Several months ago, Marsha Arzberger asked me to take a look at her soon-to-be-published book, One Hundred Sixty Acres of Dirt, and comment upon it. I did so, and what I wrote has been published in that book. Back then, I wrote:

One Hundred Sixty Acres of Dirt is the story of pioneers at the turn of the last century who made their way from Kansas to the Sulphur Springs Valley in Southern Arizona. Fourteen families arrived by train with all their possessions, to a land that was free to homesteaders. But they had to work the land and make it prosperous to gain full title. So they staked their claims each on a quarter section of the land, one hundred and sixty acres, thus the title of this fascinating book.

Marsha Arzberger’s stories reveal the hardships and struggles and hopes of the families as they cultivated the land.

Ms. Arzberger writes in vignettes, short stories that reveal the tenacity and unbounded optimism that characterize the settlers in a forbidding land. Amazingly, many made it and succeeded in making their claim to the free land.

For anyone interested in the history of Southern Arizona, One Hundred Sixty Acres of Dirt is a must-read because it is rich storytelling at its best. It follows the history of these families through several generations up until the present day.

One Hundred Sixty Acres of Dirt is a good read and I highly recommend it to you.

Jim Gressinger, Publisher
Southern Arizona Guide

Since I wrote this brief comment, Marsha advised me that the book will be published on March 9, 2021 and wanted me to relay that it can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, all online booksellers, retail store booksellers, and Morgan James Publishing. Online sellers have it listed now as a pre-order.

PS. The forward was written by Marshall Trimble, Official Arizona State Historian, the same fellow who wrote the forward to my book, Southern Arizona’s Extraordinary History.