Tucson then, from a 1950s kind of gal

I took a peek back to the 1950s, Tucson-style. Quite appropriate for me to do -- I'm a 50s kind of gal.

Take a look at me back then (with my grandma, Domenica Surfaro, circa 1950, in Brooklyn, New York). 

And see Tucson, back then, too, via my eyes today. Here's my retrospective as published in the February 2012 Zocalo.

Viva Local Art

Wishing Tucson Artists Colony much success on the opening tonight. A wonderful addition to our local arts scene.

I was around in the 1970s for the first baby steps of downtown Brooklyn's revitalization -- the local arts community back then was at the core of that revival, working together with independent businesses. And so it is here in Tucson. Tucson Artists Colony is enriching an interesting office/business/artist complex called Placita de la Luna nearby Oracle and Grant. The complex has sustainable features (like water harvesting) as well as professional spaces.

Don't want to sound like an old sage but in the 1970s Brooklyn faced pretty miserable economic times. Plenty of empty storefronts, a lot of negative people sayings the revival wouldn't work. And now look at downtown Brooklyn - million dollar rents; chi chi Williamsburg and Dumbo, people begging to live down there.

Hang in there Tucson. Keep the innovative ideas coming. Government officials, be wise in your decisions. Developers, think sustainability and infill. We can make the magic that happened in Brooklyn happen in our city, too.

Surprise Balls from Tucson, for Holiday Nights

As you probably know from previous posts, I am a lover of holiday gifts like Surprise Balls. They are a Brooklyn childhood memory and a crafting passion. Instead of using paper, I cut strips from repurposed fabrics to do my winding, and I select little treasures from antique stores, toy shops or any vintage shopping haunt to make gifts within surprise balls interesting. I also borrow from nature (sea shells, tiny rocks) so that the gift giver can pass on something of meaning to the receiver.
For the Tohono Chul Park Holiday Nights Ornament display, I quilted the covering of my surprise ball using old Christmas fabric. I added a hand-sewn saguaro to the surprise ball ornament. This one is probably too filled with goodies. I'll make the ornaments a bit lighter next time around. I'll be making more, and putting up the tucson cowgirl webpage live, within one week. Hope others will want to enjoy my handmade surprise balls!

A Bridge, A Birthday, A Memory

Yesterday was the 125th birthday of the famous Brooklyn Bridge. I am just another enthusiast adding my story to countless others who have romanced this beautiful bridge over the century-plus of its history.

Do you know this Roebling marvel? You should. It is an engineering wonder, the first suspension bridge of its kind in the world. Its intricate web of cables appears like a magnificent lace veil across the NY skyline. And at night the lights of the bridge look like a string of pearls. I love the Brooklyn Bridge.

I worked on the 90th anniversary Brooklyn Bridge celebration in the early 1970s, when I was just out of college and dreaming about a career in urban journalism. With Don Moore and Margot Wellington (two visionaries who gave Downtown Brooklyn the jump start to the popularity it is enjoying today), I worked day and night on our festival. Thousands crossed the bridge that day to a celebration down at Fulton Ferry landing (remember General Washington and your American history?). We had great ethnic food stalls, music and a fireworks tribute to a wonderful bridge.

In Tucson many years ago I found a treasure -- the hardcover commemorative program produced for the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge on May 24, 1883. This book is priceless to me.

And I now know that my son, Brett, appreciates the heritage of this magnificent bridge and will someday treasure this little dusty volume produced by the Brooklyn Eagle printing company. Brett walked the Brooklyn Bridge yesterday. Rambling downtown, he took a walk past Atlantic Avenue shops and ended up in Prospect Heights.

More than 35 years ago Leigh and I walked those streets. Enjoying, appreciating and envisioning the future. Well, here we are in the future, with a son making his own footprints in the Brooklyn sand. Amazing.

Time for a Cocktail (and a Vintage Swizzle Stick)...

With all that’s going on with our standard poodle Bisbee, I am in need of a cocktail. Hmmm…what’s the origin of that silly word and how does it connect to the tucson cowgirl blog?

Well, let me tell you. The term cocktail is all-American, first seen in print in an 1806 colonial NY newspaper. Bartender purists today will tell you that only a small selection of mixed drinks served in low-ball (3 oz.) glasses are truly cocktails.

I want one now, served in a pretty glass goblet with swizzle stick just as my mom would do back in Brooklyn in the 1950s. I have happy memories of mom’s cocktail parties. Not that drinking was a priority…it was the party and its style that were special. My mom wore her handmade cocktail dress (pretty!)….the parties she planned with dad were fun, inexpensive ways to gather family and friends. Her favorite cocktail was a whiskey sour (served in a lowball glass goblet). Of course each drink had its own swizzle stick and was handed to guests with an interesting cloth cocktail napkin (never, never paper napkins).

With few exceptions (one being the luau hosted by friends Peggy and Mike), parties today are different, often focusing on lavish, catered spreads, disposable glasses and throw-away napkins. I’m not impressed. When I think of fun parties, I think of my mom in her beautifully sewn black cocktail dress….serving her whiskey sours to guests. I still have some of her cocktail napkins and swizzle sticks. So when I saw some interesting vintage swizzlers in Preen, I had to buy them….and pair them in this picture with one of mom’s deco cocktail napkins. Tucsonans will recognize the swizzle stick from now-closed Tack Room. May glamour and handcrafted details always prevail over plastic and disposable!

Housewarming Gift from Brooklyn

When I was packing up my New York home for our move to Tucson, I chanced upon an old box. My mom had packed it after dad died, way back when we still lived in Brooklyn, New York. The box contained some rusted tools from my dad and my grandparents. After my mom died, I kept that box in my garage, and although the tools were never used again, I would not part with the box. But now I was headed to Tucson, and I was in the midst of a sort-and-pack frenzy for our crazy move west. All this was a bit melancholy, as I still wasn't sure why I was leaving everyone and everything I loved for so many unknowns. I wished my parents were still here to encourage, even to enjoy the move with me.

Perhaps it was coincidence, but just as I sadly reached the bottom of the box, I found a very old ruler...from...guess where....Tucson. The ruler is from a Broadway Village Hardware (which doesn't exist anymore). That ruler was more than half a century old, hidden with its special message. I am imagining that my grandmother (who did beading and crocheting and seamstress work for NY Opera) might have purchased some fabric or beads from the store back in the 1940s, but I honestly don't know. Also, my dad was in the Army Air Force, and although I have no record of him coming through Tucson, he could have gotten the ruler for my grandmother on a trip through the city on his way to his assignment in the Pacific.

Somehow that ruler got in the bottom of that box. You may think I'm crazy, but I am certain my parents and grandparents meant for me to find it as I struggled with my move. This old ruler is a sign that my parents are happy I am here in Tucson. It is my priceless housewarming gift.