Bits and Pieces

Steam Pump Ranch Bunk House and Barbecue done in July

The town reports that construction on the bunkhouses and the barbecue are coming along schedule and should be completed by July 29. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10:00 am on July 18. (Source: Oro Valley Historical Society Newsletter)

“Jimkrieghite” will put Oro Valley “on the map”

Council Member Joyce. Jones-Ivey noted at last week’s town council meeting that a new mineral has been discovered in the Catalina Mountains. It has been named for Jim Kreigh, Oro Valley’s founder. The mineral was found by long-time resident and town volunteer Warren Lazar. University of Arizona geologists determined that that mineral only exist in the Catalinas. It was likely formed from a lightening strike. Major announcements are forthcoming. The mineral is on display at the Geology Museum at the University.

Former Council Member Parisi supports OVCN Sports Facility…misses the point

Former Town Council Member Paul Parisi supports the massive sports facility the Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene wants to build. Speaking at last week’s town council meeting, Parisi stated that growth is inevitable and that residents have always opposed it. He noted that residents did not want the town to build Riverfront Park when he was on council (at the beginning of the century). Parisi also said that he respects the rights of property holders. The OVCN property is not zoned for a sports facility. OVCN is free to use it is currently zoned. No one objects to that.

Free document shredding Saturday

“The Town of Oro Valley will once again hold a free document shredding event for Oro Valley residents on Saturday, June 17. The event will be held at the Oro Valley Marketplace” (Source: Town of Oro Valley Media Relase)

At 49, Oro Valley Reflects Some Of The Founders' Vision

Today is Oro Valley’s Birthday!
A dream in the eyes of a few, Oro Valley has become a flourishing community. Today, Oro Valley is much more than founding fathers Jim Kreigh, Ken Holford, and Steve Engel ever imagined. From a budget of a few dollars to a budget approaching $150 million…. from a population of a few thousand to a population of almost 50,000, 

Last week, the Oro Valley Historical Society chronicled the events that led to the town’s incorporation.Today we focus on what our founders wanted Oro Valley to be.

The first general plan shared a modest but bold vision

Residents approved the town’s latest General Plan in 2016.  They were asked to wade through 126 pages. Because it was so broad, it is a plan that one could use to justify whatever they wanted to justify. 

That was not the case with the 1981 General Plan. That plan was five pages. Yes five pages long. Voters did not have to wade through it to understand it. It took minutes, not hours, to read. What the residents wanted Oro Valley to be was stated clearly.

The Founders' vision: Oro Valley is not Tucson

Unlike the town's current Economic Development efforts to bring major businesses to Oro Valley, the voters in 1981 did in want to have businesses that provide jobs for the residents.  In the area of housing, the focus was to be on low density residential developments, not on "cluster" housing, though the concept of clustering does appear in the plan as a means of protecting the environment.  Oracle Road was to be a scenic corridor. That land, according to the plan, should be used for low density uses. In the area of roads, the Founders envisioned a "balanced transportation system" by letting "traffic pass through the town with minimum disruption to the interior. They specified that Oracle Road, a State maintained road, be the only "high speed" roadway in the town. They even envisioned having a "public transit route system."  

Today, Oro Valley is most certainly not Tucson but in some important ways it is not what the Founders envisioned

Oro Valley has stayed true to what the Founder's wanted in two areas

First, the town is a residential community. Only a handful of major businesses are located in Oro Valley, despite the efforts of some councils to change that. On the other hand, the town has many businesses that serve its senior population.  Second, the town's roads are the best in the State. The road system is dominated by Oracle Road, Oro Valley's only "high speed roadway".

The Town has not remained true in three areas

Yes. The focus on single family residences has remained throughout the years. But, the current council and prior council wanted and have increased density with multi-familly residences. These residences now and in the future will populate Oracle Road, thus increasing traffic. Oracle Road today is really not a "scenic corridor".  Finally, Oro Valley is primarily a town of small lot homes clustered in neighborhoods. The number of low density developments are much as they were twenty-plus years ago. Since that time, cluster housing has been and remains the primary residential home building vehicle.

Today, marks the start of Oro Valley's 50th year. Next April, a big celebration is due. 

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"Dream it, then do it" is Oro Valley's Latest Mural

There’s a new mural in town

It is at James D. Kreigh Park. It is painted on a utility wall near the aquatic center. The mural faces the park.  Artist Ashley White painted the mural. The mural is a project funded by the Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce,Visit Tucson and the Town of Oro Valley.   The Southern Arizona Arts Council sponsored the project. This past Monday was the ribbon cutting. Council Members Harry Green and Tim Bohen attended the event, as well as former Mayor Paul Loomis.

Noting the number of youth practicing various sports, President of the Chamber Dave Perry noted that "This is the place kids pursue this sort of stuff" before turning the event over to Artist White for her comments.

Inspired by Jim Kreigh's words

White explained at the opening ceremony that the expression used, "Dream it, then do it" were those of Jim Kreigh's.  White is a commercial artist, designing various spaces such as restaurants. "One of the things I always do is look at who is going to be there and what do they appreciate. When I was here I notices so many different kinds of people... I wanted anyone who came here to be able to connect" with the mural. 

White research Oro Valley's founder Jim Kreigh. "I read a lot about him..his mission... his hard work and dedication... and how he wanted the town yo have control over its own destiny. It was not an easy process for him." White noted that Kreigh had a vision and a goal. "I went through those giant scrapbooks that his wife made." She also watched a video about Jim talking about the time. "The very last thing he said in the video: 'If you have a dream of something to be done, then do it." (link 26:01 mins)

The mural has the dreams of all ages

In the process of creating the mural, residents were requested to submit their "dreams" in four words or less. (LOVE posting). Many of these dreams are written on the mural. One of White's goals was to share he dreams of people of all ages.. from "Mac and Cheese to Running a Marathon." Other dreams, like a "Happy and healthy family", "To be accepted" and "Kindness for all others" are universal. Some are aspirational like "travel in a RV" and "Live near the ocean."

Next time you are at Kreigh Park do take a moment to look at the mural both from afar and then close up. We guarantee that it is worth the moment.

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About the artist: Ashley White is a commercial artist working in Southern Arizona and beyond under the business name Modern Aquarian. She specializes in custom designed hand painted signs, murals, and other artwork for businesses and public spaces. Her passion is helping business owners create functional and charismatic spaces and contributing to the visual character of cities. See more of Ashley's work on Instagram or Facebook @ModernAquarian or ModernAquarian.com

Meteorites in Oro Valley: An Historical Collection

This is a follow-up article on Jim Kriegh, founding father of Oro Valley and the Oro Valley Historical Society. The Oro Valley Historical Society typically focuses on local history but in this article, we feature history that fell to earth 15,000 years ago! This piece is written by long-time friend of Kriegh’s, Twink Monrad. Twink was Jim’s neighbor and metal detecting buddy and she is a life-time member of the Oro Valley Historical Society.

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Meteorites in Oro Valley: An Historical Collection

In 1995 Jim Kriegh, his friend John Blennert and I belonged to the Desert Gold Diggers, a local club whose members hunt for gold in Arizona. Dr. David Kring, a meteoriticist and planetary scientist from the University of Arizona, spoke at one of the club’s meetings and encouraged those who used metal detectors to keep an eye and ear out for meteorites generally small nondescript objects that look nothing like gold. Jim paid good attention because while searching for gold in the Santa Rita Mountains he found a rock which turned out to be a meteorite, later named the Greaterville meteorite.

Jim and John also searched for gold far north of Tucson in the northwestern corner of the state, the Gold Basin Area. While there, they kept hearing rocks which sounded like gold on their metal detectors but did not look like gold. Jim was steadfast in his belief that they were heavier than Earth rocks for their size and the sound was too good. Jim took some samples to Dr. Kring who identified them as stone meteorites.

I was invited along on the next trip to Gold Basin. We went with our camping equipment and most important, a generator and power saw to cut any likely meteorite specimens that we might find. The first day John and Jim came back to camp with numerous rocks while I was still learning how to use my detector! Several times a day we would bring back rocks which made noise and were magnetic. Jim sawed them open. Some were meteorite specimens and some were not. As the week progressed, we became more aware of how the meteorites looked and soon we did not need to saw them open to identify them. We took our finds to Dr. Kring at UA. It seemed Jim had discovered a rare strewn field.

Now our real work began. As a civil engineer, Jim could mark them on a topographic map with accuracy. GPS units were not as common as now so we did it all by hand. We prepared an index card for each meteorite with notes on gram weight, date, location but it soon became apparent that there would be too many, so Jim began numbering them by groups. A further request was that we would tell no one about the find so that University could properly study the area for two years. We three became a team to assist the University of Arizona. After UA finished the study, the meteorites were named Gold Basin by the international nomenclature committee.

We found over 2,000 meteorites, and expanded the strewn field boundaries to five miles by fifteen miles! It is not known how large the field really is. Meteorite composition tests show that these are L4 stone meteorites which fell approximately 15,000 years ago near the end of the Ice Age. We each found a couple of different meteorites in this field which represented different falls at different times in addition to the original Gold Basin meteorite. [ Editor’s note: Sky and Telescope Magazine reported the following in July 1998: Isotopic studies indicate a terrestrial age between 20,000 and 25,000 years, making the Gold Basin the oldest surviving strewn field outside Antarctica.]

I have Jim’s original map which I treasure and had laminated.  It was a very fun adventure for us all and especially as the find was announced at the 1998 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.  We literally felt like we had 200 new friends as everyone in the meteorite world, hunters, scientists, authors and collectors wanted to meet the U of A civil engineering professor who “accidentally” discovered a major meteorite field.  Jim has been given worldwide credit for showing that the average person, women and men, can find a new hobby of either discovering new meteorite finds or just finding meteorites at newly discovered fields.  Most of the meteorites that we found during the first two years were returned to us after the U of A studied and documented each one, some they kept and a few went to the Smithsonian for study.

Searching for meteorites is fun and may also make valuable contributions to science as did Jim’s discovery at Gold Basin. Meteorites and other objects from space have been important throughout history for those who watched the night sky. We are fortunate that Jim’s meteorite collection is available for the Oro Valley community to enjoy. 

 [Editor’s note: On December 17, 2007, according to Jim’s wishes the Kriegh Family Trust donated a part of Jim’s meteorite collection to the Oro Valley Historical Society (OVHS). OVHS has periodically displayed this collection at the OV branch of the Pima County Library and at the Pusch House Museum at Steam Pump Ranch. It also has been used for school and OV Parks and Recreation activities.] 

Twink Monrad

For additional information about the Gold Basin find see this link to an interview with Jim Kriegh by Paul Harris of Meteorite Times Magazine and one relating Twink’s experience at Gold Basin

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WE WANT YOU! The Oro Valley Historical Society is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit volunteer organization, whose mission is “To promote research, preservation, education, and dissemination of historical information related to the greater Oro Valley area”. We invite you to become a member or volunteer. Visit us at ovhistory.org and help keep Oro Valley history alive! We are currently looking for enthusiastic volunteers who are interested in becoming docents at the Pusch House museum and for Steam Pump Ranch tours. Training sessions are being scheduled for the fall season. We hope to hear from you. Contact: Teri at tcolmar@comcast.net