Month: February 2009

AHA to honor long-time park volunteer, Charley Thornton, March 1

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[Source: William C. Thornton, Board Member, Arizona Heritage Alliance] — Our father Charley Thornton was always willing to lend a helping hand and take on a new challenge.  To tell dad he couldn’t do something only made him more determined to do it.  In 1947 he was asked to help start a wrestling team at the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind.  After an inauspicious beginning (on their first outing they lost every match) the program went on to earn international recognition.

For conditioning dad designed and built the first railed running track for the visually impaired.  His boys couldn’t wait to try out the new track.  Charley later recalled: “The looks on their faces brought tears to my eyes.  For the first time in their lives they were running free.”  He built the school’s first gymnasium a few years later.  School funds were scarce.  The track and gym were built entirely with volunteer labor, materials, and donations.

As the boys gained conditioning we began taking them on weekend hikes.  The search for greater challenges led to the first rim to rim crossing of the Grand Canyon by blind hikers in 1956.  News services picked up the story and Senator Barry Goldwater sent a letter of congratulations.  The program produced some champion wrestlers but I’m sure dad would agree that his biggest accomplishment was to give the boys the confidence they needed to succeed after school.  Perhaps his greatest tribute came from my old friend Paul Montoya who said: “Charley taught us to say I can instead of I can’t.”

In retirement hiking continued to be a big part of dad’s life.  We often hiked in what is now Catalina State Park long before it was a park.  We applauded the park’s creation and breathed a big sigh of relief when a creative land swap saved it from development.  Dad worked as a park volunteer for several years before his death in 1993.  Charley’s bench alongside one of his favorite trails is a wonderful tribute to a simple man who loved the outdoors and made a difference in many lives.

So join the Arizona Heritage Alliance’s tribute to Charley Thornton on Sunday, March 1 at 11 a.m. in Catalina State Park, Tucson AZ 85740, 520-628-5798.  There is a Park entrance fee of $6 per vehicle (1-4 adults).  Meet at the trailhead, and head down the Sutherland Trail for about one mile.  Wear comfortable shoes.  Click here for the Catalina State Park website.  For more on Charley’s life, click here.

More Arizona state parks eyed for closure

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Tonto Natural Bridge State Park added to closure list.

[Source: Associated Press] — Three more state parks are being considered for closure because of state budget cuts, bringing to 11 the number that could be shuttered in coming weeks.  Parks Director Ken Travous told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he is adding the three additional parks to a list of eight others previously identified as being considered for closure.

Travous identified the three as Red Rock State Park in Sedona, Jerome State Historic Park in Jerome, and Tonto National Bridge State Park near Payson.  Jerome State Historic Park centers on the Douglas Mansion, a landmark built in the former mining community that overlooks the Verde Valley.  Red Rock State Park, originally part of a ranch, is a 286-acre nature preserve and environmental education center.  Tonto Bridge is a natural geological feature located in a valley in pine country below the Mogollon Rim.

The state Parks Board will meet Friday in Peoria to consider cost-cutting measures that include park closures, seasonal closures and reduced hours of operations.  Other options include grant cancellations, shifting expenses to other accounts, and layoffs and unpaid time off for employees.  The board on Feb. 3 declined to take immediate action on park closures but voted to have Travous’ department proceed with planning possible economy moves, including alternatives to closures.

Travous said he has already effectively laid off approximately 65 seasonal employees, including some who had been slated to go on the payroll but now will not.  Parks previously identified as being considered for closure were: Fort Verde State Historic Park in Camp Verde, Homolovi Ruins State Park in Winslow, Lyman Lake State Park in Springerville, McFarland State Historic Park in Florence, Oracle State Park in Oracle, Riordan Mansion State Historic Park in Flagstaff, Tubac Presidio State Historic Park in Tubac, and Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park.  Travous said those were chosen for possible closure because of low visitation rates.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]

Viewpoint: Arizona state leaders apparently don’t value parks, historic sites

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[Source: William C. Thornton, Special to the Arizona Daily Star] — My wife and I recently had vastly different experiences at two state-operated parks.  The first was Judge Roy Bean State Park situated miles from nowhere in the tiny west Texas town of Langtry.  It was one of the nicest little museums we’ve ever seen and tells the story of the self-appointed “Law West of the Pecos” in a series of interactive dioramas that come alive before your eyes.

The original wood structure where Bean dispensed his own brand of justice on the Texas frontier sits behind the well-kept museum and visitor center.  When court was not in session, it was the center of community life, i.e. saloon, poker room, and pool hall.  A small botanical garden features native plants and picnic tables under shade trees.  Admission charge?  Zero.  I asked volunteers at the information desk if we couldn’t at least put a few bucks in a donation box.  They explained that the park is fully funded by the state of Texas and does not take donations.

A day-and-night opposite experience awaited us at McFarland State Park up the road in Florence.  The park honors Ernest McFarland, whose service as governor, U.S. senator, and Supreme Court justice makes him the only American to ever serve in all three branches of government.  He is perhaps best remembered as one of the authors of the G.I. Bill, which opened college doors to millions of veterans coming home from the battlefields of World War II.  The park’s centerpiece, Arizona’s first courthouse, dates from 1878 and combines traditional southwest adobe walls with an Anglo American wood-shingled pitched roof and wooden porch.

The years have taken their inevitable toll. Adobe walls are crumbling, rock foundations need shoring and wood porches need repair.  The building was closed and renovation began in October 2008.  We visited the museum and vowed to return when repairs to the courthouse are complete.  [Note: To read the full op-ed piece, click here.]

Arizona State Parks Board looks at ways to cut expenses

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Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area, Show Low

[Source: Mike Leiby, White Mountain Independent] — The Arizona State Parks Governing Board recently announced that budget cuts per the state Legislature on Jan. 31 has forced the cancelation of at least one major event in the state and possibly some park closures. The only state park in the immediate area is Fool Hollow Lake Recreation Area, which according to park officials, is pretty safe at this time because of its unique status as a tripartide agency park.  In contrast to most other state parks, which survive solely on the state parks system money, Fool Hollow Lake is the result of a partnership between the Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Forest Service, and Arizona State Parks and has additional funding sources which gives it greater protection, said Arizona State Parks spokeswoman Ellen Bilbrey.

For those wondering if Woodland Lake Park might be in line for possible closure, there is no worry about that in connection with State Parks budgets because it is on Forest Service land and the use agreement between the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside and the Forest Service is not affected by State Parks system budget cuts.  However, other parks statewide under the auspices of the State Parks system might not be spared. State park officials recently announced that the Civil War in the Southwest event held for the last 20 years at Picacho Peak State Park is being canceled this year.

Since the announcement there has been a level of outcry from the public and reenactment community to keep the event open.  There is even an effort from within Arizona’s reenactment community to move the event to Pioneer Living History Museum in Phoenix (at least for this year) in an attempt to keep it alive.  Picacho Peak Park Director Rob Young said that the possibility of reenactors finding a permanent new location like Pioneer Living History Museum is exactly what he feared might happen.  “Even though the site at Picacho is not available, the Southwest Civil War Association will put on the event at Pioneer Living History Museum,” said Joe Spikes, the event coordinator for the Southwest Civil War Association.  [Note: To read the full article, click here.]