AZDana

Archive for the ‘Arizona History’ Category

If you lived in Arizona in the 60s and 70s, you know who Acquanetta was, but what else do you know about her?

Did you know that Universal Studios nicknamed her “The Venezuelan Volcano”, but her birth name was Mildred Davenport. She was born in Ozone, Wyoming in 1921 and passed away in 2004 in Arizona. She appeared in several B movies before marrying Jack Ross and giving up her career to appear in commercials for Ross’ car dealerships.

I remember Jack Ross would give away Acquanetta deals with every purchase of a Lincoln or a Mercury. I wonder if the dolls ever show up on ebay?

Many people don’t know that Arizona is one of two states that don’t “spring ahead” or “fall back”. Back in the early 70s, the federal government tried to pass DST as a mandate intended to save energy. However, Arizona officials, including Governor Jack Williams, campaigned to obtain an exemption for Arizona. Gov. Williams maintained that switching to daylight-saving time would trade an hour of low energy use in the morning for an hour of higher energy use in the evening. The exemption was approved on Jan. 4, 1974, two days before the mandate kicked in.
Since then, there hasn’t been any serious effort to get Arizona on daylight saving time.

We’ve all seen the scenes in old western movies. A card player squints, looks around, then tosses a fistful of poker chips into the middle of the card table. A desperado, seated across from him, accuses him of hiding aces up his sleeve and they both slap leather with guns a blazing.

I had thought that it was a common occurrence to fight over poker and other card games. As a matter of fact, I always thought that the Gunfight at O.K. Corral was over a poker game, but apparently I’m wrong. One site even says it was due to politics and other ideological factors.

Sigh. Another legend bites the dust. How disappointing. Well, I can still cling to the legend about Wild Bill Hickok. The story goes that when he was murdered, he was playing five card draw and had a two-pair hand, of “aces and eights.” Since his death, this has become known as the dead man’s hand. I wonder what it was called before he was shot to death?

I think one of the best parts about Arizona and the west are the stories associated with settling the area. Let’s face it, the area was wild and barbaric and so were some of the people that tried to tame it. I am fascinated by these true tales of adventure in the American west but I have to advise that they are not politically correct. Also, there is some violent content that may not be suitable for all. However, I think that it’s important to remember our past and recognize it for what it was but that doesn’t mean we condone what happened.

You can read what happened in Tombstone in the true story “Western Terrors, Who Kill Three Men, Wound a Woman and Ride Off With Twelve Hundred Dollars Booty.” Written in 1883, this item provides a fascinating glimpse into the past. There are tons of stories like this at the site as well as historical pictures. The site discusses other western states as well and you can even sort by location. For me, when I visit Bisbee or Tombstone, if I know some of historic events that happened there, it adds an extra dimension to my trip.

Governor, I don’t agree with a lot of what you do, but I respect you for the office you hold. However, I have just uncovered something that is shocking and beyond the pale. I don’t think it’s a cause for alarm, but I found out that the official State Song of Arizona has been removed from the governor’s site. Yeah, you can find it on Jan Brewer’s site, but who in the world thinks to look there? Don’t get me wrong, I have no quarrel with Jan, but I’m not sure that anyone goes to her site unless its the day after an election.

I’m thinking of starting a campaign to get the song back on the official site where it belongs, but then again, do people even know what the lyrics are to the song? Do my friends and neighbors even know the difference between the official song and other pretenders to the title? I’m worried that some people may think that the state theme song could be “By the Time I Get to Phoenix”.

Just for the record, here is the first stanza of the offficial Arizona state song, written in 1915 by Margaret Rowe Clifford:

If you notice, Ol’ Margaret may have had her finger on the pulse of the future of Arizona. I think that “And the sons of men are blazing, Their priceless right of way” is a perfect description of rush hour on the Northbound 101.

Okay, I wanted to post this yesterday because it was AZ’s birthday, so I hope no one minds the belated trivia:

The official Arizona state tree is the Palo Verde. That kind of surprises me, I would’ve guessed its the Ocotillo. Then again, maybe Ocotillos aren’t trees?

The state flower is the saguaro cactus bloom. I’m not complaining per se, but how can anyone see the top of a saguaro to enjoy the flower? Saguaros are the largest cactus in the U.S., and they can grow up to a height of fifty feet. I wish they would’ve chosen the flower of the prickly pear cactus, because then no one would have to climb a ladder to see the state flower.

The official state gemstone is Turquoise. Now, that’s a SMART choice! I really like turquoise, I just wish it was a bit easier to spell. If you’re wondering which came first, the word, or the rock, Wiki says the name originated in Turkey in the 16th century because of the trading at Turkish bazaars to Venetian merchants who took it to Europe. I still wonder what the Europeans called that particular shade before they actually saw the rock?

Here’s an interesting side bit of trivia: During the 70s, turquoise jewelry was very popular, and a lot of places sold jewelry that supposedly had turquoise chips as the focal point. But many consumers didn’t know that those “turquoise” chips were actually plastic bread bag closing tabs that had been chopped up and embedded in the ring.

I don’t know if that’s still being done, but I’ve recently heard of dishonest sellers soaking inferior grade turquoise in blue toilet bowl cleaner, like Ty-D-Bowl. Supposedly, if you soak the rock overnight in the stuff, the rock is much bluer and commands a much higher price. I don’t know about other people, but I prefer to make an honest dollar instead of soaking stuff in buckets.

Today is Arizona’s “birthday”, it was admitted to the Union on Valentine’s Day 1912. It was the last of the contiguous states to be admitted, right after New Mexico.

Here’s a few fun facts about Arizona:

During World War II, there was a German POW camp located near Papago Park in Phoenix. At one point, the Germans got hold of a map of the area, saw the “Salt River” and decided to escape and take the river to Mexico. They didn’t know that the Salt River is dry 99 percent of the time and they were all returned to the camp after their unsuccessful attempt at freedom.

Speaking of Papago Park, the first governor of Arizona, George W.P. Hunt is buried beneath a small white pyramid, known as Hunt’s Tomb, on a hilltop in Papago Park. Wiki says the tomb is a minor tourist attraction, but I think that it’s been closed to the public for quite some time. But visitors to the Phoenix Zoo can see the pyramid quite clearly.

Arizona does NOT have a lieutenant governor, although there were rumblings to change that when then-Governor Evan Mecham was impeached in the late 1980s.

Arizona does not practice Daylight Savings Time. It may be confusing to the rest of the world, but I’m glad we don’t change our clocks around. After all, what would we do each summer with another hour of sunlight?