Barbara Jaquay Kicks Off Casa Grande Ruins Annual Speaker Series January 10, 2018

January 5, 2018

Dave Carney

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

COOLIDGE, AZ – Beginning January 10, 2018 through February 28, 2018, Casa Grande Ruins will host its annual speaker series. The speaker series will kick off on January 10 at noon featuring Barbara Jaquay who will present a lecture titled “Father Kino: Journey to Discovery”. The speaker series will continue every Wednesday at noon through February 28.

Barbara Jaquay will present about how Father Kino bridged the gap between the Anglo world and the Native American through his charismatic and caring heart. He was a cartographer, explorer, geographer, scientist, and a man with a mission. Through his knowledge of agriculture, he introduced new livestock breeds and taught animal husbandry to the native to increase the stock. The new plants and fruit trees he brought to the New World gave the native a variety of foods to eat and increased their ability to withstand seasonal changes. Father Kino brought a new religion to the native in a nonthreatening manner. His scientific knowledge allowed him to make new discoveries.

Dr. Barbara Jaquay, a historical geographer, recently published Where Have All the Sheep Gone?: Sheepherders and Ranchers in Arizona – A Disappearing Industry, a history of the sheep industry in Arizona.  She has her Ph.D. from Texas A&M where she wrote on the Caribbean Cotton Industry.  She has traveled extensively on all seven continents and visited over 40 countries.  She has followed many of Father Kino’s journeys of discovery as she visited his missions in Arizona and Mexico.  She has published on Cuba and Costa Rica as well as Arizona Native Americans. Dr. Jaquay continues to pursue the geographical and mysterious wonders across the globe.  She is working on a second book on the sheep industry and finishing her children’s book.

The program begins at 12:00 pm in the Casa Grande Ruins visitor center theater at 1100 W Ruins Drive, Coolidge AZ, 85128. There is no fee for the program, but normal entrance fees apply.

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument protects the multi-story Great House (Casa Grande) and the remnants of other ancient structures built by the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People over 800 years ago.  Established as the nation’s first federal archeological reserve in 1892, the Ruins sparked the beginning of the archeological preservation movement in America.  The Monument is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., May through September, and from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., October through April, except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Independence Day holidays.  Directions and additional information are available on the Monument’s website, http://www.nps.gov/cagr. You may call (520) 723-3172, or follow us on Facebook by searching for Casa Grande Ruins National Monument.