By J.J. McCormack

An artist's inspiration, a sportsman's paradise, a mountain gem and Prescott's playground.  Take your pick of the assorted descriptions writers have bestowed on Watson Lake in the 84 years since the turquoise body of water began lapping at the sloping walls of the Granite Dells.  The same romantic prose was ascribed to Willow Lake when it appeared west of the Dells 21 years after Watson.

By Terry Munderloh

(This is the last in a series of articles in recognition of Women's History Month) 
 

Rosaceae, Rosa, the Rose.  This flower's name is almost the same in every European language.  Roses have been known throughout the northern hemisphere as far back as written literature records, but the majority of "modern" roses popular in American gardens are chiefly derived from Asiatic species.  Wild roses include the cabbage rose, a native to the Caucasus Mountains of Russia; the damask rose of Syria; and the tea rose, with it's scent of tea, from China.

By Claudette Simpson

(Note: This is part three of a five part series of articles for Days Past celebrating Woman's History Month.) 

A woman in the 1990s, takes it for granted she can vote.  If she wants to register and if she wants to go to the polls and mark a ballot, her vote carries the same weight as a man's vote. 
 

Not only can a woman vote, she can run for office.  By law and constitutional amendment, women have the same suffrage rights as men.  But, in the history of the United States, those rights are new.  A woman's right to vote was scorned years ago.  It has been a long battle to the ballot box, a battle against prejudice and ridicule.

By Marilys Johnson

Remember when you were a kid?  Your parents were always talking about things that had happened to them.

When they got to the part where they said, “And when I was your age…” you pretty much tuned them out.

By Terry Munderloh

(This is part two of a five part series of articles for Days Past celebrating Women's History Month) 
 

Another pioneer woman honored in the Sharlot Hall Museum's Territorial Women's Memorial Rose Garden, whom many Prescottonians will remember, is Gussie Green Wood.  Gussie's father, Louis LaMar Green, was a homesteader and sheep grower in Texas.  He was also a widower with 5 daughters and one son when he married Isa Elizabeth Denyer.  Louis and Isa also had 5 daughters and one son, Gussie Denyer being born on May 10, 1894, the fourth daughter of that union.  When Gussie was only 5 years old her mother died.  An older half sister who had moved to Arizona to recover from consumption returned to Texas to take care of the younger children.  Gussie writes fondly of this sympathetic and understanding sister who told the children wonderful stories of the 'West'.

By Anne L. Foster

Suffragettes, teachers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, ranchers, miners, artists, writers, wives and mothers. Pioneers all, the ladies honored in the Territorial Women’s Memorial Rose Garden at the Sharlot Hall Museum were invaluable participants in shaping what was to become the state of Arizona.

By Norm Tessman

"THE MOTHER'S FAREWELL," "CUBA LIBRE!," and "REMEMBER THE MAINE;" Pop culture of the Spanish-American war. 
 

It was a war of images, symbols, and souvenirs, of sabre-rattling slogans and patriotic pins.  It was a time for thundering marches by John Philip Sousa and heart-rending ballads about young men leaving their mothers to go fight in a foreign land.  It was an era of unabashed flag-waving, lurid yellow journalism, and widespread hero worship. 

By Richard Gorby

On the night of February 15, 1898, the Battleship Maine, of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, was riding quietly at anchor in the harbor of Havana, Cuba.  At twenty minutes before ten the Maine was racked with a terrific explosion that shattered window glass in Havana and sent rocket-like fingers of brilliant light skyward from the mangled decks.  In seconds the Maine became a crushed mass of floating wreckage as flames leapt from one ammunition locker to another, causing internal explosions.  In only a few minutes the great ship had sunk, with only her superstructure poking above the water.  She took 263 men with her to their deaths.

By Pat Atchison

The history of Prescott is enriched with many half-truths and errors that make interesting reading but which distort the truth.  James Fleming Parker was the last person hanged in a legal public hanging in Prescott.  Wrong!  All the elements necessary to make a good story were included in The Parker case: cattle rustling; train robbery; the Thompson Gang; a jailbreak; a murder; horse stealing; and a hot pursuit by the well-known sheriff, George Ruffner.  However, his hanging on June 3, 1898, was not the last in Prescott.

By Norm Tessman

It's an icy January evening in mile high Prescott, and the contra crowd arrives in sweaters and winter jackets.  In the old armory on East Gurley Street, a band is warming up, and people chat excitedly as they wait for the dance to start.  Perhaps the only uniformity in dress is that many of the women sport longish floral-print skirts, the better to swirl when you swing.  Guys wear wash pants and cotton shirts, or t-shirts and jeans, with their emphasis on comfort