Rolly Prager
Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries lecture series continues on November 15 when Wayne Ranney will speak about the Grand Canyon and how it became a wonder of the world. Smitten by Stone: How We Came to Love the Grand Canyon is a fascinating story about how the Grand Canyon went from obscurity to a national treasure. The Grand Canyon, first discovered in 1540, was not always viewed as one of the magnificent magical wonders of the world. In fact, it was viewed by the conquistadores, explorers, trappers and miners as an obstacle to avoid or even useless. None of these visitors returned for a second time. This all changed in 1857 when the first geologist laid eyes on it and issued a siren call to humanity that it was something very special on our planet. Every geologist who followed returned again and again, announcing to the world that the Grand Canyon was to be revered.
Wayne Ranney is a dynamic speaker who engages audiences by including the humanities in the topics of landscape development and Arizona history.
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. Wayne has extensive experience in the geological sciences but brings the human element into his topics, showing how new ideas are conceived, developed, challenged or accepted.
The lecture will start at 4:00 p.m. in the MountainView Ballroom. There is no charge for this lecture.
Our December 20 lecture, The Cameron Trading Post: 100 years of Trading and Tourists, will be presented by Carolyn O Bagy Davis a fourth-generation descendant of Utah pioneers. In 1911, a one-track bridge across the Little Colorado River opened travel to northern Arizona and Hubert Richardson’s trading post at the south end of the bridge providing a center for local Navajos to trade sheep, rugs and jewelry. Tourists going to the Grand Canyon also discovered the Cameron Trading Post and it soon became a destination and a stopover for people from around the world. Movie stars, artists, writers and scientists went to Cameron. Zane Grey wrote and filmed movies there; John Wayne was once locked in the men’s washroom. Richard Nixon met his mobster friend Bebe Rebozo at Cameron.
Carolyn O Bagy Davis is the author of 14 books on archaeology, quilting and the history of the Southwest. Her book Hopi Summer was selected for OneBook Arizona and Desert Trader was named one of the Best Books of the Southwest in 2012. She was founding president of the Tucson Quilters Guild and Old Pueblo Archeology Center. Davis has appeared on HGTV, PBS and Lifetime television programs and has curated many traveling museum exhibits.
The lecture will start at 4:00 p.m. in the MountainView Ballroom. There is no charge for this lecture.