Storyteller and rancher H. Alan Day
Lynn Wiese Sneyd, co-author
“The Horse Lover, a cowboy’s quest to save the Wild Mustangs” March 16
Mary Kopp
The Friends of SaddleBrooke Libraries’ next author luncheon is Monday, March 16. Tickets are on sale now at the HOA 2 administration annex for $29. Storyteller and rancher H. Alan Day and writing expert co-author Lynn Wiese Sneyd will be the featured speakers. Together they co-authored The Horse Lover: A Cowboy’s Quest to Save the Wild Mustangs.
Author luncheon co-chairs Elaine Kienitz and Judy Kany attended an Oro Valley Library presentation by the co-authors and were delighted. Day has great stories to tell with his experiences running three large ranches and growing up on the 200,000-acre Lazy B Ranch that straddles the Arizona-New Mexico border. He and his sister, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, co-authored Lazy B about their upbringing on the remote cattle ranch.
The Horse Lover was published just last March and tells the intimate story of H. Alan Day’s experiences buying a 35,000 acre ranch in South Dakota to serve as a sanctuary for 1,500 wild horses deemed unadoptable. He called it Mustang Meadow Ranch and persuaded the government to stop warehousing the mustangs and let him attempt his “horse whisperer’s” dream of successfully using a herd-modification program to improve the life and behavioral health of the mustangs. This became the first government-sponsored wild horse sanctuary in the United States. This is a heartfelt memoir of a lifelong cowboy that deeply cares about all horses and tells about the adventures with some of his favorites as well as describing the joys and frustrations of balancing government requirements with the needs of wild mustangs.
The book recently won first place in the Arizona authors’ association literary contest and also in the New Mexico-Arizona book contest.
The author luncheon will be held at HOA 2 MountainView Ballroom Monday, March 16; doors open at 11:30 a.m. Early purchasers get the best tables. Tickets to the author luncheon priced at $29 per person are on sale at the MountainView administrative building next to the MountainView clubhouse. The luncheon will feature beef stroganoff or a vegetarian plate. Please indicate meal preference when purchasing your ticket.
Please visit Friends of the Libraries (FSL) website www.FriendsSBLib.org for upcoming events, current information and unanticipated event changes.
The Trunk Mistress lecture February 19
Can Phoenix, Arizona, claim a real murderess? What happened on the night of October 16, 1931? Who was the “Blonde Butcher?” Did Winnie Ruth Judd kill her two roommates? What was the motive?
On October 16, 1931 two women were killed with a .25 caliber handgun. Two days after the murders, Judd boarded a passenger train from Phoenix’s Union Station with two large trunks. She traveled overnight to Los Angeles. When she arrived in Los Angeles, the station personnel were suspicious of the trunks because of the foul smell and the fluids leaking from them. According to prosecutors, Judd and an accomplice dismembered the body of one of the women and stuffed the head, torso and lower legs into a black shipping trunk, placing the upper legs in a beige valise and hatbox. The other victim’s body was stuffed intact into a second shipping trunk. Judd left the trunks at the station and was picked up by her brother. She hid out until she surrendered to police on October 23, 1931. The murder was reported in headlines across the country and Judd came to be referred to in the press as “Tiger Woman” or the “Blonde Butcher” but eventually the case became known as “The Trunk Murders.” Her trial was marked by sensationalized newspaper coverage and suspicious circumstances: the sentence she received raised debate about capital punishment.
If you are curious about the details of this murder mystery be sure to attend the Friends of the SaddleBrooke Libraries’ February monthly lecture by Jim Turner. Jim Turner began his love affair with Arizona when he moved here with his family in 1951. His family traveled to all the unique sites of Arizona. This began his fascination with Arizona history. He taught Arizona history at Canyon del Oro High School. He continued to study Arizona’s past over the years and began his lectures in 1998. He taught Arizona’s history as an adjunct professor for the University of Arizona. In 2001 he began his career as historian for the Arizona Historical Society. Jim Turner, recently retired from the Arizona Historical Society, is a professional Arizona historian, author and public speaker whose talks both educate and entertain a range of audiences. His range of knowledge and informative talks also include broader subjects such as Southwestern and Mexican history. Many of Jim’s talks include historic images and photographs in PowerPoint presentations.
“Winnie Ruth Judd” The Trunk Murderess lecture will take place on Thursday, February 19, at the MountainView Ballroom from 4:00-5:00 p.m. There will be a $5 fee for all non-FSL members.
Please visit Friends of the SaddleBrooke Library website www.FriendsSBLib.org for upcoming events, current information and unanticipated event changes.