LETTERS & E-MAIL

{letters & e-mail} San Xavier Artwork

Wow! The article titled “The Hidden Artwork of Mission San Xavier” (October '03) is an absolute masterpiece. The combination of vivid photography and extremely informative text must be considered one of your finest accomplishments. I have been an avid reader of Arizona Highways for 25 years, and I cannot remember having been so moved by an article. Bernard L. Fontana and Edward McCain should be highly congratulated for their efforts. As a southern Arizona resident, I consider San Xavier to be a very special place. Your article certainly does it justice.

The incredible beauty of the photographs of Mission San Xavier filled us with wonder. We visited this treasure in 2001, but the photographs and history of the mission and its artwork are so spectacular, we want to visit again.

In the late 1920s, I lived in Tucson. In 1927 and 1928, a highlight was when my father took me to the old Mission San Xavier. Believe it or not, it was in total ruin. I used to crawl up to the top of the tower on a rickety wooden ladder. We would take our lunch and spend the day around the mission. Thus “The Hidden Artwork of Mission San Xavier” was a great reading experience for me. It is hard for me to believe that the old weathered mission of 1928 has been restored to its present elegance. I must return for a visit.

The October 2003 issue just arrived, and already it has rated a place on my shelf with past “collectors' editions” on turquoise, pottery, jewelry, rugs, kachinas and a few others that I have enshrined over the years. “The Hidden Artwork of San Xavier” is unique.

My family and I started traveling throughout Arizona in the 1920s. We have covered your state like a blanket. Your article and pictures on Mission San Xavier, in my mind, are the best that you have ever printed.

Usually we do not publish so many letters on the same topic, but the mail on this story was voluminous. We thought the letters should reflect the reaction.

Passed Around

Arizona Highways is well read in New Plymouth. It does the rounds of friends, then ends up with other friends who have a bed and breakfast at Oakura, on the Surf Highway, where it is enjoyed by many people from various parts of New Zealand as well as overseas visitors. Can't think of a better gift to send people who like travel, as your photographs make one yearn for more distant shores.

E-mail Newsletter

I just read the “Off-ramp Newsletter” you e-mailed to me and thoroughly enjoyed it. I will look forward to future issues. We have built a home in Mesa and plan to move there permanently sometime in 2004. Your articles will provide good “roaming” material when we get there.

For those who haven't found it yet, we have started a free monthly e-mail newsletter. You can subscribe by going to our Web site at arizonahighways.com.

Poor Ol' Editor

I feel sorry for the poor ol' editor. I faithfully read letters to the editor every month. You certainly get a variety of kudos and admonishments. You probably tiptoe over eggs and hot coals as you put together your articles each month.

We all know that it's not possible to satisfy everyone all of the time. If I see an article that doesn't interest me, I simply skip past it, because there's always something interesting in the ensuing pages. Keep up the good work and keep smiling.

Revitalized

Craig Childs' article, “Dwelling in the Cliffs” (October '03), was beautifully written. I felt as if I were walking with him and experiencing the wonder of being where earlier man lived, moved and breathed. The photographs of the people of Sonora, in “Sonora, AZ: Slow Death of a Small Town,” told a thousand tales. And, as usual, I got a chuckle from your “Humor.”

Gentle Monster

I have been a resident of Arizona for more than 50 years now. I know of the Mogollon Monster (“In Search of the Mogollon Monster,” “Taking the Offramp,” October '03) from the late '50s, and I'm sure the legend is older than that.

Every summer, my Scout Troop No. 223 would go to Camp Geronimo on the Rim for one or two weeks. The Mogollon Monster resides somewhere in that area. I have seen plaster casts of its footprints in the lodge at Camp Geronimo. I have heard many stories about it, but I have never heard of it hurting any human. I don't believe it's capable of that act. It's a friend of the forest and the creatures that live there, both man and animal. I think any Scout will attest to that.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS

MARCH 2004 VOL. 80, NO. 3