BobRingReflections

In my first group of history articles on this blog, I want to provide a flavor of my recent writing that I collected and self-published in three electronic books available for reading on my website, ringbrothershistory.com , under “Bob’s Projects.”  This article is adapted from Arizona Reflections - Living History from the Grand Canyon State. On February 24, 1863 President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation dividing the New Mexico Territory into two approximately equal pieces, creating the Arizona Territory out of the western half.  But did you know that for years leading up to Lincoln’s action, most proposals to create a separate Arizona Territory wanted to do it out of New Mexico Territory’s southern half? The Shape We Know Today The story begins in 1845 when the United States annexed the Republic of Texas as a state.  At the time, Texas claimed lands to the west that included much of present day New Mexico.  At the end of the Mexican-American Wa...

In my first group of history articles on this blog, I want to provide a flavor of my recent writing that I collected and self-published in three electronic books available for reading on my website, ringbrothershistory.com , under “Bob’s Projects.”  This article is adapted from Tucson Reflections - Living History from the Old Pueblo. For ten months in 1933, John Dillinger and his gang terrorized the Midwest with multiple bank robberies, wild chases, daring prison breaks, and violent machine gun battles.   In January, 1934 Dillinger and three of his gang were “laying low” in Tucson, two gang members at the Congress Hotel, while the police and FBI were madly searching back east for “Public Enemy No. 1.”  The three-story Congress Hotel was built in 1919 - the same year that the nation’s first municipally owned airport opened in Tucson.   On the morning of January 23, 1934, a fire broke out in the basement of the hotel.  The first alert was...

Updated June, 10, 2022 Hello!  My name is Bob Ring and I wanted to tell you what this blog is all about. First, a little background:  Following a challenging 35-year aerospace engineering career, in “retirement” I’ve been having fun researching and writing about Arizona History, much of it with my brother Al Ring.  Then my interests broadened beyond history to include writing about my family, travel, books, restaurants, and more.  You can find the details of the books and newspaper columns that resulted, as well as a comprehensive bio, on my website : ringbrothershistory.com , under “Bob’s Projects.” So then, with this blog, I’m looking for a forum to share my future writing in newspaper-column/magazine-article-sized bites on all the subjects I’ve already mentioned, plus an additional one, opinion writing.  I invite your comments and feedback, directly via the blog, or to my email at   ringbob1@aol.com . P.S.  I choose subjects tha...