ASU West selects Tastes & Treasures II for their Valley Common Read Initiative

The League is honored that ASU West has selected our cookbook for their Valley Common Read Initiative with incoming freshmen this fall. The school is purchasing 1,150 books. Along with donating books to AHS Certified Historical Institutions CHIs, it means that we are nearing a complete sell-out of Tastes & Treasures II.

ASU website describes Common Read:

The Common Read is a book selected by committee that the entire first year students at ASU West Valley campus read. The intent is to engage and stir the minds of our students. With all the students reading the same book it fosters student growth. The books may require students to question their belief system, relate to others and build community.

NHDAZ student Owen Yin writes Thank You note

 A feel good Thank YOU note from National History Day AZ student:

My name is Owen Yin. I wanted to thank you for providing the NHDAZ team with shirts, hats, pins, and other goodies.

Thank you for the cash gift, which was much appreciated and was used for our travel expenses. This was an amazing experience being my first time and I can't believe I actually made it as a finalist! It was really cool to see people from all over the world coming together to compete in a subject we are all passionate about. I enjoyed trading pins and collaborating with the NHDAZ team to collect the entirety of the countries and states that competed. I am already looking forward to next year! Thanks again for your support,

Owen Yin

Junior Website: Prescription for Deceit: Arthur Sackler’s Oxycontin and the Birth of Modern Pharmaceutical Marketing

Owen Yin and Adrian Piel in front of th Arizona Statue of Father Kino at the U.S. Capital Visitor Center Emancipation Hall

Arielle Bowers performs at Juneteenth, First Place Jr Individual Performance State

 Not only did Arielle Bowers win First Place Jr individual performance at National History Day state competition but she also performed at the Juneteenth AZ Heritage Center Celebration.

Hello Mrs. Shumard and Historical League,

I am Arielle Bowers, and I participated in the NHD Nationals. I understand that this message might be coming a bit late, but I am writing to express my gratitude for the cash prize you sent to cover the cost of Nationals. I truly appreciate your kindness. Thank you.

Sincerely, Arielle Bowers

Junior Performance: Master Juba Pioneering Black Dance and Debunking Stereotypes in the Era of Minstrelsy

NHDAZ students Natasha and Andre Aghenta with Ivy Tao write Thank you notes

 "I have never enjoyed history so much." Appreciative National History Day students write Thank You notes to the Historical League:

We would like to thank you the Historical League for the cash gift for the trip to DC. Without your help, we could have never experienced this exciting competition. During the closing ceremony, we discovered Natasha got second in her group division and Andre got fifth in his division. Thankfully, we had enough time before the competition to explore the beautiful museums and architecture of Washington D.C. Our favorite museum was the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Thank you again, Natasha and Andre Aghenta.

Junior Documentary: Operation Integration: How Carver High School Became a Turning Point in Arizona’s Education System (Natasha)

Junior Performance: Won’t You Be My Neighbor (Andre)

Hello! I know it’s a bit late, but I just wanted to thank you about NHD. I have never enjoyed history so much. NHD has expanded my knowledge so much, and I just wanted to thank you about helping out with it.

Best regards, Ivy Tao

Junior Exhibit: Closed to the Chinese

The Wallace & Ladmo Show with Julia Taggart on Arizona PBS

 Nice Job by Historical League member Julia Taggart on Arizona PBS August 22, 2024. As President of the Sunnyslope Historical Society, she spoke of the Society's exhibit celebrating 70th Anniversary of The Wallace and Ladmo Show. Click on Arizona PBS August 22

to see her. (FYI - Scroll to the end as she is the final interview).

As part of the 1992 Arizona Historymakers Honorees, The Wallace and Ladmo Show has been featured at Arizona Heritage Center and continues to make us smile.

First time NHDAZ Participant Max Luo

 Encouraging words from first time participant in NHDAZ:

Dear Mrs. Shumard, Thank you for giving us a generous cash gift to cover our flights and transportation to and from D.C. I had a really fun time. It was very fun to go through the whole process of NHD, especially in the documentary category. Although I didn't make it to finals, I still very much enjoyed NHD. Plus I went further than I expected in my first year, so I was very excited!

Thank You!

Max Luo Junior Documentary: Challenger Disaster—A Tragedy in Space

Remembering Dr. Reba Wells Grandrud

 Dr. Reba Wells Grandrud, Historical League member and Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame recipient, passed away in Albuquerque, New Mexico on August 10, 2024 at the age of 92.

Her family has requested we not send cards or flowers; instead, send tributes, words of condolences, memories and more to her email address at rwgrandrud@gmail.com for her family to put together a book of these messages to have at her service.

Reba’s funeral and Memorial Service are pending until the fall. Our condolences to Reba’s family, friends, colleagues, and everyone who knew her.

Reba earned an undergraduate degree in Education and graduate degrees in SW History and History of the American West from the Univ. of New Mexico in Albuquerque and moved to Arizona in 1982. For over 35-plus years, Reba has been involved in historical research, writing and publishing, and served on a variety of boards and historical societies all over Arizona. Her good-natured character and wonderful smile were contagious and everlasting. Reba could hardly wait to capture the history of Arizona before the West disappeared and to write about it, talk about it, go out and dig-her-heels-in-the-dirt about it---and bring you into her work in some way, too. She was no stranger to the research and archival reading rooms and reference sections of our state’s historical societies , libraries, archives, and museums. Reba came to know the archivists, librarians, volunteers, and students she met in the course of her research and writing. She easily became their friend—and she engaged you in the sharing of your love of Arizona history with her too. Reba was the Sharlot Hall Award Recipient, 2013. And a part of the Arizona Historical Society Museum/Tucson volunteer team that produced the John and Viola Slaughter Family Exhibit in September 2018. Reba served as director of the Arizona Historical Society Museum in Papago Park, as well as Heritage Fund Planner and Coordinator of the National Register of Historic Places for Arizona with the State Historic Preservation Office. In addition, she served as a member and past president of Westerners International, past Sheriff of the Scottsdale Corral, and a speaker for the Arizona Humanities Road Scholar program. Reba’s Funeral and/or Memorial services are pending. Our condolences to Reba’s family, friends, colleagues, neighbors and all who knew her.

Thanks to Arizona Women's Hall of Fame for much of this information.

To read her complete obituary https://www.afterall.com/obituaries/RebaGrandrud

Reba Wells Grandrud with Historymakers Polly Rosenbaum and Rose Mofford