Easter Lilies

WHAT'S NEW UNDER THE Arizona SUN

FUN IN THE SUN: The spring months are pretty busy in Arizona, with lots of things to see and lots of things to do. Spring in the desert is always a lot of fun and each year more and more people are joining the desert spring parade. In March, major league spring training will be busting out all over, with the Cleveland Indians in Tucson, the Chicago Cubs in Mesa and the New York Giants in Phoenix. In Mesa alone, during the month, there will be ten major league baseball games, with the Cubs playing not only the Giants and the Indians but the Chicago White Sox and the St. Louis Browns as well.Here are some other dates to put a ring around on your spring calendar: March 1-Phoenix Ski Club's Class C Giant Slalom Race, Arizona Sno Bowl, Flagstaff. March 1-31-Javelina Hunting Season, throughout Arizona. March 7-8-Maricopa Lapidary Society's Annual Gem Show, Armory, Phoenix. March 8-Dons Club Trek to Superstition Mountains in search of the Lost Dutchman Mine, Phoenix. March 20-22-World Championship Rodeo, Fairgrounds, Phoenix. March 26-28-Rawhide Roundup, Mesa. March 26-29-Annual Livestock Show, Tucson. April 4-5-Annual Rodeo, Douglas. April 5-Annual Easter Sunrise Service, to be nationally broadcast over NBC, Grand Canyon. April 5-6-Grand Council Conclave, Order of DeMolay, Tucson. April 6-10-Desert Caballeros Annual Ride, Wickenburg. April 10-18Tucson Festival of Arts, Tucson. April 14-19-Women's Trans Mississippi Golf Tournament, Arizona Country Club, Phoenix. April 22-26-First Annual Yuma County Fair, Yuma. May 1-2-Masque of the Yellow Moon, Montgomery Stadium, Phoenix. May 4-7-Las Damas Annual Ride, Wickenburg. May 5-La Fiesta de las Flores, naNational Mexican holiday celebra tion, Nogales, Arizona-Sonora.

NEIGHBORLY NOTES:

Arizona's new U. S. Senator, Barry Goldwater, has been a frequent contributor to these pages. He's one photographer who always managed to get off the beaten paths and into those places where, to use an old saying, "you have to swing in the last forty yards by grapevine." His record as U. S. Senator from our state will speakfor itself, but one thing sure as shooting, we'll bet he's the best photographer among that distinguished body of statesmen.

Las Vegas, Nevada, our interest-ing neighbor to the north, is quite a place. We recently read that there are now 3,500 night club seats in the town to keep the folks occupied at night when they have nothing else to do. What's more: they are mostly filled each and every night; so much so, that con-struction is soon to start on a new resort hotel and night club which will represent an investment of $9,000,000. Even in Nevada that ain't hay.

Lucius Beebe, famed New York columnist and author, is co-owner of the Territorial Enterprise and Virginia City News, Virginia City, Nevada. Just one of the many east-erners finding their way west!

THE HAPPY LAND

The component parts of a pretty picture may not in themselves possess attraction enough to halt the wandering glance. Fitted together, each of the parts adds its shred of beauty to the whole with the resulting composition pleasing and handsome.

Our desert is not essentially beautiful. It bristles with sharp points. Its plant forms are grotesque. Its colors are not bright. It has a harsh appearance that it has acquired by virtue of centuries of heat and aridity. Life is not easy on the desert. All living things therein simply to survive have had to develop rough exteriors and there is little gracious-ness in that very roughness.

Yet the desert, particularly in spring, can offer most attractive views. It responds gratefully to moisture, and if there have been rains in the early spring, the desert will carpet itself with lavish colors of spring flowers, and even the staid cactus and the other permanent plants will turn from gray-green to a brighter green, responding to the miracle of water.

The hills and mountains, purple and dreamy in the distance, add beauty to the picture as if painted in by an inspired artist. When billowy cloud castles form in the sky they dominate the scene, adding buoyancy and a joyous lightheartedness to the time and the place.

The bright sun plays tricks with the shadows; so that light itself is a vibrant quality adding depth to the scene and etching in sharp relief the intimate details which form the finished picture. Light is the adhesive which binds all parts of the scene together, giving pleasure to the beholder, exalting both the mind and spirit. On such a day as this, and in such a place, it is good to be alive, good to be able to be part of the happy land.-R.C.

SUNNY STATISTICS

(Continued): Arizona is not only the fastest growing state in the Union, but it also leads all others in percentage growth of income. Arizona's income between 1940 and 1951 showed a gain of 386 per cent followed by New Mexico, Texas, Florida, South Dakota, Oregon and South Carolina. Arizona led all states in growth of income during 1951 with a whopping 23 per cent gain, nearly double the national average of 12 per cent. In 1951, incidentally, was Arizona's first billion dollar year. The state's income was $1,151,000,000. Even in Arizona that ain't hay.

PEOPLE, PEOPLE, WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?

As we pointed out not long ago, Arizona is the fastest growing state in the Union. The majority of the newcomers to our state have settled in Maricopa, Pima, Pinal and Yuma Counties. During the past decade Maricopa County (Phoenix is the county seat) has gained about 200,000, bringing the county's population to an estimated 380,000 at the end of 1952. During the decade, Pima County (Tucson is the county seat) jumped from 72,676 to approximately 175,000 in population, and folks are still coming in almost faster'n you can count 'em.

SHADES OF THE OLD WEST:

The national archery champion, believe it or not, is a resident of Tempe, and the best five archers in the country are Arizonans. The noise you hear is the old two-gun desperados at Boothill Cemetery, Tombstone, turning over quietly in their graves.

COLOSSAL:

The Del Webb Construction Company of Phoenix, one of the largest and most progressive in the nation, is starting work on a new Arizona city. It is the city of San Manuel to serve workers at the new $100,000,000 San Manuel mine near Tiger and Mammoth. When work is completed, $21,000,ooo will have been spent to build a brand new community for 7,000 people. Of course, when Del Webb does anything he does it big.

OPPOSITE PAGE

"SPRINGTIME ON THE DESERT" BY NORTON LOUIS AVERY. The photographer says, "The fresh spring colors and the gorgeous sky formation were my challenge in making this picture near Willcox last April." Crown Graphic camera, Skopar lens, Ansco film in Graphic roll film adapter, 1/50th s. at f.10.

FRONT COVER

"EASTER LILIES" BY JOSEF MUENCH. All the striking beauty and delicate texture of this flower, so closely identified with the Easter Season, is brought out in the photograph. By carefully selecting the proper color in the background Mr. Muench captures completely every detail in the attractive flower group.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS LEGEND

"EASTER LILIES". FRONT COVER WE DEDICATE OUR FRONT COVER TO THE SEASON. JOSEPH MUENCH PHOTO.

HARRY OLIVER'S DESERT RAT SCRAP BOOK 4 IN WHICH WE INTRODUCE YOU TO A SALTY WESTERN EDITOR AND PAPER.

EASTER ON HORSEBACK 8 WICKENBURG RIDERS HOLD EASTER SERVICES FAR OUT IN THE DESERT.

CLOUDS 12 A LEARNED DISCUSSION OF CLOUDS WITH A SET OF CLOUD COLOR PHOTOS.

ARIZONA BOYS CHOIR. 30 SINGING, RIDING BOYS OF TUCSON PROVE AMBASSADORS OF GOOD WILL.

YOURS SINCERELY 36 A CORNER WITH THE POETS AND A FEW LETTERS OF INTEREST FROM READERS.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS is published monthly by the Arizona Highway Department a few miles north of the confluence of the Gila and Salt in Arizona. Address: ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, Phoenix, Arizona. $3.00 per year in U.S. and possessions; $3.50 elsewhere; 35 cents each. Entered as second-class matter Nov. 5, 1941 at Post Office in Phoenix, under Act of March 3, 1879. Copyrighted, 1953, by Arizona Highway Department.

Allow five weeks for change of addresses. Be sure to send in the old as well as new address.

MARCH WINDS

The month of March is noted for a number of things, including wind, income taxes and the portentous ides of which the soothsayer warned the arrogant Julius Caesar. The less said about taxes the better. They are high and inescapable. Caesar, of course, came to an unhappy end, and the world went merrily along without him. The winds of March are always with us and are always worth a paragraph or two because they vary in mood and manner and always do the unexpected.

They can be sharp-tempered and churlish, as if they, too, were unhappy about paying taxes. When these winds blow they are last, lingering reminders of winter and are best to be avoided. Then they can turn mild and gentle, harbingers of the warm and dreamy spring days, and in their very caress is the invitation to wander into Nature's backyard where new and exuberant life is springing from the soil to bring again beauty into the green things planted there. If one follows these winds where they beckon, one rediscovers how wonderful this wonderful old world can be.

They make music in the young leaves of the cottonwood and sycamore. To their tune the blades of grass on the hillside dance the dance of the open range. They push the clouds about in crazy and graceful patterns and generally have a high old time.

We are much concerned with clouds this issue. In truth, almost everyone living in the arid west is concerned because they are so important in daily living. The farmer and the cattleman read the clouds for signs of rain. The traveler reads them to determine what to expect in the way of weather on the journey. The photographer, who wants to capture the majesty of the landscape, is always on the watch for pleasing cloud formations to add lustre to the scene itself and to emphasize the blue of the blue sky. A plain blue sky, without clouds, can become very dull, indeed. In this journal, dedicated to the pleasing task of describing Arizona and the Southwest, we throw superlatives around like bird seed. After all, why use the more modest adjective when the high-powered one will do? When we tell you about the Arizona Boys Chorus from down Tucson way, which we do this month, you will understand why we grope for only the most extravagant adjective in describing this group if you could but once listen in on a concert. The boys are so good that they have sung their way into national prominence. This year they will appear on concert stages all over America and if they sing in your town you should hear them. This chorus is a community project of which all of Tucson is proud, and justly so. The founder and director of the chorus, Eduardo Caso, with his singing boys, has added distinction to his town and his state... R.C.