Vail Preservation Society, Tucson

The Vail Preservation Society keeps evidence of the town’s history, culture, and heritage so that visitors can take a step back in time to learn about prior generations. With its late-19th-century roots as a railroad town, the greater Vail area reserves an important place in American history––a place the Preservation Society's members intend to protect. They do so by scanning old photographs, recording oral histories, and participating in an annual cleanup every spring. They've also taken on the task of restoring the Old Vail Post Office, which, for more than a century, has managed to survive by devouring years’ worth of undelivered cookie packages and letters to Santa.