FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2025 Good Morning! On this day in 1912, President William Taft signed a bill to make Arizona the 48th state. See a photo here. Arizona was the last state admitted to the Union until the 1950s, when Alaska and Hawaii joined.  It’s Valentine’s Day in the Valentine State! While Arizona’s official nickname is […]

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2025 Good Morning! On this day in 1917, former Tucson teacher Ignacio Bonillas was named Mexican ambassador to the United States. One of the first Mexicans to graduate from an Arizona school, Bonillas can be seen in this portrait from 1939.  Today we’re featuring a touching story about a group of Queen […]

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2025 Good Morning! On this day in 1920, the fourth state legislature voted to ratify the U.S. Constitution’s 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. This photo shows a woman’s suffrage banner hanging in downtown Tucson circa 1914.  Did you see the mysterious lights over Arizona on Monday night? They were […]

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2025 Good Morning! On this day in 1821, John Ross Browne, an artist and author who wrote extensively about Arizona, was born in Dublin, Ireland. Click here to read excerpts from his book, Adventures in the Apache Country.  As the NFL season drew to a close yesterday with the Eagles defeating the […]

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2025 Good Morning! On this day in 1857, Greek camel driver Hadji Ali arrived in the U.S. with a shipload of camels to be used for Arizona’s first wagon transport. Ali became known as “Hi Jolly” due to the common mispronunciation of his name. Here’s a photo of Ali circa 1857. If you’re still […]

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2025 Good Morning! On this day in 1877, Tucson became Arizona’s first city, and the subsequent arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1880 solidified its footprint. See more history and photos here. Yesterday, we covered how Arizona’s first senator, Henry Ashurst, helped establish Northern Arizona University. Today, we offer a glimpse inside his […]

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2025 Good Morning! On this day in 1899, Henry Fountain Ashurst, the youngest member of the Territorial Legislature of Arizona, introduced a bill to create the Northern Arizona Normal School, known as Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff today. Here’s a photo of Ashurst.  There have been several lucky lottery wins across Arizona in recent […]

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2025 Good Morning! On this day in 1917, chapters from the Arizona Red Cross received word to start preparing for war. Here’s a photo of a typical Red Cross Health Center in Southern Arizona in the early part of the 20th century.   Did you know that while Arizona isn’t particularly known for […]

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2025 Good Morning! On this day in 1932, Gordon Sawyer, the vice president of Southern Arizona Bank in Tucson, was kidnapped. Sawyer’s abductor, Clayton Adkins, kept him in a dry well and demanded a $60,000 ransom. Instead, Sawyer was rescued days later, and Adkins was sentenced to life in prison. In this photo, […]

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2025 Good Morning! On this day in 1918, Arizona flour mills began making extra barley and corn flour to conserve wheat after Washington D.C. officials urged the country to save food to help win World War I. Here’s a photo of the Eagle Mills company in Tucson during that time period.  Speaking […]