How to be immersed in the history of Phoenix, Arizona


When it comes to history, I hate simple answers. I am distrustful of any information that can fit in the caption of a photo, or in a brochure, or on a postcard. And in a longish life I've realized that it isn't always that the information is intentionally meant to mislead, it's just kind'a the nature of trying to condense a complex subject into a sentence or two that tends to garble it all up.

I don't like condensing. I don't like abridgments. I'm not interested in the "Cliff Notes" version of history. And yes, I'm willing to pay the price. I read. A lot.

If you're familiar with the phrase TLDR (too long didn't read) you know that for many people looking at a lot of information just discourages them. Who has time for that? Well, I do. And I have all of my life. And if I may, I'd like to take a moment to thank my third grade teacher at Northrop Elementary School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jeanne Jensen, who taught, and encouraged me, to read. She opened up the world to me, and while she didn't make me immune to simplistic statements, she gave me the tools to resist them.

Whenever I've been curious about something, I immerse myself in it. Nowadays I'm learning more about Phoenix history. I'm paging through newspapers online that are provided by the Library of Congress. I'm reading Farish, and McClintock. I'm looking at old documents. I'm reading ebooks, which are available for free.

No, I'm not going to try to tell the history of Phoenix, Arizona here. That's exactly the point. But I've begun a journey of learning, and I will share a little bit of what I find here. And if it inspires you to immerse yourself, and learn more, that's great. But beware - I've found that the more I learn, the more I realize how much I have yet to learn, and how little I know, and sometimes I get kind'a nervous. I appreciate your traveling along with me, and I'll take all of the help and encouragement that I can get.

Image above: Hanging around Green the Hatter in the 1890s at the Fleming Building, northwest corner of Washington and 1st Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona. Image from the Library of Congress.

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