Family
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“Homeplace” formerly 201 N. Melwood Ave.
From the scrapbook
of Mrs. Irma Henkel.
Courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. John Henkel.
My mother’s dad, my grandfather, lived here in 1905 in this neighborhood. In fact, my grandfather is the one who subdivided Menlo Park and named all the streets. He liked the sound of the streets—Melwood, Melrose, Palomas... My folks had what I call the homeplace, on Melwood and Franklin. They had a horse, cow, and a lot of chickens. They had about three to five acres that they irrigated out on the canal right along the Santa Cruz. My family had alfalfa and grain, and they irrigated from the river. They had a windmill also.
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On “A” Mountain in the Fall.
From the scrapbook of Mrs. Irma Henkel.
Courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. John Henkel.
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Metaja Blackwater, Menlo Park fifth grader, with two of her great aunt’s baskets from the Arizona State Museum.
I was asked to write about one of my ancestors. When I got home I asked my mom about one of my ancestors. She told me about my great, great grandmother Isabel Miguel. She was a basket weaver like me, so I wanted to write about her. She and her sister harvested saguaro fruit and made syrups and jams. They would teach students from the University of Arizona how to harvest fruit. Their camp was in Saguaro National Monument. She and her sister would do this every harvest time during the summer. My great, great grandmother was a very good basket weaver. When she passed away her sister Juanita Ahill kept teaching about harvesting. There is a statue of her on the northeast side of town and also a monument at the camp.
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