Tag Archives: Educational

Jim Turner – Historian & Public Speaker

Jim Turner, recently retired from the Arizona Historical Society, is a professional Arizona historian, author, and public speaker whose talks both educate & entertain a range of audiences: retirees, teachers, service clubs and professional & business conferences & conventions. His range of knowledge and informative talks also include broader subjects, such as Southwestern and Mexican history. … Continue reading

Send Some Apaches To New York. That’ll Show ‘Em!

Like so many others, I enjoy local histories. Understanding history is how I get a sense of the places and people I visit as I travel around Baja Arizona creating my videos, photographs, stories, and reviews to share with you on my Southern Arizona Guide. Of late, I have been reading extensively about the Apache [...]

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To The Sky Center & Outer Space!

Kitt Peak observable gallaxies

Last April (2011), about 10 of us went up to Kitt Peak for the Night Observation Program. For $48 each, we got about a five-hour program that included a very interesting lecture (with slides) on astronomy, a box “dinner” with chips, an apple, and a stale sandwich, and a few hours observing the heavens through [...]

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The Apache Wars: A Timeline.

Apache Pass as viewed from Ft. Bowie today.

The saga of the Apache Wars is both complex and compelling. For over a quarter century, hundreds of ambushes, raids, massacres, and full-fledged military battles occurred over a huge, rugged, and diverse landscape. The wars involved hundreds of notable participants. The following is the merest of highlights to help you get your mind around the amazing history of many places you can visit here.

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Why The Apaches Were Defeated

Geronimo, 2 sons and nephew

The Apaches lost their wars against the Mexicans and Americans for six basic reasons.

First, the Apaches were hopelessly outnumbered. When an Apache chief, such as Cochise, lost a warrior in battle, there was no replacement until one of the younger boys grew up and became a warrior. All an American or Mexican military officer usually had to do when he lost men was call for readily available replacements. It was a war of attrition.

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Could The Apache Wars Have Been Avoided?

Could these devastating wars have been avoided? The short answer is “NO!” Given the inevitability of the White Man’s massive western migration; and the Apache’s understandably powerful desire to hold on to their ancestral lands, brutal conflict was unavoidable.

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Geronimo’s Autobiography – Excerpts From His 1905 Book

Geronimo age 74, a celebrity

(Italics are my comments to assist readers in understanding the fuller context. jg) DEDICATORY Geronimo: The True Story of America’s Most Ferocious Warrior Because he has given me permission to tell my story; because he has read that story and knows I try to speak the truth; because I believe that he is fair-minded and will cause my people to receive justice in the future; and because he is chief of a great people, I dedicate this story of my life to Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States.                   Geronimo. (Over many months in 1905, Geronimo told is life story to S.M. Barrett. Barrett transcribed Geronimo’s spoken words into English with the help of an interpreter who Geronimo trusted.)  INTRODUCTORY S.  M.  Barrett: 1905 Early in October I secured the services of an educated Indian, Asa Deklugie, son of Juh (pronounced Ho or sometimes Whoa), chief of the Nedni Apaches, … Continue reading

Saguaro National Park West – Bajada Loop Drive

Saguaro Nat'l Park West

This back road is one of our favorites, partly because it’s practically in our back yard and because it’s so indicative of the Sonoran Desert. Here in Saguaro National Park West you will be driving through a forest of giant Saguaros. And, within an easy quarter mile hike, you can get up close and personal with ancient Hohokam petroglyphs. From Tucson, take Speedway west from the I-10 Freeway (A). After a few miles, Speedway merges with Gates Pass Road which takes you over the Pass, down the other side (steep) and eventually to Kinney Road. At Kinney Road, you’ll see a sign for the Desert Museum. Turn right and head for the Desert Museum. Two miles past the Desert Museum is the Red Hills Visitors Center (B). Park and go in. Watch the brief orientation movie, get a map, and ask the Park Ranger or docent about current road conditions … Continue reading

Bird Cage Theater – Tombstone

Bird-Cage1

Bill Hunley is the manager of the Bird Cage Theater, Tombstone’s most notorious saloon, gambling hall, and house of ill-repute. It’s been in his family since the 1930′s. The Bird Cage is now a museum, but what an extraordinary museum it is. Watch the video to get a glimpse.

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AHS Fort Lowell Museum

Ft-Lowell-Exterior-thumb

The Fort Lowell Museum is located in the reconstructed Commanding Officer’s quarters of Old Fort Lowell, originally established in 1873. The museum features exhibits about military life on the Arizona frontier with particular emphasis on the Apache Wars.

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AHS Tucson History Museum

AHS-Downtown

The Arizona Historical Society’s Tucson History Museum is about life in early Tucson. This is a small but very worthwhile museum if you want to understand the history and cultural heritage of Tucson.

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AHS Arizona History Museum

AHS Julia

The Arizona History Museum’s focus is Southern Arizona history from Spanish colonial through territorial eras. Exhibit topics include mining and transportation. The Arizona’s Treasures exhibit features Geronimo’s rifle and 18th-century Spanish silver artifacts.

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Bisbee Mining & Historical Museum

Bisbee Historical Museum

Copper, lots of copper, once made Bisbee the biggest, most prosperous city between St. Louis and San Francisco. The Director of the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, a long-time resident, shares her sense of this grand city of the Old West. Visiting Bisbee is like going back in time more than a hundred years.

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