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AGAVE PROGRAMS
"Stories
of Arizona"
Oral History programs on KAET-TV
Stories of Arizona |
Stories of Arizona 2002
Stories
of Arizona 2002 was made possible
in part by a gift from Bill and Sandy Miller and Tom and Kathy
Chauncey. Additional funding was provided by the Kitchell
Foundation. All 13 segments aired on
KAET-TV,
Channel 8, the PBS affiliate in Phoenix in 2002 as part
of the award-winning program Horizon.
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Dolan Ellis |
Dolan
Ellis / Arizona Balladeer
(Air date: June 3, 2002)
For over 30 years he has been the Official Balladeer of Arizona.
But Dolan is much more than just a singer. He is a songwriter
of historic epics (such as a tune about the only aerial gun
battle and bombing raid in Arizona . . . where a drunken pilot
accidentally dropped his explosives on the town of Naco, Arizona
instead of Naco, Mexico) and he is a preserver of history.
He and his wife, Rose, gave up most of their personal belongings
to start the Arizona Folklore Center in Ramsey Canyon.
Bennie
Gonzales / Architect
(Air date: June 10, 2002)
A native Arizonan, Bennie Gonzales gained a national reputation
for his southwestern style architecture, which gave a modern
interpretation to mission adobe style buildings. He designed
civic centers, banks, schools, libraries, churches and numerous
residences that are now part of the Arizona landscape. Gonzales
now makes his home in Nogales, Arizona.
Esther
Don Tang / Tucson community leader
(Air date: June 17, 2002)
Her parents came to Tucson from China to build a better
life for themselves and their children. Esther Tang grew up
working in her family's grocery stores. . following that example
she and her husband David built a chain of markets while raising
their own children. Tang also found time to be active in numerous
community causes as Tucson grew from a sleepy pueblo to vibrant
modern city.
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Angel Delgadillo |
Angel
Delgadillo / Route 66
(Air date: June 24, 2002)
Angel Delgadillo was a mild-mannered barber in Seligman,
Arizona, the town where he was born. In the 1980s, Interstate
40 bypassed the road running through his town, virtually stopping
traffic dead. His, and most businesses suffered to the point
he considered moving. When his children protested leaving
their schools and friends, Angel came up with another plan.
He and a dozen others organized the Historic Route 66 Association,
named after that "little road" that ran through town. In less
than a year it had been named an historic highway, interest
was renewed in traveling it . . .and the rest is history.
Today, not only do people come from all over the world to
see the famous Main Street of America, they come to see Angel,
the Barber of Seligman . . . the angel of Route 66.
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Grace Frederick |
Grace
Frederick / Broadcast pioneer
(Air date: July 1, 2002)
A New York native who fell in love with Arizona, Frederick
was one of, if the THE, first woman on television. She was
a Broadway actress, a renowned photographer, and a builder
of sets for many of the groundbreaking live television productions
like the Ed Sullivan Show. After moving to Cave Creek in the
1960s, she dedicated herself to collecting broadcasting and
fashion memorabilia. Today she is building her own museum,
dedicated to telling the story of the history of the United
States and featuring her own lifelong collection of artifacts.
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Calvin Goode |
Calvin
Goode / Phoenix community leader
(Air date: July 8, 2002)
An accountant by profession, Calvin Goode is best known
as the first African-American Phoenix City Councilman. Serving
on the council for 22 years, his greatest concerns were education
and safe, affordable housing for his community. In "retirement"
he spends four hours a day, five days a week at his old high
school, which is now the George Washington Carver Museum and
Cultural Center, working to preserve the history of his African-American
community in Phoenix.
Hal
Empie / Tubac artist
(Air date: July 15, 2002)
An artist and cartoonist, Hal Empie became the pharmacist
for the Duncan Drug Store in 1934. Over the next 47 years,
Empie transformed his store in the tiny southeastern Arizona
town into the Art Gallery Drug. While fulfilling the town's
pharmaceutical needs, Empie also captured the scenes of the
people and land of Arizona in his paintings. His work became
nationally respected through publication in Arizona Highways,
American Artist, and Life magazines. A devastating flood in
the early 1980s destroyed the town of Duncan and the Art Gallery
Drug, but 92-year-old Empie continues to paint in his studio
in Tubac.
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Old
Trails Museum, Winsow |
Harvey
Girls / Railroad pioneers
(Air date: July 22, 2002)
Fred Harvey's chain of hotels served railroad passengers
as they traveled across the American West from the 1880s through
the 1950s. The women who worked at those hotels were known
as "Harvey Girls". Today, a group of retired Harvey Girls
in Winslow are preserving the history of this unique group
of women who found adventure and new lives in the West.
Winn
Bundy / Rancher & bookstore owner
(Air date: July 29, 2002)
This Benson rancher dreamed of being a librarian. And
that's what Winn Bundy's became, in her own unique way. A
few decades ago, she "borrowed" $600, bought a bunch of books,
displayed them in her living room and it just grew. Today
she has more than 150,000 titles spread out in several rooms
(still in her ranch house), has read most of the books, and
is known throughout the world as one of THE Arizona attractions.
Her collection is not the usual run-of-the-mill novels and
bestsellers. Hers is a look at women's history, true pioneer
life, witchcraft, and a look at some of the best gamblers
in Arizona history.
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Bill
Close |
Bill
Close / Phoenix broadcast pioneer
(Air date: August 5, 2002)
One of the pioneer broadcasters in Phoenix, Close set
the tone for journalistic integrity. He began his career in
radio but became the most popular and respected anchorman
in Phoenix during his 27 years on KOOL-TV. Close's life reflects
not only the growth of the Valley of the Sun, but also the
changing mood of a nation. He has fought being disabled (he
is a double amputee), becoming a leader in the news room,
and even confronted a deranged gun man during the five hours
he was held hostage on a news set. Close is also known for
his collection of hundreds of bola ties. Through his efforts,
the bola tie was named Arizona's official neckwear in the
1970s.
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Jeanne
Branson
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Jeanne
Branson / Parker pioneer
(Air date: August 26, 2002)
What does the woman whom was once billed as the world's
youngest wild animal trainer do when she's older and wants
to take life easier? If you're Jeanne Branson in 1946 you
buy land on what's now called the Parker Strip along the Colorado
River. Back in 1946 there was nothing . . . no water, no electricity.
Which suited Jeanne just fine. But, she says, she opened her
mouth about it . . . and friends and strangers came out west
to see this primitive land . . . and today it is indeed a
destination point. At 82, Jeanne is still going strong, still
running her motel/RV Park, and still as active in community
affairs as ever.
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Mary
Thomas |
Mary
Thomas / Gila River Indian Community leader
(Air date: September 9, 2002)
She grew up in an adobe home in Sacaton, spent two decades
working for the U.S. Postal Service, and became the first
woman Governor of the Gila River Pima Maricopa Indian Community.
As Governor, Mary Thomas led her community during the 1990s
when the tribe began operating their first casinos, generating
income to improve education, health care, jobs, and housing
for her people.
Bob
McCall / Space artist
(Air date: September 16, 2002)
A man who truly lives his days . . . "Out of this World".
This Paradise Valley resident is America's most respected
space artist. He has spent much of his career interpreting
NASA's space program on canvas . . . and speculating not only
on what other worlds might look like, but the distant future
of our own. His works including the 6-story mural at the National
Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and a 19- by 60-foot
canvas at the Disney Epcot Center. Many of McCall's original
art works will have a permanent home at his museum at the
Challenger Space Center in Peoria, Arizona.
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