ARIZONA celebrated its CENTENNIAL as a state on FEBRUARY 14, 2012 ! The Verde Historical Society is dedicating all its events this year to help celebrate Arizona's 100th birthday, culminating in a party in 2012. A special exhibition to commemorate the event has opened in the Museum's main exhibit room.
FEBRURAY 14 CELEBRATION
A salute to the flag and "America the Beautiful" opened a brief ceremony in the Clemenceau auditorium at 1 pm, followed by refreshments, including the beautiful Birthday cake, above, and informal get-togethers with Arizona old timers and friends.
At 2 pm the festivities moved outside where fourth-graders from Verde Valley Christian School and Mountain View Prep joined volunteers from Clemenceau Museum and members of the Cottonwood community to ring in the Centennial at exactly 2:14 p.m. on Tuesday. VVCS students led the crowd in patriotic songs and "Happy Birthday" before Museum Director, Helen Killebrew (above, right) counted down the seconds to the STATEWIDE BELL RINGING that was part of a statewide celebration.
MARCH 10 - 100 YEARS OF FASHION
100 years of fashion and accessories were displayed and modeled at an elegant tea in the Clemenceau School auditorium, Saturday, March 10. Photos courtesy the Verde Independent.
Arizona Centennial Exhibition
More than a year in the making, a special Centennial Exhibit, marking Arizona’s 100th year of Statehood, has opened in the Main exhibition room of the Clemenceau Heritage Museum. According to Exhibit Director, Mary Liggit, the biggest challenge in putting together this exhibit was narrowing down the material.
It’s a time period that goes back to the horse and buggy era. Telephones and electricity were still new and radio, TV, computers, the internet and smart phones not even dreamed of, to say nothing of jet planes and space travel. Cottonwood grew from a small farming community in 1912 with a population in the hundreds, to become the commercial hub of the Verde Valley with a population in the several thousands. It’s seen the rise and fall of the mining industry and the diminishing of farming and ranching. Along with a growth in tourism and the healthcare industry, Cottonwood has also become a magnet for retirees. And then there’s a brand new industry for the area, one that’s causing a lot of excitement, that of viniculture.
The Centennial Exhibit covers all these changes in the Verde Valley: transportation, communication, careers and life styles, dress, education, forms of amusement, service and volunteering. It alsocoversthe many historical events, statewide and national, that affected us here.
