Prescott Today

Falling in love at sight with places or people is little different, except that with places, triangles and other multiple affairs are not only permitted, but encouraged. In either case, the attachment endures or becomes permanent in direct proportion to suit abilities of parties on both sides.

Our love affair with a place began in June, 1956, as my husband and I, with our two sons, were vacationing in Arizona and first visited Prescott. Arriving by way of the desert in summer, we were surprised to find such a cool and attractive little city, surrounded by granite mountains and pine forests. We had been look ing around town less than an hour when we discovered a building site, a rustic hillside with southern exposure, which was just right for the home we hoped to build with our own hands.

The view took in a wide, blue-and-green world of sky and treetops, and the air was clean and juniperscented. Quicker than it takes to write, we made a unanimous decision to "go steady." Fortunately, the land was for sale at a reasonable price, and before that day's golden sun had slipped behind the cool, pine-fringed horizon, we were committed.

The "engagement" lasted two years before we were free to return, during which it seems we answered the question, Why Prescott? a thousand times. This resulted in an article published in the May, 1960, ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, telling not only our own reasons, but why people had been choosing to live in Prescott for nearly a hundred years. But answering this question started a deluge of others.

We were delighted by reader response as was the Chamber of Commerce, who hired an extra secretary to help with a flood of mail. Letters came from everywhere, asking every conceivable question. People came in person, from California to New York, to visit Prescott and vicinity, and to see for themselves what our climate, scenery, recreational activities, economy, government, and culture were like. Quite a few, I am happy to say, have liked it well enough to take up permanent residence here.

Requests still come for additional information, though with the passing of time, questions are slanted just a bit differently. Some of these indicate a doubt that Prescott is as ideal a place as we thought it to be, or that we would continue to like it as well as we did on sight. Now that you have lived in Prescott, they usually ask first, do you like it as well as you thought you would?

Oh yes! We like Prescott every bit as much as we did on sight, and each year, more and more. Of course it was a good thing we knew what we were looking for in the first place. Having lived half-way round the globe, from the world's largest city to a remote desert Army post, and in everything from a trailer house to quarters on Colonels' Row, we had some very definite ideas. We were not about to squander our first chance to choose (after over twenty years) just where we would live; and being weary of the transient life, we very much wanted that choice to be permanent.

Now being a six-year resident hardly qualifies one as an authority, but the number of new customers served by Arizona Public Service shows that nearly 40% of the metropolitan area population moved into this region as recently as, or later than, we. And having bought property, built a house, sent children to school, attended church, voted, paid taxes, participated in community events, fished the lakes, hunted the hills, explored the back country, and made a hobby of local history, surely our experiences parallel those of an average citizen. While we do not pretend to speak for everyone in Prescott, of course, we are happy to add this Postscript to what we have already said.

What do we like most about Prescott?

Well, as of a person with a long list of admirable traits, that is a bit difficult to decide; but since location was a prime requisite to that retirement dream, this tops the list, with two stars. We like being located in both the climatic and geographic centers of the Southwest. We have all the advantages of the warm, dry climate, yet with definite seasons, moderated by a mile-high alti-tude and near-ideal humidity. We like being centered in the County of Yavapai, an immense wonderland of natural attractions covering over 8000 square miles, or about the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined. And we like being located next door to the Prescott National Forest in whose million and a quarter acres we can always find adventure, solitude, and refreshment.

Swing a radius of one hundred miles around Prescott on a map and it will cover as varied and contrasting geography as can be found in these United States. Look! There are wilderness areas and modern cities; windswept plains and secluded valleys; evergreen forests and sunbaked deserts; lonely ranches and turbulent mining centers. Stretch that radius another one hundred miles and watch it cover many natural wonders of the Southwest: Grand Canyon; a large portion of colorful Indian country and Painted Desert; the beautiful White Mountains with lakes and streams and extensive Ponderosa forests; that geologic wonder, the Mogollon Rim; some of Arizona's famous copper mines; cities and farms and endless shimmering desert; back to the Colorado, Hoover Dam, and Lake Mead. If you care to double that distance again, a day's drive can take you far into Old Mexico or to the blue waters of the Gulf of California. Or you can go via San Diego, directly to the Pacific itself. One day will take you to many places of interest: southern California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks in Utah; Mesa Verde in Colorado; the North Rim of Grand Canyon and Canyon de Chelly in Arizona; or into the western portion of New Mexico.

So, having, in the words of Ernie Pyle, “a deep, unreasoning affection for the Southwest,” we like most being in the very heart of it!

What is our climate really like? How much winter does Prescott get? Does the snow pile up and remain for months?

For a place of changing seasons, Prescott has the finest climate we have ever known. Not that every day is perfect, for weather is variable. (How monotonous it would be if each day were exactly alike!) But we have so much good weather, the sum of which makes climate, exceptions are not unwelcome, while reminding us of such general good fortune.

There is a wide variation in daily and seasonal temperatures at this altitude, in which extremes may range from one hundred degrees on a summer afternoon to zero during the coldest predawn of winter. Average maximum for summer is eighty-seven, and average minimum for winter, twenty-one. Only those people whose occupations keep them in the open at all hours are exposed to these extremes, for most of Prescott is tucked in bed when it is coldest, and a hot summer afternoon just naturally calls for a siesta in the shade. Average annual precipitation is just under twenty inches.

People seldom ask about our summers, but I suppose that is because this place had a wide reputation as a summer resort before we or air-conditioning were born. Days are quite warm, especially before the summer showers set in regularly, usually in July or August; but step into the shade where there is a breeze, and though the thermometer registers in the 90's, it will feel more like the 70's. Nights are pleasantly cool, with sweaters or light coats needed out of doors after dark. Summer campers like flannel shirts for early and late daytime, and plenty of blankets for sleeping.

Some businesses, such as restaurants and grocery stores, are air-conditioned, but most homes still use the original method, i.e., opened as much as possible in the early evening and closed at sun-up. The comfort of a building is increased many fold if it is oriented to this altitude and latitude. We designed our own home on two levels, with the lower one built into the hillside on the north. Large expanses of glass on both levels on the south take in the mountain view; but also, from October through March, they catch the winter sun. On all but the most heavily-overcast days and these are indeed few we have so much solar heat, that our furnace does not run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. As the sun moves north again in summer, a wide roof eave and full-length balcony shade this same wall, while doors and windows slide open to predominating southwestern breezes. When Nature is already so generous, it just makes good sense to co-operate.

In common with the rest of Arizona, Prescott has a great deal of sunshine all year. In common with the whole Southwest, too, it has some wind, especially in spring; but being surrounded by mountains and forests, there is little dust. That old fable of the contest between wind and sun to see which was stronger could have originated here; for on any winter day that the wind does not blow, the sun will drive you right out of coats and jackets.

Each year the seasons have been different, but autumn continues to be our favorite, with near-perfect weather for months, sometimes stretching right up to New Year's Day. During three of the past six years, there has been some snow and wet weather during deer-hunting season (late October and early November), but followed by several weeks of warm days which we find more ideal for fishing, hiking, rock-hunting, exploring, and photography than the summertime. This past November there was snow on the mountains, while flowers still bloomed and tomatoes ripened in Prescott gardens. The first killing frost in our part of the city came on November 17.

But winters are nice, too, running a close second as our favorite. From the number of queries about the winters here, however, I know folks are leery of them. Actually, our winters are generally so mild that when we do have a big snow anticipated as much as Christmas, and coming about as often a real big to-do is made of it. It may blow in as raw, cutting sleet, or even freezing rain at the tail of a thunderstorm! Or flakes may fall softly as feathers, settling so quietly everyone is most surprised on awakening to a new, strange world of white.

Granite and pines, Prescott trademark

Each house and tree and fence and rock may seem coated with sugar-frosting until it can hold no more! It is so beautiful and so clean we hate to see one track upon it; and it is a silent world, too, where even a breath sounds oddly loud.

Of course everyone hurries to get the cameras and take pictures, for our snows are brief as they are beautiful. A combination of sun and thin air soon makes short shrift of bad weather, and all too soon the lovely white sculpture melts away or evaporates. Snow may stand a few days in the shade, and can be a problem on north steps or driveways, but not for long. A cold wind is a much worse weather factor than snow. In six winters, we have not seen snow on the streets more than three days at a time. Perhaps once or twice in a generation Prescott has a really big snow to remember, such as that in 1948-49.

But snow here is more than beauty, or personal inconvenience, either. Snow means moisture, and moisture is life to the land. A deep snow may mean temporary hardship on cattlemen, but a short time of pen feeding means a later season of good grazing. The forest ranger knows a good snow-cover will shorten the fire-hazard period which nearly always precedes the summer rains. Lakes will be filled with clear, cold water for the fisherman, and tanks and reservoirs, filled to brimming, gladden the hearts of rancher and farmer.

For in common, too, with the rest of Arizona, Prescott seldom has an oversupply of surface moisture. We like it here because it is generally dry, a blessing to people with arthritis and many respiratory diseases, especially asthma. But one does not live here long until he is in sympathy with the thirsty land, so when the rains come, we like that, too. We like watching the weather from our window, truly one of the greatest shows on earth! Light as spirits, great, billowy clouds float in over the Sierra Prietas and pile up into towering thunderstorms. Though most of them move on like silent giants, tiptoeing across the peaks of the Bradshaws, others put on astounding displays of electrical energy, occasionally striking trees on the mountains, and sometimes closer. We would gladly forego such damage, but lightning supplies the atmosphere with nitrogen, rains wash it into the rocky soil, while winds carry the forests' chlorophyll to deserts and cities. And so we like much about our magnificent thunderstorms; in the presence of such power we are made humble, and humility never hurt any man.

From its origin as a frontier mining town in Apacheland, Prescott has learned to take the bitter with the sweet. Its one disaster was the fire of 1900, from which it was rebuilt a better and more substantial town; but it has never had an earthquake or real tornado. In August, 1963, heavy rains on the mountains sent flash floods along the creeks, but no lives were lost, as rescue squads were on the job immediately. Some private property was damaged, but the greatest loss was to the city, a quarter-million dollars' worth of public sewers. No place and no family goes without misfortune forever, and so Prescottonians are paying the bill just as when Junior went to the hospital with a broken leg.

As a family, too, Prescott has its growing pains, population having more than doubled in the last twelve years, with a corresponding demand for land and hous-ing, utilities, and public facilities. This brings up another set of questions: What is the price of real estate? Are there apart-ments and houses for rent, or would one have to build?

Like climate and scenery, types of real estate and prices are variable, with houses and lots presently selling from $7,500 to $75,000. Lots alone in the city begin at about $1500, which may or may not include assessments, the average being higher. Residential building costs run from $10 to $17.50 per square foot. There are a few housing developments, but the general unevenness of the land helps "models" appear different and custom-built, as a great many homes really are.

Architecture, which ranges from log cabins through the gracious and elegant houses of Prescott's golden era to those of ultra-modern design, shows many tastes. Individualism is also reflected in landscaping, which may be with formal lawns and hedges, but more often with naturally-occurring evergreen trees and giant boulders, simply accented with colorful flowers. Many a Prescottonian is prouder of the view from his home than of it.

Land outside the city may be found in one, two, or five-acre parcels, from $1000 to $5000 per acre; or, as large cattle ranches measured in square miles, listed at over a million dollars. Recent re-zoning within the city has provided additional commercial sites at moderate prices, while modern office buildings are replacing some of Prescott's old landmarks in the business section. Industrial sites are available both from individuals and from municipally-owned industrial tracts, at very attractive prices, varying according to location and whether railroad accessibility is desired.

Hotel and motel accommodations are in abundance, though for Prescott's special holidays, the Fourth of July Rodeo and Frontier Days, and the Smoki Ceremonials, and weekends of the horse-racing season (July through Labor Day), reservations should be made in advance. In summer, too, there is a greater demand for rentals. Apartments are in very good supply, rates being from $75 to $150; houses, renting for about the same, are not as plentiful. On a summer basis only, houses may rent for as much as $200.

Are there business opportunities in Prescott? What about employment?

Population growth charts show this community has not been a “boom town” since its birth in a gold rush; but the very fact that it continues to grow steadily indicates that people are finding something to do. It is evident from a large number of one-man and one-family enterprises that many are making their own opportunities. Most of these are in merchandising and services; others are teaching outside the public education realm: crafts, beauty culture, dancing, and modeling; while not a few are occupied with creative arts: painting, bronze casting, designing and making jewelry, creating dioramas, and custom lapidary work.

Among newcomers are people from many professions, some starting new, others making a new start. As old, established businesses grow, they naturally absorb some of the new immigration; on the other hand, new people in new businesses are often giving employment to old-time Prescottonians. Although more and more retired people are moving here, no real estate or housing has been developed expressly for them. Their savings invested locally and ready-made incomes, even if small, are a stabilized factor in the economy. There are enough retired members of the Armed Services alone to make

a sizeable organization, but they are so well integrated in churches, clubs, and recreational activities, the need for their own organization is apparently unnecessary. Prescott has proved a good place for the “retired” to take up new careers.

There is at present no dominant industry at Prescott or in Yavapai County, so employment is diversified, although government is the chief employer. Over 400 people are occupied at the Whipple Veterans Administration Center, and with state employees (chiefly Pioneers' Home and Highway Department) and those Of city and county (including teachers), total over 2000. About 1400 are working in the wholesale and retail trades.

Mining continues to be an important industry in the county, the Bagdad Copper Corporation at Bagdad, and Shattuck Denn's Iron King Mine (lead and zinc) at Humboldt employing over 500, about equally divided. Other small mines, and several stone quarries near Drake and Ashfork, account for some 900 persons at work in these industries.

Agriculture, including cattle raising, and services

Continued on page 33

NOTES FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

A Colorful Camera Journey to Prescott and Yavapai County

OPPOSITE PAGE "MONTEZUMA CASTLE DWELLING OF THE ANCIENT ONES" BY RAY MANLEY. What is now Yavapai County, of which Prescott is the county seat, was inhabited hundreds of years ago. Shown here is Montezuma Castle, prehistoric cliff dwelling, in Montezuma Castle National Monument, a Yavapai County tourist attraction. FOLLOWING PAGES

Mural "Prescott, 1900" BY CHARLES E. KEMP. This mural, 7' x 20', is in the lobby of Prescott's Pioneer Bank of Arizona.

"CORN FIELD IN CHINO VALLEY" BY MATT CULLEY. Photograph taken half-mile north and half-mile west of Chino Valley Valley post office. This shows one of the many farms in the vicinity producing excellent crops of corn under irrigation from water pumped from wells.

"SKULL VALLEY" BY MATT CULLEY. Photograph taken three miles north of Skull Valley post office on road to Prescott about two hundred yards east of the road on edge of canyon looking east to the Sierra Prieta Mountains.

"VIEW FROM MT. UNION LOOKOUT" BY HOWARD HENSON. This view is from the highest point in the Bradshaw Mountains. To the east is Big Bug Mesa on the right and the Big Bug Creek where extensive mining was done at Poland in the early days.

"ALONG THE VERDE" BY BOB BRADSHAW. Photograph taken from Windy Point, which is on the west bank of the Verde River below Camp Verde.

"WHERE THE DEER AND THE ANTELOPE ROAM" BY MATT CULLEY. Photograph was taken five and threequarters miles north of Skull Valley post office on road to Prescott.

"SHADOW VALLEY YAVAPAI COUNTRY" BY MATT CULLEY. Photograph taken three and one-half miles from Prescott on the Williamson Valley road. Taken from side hill above and east of the road and looking northwest across Shadow Valley toward Granite Mountain (center background).

"OPEN COUNTRY NEAR COTTONWOOD" BY MATT CULLEY. Photograph taken five miles from Cottonwood on the road to Sedona. View is looking north toward the Mogollon Rim across low shrub-type range with very little grass.

CENTER PANEL

"LYNX LAKE" BY HOWARD HENSON. This is a view of Lynx Lake, four miles east of Prescott on U. S. 69 and three miles south of the Walker Road. This new trout lake, covering fifty-five surface acres and offering two and one-half miles of shoreline when filled, promises to be one of Arizona's finest trout lakes.

"HIGHWAY APPROACH TO PRESCOTT" BY BOB BRADSHAW. Prescott is an important travel center. This community is located on U. S. 89 which connects Ash Fork and Phoenix; on Arizona 69, the Black Canyon Highway, which leads to Phoenix; and on Alt. U.S. 89 to Oak Creek Canyon.

"YAVAPAI COUNTY COURTHOUSE" BY BOB BRADSHAW. The Yavapai County courthouse is situated in the center of Prescott. "Yavapai" is the name of an Indian tribe, a branch of the Yuman family. The Indians called themselves "Sun People," "pai" pronounced "pie" meaning people.

"OLD GOVERNOR'S MANSION" BY HOWARD HENSON. The Old Governor's Mansion was built in 1864. This log structure is located at West Gurley and Capitol Streets, three blocks west of the Plaza in Prescott, was the home of Arizona's first two governors, John N. Goodwin and Richard C. McCormick. The old Governor's Mansion is now part of the Sharlot Hall Museum, which is open to the public and which is well worth visiting. The museum houses many reminders of early pioneer life in the West. Sharlot Hall, for whom the museum was named, came to the Prescott area when she was twelve years old. She died in 1934 in Prescott, leaving behind fame and name as a poetess and historian.

"RANCH ROOM" BY HOWARD HENSON. This building, known as the "Ranch Room," is located on the Sharlot M. Hall Museum grounds three blocks west of the Plaza on West Gurley Street in Prescott.

"PERKINSVILLE, ARIZONA" BY HERB McLAUGHLIN. Perkinsville, in Yavapai County, is located on the Santa Fe branch which connects Clarkdale with the main line at Drake. The area is part of the Perkins Ranch. This area has a most interesting early ranching history. 4x5 Linhof camera; Eastman E3; f.22 at 1/25th sec.; 12" Zenar lens; sunny day; 250 meter reading; ASA rating 64.

"JEROME-MONUMENT TO PAST GLORY" BY BOB BRADSHAW. Aerial view of Jerome, looking southwest to the slopes of Mingus Mountain. Jerome, at one time one of Arizona's most important copper camps, having a population of 15,000 in 1929, now describes itself as "America's largest ghost city." Alt. U. S. 89 runs through the town, which is perched on a steep mountainside, whose highest building stands fifteen hundred feet above the lowest.

"MONUMENT TO THE ROUGH RIDERS" BY BOB BRADSHAW. This photograph shows the famous "Rough Rider" statue, the creation of Sculptor Solon Borglum, in the Courthouse Square at Prescott erected "in honor of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, known to history as Roosevelt's Rough Riders, and in the memory of Captain William O. O'Neill and his comrades who died while serving their country in the War with Spain." "Buckey" O'Neill was a famous Arizonan, a legend of the West. He was killed leading his gallant Arizona troops up San Juan Hill July 1, 1898. Breveted a major for gallantry in action, he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery May 1, 1899, with full military honors. On his headstone is inscribed the following: William O. O'Neill Mayor of Prescott, Arizona Captain Troop A, First U. S. Volunteer Cavalry, Rough Riders Brevet Major Born Feb. 2, 1860; Killed July 1, 1898 at San Juan Hill, Cuba "Who Would Not Die for a New Star on the Flag?"

"BRANDING SCENE YAVAPAI COUNTY" BY BOB BRADSHAW. While mineral wealth was the main lure to attract people to Yavapai County in the early days, the county has and always will be an important cattle producing area.

"HERD ON SPIDER RANCH" BY MATT CULLEY. Photograph taken one mile east of Spider Ranch headquarters on the road to Prescott.

"YAVAPAI CALF SALE" BY MATT CULLEY. This photograph was taken at Hays Ranch in Peeples Valley, site of the annual Yavapai Cattle Growers Calf sale. Up to two thousand people gather here each year on the last Saturday in September for a real, social, western get-together. This calf sale was started back in the '30's as a means of raising funds for the support of the American National Live Stock Association.

"FRONTIER DAYS PARADE" BY HERB McLAUGHLIN. The annual Frontier Days Fourth of July celebration in Prescott attracts thousands of visitors throughout the country. Festivities start off with a colorful parade, followed by the rodeo at the Fairgrounds in the afternoon. Prescott's Frontier Days Centennial Year Rodeo will be held July 3 and 4, at 2 p.m. both days and at 8 p.m. on July 4.

"WHEN THE SMOKIS DANCE" BY HERB MCLAUGH LIN. The Smoki People of Prescott will stage their Centennial Smoki Ceremonials at the Fairgrounds August 1, beginning at 8 p.m. This unique and celebrated event is well worth attend-ing. Housed in a Hopi-like structure of native stone and located just one block north of Alt. U.S. 89 in east Prescott is the Smoki Museum. On display there is a rare treasure of Indian artifacts and significant archaeological finds constituting a worth-while cultural center.

Continued from page 17 and manufacturing are represented about equally on employment charts, followed closely by transportation, communication, and public utilities as a group. Contract construction workers may vary from 300 in January to 700 in July. About 200 are employed in the fields of finance, insurance, and real estate combined. Headquarters for the nearby Prescott National Forest are located here; and three local industries depend on this forest for raw materials; Ponderosa Pine Products, the wood-treating division of Southwest Forest Industries, and Air-Lock Log Company. The forest, of course, contributes much to tourism, summer camps, and therefore indirectly to those services and merchandising related to outdoor sports and recreation.

and manufacturing are represented about equally on employment charts, followed closely by transportation, communication, and public utilities as a group. Contract construction workers may vary from 300 in January to 700 in July. About 200 are employed in the fields of finance, insurance, and real estate combined. Headquarters for the nearby Prescott National Forest are located here; and three local industries depend on this forest for raw materials; Ponderosa Pine Products, the wood-treating division of Southwest Forest Industries, and Air-Lock Log Company. The forest, of course, contributes much to tourism, summer camps, and therefore indirectly to those services and merchandising related to outdoor sports and recreation.

Transportation in Yavapai County is served by the Santa Fe Railroad, several large truck lines, Greyhound Bus and Transcontinental Trailways, Bonanza and Frontier Airlines, and a network of modern highways. Major highway routes are Interstate 17 and 66, U.S. Alt. 89, and Arizona State 69, 71, 79, 93, 179, and 279. Prescott itself is located on U.S. 89 and Arizona State 69. Within the city, the Prescott-Whipple "Stage" operates on a local basis.

The Municipal Airport, with runways of 7600 and 4400 feet, located eight miles north of the city, has all Federal Aviation Agency Facilities, the Prescott Flight Service Station in charge of communication for all of northern Arizona. There is a charter service, and also adequate facilities for private and non-scheduled air traffic. A United States weather bureau station is also located at the airport.

Prescott's economy, which has already gone through several changes, may in the future be based on manufacturing. Progress in this direction has, until lately, been just plodding, as only light, clean industry is desired. A healthy community needs more than good air to breathe, however; it must have beans in the pot as well. A growing population needs a growing supply of jobs, a goal gradually being achieved through teamwork by the city, Chamber of Commerce, and Prescott Foundation for Industrial Development.

Industries are discovering that the Prescott Industrial climate is as favorable as that other famous one; and since pioneers began the first century here, it is only fitting that another set should begin the second. Pioneering industries are: Moryart Manufacturing Company, Airborne Navigation Corporation, Aquarium Pump Supply, Prescott Mold Company, and the last and largest, the Builder Products Division plant of Emerson Electric, estimated at a million dollars and now under construction.

But Prescott seeks more than material increase and economical balance it seeks spiritual and intellectual balance as well. This brings up more of those questions: What about schools and churches? What is Prescott's social and cultural atmosphere like is it more than Whiskey Row and Rodeo?

Our public school system consists of five elementary schools (one brand new, locally designed, and exceptional in utility) that begin with kindergarten, one junior high, and one high school, all enrolled to near capacity, but none on double sessions. Take it from parents who have sent two graduates on to college we are grateful that the proper emphasis is made on academic achievement. St. Joseph's Academy includes elementary and high schools.

Nearly all faiths are represented in forty Prescott churches. While this is Arizona's official "Christmas town," and a 60-ft. electric cross burns symbolically on a hill during the Christmas and Easter season, the spiritual quality of this community is reflected more in its people: in service to the sick and aged; and in providing youth with clean recreation, Bible schools, and summer church camps. Since 1936, each graduating class of the Prescott High School has conducted its own baccalaureate service, with Scripture reading, prayers, and sermons all delivered by members of the class. Such a demonstration of spiritual needs in the lives of young people must be unique in high schools of the nation.

All major civic clubs and fraternal organizations are represented in Prescott. We have an excellent library, two museums, three radio stations, TV by translator and cable, book review clubs, a dramatics group, historical society, a "corral" of Westerners, a dinner club, camera club, and film society. All cultural groups enjoy fellowship and "socials," while fraternal and social groups usually include educational programs in their calendars.

The scope and success of annual projects accomplished by many organizations show that Prescottonians "think big," and work just as hard; for example: the Business and Professional Women's Christmas lighting of the huge, four-story County Courthouse; the Medical Auxiliary's Charity Ball, and the Alta Vista Garden Club's Home and Garden Tour. Incidentally, this lastnamed project has taken national honors (only one is given to each state) two years in a row. The May 23, 1964, tour, keyed to the Centennial, will visit some of Prescott's older homes, ending with a tea in one of the houses at historic "Fort" Whipple.

There is no better way to get acquainted with any town (from within or from afar) than through its newspapers. As soon as we signed that contract for our homesite, we went around the corner and down the street to subscribe to a "home-town" paper. Of course its "news" was pretty old by the time it reached us in Virginia, but we were soon well-acquainted with local events, weather, politics, sports, education, religion, society, cost of living, etc. in Prescott. Usually listed as a public service, a good newspaper is also a cultural asset.

Surely the founding of Prescott was uncommon in that it had a newspaper right from its beginning, the only one in Arizona Territory in 1864. Two are presently published here, the weekly YAVAPAI COUNTY MESSENGER, and Prescott's EVENING COURIER (circulation 6000, Monday through Friday). These are turned out in sparkling black and white, and even "spot color" by modern methods. In a pioneering spirit, young publisher Jim Garner has recently installed in the old COURIER plant a brand new webb-offset unit, a Fair-child News King Press. Prescott has a renewed pride in its papers. We like the local coverage, mature editorials, and fair policy in airing public gripes from all sides. In summers, each Friday's issue carries a program of "What To Do In Prescott This Weekend."

Yes, Prescott and Yavapai are more than Whiskey Row and Rodeo, though the color, action, and adventure of the Real West are parts of its culture, too. Color in the vast natural palette of green forests and blue sky, pink granite mountains, vivid red canyons, and the muted pastels of distant peaks. Color in the Fourth of July Parade, where western-clad spectators nearly out-shine participants; color, in Smoki costume and ceremonials.

Here is action, born in a land of room enough for action: men in the big hats, ropes swinging, bulls bucking; horse racing at Prescott Downs; community sings and square dancing at the Plaza on summer nights; sports: swimming, bowling, ball games, and golf tournaments throughout the year.

And here is adventure, too little trips into the big back country, where much may be found the same as a century ago, only the Indian is now our neighbor, and not mortal enemy. Yavapai is called the "huntingest county" in Arizona; the one Nimrod in our own family has got his deer each year but one. The rest of us hunt with cameras or rock picks; or just with our eyes, for old Indian campsites and artifacts, old mines, or historical sites.

And only in Prescott can one see a life-sized diorama of an American Indian village come to life, complete with an "aboriginal population," animals, campfires, and spell-binding chants and snake dances. Elsewhere in this magazine you will read of the Smoki people. These unique characteristics do not separate Prescott from other forms of culture, however. We used to say it had everything but grand opera, but the recent organization of the Southwest Grand Opera Association and a successful presentation of "I Pagliacci" has hushed that complaint. Top talent in singers, musicians, and the dancers are imported several times a year for the Community Concert. The aim of the Mountain Artists' Guild, with nearly one hundred members, "to promote the growth of the cultural arts and art appreciation" is effected through an annual Art Festival on the Plaza, and by maintaining a permanent gallery opened to the public at 215 West Gurley St. "Legacy," a locally produced movie of all home talent, has taken top honors in Europe's International competition. The bronze equestrian statue by Solon Borglum erected on the Plaza in memory of the Rough Riders is one of the best in the world.

Because many people consider moving to Arizona for health reasons, there is another oft-repeated question: Are there good doctors in Prescott, and how large is the hospital?

We have sixteen medical doctors, among whom are surgeons and an opthalmologist, two osteopathic physicians, several chiropractors, dentists, a radiologist and a pathologist. A recent combination of county and community facilities has given Prescott the best medical service it has ever had, the 152-bed Yavapai Community Hospital. It is designed for expansion by addition of another floor and new wings, and all special facilities and services will serve a hospital of 225 beds.

This about covers everything but death and taxes. And now I must admit that Prescott is not Utopia for it has those, too. If it were the perfect place for all people, its population would run into millions instead of the present 14,000 (18,000 in the metropolitan area). That in itself would ruin it for us. We view the inevitable expansion, growth, and progress with mixed emotions, as I suppose "old-timers" always do. Taxes, a concern everywhere, are relative higher or lower than the place one is used to, or rising or falling (usually the former). While other taxes have risen generally, the city of Prescott has held the line, and even lowered the city tax rate a little each year for several years. There is a city sales tax of 1% besides the 3% state sales tax.

As for that other thing that is "sure," Prescott citizens plan and work today for a city that will be very much alive and loved long after they are gone. Water, the life-blood of any community, is in good supply, and estimated at four times the present daily consumption of 2,500,000 gallons. Streets are being paved and sewer facilities expanded. A modern city hall, designed to serve a much larger community, has just been built and for cash, no debts falling to our children for that. A million dollars has been pledged locally for Prescott College.

"Our Town" has a precious heritage. She was born in a wilderness, in the uncertain dawn of the Territory's history and the darkest hours of a national civil war. The first party to arrive had but one ax among them with which to build shelters, but first they made a corral for their horses, this being Apache country. It was nearly a year before the Lincoln-appointed officials arrived to set up a government. By then a few tents and log cabins had taken their places along Granite Creek, and the new citizens envisioned here a city just as we have today. They argued briefly whether to call it Aztlan, Audubon, or Granite City, but with a salute to history, settled on Prescott on May 30, 1864. They were terribly short on provisions, and had little with which to start Prescott's first century but faith faith in the future, in themselves, and each other.

In beginning a new century, surely we can have no less.