ARIZONIQUES

A Guide to Places, Events, and People Unique to Arizona and the Southwest. Farm-town Surprise ARIZONIQUES

One of the best-kept secrets in Arizona resides in a little farming town whose 4,500 citizens now find themselves in the suburbs of fast-growing Phoenix. Due west of the city, Tolleson has a small-town library with a big-league Indian artifact collection. Tolleson began to build its library in 1968, with federal money and funds raised by the local Woman's Club. Some of the town's doyennes were anthropology buffs, and their interest led to donations and purchases of more than 2,200 objects representing 18 Southwestern tribes. Among these are ceramics and basketry from Hohokam, Anasazi, Mimbres, Santa Clara, and Mogollon peoples, plus about two dozen Hopi kachinas. Recently, Arizona State University graduate student Owen Lindauer conducted a complete inventory, estimated each artifact's age, and described every piece in detail. Then, with the help of an Arizona Humanities Council grant, the town created an interpretive display open to the public. "We have some very fine pieces," says city librarian Edward G. Ferrang. "A few are oneof-a-kind." Several kachinas, for example, were donated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which confiscated the dolls from an art dealer who should have recognized that they contained contraband eagle feathers. Other artifacts were gifts of Phoenix physician R. H. Thomas. You can see the display at the Tolleson Public Library, 9555 W. Van Buren St.; telephone 936-7111.

Gone Fishin'

In Arizona's big cities, a "gone fishin' " sign might mean another dedicated angler has made a long trip out of town to a favorite faraway fishing hole. But not always. Fishermen who live in Chandler, Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, and Tucson can zip over to a nearby urban lake, catch their limit, and have it sizzling in a skillet at home in less time than it takes to get halfway to a secluded mountain stream. Under a cooperative program between the communities and Arizona's Game and Fish Department, a growing number of urban waters are officially designated for fishing: Riverview Lake in Mesa; Alvord, Encanto, and Cortez lakes in Phoenix; Chaparral Lake in Scottsdale; Canal and Kiwanis lakes in Tempe; and Kennedy Lakeside, and Silverbell lakes in Tucson.

"Each one has bluegill, sunfish, and largemouth bass all year," says Bill Watt, a Game and Fish Department urban fishing biologist. "And every other week, from November through March, the department stocks them with rainbow trout. From April through October, channel catfish are added."

According to Watt, the stocked fish are "catchables," with the trout measuring 9 to 11 inches and the catfish weighing about 14 pounds each. The department won't reveal when lakes are stocked. "We don't want people following the fish truck around," says Watt. "It wouldn't be fair to other fishermen."

A regular Arizona fishing license is not valid at urban fishing lakes. Fishermen 14 and older must have a special urban fishing permit that costs $12 and is good for the calendar year; younger children need no permit.

To find out more about the lakes and where you can obtain a permit, telephone the Arizona Game and Fish Department regional office nearest you: Mesa, 981-9400; Phoenix, 942-3000; Tucson, 628-5376.

Daylight at Night

At 7:23 P.M. on November 30, 1868, a cavalry troop camped near the present-day site of Camp Reno witnessed a dramatic astronomical display. Samuel L. Potter, a sergeant in the First U.S. Cavalry, had been making detailed records of the Tonto Basin area for use in drawing the expedition's official map when he noted that a brilliant shooting star crossed the night sky heading northeast. When about two-thirds across the sky, “it burst into a golden shower, with a rumbling noise resembling distant thunder, and a dull shock like the dying effort of an earthquake.” The magnificence of the sight must have been overwhelming. “The full moon was shining at the time,” Potter continued, “its light unobscured by a cloud, yet the brilliancy of the meteor, for the moment, eclipsed her beauty, and caused the night to shine as the day.”

Kudos

Tucson artist Barbara Grygutis has won second prize in the second quadrennial International Ceramics in Urban Settings competition, in Faenza, Italy. The award recognizes her design of the Alene Dunlop Smith Garden, highlighted in the October 1988 Arizona Highways (Arizoniques, “Hidden Delight”).-Jim Schreier

Automania

If you happen across a Model T Ford, a Hupmobile, a Reo, or a Vellie chugging through Sedona's red rocks, never fear: you have not entered a time warp. The Horseless Carriage Club of America is visiting northern Arizona this month. The group's Valley of the Sun chapter hosts the High Country Caravan National Tour, the first held in Arizona since 1962.

About 150 horseless carriages dating from 1915 or earlier will converge in Flagstaff from June 26 to June 29. Their drivers and passengers, dressed in authentic period costumes, will tour Flagstaff, Wupatki, Sunset Crater, Walnut Canyon, Sedona, Oak Creek, and Mormon Lake, covering about 300 miles of Arizona's highways.

David Ward, Horseless Carriage Club treasurer and typical old-car buff, has a 1913 Model T Ford that reaches the dizzying speed of 28 miles per hour, wide open. He's loved playing with engines and cars since he was a small boy.

The Horseless Carriage Club functions as much as a social club as a hobbyists' group. The club members' wives-who form an auxiliary called “The Back Seat Drivers”-often obtain antique patterns and sew carefully detailed, authentic costumes of the 1905 to 1915 period. Motorists restore the old cars with painstaking accuracy, fabricating accessories such as running lights from scratch.

For more information on this month's events, or to learn more about owning, restoring, and driving a horseless carriage, write to David F. Ward, 7013 N. 23rd St., Phoenix, AZ 85020, or telephone 944-7379 or 864-4123.

Friends' Travel

For this month's preview of travel events sponsored by Friends of Arizona Highways, see page 3.

Calendar

April 3-July 2, Tempe. The Arizona State University Art Museum, now in its new quarters at Mill Avenue and 10th Street, presents “Fiber Concepts,” an exhibition by six internationally known artists. Telephone 965-ARTS.

June 1-30, Oatman. On weekends, see mineral, rock, and mining displays. Telephone 768-4603.

June 6-August 15, Tucson. The Arizona Historical Society hosts morning “living history” classes for children 7 through 12. Kids learn to pan gold, build a model Spanish presidio, go on a treasure hunt, put on a play. Enrollment in the weekly sessions is limited. Telephone 628-5774.

June 10-11, Prescott. The Sharlot Hall Museum presents its annual Folk Arts Fair: noncommercial demonstrations of traditional frontier crafts, such as spinning, weaving, natural fabric dyeing, rawhide and horsehair rope making. Music, dancing, and food add to the festivities. Telephone 445-3122.

June 23-August 2, Flagstaff. The ninth annual Festival of Native American Arts at the Coconino Center for the Arts, 2300 N. Fort Valley Road, features a six-week art exhibit, a weekly film and speaker program, demonstrations, workshops, a Native American banquet, and a July 1-2 Indian market. Telephone 779-6921.

June 24, Tucson. With Tucson Botanical Gardens staff, tour the 2.5-acre glass-enclosed Biosphere, a research site in which scientists will spend two years studying the cycles of a complete minienvironment. Telephone 326-9255.

For a more complete calendar of events, free of charge, write to Arizona Office of Tourism, 1100 W. Washington St., Phoenix 85007. Unless otherwise noted, all telephone numbers are within area code 602.