ERNEST TALKS: A History of the Grand Canyon State with Jim Turner

This brief history starts with Conquistador Francisco Vasquez de Coronado’s 1540 expedition and covers Catholic missions, mining, Native American conflicts, Mormon immigration, ranching, farming, health seekers, education, tourism, moviemaking, and biographies ranging from Father Eusebio Kino to Sandra Day O’Connor. You can’t cover Arizona history without Wild West legends like Wyatt Earp, stage robbers, and dance hall girls but this presentation focuses more on Arizona’s diverse cultures, unusual characters, and unsung heroes like Hi Jolly, the Greco-Syrian camel driver, The Baron of Arizona, Nellie Cashman, the “Miner’s Angel,” and the Navajo Code Talkers