Capturing History: A Place In Time Saturday at the Pusch House Museum at Steam Pump Ranch

For quite some time, the Oro Valley Historical Society (OVHS) Collections Chair and Board member, Sue Chambasian, had an item on her wish list. It was a timeline that would capture the history of the Oro Valley area and Steam Pump Ranch. When the Arizona Historical Society extended their annual grant application to history museums OVHS seized the opportunity. The OVHS grant was approved and that started the project; “A Place In Time”.

Two noted members/volunteers came forward to assist with the project; Jim Williams, historian, author and former OVHS president, and Pat Spoerl, PhD., retired U.S. Forest service archeologist and founder of OVHS. Along with Sue and Board member, Teri Colmar the “timeline team” was in place.

The team of four brainstormed ideas and coalesced mountains of information to include in the timeline. How do you capture 3,500+ years of history? Whittling down the extensive research took multiple meetings and there was careful examination before eliminating items from the treasure trove of historical data.

The next task was going through the archives of OVHS collections pieces and photographs to choose coordinating visuals to incorporate into the piece. Hunting through files, boxes and sometimes the internet to find the perfect images was like tracking down the Holy Grail.

Once all of the components were gathered, it was time to write the copy. All the team members participated in the arduous process of getting the information concise, wording correct and readable. Hours and hours were spent on editing, editing, editing. We incorporated the visuals with the copy to present our basic design ideas to the graphic designer. Again, more editing, editing, editing.

After eight months, the effort came to fruition due to the efforts of the OVHS “timeline team”, the Arizona Historical Society and a family foundation donor who contributed to the cost of the project that exceeded the grant.

OVHS is happy to unveil the “A PLACE IN TIME” on Saturday, September 10 from 9 a.m. to Noon at the Pusch House Museum at Steam Pump Ranch 10901 N. Oracle Road, Oro Valley. It will be on display throughout our program year September 10 through April 15. The Oro Valley Historical Society invites you to visit the museum and see this remarkable endeavor. Oro Valley has a FANTASTIC history!

While you are at the museum, we hope you will consider becoming an OVHS member or volunteer. As a non-for-profit 501c3 volunteer organization we welcome your donations to “Keep Oro Valley History Alive!” Visit www.ovhistory.org or Facebook; Oro Valley Historical Society for up-to-date news and information.

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Teri Colmar crafted this article as she has the many other articles published with the help of the Oro Valley Historical Society. Teri’s contribution to the community is much appreciated.