Mesa Historical Society
Organization
Found in 54 Collections and/or Records:
Oral history interview with Ray Killian, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MHM2005-027-020-1
Abstract
Killian recounts his childhood in Concho, Arizona, where his parents owned Concho Mercantile Company. He describes his schooling in Thatcher, Arizona, his successful studies, and the opportunity he was given to train in the banking industry. He talks about his activities in the Mormon Church, including a mission to Hawaii, his experiences as a banker during the Great Depression, and his early married life with his wife, Jesse Ellsworth. Killian tells about moving to Mesa in 1935; he...
Dates:
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 interview with Wayne and Zoe Phelps, 1988 January 8, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MHM2005-027-030-1
Abstract
Wayne Phelps begins by giving his family's history and telling how his grandparents moved to Arizona at the request of Brigham Young. He recalls several early Mesa families and the houses they built. He reminisces about selling newspapers as a young boy, and about a trip he took to the Grand Canyon. He also recalls several local business including the Rex Hotel, Gus Wendel's jewelry store, F.P. Drew Lumber Company, and a few blacksmithing shops. Mr. Phelps talks about his schooling, mentions...
Dates:
1988 January 8; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history of Angy Booker, 2002 June 15, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSAoh-j638a-V02
Abstract
Booker, born in Naco, Arizona, talks about her family's history and her experiences as an African American woman in early Mesa. Her great-grand parents were slaves, and her grandfather and father were Buffalo Soldiers in the army. Her mother did laundry for a living, including for the O.S. Stapley family. She describes early downtown Mesa and mentions some businesses such as Everybody's Drugstore, the post office, J.C. Penney's, the hospital, and some churches. Booker discusses race...
Dates:
2002 June 15; 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 Clara Emmett, 1985 October 23, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MHM2005-027-009-1
Abstract
Emmett begins by telling how she and her husband moved from Wyoming to Mesa, Arizona, where they have lived in the same house since 1930. She discusses her volunteer work running the school cafeteria during the Depression, and helping the local Mormon Church start a welfare program. Emmett tells of losing all three of her children and two grandchildren. She describes the development of the streets and sewer systems in early Mesa, and the work she and her husband did on their house. She also...
Dates:
1985 October 23; 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 Dolly Beville Robertson, 1985 March 4, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSM02-43
Abstract
Robertson begins by recounting her family's move from California to Arizona in 1911. Her father, Paul Baxter Beville, a citrus farmer, moved to Mesa to grow citrus because the land was plentiful and the temperatures were ideal. Robertson recalls that her father became a community leader, serving on the Mesa City Council and as mayor in the mid-1910's. She mentions several prominent Mesa families and local businesses including Everybody's Drugstore, the Toggery, Wendel's jewelry store,...
Dates:
1985 March 4; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history of Dr. and Mrs. Lloyd Kent, 1980 April 14, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSM97-174
Abstract
Dr. Kent discusses his education and how he decided to come to Mesa in 1931 to practice medicine with Dr. Ralph Palmer. He mentions his musical background and how he and Mrs. Kent have supported the Mesa Fine Arts Association. Mrs. Kent describes Mesa when they arrived: a population of 3500, and one square mile bordered by University and Broadway, and Mesa Drive and Country Club Blvd. She describes the downtown area and mentions several businesses including First National Bank, the Rex...
Dates:
1980 April 14; 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
Additional filters:
- Subject
- Interviews 53
- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century 51
- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History -- 20th century 49
- Mormons -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 20
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Mesa (Ariz.) 11
- Central business districts -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 10
- Agriculture -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 8
- Schools -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 6
- Civic leaders -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 5
- History 5
- Recreation -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 5
- African Americans -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 4
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Arizona 3
- Medical care -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 3
- Mexican Americans -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 3
- Race relations -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 3
- Transportation -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 3
- Amusements -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 2
- Citrus -- Mesa (Ariz.) 2
- Dairy farming -- Mesa (Ariz.) 2
- Farmers -- Mesa (Ariz.) 2
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Gilbert (Ariz.) 2
- Indigenous peoples of North America -- Social life and customs 2
- Indigenous peoples of North America -- Sonoran Desert 2
- Neighborhood -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 2
- Nurses -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 2
- Physicians -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 2
- Teachers -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 2
- African American women school principals -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- African American women teachers -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Art collections 1
- Athletes -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Attendance officers -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Automobiles -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 1
- Business enterprises -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 1
- Businessmen -- Mesa (Ariz.) 1
- Businessmen -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Businesswomen -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Catholics -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Dairy farmers -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Biography 1
- Employees -- Interviews 1
- Farmers -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Florists -- Mesa (Ariz.) 1
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Newspapers -- History 1
- Gilbert (Ariz.) -- History -- 20th century 1
- Gilbert (Ariz.) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century 1
- Indian pottery -- Collectors and collecting 1
- Indian textile fabrics -- Collectors and collecting 1
- Indigenous peoples of North America -- Colorado Plateau 1
- Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919 -- Mesa (Ariz.) 1
- Japanese Americans -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Kachinas -- Collectors and collecting 1
- Legislators -- United States -- Interviews 1
- Mayors -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Biography 1
- Mayors -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Medicine -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 1
- Merchants -- Mesa (Ariz.) 1
- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Race relations 1
- Missionaries -- Mesa (Ariz.) 1
- Mormon Church -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 1
- Mormons -- Mesa (Ariz.) 1
- Mormons -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Biography 1
- Music teachers -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Park facilities -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Development 1
- Pharmacists -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Phoenix (Submarine) -- History 1
- Postmasters -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Public schools -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History 1
- Railroads -- Maricopa (Ariz.) -- History 1
- Schools -- Gilbert (Ariz.) -- History 1
- Sheep ranches -- Arizona -- History 1
- Shoemakers -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Teachers -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Biography 1
- Thatcher (Ariz.) -- History 1
- Theodore Roosevelt Dam (Ariz.) -- History 1
- United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1989 1
- Veterans -- United States -- Interviews 1
- Volunteers -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1
- Water supply -- Arizona -- History 1
- Water-supply -- Arizona 1
- Women civic leaders -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- Interviews 1 + ∧ less
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