By Erik Berg

Many people know about the rich gold discoveries that brought waves of early prospectors to Yavapai County, but few realize that the area was also the scene of a brief but intensive oil boom during the First World War. For a few years, the rolling hills of the Chino Valley were dotted with the wooden derricks of oil wells and local newspapers were filled with the advertisements of would-be oil barons. Now largely forgotten, the Chino Valley oil boom remains as one of the more unusual stories from Arizona’s mining history.

By John Darrin Tenney

Baseball, the national pastime, has a long history dating back to the 1840s. The game evolved from older bat-and-ball games from England such as cricket and Colonial America era games like one-o-cat, two-o-cat. When most of us think of Arizona history, however, the game of baseball is not the first image that comes to mind.

By Dr. Sandra Lynch and Dave Lewis

“For centuries, art and handcrafts have played an important role in the religious and social lives of Indigenous peoples. . .  Throughout our Native American history it has been no different.  The images you see in almost all designs used in Native American arts and crafts are religious.  Even the hand processes used in creating such works reflect an individual artisan’s relationship with the tools that begin with a beating heart, mind and spirit.  Our ties to this earth and to our Creator are evident in almost all images in the cultural arts of the Native American artisan.”     (Andy Abieta, Isleta Pueblo)

By Dr. Barbara Marriott

The music floated in on a soft summer breeze.  The two schoolteachers rocking on the porch of their Oracle home caught the refrain and smiled at each other.  “That Annie sure knows how to throw a party.”  “Sure does,” replied the other woman, whose foot was tapping along with the beat. “Never met a guest that didn’t enjoy himself.”

By Mick Woodcock

Murder was never an everyday occurrence in territorial Arizona, despite what one might gather from the violence during the Pleasant Valley War and the shootings in Tombstone during its heyday.  Thus, the headline of an article in the July 30, 1887, Globe (Arizona) newspaper, the Arizona Silver Belt, announcing “A HOMICIDE AT BAKER’S BUTTE” is worthy of note as it resulted in a murder trial in the Yavapai County Courthouse in Prescott.  It also may have been the first time a crime scene was ever photographed in Arizona.

By Cynthia Palcich and Members of the Sharlot Hall Museum Staff

A tired and disgusted Apache said to the Army officer receiving his surrender, “Your Apache Scouts track us even when we leave no tracks.”  Such was the skill of the Apache warriors who enlisted in the Army during Arizona Territory’s Indian Wars of the 1870s and 1880s.

Mick Woodcock and other members of the Sharlot Hall staff contributed to this article.

In the 1870s and 1880s, Apache warriors enlisted in the United States Army to serve as scouts while the Army was at war with the Apache people.  Why would Apache warriors do something that appears contrary to the interests of their own people?   What was the role of Apache scouts?  Could Army commanders trust Apache scouts?  Was the use of Apache scouts effective?  The answers to these questions are probably as varied as the individual scouts and their personal relationships with the Army.  In broad terms, this article will provide some answers.

By Tom Collins

With the petite body of a soubrette and the care-worn face of a matronly character actress, Ethel Tucker (1860-1926) lacked the physical qualities of a leading lady; and yet she persistently played romantic leads in the Ethel Tucker Stock Company, which toured the Arizona Territory between 1905 and 1907.  From November 27 to December 2, 1905, she delighted Prescott audiences at the Elks Theatre in her formidable repertoire: The Embezzler, Carmen, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Across the Desert, Sapho, Faust, Foxy Grandpa, and The James Boys in Missouri.

By Fred Veil

The Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for bravery, was first authorized by the U.S. Congress in the early years of the Civil War. Initially, the Army balked at the concept of such a medal, as its commanding general thought that it smacked of “European monarchy.” He nevertheless reconsidered when the Navy adopted it in 1861 “to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and Marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamanlike qualities during the present war.” The authorization for an Army Medal of Honor was enacted into law in July, 1862.

By Barbara Patton

In last week’s “Days Past” article, we followed Martha and her husband Lt. Jack Summerhayes on part of an arduous two-month trip.  The year was 1874 and they were relocating from Wyoming to Fort Apache in the wilds of Arizona Territory.  As we begin this week’s story, their ambulance wagon has brought them to Fort Whipple for a short recuperation before continuing on their way.