A General Membership Business Meeting and presentation will be held November 6, 2023 in the Steele Auditorium at the Arizona Heritage Center. Lunch will follow.
Dr. John Nathan Mack presents "The Selling of the Grand Canyon: William Haskell Simpson and the Building of El Tovar." In the post-civil War period of U.S. history, national attention shifted to the canyons and deserts of the American Southwest. The Anglo-American "discovery" of the Southwest served many purposes, not the least of which was to aid the nation's search for identity in the post-bellum decades. This presentation discusses the significance of the American Southwest in the early 20th century by focusing on the efforts of William Haskell Simpson (Assistant Passenger Agent of the Atchison, Topeka, and Sante Fe Railway) and the Harvey Company to coordinate, sustain, and profit from American interest in the region by building and the promoting the El Tovar at the Grand Canyon. The presentation concludes that by connecting the austere beauty of the desert and its ancient peoples to the cultural values of the late 19th and 20th centuries, the ATSF Railroad and Harvey Company played a pivotal role in creating the dominant mythology of the American Southwest.
Dr. Mack is returning as speaker for the Historical League, back by popular demand.
Lunch may be purchased online or reserve your place with Susan Howard and pay by check or cash by Thursday, November 2nd at 5:00 PM. Members with reservations are responsible for payment even if unable to attend.