Volunteers with the Oro Valley Historical Society have been working this summer on digitizing all of the Society’s archives, including documents, photographs and physical items. The Society is inviting the community to see some of what volunteers have discovered, including materials that may never have been seen before. Visit the Pusch House Museum at historic Steam Pump Ranch every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon this month. Docents will be on site to answer questions and provide additional information.
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On Wednesday, September 23, at 10:30 a.m. at the Oro Valley Public Library, former CIA analyst and Oro Valley resident Lee Krsiean will present “Heliograph: Frontier Arizona’s Communication by Sunlight.” The presentation will discuss how U.S. Army soldiers used light-reflecting heliographs for communication and security for early settlers. Reflected-light communication could carry information across long distances, including from Flagstaff to Arizona’s southern border.
Attend The Peace Pole dedication September 26
On Saturday, September 26, the Historical Society will hold a special ceremony at Steam Pump Ranch. At 10 a.m., members of the Rotary Club of Oro Valley, Town officials and members of the Oro Valley Historical Society will dedicate a Peace Pole donated by the Rotary Club earlier this year. Peace Poles are an international symbol carrying the message “May Peace Prevail On Earth.” The Oro Valley pole carries that message on four sides in English, Mandarin, Spanish and Tohono O’odham. The community is invited to attend the dedication.
The presentation and visits to the Pusch House Museum are complimentary. Donations to the Oro Valley Historical Society are gratefully accepted.
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Editor Note: Before radio became common, the U.S. Army used heliographs in the Southwest because bright sunlight and clear air allowed messages to travel many miles between mountaintops and other elevated stations. The Historical Society presentation will focus on how this system was used in frontier Arizona for military communication and security.
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