|
|
May 7, 2004/Iyar 16 5764, Vol. 56, No. 33
Keeping culture alive
LEISAH NAMM
Managing Editor
In 1968, Dana Burden broke the restriction against Jews staying at guest ranches in Wickenburg. He was recently honored as an Arizona Culturekeeper.
Photo courtesy of Arizona Culturekeepers
|
From philanthropists to entertainers, there are many types of people and organizations that help perpetuate Arizona culture. Ten of them were honored April 30 for their commitment to uphold the traditions, rituals and cultures of the state of Arizona.
Each year since 2002, West Kierland Resort & Spa and the Arizona Historical Foundation have named 10 Arizona Culturekeepers.
Recipients receive an award that describes their contributions to the state, and plaques with photos of each honoree are displayed along the walls of Culturekeepers Hall, adjacent to the Kierland Grand Ballroom.
The 2004 Arizona Culturekeepers in the Greater Phoenix area are:
Jonathan and Maxine Marshall of Paradise Valley
The Marshalls owned the Scottsdale Daily Progress from 1963-1987. After selling the paper, they established a charitable foundation, the Marshall Fund of Arizona. The initial grant of $3 million grew into 183 grants, totaling approximately $5.5 million in more than 15 years and helped support a variety of projects and organizations.
Betty Fairfax of Phoenix
Fairfax, a schoolteacher and guidance counselor in the Phoenix Union High School District for more than 50 years, has, with her sister Jean, created endowments that total more than $1 million and has funded initiatives in education, cultural traditions and assistance for physically challenged youth and families.
Dee Strickland Johnson of Phoenix
Johnson, a native Arizonian raised on the Navajo and Hualapai Indian reservations, was named the "Female Cowboy Artist of the Year" in 1997 by the Academy of Western Artists. She travels extensively, sharing her stories at cowboy poet gatherings, schools and historical societies.
The Yellow Bird Indian Dancers of Mesa
Ken and Doreen Duncan and their eight children share American Indian culture by presenting a repertoire of authentic Apache, Southwest and Northern Plains dances. They've performed locally, nationally and internationally.
Other recipients are Dana Burden of Wickenberg, Fayrene Martin Hume of Ash Fork, Anna Mae Deming of Payson, Ted Ramirez of Tucson, Al Richmond of Flagstaff and Melissa Ruffner of Prescott.
A posthumous lifetime achievement award was given to Polly Rosenbaum, Arizona's longest-serving legislator. She served in the Arizona Legislature for 46 years and was instrumental in historic preservation and in promoting Arizona history in the schools. Her niece Judy Stickney accepted the award.
Nominations are now being excepted for 2005. For information, contact Marshall Trimble, Arizona state historian, marshall.trimble@sccmail.maricopa.edu.
|
|
