Mesa Historical Society
Organization
Found in 12 Collections and/or Records:
History lecture by Florence Knox Mitten, 1985 February, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSM02-47
Abstract
Local history lecture
Dates:
1985 February; Digitization: 2006 March
Mesa Leadership talk with Angy Booker, Celia Burns, Susie Sato, 2003 November 1, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MHM2005-027-042-1
Abstract
Booker, Burns, and Sato ? all from well-known families who helped settle Mesa ? participate in a panel interview to talk about Mesa in the early 1900's. They each tell how their families came to Mesa and what they did for a living, including farming and cooking at a downtown armory. They discuss everyday life ? doing laundry by hand, swimming in the canals for recreation, and keeping cool without air-conditioning. Booker talks about being part of the first African-American family to live in...
Dates:
2003 November 1; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history interview with Ike and Elaine Steele, 1985 April 23, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSM02-52
Abstract
Mr. Steele tells of his father moving from Provo, Utah, to Mesa in 1876, where he homesteaded and eventually owned a restaurant. He recalls that his family had livestock including dairy cows and that he attended a two-room schoolhouse in Lehi. Mrs. Steele talks about her schooling and mentions that she took lunch to her father, a constable, everyday. She also describes riding in a horse-pulled buggy to Phoenix to attend the fair.
Dates:
1985 April 23; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history interview with Lenna Isley, 1986 January 16, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MHM2005-027-016-1
Abstract
Isley tells the story of meeting her future husband, Guy Isley, at school and falling in love at first sight. They married and relocated to Arizona from Illinois for his health. She recalls that they moved just after the flu epidemic of 1918. She talks about the first house where they lived, the ranch that Mr. Isley bought with his brother, and how the area has grown. She discusses some church activities and her family, including the business that her son, Guy Roe, started. Isley describes...
Dates:
1986 January 16; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history interview with Owen Gray, 1986 June 3, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MHM2005-027-013-1
Abstract
Gray tells the story of his family's move to Arizona in 1880 after being asked to help settle the area by the prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He jokes about having been related to most of Mesa's residents when he was young. Gray describes early Mesa with its wide, muddy streets, horses and wagons, and lots of people coming to shop on Saturdays and Sundays. He mentions many downtown businesses including McDowell's service station, the Rex Hotel, the F.P. Drew...
Dates:
1986 June 3; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history interview with Wanda LeBaron, 1985 June 18, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSM02-48
Abstract
LeBaron describes her childhood home on Eighth Street ? one room with a dirt basement ? and talks about getting water from a well, and keeping a garden and chickens. She talks about her father's work as a farmer and rancher and tells about moving around to live on the various farms he worked. LeBaron discusses her experience teaching in Mesa and her own schooling when she was young. She talks about what the kids did for amusement, what medicine was like as a child, and mentions several...
Dates:
1985 June 18; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history of Blanche Allen Leavitt, 1985 June 11, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MHM2005-027-021-1
Abstract
Leavitt gives a little family history and mentions that her grandfather, a farmer, was the first person in Mesa to dig a well. She mentions several downtown businesses including the post office, Clyde's furniture store, Dennett's drugstore, LeSueur's grocery store, and The Toggery. She also recalls the Mezona dance hall and the Opera House theater. Leavitt talks about the flu epidemic when her entire family was ill and her uncle died leaving behind a wife and ten children. She recalls when...
Dates:
1985 June 11; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history of Dean and Zeta Thayer, 1983 October 6, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSM97-222
Abstract
Mr. Thayer tells the story of his parents' trip to Phoenix, from Lima, Ohio, as tourists in 1900. They ended up staying because the town of Buckeye badly needed a physician. The Thayers, who married in 1927, homesteaded in Mesa where they dug a well and cleared 200 acres of cactus and brush to grow citrus. They also milked dairy cows to pay for the land and trees. They ran a nursery and sold citrus trees to other growers. Mrs. Thayer recounts many funny stories of living on the land and the...
Dates:
1983 October 6; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history of Eddie Lewis, 1986 February 3, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MHM2005-027-022-1
Abstract
Lewis recounts his grandfather's move from Iowa to Utah and then to Arizona when some leaders of the Mormon Church asked him to help ?colonize? the area. He describes the 60-acre homestead near Main Street and Stapley in Mesa where his grandparents dug a large pond and stock it with fish. He tells many stories about his grandfather, the pond, and the homestead. Lewis recalls buying groceries and how much he could buy with five dollars. He also talks about the Alma School getting its first...
Dates:
1986 February 3; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history of Eva Watson Johnson Quist, 1987 April 3, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MHM2005-027-031-1
Abstract
Johnson gives an account of her family's move to Arizona in 1925 to benefit her mother's health. Her family settled on 10 acres on Broadway Road, near the Mormon Temple, where they farmed and raised chickens. She talks about her father, Charles Watson, who was a talented actor and singer. She also tells the story of her mother, Irene Watson, starting Watson's Flowers, a longtime family-owned business in Mesa. Quist tells of training as a registered nurse, taking care of her mother before she...
Dates:
1987 April 3; Digitization: 2006 March
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- Subject: Frontier and pioneer life -- Mesa (Ariz.) X
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- Mormons -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 5
- Agriculture -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 2
- African Americans -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Amusements -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 1
- Central business districts -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 1
- Citrus -- Mesa (Ariz.) 1
- Dairy farming -- Mesa (Ariz.) 1
- Farmers -- Mesa (Ariz.) 1
- Florists -- Mesa (Ariz.) 1
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Newspapers -- History 1
- History 1
- Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919 -- Mesa (Ariz.) 1
- Japanese Americans -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Nurses -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Race relations -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 1
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