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Bork Family Papers, SHM MS-19 1863-2002

SHM MS-19

Biographical Note

Albert William (Bill) Bork was a second-generation native of Prescott, born in August 1906, in the Arizona Territory. He began his education in Lincoln School on Park Avenue a year or so after it opened for four years, and then attended Washington School through the eighth grade. Bill graduated from Prescott High School in May 1925. In the book, Meeting the Four O'clock Train, Dixon Fagerberg Jr. writes: "My unqualified nomination for the most accomplished PHS scholar during my 1924-1927 tenure would be William Bork." He held a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Arizona at Tucson, and was a Doctor in Letters, with a specialty in History, from the National Autonomous University in Mexico City.

After the outbreak of World War II, Bork accepted a position in a wartime cultural exchange program at the University of Mexico and moved to Mexico City. While there, Bork received his Doctorate in History from the University of Mexico, served as Dean of Undergraduate Studies at Mexico City College, and, in 1944, came back to the States and went to Washington State College. During WWII he taught history of the United States at the National University in Mexico City after efforts to serve in other ways were rejected. He also taught Spanish and Portuguese literature and the history of Spain and Mexico. His doctoral work resulted in a dissertation on the history of the Santa Fe (Independence, Mo., to Santa Fe, N.M.) trade during the years 1824-1846, as recorded in Mexican government archives. Before his retirement in 1974, he was director of the Center for Interamerican Studies at Southern Illinois, University at Carbondale and professor of Spanish and Portuguese.

Bill spoke and wrote Spanish fluently. His teaching career included tenures at the University of Arizona, briefly at Washington State College (in the 1940s), and at the National University of Mexico, as well as a year as a Fulbright scholar at the National University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru. He also served as director of personnel and labor relations with General Electric SA. de C. in Mexico City, 1953-1957.

When his wife, Nadyne, retired as instructor in Spanish and French at Southern Illinois University, they returned to Prescott, where he devoted himself to writing on postal history and local pioneer history. He had joined the Prescott Historical Society (Sharlot Hall) in the 1920's. He joined the Smoki in 1926, and participated in the Smoki ceremonials and Snake Dance (1980-1990) and as a docent at the Smoki Museum in Prescott. He also served as Chief Cahagatonga (White Hair) of the Smoki People.

Mr. Bork belonged to several Arizona and International philatelic and historical associations. He was active in the Prescott Corral of Westerners and the Rat Finks of Prescott, Arizona, a "small, self-selected group of fun-loving historians." He was an honorary member of the Prescott Rotary Club, and his writings would fill several volumes.

He was married to Marguerite Nadyne for nearly 70 years. Mr. Bork passed away on March 30, 2006.

Catherine Caroline Bork Freeman was born in Prescott on July 23, 1908. She was the daughter of Albert William Bork and Bessie Ethel Hatz Bork, and the granddaughter of Daniel Hatz and Catherine Shanberger Hatz, pioneer Prescott residents. Daniel Hatz helped to build the Governor’s Mansion, now located on the grounds of the Sharlot Hall Museum.

Kay Freeman graduated from Prescott High School. She later attended the Milwaukee School of Art. She was employed as an executive secretary, serving the Commandant of the U.S. Armed Forces in the Panama Canal Zone during World War II. She resided in Bogota, Colombia following the war while her husband, Kenneth A. Simpson (who she married in 1928) was employed by the Worthington Pump Company. After her return to the United States, her husband died. She married an old family friend, Harold C. Freeman, in 1953. He passed away in the 1990’s. Kay lived the last years of her life in Whittier, CA. She died in Anaheim (CA) General Hospital on October 9, 1999. She was survived by her brothers, Albert William Bork, of Prescott and Carbondale, IL, Henry W., of Pittsburgh and John T., of Phoenix; her sister, Elizabeth V.; and several nieces and nephews.

The Smoki People Organization

On May 26, 1921, a group of Prescott businessmen participated in a Wild West Show at the Prescott Fairgrounds to raise money to help the Annual Fourth of July Frontier Days Rodeo. Because they had a collection of snakes available, they decided to perform the Hopi Snake Dance, and a local resident, who had lived on the Hopi Reservation, taught them the steps. The performance evoked a very positive response, and the businessmen decided to repeat the show the following year. Continued success led to repeating the show once a year for the next seventy years.

This group decided to call themselves the Smoki People and created an organization that met regularly to plan the dances, prepare costumes and equipment and have family pot lucks and barbecues. In 1922, the group convinced Sharlot Hall to write a small 16 page book about the Smoki People to give them a “history.” They dedicated themselves to keeping alive the cultures of the Southwest Indian tribes at a time when the government had outlawed tribal ceremonies and was compelling Indian children to attend boarding schools to learn non-Indian practices. Each year they put on one show that included three to five ceremonials and Navajo sand painting with the Hopi Snake Dance as the finale. The women in the organization usually did at least one of the dances including one that involved diving into a lake dug into the fairgrounds. In addition to the lake, they built a backdrop that looked like a large pueblo and entire families dressed in costumes to give the appearance of a village.

In 1932, the group built a clubhouse on Arizona Avenue and included a small museum to house artifacts they had collected. With the depression in 1935, the Emergency Relief Association of Arizona decided to use federal work funds to build a larger museum next to the clubhouse. An architect designed the building to look like a very large pueblo and added a number of special features like a double Zuni-type fireplace and a flagstone floor. The Smoki people added hand-chiseled furniture, hand-made display cases and special light fixtures.

The Smoki people participated in parades as far away as Philadelphia, spreading knowledge of the organization and its ceremonials. A particularly famous member of the Smoki was Barry Goldwater, who often served as an announcer at the shows. He also made some significant contributions to the Museum.

By the 1980’s, the Smoki had trouble recruiting younger members and, as a result, had increasing difficulty with staging a vigorous show. In 1990, a delegation from the Hopi reservation observed the show. They protested, contending that the Smoki dance emphasized entertainment, while their ceremony was very religious. In response, the Smoki discontinued the show and concentrated on maintaining the Museum. A few years later, they disbanded and set up a non-profit organization to manage the Museum.

Scope and Content

The collection contains notes, correspondence and ephemera relating to Albert William (Bill) Bork, a leader of the Smoki People of Prescott, and the Smoki Museum. These include photocopies of Bill Bork’s philatelic collection (Series 1-2 through 1-9), and correspondence from Mrs. A.W. (Bessie Hatz) Bork relating to a belt buckle donated to Sharlot Hall Museum (series 1-10). Series 2 includes correspondence, news articles, Indian cultural materials, Indian songs and chants, Smoki history, Smoki membership, obituaries, newsletters, papers, financial data, minutes of the Smoki Council Board of Directors, photos and other materials regarding the Smoki Collection of Bill Bork.

photo collection includes photographs of such notable features as the Governors’ Mansion (~1870-1880), Pioneer Hotel (same), County Court House (1879), Goldwater or Lynx Lake (undated), Lincoln School (~1913/14) Park Avenue (c. 1910), a cabin in Groom Creek (c. 1921-22) and Montezuma Street (undated). There are also Bork family photos (Series 1-13) of the Bork residence, A.W. Bork, Sr., Bessie Hatz Bork (from age 3 ½ through 30), Lillian Seng, Mrs. Ralph Haight, Mr. and Mrs. A.W. Bork, Jr. (Marguerite N. Butts), Catherine Bork (Kay Freeman), Daniel Bork, and Elizabeth V. Bork. Hatz family photos (Series 1-14) include images of John Shanberger (1850’s-1890), George Probst (Catherine Hatz’ brother-in-law), Mrs. Elizabeth Shanberger (mother of Catherine Hatz – 1860’s), Maria Hatz (mother of Daniel Hatz – 1860’s/70’s), Catherine Hatz (1860-1910), Viola Hatz (c. 1880), Mrs. John Riggs Thompson (1890’s), Daniel Hatz (1860’s-1910), Mr. and Mrs. John Raible (c. 1870’s), Maggie, Kate and Yonda Barrington (nieces of Catherine Shanberger, Catherine Hatz and cousins of Bessie and Violet Hatz – 1880’s-1900), and A.J. Hatz, Jr. (1880’s-1920’s). There are also three photo albums: a baby album of Catherine C. Bork (Kay Freeman), a family album from the 1920’s and ‘30’s apparently compiled by Kay Bork Freeman, and an undated Bork/Hatz family album.

Additional related material to the Bork Family Papers can be found within the following sources at the Sharlot Hall Museum Library & Archives: The Smoki Collection, MS-11; Photo PO-660P: A group photo with H. M. Maus, Amy Nelson, Albert Bork, Bessie Hatz and Annie Smith; Arizona and the Wild West, No. 19, 1977, pages 65-84, The O.K. Corral Fight at Tombstone.

System of Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the following series:

Restrictions

Conditions Governing Access

None.

Conditions Governing Use

Unpublished and published manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder. The Sharlot Hall Museum may not own copyright to all parts of this collection. It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the State of Arizona and the Sharlot Hall Museum - this includes its Board of Trustee officers, employees, outside contractors, and agents from and against all claims made by person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.

Controlled Access Terms

Administrative Information

Custodial History

The collection was donated to the Sharlot Hall Museum Library & Archives in numerous separate accessions. Two seperate accessions were recieved by Albert William (Bill) Bork, accession numbers 79.099 and 83.023. Mrs. Kay Freeman (Catherine C. Bork) donated the family correspondence - accession numbners 1999.039 and 1999.041. Joanne Bork Craig donated two accessions as well, accession numbers 2007.056 and 2009.017. Bill Bork donated the miscellaneous Smoki materials in the collection, accession numner 2008.178. Theo Bork Kirch (niece of Elizabeth Bork) donated miscellaneous Bork family materials - accession numner 2009.013. The collection was donated to the Sharlot Hall Museum Library and Archives by Don Ogden via the family of Bill Bork in 2008, including materials donated by Mrs. Kay Freeman (Catherine C. Bork), sister of A.W. Bork, Jr., in 1999. No further accruals are expected.

Preferred Citation

Bork Family Papers, SHM MS-19. Sharlot Hall Museum Library & Archives.

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