Because the readers of Paranormal Old Pueblo live all over the world, I am often asked, “Why do you call yourself Paranormal Old Pueblo?”

I’ll answer that, and then some.

The “Old Pueblo”

The area that was to become Tucson was founded by Hugh O’Conor in 1775 with the authorization of the construction of the Presidio of San Augustin de Tucson. Tucson is affectionately called the Old Pueblo for the adobe presidio that marked the town’s original borders.

My family is native to the Tucson and southern Arizona area. My great-great grandfather was one of the first white settlers in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. I grew up in Nogales and Tucson. The entire southern Arizona region is near and dear to my heart.

The Blog

One of my favorite movie quotes has to be: “Tucson is the weird capital of the world.” These words were uttered by a young Jodie Foster in Martin Scorsese’s 1974 film, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. While that film is not about the paranormal, it was filmed in Tucson. Furthermore, Tucson is weird in many ways and no one can really dispute that.

That “weird” movie quote is relevant since this blog started out to be about “weird happenings” associated with Tucson, in August 2009.

Me, Cherlyn Gardner Strong, for those who wonder what I look like.

That idea of focusing only on Tucson evolved since then to include happenings outside of the Old Pueblo. My interest in the paranormal is not only about paranormal news and history in Tucson, it is about paranormal happenings on earth and beyond. I felt that the blog should reflect my interests, so I expanded outside of the Old Pueblo.

I do write many historical posts. I do this for two reasons. First, this is partly for the benefit of the readers who are new to the paranormal. It gives them background information on paranormal events in history. Secondly, most people tend to file unexplained, unanswered, or inadequately explained events in the back of their minds. I like to toss the events back out there on occasion to keep them in the forefront and to keep people thinking about them.

I write about all things paranormal, but have noticed that much of the time, paranormal events are somewhat seasonal in nature. So, if your interest is ghosts and I am on a UFO publishing spree, rest assured that a clump of ghost posts will indeed happen in the near future.

My Paranormal Background

I am somewhat skeptical, but do have an open mind about everything. I’ve been intrigued by all things associated with the paranormal my entire life. I am on a search for proof.  On this note, yes, I have participated in paranormal investigations with many different teams. I am currently a member of Tucson Paranormal Research, headed by Mark Boccuzzi. Mark is a researcher at the University of Arizona who works under the direction of Dr. Gary Schwartz. Mark also is the co-founder of The Windbridge Institute.

The Tucson Citizen

Some of you might be surprised to see a blog dedicated to the paranormal on the Tucson Citizen, especially since I hear one particular phrase quite a bit: “I thought that the Tucson Citizen went of business.” The “paper” portion of the Tucson Citizen ceased printing on May 16, 2009. By the time it ceased publication, it was the oldest continually published paper in Arizona (the first issue was printed on October 15, 1870).

Although the times forced the presses to stop, I’m grateful that the Tucson Citizen evolved with the times to allow the voices of Tucson to still be heard through individually-penned blogs, about the events and people of Tucson, of the world…and beyond.

Where else does Cherlyn Blog?

You can also find Cherlyn’s posts on her Paranormal Old Pueblo blog outside the Tucson Citizen website.