“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Famous words, seen in actuality today on a rare 1776 broadside copy of the Declaration of Independence…a moving moment for those of us at the Opening Ceremony at the Arizona Historical Society (AHS), 949 E. 2nd St. These words are quoted often in civil rights cases and in discussion of issues as to how we Americans choose to pursue our goals of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Read the entire text here.

But it is also a reminder of what tremendous effort (and war) it took to sever ourselves as 13 Colonies from Great Britain, in such a strong declaration of freedom and independence. As our founding fathers said– “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.” And that is what they eloquently did in this Declaration at the 2nd Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

These lofty and enduring words have been the foundation of our United States of America since July 4, 1776, over 233 years ago. And these words will stand as the fiber of our Nation into the 21st Century and beyond.

You can still view this copy which I first wrote about on Feb. 18 (click here) at the AHS– museum hours are till 8 p.m. tonight, and tomorrow Feb. 22, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. This will be your only chance to see this 2 day traveling exhibit in Tucson. Admission is free.

Notables at today’s opening ceremony: U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, former Governor Raul Castro, Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup, Oro Valley Mayor Paul Loomis, Pima County Supervisors Richard Elias and Ray Carroll, State House representatives Steve Farley and Daniel Patterson, former State House rep. Pete Herschberger.

Congresswoman Giffords was instrumental in bringing this historic document to Tucson, and provided the welcoming & closing remarks, as well as “An Historical Perspective”. She also related what occurred later to the 56 brave men who signed the document in July, 1776.

Particularly moving was the video by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (of Arizona) who reminded us that we are a government by the “consent of the governed”, and that this document is a “legacy of our democracy”, and a “priceless treasure of freedom.” This video will be shown throughout the 2 day exhibit.

Note: I’ve seen the signed “original copy” of this Declaration of Independence at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and have lived in Charlottesville,Virginia, home of 3rd President Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of this Declaration. If you’re ever in that part of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I encourage you to visit Monticello, President Jefferson’s lovely estate to learn more about that particular founding father.

At 11 a.m. Sunday Feb. 21 be one of the first in Tucson to see a 1776 broadside copy of the Declaration of Independence at the Arizona Historical Society (AHS), 949 E. 2nd St. (west of Park Ave.). The Museum will open be till 8 p.m. that evening, and again from 8 to 4 p.m. on Monday Feb. 22, to see this historical document. Admission will be free for both days. AHS phone number is 520-628-5774.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will be joined at the opening ceremony by Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup and Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias. Also participating in the opening ceremony will be 30 VFW Riders, Arizona Rangers, Explorers, and the Tucson High School Mariachis. A video message from former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will be shown throughout the visiting 2 day exhibit. See event flyer here.

This 1776 broadside is only one of 25 known left of the Declaration, and here’s the information from the event flyer below on what a broadside is (and the amazing story of how this one was found in a Philadelphia flea market):

“THE DECLARATION of INDEPENDENCE 1776 BROADSIDES–
A broadside is about the size of a full sheet of newspaper, printed on one or
both sides and folded.

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress, led by John Hancock, renders official
Thomas Jefferson’s text of the Declaration of Independence. The manuscript is
rushed to the shop of printer John Dunlap in Philadelphia. Dunlap typesets the
document and creates about 200 broadsides of the text.

The Dunlap broadsides are delivered to the nation’s founders early in the morning
on July 5, 1776. One copy is officially entered into the Congressional Journal, and
additional copies of the freshly drafted Declaration of Independence are carried by
riders on horseback throughout the colonies and read aloud to assembled colonists.
John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress, dispatches Dunlap broadside
copies of the Declaration to America’s political and military leaders.

(The “original copy” of the Declaration of Independence – the one that was signed by members of Congress – is at the National Archives in Washington. However, this famous copy wasn’t produced until later in the summer of 1776, and wasn’t signed until August and later in 1776,when Congress returned to Philadelphia after a summer break.)

Today there are only 25 of these July 4 – July 5, 1776 first printing Dunlap
broadsides that are known to exist.”

The broadside copy that will be on display in Tucson was purchased at auction for $8.14 million by TV producer and philanthropist Norman Lear in 2001 at an auction. This copy was discovered in 1989 by a man (in Philadelphia) after he purchased a painting for $4 at a flea market because he was interested in the frame. Concealed in the backing of the frame was this original Dunlap broadside of the Declaration of Independence.

That’s why flea markets are so popular in America!

In 1897 when hardly anyone was living in what is now midtown Tucson, newlyweds Alvina Himmel Edmondson and her husband Charles S. Edmondson (from New Orleans) started homesteading 160 acres of land near what is now Speedway and Tucson Boulevard.

Alvina later single handedly homesteaded with her 4 daughters after she was divorced in 1927. In 1934 or 1935 Mrs. Himmel Edmondson sold part of her large homestead to the City of Tucson (for $3500), with the proviso that the land become a park named for her father Adolph Himmel and mother Harriette Himmel. Her father was a well-known silversmith in New Orleans, Louisiana.

This was an amazing pioneer woman and was obviously one of the first residents of what later became Sam Hughes Neighborhood.

At that time her closest neighbors were 2 miles away, and in a May 21, 1942 article (found in the Tucson Citizen archives), she relayed to the reporter that “coyotes, rattlesnakes and Indians caused her great uneasiness.” A photo of Alvina and her original redwood home accompanied the article. (I was unable to locate the original photo itself in the Tucson Citizen or Arizona Daily Star archives, or at the Arizona Historical Society (AHS). I made copies of the article/photo which are now in files at both Himmel library and the AHS.)

The neighborhood grew in that central area after the building of the elementary school (built in 1927 by famous local architect Roy Place), which was named for Sam Hughes, a businessman and politician. Hughes came to Tucson in 1858 and later married a local Mexican woman Atanacia Santa Cruz, and had 15 children (5 died in infancy) here in Tucson. Sam Hughes died in 1917 after Arizona became the 48th state in 1912. The Sam Hughes Elementary School is at 700 N. Wilson Avenue.

Alvina Himmel Edmondson died at age 78 on January 11, 1948, exactly 62 years ago, in the original redwood home (located at 2625 E. 1st Street — no longer there in Sam Hughes Neighborhood) on the land she had homesteaded on. Her daughter Catherine Edmondson continued to live in that house till the early 1970′s. From the address, that original homesite is now a parking lot of Catalina United Methodist Church, 2700 E. Speedway Blvd.

That’s the origin of Himmel Park, which was later expanded with more land purchases in 1944, and then the Himmel Park branch library was built in the northeast area of the park in 1961. The library is almost a historic building being nearly 50 years old, but the entire Sam Hughes neighborhood is already designated a National Historic District. This neighborhood’s boundaries are Speedway to Country Club to Broadway to Campbell Avenue, east of the University of Arizona.

Himmel Park branch library

For more information about Himmel Park branch library, log into their website, and for the Sam Hughes Neighborhood Association, see their website at www.samhughes.org.