Arizona History with Marshall Trimble
By Madeline Morrill 2005
Marshall Trimble is his given name,
State
Historian is his claim to fame.
We’ve come to listen
to him every week,
For it’s
knowledge of
Arizona
history that we
seek.
They said, sign up now before he
retires,
But he says,
no way, I’m lighting too many fires.
It’s
interesting, absorbing and amusing too,
Marshall
’s love for
Arizona
just comes shining through.
What have we
learned on this historical journey?
We’ve learned
lots of facts and a little bit of blarney.
There were
ancient Anasazi or is it Ancestral Pueblos,
They lived
many years ago on those high Colorado Plateaus.
The Spaniards
came looking for Glory, God and Gold,
Arizona
was the place for those most brave
and bold.
Trappers and
explores came next for the fur of the beaver,
Names like
Walker and Carson and Williams and Weaver.
Steamboats
and camels came with the engineers,
They
mapped and surveyed all of
Arizona
’s frontiers.
Finally with
the stagecoach, along came the women,
Sarah Bowman became
Yuma
’s very own “First Citizen”.
The
“Easterners” started up the Civil War,
Confederates
tried to open up the Western door.
The
westernmost battle took place at
Picacho
Pass
,
The Apaches
were just glad that it wasn’t their .
The Indians
loved this beautiful land,
They decided
to fight as a mighty band.
The army sent along
General George Crook,
And the
Indians soon had to go by his book.
The miners
found copper and silver and gold,
They dug out
the metals and had them bankrolled.
The greatest
silver strike was the Silver King,
With Rich
Hill and Vulture, the cash registers did ring.
On
to Legends in
Levis
- they looked mighty good in those chaps,
Their cowboy
hats soon replaced those coonskin caps.
The Babbitt
Brothers started the CO Bar,
It was
Flagstaff ,
Arizona
’s brightest ranching star.
Cattle
ranchers and sheep ranchers just didn’t get along,
The Pleasant
Valley War began and boy, did it last long.
Don’t forget
the infamous OK Corral and pretty Winnie Ruth Judd,
She fought
with her two girlfriends and nipped them in the bud.
Horses and
stagecoaches as transportation were okay,
But the
coming of the railroads really brought a better way.
Just don’t
say impossible to Frank Murphy in Crown King,
People had to
get to Ashfork, and his railroad was just the thing.
Was
Arizona
the only place with a capital on wheels?
From
Prescott
to
Tucson
and back, they had to move their seals,
In 1889,
Phoenix
became the best place,
No more
changes now, so let’s start the statehood chase.
In
1912,
Arizona
became the 48th
state,
George W. P.
Hunt thought that this was just great.
For many,
many years the Democrats ruled,
Then along
came Barry Goldwater and the Democrats were cooled.
Air
conditioning was invented and the tender feet were coming,
They dammed
up the water and the power companies were humming.
They
all began to realize,
Arizona
’s a great place to be,
The only thing missing
here is a good view of the sea.
Now our
cavalcade is over and we very much enjoyed it,
Marshall
, you
never bored us, not for even one tiny bit.
May
our knowledge of
Arizona
just continue to soar,
As you must leave us
now, wanting for more.
We hope you
find that special woman, the one with a thin cotton dress,
If we should
happen upon her first, then we’ll send you her address.
She must be
out there somewhere and one thing we know is true,
She
lives in
Arizona
where your heart is, through and through.
“I hope we
meet again someday”, Marshall Trimble says,
On
the
Arizona
road or maybe on the Indian Res.
Next time
that you see us, Marshall, please give us a wave,
For now,
we’ll go our own ways and try hard to behave.
And now we
must go out and buy your latest book,
Arizona 2000
must really be worth a look.
There’s just one thing
that we’d really like to say,
Please write
an autobiography - that would really make our day.
Thanks for showing us
Arizona
, with all it’s warts and charm,
With your
humor and good looks, you’re sure not the average schoolmarm.
If we have more questions about our
state and really want to chat,
We’ll be
keeping a keen eye out for your signature black hat.
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