Arizona State Parks: Audio Update

Event: Veteran's Day Celebration on November 10-11, 2007

Park: McFarland State Historic Park
Guest: Park Manager Chris DeMille
Summary: Park Manager Chris DeMille gives an interesting history lesson about the courthouse. Plus a quick discussion about the important preservation and restoration work planned for the courthouse building. Chris also tells us about McFarland's participation in the Florence Home Tour event scheduled for February 9th, 2008. The Veteran's Day Celebration is also an ASP 50th Anniversary Event
Time: 5:51

Intro Music:

Radio Host:
Welcome to the Arizona State Parks Audio Update, today we're talking about the Veteran's Day celebration that will occur at McFarland State Historic Park on Saturday November 10th and Sunday November 11th. This is an Arizona State Parks 50th Anniversary event. Joining us today is McFarland State Historic Park Manager Chris DeMille. Welcome to the program Chris.

Park Manager Chris DeMille
Thank you very much.

HOST
In honor of Veteran's Day you'll be having a march and military review with historical re-enactors representing military time periods from 1775 to the present, tell us about that.

DEMILLE
Well we're going to have different re-enactors in different period costumes, uniforms mostly. They'll be carrying accouterments, firearms; wearing the hats the soldiers would have actually worn in the field from the American revolution time period to the present.

HOST
And additionally you'll be hosting a cannon and firearms demonstration.

DEMILLE
That's correct. Throughout the day at different times we'll be firing a Mountain Howitzer coming out, so we're going to fire some blanks through that which makes a nice big boom and lots of smoke. Re-enactors are going show and demonstrate their firearms and fire those off also, with blanks, and give a history of going from a single shot, primitive firearms of 200 years ago to what we have today.

HOST
Now the building that is the courthouse has definitely had a varied history and it has served many roles in the late 1800s to the early 1900s; it's been a jail house and a hospital, tell us a little more.

DEMILLE
Well it started out as a courthouse in 1878 and it's actually the oldest courthouse in the state of Arizona still standing. It's also the largest adobe building from the territorial time period which is 1863 to 1912. It stopped being a courthouse in 1891 and became a county hospital until the late 1930s and then it became county offices until the 1960s. So it's gone through all sorts of transitions in its history.

HOST
Now in honor of Veteran's Day there is an exhibit inside the park that I think our visitors might be interested in. It's the city of Florence's World War II exhibit.

DEMILLE
Well there was a POW camp just north of the Gila River, which is just north of the town of Florence. And it was first used to house Italian prisoners of war, and then starting in 1943, German POWs until 1946. And it was one of the largest camps in North America.

HOST
And there's a video presentation that shows the lives of the prisoners from their capture to their release.

DEMILLE
Right. It gives you an interview with a historian and some of the German POWs that have actually come back to the United States to visit people they worked with, cotton farms and whatnot, and visit the old area.

HOST
This is also one of the our last Arizona State Parks 50th Anniversary events and there will be a celebration with dignitaries and a cake cutting and you'll have have some activities for the kids, tell us about those.

DEMILLE
We're going to have cake and ice cream served around 11 o'clock. And the 50th Anniversary folks have different activities for the kids to do: they can make an old-fashioned toy, take a wooden disc and drill a hole in it and put a piece of string through it and do a kind of Cat Paw game. There's a Junior Ranger program that kids can do that's always fun and they can earn a badge for that. And hopefully the kids will be interested in some of the things the soldiers are doing. Some of them will have tents set-up so you can examine equipment and ask questions. Maybe learn something.

HOST
Now I also want to mention you have some important restoration and preservation work coming up at the courthouse, tell us about what you're working on with that.

DEMILLE
That's correct. Well the building as I mentioned is very old. And it does have some structural problems. So certain sections of the building are going to be stabilized, the floors need to be done. That's on the books for the beginning of 2008 hopefully we'll start the process there. We also plan on updating all of the exhibits and renovating the whole park. It hasn't had a facelift since the 1970s when it opened and it definitely needs that.

HOST
We also wanted to mention that coming up in February 2008 you will be part of the Florence Home Tour Event.

DEMILLE
Correct. It's on February 9th, a Saturday. There will be about 13 buildings opened up in the town of Florence. And these range in age from the 1860s to the 1930s and what's neat is -- of course we're always open to the public 7 days a week -- but a lot these buildings are private dwellings so they may only be open once a year, you can actually go inside and take a look at how the roofs or the ceilings might be done. It's a great way to learn about the history of architecture, but also of cultural history too because buildings start out as a very Sonoran style adobe and then of course you have Victorian and transitional styles leading up the 1930s so there's a lot of stuff to see. There will be other activities at the park, we'll have re-enactors again all day long on Saturday.

HOST
McFarland State Historic Park is located approximately 65 miles south east of Phoenix in the city of Florence on the corner of Main Street and Ruggles. To contact the park directly please call 520-868-5216. The courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. Arizona State Parks 50th Anniversary Veteran's Day Celebration will be happening on November 10th and 11th. Thanks so much for joining us today Chris.

DEMILLE
You're very welcome, I appreciate it.

HOST
And we look forward to this event.

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Commentator:
Arizona State Parks: Managing and serving Arizona’s natural, cultural and recreational resources for the benefit of the people both in our parks and through our partnerships. Visit us on the web as azstateparks.com.

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