In those long-ago, long-forgotten, black-and-white days at the University of Arizona, residents in the old stadium dorm didn’t think twice when they first learned a fellow named Harry was living in Room 480.
Eyebrows may have been raised, however, when they learned Harry was a ghost.
In his new book, “The University of Arizona: A History in 100 Stories,” author Gregory McNamee reports that Harry could be heard working late at night, and sometimes would knock clocks off the walls just to remind people he was there.
“I’ve been coming on campus almost 50 years, but until I started working on the book I had no idea what a wealth of ghost stories was here,” McNamee confessed last week. “Harry was just one of them. There was a coed in Maricopa Hall, a theater professor in Marroney Theatre, a construction worker named Carlos Maldonado in Old Main … It must have been a busy place late at night.”
Gregory McNamee has been a full-time writer, editor and author since 1990.
Published by UA Press and released last month, “100 Stories” is hardly the dry, chronological review of facts and figures it might have become.
There are chapters that focus on academics, to be sure. We return to the early days of the school’s world-renowned geoscience, life science and astronomy programs. We are reintroduced to such UA luminaries A.E. Douglass, Ina Giddings, Emil Haury, Paul S. Martin, Jim Griffin and Ofelia Zepeda.
But there is also a chapter about the underground tunnels that still connect many of the school’s older buildings.
From 1959-2010, we learn, a small nuclear reactor hummed quietly unnoticed beneath the Electrical Engineering Building, preparing students for a modern age.
We visit the set of the hit movie “Revenge of the Nerds,” which was filmed on the Arizona campus in 1983 and ’84.
“I’d like to think the book has something for almost everyone,” he explained. “University life is more than just going to class. I wanted the book to be, too.”
UA Press commissioned the project in 2022, hoping to have an updated history available for the school’s 140th anniversary next year.
You can now pick up Gregory McNamee’s “The University of Arizona: A History in 100 Stories.”
Selecting the author was easy.
McNamee, a 1979 UA graduate, had 44 books already behind him and had even worked at the Press from 1981-1990.
“It’s pretty much been part of me since I first saw it in high school, visiting my grandparents during spring break,” he said. “There was a rock band playing on Park Avenue, pretty girls everywhere, sunshine in March … I thought, ‘Hey, this is a pretty good place!’ As you can tell, I was all about the academics back then.”
In time, McNamee would become a classics major who minored in anthropology and knew that neither would likely become a career.
What the disciplines did do was whet his appetite for learning, exploring and writing about his experiences. They led McNamee to UA Press, where he would spend nine years as a proofreader and editor.
“Somewhere along the line I realized I wasn’t a scientist, but I could write about science,” he said. “I wasn’t a historian, but I could write about history. It took a while, but it finally occurred to me I was just a writer.”
Just a writer?
Since becoming a full-time writer, editor and author in 1990, he has not gone a day without stringing words together, either on paper or on a screen.
“The thing I love about it is that no day is like any other day,” he said. “I write a little, edit a little, teach a little … I can’t imagine a day when I’m not doing what I do now.”
“The University of Arizona: A History in 100 Stories”
McNamee’s first book, “Resist Much, Obey Little,” was a collection of essays about Edward Abbey that he co-authored with Jim Hepworth.
“Abbey became a big deal for a while right after that,” he said. “We tried to tell people it was because of our book, but I’m pretty sure he did it on his own.”
There have been, quite literally, dozens of titles since, the most noteworthy probably being “The Ancient Southwest,” now in its eighth printing at Rio Nuevo Press.
“Gila: The Life and Death of an American River“ is gaining traction again as Southwestern states wrestle with water shortages.
Then there is “American Byzantium,” a look at Las Vegas that was well-reviewed but horribly timed.
“It was released Sept. 11, 2001,” McNamee said. “It didn’t get much attention after that.”
Predictably, the author is hard-pressed to name a favorite Greg McNamee book.
“Every book brings its own problems and rewards,” he said. “Your last book is always as hard as your first.”
McNamee is a familiar face in literary circles throughout the state, speaking regularly on behalf of Arizona Humanities, the old Arizona Humanities Council.
He chairs the selection committee that chooses Southwest Books of the Year for the Pima County Public Library.
He is an 11-time participant in the Tucson Festival of Books, either as an author or a moderator.
In addition to the time he spends writing books, McNamee is also a freelance writer and editor who normally has 6-8 projects going on any given day.
And when he needs a break from all those vowels, consonants and spell-checks for a moment or two of solitude? Not surprisingly, he heads to the UA.
“There is a turtle pond near the state museum, near Second Street and Park,” McNamee smiled. “People walk by it every day without even noticing it’s there, but it’s filled with red-eared turtles. I’ve been going there since I was in school. I write about it in my book.”
FOOTNOTES
A new open-to-all book club will debut this Tuesday evening, Nov. 12, at Borderlands Brewing Company, 119 E. Toole Ave. Organized by local do-gooder Tom Tronsdal, the Tuesday Night Book Club will read books written by underrepresented voices in the literary world. When book clubbers meet, they will hear from a Tucsonan who is part of that underrepresented community. This month’s book is “Wandering Stars“ by Tommy Orange. Tuesday’s program will begin at 7 p.m.
Bisbee’s last remaining bookstore, Bisbee Books and Music, may be forced to close Dec. 31. Owners Craig Harzinski and Ken Mertes listed the store for sale in January. They have not yet found a buyer. If one doesn’t appear by the end of the year, Harzinski and Mertes say they will liquidate their inventory and close the store. According to the post on BizBuySell, the asking price is $159,000.
In collaboration with the UA Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Poetry Center will present novelist Hala Alyan on Thursday, Nov. 21. Alyan is the author of “Salt Houses.” To learn more about the 7 p.m. program, visit poetry.arizona.edu.
Take a walking tour of University of Arizona art. Sure it's hot, but the grass and trees make it at least feel cooler.
