Step back in time with Sharlot Hall

Jody Drake portrays Sharlot Hall

Following two earlier successes, the Desert Caballeros Western Museum will continue with the third in its monthly Hassayampa Lecture Series highlighting the history of old Wickenburg and the surrounding area. Open to the public, the lecture is free and will be held from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., Thursday (Jan. 17) on the Museum’s Lower Level.

Jody Drake, director of the Blue Rose Theater at the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott, will step back in time to present “Pioneering Works of Henry Wickenburg and Sharlot Hall.” Rich with Sharlot Hall’s original poetry, this presentation will give Hall’s perspective of Wickenburg during her time.

Following the talk, guests are invited to the Boetto House for a guided tour with historian Cindy Thrasher of the Wickenburg Cultural Society. Now being restored, the Boetto House was the last place Henry Wickenburg called home until his death in 1905, and is included on the National and State Historic Registry.

Sharlot M. Hall (1870-1943): For much of the first half of the 20th century, Sharlot Hall was an indomitable presence in Arizona life and letters. As territorial historian, she was the first woman appointed to public office. Her published prose and poetry celebrated the beauty of the Southwest and her dedicated efforts restored and preserved the governor’s mansion in Prescott.

This presentation walks in the footsteps of one of the most remarkable women the West has seen. Her interests were myriad, her talents abundant, and her energies enormous. Hall’s literary career was launched by Charles F. Lummis, who complimented her writing as “always vital, lucid” and imbued with an “unmistakable thrill of humanity.”

Jody Drake, Sharlot Hall Museum: Jody Drake was born and raised in Prescott, Ariz. As a child of the West, history has always been of special interest to her. Jody formed the Blue Rose Theater Company, and in 1994 began a partnership with the Sharlot Hall Museum. In the 13-year life of this partnership, more than 62 original scripts have been developed and produced.

Drake has been presenting Sharlot M. Hall for 10 years. Her personal honors include performances for Governors Hull and Napolitano, Polly Rosenbaum and retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Drake has been nominated for the Governor’s Art Award six times, is one of 10 2007 Arizona Culture Keeper award recipients and is a member of the Arizona Humanities Council’s speaker bureau.

The Museum’s lecture series will continue on Thursday, Feb. 21, when Wickenburg’s Bill Green will present his collection of antique postcards, “Wickenburg Remembered: Postcards of the Past;” and on March 20 when Wickenburg Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Julie Brooks will share her thoughts on “Hispanic Settlement in Arizona Territory.” Concluding the new series will be an April 10 presentation entitled “Ranching the Desert in the Early Days” with Roy and Kathy Moore.

To sign up for the free lectures individually or as the series, call the Desert Caballeros Western Museum at 684-2272.

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