By William "Bill" Peck

I'm not starting out declaring how good or bad the "good old days" were.  It suffices to state that they are apples and oranges.  It remains for us as individuals to judge whether our present creature comforts come at a price of social loss when compared to the past. 

By Terry Munderloh

In 1913, ten years after Orville and Wilbur Wright launched the first successful flight of a gasoline powered airplane carrying a man, most of the residents of Arizona had never seen one of those new-fangled machines until they attended the first Northern Arizona State Fair.  Held in Prescott the Northern Arizona State Fair brought exhibitors and participants from the five northern counties together for a grand regional fair.  John Dougherty donated the use of his land for the fair grounds.  The Yavapai County Chamber of Commerce and community members laid out a racetrack, erected buildings and a grandstand.  The Santa Fe railroad ran special passenger trains from the downtown depot to the fair grounds for a fare of fifteen-cents a round trip. 

By Marie Slayton

(This article was originally posted on September 8, 2001.)

Having worked at the Gurley Street Grill for the better part of the last six years, I am quite familiar with the folkloric history associated with the building. However, as most people know, folklore and stories that are passed down through generations can bear little if any resemblance to history.

By Tom Brodersen

Sometimes "days past" leave traces that cannot be forgotten.  This year marked the 50th anniversary of nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site and many still suffer from cancer and other diseases caused by fallout from the United States atomic testing program half a century later.  It may come as a surprise that Yavapai County residents are included in the official list of people affected.  The areas in Arizona recognized by the government as affected by fallout are Yavapai, Coconino, Apache, Gila, and Navajo counties.  One out of every seven tests dumped radioactive fallout on northern Arizona. 
 

By Anne Foster

Sometimes, local legends are actually true.  Proving it, however, can be quite another story.  Just like the childhood game of "Gossip," where a whispered sentence is slowly transformed from one end of the line to other, the original tale is slowly lost in the retelling.  The essence of the story is there, but it takes some creative thinking and a great deal of research to find the truth behind the legend.

By Ruth Noggle

Prescott was a quiet town in the 1950's and early 1960's.  My introduction to school began with kindergarten at Dexter with teacher, Doris Mylott, who remembers me as a "real nice kid."  Our report cards graded Music, Art, Science and Social Studies, Number Readiness, Reading Readiness, Language, Work Habits, Health and Social Growth, along with 31 sub-headings. 
 

By Goodwin Berquist

Why would an organization "begun out on the dusty fairground with sort of a drunken brawl and an imitation snake dance" thrive in Prescott for seventy years?  Cowboy poet Gail Gardner, a charter member of the Smoki People, provides some answers. 
 

By Warren Miller 

Dobie rode a bronc to breakfast. 
That cayuse was plumb green. 
He fed ol' Dobe some biscuits, 
Still in the fire, I mean.

The camp cook wasn't none too pleased 
When Dobe went in the fire. 
That bronc spilled all the coffee; 
Stomped the bacon in the mire. 

Now, Dobe was some preoccupied, 
That biscuit dough was hot, 
And the lid from that dutch oven 
In his galluses was caught. 
 

These lines begin cowboy poet Mike Logan's poem, "Bronc to Breakfast," from his book of the same title.  The poem continues through sixteen more stanzas to tell a great story, rich in detail and humor, of an early morning roundup camp incident that left the cook hopping mad and breakfast and hot coals scattered all around the chuckwagon. 
 

By Linda Luddington

Tall, stately cottonwoods along Kirkland Creek shade the Rigden Ranch headquarters from the hot Arizona sun.  Built by hearty settlers over 120 years ago, the rambling old ranch house beckons visitors inside.  Walls of every room are covered with oils and watercolors painted by the Rigden family; most furniture surfaces hold Rigden sculpture.  In this ubiquitous Western art is the story of the history and essence of the Rigdens and their ranch, the featured family ranch of the 2001 Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering.

By Dorothy Chafin

When my family first moved to Prescott, the population was 4,500.  Was it a dull, small town?  Nope.  It was the county seat and always had activity. 
 

Shopping was better than it is today: Bashford Burmister carried everything from furniture to designer dresses and suits with famous labels; Agnes Todd had a dress shop just across the alley from the Elks theatre and restocked several times a year from her trips to California and other cities.  She would also do shopping for her customers, always knowing what they would like.