Historic Phoenix Cemeteries

Ed Dobbins and Pioneers' Cemetery Association (PCA) have published a book April 2024 detailing the history of seven historic cemeteries in Phoenix, AZ. 

This is a story of a young territorial town that experienced explosive growth while needing a location to bury the dead. Four town blocks were set aside as a cemetery from 1871 to 1884 until it was ordered closed. Once the city incorporated, the cemeteries were re-opened between 1884-1893 as seven separate and distinct cemeteries until once again closed in 1914. 

It's a fascinating story of how early settlers struggled to maintain order, care, and respect in the burial of its citizens. There were many efforts to sell or repurpose the grounds as care and maintenance were often a low priority for the growing city. 

Ed provides a significant number of citations as he chronicles the heritage of the seven historic cemeteries now known as Pioneer & Military Memorial Park (PMMP). He also briefly shares the history behind the current caretakers, the Pioneers' Cemetery Association. 

This book is focused on the history of the cemeteries. PCA published another book July 2018, Pioneer and Military Memorial Park of Phoenix, which includes a variety of stories about those interred in the seven cemeteries. Copies are available on Amazon as linked or by contacting PCA for local pick-up. You can purchase your copy of the books through PCA's Gift Shop.  

Ed has a YouTube channel where he shares other stories of the history of Phoenix. It's a great way to learn about the history of early Arizona. 

I was honored to be a part of this project as proofreader and copy editor. I look forward to assisting you with your next project - Let's Chat!

Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work, by Chip & Dan Heath
I just finished a book recommended by a LinkedIn friend, Stephen Mostrom. This was definitely well worth my time! I will highly recommend it as well, especially for those looking for assistance to make a weighty decision. As we all make at least 35,000 decisions daily as noted in this blog post, most won't require a decision-making framework, but this will come in handy for the more challenging ones. 

Thought Provoking
Literally and figuratively. This book is heavy on research and science but with a ton of relatable real world examples of their recommended thought process. It was fascinating to follow the decision processes on topics spanning "shall I get serious about this relationship" to high-finance business decisions that impact a company's growth or demise. One such weighty  business example followed Intel's decision to move to microprocessors from  memory chips.

How to Make Decisions - Thoughtfully and Intentionally
You mean, there's a process out there to make decisions? Beyond "gut feeling?" Outside of self-admitted personal biases or Magic Eight Ball? Mind blown! Even "ask a few friends" is a valid option to get some perspective. 

That's a WRAP!
There are many methods within each component that you simply must read the book to appreciate. On reading the book, you'll discover the Heath Brothers' resources that accompany the book including podcasts, single-page references, and a workbook for more complete reminders of the multiple decision methods that can be utilized. 

• Widen your options
• Reality-test your assumptions
• Attain distance before deciding
• Prepare to be wrong

The Heath Brothers
This duo have authored six books at this writing:

• Making Numbers Count
• Upstream
• The Power of Moments
• Decisive
• Switch
• Made to Stick​

I've also read Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. This had a very similar style being based fairly heavily in research but with a load of relatable, personable stories of recognizable corporate decisions and urban tales. 

Thank you, Chip and Dan, for sharing your ideas on ideas with us! I'm looking forward to ways to decrease my personal biases in decisions and generally take a more methodical step back.

Their books are available on Amazon, but I was also able to find them on Libby through my library.

Read any good books lately? Love to hear your recommendations! Nonfiction is my current focus. Audiobooks are the way to go for me to enjoy "reading" while on my walks. How do you fit in reading time?