Palin, Bristol

Purchased home in Maricopa

(Bristol Sheeran Marie Palin, 1990.10.18-    )  Sexual abstinence advocate for teens.

Bristol holding her brother Trig, 2008.  Photo by Emily .

Bristol achieved a fair amount of local notoriety by just being the teenage daughter of Alaska's popular governor, Sarah Palin.  When her mother was selected by Arizona Senator John McCain to become the Republican vice-presidential "family values" candidate, the notoriety became national.  Then, on the opening day of the 2008 Republican National Convention, it was disclosed that Bristol was pregnant (but engaged), and her fame skyrocketed.  Appearances on the campaign trail with the baby's father kept her in the political spotlight.

Even when her mother's VP aspirations did not work out and she resigned as governor "in the best interests of Alaska," Bristol was able to build a career out of her hard-earned fame.  In addition to being a speaker promoting teenage sexual abstinence (at $15,000 to $30,000 an appearance), Bristol made appearances on the 2010 season of ABC television's Dancing with the Stars, and her mom's short lived reality television show, Sarah Palin's Alaska (2010-2011).

In December 2010, Bristol plunked down $172,000 cash for a five-bedroom house in Maricopa, Arizona.  Some news reports suggested that the home, 30 miles from the ASU campus, was purchased to allow Bristol to pursue a college education at the university.

Patrick, Danica

Lives in Scottsdale

(Danica Sue Patrick, 1982.03.25-    )  Professional race car driver.

Danica Patrick, 2008. Photo by David Shankbone .

One does not have to win the Indianapolis 500 to receive tremendous press attention or be the top Googled celebrity.  Coming in fourth will more than suffice if one is a radiantly attractive 22 year-old former cheer leader who is only the fourth woman to qualify for the event.  It doesn't hurt that she was the first woman to lead a lap and dueled with the winner at the end.  Her appearance in the May 29, 2005 event is said to have boosted its television viewership by nearly 60% over the previous year. 

On her official web site, danicaracing.com, she lists The Late Show with David Letterman as her favorite television show.  That would be entirely appropriate since Letterman is a co-owner of her race car.

In November, 2004, Danica moved to Scottsdale from Illinois to be near her physical-therapist-and-athletic-trainer fiancé, Paul Hospenthal.  They were married in 2005.

Scottsdale has recognized its car-racer resident by issuing two speeding tickets--for driving 57 mph in a 40 mph zone in 2007, and 54 mph in a 35 mph zone in 2008.  Go Danica!

Patton, George S.

Trained his troops in the Arizona desert

(General George Smith Patton, Jr., 1885.11.14-1945.12.21)  General, U.S. Army.

In 1942, native Californian Major General George S. Patton selected an area of the Arizona-California desert to prepare his troops for action in the North African desert which would mark the US entrance into World War II.  The Desert Training Center would become the largest Army base in the world, stretching from the outskirts of Pomona, California east to within 50 miles of Phoenix, Arizona, south to Yuma, Arizona and north to Las Vegas, Nevada.  In Arizona, the facility included Camps Bouse, Horn, Hyder and Laguna.

In the facility's brief lifespan--the need for desert training dramatically decreased with victory in North Africa--nearly 1,000,000 troops received training there.  Patton presided over his troops at the camp until their departure in November, 1942.  Other troops followed, but the camp was closed in May, 1944.

Perrine, Valerie

Attended Camelback High School

(1943.09.03-    )  Actor.

Valerie got the acting bug at Camelback High School, but was waylaid in Las Vegas as a topless showgirl before making her mark in Hollywood.

Petty, George

Lived in Scottsdale

(1894.00.00-1975.07.21)  Artist.

George Petty was an obscure Chicago commercial artist when the upstart Esquire magazine contracted him to do illustrations for a series of cartoons.  His realistic and suggestive drawings of the female form appeared in seven of the first dozen Esquire issues, and the "Petty Girl" was born.

Petty's advertising career soared.  Prints of the "Petty Girls" were offered in Old Gold ads, and Jantzen introduced "Petty Girl" swimwear in the 1940's.  In 1942, he did the cover for Time magazine and he began doing the covers for the Ice Capades revue.

Esquire brought in artist Alberto Vargas to replace Petty in 1942 during negotiations.  Although Petty continued to do some illustrations for the magazine, the "Varga Girl" eventually replaced the "Petty Girl."

Robert Cummings played the part of George Petty in the movie The Petty Girl (1950).  The fictionalized account of the artist's life has him enrolling at a school of design in order to pursue an attractive woman professor.

In an appearance on the panel show "What's My Line?" in the 1950's, Petty identified his residence as Scottsdale, Arizona, and announced his return to Esquire for creation of their 1955 calendar.

Piestewa, Lori

Lived in Tuba City

Attended Tuba City High School

Lori Piestewa, 2003.

(1980.12.00-2003.03.23)  U.S. Army Pfc, first Native American woman to die in combat.

Like her father who was a Vietnam veteran and her grandfather who was a World War II veteran, Lori joined the service after high school.  An army Private first class, Lori was assigned to the 507th Maintenance Company stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas, where she roomed with 19 year old supply clerk Jessica Lynch. 

Pluto

Born Discovered in Flagstaff

Pluto with the other planets before its unfortunate demise.  12-02.

(1930.02.18-2006.08.24)  Ninth planet from the sun

The planet Pluto made headlines worldwide when it was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona.  The joyous birth of a new planet served as a distraction from the depression of the 1930's.  Artists and scientists alike paid homage to the new planet.  In 1930, Disney created a cartoon dog to carry the name Pluto, and in 1941, scientists named the new element plutonium in honor of the still youthful planet.

By the turn of the century, certain scientists had become disenchanted with the newest planet and were even questioning its credentials.  With a callous disregard for the psyche of the millions who had memorized all nine planets, not to mention the mammoth investment in astronomical books and displays showing all the planets, Pluto was summarily terminated as a planet in 2006.