TH A LOOK BACK AT OUR SPECIAL 90 ANNIVERSARY ISSUE FIRST NINE DECADES APRIL 2015

ESCAPE • EXPLORE • EXPERIENCE editor’s letter ARIZONA HIGHWAYS PHOTO WORKSHOPS Celebrating 30 years of Photographic Excellence

APRIL 2015 VOL. 91, NO. 4

800-543-5432 www.arizonahighways.com

PUBLISHER Win Holden EDITOR Robert Stieve CAPTURE YOUR MOMENT MANAGING EDITOR Kelly Vaughn Kramer ASSOCIATE EDITOR Noah Austin Symposium & Expo EDITORIAL ADMINISTRATOR Nikki Kimbel The Story PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Jeff Kida November 7 & 8, 2015 CREATIVE DIRECTOR Barbara Glynn Denney

ART DIRECTOR Keith Whitney of Our Life MARKOW PAUL Phoenix, Arizona DESIGN PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Diana Benzel-Rice MAP DESIGNER Kevin Kibsey ive hundred words. That’s all I get to cue up an issue that recounts nine Join Arizona Highways Photo Workshops and PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Michael Bianchi decades of magazine history. It demands more, our “90th Anniversary ALAN ROSS JACK DYKINGA WEBMASTER Victoria J. Snow F Issue,” but even 4,000 words wouldn’t be enough, because the piece an all-star cast of industry experts for two ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, you’re about to read is unlike anything we’ve ever done. DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING Kelly Mero The idea was pretty simple: Look back through the archive, bookmark CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Nicole Bowman days of inspiration and education. Seasoned some of the most interesting pages and tell our story. It was simple ... until we FINANCE DIRECTOR Bob Allen realized that it wasn’t so simple. In the course of 90 years, we’ve produced a instructors will lead more than 20 educational OPERATIONS/IT MANAGER Cindy Bormanis breakout sessions and individual portfolio lot of pages worth remembering. I don’t know how many hours we spent dig- CORPORATE OR TRADE SALES 602-712-2019 ging, but I do know that we went through every issue in our archive — there

reviews. Keynote speakers will include Alan SPONSORSHIP SALES are more than a thousand in there — and ended up with a great collection of REPRESENTATION Kelly Mero old ads, maps, illustrations, fonts, logos, headlines, stories and photographs. Ross, Joel Grimes, Jack Dykinga and Guy Tal. Director of Sales & Marketing In all, we tagged more than 800 pages, and the best of what we found is 602-712-2019 presented chronologically inside. As you’ll see, we’ve come a long way since EARLY BIRD SPECIAL AVAILABLE THROUGH THE END OF APRIL. 1925, when we ran ads for road graders and published stories about bridge JOEL GRIMES GUY TAL LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [email protected] construction. You’ll also see that things got a lot more interesting in 1938, FOR MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION CONTACT US AT 2039 W. Lewis Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85009 when Editor Raymond Carlson and Art Director George Avey came along. Of WWW.AHPW.ORG | 602-712-2004 | [email protected] all the names in our storied history, theirs shine the brightest. They’re the GOVERNOR Douglas A. Ducey founding fathers of a magazine that would go on to make publishing history in

DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT 1946, get banned in the Soviet Union in 1965 and share the beauty of Arizona OF TRANSPORTATION John S. Halikowski with readers in all 50 states and more than 120 countries around the world. ARIZONA TRANSPORTATION One of those readers is Shannon Boomer. About a year ago, Shannon called BOARD CHAIRMAN Kelly O. Anderson me and asked if I’d like to have her grandfather’s typewriter. “YES,” I said, VICE CHAIRMAN Joseph E. La Rue in all caps. “Are you sure?” She was sure, and today that old Underwood sits MEMBERS Stephen W. Christy William Cuthbertson on a small table in my office, the same office where George Avey — Shannon’s Deanna Beaver grandfather — typed letters to Ansel Adams, Esther Henderson, Ted DeGra- Jack W. Sellers zia and a long list of other notable contributors who have graced our pages. Although we’ve had our share of impressive bylines over the years, includ- Arizona Highways® (ISSN 0004-1521) is published monthly by the Arizona Department of Transportation. Subscription price: $24 a year in the U.S., $44 ing Ed Mell this month, it’s the names you never see that have made Arizona outside the U.S. Single copy: $4.99 U.S. Call 800-543-5432. Subscription cor­respon­dence and change of address information: Arizona Highways, P.O. Highways one of the most respected magazines in the world. I only get 500 Box 8521, Big Sandy, TX 75755-8521. Periodical postage paid at Phoenix, AZ, words for this column, so I can’t individually recognize the hundreds and and at additional mailing office. CANADA POST INTERNATIONAL PUBLICA- TIONS MAIL PRODUCT (CANA­DIAN DISTRIBUTION) SALES AGREEMENT NO. hundreds of men and women who have worked behind the scenes over the 41220511. SEND RETURNS TO QUAD/GRAPHICS, P.O. BOX 875, WINDSOR, ON N9A 6P2. POST­MASTER: Send address changes to Arizona Highways, P.O. past nine decades. However, I do have enough words left to acknowledge my Box 8521, Big Sandy, TX 75755-8521. Copy­right © 2015 by the Ari­zona Depart- team, which powered through this project the way Hannibal marched over ment of Trans­­por­­tation. Repro­duc­tion in whole or in part with­­out permission is prohibited. The magazine does not accept and is not responsible for the Alps. unsolicited­ mater­ ials.­ Barb, Diana, Jeff, Keith, Kelly, Nikki, Noah ... that’s the crew that makes

PRODUCED IN THE USA this magazine come to life every month. They’re a tireless and talented team © Suzanne Mathia © Suzanne of professionals, and they’re passionate about the history of Arizona Highways. They’re passionate about the future, too. Although we’re all happy to have FRONT COVER A painting by Phoenix-based artist Ed Mell made it to 90, we’d like to live to be 100. We hope you’ll join us. sums up the varied beauty of Arizona. Proudly Sponsored by BACK COVER Long before interstate highways came along, this whimsical state map by longtime Arizona Highways Art ROBERT STIEVE, EDITOR Director George M. Avey appeared in our August 1940 issue. Follow me on Twitter: @azhighways

90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 1 It was a good year. Nineteen twenty- five. The Great Gatsby hit bookshelves, the Grand Ole Opry transmitted its first radio signal, and Leica marketed the world’s first 35 mm camera. It was a good year for birthdays, too. Born that year were Paul Newman, Margaret Thatcher, Johnny Carson, Robert F. Arizona Highways: 1925-2015 Kennedy and a magazine called The New Yorker, which published its first issue on February 21, 1925. A few weeks later, in April, Arizona Highways made its debut. Like The New Yorker, we’ve changed

TH A LOOK BACK AT OUR a lot over the past 90 years, and SPECIAL 90 ANNIVERSARY ISSUE FIRST NINE DECADES you’ll see some of those changes in ESCAPE • EXPLORE • EXPERIENCE this retrospective. It wasn’t always pretty. But, all things considered, we think we look pretty good for our age.

Written by Robert Stieve / Layout & Design by Keith Whitney

2 APRIL 2015 9090THTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 3 THE 1920s 1926

This photograph accompa- nied an article by district engineer W.R. Hutchins titled Through the Land of Opportunity. The three-page feature (authored in a voice not surprising for a district engineer) explored Southern Arizona’s population boom.

When you’re publishing a trade journal e’ve come a long were editorials with headlines such as for highway engineers, it makes sense way since our Why We Should Have Surfaced Roads (at the to remind them of their creed, and that’s what we did on every back debut issue in April time of our first issue, only 2,000 of Ari- cover in 1926. Note the assertion that 1925. Although zona’s 22,355 miles were paved). In 1929, “transportation is the keystone of the there were random another editorial urged automakers “to structure of civilization.” samplesW of traditional travel journal- eliminate car horns,” arguing that “they ism in the black-and-white 1920s, for only aided speeding lawbreakers.” the most part, Arizona Highways was a Frankly, the early years weren’t very trade journal aimed at road engineers interesting by today’s standards, but and intrepid travelers trying to get from 1925 Arizona Highways’ first cover, from April those limited travelogues — one each Point A to Point B. As founding editor 1925, featured a photograph of Federal Aid month featuring “one of the 18 main Today, a Caterpillar bull- Vincent J. Keating wrote in our premiere Project No. 72, White Spar-Congress Junction routes in the state” — did offer an dozer will cost you a pretty Highway in the Prescott National Forest. issue: “The inauguration of Arizona High- intriguing perspective on the places we penny, but back when we ran ways is the first big step forward to tell still feature today, including the Coro- this ad in December 1926, the people of Arizona and other states of the work being done nado Trail, the Grand Canyon and the Hopi mesas. prices ranged from $1,850 by the Arizona Highway Department.” The first issue, by the way, was 28 pages, including ads, for a 2-ton model to $5,000 Along with mileage charts, maps and reports on road condi- and the newsstand price was 10 cents. Only 1,000 copies were for a “Sixty.” This full-page ad, which appeared several tions, the pages included ads for road graders, asphalt paint printed, meaning only a handful of readers saw the magazine’s times in 1926, was typical of and corrugated culverts, among other things. In addition, there first typo — we spelled “highways” with two I’s. the sponsorships found in the magazine in the 1920s and 1930s.

4 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 5 1927 1928

There can be no compro- mise with safety. At least, that’s what the fine people of Page Hi-Way Guard asserted in the November 1927 issue of the magazine. The ad, which featured this spot illustration, praised the guard as follows: “Its distinctive square link mesh elongates when struck and acts as a great yielding cushion.”

If you were to follow The Ten Commandments of Motordom, as authored by Ira L. Wood in our March 1927 issue, you’d know not to envy thy neighbor’s car, race a train to a crossing, or signal right and turn to the left. The piece was one of the earliest bits of humor that appeared in the magazine, a tradition that continued into the 2000s.

In June 1927, this two-page argument against proposed toll bridges was excerpted from the April 1927 issue of American Highways, a publication that no longer exists. In it, the unknown author asserts that “if the public wants bridges faster than Maps were commonly used as back-cover art in the early days of Arizona Highways. This one, a tax levy will construct them, the only other recourse is a bond issue.” There are no toll roads or bridges in Arizona today. printed by A.C. Taylor Printing Co. in Phoenix, featured road conditions across the state.

6 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 7 1929 THE 1930s

Charts and graphs appeared throughout the magazine in 1929. This one featured Distances As Shown Over Arizona Highways. The chart included mileages computed over the “shortest and most feasible routes between points indicated.”

espite the Great Depression, the medium of black and white, paint a the 1930s featured several picture of the gold in an Arizona sunset, milestones in the history of portray the blue of an Arizona sky, tell Arizona Highways. The first, the fiery red and green of an Arizona under the editorship of Bert desert in bloom? We therefore resort to DCampbell, was the expanded use of color photography in this issue’s cover color. Although it was limited primarily page to faithfully portray one colorful Today, the Westward Ho, to the logo, the July 1937 cover featured a portion of the state.” a high-rise building in four-color painting by Hernando G. Villa It was a shot of lower Oak Creek Can- downtown Phoenix, offers low-income housing. But — courtesy of the Santa Fe Railway. yon by Norman G. Wallace — the first- during the 1920s, it was a A decade earlier, in May 1929, we had ever color photograph in the magazine prime vacation destina- published a three-color cover featuring — and Mr. Carlson liked what he saw: tion, with 350 rooms, rates the dedication of Navajo Bridge, but it “The faithful photographer has caught 1930 Our May 1930 cover highlighted State as low as $3 per night and was the arrival of four-color processing the deep red of the cliffs, the purple hue a ballroom. This advertise- Route 88, which begins among the saguaros that added some life to what was still of the mountains in the background, ment was one of several of the Tonto National Forest near Phoenix. that appeared in the back a relatively drab trade journal. The The issue included an Arizona Good Roads the extravagance and richness of one of of our May 1929 issue. ho-hum, however, would start to change Association editorial advocating amending capricious Nature’s finest paintings in in the late 1930s with the arrival of the state constitution to provide a means for the state.” road financing. Raymond Carlson, the decade’s second To solicit even more photography, Mr. great milestone. Carlson launched our first-ever amateur When Mr. Carlson took over as editor in 1938, the magazine photo contest. The prize money was $15, $10 and $5, which was was in a modest transition away from road reports and civil- considered a lot of money in the late 1930s. It was the begin- engineering jargon, but our editor emeritus and his deputy, Art ning of our legendary archive, which by 1939 included the work This photograph accompanied a feature in the May 1929 issue of Director George Avey (the third milestone), deserve credit for of Barry Goldwater and Josef Muench, the decade’s fourth and the magazine that discussed the launching the revolution that would eventually make the maga- fifth great milestones. construction and pending dedication zine a worldwide phenomenon. The circulation at the time of their arrival was approxi- of Navajo Bridge, “the only crossing Although the imagery was mostly monotone when Mr. mately 10,000 (most copies were given away), and there were by either highway or railroad between Carlson took over, he envisioned a magazine filled with color still ads for oil companies and explosives, but the ads would the town of Topoc, Arizona, and the photography. disappear in 1939, and the stories were quickly shifting toward junction of the Green and Grand rivers in Utah.” The photograph shows a In his July 1938 column, he asked: “How can we, through travel and tourism. A new era had begun. blast that occurred during the con- struction of the bridge.

8 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 9 1931 1932

This photo of the new Hunt Bass Hatchery, in Phoenix’s Papago Park, ran in our June 1932 issue. It accompanied a story by the state’s game warden, W.C. Joyner, about the hatchery’s construction.

This bullet-hole-riddled road sign didn’t do much to combat Arizona’s Wild West repu- tation. It appeared in the January 1932 issue, along with a disapproving caption.

Early in its history, Arizona Highways showed its commitment to highway safety. Public-service advertisements, above, appeared throughout 1932, and a graphic in November, below, illustrated how automobile deaths compared with homicides and suicides in the U.S.

To boost the state’s copper industry during the Great Depression, the Arizona Highway Commission decided to make license plates for 1932 out of copper. Miss Arizona 1932 displayed one of the new plates in our September 1931 issue. The state con- tinued to issue copper plates through 1934.

10 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 11 1933 1934

This steel-truss bridge, which was pictured in our December 1933 issue, crosses the Gila River between Buckeye and Gila Bend. It was com- pleted in 1927 and was part of the now-decommissioned U.S. Route 80. Once the longest highway bridge in Arizona, it’s now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Construction was a common theme in the early years of the magazine. In August 1933, irrigation was on display when a story on the Agua Fria River Crossing Flume was featured. Here, workers improve the flume’s transition intake section.

This diagram shows the work done on the Agua Fria River Cross- ing Flume, which cost $500 and resulted in an 11 percent increase in flow.

A May 1934 ad for Shell travel guides illustrated the supposed dangers of vacationing the “wrong way.”

12 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 13 1935 1936

Native culture has been a part of the magazine from the very beginning. This close-up of a Native Ameri- can woman’s hands and waist accompanied They Live by Turquoise, a March 1935 story by Cara Lee Fraps. The story explored turquoise’s significance in the history of the Southwest, saying that “centuries in the dust have not paled its beauty.” In mid-1935, Arizona Highways began regu- larly using some color on its covers. Along with that change came a new logo, which incorporated the Arizona state seal.

Like many other magazines in the 1930s, cartoons were common. This cartoon appeared in July 1935 and lampooned one aspect of the rapid expansion of Self-aggrandizement wasn’t unusual in our days as a trade journal. For example, the January 1936 issue spotlighted the engineering Arizona’s road system. staff of the Arizona Highway Department, “whose careers would read like fiction (if they were not too modest to tell).”

14 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 15 1937 1938

July 1937 brought Arizona Highways’ first full-color cover: a Hernando G. Villa painting, courtesy of the Santa Fe Rail- way. A new magazine logo also debuted in 1937.

By 1938, the magazine was focusing more on the beauty of Arizona. In May 1938, we featured a selection of Arizona photos by W.M. Tillery. “In his “The proper use of hand studies of cacti he seems to signals prevents many have penetrated the very soul an accident,” according of the strange and lonely Ari- to the caption for this zona desert,” Editor Raymond instructional graphic Carlson wrote. published in April 1937. Turn-signal lights didn’t become commonplace until after World War II. Although the magazine was mov- ing away from construction stories, they were still part of the mix in The January 1938 (not 1937) issue was 1937. In this photo, a worker uses Raymond Carlson’s first as editor of a “center stripe machine” to paint Arizona Highways. He’d remain in that lines on an Arizona roadway. The position until 1971 (excluding his mili- photo accompanied Life Line of the tary service during World War II), but in Arizona Highways, a July 1937 story his very first masthead, he learned the by S.R. Dysart. Striping a mile of importance of thorough proofreading. highway cost $16, the story said.

16 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 17 1939 THE 1940s

arly in their alliance, Editor Raymond Carlson and their way,” Mr. Carlson wrote. “George Avey, our artist, has Art Director George Avey took a look at the legisla- piled on a lot of color, listed many points of scenic interest, to tive record that established Arizona Highways. It get the desired effect.” The map is now a collector’s item. included a mandate to “encourage travel to and In every way, the magazine was coming of age in the 1940s. through the state of Arizona.” With that as a lit- Unfortunately, it was happening simultaneously with World Emus test, Mr. Carlson closed the book on bridge-construction War II, and by 1943, both Mr. Carlson and Mr. Avey had reports and set out to make the maga- stepped away from the magazine to join zine a consumer publication, as well as the war effort — Mr. Carlson enlisted in a user’s guide to the state. He wanted to the Marines, and Mr. Avey went to work make Arizona Highways more readable. for the Navy. While he was doing that, Mr. Avey “We hope to drop you a card from was focused on making it more visual. Tokyo,” Mr. Carlson wrote in the Sep- The legendary George Avey began drawing his whimsical maps for Arizona Highways in the late 1930s. This one, which celebrates Arizona from Payson to Nogales, was published in December 1939. Avey later became the magazine’s art director. He began working with artists and tember/October 1943 issue (the months illustrators such as Maynard Dixon, Bill were combined because of the national Mauldin, Ross Santee and Ted DeGra- paper shortage). “With this issue of zia. “The young man from Bisbee,” Mr. Arizona Highways, your editor of the Carlson wrote about DeGrazia, is “a very past six years closes his long and happy sincere person, and one from whom you contact with you. The next issue that may hear a great deal about!” Turns out, will call at your home will be edited by he was right. other and more competent hands.” The In addition to the fine artists of the hands were those of Bert Campbell, who West, Mr. Avey reached out to photog- first served as editor in the 1920s. In his raphers such as Ansel Adams, Esther interim role, he nurtured what Mr. Carl- Henderson, Wayne Davis and Ray Man- son was creating. ley. Because there weren’t a lot of profes- When the two volunteers came Josef Muench was the sional photographers in the Southwest 1940 “For May 1940, the glorious spring home from the war in 1946, they magazine’s first prolific at the time, stories without photos were month that offers our desert in radiant picked up where they’d left off, and in landscape photog- illustrated with Mr. Avey’s artwork — bloom, Arizona Highways is proud to bring December 1946, Arizona Highways pub- rapher. This Muench vivid watercolors, line drawings and you ... our coverpiece by Max Kegley, devoted lished the world’s first all-color issue photo of Betatakin, a to a study of saguaro blossoms.” So read the As Arizona Highways grew in popularity cliff dwelling at Navajo playful “cartoon” maps. cutline for our May 1940 cover, which also of a nationally circulated consumer nationwide, letters to the editor came in National Monument, His first map was published in featured a new cover logo that debuted in magazine — we beat out National Geo- from around the U.S. — including this one appeared in July 1939. December 1939. About a year later, in January 1940. graphic, Life, The Saturday Evening Post ... from The New York Times, which we published “Here lived long an our August 1940 issue, we featured all of them. Although the all-color for- ancient people, who in December 1939. Mr. Avey’s now-famous four-panel fold-out map (18 by 24 mat didn’t become standard until January 1986, the popular- built a city in stone under a great ledge,” inches) of the state. “Modern explorers in our land could have ity of the magazine took off after World War II, and Arizona the caption read. no better map than our new Pleasure Map to guide them on Highways began what many consider to be its golden era. “These mute walls tell of yesterdays long ago.”

18 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 19 1941 1942

This new logo seems to have been modeled after saguaro and cholla skeletons. It graced the January 1942 cover of the magazine.

Characters in Cactus, a spread in the February 1941 issue, afforded Editor Raymond Carlson the opportunity to wax poetic about saguaros: “Good Although it had little to do with Dame Nature, never more volatile and flighty than promoting travel, the January in the eerie beauty that clothes the Arizona desert, 1942 issue of Arizona Highways plays her most cunning and her strangest tricks in was dedicated to the “Arizona the figure and person of the Saguaro.” The piece boys who are scattered to the included photographs by noted photographers four winds today, following Old Josef Muench and Chuck Abbott. Glory and the proud banners of the Army, Navy and the Marine Corps” by fighting in World War II. This piece, which was authored by Editor Raymond Carlson, pays tribute to the enlisted at the U.S. Army fields around Phoenix, Ross Santee’s illustra- including Luke, Williams, Thun- tions first appeared in the derbird and Falcon. magazine in the early 1940s and extensively in 1941. The illustration above, titled Riding High, was part of Our June 1942 issue featured Falcon a feature about Arizona’s Field. This photograph appeared rodeo history in the Febru- with the caption: “From all parts of ary 1941 issue. The sketch the British Empire, young men come at left illustrated a story to Falcon Field near Mesa to receive about Navajo County in the primary and advanced training to August 1941 issue of Arizona prepare them to take their Highways. place in the RAF.”

20 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 21 1943 1944

Although the maga- zine’s cover in June 1944 spotlighted Canyon de Chelly, the issue’s stories focused on Arizona water recreation, including boating on Lake Mead, as shown in this uncredited photograph. Our logo changed many times over the years. This is how it looked in January 1943.

In December 1944, Arizona’s governor, Sidney P. Osborn, authored a letter to friends of Arizona the world over. In part, it read about World War II: “We in Arizona are sharing our resources in order that victory shall be secured. From our good earth come metals for the tools of triumph, foods and fruits to nourish ourselves and our fighting men.” Proclamations such as these were typical in the magazine during the 1940s.

Several spot illustrations by famed artist Maynard Dixon appeared in the June 1943 issue of Arizona Highways, In an effort to meet our which paid tribute to the paper quota, Arizona High- “Picture-book People,” the ways published a dual issue Navajos. This sketch accom- in September and October panied a story about Navajo 1943. With the world at traders by Editor Raymond war, the issue, according to Carlson. Editor Raymond Carlson, featured “what we think is one attractive cover,” a B-24 Liberator at Davis-Monthan Army Air Field in Tucson.

This photo appeared in June 1943. It shows “a Navajo boy filling out a draft questionnaire, [expressing] his eagerness Dr. Emil W. Haury’s Kodachrome image of Betatakin, at Navajo National Monu- to get into uniform.” ment, appeared on the cover of Arizona Highways in February 1944, when a new logo also made its debut. Cover lines were mostly nonexistent in those days.

22 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 23 1945 1946

More interesting type treatments began appearing in the magazine in the late 1940s, including this flowery script, which accompanied an editor’s note about Sonoran Desert blooms in the April 1946 issue.

One of Ansel Adams’ most notable photographs of Monu- ment Valley appeared in the March 1946 issue of the maga- zine, in a story about spring in the desert. Adams’ work was Barry Goldwater’s photograph prevalent in Arizona Highways from the 1940s to shortly of Navajo girls and their sheep before his death in 1984. graced the December 1946 Maynard Dixon paint- cover of Arizona Highways, the ings such as this one, very first all-color issue of any which appeared in the nationally circulated consumer September 1945 issue, magazine. Although Mr. Gold- were commonplace water was best known as a U.S. in Arizona Highways senator and one-time presiden- during the 1940s. This tial candidate, he was also a piece, titled Desert prolific photographer. Ranges, was featured in a 10-page portfolio of the artist’s work.

Phoenix native Bill Mauldin’s illustrations first appeared in Arizona Highways in 1940, but the September 1945 issue included an eight-page feature about Mauldin and his work. The then-23-year-old had already acquired a Pulitzer Prize for his work as a cartoonist on the front lines of World War II.

24 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 25 1947 1948

You might consider 1947 Arizona Highways’ year of beautiful cover models. Clockwise from top left: A Girl of the Golden West, pho- tographed by Ray Manley, September 1947; This deer illustration, by Navajo artist Fiesta Dress, photographed by Ray Manley, Yel Ha Kah, appeared on the first page November 1947; and Navajo Party Dress, of our December 1948 issue. Illustrations photographed by J.H. McGibbeny, July 1947. were used extensively in the 1940s. Below, a series of unattributed line drawings, including this one, appeared throughout the September 1947 issue of the magazine.

Jack Breed, one of hundreds of photogra- phers to appear in the magazine, made this photograph of Havasu Canyon for the July 1948 issue. It helped illustrate a story titled Ride a Horse to Havasupai, which Breed also authored.

The Rancho Grande Resort in Rio Rico was part of a 26-page feature about Arizona inns, guest ranches and hotels in the September 1948 issue of the magazine. Today, the Rancho Grande is known as the Esplendor Resort at Rio Rico.

26 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 27 1949 THE 1950s

n 1946, the circulation of Arizona Highways was 70,000. stands, convincing shop owners to give the magazine better By 1950, that number had soared to 175,000, and Editor shelf positions. And every December, when the popular holiday Raymond Carlson’s vision for the magazine had come to issue would come out, he’d take coffee and doughnuts to the life. Stories about the Sonoran Desert, Thunder River, local distribution drivers. Then, in 1951, he got the attention of Jerome, wildflowers, the Petri- the Independent News Co. of New York, Ified Forest and fishing holes in the which at the time was one of the largest White Mountains graced the covers. magazine distributors in the country. The photography was large format, four As a result of that pivotal relation- It took iconic photographer Ray Manley, color and spectacular. And subscrib- ship, the circulation numbers exploded who had a long history with Arizona High- ers from around the world, such as Dr. and Arizona Highways became known ways, more than a month to prepare for Jerzy Loth of Warsaw, Poland, wrote as one of the most visual magazines in this shot, which he titled Cattle Drive. The photograph, made at the Three-V Ranch letters expressing their admiration and the world. “A thing of beauty is a joy north of Seligman, captured 1,700 cows and appreciation for the magazine: “The first forever,” Mr. Carlson used to say. His steers and 450 calves. It appeared in the number [issue] for 1955 has arrived. It magazine reflected that in the 1950s, May 1949 issue. was quite a sensation, not only for me, and it just kept getting better, thanks but for a bunch of my friends, who are to the addition of contributors such as regularly perusing your wonderful paper Larry Toschik. with great interest.” A quiet man with resounding talent, Because of Arizona’s beautiful Mr. Toschik began his relationship with landscapes, fascinating people and the magazine as a freelance designer, interesting history, the elements for a often doing entire issues by himself. It world-renowned magazine had always was his exquisite wildlife illustrations, been there, even in the 1920s, but it took however, that got the most recognition. Mr. Carlson and Art Director George 1950 Sentinel of the Pass, by Mike Roberts, We still marvel at them today. Avey to pull it together, and it took appeared on the September 1950 cover of In addition to Mr. Toschik, David James Stevens to share it with the world. Arizona Highways. The photograph was made Muench became a mainstay in the This whimsical illustration accompanied a Originally hired in 1946 to run the at the top of Historic Route 66’s Sitgreaves 1950s. Like his father, longtime con- feature about Captain John Hance, “guide, mailroom, Mr. Stevens, who was familiar Pass, looking toward Kingman. tributor Josef Muench, David Muench trail builder, miner and windjammer of the with the newsstand business, went on to helped take the magazine to a higher Grand Canyon,” in our June 1949 issue. become the magazine’s business manager (today he’d be called level — by 1958, the circulation hit 200,000. Even at a glance, it a publisher) and another key figure in the history of Arizona was easy to see that the booming prosperity of the Eisenhower This photograph from the May 1949 issue featured Burt Lancaster and Lizabeth Scott as they appeared in the film Desert Fury, which featured locations around Highways. On a local level, he’d make the rounds of news- years was being reflected in the pages of Arizona Highways. Cottonwood and Sedona. Stories about moviemaking in Arizona have appeared regularly in Arizona Highways.

28 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 29 1951 1952

In keeping with the mission of the maga- zine, which is to promote travel, Arizona Highways did stories about places like Montezuma Castle National Monument, as seen in a Paul Coze photo from our May 1951 issue. Under the theme A Journey Into Many Yesterdays Ago, the issue examined the ruins of ancient civilizations that called present-day Arizona home.

Of Clowns and Mudheads, a Paul Coze story in our August 1952 issue, examined clowns in Native American cultures. This Coze illustration shows a Koshare, a Pueblo Indian clown dancer. Koshares, the story said, “are incarnations of the spirits of the ancestors (hence their skeleton-like appearance).”

This Herb McLaughlin photo, from February 1951, shows Sonoran Desert saguaros flanking a plane and a picnicking family. Author Al Leach wrote about the joys of exploring Arizona from the air in the accompanying story, Vagabond Wings.

Arizona’s hotels and motels took center stage in Duncan Hines Slept Here, a Joseph Stocker story that ran in November Joern and Louise Gerdts made this photo, which ran in August 1952. In it, two Explorer Scouts 1951. The accompa- from Salt Lake City prepare their morning campfire near Sentinel Rock on the Colorado River. nying illustration The Scouts were on an annual river expedition from Hite, Utah, to Lees Ferry, Arizona. The site depicts a weary is now under the water of Lake Powell, created by Glen Canyon Dam in 1963. Stories about Glen traveler dreaming Canyon and Lake Powell have appeared many times over the past five decades. of several Phoenix- An especially international edition of the area lodging March 1952 Yours Sincerely page featured destinations, all this letter from a New Zealand subscriber, photographed by along with dispatches from the Philippines, Herb McLaughlin. England, British Guiana and Germany.

30 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 31 1953 1954

At times, the magazine would stray from its mission to promote travel. In Septem- ber 1954, Dream Homes by the Dozens touted the fact that in Phoenix in the 1950s, you could get a lot of house for little money. This 1,167-square-foot, three- bedroom Del Webb model, the Chieftain, sold for $7,900 in Tempe back then.

Tucson’s Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, founded in 1952, is a haven for wildlife. In September 1954, author and photographer Lewis Wayne Walker chronicled the four weeks he spent photographing animals that flocked to a water hole at the museum. A strategically placed blind allowed visitors to see deer and skunks, among other animals.

This Ansel Adams photo of Mission San Xavier del Bac near Tucson got a two-page spread in our April 1954 issue. Writer Nancy Newhall recounted the In January 1953, we published Way Out West, a story and exten- history of the “White Dove of the Desert,” which was built in the late 1700s. sive portfolio by longtime Arizona Highways contributor Esther Adams was a longtime friend of Editor Raymond Carlson. Henderson. The portfolio also included camera information intended for photography hobbyists.

The November 1953 issue featured paintings and an essay by Peter Hurd, a New Mexico artist who specialized in Southwestern portraits and This flower arrangement was the centerpiece of landscapes. This piece, a portrait of young cowboy Gerald Marr, is now an October 1953 story by Margaret Carrick, whose housed at the New Mexico Museum of Art. Hurd died in 1984; Marr became husband, Jack, made the accompanying photos. The a successful horse trainer. monstrosity was described as “quiet, restful and cool enough for the hottest day.” We scratch our heads sometimes at the things we published in the 1950s.

32 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 33 1955 1956

An idyllic farm scene in the San Rafael Valley, photographed by Allen C. Reed, was the subject of our April 1955 cover. But all was not as it seemed: The fence, windmill and buildings were built for exterior shots in the film version of Okla- homa!, a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. The movie premiered in October of that year.

August 1955 featured the Shrine of the Ages, a chapel proposed for the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. This illustration shows architect Harold E. Wag- oner’s vision for the chapel. Ultimately, the building was redesigned and relocated away from the rim of the Canyon. It was completed in 1970, and today it’s used for religious services and ranger talks. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, a long- time friend of Editor Raymond Carl- son, wrote an extensive essay on the nature of architecture in our February In July 1955, we explored how Navajo clothing styles 1956 issue. Pictured were Wright’s had “broken the bounds of the Navajo reservation to Scottsdale home, Taliesin West, be adopted with charming results by Arizona dress and several other Wright-designed designers.” Longtime contributor Ray Manley shot these structures in Arizona, including this photos of women modeling Navajo-inspired clothing. cottage built in Phoenix for Jorgine Boomer in 1953. (Carlson’s Phoenix home was also a Wright creation.)

Shirley Reed’s illustration of the Sonoran Desert punctu- ated Books, Piñon Nuts and Shadows, an August 1956 Law- rence Clark Powell story. The illustration is a good example of the “spot art” common in the magazine back then. The inside of our December 1956 front cover was All the Angels in Heaven Are Happy, an oil painting by Ted DeGrazia. It was paired with a traditional Christmas message from Editor Raymond Carlson. DeGrazia credited Arizona Highways for his interna- tional success.

34 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 35 1957 1958

Photographer Carlos Elmer, a frequent Arizona Highways contributor, often enlisted his fam- ily’s help carrying camera gear. In February 1957, this Edward Brown photo accompanied an Elmer-authored article about photography as a fulfilling and inexpensive hobby.

Editor Raymond Carlson focused on Carlos Elmer in his February 1957 editor’s letter, saying Elmer “is not a professional photographer, but that does not detract from his skill or his passion for the art. His theme is a simple one — photography is fun.” Elmer continued photographing for Arizona High- ways until shortly before his death in 1993.

Our August 1957 center spread was Navajo Weavers at Work, a George Hight photo of a mother and daughter hard at work in their home near Chinle. The cradle board, the caption said, “keeps junior warm and comfortable, keeps him out of open fires, and keeps him from crawling unattended into Chuck Abbott’s shot of a snowy Grand Canyon was the inside front cover of our December 1958 issue. The magazine’s front-cover photo was the desert, where there might be snakes.” This is just one of hundreds of incredible photos of Native culture that we’ve featured over the years. made by Abbott’s wife, Esther Henderson. Both photos illustrate the caliber of photographers who shot for Arizona Highways in the 1950s.

36 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 37 1959 THE 1960s

It’s possible our design standards in the 1950s weren’t what they are today. This creative treatment highlighted a May 1959 story on fishing in Oak Creek Canyon, where author Jim Kjel- gaard said “a reasonably good fisherman … can catch a limit of 10 trout almost any day he cares to fish it.”

he segue into the 1960s was seamless, and like the for believing the photographs of Arizona were too good to be Green Bay Packers under Vince Lombardi in those true, because half the people in the U.S. couldn’t believe them years, Arizona Highways was second to none under either.” For his part, Mr. Carlson was flattered by the atten- the leadership of Editor Raymond Carlson. The tion of the Soviets. “It just shows that our little magazine gets photography was setting new around,” he said. Tstandards, and the stories were expos- Among the “subversive” photog- ing readers around the world to the raphers in the 1960s were newcomer remarkable people, places and things of Darwin Van Campen and longtime con- the Grand Canyon State. tributors Josef Muench, David Muench, Nevertheless, Mr. Carlson wasn’t Chuck Abbott and Carlos Elmer, who, convinced he was doing enough. In as a boy, set up his first photography lab July 1963, he wrote: “I have been edi- in the basement of his grandmother’s tor of Arizona Highways since 1938. In hotel, the now-abandoned Hotel Beale the spring of that year, after my third in Kingman. Mr. Elmer started making or fourth issue, I was confronted with landscape photographs in 1940. That the awful and terrifying realization same year, he began a 50-year relation- that we were running out of material. ship with Arizona Highways. Now, twenty-five years later, I am con- Despite the loss of sales in the fronted with the still more awful and Soviet Union, the magazine was grow- still more terrifying realization of how ing, and so were expenses. “During inadequate we have been in telling the the fiscal year 1961-62,” Mr. Carlson Arizona Story.” wrote, “we spent for the printing of After 90 years, that’s still our reality this magazine the sum of $923,295.13, — there never seem to be enough pages 1960 Dick Jepperson’s photo of Sabino Canyon of which $539,148.07 went to the W.A. to cover everything — but Mr. Carlson north of Tucson was our March 1960 cover. The Krueger Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and his team were doing remarkable canyon remains a popular recreation spot. for our color pages, and $348,147.06 work in those days. It was so good that went to the Pacific Press of Los Ange- it made international news. It happened in the mid-1960s, at les, California, for the production of our black-and-white Mooney Falls in Havasu Canyon, a Grand the height of the Cold War. Looking back it seems ridiculous, pages and the assembling of our magazine.” Canyon tributary, was the subject of this but in 1965 the Soviet Union banned Arizona Highways, con- At the time, 96 percent of the magazine’s subscribers piece from August 1959. tending that it was “ideologically subversive” and “propagan- were out of state, and the city of Los Angeles had four times dized the American way of life.” more subscribers than the entire state of Arizona. Today, we That action prompted reaction from around the United have subscribers in all 50 states and more than 100 countries States. Inez Robb, one of the nation’s most respected syndi- around the world, and our in-state subscribers outnumber cated columnists, wrote that “the Soviets shouldn’t be blamed all the rest. An out-of-the-box design illustrated an August 1959 story on Blue Canyon, located on Navajo and Hopi tribal land.

38 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 39 1961 1962

Willis Peterson, bottom, regularly contributed his wildlife photographs to the magazine in the 1960s, along with several columns about the challenges he faced in the field. His Monarch of the Forest, a portrait of an elk, appeared on our June 1961 cover, below.

Danish painter Olaf Wieghorst’s sketch of a cowboy was part of a feature about Read Mullan’s Gallery of Western Art in November 1962. Wieghorst immi- grated to the United States in 1918 and spent much of his career painting the American West in the style of Frederic Remington and Charles Russell. This feature, a typical travel story about sailing on Arizona’s lakes, appeared in September 1962.

This Josef Muench photograph of a Navajo medicine man preparing a sand painting appeared in the August 1961 issue of Arizona Highways. Muench was a frequent contributor to the magazine and was well known for his photographs of the Navajo Nation.

Herbert A. Leggett authored this cleverly illustrated article about Arizona’s growth for the February/March 1962 issue. The piece predicted that When a story about the Bill Williams Mountain Men ran in February 1961, it was illustrated with these quirky sketches. Arizona’s population would surpass 12 million by 2012. Larry Toschik was the illustrator, and the population hasn’t come close to 12 million.

40 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 41 1963 1964

Editor Raymond Carlson authored a history of Arizona Highways for our July 1963 issue. The article included a look at what we refer to as Arizona Highways World Headquarters in Phoenix. The same doors you see on the building in the photograph remain today.

Arizona’s roadside rest areas were glamorized in August 1963.

A San Carlos Apache girl in traditional dress appeared on our cover in May 1963, one of many issues over the Josef Muench’s Along Lake Powell’s Colorful Waterways helped illustrate a story titled Lake Powell: America’s Newest Playground decades that have paid tribute to Arizona’s Indian tribes. in January 1964, not long after the lake was formed by Glen Canyon Dam.

42 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 43 1965 1966

“Never before available for private use,” Arizona Highways advertised its first Sound Classic, The Grand Canyon, in the October 1965 issue. The album, available for $5, included music and narra- tion. For an additional $17, fans could purchase 70 photo slides to create “a new dimension in audio- Although artist Ross visual entertainment.” Related Santee died in June 1965, products such as this became his work continued to common in the 1980s. appear in the magazine. This sketch was published in September 1965.

Six pages of our October 1966 issue were dedicated to the bola tie. “Not a cravat inherited from the Croats, nor a neckerchief, nor a Windsor, nor a four-in-hand, the bola is a unique tie,” writer Eleanor Elliott Ullmann asserted. This photograph was made by Ray Manley.

The Greatest Story Ever Told was filmed in the Glen Canyon area, and this pho- tograph, a still titled Baptism of Jesus Christ, ran as part of a feature about the production of the film in January 1965.

In November 1966, each of the magazine’s interior pages was printed sideways and featured brochures of Arizona’s 14 counties. The state’s 15th county, La Paz, wasn’t created until 1983.

After we published The Wonderful World of Bil Keane in July 1966, the Northern Arizona University took center Family Circus artist himself authored stage in our May 1966 issue. In this photo a thank-you note for our September by frequent contributor Herb McLaughlin, 1966 issue. It included an illustration onlookers at NAU examine NASA’s Mobile of his famous cartoon family read- Geological Laboratory, originally intended for ing a copy of the magazine. use in lunar landings.

44 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 45 1967 1968

A conservation pledge appeared in the September 1967 issue of Arizona Highways and accompanied a story about the lives of Photographer David Muench, below, went fire watchers in Arizona’s national forests. in pursuit of the sun for our April 1968 This kind of editorializing would eventually issue, capturing images like the one at left disappear from the magazine. — a glowing landscape below Sitgreaves Pass. Muench is the longest-tenured pho- tographer in the history of the magazine.

Earl Petroff’s Saguaro Bouquet was one of many photos of cactus flowers that appeared in a portfolio in January 1967. Wildflowers have been featured prominently in the magazine over the years.

Leif Erickson starred in NBC’s The High Chaparral. The show, which spotlighted Territorial Arizona, was featured in September 1967.

A new nuclear mining project in Graham County was the subject of an article in our October 1968 issue. “In essence, it envisions the detonation of a low-yield nuclear device far below the surface of the ground. Force of the blast would shatter millions of tons of extremely low-grade copper ore,” Edward H. Peplow Jr. wrote.

We have plenty of quirkiness in our archives, like this fancy, creature-covered logo, which graced our December 1968 cover.

46 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 47 1969 T HE 1970s

ypsys, Tramps & Thieves was the No. 1 song in In October 1973, Arab oil producers cut off exports to the America in November 1971. That same month, United States as a way of protesting American military sup- Editor Joseph Stacey shared the news that port for Israel, which was at war with Egypt and Syria. The after 33 years, Raymond Carlson had retired embargo led to inflated gas prices and long lines at gas sta- as editor of Arizona tions. In addition to making it more G Highways due to “complications result- expensive to produce stories, the gas ing from illness of more than two years, shortage devastated the tourism indus- during which time it was necessary try and, subsequently, the mission state- for Mr. Carlson to direct the editorial ment of the magazine. In response to details of the magazine from his home what was happening, Mr. Stacey began and at times from a hospital bed.” looking at content beyond traditional In a summary of his mentor, Mr. travel journalism. And he found it. Stacey wrote: “As editor of a magazine Known today as the “turquoise which he transformed from the ‘Ugly issue,” the January 1974 edition was Duckling’ of the publication field into a dedicated entirely to the history and colorful ‘Bird of Paradise,’ he, more than culture of turquoise jewelry and some any other person or agency, has done of the talented Native Americans who more for the state of Arizona than is fashioned it. “We regret that we are not possible to compute.” able to make mention of all the fine, reli- And so it was, for the first time in able, dependable and deserving dealers a very long time, Arizona Highways had engaged in the industry,” the cover story a new editor. Mr. Stacey, however, explained. “We designed our presen- wasn’t new to the organization. He’d tation to depict examples of the best 1970 Artist Larry Toschik, who was best known been with the magazine since 1956, for his wildlife illustrations, created our March known types and classes.” when Mr. Carlson hired him as a free- 1970 cover. It highlighted Arizona’s five C’s — Despite the disclaimer, that issue, lance writer. A decade later, in August cattle, copper, cotton, citrus and climate — and which featured a bejeweled buffalo skull 1967, he became the editorial assistant added one more, canyons. on the cover, holds the distinction of and began shadowing the master. being the biggest-selling issue in the Although no one would ever want to follow in the footsteps history of Arizona Highways — it was reprinted three times and of Mr. Carlson, Mr. Stacey embraced the opportunity and sold more than a million copies. maintained the magazine’s tradition of awe-inspiring pho- A year later, the magazine celebrated its golden anniversary. tography and compelling stories. And in the process, the “We think of our fifty years past as an almost incredible jour- circulation climbed to 503,218. Of course, like all editors, he ney,” Mr. Stacey wrote in April 1975. “Metaphorically it began on faced some challenges. a raft and has touched home port on a world-cruising super ship. The first came in November 1972, when longtime Art Direc- Our ship is a very special kind of ship ... a treasure ship ... its tor George Avey said goodbye to Arizona Highways. According wealth measured in a unique collection of words and pictures.” to his son and would-be editor, Gary, “a lifetime of using fixa- Unfortunately, mandatory retirement would force Mr. Sta- tive sprays and airbrushes in poorly ventilated small quarters cey off the super ship in 1976. And unlike the previous four caught up with him.” decades, which saw unprecedented stability on the masthead, In the course of a year, the magazine had lost both of its the last half of the 1970s would be defined by several personnel founding fathers. And there would be other challenges. changes. It was a trend that would continue into the 1980s.

Arizona Highways advertised author and illustrator Reg Manning’s book What Kinda Cactus Izzat? in our February 1969 issue.

48 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 49 1971 1972

This drawing of a curve-billed thrasher was one of several avian illustrations that appeared in the February 1972 issue, which focused on birds of the South- west. A note from Editor Joseph Stacey explained that the draw- ings came from a mid-1800s report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey.

George Avey, Arizona High- ways’ longtime art director, retired in October 1972. In November of that year, the magazine honored his more than 30 years of service, say- ing that “too few of us know the degree of nobleness and sacredness he poured into even the simplest of everyday challenges.” John W. Hampton’s illustrations accompanied Explor- ing Arizona’s Literary Trails, a September 1972 Lawrence Clark Powell story about Arizona-inspired novels. This one depicts a scene from Zane Grey’s Riders of the Purple Sage, published in 1913.

David Muench’s photo of “an October picnic in the Lukachukai Mountains” got its own spread in our January 1971 issue as part of a Muench portfolio. The accompanying story called Muench’s photog- raphy “graphic proof of the near-perfect rapport between a fine artist, his medium and the subject before him.” Muench, the son of Josef Muench, remains a contributor to Arizona Highways today.

The vibrant 1970s ushered in a refreshed Arizona Highways cover logo — a rainbow- themed design whose colors varied from issue to issue.

October 1971 was Raymond Carlson’s last issue as editor of Arizona Highways before he voluntarily resigned due to illness. The following month featured this tribute to our found- ing father, who remained the magazine’s editor emeritus through 1975. March 1972 featured letters to Editor Joseph Stacey and artist Ted DeGrazia from President Richard Nixon. The president had taken notice of the magazine’s and DeGrazia’s efforts to help the Cocopah Tribe raise money for a “cry house,” a building used for funerals.

50 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 51 1973 1974

To avoid becoming too predictable, the magazine often published the unex- pected and asked questions like this: What will Arizona look like in the year 3000? Robert McCall, an Arizona resident described as the “world’s premier aerospace artist,” imagined this floating metropolis, which appeared in our November 1973 issue. The astronomy- themed issue featured a profile of McCall, along with stories on Kitt Peak National Observatory and the Apollo program.

A stagecoach met a Mustang at Rawhide Southwestern pottery was the focus in May Western Town in 1974, and the back cover of that issue fea- our October 1973 tured a Jerry Jacka photo of two Hopi pieces: issue. This photo by “The polychrome jar on the left is by ‘Feather longtime contributors Woman,’ Helen Naha, and the one on the right Herb and Dorothy is by ‘Fawn,’ Eunice Navasie.” Jacka would McLaughlin accom- become one of our legendary photographers. panied a Turk Smith story chronicling Arizona’s history as a proving ground for Our January 1974 issue men and machines. was all about turquoise, At the time, Rawhide as evidenced by the cover: was in Scottsdale; it’s a Neil Koppes photo of since been relocated “9,000 carats of turquoise to the Gila River Indian over a buffalo skull.” The Community. issue explored the mineral’s importance in Arizona’s Native American cultures and became the biggest- selling issue in our history.

What happens when you combine yoga and tennis? Well, you get yoga tennis, as readers learned in April 1974. The story and photos, both by Carol Osman Brown, profiled Baba Rick Champion, The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum near Tucson took “probably the nation’s foremost The year 1973 brought another logo change, but center stage in our September 1973 issue. The story authority” on the sport. Yoga ten- this one would stick around into the 1980s. featured several Nick Wilson illustrations of animals nis was described as “spreading that frequent the museum, including this bobcat. The like wildfire,” but perhaps the fire museum has been featured many times over the years. burned too hot and too fast.

52 APRIL 2015 1975 1976

Arcosanti, architect Paolo Soleri’s experimental community north of Phoenix, was featured in May 1976. In this Ivan Pintar photo, Soleri teaches a seminar group in the Arco- santi Ceramics Apse. Soleri died in 2013 at the age of 93, but Arcosanti is still going strong.

Some of the Southwest’s most accomplished artists and their work have been featured in the magazine. For example, Fritz Scholder’s Hopi Dancers appeared in our March 1975 issue, which focused on the historical importance of trading posts as a link between Native Americans and European settlers.

This January 1975 edi- Photographers David Muench and Paul torial by Editor Joseph Markow joined forces with lapidary Jerry Stacey appeared less Muchna for our January 1976 cover. Muench’s than a year after the photograph of Monument Valley formed the oil crisis of 1973 and backdrop for Muchna’s quartz figures, titled 1974 had abated. It The Spirit of ’76. Markow then made a studio and other items in the photograph to combine the two pieces. The magazine stumped issue was Tom Cooper’s first as editor follow- for the experimental ing Joseph Stacey’s retirement. Muench and LaForce engine, which Markow are still frequent contributors. supposedly could markedly increase gas mileage in cars. The engine never caught on, and the magazine no longer publishes editorials.

Actors re-created scenes from Edward The inside back cover of our April 1975 issue featured this Fitzgerald Beale’s camel-aided expedition Herb and Dorothy McLaughlin photo, a “graphic tribute across Arizona in photos from our July 1976 to one of Arizona’s vital industries”: electronics. The issue. The actors were making Hawmps!, a issue also marked Arizona Highways’ 50th birthday. comedy-Western film about the Beale Wagon Road expedition. Roger Ebert gave Hawmps! two and a half stars out of four.

54 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 55 1977 1978

Senator Barry Goldwater and photographer David Muench collaborated on Arizona, a 1977 book about the state’s beauty and history. An October 1978 story about the book included this quote from Goldwater, who made predictions about Phoenix’s and Arizona’s population growth. Goldwater was half right: Phoenix has indeed become the sixth-largest city in the U.S., but Arizona’s 2012 population was only about 6.5 million.

Maggie Wilson’s Tales of the Fire God, a story in our July 1978 issue, explored the long- ago eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano and the event’s possible place in Hopi mythol- ogy. The accompanying David Muench photo of the dormant volcano was combined with a kachina carved by Leo LaCapa. The scenic wonders of Northern Arizona continue to grace our pages.

In keeping with our focus on Native culture, our September 1978 issue focused exclusively on the Navajo people. “Treat these people with the “With artistry and pride, a modern Apache woman twines willow branches into beautiful basketry.” This Jerry Jacka photo accom- dignity they and all of mankind deserve,” Editor Tom Cooper wrote, “and you will come away as an enlightened and richer person.” On this panied Arts and Crafts: Baskets, Beads and Buckskin, a Hubert Guy story on Apache crafts, in our July 1977 issue. spread, John Running portraits of young Navajos accompanied Jean Humphrey Chaillie’s poem The Young Warrior.

56 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 57 1979 THE 1980 s

he new decade began with a new editor. Gary The man was Larry Toschik, and despite the anomaly, he Avey, the son of longtime Art Director George wrote and illustrated the entire issue. All of it. In fact, other Avey, assumed the front office at our world head- than a shot of the artist, there isn’t a single photograph in the quarters in January 1980, following the departure issue. That was an exception to our unwritten rule, and the of Tom Cooper, who’d issue was a highlight in the tenure of Treplaced Joseph Stacey in 1976. Mr. Avey, who resigned in June 1983. Mr. Avey, as you might expect, His successor was Don Dedera, a grew up with the magazine. Literally. newspaper columnist and former col- “Because the Carlsons [Raymond, the league of the new publisher, Hugh editor, and his wife, Helen] were not Harelson. When Mr. Harelson assumed able to have children, I became the the top spot on the masthead in August shared kid,” Mr. Avey wrote. “It was the 1982, the magazine was in deep financial best of all possible worlds to have two trouble. He fixed the problem, in part, fathers and two mothers, who had the by expanding the brand through related most interesting friends ... Frank Lloyd products, such as books and calendars. Wright, Ted DeGrazia, Josef Muench, In addition, he and his wife, Jan, estab- Barry Goldwater and Ansel Adams, to lished Friends of Arizona Highways — a Longtime Arizona Highways contributor name a few.” nonprofit extension that conducts photo Larry Toschik showed his whimsical side Like Mr. Stacey in the 1970s, Mr. workshops all over North America. in our February 1979 issue, pairing a great horned owl with several Hopi owl kachinas. Avey had an appreciation for what the We have two conference rooms in The entire issue was devoted to Toschik’s Sunsets have been a dominant founding fathers had created. “As your our building. One is named for Editor words and paintings, a project that took theme in the history of Arizona new editor, it is my job to carry on the Emeritus Raymond Carlson. The other Toschik three years to complete. Highways. In June 1979 we quest of excellence ... seeking out the is named for Hugh Harelson, whose featured The Dramatic Skies of new and the unique, the exciting and 1980 The Hopi Tribe was featured in our list of contributions is long and impres- Arizona, a portfolio of what Ari- the colorful.” September 1980 issue, which was devoted to sive, and includes the hiring of Merrill zonans see when they look to the Under his direction, the magazine the 300th anniversary of the tribe’s uprising Windsor. heavens. In this Josef Muench against the Spanish. shot, twilight settles over Joshua stayed true to Mr. Carlson’s vision with An Arizona native, the new editor trees on the Mohave Desert of stories about General George Crook, the came to Arizona Highways in February Northwestern Arizona. Apache Wars, Lake Mead and a “Special All Cowboy Issue” in 1986 after a distinguished career at Sunset magazine and the February 1980, which featured some now-iconic photographs National Geographic Society’s Special Publications Division. by Ray Manley. Under Mr. Windsor, the magazine published an archive of Then, in 1982, Mr. Avey sent Charles Bowden and Jack great stories, including a piece titled Barry Goldwater on Pho- Dykinga to Ramsey Canyon. tography. In it, the longtime contributor talked about the first In the magazine’s long history of talented photographers, photograph he ever sold to Arizona Highways: “It was in 1939. Mr. Dykinga is among the very best. And of all the writers who Ray [Carlson] and I were driving along one day by Coal Mine have shared their words over the years, Mr. Bowden is argu- Canyon near Tuba City. Ray said, ‘You wouldn’t have a picture ably the best. The combination was our equivalent of Gilbert of that, would you?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’ve got a good one.’ I sent it Ruth Bitsui, left, and Gloria Davis modeled and Sullivan. in and he ran it.” contemporary Indian jewelry in Monument Valley A year after the momentous Ramsey Canyon piece — the Another milestone of the Windsor era was a 16-part series of on the back cover of our April 1979 issue. The first of many stories the dynamic duo would do together — we historical paintings by Bill Ahrendt. The collection, which was “collector’s edition” focused on “the new look in published our “shorebirds issue.” It was “dedicated to those titled Arizona Highways Cavalcade, premiered in May 1987 and Indian jewelry.” who love the beauty of nature ... from a man who has spent his continued into the early 1990s, when the revolving door of edi- life learning the gentle ways of the creatures of the wind.” tors would spin once again.

58 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 59 1981 1982

This Canadian subscriber, whose letter appeared in May 1982, was happy to get a break from winter with his Arizona Highways delivery. We still get letters like this today.

John C. Van Dyke, author of 1901’s The Desert, was the subject of an October 1982 fea- ture by Lawrence Clark Powell. In it, Powell In decades past, it wasn’t unusual for Arizona High- describes The Desert ways to venture beyond state lines. For example, as “the cornerstone our February 1981 issue celebrated the sister cities of on which subsequent Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora. The previous desert literature has year, Mexico’s Nogales had celebrated its centennial. been based.” This spread of scenes from the Nogales area included photos by present-day Photo Editor Jeff Kida, J. Peter Mortimer, David Burckhalter and Ellen Barnes.

Robert Dundas captured this sky diver in free fall through Arizona’s clouds. Dundas’ photo was the inside back cover of our September 1982 issue. This James Tallon photo, of abandoned gas pumps along Historic Route 66 near Yucca, appeared in July 1981. In eulogizing the “Mother Big Surf Waterpark Legendary photographer and Arizona Road,” the accompanying opened in September resident Jay Dusard, who specializes story noted that “down 1969 and is home to one in cowboy photography, was profiled America’s Main Street of the first wave pools in our August 1982 issue. Author Harry surged originality, indepen- in the U.S. This J. Peter Redl described Dusard’s creative dence and energy. Freedom. Mortimer photo of the process, which usually involved an Creativity. And love.” park was part of a March unwieldy 8x10 view camera. 1981 story about the Phoenix area’s recreation opportunities.

60 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 61 1983 1984

Our March 1983 issue eulogized Tucson artist and longtime contribu- tor Ted DeGrazia, who had died in September 1982. Maggie Wilson, Dick Frontain and former Editor Joseph Stacey shared their thoughts on the “artist of the peo- ple,” and an accom- panying selection of his works included 1957’s Los Niños.

P.K. Weis’ photo of a young rain dancer on Arizona Highways covers ran the the Papago Reserva- gamut in 1984. Clockwise from tion (known today as above: In October, a Jerry Sieve the Tohono O’odham photo formed the backdrop for Nation) appeared on an illustration of Phoenix’s name- our inside back cover in sake; in March, Dale C. Verzaal’s April 1983. The issue also art helped visualize Arizona’s paid tribute to former future as predicted by Arizona Editor Raymond Carlson, State University faculty mem- who had died in January, bers; in April, Bill Ahrendt painted as “the man who took Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, Arizona to the rest of the a key figure in the exploration of world.” present-day Arizona; and in Janu- ary, Jerry Jacka photographed an antique chair with 140 silk- screened butterflies affixed. The In February 1983, we featured the petroglyphs of latter is a work of art created by Petrified Forest National Park. This Jack B. Daw- Lou Brown DiGiulio and is part of son photo was one of several showing how the the permanent collection at the rock art’s interactions with sunlight were used to Center for Creative Photography mark time. Petroglyphs and national parks have in Tucson. appeared regularly since the 1920s.

62 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 63 1985 1986

Color was the focus of our Janu- ary 1986 issue, which featured Dick Canby’s photo of a rainbow over Red Rock Country. The cover also fea- tured an updated logo and heralded the fact that every page of this and subsequent issues of Arizona Highways would be in color.

Prickly pear cactus on white bread, anyone? This drawing was one of several Bill Ahrendt works to illustrate a June 1986 feature on tall tales of Arizona and the Southwest. With this delicacy, it was claimed, “you can eat your sandwich and pick your teeth at the same time.”

The fog-shrouded Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix formed the backdrop for a teddy bear cholla in this Jerry Sieve photo from our June 1985 issue. It accompanied a feature on Arizona’s myriad hiking opportunities. Sieve was a photography student of Willis Peterson, This Tom Danielsen photo of a foggy Chiricahua National Monument at dawn was the opening spread of a September 1986 Jay J. Wagoner story on who was a longtime contributor to Arizona Highways. Peterson taught at Glendale Community College from 1968 to 1986. Geronimo, the Chiricahua Apache warrior who led a legendary campaign against the U.S. Army in the 1880s.

64 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 65 1987 1988

January 1987 saw the debut of a new look for Arizo- niques, our monthly almanac of places, events and people unique to Arizona and the Southwest. This issue’s installment included items on the antelope jackrabbit and Arizona’s scenic highways.

In April 1987, we featured the winners of an Arizona Highways amateur photography contest. The judges for that contest included the distinguished photographers in this shot. Stand- ing, from left to right, are Jerry Sieve, Dick Dietrich, J. Peter Mortimer, Jack Dykinga, James Tallon and Jerry Jacka. Seated, from left to right, are Dorothy McLaughlin, Carlos Elmer, Nyle Leatham and Herb McLaughlin. Gill Kenny and Willis Peterson also served as judges. For our January 1988 issue, the dynamic duo of Charles Bowden and Jack Dykinga spent six days in Paria Canyon, retracing the steps of 19th century fugitive John D. Lee. Bowden wrote that the canyon today is “a pleasant journey through 200 million years of geology, the kind of place that makes the West the bedrock of our dreams.”

Santa Claus rode a jackalope in our December 1987 issue, A June 1988 feature when Bob Boze Bell told and by Kay Mayer illustrated a whimsical story profiled Hal Empie, called Santa’s First Wild West a prolific artist and Ride. It included a sidebar on longtime Arizona the supposed origin of the Highways contribu- This 1907 photograph of the Arizona Rang- mythical half-jackrabbit, tor. Empie, who ers was made by Dane Coolidge, the subject half-antelope creature. recently had turned of a June 1988 story by Evelyn S. Cooper. 79, said then that Coolidge, also a prolific writer, emphasized “I’ve been around historical realism over romantic illusion in so long, ever’body his photographs, Cooper said. looks familiar to me.” Empie contin- ued producing art In keeping with our tradition of focusing on local culture, an August 1987 feature highlighted celebrations until his death in of Hispanic holidays. These Eduardo Fuss photos portrayed the vibrant dances and colorful costumes that 2002 at age 93. often accompany such celebrations.

66 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 67 1989 THE 1990s

lthough Arizona Highways would turn 65 in In keeping with the spirit of the subject, Mr. Early replied: 1990, the decade became known as the Early “All humor submissions are read by a crack team of highly Years, a name that reflects the administration trained professionals.” of Bob Early, who replaced Merrill Windsor Admittedly, most of the humor was light on humor, but no as editor in June 1990. In his first column, he one could argue with the photography in the 1990s, which talked about a new direction: “Begin- ranks as some of the best in the his- A ning this fall, the magazine will inten- tory of the magazine. In fact, of the 100 sify its travel reports. Each month we’ll images in our book 100 Greatest Photo- feature a short hiking story, pointing graphs to Ever Appear in Arizona Highways out places to walk and letting you know Magazine, 13 came from the 1990s. Gary what kind of experiences to expect. And Ladd, Jerry Jacka, Jack Dykinga, Randy we’ll do a longer story about a travel Prentice, Tom Danielsen, Jerry Sieve, destination, a place to enjoy for a week- Steve Bruno, David Muench and Marc end or a week.” Muench (the son of David) are among The inaugural “hiking story” was the many talented artists who graced published in October 1990 and featured our pages in the last decade of the mil- Camelback Mountain. Twenty-five years lennium. later, the Hike of the Month is still one of The impressive photography, along our most popular departments. with stories about cowboys and cac- While the content was changing in tuses, continued as the years rolled the early 1990s, so was the magazine’s on. The decade, however, would end Ed Beale’s camel-aided Beale Wagon Road expedition returned to the schematic. In January 1992, in an issue in “scandal.” The word “scandal” is in pages of Arizona Highways in November 1989 with this Bill Ahrendt that featured John Wayne on the cover, quotes because of the unlikely response painting. Ahrendt called the camel caravan “one of the most unusual the page count expanded from 48 to 56. to our infamous “swimsuit issue.” scenes in the history of the West.” “It’s the first regular page increase in 20 By Sports Illustrated standards, it was 1990 “A violent storm showers the desert years,” the editors proclaimed. In addi- with lightning bolts” in this William L. Want- tame — even a Land’s End catalog is tion, the new year brought more new land cover photo from our August 1990 issue. more suggestive. Nonetheless, it caused content. “Each month we will carry The issue included a feature on University of an uproar. Arizona Highways has back road adventures, tales of lost trea- Arizona scientists who were working on ways In a subsequent explanation, Mr. always ventured beyond sures, great events that make Arizona to prevent lightning damage. Early wrote: “Television stations, talk the printed page. We special, outdoor recreational activities radio and the newspapers wondered sometimes made movies, and a humor page dealing with the lighter side of Arizona how this venerable publication could dare to put a swimsuit- too. This hourlong VHS tape, Lake Powell and the living.” clad woman on the cover. Never mind that it was a conserva- Canyon Country, was nar- All of those things would become hallmarks of Mr. Early’s tive photo, suggesting nothing but playing in a waterfall.” rated by William Shatner time in office — in particular, the humor page, which featured Readers were uncomfortable, too. In a letter to the edi- and available for just material submitted by readers. The magazine paid $75 for knee- tor, Bud Lofvenborg of Prescott wrote: “Just a thought for $34.95, plus shipping and slappers like this from Thomas Smith of Pocatello, Idaho: you. Please let’s keep Arizona Highways as beautiful as it has handling. We advertised it been for years and leave the girls in swimsuits off the front in our January 1989 issue. “I am afraid of heights. So on a trip to Arizona, my family had to blindfold me and take me to the bottom of the Grand Can- cover.” What the media and Mr. Lofvenborg failed to under- yon so I could see it.” stand was that swimsuit covers weren’t unprecedented. In Not everyone appreciated the “humor.” One subscriber June 1939, Editor Raymond Carlson ran a cover shot of three from Sedona wrote: “Your magazine has been my favorite for women wearing bathing suits. Still, 60 years later, our “scan- dalous” cover made headlines and put an exclamation point A wacky font accentuated the action in this Fred Griffin photo, which opened 35 years ... but I must tell you how bad your Arizona Humor an October 1989 Lynn Adair story about the food and excitement of the is. Your selection of non-humor stories absolutely stinks.” on the 20th century. Arizona State Fair. The fair continues to be held at the state fairgrounds in Phoenix, within walking distance of Arizona Highways’ world headquarters.

68 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 69 1991 1992

This feature, which appeared in June 1991, marked the advent As the new decade rolled on, the of more extensive magazine continued its tradition of environmental and featuring Arizona’s Native cultures investigative report- with this cover, from November 1992. ing in Arizona High- ways. It’s a tradition that continues today through the work of journalists like Terry Greene Sterling.

This February 1992 photograph of Yavapai County Sheriff G.C. “Buck” Buchanan was made by current Photo Editor Jeff Kida, who was then a contributor to the magazine.

Letters to the editor, including this one from August 1991, have long served to put us and other readers in our places.

In keeping with the tradi- tion started by Editor Ray- mond Carlson in the 1940s, this Robert McCall painting of the USS Arizona ran on the inside front cover in April 1991. The story it promoted was titled Last Battle of the U.S.S. Arizona, and marked the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Writer Charles Bowden and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jack Dykinga joined forces again for this feature, titled Baboquivari: A Place Pearl Harbor attack. Outside of Time. It ran in January 1992 and was one of many collaborative pieces by Bowden, who died in August 2014, and Dykinga.

70 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 71 1993 1994

Marc Muench, the third generation in the Muench fam- ily to shoot for us, captured quite an adventure shot for a story about rock-climbing in Sedona in October 1994.

Artist Kevin Kibsey’s illustrations accompanied this story about Chato, an Apache leader, for our February 1993 issue. Today, Kibsey illustrates each of the maps that Apparently, the staff was in the mood to appear in the Scenic Drive and Hike of the Month sections of the magazine. clown around for this back cover, which ran in March 1994.

Artist Jack Graham created a sculpture of Theodore Roosevelt in his namesake lake for our May 1994 issue. Geronimo’s plea to President Theodore Roosevelt ran as part of a photo tribute to Arizona titled The Land That I Love. It was part of our December 1993 issue.

This story, about a racing mule named Loretta Lynn, ran in October 1993.

72 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 73 WE’D LIKE TO HANG WITH YOU

ARIZONA, 30 x 30 INCHES, OIL ON LINEN, 2014. PAINTING BY ED MELL

CELEBRATING OUR 90th ANNIVERSARY 901925-2015 In August 1940, Arizona Highways Art Director George Avey created the now-iconic map that’s featured on the back cover of our special 90th Anniversary issue. To celebrate that milestone, we’re offering a limited-edition print of Mr. Avey’s map. $19.99* Own a signed, limited-edition print featuring the fine art of Arizona 18 x 24 inches #DPAMP5 native Ed Mell, as seen on the cover of our special 90th Anniversary issue. Proceeds will benefit Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona. $49.99* 24 x 36 inches #DPEMP5 To order, visit www.shoparizonahighways.com or call 800-543-5432. Use code P5D8AP when ordering to take advantage of this special offer. *Pricing does not include shipping and handling charges. *Pricing does not include shipping and handling charges. 74 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 75 1995 1996

Photographer Joel Grimes’ portraits of Navajo people ran as a portfolio in June 1995. Later, Grimes revisited his images as part of a portfolio in September 2013. Navajo photographer LeRoy DeJolie captured this image for our Decem- ber 1996 cover. For several years, staffers would transport Christmas This stunning trees to various Arizona destina- photograph of tions, such as Antelope Canyon, to Seneca Falls create holiday-themed covers. on San Carlos Apache Tribe land appeared as part of a port- folio of water- Tales of murder and falls by photog- intrigue, like the stories rapher Charles at right, were common Chanley in May in the magazine in 1995. the 1990s, as were spot illustrations like the one below, which appeared in a depart- ment in the back of the magazine. These selections show how digital tools such as Photoshop began allowing more creativ- ity in layouts and image manipulation.

Our own webmaster, Vicky Snow, illustrated the Arizona Humor page with this cartoon in September 1995.

76 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 77 1997 1998

This bold design, unlike anything you’d see today, ran in November 1997. It’s an example of how technological advances of the 1990s allowed more layout creativity.

Longtime contributor Gary Ladd made this photograph of a rock cap on the Navajo Nation for his portfolio titled Time Sculptures in September 1997.

Grand Canyon Caverns was the subject of a four-page feature in August 1997.

Randy Prentice made this photograph of primroses and creosote bushes in the Lower Grand Gorge, near the confluence of the Colorado River and Diamond Creek. It ran with a story about Grand Canyon West in June 1998.

78 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 79 1999 THE 2000 s

Humor, including reader-submitted jokes and cartoons, was a large part of the maga- zine from 1992 to 2005. Some readers con- tinue to submit their jokes to the magazine he new millennium began with no mention of the from a historical perspective, it’s the magazine’s equivalent of today. The illustration by Maurice Lewis at right appeared in April 1999 as part of Gene next 1,000 years. It did, however, mark the arrival of a the Round Table.” Perret’s Wit Stop column. new publisher. Win Holden, who is still manning the Despite its glorious history, the magazine was losing thou- mother ship today, joined Arizona Highways after the sands of subscribers a year. The decline was attributed, in departure of Nina La France, who’d replaced Hugh part, to the evolution of digital media and other publishing THarelson as publisher in 1995. In addition to a new leader, the challenges, but a growing ambivalence among Arizonans new year brought a new department, On the Road, which would played a role, too. When asked about Arizona Highways, locals serve as a tribute to the 75th anniversary would say things like: “It’s a great of the magazine. magazine. I haven’t read it in years.” “The department will feature clas- Or: “I think my grandparents, who live sic stories from past issues,” the editors outside Detroit, still get it.” wrote, “vignettes of frontier life, anec- To help reverse the trend, the new dotes of men and women who take pic- editor set out to make the magazine as tures or write stories for the magazine appealing to Arizonans as it was to arm- and tales its writers uncovered along chair travelers in Michigan. In addition the Arizona road.” It was an impressive to a new wave of service journalism piece of work. And so was the cover aimed at day-trippers and shutterbugs, story in December 2002. the magazine created a department When people call and ask for it today, called The Journal. The eight-page section, they ask for the “50 states issue.” The which launched in January 2008, was actual title, however, is A Land for All, described as “a series of pages dedicated Portfolios of fall color have long appeared in Arizona Highways. and it was based on the notion that to the things this magazine has been This photograph by Mark Thaler “each of the other 49 states has a look­ mastering for 83 years — history, nature, was featured in October 1999. alike setting in Arizona.” The 50 photo- photography.” It was more than that, graphs support the argument, and the though. The Journal also spotlighted some issue is one of many highlights in the of Arizona’s best restaurants, diners, Bob Early era, which ended in October 2000 Our August 2000 cover featured inns, B&B’s ... subjects focused on expe- 2004 when the esteemed editor retired Richard K. Webb’s shot of Mount Graham’s riential travel. after 14 years — his tenure is second Ash Creek Falls. “Whether you live in Woods Hole, only to Raymond Carlson’s. A few Massachusetts, or Woods Canyon Lake, months after he left, longtime contributor Peter Aleshire was Arizona,” the new editor wrote, “we intend to make this maga- brought in. “Through some oversight,” he wrote in April 2005, zine your primary source for learning about the Grand Canyon “Publisher Win Holden hired me to fill Bob Early’s oversized State.” In addition, there was a new emphasis on photography, shoes. So I am come suddenly of age, entrusted with the proud which included the launch of an annual photo contest, a “pho- 80-year legacy of this magazine.” tography issue” every September and the magazine’s first-ever In his two years as editor, he carried on that legacy and “all-photo issue” in December 2009. oversaw the magazine’s 80th-anniversary issue. He also began It was dedicated, in part, to Sergeant Thaddeus Montgom- producing what’s known as “service journalism” — stories ery and the 1st Platoon in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan about “things to do” and “places to see.” It’s a category that — the staff at Arizona Highways had been sending supplies to was pioneered by New York magazine in the late 1960s, and one the troops after Mr. Montgomery wrote a letter to the editor that would become more prevalent at Arizona Highways under requesting back issues of the magazine. The response to the This cover, which was published in August 1999, caused quite a stir when hundreds of readers wrote to complain about the bikini-clad model. Robert Stieve, who succeeded Mr. Aleshire as editor in 2007. all-photo issue was overwhelming. Subscribers flooded our Like his predecessor, the new editor was humbled by the world headquarters with kind words, and on the newsstand, it opportunity. “As I take my seat in the editor’s chair, I’m aware became one of the best-selling issues in decades. In spite of the of what came before me,” he wrote in his first column. “Even recession that was hammering the nation’s economy, Arizona my desk is impressive. It wouldn’t fetch much on eBay, but Highways finished the decade on a very high note.

80 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 81 2001 2002

Our August 2001 issue featured Memoirs of Salome Creek, which paired a Nick Berezenko essay with Jeff Snyder photos. The opening spread showed the thin ribbon of the creek trickling into “The Jug,” giving little hint of the raging torrent of floodwaters that created the cathedral-like canyon. Adventure stories like this are a mainstay of the editorial lineup.

Steve McQueen, as the titular hero of 1972’s Junior Bonner, graced our cover in June 2001. In the issue, the film’s screenwriter, Jeb J. Rose- brook, reminisced about McQueen and the other stars of the movie, which was filmed in Prescott in 1971. The nearly 400-year-old legend of the “Lady in Blue” was the subject of a story in January 2001. The lady, the legend goes, appeared among Indian tribes to teach the word of Christ and leave behind rosaries, chalices and crosses. A Rafal Olbinski The skeleton of a long-dead saguaro frames the Sand Tank Mountains in this Jack Dykinga photo from April 2002. The photo was part illustration accompanied the story. of a Dykinga portfolio that focused on Sonoran Desert National Monument, which had been created in January 2001.

82 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 83 2003 2004

An October 2003 Dean Smith story chronicled the slow death of Sonora, a copper-mining town southeast of Superior. The town got its name from its miners, many of whom were recruited from the Mexican state of Sonora. When the mine expanded in the 1950s and ’60s, the town was gobbled up, with many residents moving to Superior, Hayden or Kelvin.

Seven nuns’ harrowing 1870 journey from San Diego to Tucson was the subject of The Trek of the Seven Sisters, a January 2003 story. Monica Corrigan, one of the nuns, kept a detailed diary of the trip, which included high temperatures, threats of Indian attacks and “the advances of lonesome cowboys they encountered along the way.” Brad Holland’s ghostly artwork illustrated a March 2004 Bob Thomas story on a Tohono O’odham legend. According to the legend, four children were buried alive to appease spirits and protect a village from a flood. In keeping with our long history of using maps to illustrate stories, Mike Reagan’s This forceps, intro- work accompanied duced in the 1870s, Walking the Arizona was designed to This Marty Blake Trail, an October 2004 remove arrowheads photo illustration story on the trail that from people. It was accompanied the April crosses Arizona from featured in April 2003 2004 story Early Day Utah to Mexico. The as part of a story on Scribes Knew How to 819-mile trail was the primitive methods Spell Hype. In it, author completed in 2011 and used by early Arizona Kathleen M. Bryant has been designated doctors. examined the florid a National Scenic and often-inaccurate Trail. prose employed by those describing Ter- ritorial Arizona to the Navajoland was our focus in outside world. April 2003, when Carrie M. Miner wrote about how the Navajos’ oral history inter- twines with the landscape of the Navajo Nation. This Tom Till photo of the Dancing Rocks accompanied the story. it would later be ranked as one of the “100 best photos” in the history of Arizona Highways.

84 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 85 2005 2006

Nationally acclaimed artist Dugald Stermer brought a dilo- phosaurus to life for a February 2006 story about dinosaur Carrie M. Miner’s Let’s Go tracks at Lake Powell. Author Scott Thybony wrote about a Swimmin’, a June 2005 photographer’s quest to document the tracks before they “service journalism” were covered by the lake’s rising water. story, provided an easy way to escape the sum- mer heat by detailing nine of Arizona’s best swimming holes. In this Nick Berezenko photo, Bök Lundgren slices through the refreshing water of Fossil Creek.

Pulp Dreams, a May 2006 Amy Abrams story, examined the demand Several features in our February 2006 issue focused for Robert G. Harris’ pulp illustrations on cowboys, rodeos, dude ranches and city slickers. by modern collectors. This November David Zickl’s cover model was Kelly Glenn-Kimbro, 1935 cover of Wild West Weekly was a member of the ranching Glenn family at the Malpai one of more than 50 that Harris, who Ranch east of Douglas. moved to Arizona in the 1950s, cre- ated for that publication.

This Ansel Adams pho- tograph of Jerome was one of several Adams images that appeared in April 2005. The legendary photogra- pher had sold Arizona Highways a collection of photos, but they had languished in storage until the early 2000s. “Many of the prints in this historic collection are being reproduced in this issue for the first time,” Photo Editor Richard Maack wrote.

March 2005 marked the last “Small enough to fit in a pocket,” the printed appearance of our Talking Road Whiz, featured in August humor section, which featured 2005, provided directions to gas stations, staff-drawn cartoons and restaurants and other services. All you jokes submitted by readers. had to do was tell the $40 gadget what After that, the jokes moved state you were in, what highway you were to our website. We wouldn’t on, the direction you were going and the say it was the last appearance most recent mile marker. These days, all of humor in the magazine, you need is a smartphone app. though, since we all consider Our October 2006 issue featured Once Upon a Day in Arizona, in which 50 writers and photographers scattered throughout the state to capture ourselves pretty funny. its quirky, inspiring and surprising diversity. Photographer Scott Baxter captured trainer Dallas Wedel working with Tuff, a young stud horse, at Diamond Tree Ranch in Cave Creek.

86 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 87 2007 2008

Wyatt Earp lived again — sort of — in a David Zickl photo that ran in November 2007. Actor Fred Yale portrayed the famous lawman in Tombstone’s re- enactments of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Jones Benally, a Navajo medicine man and dancer photo- graphed by Jeff Kida, was a subject of Lori K. Baker’s February 2007 story on the previous year’s World Championship Hoop Dance Contest in downtown Phoenix. You might recognize Benally from another recent issue: He and cowboy Casey Murph appeared on our Sep- tember 2013 cover.

Digital or film? That was the debate in our September 2008 issue, when two of our renowned photographers — George Stocking and Jack Dykinga — went to Northern Arizona to make photos. Stocking shot digital, while Dykinga stuck with film. In the end, the images demonstrated that the photographer, not the format, is the key to making a great photo. The debate, though, continues today.

Richard Maack’s photo of the Douglas train depot was the opening spread for Sam Lowe’s November 2008 story on historic depots around Arizona. Many of the state’s remaining depots, vestiges of the heyday of rail travel, are now being used for other purposes; for example, the Douglas depot is now the town’s In November 2007, a profile of rodeo photographer Louise Serpa police station. included her image of Roy “Skeeter” Humble riding a feisty bronc during a dust storm at the 1964 Chandler Junior Rodeo.

This Lynn Sankey photo opened The Journal, our monthly look at people, places and things Aerial photographer Adriel Heisey’s work was on display in from around the state, in October 2008. In a January 2007 portfolio. Heisey said he had experienced it, Kelly Vallo gazes into the sunset from the “rough air” while making this photo, which “always stirs a wind-whipped sand dunes of the Navajo primal fear in me, no matter how experienced I become.” Nation. Sankey made the image during an Arizona Highways Photo Workshop.

88 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 89 2009

Our logo changed again in 2009 THE 2010s to the treatment you see today. In August of that year, we published our first-ever “Best of Arizona” issue, which featured contribu- tions from Tempe-based rock star Roger Clyne, Arizona Diamond- backs pitcher Brandon Webb and NFL referee Ed Hochuli. Wes Tim- merman made the cover photo of a waterfall in a Grand Canyon tributary.

s the new decade began, the last decade’s denoue- included an introduction by Arizona native Sandra Day ment was still getting rave reviews. Letters, O’Connor and several historical narratives, but the highlight emails, phone calls ... turns out, readers were of the magazine was an extensive collection of black-and-white more than willing to sacrifice vowels and con- photographs. Within days of its release, the magazine sold out, sonants once a year for an “all-photo issue,” and and for the first time since January 1974, Arizona Highways went Athey were vocal about wanting more. So, before the last echoes back on press. Twice. of Auld Lang Syne had vanished into the In the years between then and now, ether, the editorial team was already the magazine has focused on a mix of thinking about an encore for Decem- interesting stories, spectacular photog- ber 2010. But how do you follow The Beatles, raphy and dynamic illustrations — the everyone wondered. That’s when the things that have made it great for so editor said to the photo editor, “I have many years — as well as a steady stream an idea.” of service journalism. Issues such as Best The idea came to life 12 months later Restaurants, Summer Hiking Guide and In January 2009, we featured under the headline: Best Ever. Period. It Weekend Getaways are among our most an all-women travel brigade was a bold statement about the history popular, and they pass the litmus test that had grown from two sisters of photography in Arizona Highways. of the magazine’s mission, which is to to more than 1,000 “adopted “After poring over more than a thousand “encourage travel to and through the sisters.” Sisters on the Fly’s trip issues and tens of thousands of images,” state of Arizona.” to Monument Valley was the focus of JoBeth Jamison’s story; the subhead read, “these are, in our esti- Of course, travel isn’t always inspired this Hakatai Images photo shows mation, the 50 best photographs to ever by a “things to do” checklist. Some- Jane Bischoff and her Serro appear in Arizona Highways. Some were times, it can be accomplished with Scotty trailer, Turquoise Nugget. made by famous photographers — Ansel powerful writing about people, places Adams, Edward Curtis, Laura Gilpin — and things. When Robert Stieve became and others came from newcomers like editor in 2007, one of his objectives was Chikku Baiju, a 20-year-old kid from 2010 Paul Markow’s photo of Flagstaff’s to make the writing in Arizona High- Chandler, Arizona.” Tinderbox Kitchen was the cover of our April ways as impressive as the photography. Narrowing an archive like ours to 2010 issue, which included our third-annual Today, inspirational essays by Craig In this Robert McDonald look at Arizona’s best restaurants. 50 photos took months and was, at Childs, J.P.S. Brown and the late Charles photo from our October 2009 issue, a smear of times, excruciating. But like the first- Bowden; thoughtful stories about the golden leaves breaks ever “all-photo issue” in December 2009, the follow-up was a environment by Terry Greene Sterling; and fascinating profiles the vertical backdrop hit. “What a beautiful magazine,” Carolyn Welsh of Scotts- by Kelly Vaughn Kramer have added prose and poetry to a of mature aspens in dale, Arizona, wrote. “And what a perfect time to present it ... magazine best known for photography. Lockett Meadow near December.” The combination of the two is what makes Arizona Highways Flagstaff. The photo accompanied a look The next year, operating on the theory that The Godfather as appealing today as it was in the days of Raymond Carlson at Arizona’s fall color, Part II measured up to the original, Arizona Highways published and George Avey. The names on the masthead have changed a longtime staple The Next Best, a sequel that expanded the magazine’s portfolio since then, and we’ve added a lot of color, literally and figu- This Bruce D. Taubert photo of a spotted bat of October issues of of best photographs to 100. It was around then that readers ratively, but in many ways, nothing’s really changed. Like our appeared in February 2009, when readers Arizona Highways. started asking for a coffee-table book, and we obliged — at founding fathers, we work hard every month to showcase the learned that the bats make their homes on the press time, 100 Greatest Photographs to Ever Appear in Arizona very best of Arizona. cliffs of the Grand Canyon, as well as in conifer- ous forests, meadows and crooks of saguaros. Highways Magazine was in its third printing. As Mr. Carlson used to say: “A thing of beauty is a joy for- Taubert has become Arizona Highways’ go-to Two months after the sequel hit newsstands, the maga- ever.” For 90 years now, we’ve been striving for lasting beauty, source for photos of the state’s flora and fauna. zine published a special 100-page “Centennial issue,” which and we’re not done. In fact, we’d like to live to be 100. We hope commemorated Arizona’s 100th year of statehood. The issue you’ll join us.

90 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 91 2011 2012

George Stocking’s Mark Lipczynski’s stunning Arizona Where the Bodies monsoon images Are Buried portfolio appeared in The ran in October Howling Winds in June 2012. It included 2011. The portfolio this shot of Wil- featured seven photo- liams’ Mountain graphs, including this View Cemetery, one, which Stocking along with more made near Coal Mine photographs from Canyon. Portfolios historic cemeteries have been a monthly around the state. feature in the maga- zine since 2008.

The state of Arizona turned 100 in February 2012, and to celebrate, we published our 100-page Centennial issue. It included a timeline of Arizona history, essays by Sandra Day O’Connor and Hugh Downs, and a portfolio of historical Arizona photo- graphs. It stands as one of the biggest- selling newsstand issues in the history of Arizona Highways. Whitewater-rafting in Upper Salt River Canyon anchored our Weekend Getaways cover story in January 2011. The people in the front of the raft? Edi- tor Robert Stieve and Managing Editor Kelly Vaughn Kramer.

A Burning Issue, which ran in June 2012, continued the magazine’s legacy of environmental and public-issues reporting. The story, by Kelly Vaughn Kramer, discussed the first anniversary of the Wallow Fire and the 10th anniversary of the Rodeo-Chediski Fire, along with fire-management practices in Arizona’s forests.

Neon signs, like this one along Tucson’s Miracle Jim Pyeatt and the Pyeatt Ranch were the Mile, were featured subjects of our 100 Years, 100 Ranchers piece in Glimmer of Hope in in October 2011. The yearlong feature, pho- November 2011. Kathy tographed by Scott Baxter, included some of Montgomery authored the 100 people Baxter photographed for his Artist Chris Gall’s amazing illustrations accompanied J.P.S. Brown’s the story, which dis- project about families who have ranched in cowboy story, The High Lonesome, in October 2012. Gall, who’s best cussed neon’s come- Arizona for 100 years or longer. known for his children’s books — Dinotrux, Substitute Creature and more back along Arizona’s — continues to be a frequent contributor to the magazine. roadways, while Terrence Moore provided the photography.

92 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 93 2013 2014

Writer Matt Jaffe and photographer Tom Gamache teamed up for this travel story about the duo’s trip across the Navajo Nation in Gamache’s orange 1972 Chevy Blazer — a truck that, by the way, has more than 1.5 million miles to its credit. The story ran in November 2014.

May 2014 marked the first time Florence-based photographer Eirini Pajak’s images appeared in the magazine. This shot of wholeleaf Indian paintbrushes appeared in our May Flowers portfolio and was created using a unique photo- stacking technique that combines multiple exposures into a single image. In December 2013, our annual all-photography issue was organized by color “album.” Dawn Kish’s photograph of tele- This photograph of White Pocket, at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, was part of scope technician Ralph Nye closed the blue album and was made by Shane McDermott. out our two-year-old Odd Jobs department, a look at Arizona people in interesting professions.

Scratchboard artist Douglas Smith created this cover — the first illus- trated cover in several years — for our Salute to Prescott issue in May Scott Baxter photographed cowboy 2014. The issue paid tribute to the Casey Murph and Navajo medicine man city’s sesquicentennial. Fifty years Jones Benally together for this cover, earlier, we featured Prescott’s cen- which celebrated The Photography Issue tennial on the cover. in September 2013. The issue featured an Indians portfolio by Joel Grimes and a Cowboys portfolio by Baxter. The purple ribbon in the top right corner of the cover paid tribute to the 19 firefight- Dune and Gloom, Kathy Ritchie’s story about sand dunes on the Navajo Nation, ran in ers who were killed fighting the Yarnell October 2013. It detailed how the dunes were swallowing homes and threatening the Hill Fire earlier that year. Navajos’ way of life. John Burcham made the photos.

94 APRIL 2015 90TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 95 2015

KAREN SHELL

TH A LOOK BACK AT OUR SPECIAL 90 ANNIVERSARY ISSUE FIRST NINE DECADES When we asked Ed Mell if he’d be willing to create a piece of fine art for our 90th-anniversary cover, the world-renowned

ESCAPE • EXPLORE • EXPERIENCE painter said: “I’d love to. As an Arizona native, it’s one of those ‘bucket list’ things. I did the Centennial stamp for Arizona, too.” As excited as he might have been, we were ecstatic. To have an artist of his caliber — someone who was born and raised in Phoenix — create an original work of art for our 90-year ret- rospective was more than we could have hoped for. As you’ve already seen, it’s a remarkable painting that combines some of the many elements of the Arizona landscape, with an Arizona highway thrown in just for us. Thank you, Ed.

96 APRIL 2015