Howard Pyle, Governor

Arizona starts the brave, new year with a new governor-Howard Pyle-who has, among others, two distinctions: being the youngest governor ever to take office in this state and being a Republican. It is in no way betraying a confidence when we point out that Arizona is a Democratic state, but laying aside all reference to such mundane subjects as political affiliations, whether Republican or Democrat, you have to admit our new governor is a darned nice guy. He's an easy subject to write about because his private life has been so full of achievements and his own has been such a distinguished career you do not have to dig deep to find nice things to say about him. Our several subscribers who live in Russia (how such an arrogantly capitalistic journal as ARIZONA HIGHWAYS seeps through the iron curtain is always a source of wonderment to us), our many subscribers in England, India, Australia, Germany, Canada, and our scattered subscribers in such isolated and fascinating places as Cyprus, Iran, Ethiopia, Burma, Borneo and the Fiji Islands can hear our governor next Easter morning narrating the world-famed Easter Sunrise Services at Grand Canyon, a beautiful and solemn religious service broadcast throughout the world by NBC. He originated this broadcast seventeen years ago. Each year he produces and narrates it so that it has become one of the major annual world radio presentations. He will continue this program as governor, as he will also continue his vivid descriptions of the Pow Wow at Flagstaff each Fourth of July.

He added to his stature as a personality in radio during World War II. In 1945 he was commissioned to do a series of broadcasts from the World Security Conference in San Francisco, a notable success for himself as an announcer and interpreter of world conditions, and then he served in the Pacific as a war correspondent, interviewing Arizonans in the services, and giving the world dramatic radio coverage of some of the notable events in the Pacific operations. Millions of radio listeners throughout the world thrill to Howard Pyle's description of Easter Sunrise at Grand Canyon. As governor he will continue narrations of this inspiring event.