Jan Cleere

Writer at Arizona Daily Star

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Articles

Lee Shee Low ran grocery in the heart of Tucson for decades

2 weeks ago | tucson.com | Jan Cleere

The Chinese populace of Arizona dates back probably before the 1870 census that lists 20 Chinese within its borders. By 1880 over 1,600 were living and working throughout the territory. Many arrived as laborers for the railroad, laying rail lines over the scorched desert, through mountain passes and across arid grasslands. Of those 1,600 individuals, about 300 lived in and around Tucson.
1870s Arizona diary: Taking wild rides, dining on fried beavers' tails

1 month ago | tucson.com | Jan Cleere

Born May 15, 1838, in Baltimore, Fanny Dunbar got her first taste of travel at the age of six weeks when her parents moved to New Orleans. From that time on, she traveled extensively, particularly after marrying Army doctor William Henry Corbusier in 1869. In November 1872, Dr. Corbusier was ordered to Prescott. Pregnant with her second child, Fanny sold most of their belongings before the trip since the Army only allowed a small baggage allowance.
Nogales leader in 1917 was part of women’s suffrage movement

2 months ago | tucson.com | Jan Cleere

In 1917, when Theodora Sprecher Marsh showed up at the Arizona House of Representatives as the representative from Santa Cruz County, she was only one of three women in the House. Flanked by Pauline O’Neill from Maricopa County and Rosa McKay from Cochise County, Theodora was part of the growing movement for women’s suffrage. In fact, she led the crusade in her hometown of Nogales. Born in Washington County, Illinois, on Jan.
Josephine Goldwater was 'greatest influence' on son Barry

Feb 16, 2025 | tucson.com | Jan Cleere

Josephine Williams could barely lift her suitcase as she boarded the train out of Chicago for Phoenix. A diagnosis of tuberculosis exhausted the petite, emerald-eyed woman who had recently graduated from Illinois Training School for Nurses. She barely watched the scenery as the Illinois landscape morphed into prickly cactus and barren desert. Not wanting to worry her parents with her life-threatening prognosis, she had told them she was accompanying a sick patient to Arizona.
Mollie Butler, 1877-1964, hosted governors and presidents in Greer

Jan 19, 2025 | tucson.com | Jan Cleere

Mary Ann “Mollie” Wiltbank was 6 years old when the Mormon Church directed her family to leave Utah, where she had been born in St. George on Aug. 21, 1877. Her parents, Ellis and Hannah Mary Wiltbank, headed into the raw, untamed country of Arizona Territory. Initially homesteading in Nutrioso and Eager at the foot of the White Mountains, the Wiltbank family relocated in 1892 to Lee Valley (the town name was changed to Greer in 1898).
Western Women: She was 'running like a flash' in 1910 car race

Nov 17, 2024 | tucson.com | Jan Cleere

From 1907 through 1914, the 500-mile Los Angeles to Phoenix auto race, sometimes referred to as the Cactus Derby, was held annually. Cars competed for prize money and the glory of having the fastest car on the road, although there were few paved highways across the desert at the time. Men fine-tuned their vehicles and headed across the desert on a grueling, dust-choking ride that could last over 30 hours.
Western Women: Navajo children 'stole teacher's heart' in 1912

Oct 20, 2024 | tucson.com | Jan Cleere

In August 1912, Frances “Franc” Johnson descended from the train she had boarded in Wisconsin onto Gallup, New Mexico’s steamy desert asphalt. She was on her way to the Fort Defiance Indian School, a boarding school for Navajo children situated on the grounds of old Fort Defiance, one of the first, if not the first, military post in Arizona Territory. Franc was no stranger to Native cultures.
She had 'enough strength, courage, faith' to spur Phoenix desegregation

Sep 15, 2024 | tucson.com | Jan Cleere

Video Player is loading. Current Time 0:00Duration -:-Remaining Time --:-This is a modal window. The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. Eleanor and Lincoln Ragsdale were a driving force in the effort to desegregate Phoenix in the 1950s through the 1980s.
It was indeed a wild life for a woman teaching in remote 1880s Arizona

Jul 14, 2024 | tucson.com | Jan Cleere

Hungry mountain lions, a surfeit of skunks, fierce Apaches, and ancient ruins awaited the adventurous Angeline “Angie” Mitchell during the time she taught school in the rough, rugged region of Tonto Basin. Born on Oct. 5, 1854, in Bridgwater, Massachusetts, Angie was 4 years old when her family headed to Kansas Territory.
Western Women: 'Asdzan Yazzie' served Navajo Gospel Mission in 1930s

Jun 16, 2024 | tucson.com | Jan Cleere

Serving as a missionary within Hopi and Navajo communities for over 50 years, Katherine Ruth Beard became the driving force behind providing housing, food, clothing and the gospel to Northern Arizona’s Native population. The Flagstaff Indian Bible Church that she helped establish still exists today.