Article and photo by Marion Vendituoli. Reprinted by permission of the Patagonia Regional Times.

Descendants of Mary Kane, who was one of the first women to vote in Arizona, gather in front of the suffrage sign at the Patagonia Museum.

Thirty people gathered at the dedication of the suffrage marker at the Patagonia Museum on May 15. After a short business meeting, Museum President German Quiroga introduced historian Mary Melcher. Melcher was the lead historian for the Arizona Women’s Heritage Trail and served on the committee for the National Votes for Women Trail (NVWT), which “seeks to recognize and celebrate the enormous diversity of people and groups active in the struggle for women’s suffrage.,” according to its website.

Melcher described the struggles of early suffragists in Arizona, which culminated in an initiative to give women the vote that passed in 1912, shortly after Arizona gained statehood.

The historical marker at the Patagonia Museum, one of approximately 250 markers throughout the U.S., names two of the 23 women who voted at the site in 1915, Amalia Valenzuela and Mary Kane. In the audience at the dedication were several descendants of Mary Kane, who was born in Mexico in 1863. The women must have been able to read, according to Melcher, as a requirement for voting was the ability to read a line of the constitution in English.

“Today we honor these women,” Melcher said, noting the importance of continuing the fight for “voting rights for all”.

The 2020/2021 recipients of the Museum’s Student Docent scholarships, Brianna Young, Carolina Quiroz and Hannah Woodard.

Despite the less than ideal conditions over the past two school years, these young women worked tirelessly with our curators, Tom and Linda Shore, on a variety of projects around the school. None of them glamorous, all of them necessary and for that effort, the members of the Patagonia Museum Board thank them.

Their commitment to helping us keep the history of Eastern Santa Cruz County alive speaks well for the future of these outstanding representatives of the Lobo community.

A group of volunteers from the Museum, led by Murphy Musick, will once again be replacing flags on the veteran’s graves in the Patagonia Cemetery in anticipation of Memorial Day, Monday, May 25th.

There are 93 veterans that are buried in the cemetery and we’re pleased to announce that for the first time, we are in a position to replace ALL the flags on their graves. The new flags we have purchased will stay up all year round as a symbol of our appreciation for their service to our country.

If you would like to help, Murphy will meet you at the cemetery flagpole at 8:00 AM on Sunday, the 24th. If you can’t make the event but would like to donate to the flag replacement fund, we thank you.

Our Fall hours go into effect next week: Thur – Sat 2 to 4.

If you haven’t been up to check out the Museum recently, we have new things on exhibit and even more on the horizon. Special items from the George Proctor collection are making their way into our exhibit rotation.

Thanks to the people in the community who are helping make our vision of preserving the memories of eastern Santa Cruz county a reality. You know who you are and we appreciate your generosity.

Please join Murphy Musick on Monday, May 27, at 8:00 AM by the Patagonia Town Cemetery Flagpole. Murphy will walk the grounds and replace the small flags by the veteran’s headstones that are in poor shape. Please help him honor our veterans with new flags.

Best wishes to all for a safe Memorial Day holiday.

We will meet in the Patagonia Public Library at 10:00 am on Saturday, May 11. Following a brief business meeting, award winning author, cowboy and horse lover Alan Day will discuss his latest book, “Cowboy Up! Life Lessons from the Lazy B”.

Mr. Day and his sister Sandra Day O’Connor co-authored the New York Times bestselling memoir “Lazy B”, which chronicles the story of the Day family and growing up on a harsh yet beautiful southwestern ranch.

Alan Day’s upbringing branded him a cowboy from the day he was born. To this day, he claims that he has soil running through his veins. He was part of the third generation to grow up on the 200,000-acre Lazy B cattle ranch straddling the high deserts of southern Arizona and New Mexico. The ranching and cowboy lifestyle appealed to him so greatly that after graduating from the University of Arizona, he returned to manage Lazy B for the next 40 years. During his career, he received numerous awards for his dedicated stewardship of the land. In 1989, Alan purchased a cattle ranch in Nebraska and soon after, a ranch in South Dakota. The latter became the first government-sponsored sanctuary for unadoptable wild horses. He developed and successfully used a herd modification-training program for his 2000 head of cattle and 1500 wild mustangs. Now retired from ranching, Alan divides his time between Tucson and Pinetop, AZ.

We are deeply honored that the Santa Cruz Foundation for the Performing Arts has chosen to hold a concert on Thursday April 25th, the proceeds of which will benefit the Museum. 

Under the direction of Christina Wilhelm, the Santa Cruz Singers, Patagonia’s outstanding community chorus, shows its versatility in a program that features the works of Franz Schubert and Aaron Copeland.

In addition to the classically beautiful Magnificat by Schubert, you will hear traditional American songs including the Boatman’s Dance, I Bought Me a Cat, Simple Gifts , Pretty Little Horses, At the River – transformed into beguiling contemporary harmonies by Aaron Copeland.

Concert admission will be $5 at the door. We hope to see you all there.

The Patagonia Museum sponsored its fourth bus tour to the Rio Sonora in March 2019.

We entered Mexico through Nogales and had stops in San Ignacio, Magdalena and Cucurpe before arriving in Banamichi for two nights. On the second day we explored downriver towns of Huepac and Aconchi before dining at the working ranch of Rancho Martina where bacanora and tortilla making demonstrations were presented. To close our day, Danza Xunutzi performed a series of delightful dances in the Banamichi Plaza. On day three, we returned to Patagonia, with stops in Arizpe and Bacoachi, crossing back into the USA at Naco.

Rebecca Orozco and Bill Steen provided knowledgeable and colorful commentary during our tour. Thirty-two of us traveled in the comfort of a 49 passenger tour bus from “South of the Border Tours”. Thanks to many of our fellow travelers for sending us their photos for our website gallery.

We’re already putting together plans for our 2020 trip so keep your eyes open for another unique opportunity to experience the Rio Sonoran culture.

Volunteerism is an important part of the mission of the Museum. If you are looking for some exercise in combination with good deeds, here’s what we have coming up this month:

Friday, March 22, join the museum as we pick up litter along Highway 82, starting at Mile Post 19 and Beaty Lane. We will begin at 9am

Thursday, March 28, The Patagonia Museum will host a workday at the Lochiel Schoolhouse, from 10 am to 2 pm. There are tasks for all ages and ability available.

Give us a call if you’d like more info on how you can help.