Update ftrom Tom

Hi all -

No, I haven't forgotten about my Modest Proposal as outlined at the Alwun House in September. Here's what I've done so far (which, admittedly, is barely even a start):

1. Worked on digitizing all of my old tapes that are relevant to this project;

2. Met with Andy Olson to have him do some repair/rehab on old tapes that might not otherwise be salvageable; and discussed his tape collection, which includes many recordings that I do not have myself;

3. Encouraged Ken Beals to contact Channel 8 and search their archives for videotapes of the "Profile" shows that Bill Compton hosted back in 1974/75;

4. Sent Hans Olson copies of my tapes of him on KDKB ca. 1974-1975, and encouraged him to look through any old tapes that he might have; and

5. Discussed the whole idea of a formal, coordinated historical project with a friend who is a history teacher and, like me, a Phoenix native and an avid listener to Phoenix radio (KRIZ, KRUX, KCAC, KDKB) back in our younger days. He is also experienced (not in the Jimi Hendrix sense... well, maybe so, but irrelevant to this discussion) in historical research procedures, and he is acquainted with folks in the ASU history department and he has some ideas about how to approach them and see if we can get a graduate student interested in this topic. He is currently very active in the political scene, but after the election he may have some time to devote to this project.

So, not much progress, but perhaps the beginnings of something that we can all ultimately contribute to. We may not be able to solve all of the world's problems but we can make sure that this particular piece of history is not forgotten once we old farts pass from the scene. Comments and ideas are welcome, on the blog or as emails to me at tomwright666@yahoo.com.

(PS - the email address is nothing to be creeped out by. When I created the account my name was already taken so I needed to add some numbers to it, and I had recently been working along Highway 666 in southeastern Arizona. It has since been renumbered as Highway 191 because some of the Chamber of Commerce types objected to the Devil's Highway running through their towns. It runs from Douglas north through Safford, Clifton, Springerville, St. Johns, and Sanders before heading west into New Mexico, and it is one of the most scenic highways in the state.)