Date/Time
Date(s) - 04/02/2021
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Categories
“Territorial Tucson Heroes and Characters”
Tucson differs from most typical Western histories in that it was not a cattle town, nor a mining boom town. Our leading citizens in territorial days included a Welsh immigrant turned entrepreneur, seven nuns, a Baptist minister, and a Minnesota newspaperman here for his health. On the other hand, we had our share of gamblers, dance hall girls, and stage robbers from Hollywood’s version of the Wild West. Jim Turner presents a few thumbnail sketches, half-legends, and some stories that might even be true.
Jim Turner’s entire Connecticut Yankee family move to Tucson in 1951 to save little Jimmy from asthma. He attended Peter E. Howell Elementary, Alice Vail Junior High, and Rincon High School. Jim took his first course in Arizona history in 1974 and taught Arizona history at Canyon del Oro High School for his student teaching requirement in 1976. He received his master’s degree in U.S. history from the University of Arizona in 1999 and was historian for the Arizona Historical Society from 2001-2009. He retired and became an editor/author for Rio Nuevo Publishers in 2009 and published his first book, Arizona: A Celebration of the Grand Canyon State in 2011. He has since written four books for Rio Nuevo Publishers. A second edition of his Arizona history book, Arizona: A History of the Grand Canyon State, contains 20% more history stories and is expected to be in stores and online by June 1st.