Agriculture -- Mesa (Ariz.) -- History
Subject
Subject Source: Local sources
Found in 8 Collections and/or Records:
History lecture by Dwight Patterson, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MHM2005-027-028-1
Abstract
Patterson gives some of his family's history including that his grandfather homesteaded in Arizona in 1888 and his father ran one of Mesa's first telephone companies. Patterson, who farmed in Mesa, gives a brief overview of the history of farming in the area. He describes some of the machinery used in harvesting and baling hay, and talks about the water supply in Arizona. He discusses the future of farming in the area, the price of land, and the government's interference. Patterson responds...
Dates:
2006 March
Mesa Leadership talk with Angy Booker, Celia Burns, Susie Sato, 2003 November 1, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MHM2005-027-042-1
Abstract
Booker, Burns, and Sato ? all from well-known families who helped settle Mesa ? participate in a panel interview to talk about Mesa in the early 1900's. They each tell how their families came to Mesa and what they did for a living, including farming and cooking at a downtown armory. They discuss everyday life ? doing laundry by hand, swimming in the canals for recreation, and keeping cool without air-conditioning. Booker talks about being part of the first African-American family to live in...
Dates:
2003 November 1; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history interview with Lillian Millett, 1981 October 28, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSM97-219
Abstract
Millett moved to Mesa from Los Angeles in 1916. She describes the trip that took her family seven days in a Model T. Ford. She describes the big changes from Los Angeles including having no refrigeration or electricity, and being completely dependent on mesquite wood. She also describes using wet burlap to keep things cool. Millet married Williams Howard Millett, a native of Mesa, and they had six children. Howard was in the first group that went to World War I from Arizona. The Milletts...
Dates:
1981 October 28; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history interview with Maynard Henry Sargent, 1981 May 6, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSM97-182-1
Abstract
Sargent tells of his family's move to Mesa from Kansas via Los Angeles, California. He retired from a career at Salt River Project, but also worked as a farmer. Sargent gives great detail of farming operations, harvesting processes, and irrigation practices in the early and mid 20th century. He discusses various crops and products including dairy, almonds, citrus and grains. He also recalls the locations of many early farms and farmers such as the Longmores, Dobsons, and Stapleys. Sargent...
Dates:
1981 May 6; 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 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 Lelah Schornick, 1976 May 5, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSM97-184
Abstract
Schornick tells of her family's move to Mesa from Cherryville, Kansas, in 1909, to help her father's bronchiectasis. She recalls crops grown in those days: almonds, peaches, cantaloupe, citrus, dates. There were many ostrich farms and they ate ostrich eggs. She also talks about keeping cool by sleeping outside and wrapping water jars in wet burlap. Schornick married her husband Eugene (Gene), in 1917, and they had two children. Gene fought in World War II and retired from a career at Salt...
Dates:
1976 May 5; Digitization: 2006 March
Oral history of Mr. and Mrs. Larkin Fitch, 1980 March 4, 2006 March
Item
Identifier: MSM97-151
Abstract
As one of the last farmers to hold farm land inside the city limits of Mesa, Mr. Fitch discusses the difficulties of holding onto his land and farming in the city. He talks about his career as a farmer working with dairy, sheep, cotton, citrus, and hay. The Fitches have been in Mesa since it was a town of about 4000 in 1928, and have lived in the same house on N. Center since 1933. Mr. Fitch talks about how much Mesa has grown, the development of houses and business, and the loss of farm...
Dates:
1980 March 4; Digitization: 2006 March