Centennial celebrations continue

Authors and artists from all over southern Arizona were in Douglas Saturday taking part in Douglas Centennial Committee’s continued celebration of events.

Saturday’s event which was held in the lobby of the Gadsden Hotel was the second of four straight weekends of events all geared towards celebrating Arizona’s 100th birthday.

This coming Saturday from 4-9 p.m. at Castro Park, a Music Festival featuring songs of Leonardo Yanez sung by the Mariachi Folklorico 18 of Sonora and songs by Stan Jones, sung by his great nephew and renowned musician Keeter Stuart will take place in what will be the third of a series of events put on by the Douglas Centennial Committee.

Among the authors on hand this past Saturday for the Authors and Artists weekend were Douglas’ own John Mangum and Cindy Hayostek.

Mangum, who was also celebrating his 50th anniversary from Douglas High School this past weekend, has written two books and has a third coming out. He took advantage of the event to not only visit with old classmates but also show off his books.

The first book, called Full Circle: 360 degrees of Life, came about after Mangum had a serious horse accident. The man in the book fights to regain his mobility however his injuries are too severe for conventional therapy. It will take a miracle for him to regain even a portion of the strength he once had.

Mangum’s second book, called The Buckle, takes place in the Douglas area and is about a 16 year old who learns his father, an Amy NCO, has been killed in Afghanistan. Having no idea what his future holds he starts his life over at a new school in Douglas where he is introduced to vocational agriculture.

“This has been a very good event,” Mangum said of Saturday’s gathering. “I’ve had a very good response towards my books.”

Mangum has been an educator in southern Arizona for many years. He is currently a race horse trainer outside of Douglas and now an author with two books out and a third on the way called Survivors of the Fall.

“This is something that just came about after that accident,” he said of becoming an author. “I was really pleased they had this event. This has been great.”

Hayostek is a former employee of the Douglas Dispatch who has taken her writing talents to another level.

“My book is a pictorial history of Douglas,” she said. “I tried to make it a real history. There are over 200 pictures in it along with some good information. It’s a beginning to end history of Douglas.”

Hayostek is also the publisher for a quarterly magazine called Borderline Chronicles.

“It tells some really interesting stories about Douglas’ history,” she said.

Hayostek said she has not had any problem getting information for her magazine based on Douglas’ rich history.

“Even as we speak issue 20 is at the printer and I have enough ideas for three or four more years easy,” she said.

The local author said Saturday’s event was a lot of fun. She had a chance to talk to many people who passed by her display.

David Lee Summers, an author who lives in both Las Cruces, N.M. and Tucson, was also in Douglas displaying many of his books.

“I was invited down here by the Friends of the Library,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to come down and see Douglas. … It’s a nice little town. I really like the hotel. … I’ve got to introduce some people who didn’t know about my books.”

Summers has been writing for close to 20 years selling his first novel in 1995 called the Pirates of Shufiro, a science fiction novel about some pirates who were stranded on an alien world.

“I write science fiction and horror,” he said. “I have some vampire stories. … I also have a wild west series set in New Mexico and Arizona.”

Summers says he gets his ideas from the world around him.

“I work at Kitt Peak Observatory and I get ideas from projects that observers are working on as well as my neighborhood,” he said.

Patricia L. Lucas, a writer and editor from Green Valley, was also down for Saturday’s event. She currently has three books out two of which pertain to border towns like Douglas. One is called Desperada – Desperada; the other is Tunnel to Desperada.

“The first book Desperada U.S.A. and Desperada, Mexico is about some zany women in Desperada U.S.A who finally get ride of the villain,” she said. “The second book, Tunnel to Desperada is about a tunnel from Mexico to the U.S. built by these same women who are saving the maquiladorian women who are being raped and murdered.”

Lucas said this has been a wonderful experience for her.

“I have been a book fairs all across the country and now in Douglas which I am enjoying very much,” she said.

On Oct. 27, from 1-4 p.m. a photo exhibit and time capsule reception will take place in the Government Building on G Ave. Various contributions by both youth and community leaders will be sealed in the time capsule and opened in 50 years. Cochise College is making the time capsule so that the community and their contribution will be memorialized in the time capsule for their hard work.

All during the Month of October the History Makers on the Move and an exhibit of Historical leaders from Cochise County and Photos of Douglas will be shown at the new Government Building on 10th Street and G Avenue.

“We hope the Douglas will take advantage of the free events,” said Kathleen Gomez, member of Douglas’ Centennial Committee. “It is our history, come and relive it and bring your children or grandchildren so that they can learn what great history lies in this town.”

For additional information regarding these events visit the face book page at Arizona Centennial, Douglas, Arizona for pictures and a schedule of events or contact Gomez at (520) 456-6818 or nyts@aol.com.