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Dr. Douglas Kupel will speak on “Not a Drop to Drink: Arizona’s Last Great Drought, 1920-1941."

Talk about Arizona’s last great drought at Sedona Heritage Museum on Oct 15

Sedona, AZ - Oct. 01, 2008 - The Sedona Historical Society is hosting the next in their 2008 series of Living History presentations on Wednesday October 15th at 9:00 a.m. at the Sedona Heritage Museum in the historic fruit packing shed.

Dr. Douglas Kupel will speak on “Not a Drop to Drink: Arizona’s Last Great Drought, 1920-1941."

Kupel will tell the story of Arizona’s last severe drought. While there are some similarities to today’s severe drought, there are differences as well.

The most basic difference is that in 1941 the Valley of the Sun’s water supply system was less developed than it is today, and had less room for error. In 1941, Arizona celebrated the end of the drought with a great “Day of Thanksgiving for Water” in the Salt River Valley. The event marked the first time the reservoirs of the Salt River Project had been completely filled in more than twenty years. Prior to 1941, the last time water had overflowed from the top of Roosevelt Dam was in 1920. The year 1940 was particularly dry, making the abundant rains of 1941 extremely welcome. This presentation explores how Arizona coped with drought in the past, and offers a revealing perspective on today’s challenges.

Dr. Kupel is a historian who has worked for the City of Phoenix since 1988, conducting research for environmental litigation. He is the author of “Fuel for Growth: Water and Arizona’s Urban Environment,” a book about municipal water use in Arizona.

Dr. Kupel’s presentation is sponsored by a grant from the Arizona Humanities Council. After the presentation he will be available for questions, and refreshments will be served. Everyone is welcome to join the Sedona Historical Society for this presentation. This is a free event.

Every year, the Sedona Historical Society presents a series of Living History talks. Speakers will include descendants of pioneers, long-time residents with historical stories to share or other story-tellers about history. The Sedona Historical Society also operates the Sedona Heritage Museum. The Museum is located at 735 Jordan Road in Uptown Sedona and is open daily 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. For more information on Living History or the Museum, call 928-282-7038.

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