Stories
Artfully decorated pots hold clue to vital mystery
Archaeologists delight Payson audience with visually enchanting clues to the rise and fall of civilizations
A world of triumph, tragedy and surprising complexity can be assembled from the puzzle of shattered pots bearing images of lighting bolts, demons, dancers and mysterious symbols, Allen Dart told the rapt members of the Rim Country Archaeology Society at a recent meeting. He offered a glimpse of 2,000 years of innovation, economic evolution, invasion, religious turmoil, triumph and disaster through the brilliantly crafted, creatively unique pottery styles developed by the Hohokam civilization.
Easy, memorable spring recipes
Spring is here and there are plenty of reasons to celebrate — Easter has just passed, but Mother’s Day is a little more than a month away; graduations are coming up; with June come weddings, so in advance of that, there will be bridal showers and more. Each celebration creates its own special memories.
Good 2 Go
Attention adult women. Did you ever want to learn how to shoot skeet, or paddle a canoe? Would you like to learn how to present a fly to rising trout? Maybe you would like to try archery or Dutch oven cooking. Do you have a fear of heights? Sign up for the rappelling class and conquer it! The April 2012 Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) workshop is now accepting registrations.
Getaway Around Rim Country
Mount Cross Lutheran Church is holding an auction to raise funds for a new building and its after-school program. The event will be Saturday, April 14.
Fort Verde State Historic Park to honor veterans
Fort Verde State Historic Park will hold its annual “History of the Soldier” event April 14-15 in Camp Verde. The event offers visitors a living history timeline of military and civilian encampments up to the present day. Through “Living History” interpretations, all military eras will be honored for the dedication, commitment and sacrifice of military men and women in the Armed Forces. Activities will include flag raising ceremonies, living history presentations and special memorial services as well as the drill calls, colors and retreat all performed as part of the event.
Paris and France
France is the largest country in the European Union and covers from the North Sea down to the Mediterranean. It features high mountains — including Mont Blanc, which is Western Europe’s highest point — and the lowlands with rivers, farms and villages and towns. It has a representative government with the President as its head. The capital city is Paris. France has an advanced industrial economy and a robust farm sector. Main activities include automobile manufacture, aerospace, information technology, electronics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals and fashion.
More than 20 artists to participate in open studio tour
The doors to the inner sanctums of Rim Country artists will be opened to residents and visitors the weekend of May 4, 5 and 6. That is the weekend of the annual Payson Art League ’Neath the Rim Open Studio Tour. The studios will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and maps to the sites we be mailed in the brochure PAL is printing for the event. These will also be available at the Rim Country Regional Chamber of Commerce and at the libraries in Payson and Pine. The weekend of the tour, there will be directional signs posted as well.
1940 Census
On April 2 the 1940 census was released to the public after a mandatory 72-year waiting period. Censuses are a treasure trove of information for historians and genealogists. Not only are people’s names recorded, but a number of other questions are asked and answered, including place of birth and occupation. The 1940 census also asked people where they were five years before; a timely question given the migration that occurred during the 1930s due to the Great Depression. Plenty of other information was collected which sheds further light on the lives of Americans in 1940.
Whooping cough makes an unwelcome return
The doctor said the cough would go away. He put him on antibiotics, but he said they wouldn’t shorten the cough. Why did he give them to him? Isn’t whooping cough a thing of the past, and wasn’t it a children’s disease?
Hiking the Barnhardt Trail — you can never see everything it offers
Stepping out of my Jeep, at the parking area at the beginning of the Barnhardt trailhead, I shield my eyes from the bright morning sunlight five miles up a rutted dirt road, leading up from Highway 87. Cactus and stands of juniper crowd together on the mesa, jockeying for space in the rocky soil beneath a hazy, blue sky. My companions, all members of the Payson Packers, have been here before, but we keep coming back because we know this four-mile trail never disappoints.
