The Cactus Derby: Arizona’s Early Roadways Attract Legendary Daredevils

July 15, 2011 By 2 Comments
Cactus Derby

Back in those halcyon days, when getting someplace was an adventure, daring drivers ran road races across the Arizona desert to promote the building of better highways. It’s hard to believe but as recently as 1929 Arizona had less than 300 miles of paved highways. In 1908 promoters began staging road races between Los Angeles and Phoenix. Billed as the Cactus Derby, they attracted such racing daredevils as the legendary Barney Oldfield, Olin Davis and Lewis Chevrolet. Drivers vied for a $2,500 prize and the title, Master Driver of the World.

Filed Under: Culture, Dose of History Tagged With: , , ,

How the Phoenix Area Nabbed the “Valley of the Sun” Nickname

June 30, 2011 By 2 Comments
Midtown Phoenix Closeup

Q: Everybody refers to this area as the Valley. What exactly is the Valley the valley of?

A: This is a deeply troubling question because it actually required some work to nail down the answer.

The easy part first: This is the Valley of the Sun.

Of course it isn’t really the Valley of the Sun. The ancient Hohokam Indians did not say to their relatives, “Hey, you should come down to the Valley of the Sun for the winter.”

Valley of the Sun was a name cooked up in the 1930s to boost tourism. As these sorts of things go, it’s not bad — short, snappy, descriptive.

Filed Under: Dose of History, Natural Surroundings, Valley of the Sun Tagged With: , , ,

Is Phoenix the Most Miserable City in the US?

March 31, 2011 By 3 Comments

According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, Phoenix has been named the most miserable city in the US.

This new “misery index” looks at unemployment, gas prices and a change in home prices. What do you think? Are we worse off than those residing in Boston, Cleveland, New York and Detroit… which are apparently the least miserable?

Filed Under: Culture, Valley of the Sun Tagged With: ,

Are Horny Toads Disappearing from Phoenix?

March 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Horny Toad

Q: When I was a kid growing up in Phoenix there used to be horny toads everywhere. I even had a pet horny toad. Now I never see them. What happened to all the horny toads?

A: You had a pet horny toad? That’s sad. Couldn’t you get your parents to buy you a dog or a cat or a goldfish or something?

Now, for one thing, horny toads are not really toads. They are horned lizards. There are 14 species of these beasties in North and South America, eight in the United States. They are distinguished by 30 to 35 spines of varying lengths around the head and neck. They are about as Arizonan as you can get. Almost every ancient
Native American culture—Anasazi, Hohokam, Mogollon— recorded horny toads in pottery or petroglyphs.

I consulted with Glenn Walsberg, professor of biology at Arizona State University, on the matter of the scarcity of horny toads

Filed Under: Natural Surroundings, Odd Observations, Valley of the Sun Tagged With: , ,

The Wounded Goddess Atop the State Capitol Dome

February 4, 2011 By 1 Comment
Winged Goddess on State Capitol in Phoenix

The white statue that has been a permanent fixture atop the State Capitol dome in Phoenix for more than a century goes by several names.

She is called the Goddess of Victory, Statue of Justice and Winged Victory, but for a time the nickname Bullseye could have also been applied. The zinc goddess was cast in Ohio and purchased by the Territory of Arizona in 1898 for $150. When the Capitol building was formally opened in 1901, the 17-foot sculpture was placed on top of the copper dome to serve not only as a symbol, but also as a weather vane. But it frequently didn’t get the respect it deserved

Filed Under: Art, Dose of History, Valley of the Sun Tagged With: , , , ,
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