Weiss, Howard

Part 1 was recorded on May 16th, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona and covers the following themes: 

b. 1944 

  • Family history and childhood in New York City. College at the University of Wisconsin in 1960. Air Force ROTC. Assignment to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in 1964. 

  • First impressions of Tucson and the Wilmot Inn. Housing surplus after Titan II missile silo construction crews left Tucson. Living off base and exposure to the Tucson community. 

  • Trail Dust Town community theater on the far east side during the mid-1960s. 

  • Helping start and publicize "The Group," a Tucson singles' club, in the mid-1960s. 

  • 1960s theater in Tucson, continued. Culture of volunteerism. 

  • The Vietnam War. 

  • Large institutions that influenced Tucson in the 1960s. 

  • The experience of crewing a Titan II missile near Catalina, AZ. Leaving the Air Force in 1968. 

  • Downtown Tucson in 1968. Living in Hinchcliffe Court. Job as a public information officer for the City of Tucson and public relations for the Tucson Community Center in 1970s. Goals of urban renewal in the early 1970s. 

  • El Con shopping center and the momentum of Tucson eastwards. The opening of Levy's El Con location in 1970s and the glamor of the newly-enclosed mall. 

  • The Pioneer Hotel’s social importance. Witnessing the Pioneer Hotel fire and Weiss’ role as public information officer. 

Part 2 was recorded on May 25th, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona and it covers the following themes: 

  • Working as a Promotions Director at KUAT-TV in 1969. Description of the AM radio station and National Educational Television. Locally produced and syndicated content. Funding structure. Transition from NET to PBS. 

  • Appointment as Public Information Officer for the City of Tucson and the challenge of convincing city administrators that public relations were of value. Loss of City job with the election of Lew Murphy as mayor. Student riots at Main Gate in 1970/71. Tucson branding in the early 1970s and the importance of golf. 

  • Starting at the Taylor-Harwood advertising agency in 1972. Jay Taylor’s ad campaigns including “The Green Valley Grin.” Rolling out the Arizona State Lottery. Leaving Taylor’s agency and starting an independent ad agency. 

  • Description of Tucson’s advertising community in the early 1970s. Large local clients: banks, car dealers, homebuilders. Learning about businesses. Commercial jingles. Ad agency structure. 

  • Tucson Press Club, the Gridiron Show, and the local newspaper scene.  

  • The scale of Tucson, discussions of annexation in the 1970s. The vision of a “better Tucson” in the 1970s. 

Part 3 was recorded on June 30th, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona and it covers the following themes:

  • Becoming an independent advertiser in the 1980s. 

  • Meeting Carl Hodges in 1980. Developing interest in sustainability, regenerative agriculture, and saltwater crops. Forecasts of climate change. 

  • Background on Carl Hodges and the work of the Environmental Research Lab. 

  • Involvement with the work of Hodges at Biosphere 2. 

  • The Environmental Research Lab’s role in developing tilapia aquaculture, salicornia farms, and innovations in climate control. 

  • Role in a sustainable agriculture project in Eritrea in the early 2000s. 

  • Carl Hodges’ legacy. 

  • Changes in the field of advertising. 

Aengus Anderson