By Ted Lake
Special to Copper Area
The Arizona State Board on Geographic and Historic Names will meet Monday, Sept. 25, at the State Capitol in Phoenix and on its agenda is an application to change that portion of Highway 60 called the Jefferson Davis Highway and designate it instead as the Governor Rose Mofford Highway in honor of the 18th Governor of our state. Mofford passed away in September of last year in Phoenix at the age of 94 after complications from a fall in her home.
The application for the name change was filed by Miami, AZ native Roberto Reveles. Reveles in his request says the proposed name would memorialize Rose Mofford’s unique place in Arizona History as the Globe native who became the first woman to serve as Governor of our State from April 4, l988 to March 6, l991. This, he said, when combined with her other official responsibilities, totaled 50 years in service to the public
Reveles has been urging local government officials and community leaders to support his request by sending a statement to that effect to Mr. Ryan Ehrfurth, the State Board’s Support Staff at rehrfurth@azlibrary.gov,. His postal address is Mr. Ryan Ehrfurth, Arizona State Library, 1901 West Madison Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85009
Reveles who served in the U.S. Force for 4 years also served for 20 years on the Washington, D.C. staffs of Arizona Congressmen such as Stewart Udall, Morris Udall and George Senner. He also serve as an Executive of Home Stake Mining In San Francisco for 10 years before his retirement. He now lives in Phoenix and is involved in Independent Government and Community Relations.
At Gold Canyon east of Apache Junction along US Highway 60 is a monument erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1943 in honor of Davis.