When families struggling across the great expanse of the American interior finally arrived in the old west, often times there wasn’t a doctor available within many miles. In fact, an individual’s medical care usually landed in the hands of other family members. Luckily, however, most soon discovered that local plants and the area’s other resources held many secrets for curing someone who was ill. Chew a little willow bark for a headache, use pine needles for a tea rich in vitamin C and close up cuts with spider webs. These and other ‘home’ remedies were commonplace on the Arizona frontier.
And on Saturday, August 19th at 1PM, the Phippen Museum will offer you the opportunity to learn about these topics and many more as they host local author and historian, Jody Drake. Not only will she share information on Arizona Ranch Medicine, this program will also explore the fascinating contents often included in the typical frontier medical bag, allowing attendees to take an in-depth look at some of the tools and instruments used to cure human ailments while learning how sickness was treated in late 1800’s Arizona.
Jody Drake was born and raised in Prescott, Arizona, and still calls it home. She is the Founding Director of the Blue Rose Theater which operated at the Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott and has been presenting Sharlot Hall to Arizona audiences for the last 16 years. She has performed throughout the state and her first-person presentations mix the rich stories of the west with an enchanting combination of humor and fact.
So make plans now to join the Phippen Museum for this special presentation accompanying their current exhibition, Hold Your Horses!, a tribute to that hard-working companion of all mankind…the horse. Museum members will be admitted free of charge and guests for the price of general admission.
The Phippen Museum is located only a few minutes north of downtown Prescott, Arizona, at 4701 Highway 89 North. For additional information on this or any other event at the museum, please call (928)778-1385, or visit their website at www.phippenartmuseum.org.