Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries

FSL May lecture features Wayne Ranney

Rolly Prager

On Thursday, May 16 Wayne Ranney will present “In the Footsteps of Martha Summerhayes.” The presentation will start at 4:00 p.m. in the MountainView Ballroom.

Martha Summerhayes was a refined New England woman who entered the Arizona Territory in 1874 as the young bride of an Army Lieutenant. Traveling in horrific conditions and dreadful heat, she soon despised the wild and untamed land. She gave birth to the first Anglo child at Fort Apache where the native women took her under their care. Gradually, Martha’s attitude towards the desert changed and she soon came to love the starry nights, the clean air and the simplicity of its inhabitants. She wrote her experiences in the classic book, Vanished Arizona, still in print since 1908.

Wayne Ranney has a personal connection to the Summerhayes family which he will share in the lecture.

Wayne Ranney is a dynamic speaker who engages audiences through the inclusion of humanities in all topics from landscape development to Arizona history. A resident of Arizona since 1975, Wayne lived at the bottom of the Grand Canyon for three years before attaining degrees in geology from Northern Arizona University. He has traveled to nearly 90 countries and has lectured on all seven continents. His programs are insightful, participatory and thought provoking.

There is no fee for this lecture.