(upbeat intro music) - For over the past 60 years, Arizona PBS has told incredible stories of Arizona's distinctive people, beautiful landscapes, and treasured history.

Now relive those memories we've pulled from the vault.

Hello, I'm a Alberto Rios.

When you think of the Civil War, you might think of just the North and South fighting, but Arizona was part of that bloody war, too.

And, it's a mansion that chewing gum built.

From the Vault brings you some fascinating history in today's edition of Arizona Stories.

(military percussion music) (cannons fire) (fife and drum music plays) - [Narrator] In the early days of the Civil War, forces of the north and south fought to control the Southwest.

The territory of New Mexico stretched from Texas to the Pacific Ocean.

It saw three Civil War battles, including the battle of Valverde, where 202 men lost their lives.

- During the first year of the Civil War the Confederacy was making a concerted effort to gain control of the Southwest, partly for its mineral resources, but even more importantly to expand its boundaries considerably, to make it considerably more difficult for the Union to maintain a successful blockade.

Towards that end, Confederate troops, mostly from Texas, were squaring off against US troops, New Mexico volunteers, and Colorado volunteers in what is now the state of New Mexico.

- [Narrator] The only battle fought in what we now know as Arizona, occurred at Picacho Peak between Tucson and Phoenix.

In 1861, the New Mexico territory was split in two.

The Confederates claiming everything South of the 34th parallel, which included the Phoenix area.

They named their new territory Arizona.

Arizona's capital was Mesilla, which was North of present day El Paso.

In February of 1862, Confederate troops were received with open arms in Tucson, because they provided protection from Indian raids.

The continued incursion of the Confederates caught the attention of Union troops stationed at Fort Yuma.

- There were 1800 volunteer US troops stationed at Fort Yuma which is just across the river from the town of Yuma, across in California.

And to forced all further advances by Confederate forces, they started moving eastward up the Gila River.

And one of the stopping places was the Pima Villages, near what's now Sacaton, and then on down this way.

This was a major thoroughfare, they call it the Gila Trail by many historians.

Anybody going from East to West, or West to East came this way.

- [Narrator] In mid-April, Union troops headed towards a thoroughfare squeezed between two mountains named Picacho Pass.

The pass is still used today for Interstate 10.

To get Tucson, Union troops would have to go through the pass.

A small group of Confederate troops were waiting for them.

Before the skirmish, Union cavalryman captured some Confederates.

- So they had captured these three.

So the actual shooting, when it started, was between seven Confederates and what was left of the Union troops.

The battle, surprisingly, it was reported at the time as having lasted about an hour and a half.

- [Narrator] The Union troops were led by William Calloway, and Lieutenant James Barrett.

- They were aware of the presence of a small contingent of Confederates in this area.

And so Calloway sent a small detachment under the command of Lieutenant Barrett down here, and he sent another larger detachment around the idea being to approach them from two different sides and capture them.

For some reason, the larger of the two contingents never made it to this site in time.

So Lieutenant Barrett, against the advice of his scout, led his men on horseback into what was then described as a Mesquite thicket.

Having done that, they were basically ambushed.

One of the reasons for that is that being a Mesquite boss that probably provided considerable protection from the bullets.

What ultimately happened, if you're just talking about injuries and body counts, probably you could say that the Confederates won the battle of Picacho Pass.

- [Narrator] The battle was the furthest West of the Civil War.

The South may have won the battle of Picacho Peak, but soon thereafter they lost the war for control of the New Mexico territory.

(fife and drum music) (old timey piano music) (old timey piano music continues) (old timey piano music continues) (old timey piano music continues) (cheerful piano music) - [Female Narrator] High on a hill overlooking the Arizona Biltmore Hotel sits the Wrigley Mansion.

In times past it was a winter destination, and like its contemporary, the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, a place that epitomized gracious living.

The histories of the Wrigley Mansion and the Biltmore are entwined.

After gum magnet and Chicago Cubs owner William Wrigley Jr. bought out the MacArthur brothers interest in the Biltmore, he built the house on the hill overlooking the hotel.

Finished in 1931, it was intended as a 50th anniversary gift for his wife, Ada.

- They had five homes.

This one was only a winter cottage.

It was the smallest of their five homes at 17,000 square feet.

And it was just a weigh station, a little place to stop over on their way to Catalina Island, which they owned.

So they would pass through here in the wintertime.

And that meant that the furnishings that were here were intended to be comfortable and inviting, but luxurious because many dignitaries and important people knew the Wrigleys, and came to visit them here.

- [Female Narrator] The mansion was called La Colina Solana, the sunny hill, and provides dramatic views of the valley.

Wrigley employed architect, Earl Heitschmidt, to design the house.

- I think for people who came to the west from back east, they wanted to capture the Southwest charm.

So the architecture here has been described as California mission revival, bit of Mediterranean and little Spanish, all combined.

- [Female Narrator] The style of the mansion contrasts with the Biltmore, which bears an unmistakable debt to Frank Lloyd Wright.

Wright was a friend of the Wrigleys, but didn't have much respect for the mansion.

- As you might know, there's quite a difference in the architectural character between the Wrigley mansion and the Arizona Biltmore Hotel.

Wright never believed in building on the top of the hill.

He talked about his own home in Wisconsin building on the brow.

If he'd built on the top of the hill, you destroy the hill and so forth.

And at one point he said to Phil Wrigley, who is the chewing gum magnet, he said, "well, well Phil, I see you stuck your whole wad right on top of the hill."

- [Female Narrator] William Wrigley died only a year after completing the house, and left the business to his son Phillip.

Efforts to restore the house to its original style are ongoing.

The Wrigley's taste has been described as eclectic.

- This is the bedroom of Mr and Mrs. Wrigley.

The room where he died.

It has been restored as much as possible to its original appearance.

And you'll notice also in this room, we have one of the unique fireplaces, each one in the house being different.

- [Female Narrator] The house's interior displays a trove of various styles and motifs.

- The ceiling in the rotunda was done by Giovanni Smeraldi, a very famous artist who also did the Regal Biltmore in downtown Los Angeles.

And it is a somewhat Moroccan style, with a star in the center radiating outward.

And it was done with a combination of gold leaf, and rich colors of red and black.

The living room also has a fabulous ceiling done by Smeraldi.

And in particular it incorporates two motifs.

Mr. Wrigley had English heritage so he has the lion.

Mrs. Wrigley traced her lineage to the French, so there is the fleur de lis.

- [Narrator] Although the Spanish mission style tends to predominate, the art deco bathrooms surprise with colorful tiles brought via boat, train, and mule from Catalina island.

Some of the former bedrooms have been converted to dining rooms.

The star motif is pervasive inside and outside the house.

It's fashioned into the railings.

- The Biltmore has been called the star of the desert, and that spilled over to the Wrigley Mansion.

- [Female Narrator] The spilling over worked both ways.

The Wrigleys would sometimes put up their guests in the Biltmore.

Later, after the Wrigleys sold the properties to Talley Industries, the reverse was true.

- When we had an overflow of guests, we would put some of them up in the Wrigley house, 'cause we owned that of course.

And we had kept it very much the same.

We hadn't changed it.

But we put some up there in the bedrooms up there.

- Gordy Hormel, an heir to the Hormel meat packing fortune, bought the house in 1992 and set about restoring it.

- Now the entire mansion, including all of the former bedrooms are open for wining, dining, entertaining.

And it's a wonderful place, especially for weddings and banquets.

- [Female Narrator] Over the years, the city of Phoenix and lush gardens have grown up around the Wrigley Mansion.

The sprawling winter cottage sits atop its hill, drenched in the desert sun.

Reflecting a classic style that never really goes out of fashion.

(gentle music plays) - [Male Narrator] Just east of Winslow stands a marker to a historic point on the little Colorado River, known as Sunset Crossing.

The canyons and rivers of Northern Arizona have always posed a significant obstacle to travelers, but less so at Sunset Crossing.

American Indians forded the river here, as did the experimental US Camel Corps, while building a wagon road to California in 1857.

Immigrants to Arizona and California, and the military, continued crossing the river here until the coming of the railroad in 1882.

Even the path of historic Route 66 followed this route.

Today it is still the site of converging routes.

Thousands of cars and trucks on Interstate 40, and up to a hundred trains a day, roar over Sunset Crossing.

(gentle country music plays) (mellow jazz music plays) - [Female Narrator 2] In 1933, with the country in the grip of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill that authorized the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps.

The core gave unemployed young men an opportunity to make money while preserving the country's natural resources.

- It was so depressed that nobody could find jobs.

Standing on the corners with your gloves in your pocket, maybe a sandwich in the other pocket, hoping somebody come around to offer you a day's work for a dollar or something like that.

We got away from all that.

And physically and mentally, and the opportunities it made a better person of us.

(old timey music plays) - [Female Narrator 2] From 1933 to 1942, nearly 53,000 men worked on CCC projects in Arizona.

Projects such as the construction of the Walnut Canyon Visitor Venter east of Flagstaff.

Alfredo Flores helped build it.

The limestone and concrete remain strong despite being built more than 60 years ago.

- This materials used to construct this.

This rocks were in hand shaped, no power tools.

See all this concrete that's holding this rock together were mixed by hand.

No mixing machine, no cement mixers.

And also, the columns that you see there are natural trees, and they were all cut and set by the CCC boys back in 1941.

- [Female Narrator 2] Remains of another Arizona CCC project can be found in South Mountain Park, just south of Phoenix.

- There was an erosion control project up in Kiwanis canyon, along the Kiwanis trail.

The museum building behind me was actually constructed by CCC enrollees to be a museum building, never really functioned per se as a museum building until recently.

And ironically enough, the first exhibit that went in there was an exhibit commemorating the work of the CCC.

And they didn't intend it to be that way.

But 70 years later, there you have it.

- [Female Narrator 2] The camps were run in a military fashion, which as it happens, prepared the enrollees for later military service during World War II.

- I went in camp.

I was already been trained by the CCCs.

And basic training.

We got up, we had regular hours, we had our sleuths and all this, you know.

- [Female Narrator 2] The boys received $30 a month, five of which they kept.

They sent $25 home to their families.

- Being able to sustain a home with $25 a month.

Being able to pay rent, being able to pay maybe electric bill, but mostly eating.

Yes, it helped my family quite a bit.

- [Female Narrator 2] Despite the success of the program, a few enrollees felt shame for accepting what they believed to be welfare.

- I've talked to some that talked that way and I said, Hey, you got nothing to be ashamed of.

It no doubt did you a lot of good, and don't apologize to anybody for it.

- [Female Narrator 2] At south mountain, little remains of the camp that housed the young men who worked to create the park.

A lone star suggests their origin, and the paths are still worn.

- We're standing on what would've been the dividing line between the two camps at Phoenix South Mountain Park.

Over my shoulder would've been the camp commander's office, the foreman's office, and the doctor's dispensary.

An enrollee would've walked down this path to visit the camp commander perhaps to be reprimanded for gold bricking, or rewarded for doing a good day's work.

Further to the east, the camps were divided with a mess hall on either side of the dividing line, a barracks building on either side of those mess halls, a recreation hall on either side of those barracks buildings, and finally an additional barracks building in each camp.

I have been told by enrollees that served at South Mountain Park that you didn't typically stroll into the other camp if you didn't have business there.

- We had our fun.

We mixed pleasure with fun and work.

As long as the work got done, we had very, very good supervisors.

The personnel, the staff was always good.

Everybody was in for the same thing.

And we enjoyed it tremendously, at least I did.

If anybody had told me that I'd be here 62 years later, I'd have said no way.

I wasn't planning on it.

(mellow music) (mellow music continues) - [Announcer] From the internationally famous Riverside Park Ballroom in Phoenix, Arizona, we present one of the nation's great Western swing dance bands, Bob Fite and the Western Playboys.

(swing music plays) - [Male Narrator 2] Saturday night at Riverside ballroom was always packed.

- They had a marvelous dance floor, they had a great band all the time playing.

And we were a dancing era.

That was a big part of our life, was dancing.

(swing music plays) (swing music plays) - [Male Narrator 2] There was always a band playing at Phoenix's fanciest restaurants and finest hotels.

But Phoenix's all time favorite dance hall had to have been Riverside Ballroom.

(big band music plays) Riverside was home of the name bands, and all of America's best played there.

- When the big bands came, that was such a treat to get to go to those.

And then many people would gather around the band stand, in order to just see up close Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, the Dorseys.

(big band music plays) (hoe down music plays) - [Male Narrator 2] Local favorites also played at Riverside.

The Western Playboys became regulars in 1940 when Bob Fite and his brother bought the place.

- We'd get through that number, and the people would, then they would clear the dance floor, and go to the tables and sit down.

And then we start another tune up, and here they all come back again.

That goes on, and on, and on, and on.

(old timey piano music) - [Male Narrator 2] To get to the ballroom, you went south on Central Avenue, out past the edge of town, almost to the Salt River.

Riverside's open air dance pavilion was built around 1914.

After a flood washed it away, a round wooden ballroom was built in its place.

There wasn't any air conditioning back then, but if the dance floor got a little too steamy, the sides of the place could open to keep the place cool.

- It had the flaps on the side that you let up and down, up and down.

And you would go outside, and sit on the grass, and laugh and talk.

Or they had this big pole in the middle of Riverside.

That's where you meet your boyfriend.

Said, "baby look for me right here.

I'll be standing right here by this big pole."

(jazz music plays) - The young people came from far away.

I mean, I would meet people from Safford.

I would meet people from Tucson.

I would meet people from Yuma.

Everyone knew where Riverside was, and they all loved to go there.

- [Male Narrator 2] There was something for everyone at Riverside Ballroom.

Thursday nights were devoted to Phoenix black community, and some of the nation's finest entertainers like Fats Domino, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington performed there.

(jazz music plays) On Fridays, it was collegiate night.

The bar served soft drinks, and the place was overrun with kids from high schools and junior college.

But Saturday at Riverside was a slightly different story.

- Saturday night was kind of a night that you stayed away.

That was kind of a, well, I remember the Russians from Glendale used to come there on a Saturday night, and they would fight with the local boys.

And it used to be a Saturday night was fight night.

Friday night was collegiate night.

- [Male Narrator 2] More often than not, fights at Riverside were over a girl.

But they always came to a speedy conclusion when police took the would be boxers to a makeshift ring behind the ballroom.

- They'd take the old boys, they says, "okay, strip your pockets."

And the cops would do this themselves.

And they take them in there and strip their pocket.

If they had a pocket knife or anything they'd take it away from 'em, see.

Put 'em in there, said "now, see which one's the best man."

They went, they hit three, four licks, you know.

One of them maybe bloody other's nose, you know.

He jump up.

He says, man, he said, "you're better man, than I am" said "let's go have a beer."

(Latin music plays) - [Male Narrator 2] On Sundays, the place came alive with the distinctive sound of Latin music.

- The Mexican people, the Hispanics, it was their night.

They had a place to go.

And they went there every Sunday.

They were like a big family, like everybody knew everybody else.

And it was just mucho gusto to be there.

- [Male Narrator 2] Local promoter, Carlos Morales, brought some of the world's most famous Latin bands to Riverside.

But the usual favorite on Sunday nights was Pete Bugarin and his orchestra.

(Latin music plays) - Going to play there, it was a delight because of so many people coming in.

It would be packed, you know.

You know, you'd take 2000 people or more here.

That's a lot of people that went in there and danced, and just you could just see them dancing, laughing.

And the girls, and the young people, and the older people, everybody having a good time.

- [Male Narrator 2] The festive atmosphere led to many lasting romances.

(romantic music plays) - A lot of people have come to me and said, "I proposed to my wife at the Riverside."

And we played on the average of 2, 3, 4 weddings every week.

And these were the people that went to the Riverside.

So I don't know why, but they went there.

They met and they got married.

- [Male Narrator 2] The honeymoon ended early one morning in 1957, when Bob Fite got a disturbing call.

Man the phone rang.

And the Sheriff's office called me.

He said, "Riverside's on fire."

And that was it.

Time I got there, I guess there was a couple of thousand people out there.

And it was some sight.

- [Male Narrator 2] The ballroom was a total loss.

But within a year the Fites opened a smaller, more modern dance hall on the same site.

And while Riverside lived on well into the eighties, presenting every kind of music, we remember the big band sound and a full dance floor on a hot Saturday night.

(big band music plays) (mellow music plays) (mellow music continues) (mellow music continues)