National History Day winners

And the winners are…. National History Day 2021 Contest Results - Arizona Historical Society. A huge CONGRATULATIONS to all of the National History Day Arizona students! Check out the results from the 2021 national contest. The Historical League is a supporter of this amazing program. https://arizonahistoricalsociety.org/2021/06/19/national-history-day-2021-contest-results/?fbclid=IwAR0GAQZamEIgqtgQdIfzy580xJI4ZUwpDqvkOoGC_1hBG_aUqrGSleLywvg

Elote Cafe featured in FrontDoors

Elote Café’s in Sedona has signature starter called the Elote, a fire-roasted corn with spicy mayo, lime and cotija cheese. This delicious recipe is found in Tastes & Treasures II. We are grateful to Chef Jeff Smedstad for sharing this recipe with us. Recently Chef was featured in FrontDoors and describes his restaurant. “The menu is inspired by food I’ve had in people’s homes and markets,” Smedstad said. “We get travelers from all over the world visiting the restaurant and it’s a great compliment when diners from Mexico say my food reminds them of home.” From FrontDoors interview, “The most popular dishes are the enchiladas, braised lamb shank with ancho chile sauce, and smoked pork cheeks with cascabel chile sauce and Smedstad’s grandmother’s corn cake. Desserts include flan, Mexican chocolate pie and pastel de elote, a sweet corn cake with dulce de leche and agave ice cream.” Tastes & Treasures available at www.HistoricalLeague.org

National History Day update from Jaynie Adams, AHS Tucson

Students from National History Day gave feedback on what they learned in the program: "photojournalism, power of words and pictures, skills to create a presentation, building website, how to entertain and be meaningful in a presentation, how to cite sources, time management, learn from my mistakes, self-accountability, how to create a project, why history is so important, lessons from the past, research skills." Thanks to Jaynie Adams at AHS Tucson, state co-ordinator for NHD, for showing us videos with these students. What a valuable program this is! A detailed report was given at the June Historical League Zoom meeting. Jaynie discusssed the incredible challenge NHD was for her this year, being the new director and Covid changing everything. She started out with a 40% decline in participation. Many of the students could not join because they were without high speed internet or home computers. The good news is the program ended up with 217 students at Regionals and 56 for the National Competition . . . all a virtual contest. National judging with a welcoming ceremony begins June 13. You can follow it on Facebook. As a professional historian, Jaynie related, "This is more than a history contest. It is History Education and could be used as a model for Elementary school history, teaching how to go from an idea to a thesis using primary source analysis. A big challenge is to get more Title 1 and homeschools and outlaying areas that don't have adult experts during project writing." Some support comes from micro-grants and gives actual classroom help such as covering registration fees, books or costs for the projects. The funds can be "game-changers for teachers." Many students work part-time jobs to pay for the materials to build their projects. More info at www.NHDAZ.org and www.nhd.org/affiliate/arizona The theme for 2022 is Debate and Diplomacy.

More reports and Passing the Gavel at the June "end of the year" meeting

The June meeting via Zoom was informative. Cathy Shumard will be modernizing the website with a more mobile-friendly design, burgundy and turquoise colors and member portal updates. Carolyn Hartman has done a wonderful job on publicity these past few years but is stepping down. This is a fascinating and very important job. Carolyn has documented every step so it will be easy to follow. Ruth McLeod encouraged everyone to send her pictures over the summer of any meetings, history trips, Tastes & Treasures II adventures, and travels for Social Media. Anne Lupica announced the December 8 Phoenix Theatre fundraiser "Million Dollar Quartet" with dinner at Phoenix Country Club. Nancy Evans and Mary Parker will assist with the planning of this Christmas-themed musical.

The tradition of passing the gavel was a joyous one on Zoom. After 2 very industrious years as President, Susan Dale handed over the responsibilities to Claire Nullmeyer who is looking forward to her time as President. Also at the June meeting, it was announced that Norma Jean will be the new recording secretary. Mariamne Moore talked about new members. Susan Howard gave the financial report and corresponding secretary Bonnie Newhoff gave an update.

Reports from staff and League members at June Zoom meeting.

Last Zoom meeting of the year was filled with good news. Staff reporting from AZ Heritage Center focused on increase in events, exhibits, weddings, reunions, volunteers, online programs and meetings. Love the new mustache game for children. They are encouraged to find mustaches hidden through out the museum. One child found 137!! Thanks to Debbie McKinnion and Marilyn Murphy for the updates.

From the comfort of our homes, we received end of the year reports at the June meeting. Thanks to Cindy Tidwell -Shelton for 4 years as Awards Chair. She turns it over to Karen Belt. Linda Corderman continues to work on Historymakers Hall with edited bios and new photos giving us a fresh look at this incredible program. She thanked her helpers Zona Lorig, Margaret Baker, Diane Smith and Susan Dale. Nina Filippi and Clede Gorrell asked everyone to check their homes for accurate inventory of Tastes & Treasures II. Diane Smith was congratulated for all the marvelous speakers she brought to us via Zoom this year. All jobs well done!

Fund for Arizona History continues to grow

What an amazing job President Susan Dale has done with her two years in office. Despite the struggles with the pandemic, the Future of History Fund has raised $102,545 and this continues to grow. The goal of this project is 1.An update of the Historymakers Hall exhibit 2.Support for Arizona teachers and students to develop National History Day projects 3.Outreach dollars for the Arizona Heritage Center to reach new audiences Congratulations to Susan and her team!

Senator Mark Kelly and Gabby Giffords Visit "Ready to Launch"

On June 2, the Arizona Historical Society had a very special visit from an Arizona astronaut. Thank you, Senator Mark Kelly, Gabby Giffords, and Ron Barber for visiting the Arizona History Museum and the new "Ready to Launch: Arizona's Place in Space" exhibition. Watch Senator Kelly's interview on KGUN about how Arizonans are making history in space exploration. https://www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/astronaut-now-senator-tours-space-exhibit “Ready to Launch” is sponsored by Paragon Space Development Corporation and supported by Arizona Humanities and Albertsons. Special thanks to Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, Lowell Observatory, USGS, and NASA Johnson Space Center.