EDITOR'S PAGE

EDITOR'S

(ABOVE) In 1910 Morenci was already a place of importance and substantial structures. Half a century later, an ever-expanding open-pit mine doomed the entire town. HISTORICAL COLLECTION OF HERB AND DOROTHY MCLAUGHLIN (RIGHT) The new Morenci that replaced the old contains a shopping plaza whose design was inspired by Spanish Colonial architectural tradition. PAINTING BY KEVIN MACPHERSON MY FIRST AWARENESS of Morenci, Arizona, came in the fall of 1936 when Prescott High School hired a new football and basketball coach-from Mor enci. As a seventh-grade student, I was in one of the new coach's physical education classes, and I remember get ting out a map to see where the mining town he described to us was located. He proved a popular teacher, but remained only that one year at Prescott, after which he was invited to return to Morenci as principal. I later learned a good deal more about Morenci from one of my University of Arizona roommates, Dave Hoff man, who was a graduate of Morenci High. Dave treated me to my first view of the town and its impressive open pit mine when I joined him on a weekend trip to visit his family. That great pit I stared at four decades ago has vastly increased in size; but the town we visited is now only a memory. As Maggie Wilson explains in the article beginning on page 14, old Morenci gave way to the expanding pit operation, and the Morenci of today arose as a completely new town. Yet the strong community spirit of long time Morencians lives on. The towns of Morenci, Clifton, Safford, and Thatcher occupy much of our attention this month, along with such other attractions of eastern Arizona as Mount Graham and the Blue River country. Writers Larry Cheek, Bob Farrell, Joan Baéza, and Maggie Wilson link their talents with those of photographers Jerry Sieve, Jack Dykinga, Vennie White, and Rick Raymond. Our pictorial coverage is rein forced by illustrator Kevin Macpherson, who joined Ray mond on the Clifton-Morenci assignment; the two have been friends since boyhood. Other familiar names appear on our list of contributors for this issue. In an adaptation from a new Northland Press book, Don Dedera and Bill Ahrendt tell us a moving story of some of the women deeply affected by the notorious Pleasant Valley War.

A pair of special portfolios complete our editorial package: a nostalgic look at windmills inspired by Ray Wyatt, and a selection of portraits of Navajo children by the distinguished artist Ray Swanson.

Arizona Highways has received several honors we would like to report to our readers. You may recall that our lead article in September, 1986, was "The Remodeling of Geronimo," by the eminent historian C. L. Sonnichsen of Tucson. The Western Heritage Center of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame has selected that account as the Outstanding Western Magazine Article of 1986, and presented twin "Wrangler" awards to Dr. Sonnichsen and the magazine staff. At almost the same moment, the Arizona Press Club announced that first place for a special section or project in its "any publication" category went to Arizona High ways for the articles on Petrified Forest National Park that appeared in July, 1986. The Regional Publishers Association has bestowed on Arizona Highways its award for Best Overall Design among magazines without advertising. And our magazine received four finalist citations in the 1987 Maggie Awards program of the Western Publications Association. Such recognition is much appreciated by our team of talented contributors and dedicated staff. But the ultimate jury is, of course, our audience of readers. Pleasing you is our most important objective. We pledge to continue our earnest efforts to merit your attention each month. -Merrill Windsor