maine in 1898 and then earned the Arizona Territorial Certificate to teach in the Arizona territory. Parents in Apache County wanted their children to receive a good education so they could progress and become successful, but the white teachers didn't understand or speak Spanish. In turn, the children needed to learn English. Gràcia came to fill that gap. The demand for bilingual teachers grew throughout the territory, including in Maricopa County. In time, the president of the Tempe Normal School (now ASU), Arthur John Matthews, hired Gràcia to be the first Professor of Spanish and the first Hispanic librarian of the school. She legitimized Spanish as a major course of study. The students she taught became the new bilingual teachers throughout the Arizona Territory, helping Spanish-speaking children become successful in their schooling and in life.

Gracia was honored in 2020 as inductee in Arizona Women's Hall of Fame.

Dr. Marin, Professor Emeritus, Archivist-Historian at ASU, is the founder of the prestigious archival repository, Chicano/Chicana Research Collection and Archives at the Hayden Library in Tempe.

Dr. Christine Marin

She has won many awards for her work, and she is also the President of the Tempe History Society. She proudly hails from Globe, Arizona where she maintains close ties to the community and was inducted into the Globe High School Hall of Fame.

Historymaker Adam Diaz and Luhrs Tower

Arizona Historymaker Adam Diaz had much to do with the Luhrs Tower. He was thirteen when he left school to support his family after his father’s death. Later, he enrolled in night business school to learn communication skills. Upon meeting George Luhrs, Jr. in the 1920s, Adam was hired as an elevator operator in the Luhrs Building, eventually becoming a building manager for the Luhrs Properties. Adam attributes his many civic accomplishments to the support he received from Mr. Luhrs, who encouraged him to join community organizations and allowed him time off from his job to do so. More at https://www.historicalleague.org/historymakers/adam-diaz

Thanks to Arizona History/ Jimi Giannati for following text/photo. "Sitting on the corner of First Ave and Jefferson and looking like a wedding cake made for a princess with a tower that reaches a height of 185 ft.; the Luhrs Tower is an iconic art-deco skyscraper that was built in 1929 by George Luhrs Jr., a prominent local Phoenix native, It was Phoenix’s first 10-story high-rise when it opened to great fanfare on April 1, 1924 built at a cost of $553,000. Since then it has been added to the Phoenix Historic Property Register. If it looks familiar, it might be because you spotted it in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho.”

December Guest Speaker for Holiday Celebration: Pat McMahon

 If you have been in the Valley awhile you know Pat McMahon and how influential he has been. We are delighted to welcome him as the speaker for our Dec. holiday celebration. Over the course of his career, he’s won multiple honors and is an AZ Historymaker. But most of us know him as Gerald, Aunt Maud, Captain Super, Hub Kapp, and a host of other characters from the Wallace & Ladmo Show. To this day, the show remains one of the longest running locally produced children’s shows in America.

Dec. 2, 2024 at AZ Heritage Center, 1300 N. College Ave, Tempe, AZ 85288.

10:00am Historical League business meeting (not open to public)

11:00am Pat McMahon

Noon Lunch- $40.00 http://www.historicalleague.org/event-inside.aspx...

If you, or others in your party, prefer not to stay for lunch, but want to attend Pat’s presentation, please RSVP to Jolynn Clarke, Jolynn@leaders-view.com with your name, email, and the number in your party. Limited seating.

Pat McMahon's background: Over the course of his career, he's won seven Emmys, is an inductee into several halls of fame, and is a 1993 Arizona Historymaker™. He is the winner of both an International Broadcasting Gold Medal and an Edward R. Murrow Award.

Pat is a longstanding fixture of the Phoenix broadcasting scene, serving as a program director, a disc jockey, and a talk-show host, among other positions. But most of us know him as Gerald, the over-privileged brat; Aunt Maud, the elderly storyteller of dark tales; Captain Super, the phony superhero; Hub Kapp, the rock and roll star; and a host of other characters from the Wallace and Ladmo Show. That show was one of the longest running locally produced children's shows in America. He's proud of that, and we are too.

Pat was born to life-long vaudeville performers Jack and Adelaide McMahon, who performed a variety-dance act that took the three McMahons worldwide. He was home schooled on the road but later attended a private high school and college in the Midwest. After a stint in the Army, Pat made his way to Arizona in May 1960, where he's lived ever since.

Oh, the stories he's able to tell, and we're looking forward to hearing them all. Pat will tell us about his life and how the Wallace and Ladmo shows impacted him and Arizona history.