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Recent Articles from Susan Olberding
Whist: Rules for Women in the 1890s
Whist, a precursor to the card game bridge, was taken seriously enough in Holbrook to have rules — specifically for women — printed in the local newspaper in the mid 1890s.
The ‘Hart’ of Hart Prairie
On the western slopes of the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff is a beautiful area known as Hart Prairie. Its 8,500-foot elevation suggests short summers and long, cold winters, but surprisingly; it was one of the first areas around Flagstaff to be homesteaded because of its lush grasses, bountiful timber and readily available water.
Brief rise and fall of the Arizona Cattle Company
Hidden behind buildings and a school playground along busy Highway 180 in Flagstaff is one of the few remaining historic barns in Arizona. If the walls could talk, they would tell of the ranching life in the 1880s and the quick rise and fall of its probable builders, the Arizona Cattle Company.
UN rights experts criticize Arizona law
Six U.N. human rights experts say a new law on illegal immigration in Arizona could violate international standards that are binding in the U.S.
Times Past: Campfire Comrades
Evenings spent around a campfire often warm the body. The fire glow can also warm the soul as friendships are formed and deepened. In some cases, romances start, business pacts are arranged and plots are hatched. Three memorable campfires, with lasting impact to Arizona, are recalled here.
Fiorello La Guardia’s Arizona connection
A man widely recognized for making sweeping changes in labor conditions as part of his work as New York City mayor may have held a small Arizona town in higher regard than The Big Apple.
Highway of History
Travelers driving on U.S. Highway 180 (aka Fort Valley Road) near Flagstaff are greeted with a mix of rustic-looking buildings, wooden cattle fences and open space as the road carves a route through the ponderosa pine forest. While the times have changed, the panoramas that gripped homesteaders in the 1880s and influenced the historic road's route still amaze.
NAU’s George Washington connection
George Washington assumed command of the Continental Army under an Ulmus Americana Elm tree in Cambridge, Mass., on July 3, 1775. The tree died in October 1923, but foresighted botanists made sure its legacy lived on at universities across the United States, including the campus at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.
Flagstaff’s early opposition to Forest Reserves
"Hell and another Forest Reserve has been created at Flagstaff." This phrase greeted Fred S. Breen in August, 1898, at the railroad stop in Laury Junction, N.M. Breen was en route to report as supervisor of the Prescott Forest Reserve in Arizona, but was intercepted by U.S. Forest Service Superintendent John D. Benedict, who rerouted Breen to Flagstaff.
Wanted: 10 Explorers!
During the summer of 1933, a scientific reconnaissance project, "Rainbow Bridge/Monument Valley Expedition" (RBMVE) began in the remote reaches of northeastern Arizona. The idea was conceived by Ansel Franklin Hall of the National Park Service, following a suggestion by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes.
A century of weather
Early U.S. Forest Service (USFS) scientists assigned to study the northern Arizona forests realized the importance of climate when it comes to the life of trees. One of the first tasks researchers undertook was to establish weather-recording equipment at the nation's first USFS forest research site at Fort Valley, near Flagstaff.
San Francisco Mountain Boulevard Co.
Flagstaff hotel owner John W. Weatherford envisioned a toll road from Flagstaff up to the timberline of the San Francisco Peaks; similar to the road up Pikes Peak in Colorado.
