AARP Eye Center
New York City transplant Marshall Shore loves Arizona history, and he wants you to fall in love with it, too.
Known as the Hip Historian, Shore, 54, has hosted the Arizona History Happy Hour online throughout the coronavirus pandemic. The weekly variety show features local music, a historical tour of a small town, a cocktail recipe and a guest.
“It was really a way to share how I fell in love with Arizona,” Shore says.
He was raised in Odell, Indiana, “a little, tiny town of about 25 people.” Now he focuses most tours on towns of fewer than 1,000 residents.
Shore has been giving lectures and historical tours since 2009, beginning with a Haunted History tour of spooky Phoenix buildings that ended at Pioneer & Military Memorial Park, the site of several cemeteries established in the late 1800s.
In a recent episode, Shore interviewed Arizona’s official state historian, talked about the history of Christopher Creek (population about 150) and served up a cocktail called A Road Fashioned.
To learn more, go to facebook.com/AARPArizona or send an email to hello@hiphistorian.com. Stream the show live Thursdays at 7 p.m., and find previous episodes on AARP Arizona’s Facebook page or youtube.com/AARPArizona.
—James E. Garcia
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