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Patagonia Regional Times
‘Everything Is Free’ at New Wellness Center
The Frank Adams Wellness Center celebrated its grand opening on Nov. 11 at The Coop on Highway 82 in Sonoita. Director Daniel Blevins welcomed the group of well-wishers, volunteers and curious community members to the Center, inviting everyone inside to “learn, eat and be social.”. Sandwiches, fruit kabobs, veggies,...
Patagonia Art Walk
The 2023 Patagonia Art Walk, held Nov. 24 and 25, featured 19 local businesses, restaurants and artists. According to Cassina Farley, one of the organizers along with Martha Kelly and Patagonia Mayor Andy Wood, the Art Walk has been held since the ‘90s to help support local artists and businesses.
International Teachers Join Local Schools
Unable to find suitable candidates locally, public schools in Elgin and Patagonia are filling teacher vacancies through international recruiting. “There is a nationwide teacher shortage, worse in Arizona and extreme in rural Arizona,” said Elgin School Principal Mary Faley. For the school year 2023-24, “we had a shortage of qualified candidates, or a lack of candidates altogether, for two vacant positions.”
State Auditor Finds Faults in County Operations
“This year we got beat up a little more than normal,” Santa Cruz County Supervisor Bruce Bracker said to the PRT in response to the Arizona Auditor General’s Nov. 21 report to the County Board of Supervisors (BOS) on their fiscal Year 2022 audit findings. The Auditor’s report...
Veterans Remembered at Local Ceremonies
Veterans Day was observed at two local ceremonies this year. The Elgin School celebrated the day on Nov. 9. The flag at the Patagonia Cemetery was raised to half staff on Nov. 11 as the Patagonia Minstrels played patriotic tunes. Elgin School. On November 9, the Elgin School held their...
Patagonia Recycling Set to Return
Thanks to the Town of Patagonia, the community will be receiving a holiday gift that many residents have been wanting for several years: the return of a drop-off recycling service that actually works. According to Town Manager Ron Robinson, the new service will be broad-based and will begin on a...
Give
It has been my experience that giving is a family value. We were taught by my great-grandfather Levi that when grilling meat, it is customary to leave a piece on the grill for those who wander down the creek. We were never taught to be afraid of these folks but to give to them as they passed by. This was just his way. Great-Grandpa Levi owned the Big Steer Bar. He rarely made money because he allowed patrons who were down on their luck to drink now and pay later. A bad business model.
A Rodent’s Revenge
Readers of a certain generation (i.e., mine) will no doubt remember the not-so-golden era of schlocky television sitcoms. One subgenre of lowbrow ridiculousness was what I’ll call Country Bumpkin TV: The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres. I’ve conjured up memories of Green Acres more than a few times...
Patagonia Girls Hope to Clear State Tournament Hurdle
The Patagonia High girls basketball team shook off some opening-night nerves and opened the 2023-24 season with a 35-31 road victory over Bagdad. Senior Jenny Vasquez led the Lobos with 13 points and had four rebounds, sophomore Brianna Majalca had 11 points and seven rebounds, and sophomore point guard Emma Lewton had five assists.
Busy Schedule Provides Early Lessons for Lobos
The opening weeks of the Patagonia High boys basketball season were a little like being strapped onto the hood of a 2023 Chevy Corvette: Zero to Sixty in 2.9 seconds. With six games in seven days, spread out from Nogales to Bagdad to Tucson, the Lobos were in for some rapid-fire early season lessons.
PUHS Player Named to All-Region Team
Patagonia High School senior Jenny Vasquez capped her final volleyball season by being named to the 1A Tucson Southeast All-Region First Team. Patagonia also placed four players on the All-Region Second Team: Seniors Janelle Valenzuela and Heaven Day, sophomore Brianna Majalca, and freshman Amaya Somoza. The Lobos finished the 2023...
Road Dogs
For the last few years, I have made the drive from Patagonia up to Montana and Saskatchewan then back again. It sounds straightforward, but when you add 16 bird dogs into the equation, that adds a whole new level of concerns regarding their comfort and safety. Although the number of...
Migration Quilts on Display in Tucson
Quilts created from migrant children’s artwork—and response “welcome” quilts from Patagonia school children—are on display at the Arizona History Museum in Tucson through April 27, 2024 as part of an exhibit titled ‘Welcome Quilts: Migration, Art and Hope.’. If you were in Patagonia in...
The Elgin Cemetery
The Elgin Cemetery is located on private property about .25 miles north of the Elgin bridge in the NWSE quarter of Section 29, Township 20S, Range 18E. It was most likely established in 1912. Two other Elgin area cemeteries exist—Fruitland, established in 1915, and Black Oak established in 1917. Approximately 19 graves are evident at the cemetery, but only four have headstones. [State of Arizona. Historic Property Inventory Form for Cemeteries and Graves, 2012]. To memorialize those likely buried at the Elgin Cemetery, searches of the Arizona State Board of Health and Arizona County Coroner death records were conducted. When the place of burial is listed as Elgin, and no record of burial at another cemetery exists, then burial at Elgin Cemetery is presumed. Special thanks are due to Elgin resident Sue Downing for sharing her research records.
Western Heritage Celebrated at the Empire Ranch
The 22nd annual Cowboy Festival at the Empire Ranch on Nov. 4-5 was an outstanding success. Over 2,000 people attended, with more than 200 presenters, demonstrators and volunteers participating. Each day started with Sonora Schmitt’s stirring rendition of the National Anthem and the presentation of colors by B Troop 4th...
Postcard Bridges Elgin’s Past and Present
In the case of a 66-year-old postcard, yes. It all came about from a conversation Terri Basinger Powers had with a local history buff. That’s how she learned that a 1957 postcard showing the old Elgin Store was for sale on eBay. The seller was Tony Meager of Prescott, who owns MatchSetsPostcards, a website that specializes in Arizona memorabilia. The asking price: 20 dollars.
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Patagonia Regional Times is a free monthly publication serving the Mountain Empire communities of Canelo, Elgin, Patagonia and Sonoita in Santa Cruz County, Arizona.
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