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Summer History Highlight on July 18
OTM offers its free Summer History Highlight on Friday, July 18, at 5 pm at La Posada Hotel. Author Jan Cleere will discuss her latest book, 100 Western Women: The Bold, Brave, Gutsy Women of Arizona’s Past, a compilation of her “Western Women” articles published in Tucson’s Arizona Daily Star, followed by a question-and-answer session and book signing. Winslow’s own Emma Lee French and Cecil Creswell (above, with her horse, Pig) were among the warriors, basket weavers, ranchers, artists, innkeepers, schoolteachers, politicians, and entrepreneurs from a remarkable variety of backgrounds and cultures that influenced the growth of the Arizona Territory. Cleere has been writing about early Western women for over twenty-five years in books and articles in anthologies and national and regional publications. Read More
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Spring History Highlight in April
OTM hosted a free Spring History Highlight on Saturday, April 19, at La Posada Hotel. Historian Kevin Schindler (above, with wife Gretchen and OTM Director Ann-Mary Lutzick) from Lowell Observatory presented Dark Skies over Arizona to 18 attendees. Using beautiful astronomical images, he illustrated the benefits of dark skies, how Arizona has helped lead the charge to protect them, and how we all can do our part in reducing artificial light pollution. Schindler has worked at Lowell Observatory for 29 years and authors a bi-weekly astronomy column, View from Mars Hill, for the Arizona Daily Sun.
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Women's History Month
This past March, OTM joined in the celebration of Women's History Month--designated in 1987 to honor the contributions women have made to the United States--by inviting its Facebook followers to explore the Women of Winslow exhibit on the OTM Website. One panel tells the story of Mary Giragi Ferguson, who served as Winslow's postmaster for 15 years and is seen here, far left, at the Winslow Business and Professional Women’s “Antique Tea” in 1945. (Mary is also featured in OTM's 2025 historical calendar, Winslow in the 1960s). Please contact OTM if you would like to contribute a member of your family's story and photos.
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OTM Awarded $50,000 Grant for Collections Center
OTM has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona and a component fund of the Arizona Community Foundation to develop the OTM Collections Center-Phase I. Their partnership uses revenue from the Association’s license plate program to fund the Arizona Route 66 Grant, which supports projects in the state’s Route 66 communities that further the Association’s mission to preserve, promote, and protect the historic route in Arizona. The museum building at 212 North Kinsley Avenue was constructed in 1921 to house a bank, while the back half of the building, which is not climate-controlled, operated as a separate hay storage business. OTM is both a tourist attraction on Historic Route 66 in downtown Winslow and a steward of the city’s story, including its past and present as a Route 66 community. The rehabilitation of the back room will further the museum’s mission by enabling staff to better preserve the OTM Collections, allowing the public better access to them, and providing more exhibit space on the museum floor. Read More
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OTM Appreciation for Arizona Humanities
OTM wants to express its appreciation for the generous support the museum has received over the years from Arizona Humanities (AH), the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). For over fifty years, Arizona Humanities has used its NEH funding to support grants and programs throughout the state, with a special focus on rural museums and libraries that have few other funding sources for public humanities programming.
To illustrate AH's support to OTM: The museum has hosted thirty AH-sponsored speaker presentations with 1,170 total attendees; hosted two AH-sponsored Museum on Main Street projects with 7,000 total attendees; created three AH grant-funded exhibits with 35,870 total attendees; co-hosted two AH-sponsored speaker presentations/panel discussions with 78 total attendees; and was awarded a $15,000 American Rescue Plan Grant from Arizona Humanities in 2021. (Above is the Route 66: The Untold Story of the Women of the Mother Road program in 2022.)
In April, Arizona Humanities was notified that its NEH grant funding was terminated indefinitely. While no one knows if that funding will be restored, citizens across Arizona are doing their part to advocate for public support of the humanities. Learn what you can do to support one of OTM’s most vital funders.
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2025 Historical Calendar Now $6
Now priced at $6, Winslow in the 1960s is still available at the museum, Arizona 66 Trading Company, La Posada Hotel, On the Corner Gifts, and the Winslow Visitors Center. You can also order through the OTM Online Store, with $2 added for shipping. The 2025 edition focuses on a decade filled with significant events for Winslow’s leadership, organizations, and citizens, as seen in the cover photo of the ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 30, 1964, to mark the completion of the Beeline Highway from Winslow to Phoenix. Officials and citizens from both cities gathered about 25 miles south of Winslow to commemorate the paving of the last remaining gap in the highway.
| | Donate or become a member to support our mission: Founded in 1997, the Winslow Historical Society receives, preserves, and interprets information and artifacts representing the history and cultures of the Winslow area, in order to engage and enlighten all visitors to the Old Trails Museum’s exhibits and programs. | | | | |
