Marguerite Noble, teacher, historian, author, and Payson resident since the early 1970s, wrote nearly 450 one-minute history programs that she then read on KMOG Radio from 1991-1992. Through the generosity of Blain Kimball, KMOG, and Roger Buchanan we have the rights to these programs and now have the means to share them with the public. We have used some of the programs for CDs and video programs, but the bulk of them have not been heard since the early 1990s.

Marguerite Noble was born on January 1, 1910, in Roosevelt, Arizona Territory. She attended elementary school in Punkin Center, and eventually attended Tempe Normal School and received a master’s degree in education from Arizona State University. After marrying and divorcing Henry Buchanan, having two children, and working in the Phoenix schools for 30 years she retired to Payson where she married Charles Noble.

Marguerite Noble is the author of Filaree, which was published in 1979, and many articles for magazines and local newspapers on local and Arizona history. Some of her short radio vignettes were used to compile Crossing Trails.

We are presenting the entirety of her radio programs on our website.  We will be adding more information on Marguerite’s life and work  We hope you enjoy hearing Marguerite’s voice again, or perhaps for the first time.

Marguerite shares stories of several local pioneers such as Arizona Charlie Meadows, Matt McDonald, and Floyd Pyle and ends with a note on cowboy humor.  Marguerite Noble was one of Arizona’s first Culture Keepers, honored in 2003 with nine other Arizonans. The first criterion for selection was: “A culture keeper must have worked to preserve the image of Arizona.”

In her radio spots, Marguerite ranged far and wide over time and place in Arizona. These programs range from Arizona Statehood, Arizona Rough Riders, an incident in the Pleasant Valley War, the naming of the Mogollon Rim, and the General Crook Trail.