Trimble, Marshall I(ra) 1939-

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TRIMBLE, Marshall I(ra) 1939-

PERSONAL: Born January 16, 1939, in Mesa, AZ; son of Ira (a stock person and railroad worker) and Juanita (a waitress) Trimble. Ethnicity: "White." Education: Arizona State University, B.A., 1961, M.A., 1963.

ADDRESSES: Home—5748 North 78th Pl., Scottsdale, AZ 85250. Office—9000 East Chaparral Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85256; fax: 480-423-6066. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Historian, writer, teacher, and folksinger. Scottsdale Community College, Scottsdale, AZ, teacher of history, 1972—, and head of Southwest studies program. Sound recordings include Legends in Levis (old cowboy songs), 1989. Host of Arizona Backroads (television series), AZTV-Television, and Trimble's Tales (syndicated radio program); other media appearances include Legends and Dreamers, KAET-TV, Good Morning America, and This Morning; media spokesperson for Saba's Western Stores and for Palace Restaurant and Saloon, Prescott, AZ.

AWARDS, HONORS: Finalist, Ben Franklin Award for humor, for It Always Rains after a Dry Spell; named Arizona's official state historian, 1997.

WRITINGS:

Arizona: A Panoramic History of a Frontier State, foreword by Barry M. Goldwater, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1977.

Discover Arizona Heritage, Arizona Highways (Phoenix, AZ), 1979.

Arizona Adventure: Action-packed True Tales of Early Arizona, Golden West Publishers (Phoenix, AZ), 1982.

CO Bar: Bill Owen Depicts the Historic Babbitt Ranch, foreword by John G. Babbitt, Northland Press (Flagstaff, AZ), 1982.

In Old Arizona: True Tales of the Wild Frontier, Golden West Publishers (Phoenix, AZ), 1985.

(With Bob Hirsch) Outdoors in Arizona: A Guide to Camping, illustrated by Joe Beeler, Arizona Department of Transportation (Phoenix, AZ), 1986.

Roadside History of Arizona, illustrated by Joe Beeler, Mountain Press (Missoula, MT), 1986.

Diamond in the Rough: An Illustrated History of Arizona, Donning (Norfolk, VA), 1988.

(With James E. Cook and Sam Negri) Travel Arizona: The Back Roads: Twenty Back-Road Tours for the Whole Family, Arizona Department of Transportation (Phoenix, AZ), 1989.

Arizona: A Cavalcade of History, Treasure Chest (Tucson, AZ), 1989.

It Always Rains after a Dry Spell (collected legends, tall tales, and humorous true stories), illustrated by Jack Graham, Treasure Chest (Tucson, AZ), 1992.

Marshall Trimble's Original Arizona Trivia, Golden West Publishers (Phoenix, AZ), 1996.

Arizona 2000: A Yearbook for the Millennium, Northland Press (Flagstaff, AZ), 1999.

Never Give a Heifer a Bum Steer, Arizona Highways (Phoenix, AZ), 1999.

Arizoniana: Stories from Old Arizona, Golden West Publishers (Phoenix, AZ), 2002.

Also author of Pulling Legs Attached to Tenderfeet. Contributor to Arizona Highways Album: The Road to Statehood, by Dean Smith, Arizona Highways (Phoenix, AZ), 1987. Author of "Ask the Marshall," a column in True West. Editor of Arizona Trivia (board game); scriptwriter for Arizona segment of Portrait of America television series. Contributor of short stories to periodicals, including Arizona Highways and Western Horseman.

SIDELIGHTS: Marshall I. Trimble once told CA: "I graduated from college in 1961 and became a teacher. During the evenings and in summer I worked as a folksinger. I cut four records in 1964.

"In 1972 I began teaching Arizona history at Scottsdale Community College. I'm still there. My first book, published by Doubleday and Company in 1977, was Arizona: A Panoramic History of a Frontier State. The book was a big seller and I went on the speaking circuit. That work led to convention shows and television and radio work. That makes up a major part of my career today.

"I visit a lot of schools, especially fourth-grade classrooms, to promote Arizona history to youngsters. I sing old cowboy songs and tell stories and tall tales."