| Meeting Date | Subject and Speaker |
|---|---|
| Oct. 3, 2001 | Juan Bautista de Anza -- In the Service of the King; Don Garate |
| Nov. 7, 2001 | Community Policing -- What it is and how can we do it? Lt. Chris Nanos |
| Dec. 5, 2001 | The Air War in Korea, 1950-1953; Col. Ralph "Hoot" Gibson |
| Jan. 2, 2002 | History of the Green Valley News; Regina Ford |
| Feb. 6, 2002 | The Berlin Airlift, 1948; Col. William "Bill" Lafferty |
| Mar. 6, 2002 | Father Kino -- His missions, His Monuments, and His Legacy; Father Charles W. Polzer, S.J. |
| Apr. 3, 2002 | Journey to the North Pole: Travels on a Russian Nuclear Icebreaker; Dr. Yar Petryszyn |
| May 6, 2002 | Mapping the Mind: Neuroimaging Studies of Memory and Aging, Dr. Lee Ryan |
An interactive living history program by U.S. National Park Service Historian Don Garate in which de Anza is portrayed in full costume and in first person. Mr. Garate presents de Anza's personal history in stories and songs in both Spanish and English, and involves the audience directly by speaking with them individually and collectively and answering any questions that arise during the course of the presentation. The audience is asked to go back in time to 1777, the year after de Anza's second expedition to Alta, California. The entire program, including questions and other audience interaction, is presented relative to that year, although Mr. Garate will come out of character at the end of the program to answer any questions that could not be answered in 1777. This program truly makes history come alive.
Lt. Nanos, commander of the Pima County Sheriff's Department Green Valley sub-station, will discuss the role of his department in our community. His presentation will focus on crime in the surrounding area, its causes and possible cures. Lt. Nanos has an extensive background in law enforcement including roles as patrol officer, investigator, and narcotics unit supervisor.
Col. Gibson, one of the few "MIG Killers" to become an ace in Korea -- destroying five MIG-15's in 94 missions -- will discuss the Korean conflict from an air war perspective. Subsequent to his assignment in Korea, Col. Gibson became leader of the famed USAF Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Team. Recently, Col. Gibson was inducted into the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame.
Ms. Ford is a columnist and reporter for the Green Valley News. She is also an accomplished singer and actress, having performed with the Green Valley Stage Band and in numerous variety shows with Joey Lessa and the Velvet Swing.
Col. Lafferty was one of the first pilots to participate in what became the United States' first real confrontation of the Cold War, The Berlin Airlift. This historic operation framed U.S. policy regarding dealing with the Soviet Union. Many historians believe this was probably the most courageous Truman decision, along with the A-bomb, and set our course for conducting the Cold War. Col. Lafferty will review the events leading up to the airlift, the time frame, flight routes, equipment, and hazards. He will also discuss some personal events concerning his family and a few quotes from a parody entitled "The Fassberg Diary."
Father Polzer is the curator of Ethnohistory at the Arizona State Museum and head of the American Division of the Jesuit Historical Institute also at the museum. Father Polzer will discuss the story of Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino, the Jesuit missionary explorer who put many of the towns and villages of northern Sonora and Southern Arizona on the map.
Dr. Petryszyn, one of our more popular speakers, is Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the U. of A. He will discuss the several trips he made to the North Pole on a Russian nuclear icebreaker. Included in his presentation will be oceanography, natural history, ice-ology, culture and, of course, the icebreaker -- its capabilities and the conditions it can handle in the ice.
Dr. Ryan is assistant professor in the Cognition and Neural Systems Program at the U. of A. and is co-director of the Cognition and Neuralimaging Laboratory at the University. Dr. Ryan's discussion will focus on the neural basis of memory, age-related changes in memory, and how these changes relate to brain functioning. As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Ryan works with individuals and families who are coping with chronic and progressive diseases that affect cognitive functioning, including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.