Orpheum Tour

Thanks to Kay Holcombe for organizing a tour of this 1927 theatre in downtown Phoenix. Seventeen Historical League members thoroughly enjoyed the tour and lunch at historic Tom's Tavern only 1 block away.

Investors spend $750,000 to build it (about $2 million today). Opening in 1929 with Vaudeville, silent films and celebrities including Mae West, Ziegfield follies and more, the theatre soon turned to talking films. With cooled air and fabulous murals,  it was a very popular place to be.

Gold inlaid peacock ceiling

Ruth McLeod and tour
organizer Kay Holcombe
ready to tour

After many changes of ownership over the years, the city of Phoenix owned it in 1985 and planned to bull doze it for a parking lot. Thankfully, the Junior League organized an effort to save it appealing to Mayor Terry Goddard. A Bond issue raised $7 million with matching corporate and private funds of another $7.5 million.

Ornate spiral staircase with peacock ceiling

Tour guide explaining concrete
beams made to look like wood

Looking up at towards the peacock ceiling

Susie Brinegar in "kissing room" or
Room of Young Moderns

Plaster carvings created by same Italian
craftsman that built Tovrea Castle

Lunch at Tom's Tavern was delicious

Chandler Student and Teacher participate in Normandy: National History Day

Congratulations to Chandler, AZ student Aryasp Nejat and teacher Stacey A. Trepanier for being selected to this tremendous program.

NORMANDY: SACRIFICE FOR FREEDOM ALBERT H. SMALL STUDENT & TEACHER INSTITUTE
January, 2016 WASHINGTON, D.C.
–
Fifteen student and teacher teams from across the country are being given an extraordinary opportunity to tell the story of a fallen WWII hero from their respective home towns and pay their respects to this Silent Hero at the Normandy American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach. Each team consists of one teacher and his or her student.
Teams select a Silent Hero who gave his or her life in World War II during or after
the Normandy landings of D-Day and is memorialized at the Normandy American Cemetery. Each team spends a year researching the story of this Silent Hero through
historical research such as war records, draft cards, and interviews with family members. In June 2016, the teams travel to Washington, D.C. to finish their research with help from the National Archives, historians, and college professors. While in D.C. the group tours the World War II Memorial, attends a dinner hosted by the White House
Historical Association and prepares for the voyage of a lifetime. The final leg of their journey is to Normandy, France where the group visits the D-Day beaches, walking in the footsteps of their Silent Heroes.
After visiting museums, historic sites, and churches that were used as field hospitals, the group visits the Normandy American Cemetery. There, the students deliver powerful eulogies for the Silent Heroes they have spent the year researching. Participants in the program are only responsible for the cost of travel to and from Washington, D.C. Travel to France, meals, board, and programs are all paid for by the Institute.
“Throughout their research these students and teachers become incredibly connected to their Silent Heroes,” said National History Day Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “When they read their eulogies they are reading a eulogy for someone they know, someone whose story they are responsible for telling. It results in a powerful, and often tearful, understanding of the sacrifice the students’ Silent Heroes made in WWII.”
The Normandy Sacrifice for Freedom: Albert H. Small Student and Teacher Institute seeks to teach a new generation about the sacrifices and challenges faced during World War II.
The program is coordinated by National History Day and is funded by a generous donation from Mr. Albert H. Small, a veteran himself.
Throughout the program, teachers and students create a website about their Silent Hero. After the conclusion of their travels, teams use these websites in presentations to local community groups, schools and classes, and veterans organizations. “These digital records of the life and actions of a Silent Hero live on long after these teams return,” said Gorn. “They serve as a digital monument to the sacrifices made by the fallen.”
www.facebook.com/nationalhistoryday/?nr

Butternut Squash Surprise Pie (Sweet Potato Swap)

Make a new healthier version of Sweet Potato Pie using Butternut Squash instead.

Ingredients:
8 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
1 cup egg whites or fat-free liquid egg substitute
2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tbsp. Truvia spoonable no-calorie sweetener
1 tbsp. maple extract
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9" X 13" baking pan with nonstick spray.

Place squash in a large microwave-safe bowl. Add 1/4 cup water, and cover. Microwave for 10 minutes, or until just tender enough to mash. Drain well.

Roughly mash squash. Add all remaining ingredients except marshmallows. Mix thoroughly.

Transfer mixture to the baking pan. Bake until firm, 45 - 50 minutes.

Top with marshmallows, and bake until melted and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.


1/8th of casserole: 128 calories, 0.5g total fat (0g sat fat), 229mg sodium, 30g carbs, 3.5g fiber, 10g sugars, 4.5g protein -- PointsPlus® value 4*
Thanks to Hungry Girl for the recipe and statistics.

Spaghetti Squash Boats

A unique way to serve this delicious dish.
You can find many great recipes in Tastes & Treasures cookbook.









Spaghetti Squash Boats
Ingredients:
2 ripe spaghetti squash
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. ground hot turkey sausage
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 (10 oz) can Rotel tomatoes
1/4 cup half and half
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup part skim Mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided or Laughing Cow wedges
2 Tbsp basil, thinly sliced

Directions:
To make the spaghetti squash, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and cut squash right down the middle. Scoop out all the seeds and place cut side down on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with oil. DO NOT PIERCE WITH A FORK!! Many recipes say to do this, but we are using these cuts of squash later as bowls so you want them to remain intact.
Bake squash in the oven for 45 minutes until tender.
Drizzle oil into a large skillet and saute onion and garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add turkey sausage and cook until crumbled and lightly brown, draining if necessary, then add chicken broth, tomatoes, half and half, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Bring everything to a boil then cover and allow flavors to simmer on low to medium heat until spaghetti squash is ready.
Remove squash from the oven and scrape out all the strands of spaghetti using a fork.
Add all the spaghetti squash to your skillet along with a 1/4 cup of cheese. Toss well until cheese is melted and squash is fully coated with sauce.
Transfer squash mixture into your now scraped out squash bowls and top with the rest of your cheese.
Place them back in the oven for about 3 to 4 minutes until cheese is melted and squash is heated through.
Top with basil, serve and enjoy!

Thanks to eat-yourself-skinny.com for the recipe.

January and February Historical League tours

Two tours of ORPHEUM THEATRE:  Kay Holcombe is leading the tour on January 19.
Contact Kay to be included on this tour.
The cost is $25 for members and $30 for non-members.
Please be at the Orpheum by 9:50 for the 10 a.m. tour.  RSVP.

Judy Blackwell is leading the tour on January 21 of the historic Orpheum Theater, followed by lunch at the historic downtown Tom’s Tavern.  Judy provided the signup list at the December meeting, and it immediately filled to capacity and a waiting list developed. 
The cost is $25 for members and $30 for non-members.
Please be at the Orpheum by 9:50 for the 10 a.m. tour.  RSVP.

MUSEUM OF THE WEST TOUR:  Carolyn Mendoza and Delores Tomasek are leading the tour on February 18 of Scottsdale’s new Museum of the West, followed by lunch at Scottsdale’s Café Forté.  This tour filled to capacity at the December meeting, also.  You can be added to the waiting list.
The cost for members is $35 for members and $40 for non-members. RSVP.

Historymaker Raul Castro honored with naming of AZ entry port

A port of entry in Douglas, AZ has been
named after Arizona's only Hispanic governor, Raul Castro. He was named a Historymaker in February 2014 by the Historical League. He died in April 2015 at age 98.
Mr. Castro was born in Cananea, Sonora, Mexico and grew up in Pirtleville, near Douglas. He became governor of Arizona in 1974.
More photos and complete biography at www.HistoricalLeague.org/historymaker

January 4 guest speaker Lisa Schnebly-Heidinger

January 4, 2016 General Membership Meeting. Guest Speaker Lisa Schnebly-Heidinger

Meeting 10:00 - 11:15 am.
Lunch 11:30 am - 12:15 pm ($10 suggested donation).
Guest Speaker 12:15-1:00 pm.

Our own League member, Lisa Schnebly-Heidinger, will be the January speaker. Lisa has many books to her credit, including ARIZONA: 100 Years Grand, the official book of the Arizona Centennial. Her topic will be “OXYMORON: HISTORICAL FICTION”.  And we might be able to coax her into telling us a little about her wonderful family, including her great-grandmother, Sedona Schnebly . . .