Mesa Historical Society
Organization
Found in 20 Collections and/or Records:
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 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 Ida Ione Pomeroy Johnson, 1979 April 23, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSM02-28
Abstract
A member of the prominent Pomeroy family, Johnson was born in Mesa in 1896, at Robson and Second Ave. Her father was the first Mormon Bishop of Mesa, and one of her distant cousins served as Mesa's mayor in the 1970s. Johnson's father was also a rancher and a dairyman. She recalls driving a wagon to town with her sister to deliver eggs and milk to the local stores. She describes downtown Mesa with its dusty, and sometimes muddy, streets and mentions a few local business including Everybody's...
Dates:
1979 April 23; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history of Isaac Owen Rogers, 1981, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSM97-181
Abstract
Born in Mesa in 1903, Rogers tells of how his family was sent by Brigham Young to colonize Arizona. His father, Isaac Higby Rogers, worked as a blacksmith and invented a new device to shoe mules. He recalls details of farming with no machinery and home life with no electricity or running water. They used wet burlap to keep milk, eggs and butter cool. Rogers' grandfather was president of the Indian mission of the Mormon church, and Rogers gives a lot of detail about the daily life of Native...
Dates:
1981; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history of Lucille Peterson Hanson, 1985 January 10, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSM02-46
Abstract
Hanson begins by telling the story of her parents' move to Mesa at the request of Brigham Young; they were asked to help ?colonize? the area. Her father, Hyrum Smith Peterson, served as the Town Marshall of Mesa, but was killed while serving in office. She talks about becoming a teacher and marrying Thomas Franklin Riggs, a blacksmith. Hanson discusses plays, parks, dances, and other things residents of Mesa had for entertainment. She describes dealing with the hot weather, medicine, and...
Dates:
1985 January 10; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history of Norris and Margaret Steverson, 1984 July 9, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSM02-42
Abstract
Mr. Steverson was born in Mesa in 1910 at the corner of Main and Sirrine in the Territory of Arizona, and lived in many different places, including, Yuma, El Paso, Florida and Mexico City, Mexico. He gives his family's background and information about his parents. His father played for the St. Louis Cardinals and a team in El Paso. He worked as an was an engineer on the Roosevelt Dam. Steverson's mother, Laura B. Rogers Steverson Quick, earned a lifetime teaching certificate from Tempe...
Dates:
1984 July 9; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history of Shirley Palmer, 1988 February 15, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MHM2005-027-027-1
Abstract
Palmer begins by telling that she was born in Mesa, Arizona, and has lived there all her life. She describes her schooling and names many of her teachers. She recounts that although her family was poor, she never felt poor. She gives some family history and tells of her grandparents, the Hills and the Stapleys, settling in Mesa. She talks about everyday life including doing laundry, preserving food, and sleeping outside in summer. Palmer tells about dating and marrying her husband, Lehi...
Dates:
1988 February 15; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history of Zelma Miller, 1985 October, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MHM2005-027-025-1
Abstract
Miller tells of her family's move, when she was 14 years old, to the Gilbert area to farm. She describes her schooling, some of the area's fairs and parades, going to the movies, and other things they did for entertainment. She talks about medicine, home remedies, and how her entire family was ill during the flu epidemic of 1918. She recalls that Mesa's streets began to be paved around 1918 and that her father's first car was a ?Grant.? Miller talks about her daily home life and then...
Dates:
1985 October; Digitization: 2006 March
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- Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919 -- Mesa (Ariz.) 1
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