E-MAIL AND LETTERS

To Russia

A previous issue mentioned that Arizona Highways had been banned from the former Soviet Union because the pictures were deemed subversively pretty. Fortunately the post-Soviet government no longer censors everything.

For the last three years I have sent my back issues to two pen pals in Russia who teach high school English. They cannot afford to buy teaching materials due to the continuing economic crisis there, and their outdated Soviet English texts are hopelessly boring.

Because they live in Siberia, the pictures of desert landscapes, Indian cultures and cacti are exotic and fascinating to the students.

Whatever changes might occur in U.S.Russian relations, several hundred students in Siberia will have a soft spot for Arizona, thanks to these magazines.

The Name Bowie

A note might be added to Sam Negri's story on Fort Bowie ("A Hike With Cochise," November '00) about how that installation (1862-94) came by its name. In my classes on "U.S. Military Posts of the Arizona Frontier," students guess invariably that it derives from James Bowie, who perished in 1836 in the Battle of the Alamo.

Brig. Gen. James H. Carleton ordered it named for Col. George W. Bowie, a popular regimental commander in the California Column, which Carleton was leading across Arizona on its way to link up with Union forces during the Civil War.

Recycled Humor

The first page I turn to when I get a new issue is "Humor." I have noticed a trend that is disquieting. The November issue has six items; three of these have been floating around the e-mail circuit for a few years. Is there any way to make sure that you print only legitimate items?

With the growing popularity of the Internet, this has become a serious concern. Humor items have always been recycled (we once unknowingly ran a joke that was first published in 1925), but the speed and scope of the Internet have exacerbated the problem. The purpose of the humor page is to give everyone a laugh. Old jokes don't do that. We'll try to do better.

A Sharing Gift

Being an amateur photographer, a fine artist and lover of Indian lore, and because the November issue was so good, I decided to give three subscriptions as gifts not Christmas, not birthdays. It's a manner of sharing that will continue a whole year.

Great Humor Books

I want to thank Marshall Trimble for Never Give a Heifer a Bum Steer and Jack Graham for the illustrations. Couldn't put it down.

Also enjoyed Growing Older is So Much Fun Everybody's Doing It and Someday I Want To Go To All The Places My Luggage Has Been. Author Gene Perret deserves huge applause.

Thank you. Our humor books are doing so well we started a new publishing arm, called WitWorks™, to produce them.

Longtime Readers

We have been enjoying this magazine for many years and it improves with every issue. Our winters in Tucson since 1984 have given us many great adventures just from the information we get from Arizona Highways.

Nice Pictures Not Enough

You have changed the format of Arizona Highways magazine. I cannot see paying $21 for a lot of nice pictures. I used to like the old ghost mine stories and towns.

HOPE HOUSE INGRESS CLOSED

Access across private land to the Hope Jones mansion in Redfield Canyon has been closed and the private road gated. The influx of visitors caused by the mansion's story in the January issue created serious maintenance and staffing problems for the landowners.

ARIZONA HIGHWAYS