Sandra Day O'Connor to be guest speaker at Museum

Ladies-
We are delighted to let you know that the speaker for our October 21 invitation only Annual Membership Open House at the Museum will be Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman Supreme Court Justice, a Historymaker and an Arizona native. Be thinking of prospective members that you want to invite to this very exciting event when Justice O' Connor will be cutting the ribbons to the new exhibit now being created in her honor.
Look for more information in the newsletter and be sure to attend the first General Meeting in the Boardroom on September 14.
submitted by Ruth Ann Hogan- President Historical League, Inc.

Sandra Day O'Connor Exhibit Opening at AHS Museum

Sandra Day O'Connor has always been a role model for me and to learn about the exhibit honoring her was wonderful. Dr Peter Welsh presented the plans for the Exhibit, open to the public Oct 24, 2009, to the League Executive Board. The themes are
1. Early Life (her early papers, artifacts and photos of life on the Lazy B Ranch)
2. Preparation for Public Life (with her schooling and education at Stanford University)
3. Supreme Court years
4. Her House today on the AHS Museum property.
Curator Aaron Monson has been gathering artifacts (ex. her Supreme Court robe) and photos and will travel to Wash D.C. to visit the Library of Congress for more information. The interactive audio kiosk will have films, oral histories and interviews.
For those who want more details, there will be a Virtual Exhibit on the internet with documentation of many aspects of her life.
The exhibit will be in the Changing Gallery at the Museum at Papago Park and is sponsored by the Historical League and the Friends of Sandra Day O'Connor.
It is inspirational to see what she has done and accomplished from her humble beginnings.

Banana Bread at Master Gardener Class

Always wanting to learn about growing plants in the desert, I started the U of A Master Gardener class at ASU's extension office yesterday. Very interesting and informative and fun. The instructors are so good at presenting the material, it makes you want to go out and dig in the garden. The best part was finding out that fellow Historical League member, Bonnie Newhoff, is my mentor for the class. So right away I knew someone. The mentors brought a "snack" to serve buffet style at the 10:45 am break and Bonnie prepared Chocolate Chip Banana Bread from the cookbook. She knows the cookbook very well as she was instrumental in organizing and testing the recipes prior to printing. The snack turned out to be a feast of fresh fruits, deviled eggs, pastries, cheeses and breads. Didn't need any lunch yesterday.
Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Bread
1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 or 3 bananas)
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt together. Beat the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the bananas, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and beat until blended. Add the flour mixture and mix just until moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.
Spoon the batter evenly into two greased 5 x 9 inch loaf pans. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes and remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 2 loaves.

Arizona's Cooking Heritage

While talking to Realty Executives group, I passed around the first Historical League cookbook originally printed in 1987 and got a great response. Yes, the woman in Victorian dress on the cover is holding up two Gila Monsters ready for cooking. Debbie Tupper asked if she could buy that book as well as Tastes & Treasures A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona. Of course, they were all sold out...until Barbara Simons told me she found 6 and they were all gift wrapped by Peggy Murphy. That's how Peggy presented all the original cookbooks and they were such a lovely gift. So Arizona's Cooking Heritage is now being gifted by Debbie Tupper as well. Wonder if we can find some more "lost" books?

Cookbook 20% Discount for HL members

There was an error in the June issue of Old Ned Newsletter. League members get a 20% discount for a box of ten books. Great price for a great book. Remember those weddings and graduations and birthdays this summer. Also out of town guests. This book makes a perfect gift for those who love Arizona and it's history and those who want to know more about our state.

Order 2 or more books on the website and get free shipping. Just tell us where you want the books to go. We will save you the trip to the post office.

Membership Open House

Guess who is speaking at our Membership Open House? Wednesday, October 21 is the date for the Historical League's Invitation Only event at the AHS Museum. You won't want to miss this. Invitations will be coming later but tell all your potential invitees to "SAVE THE DATE".

Cookbook ten minute Presentation at Private Event

Marlyse Brock invited me to speak at her Rotary Club meeting in May and it was a lot of fun to meet new people and explain the history of Tastes & Treasures A Storytelling Cookbook of Historic Arizona. They chuckled when I told them, "It took 2 years to write, just like the birth of an elephant".

Gene Urban from Realty Execs www.urbanteamaz.com called in June and asked me if I was interested in speaking at his weekly meeting. Carolyn Mendoza offered her assistance and we brought our books and props. The folding banner was a great visual aid and Carolyn made granola from pg 196 of the cookbook to sample. (They thought this was delicious). I mentioned the Sandra Day O'Connor house now being rebuilt at our Museum and they had questions about that. We had photos of Rose Mofford and Polly Rosenbaum which also elicited questions. I even brought a copy of the League's first cookbook Arizona's Cooking Heritage with the Victorian Lady holding 2 gila monsters recipe for 'Saute de Gila Monster'. (No it does not taste like chicken).

Turns out Realtors are a great audience and loved the book. It is a perfect client gift for their business as well as great gift for Father's Day, Graduations, Weddings, Birthdays, Hostess gift... So Carolyn and I left after selling 65 cookbooks. We look forward to many more presentations like this one.