Mary Arnett and Joseph Held
Recorded
May 8, 2021
48:54 minutes
0:00 / 0:00
Id:
mby020662
Description
Joseph "Joe" Held (38) interviews his mother, Mary Anne Arnett (70), about her unique childhood, in which she spent her summers exploring the Coronado National Forest with her siblings while her father studied the Oenimiad beetle.Subject Log / Time Code
Mary Anne Arnett (70) describes her father, Ross H. Arnett, Jr, who was a respected entomologist, and explains his area of study.
MA recalls her family's first cross country road trip to study the Oenimiad beetle in the Arizona.
MA describes a typical day exploring the Coronado National Forest with her siblings.
MA talks about her "two lives": the summers in Arizona and the school years back in "normal" life. She reflects on how missing out on many "normal" childhood activities affected her.
MA remembers the sudden floods that would happen in the desert and how she and her siblings would build dams so they could play in the water.
Joseph Held (38) shares his impressions of his grandfather and wonders what he was like as a father to MA.
MA shares her reluctance to return to Peña Blanca, saying, "I just want to keep my memories."
MA asks JH what it was like to have her as a mother and tells the bottle rocket story.
Participants
- Mary Arnett
- Joseph Held