History Discussions Preserved for All Time

History Discussions Preserved for All Time
Podcasts & Symposiums
By LeeAnn Sharpe
October 14, 2007

Have you ever missed a great event and wished you could have been there? A noted author or historian speaks and you have a conflict in schedule and missed the talk. Or a gathering across the country that it’s not economically effective to attend, but how you would love to have heard the lecture.

Technology seems to be a double edged sword for most of us who feel an affinity to history. Where the life of a turn of the 19th century citizen seems more in line with my state of mind, technology does make research of history and the sharing of information so much easier. Once travel was required to hear and see exhibits, now many are online and more accessible than ever. Podcasts are a wonderful way to slip into events far away to get insight and perhaps plan your travel in the future to sites that truly fit your desires.

A MySpace friend who lives in Indiana turned me on to http://www.eiteljorg.org the Eiteljorg Museum of Native Americans and Western Art. Exploring their site I found numerous podcasts of interest.


Seminars on Video

Saturday I spent the day at the Sharlot Hall Museum’s 4th Annual Western History Symposium. They had 2 sessions going simultaneously hourly all day long. Luckily they videotaped the sessions and they will be available in the museum archives.

The subjects I enjoyed included “The Pleasant Valley War” by Lee Hanchett and Fred Veil. I was curious because I have personally encountered re-enactors who are willing to come to blows over the debate about this subject that took place over a hundred years ago. Hanchett and Veil provided a more civil opportunity to examine each side of the history. Basically about 19 people ended up murdered and the one person left standing after the many conflicts though tried and convicted was let go on a technicality and not retried. The audience agreed it was the OJ of another era.

“Shady Women and “Respectability” in Arizona Territory” by Dr. Ann Hibner Koblitz was an interesting presentation looking at prostitution and notions of respectability in Territorial Arizona. It was a topic that could be explored so much more than a one hour discussion. I will be interested to read Dr. Koblitz’s upcoming book “Sex and Herbs and Birth Control.” The audience was amazed at some of the interesting methods of birth control and general acceptance the ladies of the evening often enjoyed in territorial society. Even recent history demonstrated a town came into its own when the shady ladies arrived.

I especially enjoyed Ed Hulse’s “Filming the West of Zane Grey”. While everyone is familiar with Zane Grey stories, I never realized which and how many had been used in the movies. Starting with silent films through modern day Grey commanded record-breaking bucks for his day. And his stories, often told in remote Arizona locations, projected his romantic vision of the west to millions of viewer world wide. Ed’s presentation was exciting and definitely will have me looking at his collection of books he’s written about film subjects.

Unfortunately we had to leave a little before the end of “The Amateur Theatre in Prescott, 1868 -1895” delightfully presented by Dr. Tom Collins and his female associate Jody Drake, Director of the Museum’s Blue Rose Theatre. They preformed a delightful reading of the show bills and reviews.
Sessions I was unable to attend but will be in the archives include “Arizona in the Civil War” by Al Bates. I was very sorry to have missed this session as I am very interested in his topic. The terrible war that was fought between the States in the 1860s took place largely east of the Mississippi River. To Civil War buffs, the part of the war that was carried out in the West was just a short-lived side-show. But to the people of Arizona it was real and often deadly. Military forts were abandoned when U.S. Army units stationed there went to the Eastern theatre causing the Apache Indians to unleash an unprecedented campaign of attacks on settlers which, in turn, resulted in the abandonment of farms and ranches and even once-thriving communities such as Tubac. Al is currently working on a biography of Jack Swilling.

“Big River and Sacred Mountains in the 1850’s: Exploring Grand Canyon Country Before Powell” by speaker Dr. Andrew Wallace discussed the 1851 expedition of Captain Lorenzo Sitgreaves as he set out to explore and map the southern portion of the Four Corners region of the Southwest.
“The Lewis and Clark Expedition” talk given by Todd Weber brings to life the characters and events of American history pertaining to the history of Lewis and Clark, the American mountain men, the Oregon Trail, and John Wesley Powell and other river explorers of the Grand Canyon. For the Lewis and Clark bicentennial of 2004-2006 Todd was on the Columbia River on board the Queen of the West as historian for the American West Steamboat Company sharing his appreciation for the stamina, ingenuity, and character that existed in those who helped shape the history of the region. His period clothing and colorful collection add to his presentations, making them visual and memorable.
When Fred Veil, a long time resident of Prescott was asked if he minded the increase in population he commented, “It brings its share of problems, but it also means more interesting activities.” Prescott has reached the age now where so many learned and successful people are retiring in the area, all of society is reaping the benefits. Volunteers and programs have blossomed as prolifically as the museum’s rose garden flowers.

Sharlot Hall Museum has acquired space across the street in the modern Granite Creek Center for a bright and spacious research library. The addition will be welcomed by researchers pale from years of being sequestered in the dark.
If you have not had the opportunity to visit the Sharlot Hall Museum, be sure to add it to your next trip to Prescott. Just a couple of blocks off the town square, it’s a delightful place to just