Hal Empie

Being a native of Arizona has always been considered rare. For Hal Empie, who was born outside of Safford in 1909, while the territory was still fighting for its statehood, this advantage gave him plenty of time to gain an appreciation for the area’s history and landscape. He grew up in an adobe home on the open frontier. He used to say he came into this world with his artistic talent, having drawn a mural on his school building with a stick of chalk at the age of five. As the years