PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION The Colorado River is a critical source of the West’s water supply, supporting 40 million people, nearly 6 million acres of agriculture, and tribes across seven states and portions of Mexico. At 1,450 miles long the Colorado River is the sixth longest river in the United States. The river flows through seven states […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION There are only eleven designated national scenic trails in the United States. Our Grand Canyon State has one of them—the Arizona National Scenic Trail! In this discussion, participants will have opportunities to: explore the history of the creation of Arizona’s greatest volunteer project; enhance their knowledge of Arizona’s diverse geography, animals, plants, and […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION April 2025 will mark Arizona Highways magazine’s 100th birthday. How did a brochure produced by the Arizona Highway Department become one of the most revered travel publications in the world? How has Arizona Highways remained relevant for a century while other national magazines have failed? Former Arizona Highways Publisher, Win Holden, will share […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION There are only eleven designated national scenic trails in the United States. Our Grand Canyon State has one of them—the Arizona National Scenic Trail! In this discussion, participants will have opportunities to: explore the history of the creation of Arizona’s greatest volunteer project; enhance their knowledge of Arizona’s diverse geography, animals, plants, and […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION Arizona’s history is much more than Hollywood’s Wild West stereotypes of cowboys, lawmen, and outlaws. In addition to miners, merchants, and ranchers, the area attracted faith-based farmers, health seekers, and women entrepreneurs of many creeds and cultures, including a Greco-Syrian camel driver. This presentation describes Arizona history’s notables and notorious characters from common […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION The stories of trading posts in the Southwest are a unique snapshot of life almost one hundred years ago. In the early 1900’s, trading posts in the Four corners flourished. There were over one hundred trading posts on the plateau, but today only five remain. Why did they vanish? The challenges and unexpected […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION This presentation traces the lives of two women Holocaust survivors who both grew up in traditional Jewish families in Bedzin, Poland and later became residents of Arizona: Jane Lipski (Tucson) and Doris Martin (Flagstaff). They managed to survive the Nazi onslaught as adolescent girls. While Jane was able to escape the ghetto and […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION Today, women’s ability to control their reproduction through use of contraception is taken for granted. But this is a fairly recent phenomenon. Birth control was illegal in the U.S. until 1936. Before birth control was legalized, a lively birth control movement developed in Arizona,initiated by Margaret Sanger and volunteers in Tucson and Phoenix. […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION There’s nothing like standing under a dark, star-spangled night sky to quiet the mind and reduce stress, share an experience of awe with family and friends, and to inspire creative thoughts. Yet such dark skies are a disappearing resource, with only 20% of the world living in a place where the center of […]

PRESENTATION DESCRIPTION Many Arizonans call the Sonoran Desert and its striking landscapes home. Long before our urban centers and city lights lit up the dark desert skies, the Tohono O’odham were cultivating and shaping the land with abundant agriculture—from squash and beans to corn and cotton. For generations they passed down their rich knowledge and […]