The 2019 One Book Yuma selection is Where Have All the Sheep Gone? Sheep Herders and Ranchers in Arizona – A Disappearing Industry by Dr. Barbara Jaquay. Make this a true community-wide reading event! Pick up your copy of Where Have All the Sheep Gone? at your local library.
At one time, more than one million sheep roamed the grassy areas of Arizona. Herding sheep was a critical component of the economy, building Arizona from its early territorial days into statehood. Fortunes were made, and, during economic downturns and other disasters, some lost everything. By the 1890s, sheepherding was a major enterprise in Arizona. Today, just over 180,000 sheep live in the state.
Where Have All the Sheep Gone? details the untold story of the sheep industry in Arizona starting in the 1500s when the Spanish conquistadors began their push northward from Mexico and brought the first sheep as a food source. Arizona’s sheep industry is a rich history that has never been comprehensively told — until now. Author Dr. Barbara G. Jaquay presents a lively, informative story through historical documents and personal interviews with the remaining sheep ranchers and family members.
Dr. Barbara Jaquay has a B.S. in anthropology from Kent State University and a M.S. in geography from Arizona State University, where she specialized in land use. She graduated with her doctoral degree from Texas A&M University in 1997. She is a member of Women Writing the West, Arizona Farming & Ranching Hall of Fame selection and auction committees, Arizona Wool Producers Association, and Arizona Make It With Wool. She has written about Cuba, Costa Rica and Arizona Native Americans in professional journals and an article for Range Magazine about one of the sheep ranchers in Arizona, as well as the book Where Have All the Sheep Gone? Sheep Herders and Ranchers in Arizona – A Disappearing Industry. Her book recently received the honor of “Award-Winning Finalist” in the History: United States category of the 2018 Best Book Awards sponsored by American Book Fest.
Dr. Jaquay will visit Yuma Thursday, February 7th, to lead two community discussions.
Thursday, February 7th • 1:00-2:30 p.m.
Main Library, 1st Floor Meeting Room
Thursday, February 7th • 6:30-8:00 p.m.
AZ Western College, 3C Building
There is no charge to attend any event. Books will be available for purchase courtesy of the Arizona Western College bookstore.
One Book Yuma is brought to you by Arizona Western College/Northern Arizona University-Yuma Academic Library, Yuma County Library District, and the Yuma Sun.