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SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | MARCH 1, 2020
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Old photos a treasure for Scottsdale man BY KRISTINE CANNON Progress Staff Writer
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n the basement of the Little Red Schoolhouse in Old Town Scottsdale, Bob Fowler delicately slides out an old photograph from its plastic sheathing. The black-and-white photo shows a dozen or so couples dancing inside a barn; the women are wearing poodle skirts, the men bolo ties or colonel ties, and hats are hung on wooden beams. This is just one of hundreds of photographs Fowler has left to scan into the Scottsdale Historical Society’s digital archive. “I’ve scanned about 1,600 in the time that I’ve been doing it, and I would say that, in our files, we have another 700, 800,” Fowler said. “That’s still enough to keep me out of mischief,” he added with a smirk. The northern Scottsdale resident celebrates his 10th year as a Scottsdale His-
Northern Scottsdale resident Bob Fowler has been Scottsdale Historical Society’s digital archivist for nearly 10 years. (Pablo Robles/Progress Staff Photographer)
torical Society (SHS) volunteer. He initially volunteered to be a docent at
the Little Red Schoolhouse and eventually became SHS’ designated digital archivist.
He’s also on SHS’ board of directors. “It’s helping to fulfill the mission of the society, as far as preserving and presenting history,” Fowler said of what he enjoys about being SHS’ digital archivist. “That’s really satisfying that we’ve provided the public with an opportunity to see the photographs because they’re usually just in a file cabinet, and we don’t normally have people go in and look at them person,” he added. A four-drawer filing cabinet in the Little Red Schoolhouse basement is nearly full of old photographs donated by the public as far back as 1984. The photographs themselves, however, date even further back. And while a majority of the photos are donated by Scottsdale residents, many come from families out of state. “We just had a woman from Pennsylvania come,” Fowler said. “Her brother actu-
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Stars who conquered cancer take stage BY KRISTINE CANNON Progress Staff Writer
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orthern Scottsdale resident Linda Luth was 64 when her doctor told her she had ovarian cancer. “He called me from his vacation to tell me I had ovarian cancer on the phone,” Luth said. “I’m looking at the phone, and I said to my husband, ‘I have cancer.’” More than one year later, in the midst of undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer, she was also diagnosed with appendiceal cancer. “It turns out a cyst was attached to my appendix and they found an
early stage of appendiceal cancer,” she explained. Luth has always maintained a healthy lifestyle — she ate well, and she exercised every day — so needless to say, the diagnoses were a shock. But, she said, her faith never wavered. In fact, she said, Katy Perry’s 2013 smash hit “Roar” became her mantra. “My husband bought me this shirt. It says, ‘You’re going to hear me roar,’” Luth said. Now cancer-free for two years as of last week, Luth is one of eight Arizona women — all cancer survivors — who will tell their respective sto-
ries as part of “S.T.A.R.S.: Survivors Take a Real Stage,” hosted by A 2nd Act. S.T.A.R.S. is a live, curated storytelling performance featuring local women who have faced a terrifying diagnosis and are using their gifts of life and experience to give back to the greater good. The event takes place March 22 at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts in Old Town Scottsdale. “There [are] tons of research supporting the theory that healing in helping. Our amazing storytellers are doing wonderful things in the
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Northern Scottsdale resident Linda Luth is one of eight cancer survivors taking part in this year’s “S.T.A.R.S.: Survivors Take a Real Stage” event on March 22. Luth is a survivor of ovarian cancer and appendiceal cancer. (Jeff Luth/ LuthPhotography)
