greenspacegenealogy.com

In last Friday’s newsletter we visited Oracle State Park, one of many that have been closed by budget cuts. The deep value of Greenspace Genealogy is that we connect today to the beginning of time – or as close as we can get.

Probably few people are aware of the connection between the Kannally Ranch at Oracle State Park and the Trail of Tears and a period in American history when health resorts came into existence. It was also a time when Americans could afford to pay for such health cures and it was possible to travel fairly easily and inexpensively.

The ranch and Curly Neal are stories of survival. Here in this one place we find the juxtaposition of the Kannally family who found a healthier way of life on land that was taken from another people.

Neal found hope, albeit not easily, after being shunned as a half-breed who was part African American and part Native American. His mother walked the Trail of Tears and did survive that ordeal. There is a lot more to the story than we have told.

It is perhaps ironic that the Friends of Oracle State Park were the first “Friends” group honored by Arizona. Then, the park was among the first to close.

Oracle, like most greenspace, is so much more than just the land and wildlife. Life took place there.

We can hope that eventually funding returns. We wish the Friends of Oracle State Park the best. The fact remains that the Kannally Ranch needs to eradicate the termites and bats.

But while OSP and countless other parks are closed, we need to be sure that we do not forget the lives that were spent on those greenspaces. In fact, when funding options do return, a strong argument for greenspace preservation is honoring our ancestors.

We are convinced that it is more difficult to close a park that has a well-documented continual human history. The history of Oracle State Park, like so many, is really the story of the American people – and a few others, as well.