Nineteen

Granite Mountain Hotshots

I am in no mood to be jocular these days.

Nineteen firefighters died Sunday while doing their job.

The Yarnell Hill Fire was ignited by lightning on June 28, 2013 near Yarnell, Ariz. On June 30, 19 firefighters with the Prescott Fire Department's interagency Granite Mountain Hotshots were overrun and killed by the fire. Only one member of the team survived.

This event resulted in the highest firefighter death toll since 9/11.

The United Phoenix Fire Fighters Association, together with the Prescott Fire Fighters Charities, has established a 501(c)3 relief fund. More information can be found here.

 

A tough Row

Whiskey Row in 1905.

'Tis a sad day for Arizona historians after a fire on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 destroyed two businesses and damaged a third on historic Whiskey Row in Prescott, Ariz.

Whiskey Row got its name for having 40 bars in one city block.

All three of the burned businesses - the Bird Cage Saloon, Larry & Hy's Bare Bones BBQ and Prescott Food Store - are located in one building that was erected right after most of the downtown burned to the ground on July 14, 1900.

The 1900 fire destroyed almost all of the buildings on Whiskey Row including the 1891 Hotel Burke, advertised as "the only absolutely fireproof building in Prescott."

According to local legend, the patrons of the various bars simply took their drinks across the street to the Courthouse square and watched it burn. At the time of the 1900 fire, the entire bar and back-bar of the Palace Hotel was removed to the square by the patrons as the fire approached, re-installing it after the gutted brick structure was rebuilt.

Prescott residents are already vowing to rebuild the newly-damaged Whiskey Row.

I wish them luck.

Life among the lowly

Momma and I are Still Vacationing in Prescott but Head Home tomorrow with my Big Sister - Sob! I shall miss this lovely town but hope to come back soon ... maybe for another fitting?

However, it has come to My attention that July 1 is celebrated in The Episcopal Church as the Feast Day of Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote the book Uncle Tom's Cabin. You may have heard of it?

Harriet Beecher Stowe (June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American abolitionist and author. Her 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin depicted slavery and reached millions as a novel and play. It energized anti-slavery forces in the North, while provoking widespread anger in the South. She was an ardent critic of slavery, and the Stowes supported the Underground Railroad, temporarily housing several fugitive slaves in their home.

So today I beseech you to read Uncle Tom's Cabin, if you haven't already. It may surprise you.

Gracious God, we offer thanks for the witness of Harriett Beecher Stowe, whose fiction inspired thousands with compassion for the shame and sufferings of enslaved peoples, and who enriched her writings with the cadences of The Book of Common Prayer. Help us, like her, to strive for thy justice, that our eyes may see the glory of thy Son, Jesus Christ, when he comes to reign with thee and the Holy Spirit in reconciliation and peace, one God, now and always. Amen.

Just can't get enough

Purple and Black Sailor Suit

Momma and I are in Prescott with my Big Sister visiting Momma's friend Jennifer. (Jennifer first met me at Comicon and now just can't seem to Get Enough of me.)  

Red, Black and White Whimsy

This morning we had my First Fitting of Three New Outfits!  


Jennifer's never made anything for anyone Quite Like Me so she's had to Experiment. What do you think so far?

Red, White and Blue Bathing Dress

(The crocheted clothes are a Bit Warm now but will Feel Wonderful once we return to Chilly Philadelphia.)

Momma and my Big Sister leave for Ankle Biters Camp this afternoon, but I shall be chilling with Jennifer while she Completes my new Wardrobe.

And see What Else we can get into while Momma's away....

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go

Momma is feeling Much Better after her Root Canal (but Sore!) and is Slowly getting ready for our Vacation next week in Prescott, Ariz.

(I'm packed but Neither she Nor my Big Sister are - hmph.)

Momma tells me that Prescott is Very Historic. It was founded in 1864 as the Territorial Capital of Arizona. Although the Capital moved to Tucson from 1867 to 1877, the Capital returned to Prescott at the end of 1877 and remained until it was moved permanently to Phoenix in 1889. (How does one Move a Capital?)

Momma and my Big Sister will spend a Couple of Days at camp (a former tuberculosis sanatorium!) while I relax with her friend Jennifer who is working on my Bathing Dress.

Then Momma will join Us for a couple of Fun-Filled Days of Rest and Relaxation! I Hope we can Visit the Sharlot Hall Museum while we are There.

Sharlot Hall was an Unusual Woman for her time. Born Oct. 27, 1870, she moved when she was 12 with her family from Kansas to the Arizona Territory. Sharlot briefly attended school in a log-and-adobe schoolhouse four miles from her family's ranch, then boarded in Prescott for one year of schooling in town.

In 1909 Sharlot was appointed Territorial Historian and became the first woman to hold territorial office. In 1927 Sharlot agreed to move her extensive collection of artifacts and documents into the log Governor's Mansion and open it as a museum.

The Governor's Mansion (built in 1864) is the oldest building associated with Arizona Territory still standing on its original location!

I can't Wait!