EDITOR'S LETTER

Three words and one ellipsis.

Together, they formed a headline that heralded a holiday tradition that's been celebrated in this magazine for more than 80 years. At the time, Editor John C. McPhee couldn't have known what he was starting. Most likely, he was just trying to add some black and white pizazz to a publication that was dominated by mileage charts, maps and reports on road conditions. Whatever the impetus, he published five photographs in December 1936, and the headline above them — Yuletide in Arizona — was our first reference to the holiday season.

Turns out, he was on to something. Readers loved the images of “mistletoe clinging to a desert mesquite” and a “snowstorm in a pine forest near Flagstaff.” The demand was strong, so when Raymond Carlson took the helm in 1938, he jumped at the opportunity to create something special — an annual issue devoted to the natural splendors of Arizona and the spirit of the season. His timing was right.

“Americans were on the move,” former editor Don Dedera wrote about the post-Depression era. “And to keep in touch with one another, they turned to the greeting card. And those who touched or traversed Arizona in those days chose Arizona Highways as their premier holiday card. They might send five-cent cards to their friends, but to Mother, they mailed a 10-cent copy of Arizona Highways.” For the next 33 years, most of those issues began with one of Mr. Carlson's beautifully written editorials. Despite the traditional separation of church and state within government-owned publications, Mr. Carlson's words read like Scripture. One year, he recounted the birth of Jesus. Another year, he led with a prayer: “May we rejoice together, O Lord, during this the Holy Season in observance of the sacred anniversary of Thy birth.” Even in 1940, when he was writing about the war, Christmas was the theme: “We know not the role we are to play in this bitter drama of Nations; we know not where the tides of destiny will sweep us. Of tomorrow we know not. Only we know that today is Christmas and there is peace in the land and happiness and good cheer among the people.” Christmas was his common denominator.

After Mr. Carlson's retirement in 1971, the December tradition continued. However, the religious expressions were eventually scaled back, and the issues were more prominently billed as a “greeting card to the world,” or some variation of that. And even when that language wasn't used specifically, the idea of making our December issue something special - a powerful visual presentation never wavered.

In 2004, our “Holiday Portfolio” featured 32 pages of Arizona's “magnificent icons.” Five years later, in 2009, our “Annual Postcard to the World” was the first-ever all-photo issue in the history of the magazine. In December 2015, we devoted our magazine to the lifetime achievements of photographer David Muench — it was a retrospective worthy of the spotlight. Even last year's issue, which made no mention of greeting cards, postcards, the holidays or Christmas, was something special. That's been the case since 1938. Thus, our new book.

Although we've never done a compilation of covers in our long history, others have, including National Geographic, Rolling Stone and The New Yorker. We consider that pretty good company, and we're excited to join the club. Over the past eight decades, some of the West's best photographers and artists have collaborated to create our many covers. Esther Henderson, Barry Goldwater, Josef Muench, Ted DeGrazia, Darwin Van Campen, David Muench, Jack Dykinga those are just some of the names. Internally, we have our favorite covers. And maybe you will, too. For us, December 1942 stands out. Among other things, the cover photo was horizontal. That's rare in our world, but it left enough white space for the special “Christmas” logo that Lemuel C. Lincoln used when “lettering” the magazine. Other favorites are 1940, 1946, 1958, 1963 and 1980. The latter features the remarkable artwork of Ted DeGrazia. The most significant December cover, however, was published in 1946.

That issue marked the first time in history that a nationally circulated consumer magazine was published in all color, from cover to cover — we beat Life, Look, National Geographic ... we beat them all. There's more about that issue in the book, which will be available on our website in time for the holidays. It's a book we're proud of, and we hope you'll consider adding it to your wish list in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, on behalf of everyone at Arizona Highways, happy Thanksgiving. Please drive safely, and feel free to send us any of your leftover pumpkin pie. We'll take cherry, too.