Ira Parsons, NHD student, wins Library of Congress Award

 Old news but always exciting and bears repeating . . . Scottsdale Student wins Library of Congress Award from Jewish News, Aug 9, 2024

The Library of Congress has awarded this year’s “Discovery or Exploration in History” prize to W. Ira Parsons, a Jewish freshman at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, for his work, “The Fastest Man On Earth: How Col. Dr. John Stapp Revolutionized Space Medicine.”

Parsons was one of 500,000 students globally who entered historical research projects in this year’s National History Day® competition, held June 9–13 at the University of Maryland. The 2024 contest theme was Turning Points in History.

Winners from all 50 states, Washington D.C., U.S. territories, and international schools were invited to compete in the national round. 540 historians and education professionals served as judges. The Library of Congress awards its “Discovery or Exploration in History” prize to an outstanding National History Day® project in any category on American or international discovery or exploration. This year’s 50th Anniversary Honorary Committee included, among others, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden; Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan; Secretary of the Smithsonian Lonnie Bunch; historians Doris Kearns Goodwin, Douglas Brinkley, Heather Cox Richardson, and Walter Isaacson; documentary filmmaker Ken Burns; and journalists Jake Tapper, Jonathan Capehart, Judy Woodruff, and Wolf Blitzer.

“Participating in the National History Day National Contest in 2024 is a special honor,” said NHD Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “As the organization celebrates its 50th anniversary, the students at the National Contest witnessed history. They have shown an incredible level of critical thinking, analysis, and research skills that will benefit them beyond their participation in NHD. I am proud of the students’ achievements this contest year and look forward to how they apply the skills they developed during their research to their future careers and lives.”

Ira Parsons with NHD co-ordinator Stacey Trepanier

Sandra Day O'Connor 1992 Arizona Historymaker

 Honored in the first group of Arizona Historymakers in 1992, SDO has been an inspiration to us all.

On October 23, 2018, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement from public life. This was not an easy step for an active public servant, but the diagnosis of dementia, likely Alzheimer's, led to the final quiet chapters of her amazing life.

In a letter to the public, she shared:

"While the final chapter of my life with dementia may be trying, nothing has diminished my gratitude and deep appreciation for the countless blessings in my life. How fortunate I feel to be an American and to have been presented with the remarkable opportunities available to the citizens of our country. As a young cowgirl from the Arizona desert, I never could have imagined that one day I would become the first woman justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

I hope that I have inspired young people about civic engagement and helped pave the pathway for women who may have faced obstacles pursuing their careers. My greatest thanks to our nation, to my family, to my former colleagues, and to all the wonderful people I have had the opportunity to engage with over the years."

You can learn more about her amazing life, work, and her lasting legacy at OConnorInstitute.org.

Hassayampa Inn for lunch during Historical League October tour

 Historic Hassayampa Inn is a great place for lunch in Prescott. Our tours always include delicious food!

Thanks to Josie Pete for great photos!

Tour to Prescott Museum of Indigenous People

 No better way to enjoy a tour to Prescott's Museum of Indigenous People than in the company of Historical League members! The October tour was well attended, fun on the bus and educational at the museum with Executive Director Manuel Lucero IV speaking.

Cathy Shumard commented, "Manuel's storytelling and humor easily held our attention."

Thanks to Josie Pete for the great photos!

Win Holden, October guest speaker

Win Holden, former publisher of "Arizona Highways" magazine and now its informal ambassador, was our October guest speaker. He enlightened us as to how the magazine has remained popular through historical and contemporary photographs, attracting elite landscape photographers and using an unconventional publishing business model.

Program co-ordinator Patt Grogg with Win Holden

 

Todd Bailey Special Projects Co-ordinator at AZHC

 So grateful to have Todd Bailey at AZHC. He is indeed a treasure! Check out this excerpt from AZ Republic 9/27/2024.

From the glamour of Monte Carlo to the deserts of Arizona, dance has taken Todd Bailey across the world. The professional dancer and educator has now returned to Arizona and works at the AZ Historical Society as a special projects coordinator, but his journey has taken twists and turns like a winding canyon road in his home state.

Bailey was born in Mesa in 1967 and raised in the Valley.

“I’m a Gen X kid from the ’70s, running around these desert streets trying not to burn my feet and all that,” Bailey said. His grandparents moved from Mississippi in the 1940s and raised his mom and her three sisters in the Washington- Escobedo neighborhood.

Bailey attended school in south Mesa, where he was homecoming king in 1985. Although he grew up in a segregated area of the Valley, he looks back at his childhood fondly.

“Education was really, really, really a big deal in the family and also the arts. My mother is a gospel singer, they call her ‘Joyce the Voice’ Bailey,” he said.

This exposure and love for the arts from a young age set him on the path he is still on today. For Bailey, it’s the reason why he became involved in dancing at all.

“Her musical and arts interests kind of filtered to me and I became a professional dancer, I grew up dancing at Tempe Dance Academy,” Bailey said.

After beginning his career in the Valley, he started his journey across the world; first to San Francisco, then New York City and Atlantic City. He worked in Monte Carlo as well.

After 25 years of dancing and being on the road, Bailey retired from professional dancing and came back to the Valley.

He has worked for the Arizona Historical Society for about 6 years, where he is the special projects coordinator.

In this role, he has organized many events and worn many hats. One such program is the society’s annual Juneteenth Celebration.

The event is hosted at the Arizona Historical Society and is organized in conjunction with the Black Family Genealogy and History Society, and the Arizona State University Library.

Jessica Salow, assistant archivist of Black Collections at ASU has known Bailey for the last five years and has worked side by side with him on the Juneteenth Celebration for the last three.

For her, Bailey has been a source of inspiration and a connection to the community around her.

“Working with Todd is an absolute delight, it’s a pleasure. Every time I am in conversation with him, every time I collaborate with him on a project I learn so much from him and I am very inspired and in awe of who he is,” she said.