Featured Citizens — The Residents of Oro Valley, April 2024
“Tiny Town” Celebrates Its 50th Birthday
As Oro Valley celebrates its 50th Anniversary this month with the town parade on April 6 and all-day community celebration April 13, it’s a great time to step back and appreciate how fortunate we are to live in a town where residents truly care about their community.
At the time of OV’s incorporation in 1974, there were only 1,200 residents, and some of the Tucson politicos – many of whom fought the town’s incorporation – gave OV the unflattering nickname “Tiny Town”.
Today, OV counts almost 50,000 residents, with a super-high level of community engagement and dedication.
There’s nothing “tiny” about OV anymore…and that’s why its appropriate to throw a big, year-long birthday bash.
A Year-Long Celebration
Mayor Winfield explains that during the planning sessions last year, the notion of not one celebration – but a year-long series of events – was floated. The idea quickly took hold. The question was, “Can we keep that momentum all year?”
And indeed, the Town staff has not just done a banner job of putting together the parade and celebration, but also with keeping up the buzz through a year-long extravaganza of celebrations that include:
The 50th Anniversary page on the Town’s website has been a stellar resource throughout, providing both current and historical information to support and enrich the year-long celebration.
Making It Happen
Putting together a year-long event is no small feat, and the Town has risen to the challenge admirably.
Rosalyn “Roz” Epting, Parks & Recreation Director, explains that the events have required extensive coordination across Town departments:
“For 25 years I’ve been working in park and rec. For big events, you always need the police department, public works, help from different offices — communications, marketing, designers, invoice processing…It’s never one department; always the entire staff working together to produce the event for the community…If one person doesn’t do their job, we don’t have an event.”
A special thanks goes out to the Town Manager’s Office and Parks & Recreation Department for their collective efforts in providing our community with this year-long celebration of our 50th anniversary.
A shout-out also goes to Lisa Bayless of Long Realty. Lisa is the Grand Marshal Sponsor of the 50th Parade and the Celebration Sponsor of the 50th Community Celebration event.
Thank you, Lisa!
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Words from the Wise
We asked some of OV’s long-time residents and pundits for a quote about the 50th that touches on history, as well as the road ahead.
Jim Williams, Historian-Author
Oro Valley Historical Society
Books about OV:
“Fifty years of history is a normal point for reflection, and long enough to see how the town began and changed. The residents of Oro Valley here in the early years would be amazed at the town’s territorial growth and the many new subdivisions and shopping centers. Many of them did not hope to build a large municipality…
“In some parts of this nation, people spend their whole lives in one community. In Oro Valley, however, few residents are born and die here. This anniversary is an opportunity to make many new residents aware of our rich history….
“Oro Valley is one of hundreds of towns and cities built from scratch in the Sun Belt since the 1950s. Unlike some of those communities, Oro Valley was well planned. Large ranches were developed with careful planning for housing, parks, shopping, schools, and other amenities. Many parts of the town were developed as Planned Residential Districts, with comprehensive plans for the entire area, not piecemeal development…
“Oro Valley has been focused on territorial growth and development since the mid-1980s. Today, groundwater and supplies from the Central Arizona Project are both in jeopardy. Limited water in the future will force the town to develop a new paradigm regarding annexations and development.”
Sergeant Eric Larter
Oro Valley Police Department
“It has been exciting to see the growth and expansion of Oro Valley over the last two decades. Equally as impressive has been the dedication to public safety and service as the Town keeps up with the growing Oro Valley community. Oro Valley is known as one of the safest communities in Arizona and the police department will strive to uphold this standard for the next 50 years.”
Dick Eggerding
OV Arts Booster Extraordinaire
“As Oro Valley moves forward, facing the continuing financial challenge will require a multi-faceted approach: It will include continued annexation, replacing older (>50 year) developments, attracting quality new businesses, providing necessary housing to attract high tech workers, and keeping existing high level education and cultural programs in place.
“The Town should provide a local Government that is fiscally sound, open to creative ideas, and constantly encouraging citizen volunteer programs that will guarantee a bright future.”
Pat Spoerl, Archaeologist
Co-Founder, Oro Valley Historical Society
“On its 50th anniversary I feel that Oro Valley is developing a ‘sense of place’; that is, a strong relationship between its residents and the history of the Canada del Oro valley.
“A century before the Town’s founding George Pusch, a German immigrant, arrived in Tucson (1874). He established a cattle ranch known as Steam Pump Ranch — today ‘the historic heart’ of Oro Valley.
“Additional special places including Oro Valley Country Club and Estates from which the Town takes its name, nearby Catalina State Park, opened in 1983, and located at the base of Pusch Ridge Wilderness (established 1978) that provides spectacular views from the town.
“Oro Valley holds meaning to an increasing diversity of residents. As such I believe that during the next 50 years it will continue to develop greater appreciation of our heritage and preserve historical connections to ensure that there is a sense of place for all.”
Dave Perry
Former Editor, Marana Explorer
Former President, Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce
Excerpted from January 3, 2024 press release: “OV turns 50 in ’24, and it’s time for a celebration”
“Welcome to Palo Verde, Arizona.”
“In the early 1970s, Palo Verde was the preferred name for a new town on the west side of Oracle Road north of the City of Tucson, which threatened to annex the area. There were other suggestions – Mountainaire, Casa del Oro, Valley View, Desert City, Santa Catalina Village, and Pueblo del Oro.
“Savvy founders of what is today Oro Valley knew they had to get signatures on petitions to support incorporation. The long-established Oro Valley Country Club was within the 2.5-square-mile perimeter. So, to get support from OVCC residents, they chose the name Oro Valley.
“It worked. But it took four years and a long legal fight – more on that in the months ahead – before the once-opposed Pima County Board of Supervisors, in effect ordered by the Arizona Supreme Court, adopted a resolution to incorporate the Town of Oro Valley on April 15, 1974. The first mayor and council were appointed two days later, on April 17.
“Now, 50 years after Oro Valley’s official birth, what was once derisively dubbed “Tiny Town” has grown from about 1,200 residents to 47,070 in the 2020 Census. It’s 15 times the original square mileage. It is arguably a gem of greater Tucson, a beautiful, safe, clean, well-built powerhouse of a community….”
From “Tiny Town” to the Big Time
To hear more insights from local experts Dave Perry and Dick Eggerding, we recommend this 54-minute video from the 50th Features page of the Town website:
How Has “Oro Valley Grown and Changed?
