Hugh Holub, author of Views from Baja Arizona, passes away
by Mark B. Evans on Sep. 19, 2011, under politicsBy Mark B. Evans
TucsonCitizen.com Administrator and Editor
Hugh Holub
Hugh Holub, the author of this blog, died this morning at St. Mary’s Hospital from complications of pneumonia.
His daughter, Beth, posted the announcement of Hugh’s death on his Facebook page this morning.
“My dad, Hugh A Holub, passed away this morning from complications of pnuemonia, which he had been fighting courageously, the cowboy way, for the past three weeks. We are in the process of making arrangements and will keep everyone posted,” she wrote.
Hugh was one of the most prolific and most read of TucsonCitizen.com bloggers.
He will be missed.
TucsonCitizen.com is a collection of local writers who blog about matters of interest to Southern Arizona. They are unpaid and do it for various reasons, but mostly because of a passion to inform their neighbors and fellow citizens about matters that might not get attention from major media, or to give a perspective about issues that might not be expressed in major media.
Hugh was nothing if not passionate.
I learned a great deal about Tucson, Southern Arizona, water wars, the border and Tubac, among other things, from Hugh.
I thought about taking his blog down today but, unless his family wishes otherwise, I think it’s best left up for a few months in tribute to the effort Hugh put into providing readers information about life in Baja Arizona, as he called it, and so that others seeking information and perspective about Tucson and Southern Arizona can find it here.
If you enjoyed reading Hugh’s blog, or are coming here for the first time, I thought you might like to read his first post at TC.com, from May 4, 2010. Here’s who Hugh was, in his own words:
Welcome to The View From Baja Arizona, a new blog on TucsonCitizen.com.
A little background on who I am and where I’ll be coming from in this blog.
I have a long family history in Tucson going back to 1945 when my grandfather Harry Schlanger moved to town because of my grandmother’s asthma. He had been a homebuilder in Detroit, and one of his good buddies Al Cobo bought a winter home here. Cobo went on to became mayor of Detroit.
Harry and Al bought a couple of square miles “way out in the middle of nowhere” (north of Ina Road and First Ave) and there’s a nice little subdivision out there called Cobo Catalina Foothills Estates.
Like a lot of old timers, us grandchildren tell stories about what in Tucson our grandparents used to own in an around Tucson that is now worth lots of money.
My parents came to Tucson from a little town in Texas in 1954 to take care of Grandpa Harry. My dad tried to develop a high rise building for AT&T in downtown. Like so many people who tried to make something of downtown, he was squashed. The existing phone building with the big microwave tower on it sits pretty much on the parking lot my dad owned in the 1960′s. There was a much bigger planned 14 story building covering that whole block, but the entire site could not be assembled and one little 10 foot wide lot whose owner wouldn’t sell sat vacant until the 1990′s.
My grandfather and then my dad also owned a little tourist court on Benson Highway called the Sun Ray Motel that had a regular cast of winter visitors including the prospector who staked out the claims for what are now the big copper mines west of Green Valley. As a kid I used to go rock hunting with the guy where now there are giant piles of tailings and holes in the ground.
The motel still exists, though the widening over and over again of what became Interstate 10 destroyed the ambiance of the place.
During my life in Tucson I saw the sleepy little “old pueblo” morph into a clone of Phoenix. The spectacular Hispanic “old town” was flattened in the name of “progress” along with virtually everything I knew about the city as a kid. My memories of Tucson are of ghost places now covered with buildings and parking lots. You had to have been here 50 years ago to know what was lost. There are still remnants, and folks struggling to save what’s left. More on that in a later chapter.
I’ve a had a long career in water issues in the area, mostly out beyond what most folks then considered “Tucson”. I variously represented a bunch of water companies in the Northwest (Canada Hills and Rancho Vistoso) that Oro Valley subsequently bought, I helped get Marana in the municipal water business, and helped create Rancho Sahuarita and Vail Valley Ranch (Rancho del Lago) south of town. So…yes…I’m part of the problem as well.
I am also editor/publisher of the internationally infamous Frumious Bandersnatch satirical newspaper and parody website. Some of you might remember the Bandersnatch from the 1960′s at the University of Arizona. It lives on, though not much about Tucsonan it any more. With readers in 162 countries, it is part of the “world” wide web universe.
Today I live 45 miles south of Tucson, which most readers would not consider part of Tucson. More on that issue in another chapter of this adventure. But like a lot of us on the fringe, we still see Tucson as the dominant force of our universe. Tucson is where we go to shop, where we get serious medical care, where we seek out entertainment, and what we watch politically for amusement. We also watch Tucson tv stations and read Tucson newspapers.
We’re out beyond your edge. But something we know that most of you don’t realize yet…your edge is expanding outward and will eventually overtake us.
Out here on the edge, where we can the lights of Tucson glowing at night, we ponder the bigger picture. We all live in a unique region some of us call Baja Arizona because we know we’re different than our fellow Arizonans up in Maricopa County.
We’re more diverse and tolerant. In fact, we’re darned proud of our diversity. If Baja Arizona was its own state, SB 1070 would never have happened.
Tucson is the kind of place where if a visitor from Mexico is having a problem we’ll step up and help. And a lot of us speak passable Spanish. I once saw a couple with a Sonoran license plate struggling to get help at a gas station off 3rd Avenue and I-10 in Phoenix. No one from the station would help with the issue which was simply the folks needed air in their tires. I understood what the problem was, and because I’m from down here, of course I helped. Probably the last time the folks from Sonora ventured beyond Tucson. You see this sort of helpful relationship with our friends from Mexico every day and everywhere in Tucson. We’re not afraid.
We see ourselves as being more liberal and progressive and more environmentally sensitive than our brothers and sisters to the north.
The View From Baja Arizona will seek to highlight who we are, how we got here, and where we might be going.
Like my fellow Baja Arizonans, I’m kind of eclectic…chimichangas to champaign…libertarian on some issues, progressive on others…I don’t fit the traditional Democrat or Republican definitions. I love the Tucson Folk Festival and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. And I really love adobe.
Come along for the ride.
It was a nice ride Hugh, thanks pard, for taking us along.
September 19th, 2011 on 1:05 pm
Rest in peace, Hugh. You were a great friend. I will miss you terribly.
September 19th, 2011 on 1:09 pm
I am saddened to hear the news. Although we never met in person, I always enjoyed his columns. We went around and around on environmental issues; mostly agreed on immigration issues. In each case he was always a gentleman. Not only that, but I told him more than once that he is one of only about three people I know who actually look good wearing a cowboy hat. I will miss him.
September 19th, 2011 on 2:13 pm
I am heartbroken to learn of Hugh’s death; rest in peace, Mr. Pigeon. (Holub means ‘pigeon’ in the Slovak language; Hugh WAS the carrier pigeon from Baja Arizona!). View from Baja AZ was a treasure chest of information and local lore, and Hugh Holub a veritable font of irreplaceable experience & knowledge, all of which he gladly shared with cyberspace strangers. Bless you, sir.
September 19th, 2011 on 2:53 pm
I, too, am saddened to learn of Hugh’s death. His insight on issues will be missed.
To Mark Evans, Please leave the blog up and perhaps you could tweak the blog to introduce categories. His writings constitute a valuable reference for border, water, and environmental issues.
September 19th, 2011 on 3:00 pm
My condolences to Hugh’s family. He was a remarkable man. A voice of reason so badly needed in these difficult times.It seems like I just talked to him last week or so. I had called him seeking his advice on an issue I was asked to look into. I knew that he would provide a balanced reasonable view. He explained that he was sick, but wanted to help out. He shared his experience and wisdom, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to learn from him. What a selfless, remarkable human being.I hope the Citizen keeps his blog up indefinitely. He may be gone, but his words live on, and we all have much to learn from him still.
September 19th, 2011 on 3:02 pm
I am saddened to hear of the passing of a true Cowboy gentleman. Songs used to be written about guys like this. May God Speed, and Rest in Peace Hugh.
September 19th, 2011 on 3:46 pm
I was saddened by the announcment of Hugh’s death. Although I have not actually seen Hugh since high school, I have talked to him a couple of times regarding a water issue for our community and the Rosemont mine project coming in. Hugh safgaurded us and did it ‘pro bono’. How’s that for a lawyer type.
In high school it was clear to me that Hugh was very different than the rest of us. He was so intellegent that he was difficult to talk to. Never the less he was very interesting and easy to laugh.
Sterling qualities. ‘You were a bright star Hugh, rest easy’.
September 19th, 2011 on 3:47 pm
I am shocked and saddened, as Hugh was one of our (Tucsoncitizen.com) most popular and prolific bloggers. Rest in peace Hugh, sorry I didn’t get a chance to say “aloha.”
September 19th, 2011 on 4:12 pm
Hugh was truly an inspiration and the man that got me into the TC as a blogger. He was a mentor as well as a friend and I will miss him personally and very deeply. Goodbye my friend.
Karl
September 19th, 2011 on 4:18 pm
Everything I know about the border and Baja I learned from Hugh Holub. I hope his family lets his blog remain because people can still learn from him and he can still challenge their thoughts long after his death. I think he would have liked that.
What is it about pneumonia that takes so many lives?
My condolences to the family.
September 19th, 2011 on 6:04 pm
When I saw Hugh’s picture at the top of TC.com, I feared the worst. Our community has lost a potent voice.
Hugh was an impassioned and gifted advocate. TucsonCitizen.com and the Old Pueblo were stronger because of him. He will be missed.
I disagreed with Hugh many times, but I was glad that he graced these pages with his words. He was a formidable opponent. Bloggers or commenters who took him lightly quickly regretted it.
I hope that Hugh’s family can find some measure of comfort, and a great deal of pride, in the fact that Hugh commanded so much respect among the bloggers of TucsonCitizen.com.
Fair winds and following seas, Hugh Holub.
September 19th, 2011 on 7:27 pm
Deepest condolences to Hugh’s family. We were neighbors in both Tucson and Tubac. A fine and kind man. He taught me more about the psychology of the border in an hour than I learned from anywhere else. He was also the author of the wise and comic Getting In Touch With Your Inner Rodent. Travel well, Hugh.
September 19th, 2011 on 8:40 pm
I am in a state of shock. We were to have supper next month and drape ourselves in Tucson nostalgia. I have known Hugh since college days at the U of A and loved his publication, Frumious Bandersnatch. Fun, enlightening and helpful man. He was like an animated Wikipedia! I am without words and sad to the bone. God speed Hugh. Miss ya man..alot.
September 19th, 2011 on 8:44 pm
I am shocked and saddened by the news. My regrets to the family. Hugh was a brave reporter and writer. I echo the other comments by the TC community. Tucson owes Hugh a debt of gratitude for his fine work.
Goodbye my friend.
September 19th, 2011 on 9:55 pm
RIP..
Whenever I needed information about water issues, I’d call Hugh and he’d be kind enough to talk my ear off.
I interviewed him many times in the old days about CAP, among other things, but when I asked for an on camera chat a few weeks ago, he politely declined. He pointed me in another direction but I know it would have been better with Hugh.
I wish I’d had one last conversation with him. I’ll miss him.
September 19th, 2011 on 10:11 pm
My sympathies to his family and friends.
September 20th, 2011 on 1:08 am
What a tragedy, he was the one blogger that kept me coming back to TC.com…
Now I truly regret his offers of a face to face meeting to discuss some issues, southern Arizona has lost a giant of a man, may he rest in peace.
September 20th, 2011 on 8:46 am
Never knew the man personally, but he had an exceptional way with words, as well as an excellent sense of humor. I wish only the very best to his family during this time.
September 20th, 2011 on 8:51 am
One of the few decent ones :( – My respects to his family
September 20th, 2011 on 9:01 am
Rest in Peace, Hugh. What a shocking loss. Hugh was one of the most interesting, altruistic and open-minded people I’ve ever met. It’s rare for someone of his exceptional level of intelligence at his age to be open to changing his mind.
Mark Evans, thank you for posting the sad news and please leave the blog up. If you do choose to take it down, please grant permission to re-post his writings elsewhere. It is a wonderful resource on issues ranging from water to rotenone to border and immigration issues, and even the Ghost Giraffe that Hugh so cleverly used to needle the city officials. I had his blog bookmarked and regularly checked for anything new Hugh may have posted.
We need the blog to stay up to remember Hugh’s inspiration to make us stop and think about other sides of our own very biased opinions and to remind us to look inside ourselves and choose a path that is considerate of the needs of others.
September 20th, 2011 on 9:22 am
Hugh was a true “water buffalo”. His vast knowledge of the southeastern water history and subsequent writings were an educational- assist to many.
May he rest in peace and condolences to his family!
September 20th, 2011 on 11:25 am
I am deeply saddened by the loss of one of our own.
Hugh offered insight on many issues that get glossed over by the print media. It would be a public service for the greater good of his blog was to remain open for readers and scholars to read and learn from.
September 20th, 2011 on 7:29 pm
Hugh’s was the only column I made a point of always reading. I learned a lot about this area, it’s issues, and possible solutions from him. He will be missed by more people than he ever knew. My thoughts and prayers to his family.
September 21st, 2011 on 8:05 am
Such sad news. His unique voice here at TucsonCitizen.com will be greatly missed.
My condolences to his family.
September 21st, 2011 on 11:08 am
I will miss you, Hugh – you were my oldest friend in life, from our elementary, middle and high school days, rooming together in college, and keeping the friendship going all these years. You gave me and others something that can’t be replaced – a honest, sardonic, humorous, sometimes quirky take on our life and times. Never mean-spirited, always had time to honor those who worked to preserve and restore humanity in our society. Very sad to see you go, compadre.
September 28th, 2011 on 11:56 am
I had the distinct pleasure of meeting and working with Hugh when I served as interim City Attorney of Nogales in 2003 and Hugh remained a friend ever since. I proudly keep on my wall my diploma from General Delivery University that Hugh gave me. I presented him with a framed historical photograph of Nogales from around the 1920′s. Hugh was a former City Attorney for Nogales and served the city well in different capacities over many years. His unique insights into the history of southern Arizona and the personalites of the political decision makers I found to be invaluable.
He was a a true Arizonan. He lived to make Arizona a better place for all. He loved this state, its history, and in particular the area he called Baja Arizona. I for one will miss him, and every day that I look at that diploma for “The Degree of Doctor of Law and Sorcery” I will remember and miss him.