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Recent Articles from Joan Brundige-Baker
Trading Days in Canyon de Chelly
The S.E. (Sam) Day Sr. Trading Post was built at the turn of the century by Day and his sons near the spectacular canyon called Tse-ye (in the rock) by the Navajo and today known as Canyon de Chelly.
The McNary Railroad
This is steam locomotive No. 36 on the old McNary Railroad in the White Mountains. At the time of this photograph, the railroad had been converted to a scenic line that carried passengers from McNary to the logging town of Maverick, south of Baldy Peak, during the summer season. As many as 200,000 passengers made the trip during the years it was running.
Hoover Dam Construction
This photograph of Hoover Dam was probably taken about 1935 when construction of the dam was almost complete. It took five years – from 1931 to 1936 – to build what was then the largest concrete dam in the world. It was built in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, in northwestern Arizona on the border with Nevada.
Finding Mormon Lake
This is the post office and gas station at the little community of Mormon Lake, south of Flagstaff. Behind the building you can see what should be the lake. At the time of this photo in the 1940s, the lake apparently was dry – a condition that would come and go depending on weather. At various times, the lake bed was full of native grasses and was prime rangeland; at other times it was planted w[...]
Scarce Funding for 1920s Early Education
Every year that teacher Anne Tinsley taught kindergarten at Flagstaff’s Emerson School, the 40 or so members of her class got to visit the fire department and sit on the huge fire truck.
The Lakes Mary
Lake Mary, a man-made body of water, was created less than a year after a dam was built in a shallow valley south of Flagstaff. Remnants of a temporary sawmill and living quarters can be seen in this March 1905 photograph of the lake, which measured half a mile wide, 6 miles long and 28 feet deep.
Big Snow in Flagstaff
One of the biggest snowstorms in Flagstaff history began early on the morning of Dec. 30, 1915. During the subsequent 48 hours, 64 inches of snow fell on the town.
The Sunrise Choir
It was Easter of 1944 when the Arizona State Teachers College a capella choir, under the direction of Eldon Ardrey, stood at the chilly south rim of the Grand Canyon to perform in the annual Easter sunrise service and have this picture taken.
The Peshlakai Family of Wupatki
This photograph of a Christmas gathering was taken in 1935 on the grounds of the Wupatki National Monument north of Flagstaff. The family in the photograph is (from left) Sally Peshlakai, Etsidi Peshlakai (Sally’s father-in-law), Etsidi’s wife and their grandchildren.
The Washington Elm
On a rainy Wednesday, April 22, 1931, members of the Coconino Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution gathered together with Dr. Grady Gammage, president of Arizona State College (now Northern Arizona University) to plant an elm tree in honor of the bicentennial of George Washington’s birth.
Sedona’s First Post Office
This is the original Schnebly homestead on the banks of Oak Creek in what would become the town of Sedona.
La Posada Station Hotel, Winslow
The La Posada station hotel in Winslow was operated by concessionaire Fred Harvey, designed by architect and artist Mary Colter, and was one of the most expensive hotel projects undertaken by the Santa Fe Railroad. It was also one of the last of the southwest railroad hotels built as overnight stopovers on the Santa Fe line. (La Posada means resting place in Spanish.)
