Lodge Says Goodbye to Mary T.

Staff members and residents gathered in the assisted living office today to surprise Mary with a cake, card, and thanks. She is retiring from her position as Wellness Director at the Lodge. As a licensed practical nurse, Mary Tutunjian has provided care for those in need for over forty years. For over four of those years she served the elderly residents of Sun Valley Lodge in Sun City with tremendous love, respect, and professional expertise.

Mary started her tenure at the Lodge in the skilled nursing Health Care Center and was soon promoted to Wellness Director where she oversaw the health concerns of all our assisted living residents. Mary was well versed in the art of giving care by the time she started at the Lodge. In addition to her work with the elderly, she has spent much of her career taking care of the mentally impaired and those trying to break drug and alcohol addictions.

The residents and staff of Sun Valley Lodge are sorry to see her go and wish her a happy retirement. Her dedication to both her professional knowledge and her patients’ needs made her a tremendous asset to our community and a role model for caregivers everywhere.

Sun City Couple Honored for Volunteerism

Sun Valley Lodge honored Charlotte and Leonard Sniegowski today at the Lodge’s annual volunteer appreciation luncheon. The couple was presented the Lodge’s Helene Pfeifer award for outstanding volunteerism.

Marketing Director Mike Kloberdanz said, “Len and Charlotte are a tremendous asset to our community. The impact they have on our residents goes far beyond the tasks they perform. We are honored to have them here.”

The Sniegowskis’ are Sun City residents who have been volunteering at the Lodge for several years. Charlotte primarily donates her time to the activities department and Len delivers mail to assisted living residents.

Arizona Women in the Great Depression

Historian Mary Melcher will discuss the role of women during the Great Depression at Sun Valley Lodge on Thursday, April 9th at 2:00 PM as part of the Discover Arizona series of programs sponsored by the Arizona Humanities Council.

Dr. Melcher is a historian and consultant who works with organizations and museums to develop publications, exhibits and other projects. Her publications on Arizona history focus on ranch and farmwomen, civil rights, public health, and the impact of World War II. Dr. Melcher has conducted more than one hundred oral histories with Arizonans. This presentation will use oral histories, memoirs, and photos to illustrate women’s experiences during this difficult time.

The Discover Arizona series consists of six programs that each feature a different aspect of Arizona history and are presented by an accomplished speaker. The series opened on March 5th and is sponsored by the Arizona Humanities Council.

This program is free and open to the public. Sun Valley Lodge is located at 12415 N. 103rd Avenue in Sun City. For more details please call 623-933-0137.

Award Winning Authors Revisit Route 66

Award winning authors Richard and Sherry Mangum will visit Sun Valley Lodge on Thursday, April 2nd at 2:00 PM as part of the Discover Arizona series of programs sponsored by the Arizona Humanities Council. Their presentation will focus on the Arizona portion of the “Mother Road” using historical documents, old photographs, maps, and other graphic materials.

The Mangums’ are a husband and wife team based in Flagstaff. They have written and published books about northern Arizona including Route 66. Since 1993, they have conducted free Flagstaff Historic Walks, which have been attended by thousands of people. They were appointed Flagstaff’s Ambassadors by The Arizona Daily Star in 2001, and were nominated as Culturekeepers in 2003. In 2006, they were given the Arizona Governor’s Spirit of Service to Tourism Award.

The Discover Arizona series consists of six programs that each feature a different aspect of Arizona history and are presented by an accomplished speaker. The series opened on March 5th and is sponsored by the Arizona Humanities Council.

All of the programs are free and open to the public. Sun Valley Lodge is located at 12415 N. 103rd Avenue in Sun City. For more details please call 623-933-0137.

Cowboy Poetry of Badger Clark to be Featured

The fourth week of the Sun Valley Lodge Discover Arizona series will feature the poetry of Badger Clark. The event will be held on Thursday, March 26th in the Lodge’s Wriston Lounge and will be presented by Greg Scott of Nogales.

Badger Clark was probably the first poet to make his living writing and reciting cowboy verse. It was in the Arizona Territory in 1906 that Clark discovered his muse. The young TB patient found cowboy work in Cochise County, and thrilled with his new lifestyle, companions, and environment, Clark turned to verse to express his delight and renewed health. His poems, published in western literary magazines, quickly brought him national acclaim.

This presentation examines several of Badger’s best-known poems and songs, and explores his life in Arizona and as South Dakota’s "poet lariat." Additionally, some of his unpublished and out-of-print verse is used, including Badger’s humorous take on Arizona’s attempts to gain statehood.

Greg Scott is an educator, historian, and musician. His lifelong interest in Arizona cowboy folk music has taken him throughout the state and the West, researching the songs and the people who sang them. Scott has been a Traditional Music Roster Artist for the Arizona Commission on the Arts and regularly performs at schools, libraries, museums, and festivals.

The Discover Arizona series consists of six programs that each feature a different aspect of Arizona history and are presented by an accomplished speaker. The series opened on March 5th and is sponsored by the Arizona Humanities Council.

No Better Than Murderers: The Story of the Canyon Diablo Train Robbery of 1889

The Sun Valley Lodge/Arizona Humanities Council Discover Arizona series will continue on Thursday, March 19th at 2:00 PM with a presentation by historian Paul Hietter entitled “No Better Than Murderers: The Story of the Canyon Diablo Train Robbery of 1889.”

Dr. Hietter will discuss the 1889 train robbery and subsequent manhunt that brought Yavapai County Sheriff Bucky O’Neill national fame and served as a test case for Arizona law. Dr. Hietter has taught U.S. and Arizona history at a variety of colleges since 1991, and is currently a residential faculty member in history at Mesa Community College. He has published a number of articles on his area of specialization: crime and criminal justice in territorial Arizona.

The Discover Arizona series consists of six programs that each feature a different aspect of Arizona history and are presented by an accomplished speaker. The series opened on March 5th and is sponsored by the Arizona Humanities Council.

All of the programs are free and open to the public. Sun Valley Lodge is located at 12415 N. 103rd Avenue in Sun City. For more details please call 623-933-0137

General Crook and the Sierra Madre Adventure of 1883

The second installment of the Sun Valley Lodge Discover Arizona series will be held on Thursday, March 12th at 2:00 PM with a presentation entitled “General Crook and the Sierra Madre Adventure of 1883.” The program will be presented by Dale Curtis Miles.

The Crook expedition was the first to convince the Chiricahua Apaches under Geronimo that surrender was necessary, since their mountain sanctuary was no longer safe from U.S. troops. In this presentation, Miles draws on interviews with elders to explain the use of Apache scouts and mule trains, which helped make this campaign a success.

Mr. Miles was born on the San Carlos Apache tribal area and was their first tribal historian. Mr. Miles has devoted his life to learning the history and culture of the Apache peoples while studying at ASU and NAU. He has worked with the Arizona Historical Society, the Smithsonian Institute of the American Indian, and tribal elders as well to gain a traditional view of tribal life-ways and stories. In addition, he has written articles for Native People and True West magazines. He is currently working on a book on the image of the Apache people in film and media.

The Discover Arizona series consists of six programs that each feature a different aspect of Arizona history and are presented by an accomplished speaker. The series opened on March 5th with a discussion of the Gunfight at OK Corral and is sponsored by the Arizona Humanities Council. All of the programs are free and open to the public. For more details please call 623-933-0137.