By J.J. Lamb This year, every Vail school will have their own Halloween celebration and families will have fun dressing up and going Trick-or-Treating door-to-door or at Trunk or Treats. That got me thinking: How did earlier generations celebrate Halloween in Vail’s schools? Jack-o-lanterns made of desert gourds blinked in the corners of the Vail...
By J. J. Lamb In December 1919, demand for mohair was insatiable. Perry Hilton ran a herd of 2,000 – 3,000 mohair goats on his ranch in the Empire Mountains. For nearly 40 years goats had provided a good life for the Hilton family and now times were especially good. One fateful day Perry Hilton knelt to tend to a task in the corral full of...
By J. J. Lamb The Vail Preservation Society (VPS) received its sixth award in 2019 this month! It is an honor to be recognized at the state and local levels with the following awards: Museum Association of Arizona’s Institution of Excellence, Greater Vail Chamber of Commerce Non-Profit of the Year, Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission Heritage...
By J. J. Lamb Hollywood came to Vail in 1943 to film Paramount Picture’s Incendiary Blonde starring actress Betty Hutton. Incendiary Blonde is a fictionalized biopic of “Texas” Guinan, a 1920s speakeasy hostess, singer and silent movie star. Paramount leased Rancho del Lago to represent protagonist “Texas” Guinan’s childhood home in Waco...
By J. J. Lamb Florence and Cleaveland Putnam wed in July 1931. The Arizona Daily Star reported on the wedding saying, “one of the many popular University of Arizona girls to be wed this summer is Miss Florence Margaret James, who was married Saturday evening at Grace Episcopal church to Cleaveland Putnam […] The couple will spend the rest of...
By J. J. Lamb “There is enough flood water goes to waste annually down the Rillito, which, if stored, would be sufficient to irrigate the entire Tucson basin … it … requires … reclaiming the lands of the Tucson basin by means of water storage, diverged from the Rillito* or Cienega water ways.” Arizona Daily Star March 21, 1901. Vail resident W...
By J.J. Lamb “Mr. and Mrs. Cleaveland Putnam entertained Sunday for (newlyweds) Mr. and Mrs. Stone at their country home, Rancho del Lago, at Vail. Guests arrived at 5:00 for swimming, followed by buffet tea, dancing and bridge. At midnight, supper was wheeled out on the terrace overlooking the submarine lighted swimming pool. The music for the...
By Article Author For generations, one delicate, white-cotton batiste gown has bedecked descendants of Nora Rose Hector for their baptism. The gown is adorned with lace, delicate tucks, and entredeux, all sewn with care. Nora Rose was the first of 17 infants to wear the batiste gown for her baptism in 1884. The gown was sent by relatives in...
by J. J. Lamb “Most significant and successful historical/educational restoration project in Arizona.” Those were the powerful words from Chris Cody, the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office Deputy Director speaking about the 1915 Section Foreman’s House at Esmond Station K-8. The Vail Preservation Society is so proud of the 350...
by J.J. Lamb of the Vail Preservation Society Arizona was about to become a state when roadway booster associations across the nation worked to promote cross-country routes. By the early 1920s, booster organizations had named some of these roadways across Arizona. The names often overlapped sections of the same roads. Four roadways–Borderland...
