October 8, 2025
Cinema’s Impact on Día de los Muertos Traditions
Dr. Mathew Sandoval
Mexican, US, and European filmmakers have depicted Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in movies for nearly a hundred years. These cinematic representations have deeply impacted the way this long-standing cultural tradition is celebrated by communities on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Dr. Sandoval will explain how movies have affected local Día de los Muertos celebrations in the Valley. Dr. Mathew Sandoval is an award-winning scholar and teacher at ASU’s Barrett the Honors College. His work on Day of the Dead has been featured on PBS, NBC Today Show, NPR, Washington Post, LA Times, and Arizona Republic.
November 12, 2025
Where is South Phoenix: In Four Stories
Dr. Summer Cherland
Using archival research, oral history, and community surveys, Professor Cherland explores the geographical and historic boundaries of South Phoenix history from Territorial Arizona to the contemporary period and explains how political and social histories continue to shape perceptions of South Phoenix. The talk emphasizes the contributions of student-researchers affiliated with the South Phoenix Oral History Project at South Mountain Community College. Dr. Summer Cherland, Historian at South Mountain Community College, teaches courses on the history of racial/ethnic minorities of Arizona. She directs the South Phoenix Oral History Project, a student-led initiative to capture, document and preserve the history of South Phoenix.
January 14, 2026
Tempe’s Enigmatic Danelle Plaza
Rob Moore
Danelle Plaza’s unique disposition represents a local cultural nexus to some and an obstruction to progress to others. By exploring this mid-century retail center’s creation and evolution, we better understand how one of Tempe’s most ‘enigmatic’ places came to be so controversial while also playing a critical role in nurturing the community’s local art, live music and small business scene. Rob Moore is a resident and small business owner in Tempe. Moore coordinates ‘The Danelle Project’ as a community effort to both support and build awareness about the plaza’s historic and ongoing cultural, social economic contributions while advocating for a redevelopment solution that embraces its local identity and community assets.
February 11, 2026
Researching Ancestors in Louisiana: Who are my Grandmother’s People
Black Family Genealogy and History Society
This presentation highlights a granddaughter’s efforts to put the puzzle pieces of her maternal grandmother’s family in order, using oral history, photographs, sacramental records of the Catholic Church, vital records, and more. The Black Family Genealogy and History Society (BFGHS) is an educational, inclusive organization dedicated to encouraging interest in family history and genealogical research, especially within African American communities. BFGHS promotes ethical research practices, provides guidance on preserving historical documents, and welcomes people of all ethnicities and cultures to participate fully in its activities.
March 11, 2026
Grácia Liliana Fernández: the Bilingual Heroine Who Made the Tempe Normal School Famous
Dr. Chris Marin
When Tempe Normal School was established in 1886, it had no Spanish curriculum nor a bilingual professor to teach Spanish to enrolled TNS students, despite the demand to train bilingual teachers to educate Spanish-speaking pupils in Arizona’s elementary schools. They were taught by white teachers who didn’t speak nor understand Spanish. Spanish-speaking children continued to fail and progress in their education. Twenty-one years later, Bilingual Education was born at TNS in 1907. Dr. Christine Marin, Historian/Archivist and Professor Emeriti at ASU, is the founder and director of the Chicano/a Research Collection and Archives at the Hayden Library at ASU. Dr. Marin is President of the Tempe History Society and is a native of Globe, Arizona and grew up on the legendary street, Euclid Avenue.
April 8, 2025
Three Bedrooms and a Carport
Scott Solliday
In the late 1940s, America’s postwar boom brought prosperity, which generally meant a new house and a new car for middle class families. This changed everything, here and across the country. New neighborhoods and roads quickly spread out from Tempe in every direction. Look around! Half of Tempe still showcases the new modern mid-century architecture of that time, the Ranch style house. Learn the secrets of how a basic box with smooth lines and simple details became America’s favorite house. Scott Solliday is currently Senior Cultural Resource Specialist (historian and archaeologist) at HDR Engineering but once was a curator at the Tempe History Museum.
March 12, 2025
Amy Douglass
Tempe’s Images on Stone
The Native Americans who lived in the Tempe area centuries ago left images pecked into rock outcrops as a testament to their presence. What are these images? Why were they created and what could they mean? Amy Douglass will attempt to shed light on these enigmatic images. Amy has conducted archaeological fieldwork in New York, Arizona, and New Mexico. For 26 years, she was the Administrator of the Tempe History Museum and during her tenure oversaw the conversion of the original Tempe Public Library into the museum as it is today.
May 13, 2026
The Valley’s Victorian Jewel: The Evolving Story of Petersen House and Tempe
Josh Roffler
Tempe’s Petersen House has been a local icon since it’s construction as a farmhouse in 1892. Come learn about the various eras of this fascinating home and how it fits into the larger history of our region. Josh Roffler is the Manager of Tempe History Museum. He began his museum career as the onsite staff at Petersen House and has spent countless hours soaking up the history and atmosphere of this very special property.
2025-2026 Past Lunch Talks
Samuel Brown and Tempe’s Mexican and American Frontier Heritage by Dr. Pete Dimas
September 10, 2025
Facebook Video
Samuel Brown (1852-1937) is an influential bilingual-bicultural Mexican American politician and long-time Tempe Schools leader in the late 1890s. During his 25-year Presidency of the nationally known civil-rights organization, the Alianza Hispano Americana, with roots in Tempe, Samuel Brown fought against the segregation and racial discrimination of Mexicanos in the Northern frontier of Arizona. Dr. Pete Dimas, former History Professor at Phoenix College, is producer and director of the documentary series “Arizona’s Mexican Heritage: An American Story.”
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