Rock Art Center to host gallery talks on history, pioneer families

<p>Come for an hour, learn a lot. Arizona State University’s Deer Valley Rock Art Center will host two gallery talks from 6 to 7 p.m., April 14, at the Center, 3711 W. Deer Valley Road, Phoenix.</p><separator></separator><p>Gerry Haase, a rock recorder and historian, will speak on “William Henry Perry: The Man After Whom Perry Mesa, on the Agua Fria National Monument, was Named.”</p><separator></separator><p>Then, Sandy Gauthier, a member of the Arizona Archaeological Society, will discuss “The Historic Teskey Site.”</p><separator></separator><p>Haase moved to Arizona in 1991. She became an avid rock art recorder and is interested in the pioneer families of Arizona. This presentation traces the life and accomplishments of William Henry Perry from his birth in 1844 in Westford, Mass., to his death in 1929 in Peoria, Ariz.</p><separator></separator><p>Haas notes that the information she will present is attributed to “the support and contributions of detail and photos by the Perry Family and research from various archives.”</p><separator></separator><p>Gauthier also is a member of the Arizona Site Steward Program and the Friends of the Agua Fria National Monument. In 2007 she attended a training class for oral history. Her first interview was in March 2008 and she has conducted five additional interviews, four of which are in the Sharlot Hall Museum Archives.</p><separator></separator><p>The Deer Valley Rock Art Center has the largest concentration of Native American petroglyphs in the Phoenix Valley. Visitors hike a 1/4-mile trail to view more than 1,500 petroglyphs made between 500 and 7,000 years ago. The museum aims to promote preservation, connection and respect for the site and is a destination for families to learn about archaeology in their own backyard.</p><separator></separator><p>The Center is managed by one of the top archaeology programs in the country – the School of Human Evolution &amp; Social Change, an academic unit of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – at Arizona State University and is a Phoenix Point of Pride.</p><separator></separator><p>Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. on Sundays.</p><separator></separator><p>For more information contact Kim Arth, (623) 582-8007, or Kimberly.arth@asu.edu. The website is <a href="http://dvrac.asu.edu">http://dvrac.asu.edu</a>.</p&gt;