Connected Tempe

10/25/2024

Walk-in volunteers are welcome! Serve together with us at Curry Elementary and surrounding neighborhoods in during For Our City Day Saturday morning! I just updated my blog post.

9 am to 11 am, we'll be cleaning up the school grounds and alleys visible from the school and adjacent Selleh Park. If you can just help one of those two hours, that's okay, too! 11 am bike parade and lunch in the park. We have lots of great door prizes and giveaways!

Calling all Tempeans and friends of Tempe: Let's Make a Difference on National Make a Difference Day! Curry Elementary is a Title 1 school and there are concrete ways we can support it and the surrounding neighborhood. W...

02/07/2024

Are you my distant cousin? Or maybe we are 3rd or 4th cousins and we don’t even know. Give it a try!

Join Relatives at RootsTech to find out!

12/16/2023

Come and see us today or tomorrow (11 am to 3 pm) at our Connected booth at the lovely Petersen House! Take a free tour of the house, and spin the wheel at our booth for some fun prizes!

We have our old Mill Avenue photo booth up, too, and we'll take souvenir pics of you on your phone. Look for us to the right side when you come in the gate.

As always, we can show most people in a minute or two several historic Tempeans that are their cousins - even if you didn't grow up in Arizona! It's amazing to see the connections.

The last free holiday open house of the season at Petersen House is happening this weekend, 11-3 on both Saturday and Sunday. And if you can't make it, we are also offering guided tours at $10 per person on December 20, 21, 22, 26 and 28. These require reservations, available here:
https://www.tempe.gov/government/community-services/tempe-history-museum/historic-houses/docent-guided-tours #!/

11/27/2023

We've posted dozens of video interviews of Tempeans on our YouTube channel . Please go subscribe, watch one or more and give us some love (shares & likes) so more people see these!

Interviews posted: Joe & Karen Arredondo, Robin Arredondo-Savage, John Autore, Noe Baez (Such Styles), Andres Barraza, Laura Batista, Paulette Bolyard, Jerry Brock, Arlene Chin, Marguerite Clark, W. David Doiron, Shana Ellis, The Hon. Mitzi Epstein, Alisa Fiero, Dominick Flores, Ruth Baker Forshee, Dr. Ben Furlong, Grady Gammage, Jr, Doreen Garlid, Roger Gil, Richard Hand, Carl Harris & LaVerne Abe Harris, Michelle Hirsch, Berdetta Hodge, Pat Hughes, Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, Dianne Johnson, Rosalie Lopez Hirano, Randy Keating, Debbie Painter Hedberg Lolling, Chris Losey, Bill Loughrige, Tim McBurney, Anne McKeeman, the Honorable Harry Mitchell, Dr. Paul Mittman, Michael Monti, Raymond Moraga, Joel Navarro, Jane Neuheisel, Mark Randall, Gary Richardson, Reggie Rodriguez, Dr. Duane Roen, Clint Schmal, Onnie Shekerjian, Lou Silverman, Kay Cummings Slaven, Linda Spears, Joe & Sandy Spracale, Mayor Corey Woods, Philip Yates, Glady Norby Zeilstra

Ongoing interviews for Tempe History Museum:Joe & Karen Arredondo, Robin Arredondo-Savage, John Autore, Noe Baez (Such Styles), Andres Barraza, Laura Batista...

12/16/2022

11/10/2022

Former City of Tempe Councilmember Shana Ellis will be interviewed tonight by Michelle Hirsch at the Pyle Center at 7 pm by Michelle Hirsch. As always, our Thursday night oral history interviews are open to the public!

09/16/2022

Tempe Councilmember Randy Keating joins us tonight at 7 pm at the Pyle Center for an oral history interview conducted by Michelle Hirsch. Open to the public; pop in if you can!

09/08/2022

🇺🇸 Join us Saturday morning at the cemetery for a project to photograph about 700 headstones not yet recorded on the Billion Graves app. Please download the app ahead of time, watch the 2-minute how-to video, and have your log-in with you in case it times out.

Meet at the flagpole for the opening ceremony at 8 am with a welcome from Mayor Corey Woods and the national anthem. Sign up with the QR code in this image or go to justserve.org/az911day and look for Tempe Double Butte Cemetery.

08/12/2022

Tempe City Councilmember Joel Navarro is in the interview seat tonight. He is a 3rd generation Arizonan, born and raised in Tempe. He is a trained paramedic with the Phoenix Fire Department (since 1995) and serves on the Executive Board of the National League of Cities and as President of Hispanic Elected Local Officials (HELO). Join us at the Pyle Center at 7 pm in the Prescott Room. Michelle Hirsch is our lead interviewer and our videographer is Dr. Duane Roen.

We have interviewed 49 people to date for the Tempe History Museum Oral History Project! See who you know among this list of long-time Tempeans and those who work in Tempe. We've interviewed 49 people to date with video interviews of Doreen Garlid, Mark Randall, Dianne Johnson, Dr. Ben Furlong, Hon. Onnie Shekerjian, Hon. Harry Mitchell, Debbie Painter Hedberg Lolling, Dr. Duane Roen, Bill Loughrige, Rosalie Lopez Hirano, Paulette Bolyard, Robin Arredondo-Savage, Joe & Karen Arredondo, Michael Monti, Rosalie Lopez-Hirano, Lou Silverman, Arlene Chin, Mayor Corey Woods, Gary Richardson, Jerry Brock, Dick & Jane Neuheisel, Dr. Paul Mittman, Hon. Michelle Hirsch, John Autore, Philip Yates, Chris Losey, Grady Gammage, Rep. Mitzi Epstein, Hon. Berdetta Hodge, Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, Such Styles (Noe Baez), Carl Harris & LaVerne Abe Harris, Tim McBurney, Laura Batista, Joel Navarro. Upcoming interviews include Clint Schmal 8/18/22, Randy Keating 9/15/22 & ASU President Dr. Michael Crow 9/22.

Bill Loughrige conducted audio interviews of:
Pat Hughes
Raymond Moroga
Ruth Baker Forshee
Richard Hand
Reg Rodriquez
Kay Cummins Slaven
W. David Dorion
Joe & Sandy Spracale
Margeurite Clark

Who have we missed? Some people you would expect to be on this list were interviewed previously by volunteers for the museum. We rarely re-interview someone. The Hon. Harry Mitchell was an exception, as so much had happened in his life since his first interview.

05/20/2022

Tonight at 7 pm at the Pyle Center, we welcome Dr. La Verne Abe Harris and Carl Harris, who will be interviewed by Michelle Hirsch. Carl is an acclaimed football coach, who taught at Tempe High, Marcos de Niza High School and Basha High School. Dr. Harris is a creative. Her resume includes: ASU and Purdue University graphic design professor, newsroom art director, web designer, book illustrator, published author, blogger, artist and even stand-up comic!

03/17/2022

Duane Roen, Grady Gammage Jr and Michelle Hirsch, following Michelle’s oral history interview of Mr Gammage today!