THE WOOLERY MINERAL COLLECTION

The way we got that scheelite was just by pure luck." Loris P. Woolery, of Bisbee, was telling how he and his wife, Colleen, had assembled their famous collection of minerals. The group of scheelite crystals in the collection is considered to be one of the finest in the world.

"We heard about this old miner from a man in Bowie," he continued. "We were told that he had a camp back in the Dos Cabezas Mountains out from Willcox. I took a good car over fifteen miles of real bad road and found his camp a bunch of old split coal-oil cans tacked on pieces of wood. No one was there, so I took a business card and wrote a note. I asked him to let me know if he ever had any good crystallized mineral specimens." After three months nothing had happened. Then one day a typical old miner-prospector walked into Mr. Woolery's title company office in Bisbee. By this time the office receptionist was used to seeing miners come into the office with rocks and go out with checks, so the man was soon in Mr. Woolery's private office. After talking about everything but minerals for over fifteen minutes, the old man reached into his shirt, pulled out an old rag; and unwrapped a superb scheelite crystal.

"I almost fainted," Mr. Woolery said in telling the story. "He just had this one with him, and I was afraid he would sell it before I could get to bid, so I asked him if he could possibly wait until Saturday."

As it turned out, the miner would not sell a single specimen at any price. He insisted on selling the entire lot in one deal, and the buyer had to take a quantity of uncrystallized scheelite (tungsten ore) as well as the specimens. By this time the material had been moved into Bowie, so the Woolerys went there to complete the deal. The ore was weighed and paid for at a set price per pound, while the crystalized specimens were purchased at a much higher per pound rate.

One specimen from this purchase found its way to the National Museum in Washington, and another went to a dealer in Colorado. All of the rest of them, including the best specimens, are now a part of the collection purchased by the A. L. Flagg Foundation.

In telling how he became interested in mineral collecting and how he assembled the collection, Mr. Woolery summed up a large part of his life thus: "Born in Tomb-stone moved to Bisbee famous locality for minerals operating mines not at all interested in rock saw tons of it peoples' yards and everywhere else then about 1954 a friend who had been raised in Courtland and Gleeson (other famous early mining camps) sold his business and was moving out of state. This friend had some Indian artifacts and a few mineral specimens, and he asked Mrs. Woolery if we would be interested in buying them. I was tending some 3,500 bulbs my wife had in her garden, and didn't even want to take the time to look at the stuff, so I told her if she was interested to buy it. Soon a pick-up truck arrived at the Woolerys; and, like it or not, they had started a collection. The minerals portion of this collection, Woolery stated, was mostly BY FLOYD GETSINGER. Photo shows a group of collectors from the Arizona Mineralogical Society on one of their monthly field trips.

ore samples with only four or five good specimens. Looking at those few good pieces, however, aroused an interest in crystals and crystallography. A short time later the University of Arizona was presenting some extension courses in Bisbee, and one of them was on mineral identification. Mr. Woolery enrolled in the class and received a further boost in interest.

About this time a retired miner named Walsh, who had worked many years in the Bisbee mines, wanted to sell what Woolery describes as "a fabulous collection of old-time Bisbee mineral specimens." When asked how much he wanted for the collection, Mr. Walsh set the price at $2,500. "I didn't have any twenty-five hundred dollars I felt I wanted to put in any rocks," Woolery said, "But the way he offered it without any cash down I knew he was interested in monthly income, so I agreed to pay one hundred dollars per month until paid for. This is where the better Bisbee specimens in the collection came from."

The "better Bisbee specimens" referred to are brilliant and colorful azurites and malachites. The mining man knows them as secondary minerals, or those formed by secondary enrichment. They are produced near the surface, and so the finest specimens are found in the early stages of mining operations. This explains why specimens of this type are not coming from the mines today and are therefore sought after by collectors and museums.

Several smaller collections were also purchased from time to time. There is a barber in Bisbee who is perhaps even better known for his outstanding mineral collections than for his tonsorial art. It was through him that the Woolerys obtained part of the Imrich collection. Outstanding specimens from the Bisbee area were also obtained in this group, all considered very valuable.

Another small group was obtained from a man named McDole. He furnished some excellent examples of covellite, enargite, and pyrite from the Butte, Montana, area, as well as over fifty beautiful crystallized gold and silver specimens from the Creed district in Colorado.

One of the world's finest cuprite specimens was in a box of minerals from Bisbee which had been taken out of state. Mr. Woolery learned that a collection originally assembled by a Bisbee hardware merchant was in possession of one of the man's sons, then living in California. After a meeting in Phoenix, Mr. Woolery relates, "My wife and I streaked out late one evening, went down there, ran the boy down and made a deal." Included in this collection were some fine pseudomorphs and the best of the cuprites, including some which have crystals a half inch across and even larger. These specimens came from a mine which by coincidence was named the "Cuprite."

Several other small collections were purchased by the Woolerys. They would hear of some old miner who had some nice specimens and would go looking for him. When word got out that they were buying, quite a number of people came to them, like the boy who had built up a fair collection but wanted to buy a motorcycle. Some of these collections were bought and others were not.

Quite a number of the better pieces were picked up one at a time. On trips around the country they would visit roadside rock shops, museums and Gem and Mineral Shows. This is the slow way to come by a large collection, since only one specimen is added at a time. These are carefully selected, however, and result in an upgrading of the entire collection.

On one occasion, Woolery was visiting a small grocery store in one of the outlying mining camps. In the store were a few specimens from the local diggings. For some reason the owner asked Woolery if he knew anything about rocks and asked him to look at some things he had. They went into the living quarters of the building, and there on a radio cabinet rested a magnificent specimen of quartz crystals, known as "Japanese Twins."

"Would you be interested in selling that specimen?" Woolery asked. "No," the man replied, "Absolutely not. I am keeping that one for myself." "I will give you fifty dollars for it," was the rejoinder. The man froze in his tracks, but when he recovered, he made a fast deal.

Soon after this sale, the man told his friends that if anyone was willing to pay fifty dollars for a mineral specimen, he was in the wrong business. Before long he sold the grocery store, moved to another city, and opened a mineral shop.

Trading duplicates with other collectors and with dealers was another method of building up the collection. For a time Woolery bought specimens from the miners, even when he was not much interested in what they had. He did this to encourage them to bring material to him in the hope that from time to time there might be some unusually good specimens offered. One time most of the material purchased in this way was sacked up and sent to a dealer in Colorado for trading.

"This is where that fine uvarovite garnet and some other interesting things came from," he said.

Of his long association with Arizona mines and minerals he could usually identify a specimen and often tell the locality it came from and sometimes even the mine. On one occasion we took a specimen to him because we had forgotten the name of one of the minerals. With nothing more than a glance he said, "Why, that looks like cuprite and delafossite from the Calumet Mine in Bisbee." He was right.

Mr. Flagg was able to talk to the kindergartener or the Ph.D. and not talk up or down to either. He was likewise known to all age groups. One night the junior members of the Mineralogical Society were presenting their annual meeting. A six-year-old boy was speaking on the subject, How to Start a Mineral Collection. His talk went like this, "Get something like a cigar box and then get some rocks and put them in the box. Then take them to Mr. Flagg to find out what they are."

The other side of the coin is illustrated by the prospector who took an ore sample to five different people. Every one of them, geologists, minerologists, or mining men, were qualified to have an opinion. All gave approximately the same answer, "I can't tell you what it is, but I know a man who can. Take it to Flagg."

Arthur Flagg possessed a connoisseur's eye for the beauty of minerals and a missionary's zeal for interesting others in the collection and study of minerals. He took a special interest in children and young people and helped hundreds of them in their earth science hobbies. A number have made earth sciences in one form or another their lifework.

During his lifetime Mr. Flagg organized or helped to organize a number of groups or clubs devoted to mining and minerals. Among them were the Small Mine Operators' Association, The American Federation of Mineralogical Societies, The Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies, and The Mineralogical Society of Arizona. The latter is a hobby group, but during his twenty-four years of membership, he missed only three meetings until his last illness.

Mrs. Flagg has said, "Since display and waste of any kind would not have been in keeping with the tastes of my husband, it seemed appropriate at the time of his death that funeral flowers be omitted. In lieu of flowers it was natural, because of his life-long interest in minerals and his close association with The Mineralogical Society of Arizona, to ask his friends to send contributions for a 'mineralogical memorial.'"

When the suggestion was made that the Woolery collection be purchased as a "minerals memorial" to Mr. Flagg, that also seemed fitting. He was acquainted with the Woolerys and considered their collection to be one of the finest in Arizona.

Early in July, 1962, the chairman of the Flagg Memorial committee asked a few of Mr. Flagg's closest friends to meet with Mrs. Flagg and their oldest son, Edward. The idea of an Arizona Earth Science Museum was discussed, with the purchase of the Woolery Collection as an immediate goal. All those attending approved the idea. Others who were thought to be interested were asked to a second meeting one week later, and then a third meeting was held with a still larger group. The attempt was made to get as diverse a group as possible. People from various walks of life and from different groups interested in the Earth Sciences were invited. At each meeting plans were gone over and new ones added. The majority favored the plan, but doubts were often expressed that the ten thousand dollars required could be raised.

By late August a corporation had been formed, and committees were appointed to plan the various activities of the organization. In the meantime, contact had been made with the Woolerys, and they promised not to make any deals for six months to give the A. L. Flagg Foundation for the Advancement of Earth Sciences an opportunity to get organized. A token payment was made to show the Woolerys that the Foundation meant business.

Fund raising was a little slow starting, but after some mineral auctions sponsored by two Valley mineral clubs, and a one thousand dollar gift from the Mineralogical Society of Arizona, a down payment of fifteen hundred dollars was made.

Late in January, 1963, ten pick-ups and station wagons with nineteen workers went to Bisbee to pack and transport the collection to Phoenix. The workers were mostly members of the Foundation's board of trustees and their wives. The others were interested volunteers. The task of packing over two thousand mineral specimens, many of them extremely fragile, and moving them two hundred miles is not an easy one.

In late March the first public showing of the Woolery Collection was made in Phoenix. The great historic and cultural value of the Woolery minerals was apparent to all who visited the showing, and members of the Foundation were congratulated for their action in keeping the collection in the State.

The showing was held in the meeting room of the Minerals Building at the State Fairgrounds, and it was decided to leave the display there until after the regular April meetings of the Mineralogical Society and the Small Mine Operators.

At the Small Mine Operators meeting, the owner of the Seventy-Nine Mine (a small mine near Hayden), Charles E. Goetz, was present. After seeing the Woolery collection and hearing of the slow progress in raising funds, he volunteered to contribute $12,000 to complete the purchase and to furnish cases for display. Mr. Goetz stated that he felt that the value of the Woolery Collection had been greatly underestimated.

This definitely secured the collection for the people of Arizona and insured its display until a permanent building can be obtained by the Foundation. The temporary home of the Woolery Collection is the Minerals Building of the Arizona State Fairgrounds, where it is open to the public without charge.

The Woolery Collection was then officially named the "A. L. Flagg Memorial Mineral Collection."

The securing of the Woolery collection, together with cases for its display, was only the first objective of the A. L. Flagg Foundation for the Advancement of Earth Sciences. The greater objective is yet to be accomplished. Mr. Flagg dreamed of an Earth Science Museum for Arizona. His work with the Arizona Minerals Museum was a start, but

the balance of the dream is now the goal of the foundation. A good minerals display is very important in any Earth Science Museum. With the Woolery Collection as a basis, the Foundation expects to have one of the finest mineral exhibits in the United States. With the addition of some other and smaller collections, either by gift or purchase, this can soon be a reality.

It will take a building of considerable size to house such exhibits and will require a staff of several people. In addition to minerals there are several related fields included by the term “Earth Sciences.” These include geology and its several branches, paleontology (fossils), oceanography, geophysics, astronomy, meteoritics, and petrography. Exhibits in these various areas should be included and will be as soon as space and funds are available.

Arizona has an unusually rich heritage of historic geology in the field of paleontology. The fossil record in the Grand Canyon is the finest and most complete on earth. There is much to be learned from this vast laboratory, but this is all under Federal jurisdiction. The rest of Arizona is also rich in fossils, and here is a vast reserve of scientific and historic information. The foundation hopes to be able to keep a field party searching the year around. The recovery of unusual finds could be sponsored by civic minded citizens, with due credit being given to such sponsors.

Sam Turner, Phoenix geologist, tells of several interesting exhibits which went out of state as soon as they were unearthed. One was a saber-tooth tiger on a camel's back. This extraordinary fossil was discovered near the San Pedro River not far from San Miguel. Paleontologists reconstruct the original scene something like this: Millions of years ago there was a salt water bog in the area, fed by fresh water springs. One day a camel came to drink and became bogged down in the soft earth. A saber-tooth tiger, seeing the plight of the camel, decided he would have a quick, easy lunch; so he pounced on the camel's back. With the added weight, both sank into the primeval ooze, but not to disappear forever. The fosilized remains of this pair are now on exhibit in an eastern museum.

On another occasion one of Mr. Turner's assistants told of finding fossil bones in the St. Johns area. These were reported as being of probable historic value. Investigation showed the almost complete remains of a phytosaurus (the ancestor of the crocodile). Mr. Turner was unable to find an Arizona museum that could recover the exhibit, so the Smithsonian Institution was notified. They sent a field party out and recovered the skeleton. Later this was listed as the most complete phytosaur remains ever found, and the Smithsonian listed the exhibit as the “acquisition of the year” in their annual bulletin.

Although a number of interesting specimens have been taken out of the State in the past, many more remain to be recovered. The A. L. Flagg Foundation hopes to be able to find and display its fair share of these exhibits.

A number of outdoor exhibits are planned by the dreamers on the Foundation's board of trustees. Included are historical mining exhibits, tracing recovery methods from native minerals through panning, rockers, and “long toms,” arrasters, chilean mills, stamp mills, and on to models of modern mining equipment. In addition, if the

ROCKHOUND PRIMER OF ARIZONA ROCKHOUND PRIMER OF ARIZONA

The ROCKHOUND PRIMER of ARIZONA is a 64-page booklet, produced by the Arizona Development Board, written and illustrated by Floyd R. Getsinger.

The intent of the book is first to interest the reader in one of the various branches of the mineral hobby and second to help him determine what he may find when he takes to the hills. The principal identification help is a new set of tables which lists easily recognizable properties of minerals, and lists them in a readily usable manner. Complete, simple instructions precede the tables. Twelve color pages and nearly fifty black and white photos illustrate the minerals listed.

Also included is a simple rock identification table and a chart, Where to Find What in Arizona. The latter shows by counties where each of the sixty-three minerals or rocks listed my be found.

For those captivated by the lure of gold, there is a map showing twenty placer gold locations where gold may still be panned, and a page about gold and how to recognize it.

Cities that have Gem and Mineral Societies are listed, and the locations of Mineral Museums in Arizona are given.

This interesting and valuable paper-covered brochure, the best guide to minerals in Arizona ever produced, is available at no charge. All you have to do is to drop a note to the Arizona Development Board, 1500 W. Jefferson, Phoenix, Ariz., and ask for your copy.

“ROCKHOUND PRIMER” AVAILABLE IN HARD-BOUND COVER

THIS PUBLICATION HAS PRODUCED A LIMITED NUMBER OF “THE ROCKHOUND PRIMER OF ARIZONA,” DESCRIBED ABOVE, IN HARD-BOUND DURABLE COVERS THAT WILL WITHSTAND THE TOUGHEST JEEP TRIPS INTO THE MOST RUGGED COUNTRY YOU CAN IMAGINE AND WILL BE THE GOOD COMPANION OF THE MOST DEDICATED “ROCKHOUND” FOR YEARS. IT WILL STAND ANY KIND OF WEAR AND TEAR. FOR THIS HARD-BOUND COPY WRITE TO ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, 2039 WEST LEWIS, PHOENIX, ARIZONA, 85009. THE PRICE IS $2.00.

terrain is suitable, a mine tunnel, with track and ore cars, will be included. The dump will be covered with some colorful low grade copper ore, and youngsters will be allowed to take a small piece. When funds permit, a replica of an old frontier mining camp will be erected and will house concessions such as rock shops, refreshment stands and other facilities. Some other outdoor exhibits planned are a small "Petrified Forest" and a cross section of the Grand Canyon. The cross section will be to scale and show rocks from the various "layers" of the Canyon. Included in the plans for the building, in addition to exhibits are: meeting rooms for mineral societies, lapidary clubs, paleontology groups, amateur astronomers, and other clubs interested in mining or the earth sciences, a library, laboratory, lapidary room, work and storage rooms, and whatever is necessary to have the most modern educational plant in the Earth Science Field. A planetarium and a small observatory are planned for a hill top near the museum. The meeting rooms will take care of school groups that will be coming almost daily from all over the state on field trips.

tions. He personally contributed thousands of specimens to youthful collectors and encouraged quite a number of them to enter the fields of mining, geology, mineralogy, or other of the Earth Sciences.

Tributed at that time would be used to start such a far reaching program. Such aims as the group has in mind, however, are in keeping with Mr. Flagg's often expressed desire that more interest could be developed in the earth sciences and that some day there would be an Earth Science Museum in Arizona." It is likewise certain that the Woolerys never dreamed that the purchase of a small collection of rocks and artifacts would ever lead to the tremendous task of assembling an outstanding mineral collection of over two thousand specimens, or that the collection would eventually become the basis of one of the West's finest minerals museums. Although the task was a Herculean one, Mr. Woolery says, "Actually my wife got a bigger boot out of this than I did - but I've had a world of fun out of it, too. We both loved every minute of it. We think our action would have pleased Mr. Flagg, and we are both very happy that the collection will stay in Arizona."

THE AUTHOR

An Arizona resident since 1908, Floyd R. Getsinger's interest in nature photography has led him on picture-taking jaunts to all parts of the state. In 1927 he submitted his first entry to a photographic salon, and its acceptance for hanging, followed by many other such acceptances at salons throughout the United States and many foreign countries, encouraged him to open a studio in 1933, thus devoting full time to photography. He was the founder of the Arizona Pictorialists, a group which later became the Phoenix Camera Club.

Several years before the first American color film was introduced, he began to experiment with color, using glass plates imported from Germany. His success is indicated by an excerpt from the ARIZONA REPUBLIC of January 18, 1937: “The Arizona Cactus and Native Flora Society yesterday viewed natural-color slides of native Arizona plants exhibited by Floyd R. Getsinger in the studio of Mrs. Jessie Benton Evans in Arcadia. More than 150 society members and their guests were present.” “The most difficult thing,” Floyd explains, “was to convince people that the colors were natural and not tinted black and white slides which were popular at that time.” A very large cumbersome projector was required for the 5" x 7" plates used, and Getsinger had to construct this projector himself.

In the early forties, an interest in rocks and minerals, latent since his high school days, began to reassert itself, and he joined the Mineralogical Society of Arizona. This membership led to collecting trips, prospecting jaunts, three successive terms as president of the society; and, most important, a close friendship with Arthur L. Flagg, who was Arizona's “Mr. Rockhound” for many years.

For several years Mr. Flagg asked Floyd to take slides of some of Flagg's prized micro-mounts. (These are tiny crystals which must be viewed under a microscope, presenting a number of problems to the photographer.) Getsinger always answered, “Absolutely not!” He was too well aware of the problems and headaches involved. Mr. Flagg was very persistent, however, so finally Floyd agreed to photograph some of the micromounts. The results were horrible, as expected. It took about two years of constant work to produce pictures that both Flagg and Getsinger would approve. Once the quality of the pictures became acceptable, Flagg asked if Getsinger would be interested in illustrating an article for ARIZONA HIGHWAYS. The editor had asked Flagg to do an article on minerals, but Mr. Flagg had held off, since there were no good color illustrations available. This request now resulted in a series of three articles in ARIZONA HIGHWAYS written by Flagg, illustrated by Getsinger.

In addition to ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, photographs of minerals and/or articles by Getsinger have appeared in FORD TIMES, ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS, LAPIDARY JOURNAL, WESTWAYS, BOY'S LIFE, and in books published by Time Publishing Company, Random House, Encyclopedia Brittanica, and others. One of Getsinger's most recent publications is a ROCKHOUND PRIMER FOR ARIZONA published by the Arizona Development Board. This booklet is described in more detail elsewhere in this issue of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS.

Getsinger now devotes full time to free lance writing and photography. Although the subjects of his illustrated articles have been varied, his reputation as a writer and photographer in the field of rocks and minerals has been growing.

He resides in Phoenix with his wife, Alice, and daughters Emily, an Arizona State University senior, and Cecy, a junior at West High. Another daughter, Judy, (Mrs. Gary Hadlock) teaches school in Williams, Arizona.

NOTES FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

For color pictures used in illustrating this feature All of the minerals photographed in this issue of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS are from the A. L. Flagg Memorial Mineral Collec-tion (formerly known as the Woolery Collection).

Almost all of the specimens were photographed using the same film and equipment. Exceptions to the following will be noted: Camera was 4x5 Crown View, with Bausch and Lomb f/6.3, 135mm Tessar IIB. Film was Ektachrome type B, 4x5 sheet film.

A stand was built with a stage for the specimens and lights were attached in such a manner that they were always exactly the same distance from the subject, regardless of their position. Two 300 watt Mazda reflector flood lamps, placed 24" from the front of the lamp to the stage, furnished the illumination. A five inch square filter holder was in front of each lamp and use of color correction filters will be noted.

The stage and lamp holders were placed on a table arrange-ment, which had guides on each side so that the stage could be moved forward or back to accommodate small or large specimens. On one end of the table was a camera platform, mounted on a heavy aluminum tubing. This permitted the camera to be raised or lowered as necessary and the camera platform could also be tilted. Specimens from 3/4 of an inch high to those about 12" x 18", and weighing up to 40 or 50 pounds were easily photo-graphed with this outfit.

A CdS meter, with probe, was used to determine exposures. This meter was found to be very reliable, after it was zeroed. Exposures at f/32 ran from 11/2 sec. to 19 sec. (or equivalent). Long exposures were for small dark specimens, where closeness of subject added a bellows extension factor.

Yours sincerely BLACKLISTED IN MOSCOW:

Enclosed you will find a copy of an "Einziehungsprotokoll Nr. 219158" of the East German postal authorities. In plain English this means that they confiscated twelve magazines and some additional travel folders I mailed to my father-in-law, who lives in Dresden. One of these magazines was published by you (Grand Canyon edition of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS.) As you know, the magazine is without politics, therefore the confiscation was outrageous and unreasonable. As publishers of the magazine, I believe that you must be interested in unrestricted circulation with the postal systems, so please let's do something about this! A letter of protest by you to the Russian Embassy and the U. S. and East German postal authorities might help. If no success, a request for retaliatory action by the U. S. Post Office against East German magazines to this country might be the answer.

Walter Schroeder Rosamond, California • It is difficult for us to read the minds of those behind the iron curtain. Shortly after we received this letter from Mr. Schroeder, we were startled to read in our morning newspaper in a New York Times News Service dispatch from Moscow that we were blacklisted in Russia for the heinous crime of being "subversive" and for "propagandizing" and "glamourizing" the American way of life. Tsk! Tsk! Ivan! Things have changed since Ol' Joe Stalin sat in the driver's seat in the Kremlin. Ol' Joe was on our mailing list (courtesy one of our American readers who also included Harry Truman on his Christmas subscription list) for years (and with no repercussions) and his daughter was a self-paid subscriber. The dispatch was printed in many newspapers throughout the country (and our warmest thanks to the hundreds of our readers who sent us clippings) and drew some unusual responses. The Tucson Chamber of Commerce wired an invitation to the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. inviting (via courtesy T.W.A.) three top Russian travel writers to visit Arizona and see for themselves whether we are subversive to anyone in telling the colorful story of Arizona.

Senator Paul Fannin arose to our defense in the U. S. Senate saying in part: "Mr. President, in the New York Times of Sunday, February 7, datelined Moscow, there appeared an article written by Theodore Shabad which disclosed that Soviet authorities have blacklisted ARIZONA HIGHWAYS magazine on grounds that it constitutes subversive propaganda. Among other things, the Soviet trade union newspaper, Trud, called ARIZONA HIGHWAYS provocative literature clearly intended to conduct hostile propaganda among the Soviet people.

"Many Senators, I am sure, are familiar with ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, which is published monthly by the Arizona State Highway Department to portray the many colorful and unique beauties of the Grand Canyon state. The magazine over the years has won a well-deserved reputation for the consistently high quality of its photography and design. I feel certain that those who do know ARIZONA HIGHWAYS will be as surprised as I am to learn that it could be considered subversive or provocative in any respect, even by Soviet standards. The judgment of subversive literature, like beauty, apparently lies in the eye of the viewer . . ."

". . . It is impossible to fake the kind of photography that appears in ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, and I hope that a qualified delegation of Soviet writers will be fortunate enough to discover this for themselves. If they should be subverted during their tour, it would be only by the compelling attraction of such nonpolitical sights as the Grand Canyon, cactus in bloom, and the vivid colors of an Arizona sunset."

But, perhaps nationally syndicated columnist Inez Robb had the last word to say (she generally does with charm and with authority in so many matters) when she wrote in her column: "Let's not be beastly to the Russians in the matter of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, that ravishing magazine just blacklisted by Soviet authorities and denounced as subversive literature propagandizing the American way of life. "Let's face the fact that to the uninitiated this monthly publication of Arizona Highway Department exudes a faint tincture of snake oil. I have seen Ivy League types east of the Hudson examine the contents of ARIZONA HIGHWAYS with curled and skeptic lip. "If all Americans unfamiliar with the great Southwest find it difficult to credit the publication's magnificent color reproductions of photographs of Arizona's glorious deserts, the grandeur of her many mountain ranges, the majesty of the Grand Canyon, the pyrotechnics of her sunsets, the extent of her open-pit copper mines, the variety and beauty of her desert flora, the impact of the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert, the grace of her mountain meadows and scenic glory of such highways as the Coronado Trail-well, if such Americans find ARIZONA HIGHWAYS hard to credit, how can we expect the comrades and the commissars to be of firmer faith?..."

"ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, one of the handsomest magazines published, only mirrors the beauty of the state and of the Southwest. And, in truth, it is subversive. Once you are hooked on ARIZONA HIGHWAYS it is habit forming you begin to believe and then you want to go, go, go... Yes, the Russians would do well to keep it out of their country . . ."

NEW SCHOOL-OLD SCHOOL

Like Cinderella's pumpkin coach The school bus crawls this winding road, Then brakes to a stop on the paved approach To Union School. Its noisy load Goes fluttering down each concrete aisle, Like tropic birds the sweaters flare. No feet in the lane, on the weathered stile To scuffle the leaves through the sun-drenched air— No children's shouts to wake from its nap The tired little school in the mountain's lap!

GRASSHOPPER ON A CITY SIDEWALK

By what circuitous path you came upon This endless concrete canyon who can say. Somewhere beyond the city's rim is gone The answer; lost in meadows, fields of hay; Adventure, perhaps, or clinging long, too Long to a tender vine; or accident Of leaping toward the sun. Whatever, you Are here. Your strident song, a sad lament. Those native to this place won't understand The verdant world you left, and seek again. They guard as jealously their cement land As you the fertile acres of your plain. Each branch recalls the tree from which it's torn And Ruth's once more amid the alien corn.

RAIN BIRD

"It's going to rain," the oldtimer said, "Last night after I was abed I heard the rain bird off in the hills So lonesome and sad it brought the chills. I waited and listened, then right over head It came again, like a voice from the dead. Sounding like it could find no rest Till it cried in a rain from the west. "What kind of a bird? Dern if I know, Owl, hawk, goose, Or a renegade crow. What kind it is Don't matter though, As long as it tells me What I want to know."

THE COLORADO RIVER

An eternal tear, Streaming down the sunburned cheek Of America.

Halsey Lake, about twenty eight miles south of Springerville, Arizona, just off the Coronado Trail on Rt. 666. 21/4x21/4 Rollieflex camera; Agfachrome; f.16 at 1/125th sec.; Xenotar 3.5 lens; August, ASA rating 100.

The living forest is always a summer's delight and affords innumerable opportunities for the nature photographer to ply his skill. From early morning when the rising sun turns the dew drops into glistening diamonds to evening's setting sun which burnishes the tops of the trees, the patterns of light and shadow in the forest create pictures of beauty.