Three new upcoming lectures
Rolly Prager
Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries is pleased to announce three upcoming lectures. All lectures are held at 4:00 p.m. in the MountainView Ballroom. There will be no fee for these lectures.
On February 21, we will welcome Barbara Jaquay from the Arizona Humanities Council who will present ‘Father Kino: Journey to Discovery.”
Father Kino was a cartographer, explorer, geographer, scientist and a man with a mission. Through his knowledge of agriculture, he introduced new livestock breeds and shared expertise on animal husbandry to native groups in the area. The new plants and fruit trees he brought to the New World introduced a variety of foods to eat and contributed to the advancement of agricultural techniques, such as how to withstand seasonal changes.
Dr. Barbara Jaquay, an historical geographer, holds a Ph.D from Texas A&M where she researched and wrote about the Caribbean cotton industry. She has travelled extensively on all seven continents. Dr. Jacquay has followed many of Father Kino’s journeys of discovery as she visited his missions in Arizona and Mexico.
Dr. Jay Cravath will present our next lecture on March 21. Dr. Cravath will discuss “River of Dreams: Stories and Music of Arizona’s Waterways.” Arizona’s rivers were lush green ribbons of life through a desert landscape. They became sustaining paths, first for the indigenous, later for immigrants leaving wagon tracks. On the Salt River, Hohokam built vast canals to direct water for irrigation. The first European citizens of Phoenix used these same trenches. The histories, stories and songs are shared interactively.
Jay Cravath, Ph.D is a composer, writer and scholar in the field of music and indigenous studies. He creates programs from these interests into interactive discussions that include stories, musical performance and illustrations/photography.
On April 18, Kevin Schindler will present “Arizona Goes to the Moon”. He will discuss the key role Arizona played in preparing to send humans to the moon in the late 1960s/early 1970s. The Apollo astronauts traveled to the Grand Canyon and volcanic fields around the state to learn geology and to practice their lunar excursions. Meanwhile, U.S. Geological Survey engineers worked with NASA staff to develop and test instruments while artists joined with scientists to create detailed maps of the moon that were critical to navigation on the lunar surface.
Kevin Schindler is an award-winning educator and writer who worked for more than 20 years at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff. He was sheriff of the Flagstaff Corral of Westerners for 14 years and a board member of the Flagstaff Festival of Science. Combining a dual passion for history and science, he has presented hundreds of educational programs, authored four books, written many magazine and newspaper articles and contributes a bi-weekly astronomy column for the Arizona Daily Star.