By Dr. Ted Finkelston

(Our tale from last week left off as Jacob "Jake" Theobald, a Prescott youth drafted into the military to fight in the Great War, was finishing his training in the South of France, ready to take his orders to move to the front line.)

Without really telling his mother his unit had moved to the front, Jake wrote in early August, "Bob's big change is in spirits his like the rest of us getting a bit hard at times, but this life in the trenches will make anyone feel that way at times. We are not dry for a week eat & sleep in mud two feet deep but the Hun will pay for it and before very long."

By Dr. Ted Finkelston

On the morning of April 27, 1918, the Selective Service Board of Yavapai County met in the county courthouse and chose forty-seven young men to be drafted into the United States Army. The "Draft" had been enacted by Congress and signed by President Wilson a year earlier to choose men "upon the principle of universal liability to service."

The Selective Service Act of 1917 required all men twenty-one to thirty years of age to register for the Draft (later in August, 1918 that was expanded to all men 18 to 45). Ultimately 2.8 million Americans were called up, and about two million were sent to Europe, where approximately 1.4 million saw action.

By Ryan Flahive

On any given Sunday, these pages of the Prescott Courier are full of yarns about 'the good ol' days' of Yavapai County. Ranching reminiscences, school memoirs, church memories, mining histories and other topics pertaining to the Prescott area pervade our Sunday paper with a column we like to call 'Days Past'. But where do these histories come from? Personal memories? Oral tales?

By Jay Eby

The First Congregational Church building, at Gurley and Alarcon Streets, is a part of the East Prescott Historic District. This building, an example of Romanesque Revival architecture in Prescott, was constructed in 1904, dedicated on October 15, 1905, and nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

By Dana Sharp

As early pioneers etched their mark on history (and left something of themselves in the shadow of Granite Mountain) and reared their families, they began to see means to formally educate their children in ways other than the lessons of everyday life. Formal education in the Mint Wash area began with the formation of the Mint Valley School District No. 20 in 1884. As the area became more populated and more children needed formal education, Granite Mountain District No. 32 was organized in 1918.

By Jean Cross

Long ago it was said 'Skatakaamcha' (the Spiritual Protector) destroyed the eagle family that had killed his mother and gorged on her flesh. Clutched in the raptors talons, Skatakaamcha was carried high into the eagle's nest. He killed the adult eagles and fledglings but his revenge left him no pathway back down. Below the cliff, he spotted Kampanyika ('bat') collecting seeds. He called out, "Grandmother, come up here and take me down".

By Robert Spude

Among the collections at the Sharlot Hall Museum is a finely crafted, wooden box. Inside, slid between wooden tracks, stand the glass plate negatives of Clarence H. Shaw, a photographer of Arizona during the 1890s and early 1900s.

The glass plates reveal his skill in the craft for they depict not just people, but character, not just place, but mood. He captured events not commonly frozen behind the ground glass of other territorial photographers. His glass plate negatives are a treasure to view.

By Fred B. Nelson

Old cemeteries are the fountains from which history flows. It was with this in mindset that I drove out to the vicinity of Walnut Creek, which was a 19th century farming and supply center, located about 40 miles northwest of Prescott. It is currently the site of a US Forest Service guard station, which is operated in partnership with some local colleges. I noticed on a USFS map that there was a cemetery in the area, and I found it just off the Juniper Springs trail, about 1/4 mile up from the Walnut Creek road. Much of the cemetery has fallen into disrepair, but four graves are still well kept with legible headstones, noting dates of death between 1881 and 1897.

By Rose McLendon

Imagine for a moment a loved one, be it parent, friend, or sweetheart. Imagine that it's that magical time in the relationship - the point in which you excitedly give a token to express your love and admiration. What sort of object would be appropriate? Chocolates? A framed photo? A lock of hair? Keep imagining...

By Wayne J. Orchard

(Last week in Part I, we found our author and his companions exploring Cottonwood and looking forward to pilot training for the United States Navy during World War II. The armed forces were faced with a shortage of pilots, and Cottonwood and Prescott became bases for the War Training Service (WTS) Program to assist with alleviating that shortage.)

Some of the shop owners in town emptied out back rooms to be used as classrooms. Our teachers were from the Northern Arizona College at Flagstaff. They were very impressive and knowledgeable. They taught classes in aircraft recognition, Morse code, science of flight and other subjects sandwiched in between.