By Worcester P. Bong

In part 1 of this article, we learned about the Veterans Administration/Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) career of Paul N. Schmoll. Serving from October 1957 to November 1961, Schmoll was the eighth director appointed at the Whipple VA Center in Prescott. Part 2 of this article highlights Virgil I. McIntyre, the eleventh director to be appointed at the Whipple VA Center. McIntyre was director from January of 1972 to April of 1988.

By Worcester P. Bong

Leadership change happens constantly. At the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Prescott, past directors have stayed three to five years on average. The shortest stint was 22 months, the longest 16 years, 2 months. Directors moved on and often retired elsewhere. However, two directors who moved away, Paul N. Schmoll and Virgil I. McIntyre, moved back to Prescott upon their retirement and were buried at local cemeteries.

By Nancy Burgess

This is a bit of the story of a rural western town and the men and women who put it on the map.  Mayer, Arizona is a small, unincorporated town in Yavapai County.  It is located near the center of the state in the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains on Big Bug Creek.

Mayer was founded and named by Joseph (Joe) Mayer and his wife, Sarah (Sadie) Mayer, who purchased the Big Bug Stage Station on the Black Canyon Stage Line from Prescott to Phoenix in July of 1882 for $1,200 in gold. Sadie hid the gold in her darning basket for the move from Tip Top to Big Bug Station. Joe and Sadie Mayer then proceeded to found a town, where Joe was the major player until his death in 1909. Joe dreamed of making Mayer into the economic center of Yavapai County.

By Dan Bergan

When singer Trinity Seely takes the stage August 10 at the newly re-named Jim and Linda Lee Performing Arts Center on the campus of Yavapai College, her footsteps echo 35 years of one of Prescott’s most popular and long-standing traditions—the Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering.

Oral History
Interviewee:  William Charles Jennings Jr.   (b. 9/14/1928 – d. xx-xx-xxxx)
Interviewer:  Susan Cypert         
Audio Number:  1636   
Duration:   00:57:19
Date:  May 10, 2023
Acquisition Number:  ACC#  2023.030
Topics Discussed:  Hayden, Arizona; Albert Jackson Jennings; Chihuahua, Mexico; Petra Cuen; Mexico; Port of Los Angeles; Mary Scobel, William Charles Jennings, Sr.; Piedras Verdes, Alamosa Sonora, Mexico; Clarkdale, Jerome, Hayden, Dewey; Blount-Scott; Casa Grande, Florence; Terminal Island, San Pedro, California; Charlotte McKay; Granite Dells Swimming Hole; The Courier; Studio Theater; Smoki Dances; Mexican Dance Group; Whiskey Row; 4^th of July Parade; Community Sings; Clarkdale; Washington School; Southern Pacific Railroad; Korean War; Allstate Insurance Company.
 

By Bradley G. Courtney

In part 1, the question was raised regarding the veracity of the beloved legend of the Palace Saloon’s bar being pulled out to the Plaza and saved during Prescott’s Great Fire of 1900. We left off with the story of how the Palace experienced a fire in its interior in late 1897 and was destroyed only within, including its solid walnut wood bar that had been installed in 1884.

By Karen Kamradt

Continued from Part 1 published on 7/2/2023

Throughout his five years as Chief and Tribal Leader, Sam traveled on many delegations to Washington on behalf of the Yavapai People. Sam and his wife Viola were also instrumental in organizing and lobbying Congress for Tribal recognition, working closely with national and local leaders including Grace M. Sparkes, Sharlot M. Hall, Grace L. (Genung) Chapman and Arizona’s senior Senator Carl Hayden. On June 7, 1935, the current Yavapai-Prescott Indian Reservation was established on 75 acres transferred from the Old Fort Whipple Military Reserve to the Interior Department. In 1956, 1,320 acres were added to the Reservation.

By Bradley G. Courtney

Prior to the release of the book Prescott’s Original Whiskey Row in 2015, there’d been some debate between local historians and Whiskey Row business owners and regulars as to whether Prescott’s most famous and cherished legend was true. That is, the story of Palace patrons pulling the saloon’s bar—the same bar used in the Palace today—out to the courthouse plaza while the inferno raced north up Montezuma Street. Some local historians concluded that it’s nothing more than a tall tale. 

By Bob Baker

On October 5, 1869, James O. Grant, owner of the Arizona Stage Line, arrived in Prescott on his stagecoach pulled by six mules. His arrival heralded the first scheduled public passenger service from Prescott to San Bernardino, California. The stage route ran through Yavapai County and included stops at American Ranch, Skull Valley, Date Creek, Wickenburg and La Paz. Later, stage service to Phoenix was added. 

By Karen Kamradt

Eighty-eight years ago on May 9, 1935, Sam Jimulla (pronounced gee-mew-lah’) was appointed Chief of the Prescott Yavapai by the U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs, John Collier (1933-1945). At the same time, Sam was officially elected by his people to be their leader and Chief.