Home on the Range
This specific north Phoenix street address was home to a quiet neighborhood seven houses away from Central Avenue.
What is 45 W. Mariposa?
This was the Friday night dinner highlight, cooked by Dad over a charcoal fire.
What is steak?
To stay in touch with a friend a quarter mile away, the author installed these devices connected by wire.
What are crank telephones?
On Christmas Eve, the family would gather in their pajamas to listen to Dad read this classic holiday poem.
What is "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"?
James Bell Girand held this prestigious and unique title, serving as the first and only person to hold the position in Arizona history.
What is Territorial Engineer?
This 1940s childhood toy, featuring a cloth tail and a paper body, was so stable it remained airborne during lunch while tied to an irrigation valve handle.
What is a kite?
In March 1949, Dad’s technical expertise was featured in an article for this amateur radio magazine.
What is QST?
While an architect drew the plans, this family member acted as the job supervisor and oversaw the entire construction of the cabin.
Who is Mom?
This side of the family emigrated from Hungary between the 1870s and 1890s, bringing with them a long line of Jewish ancestry.
Who are the Edelmans?
James Girand’s "Diamond Creek proposal" aimed to build a 250-foot dam on the Colorado River to fulfill this biblical prophecy from the Book of Isaiah.
What is "The desert will blossom like a rose"?
This tedious landscaping process involved digging three-inch holes every two feet and planting a tiny sprig of grass in each one.
What is plugging the lawn?
Encouraged by his father to "break protocol," the author hid his handmade radio inside this everyday object to listen during boring classes.
What is a lunch box?
While climbing a steep wash, the author narrowly avoided being crushed by a large boulder because this person shouted for him to move just in time.
Who is Butch (or Jon)?
An engineer at the Portland Cement Company, he often told long stories about Kodiak bears and the Glen Canyon Dam.
Who is Walter?
Despite living in a tent at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, Pamelia Girand maintained her genteel upbringing by tending her baby.
Who is Jimmy?
At age eight, the author accidentally turned a sixteen-foot 2x4 into this type of ancient siege engine, nearly launching himself off the roof.
What is a catapult?
Upon returning home after work, in a formal coat and tie, Dad would perform this nightly "top-heavy" ritual with a glass bottle of non-homogenized milk.
What is pouring three inches of cream onto his cereal?
This professional magazine featured the finished Oak Creek Canyon cabin, highlighting its handsome redwood walls and unique design.
What is Architectural Forum?
On Sundays, Mom’s brother and sister would often join us for a formal dinner. Uncle Mort, ______, and their spouses would gather around the dining table, and someone would be called on to say grace.
Who is Aunt Pearl?
Located in Bisbee, Arizona, this site was one of the world's greatest producers of its namesake metal, yielding over 8 billion pounds before closing in 1975.
What is the Copper Queen mine?
This Hungarian-inspired dish, simmered in orange tomato sauce, was a favorite made from Grandmother Hannah Edelman’s recipe.
What are stuffed peppers?
During this Saturday night activity at the cabin, the author learned to listen objectively after Dad gave some "flattering" but bad advice.
What is playing poker?
As boys Jon and Mike spent their days hiking There and Back again in the canyon. In 2020 Jon and Mike accopanied by family followed this grand trail There and Back again.
What is the Kaibab Trail?
What mountain did Jon and his family and Mike and his family climb together?
What is Mount Baldy?
Showing their flair for the dramatic, James and Pamelia once performed these two lead roles in a local production of a Shakespeare classic.
Who are Romeo and Juliet?