Sacred Ground

Barrio Kroeger Lane Neighborhood is located below Sentinel Peak-- "A" Mountain-- along the Santa Cruz River, De Anza Trail, and across from the original birthplace of Chuk Shon (Tucson in the Tohono O'odham language). This land has been inhabited and cultivated for more than four-thousand years, and remains with a rural environment of horse/farm animals, wildlife corridor, and gardening. Families have lived in the same area for up to six generations, with stories of the flowing river and the continuation of horseback riding along the river banks much as Padre Kino did centuries ago.

There are remnants of ancient Hohokam and Piman settlements scattered throughout the area. It is still considered sacred land by the families (mostly Mexican-American and devoutly Catholic), who have lived here for generations. As with so much else in Tucson with development potential, this rustic neighborhood is endangered by the pressures of progress.
  
Barrio Kroeger Lane gets its namesake from an Anglo doctor who served the neighborhood as a general practitioner. Due to its location on the banks of the Santa Cruz River, the area was also nicknamed "Sal Si Puedes" due to occasional flooding leaving only one or two exits out of the area.

​Residents in Barrio Kroeger Lane have been working hard to preserve the history, culture and traditions of this area as well as developing economic opportunities for families by enhancing their Creator-given skills and talents, furthering their education, and advocating for improvement of the neighborhood--including:

• Traffic safety and speed control,
• Managing a community garden for healthier eating,
• Family-oriented projects and programs,
• Street signs and neighborhood clean-ups.

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Journey of Generations

Recuerdos de Mi Barrio quotes here.

'First Sighting' by Tucson Artist & sculptor Luis Mena

The Plaque:
"​This monument represents the first sighting of Europeans by the O'odham who lived on the traditional sacred ground at the base of Chuk Shon ("A" Mountain). The O'odham and their ancestors, the First People of the Tucson Basin, have live here for over 4,000 years. The first recorded visit to the Tucson Region by a European was made by Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino in 1692 when he visited O'odham villages in the area." 

Homenaje a Barrio Kroeger Lane
A painting by Linda Victoria
​(click to enlarge)

What distinguishes this humble little neighborhood from Tucson’s other barrios is the continuing ownership of horses and small livestock animals. Tucson’s annual Fiesta del Día de San Juan was originally graced with rousing performances by Escaramuzas  (ladies in folklorico dresses riding sidesaddle) from Barrio Kroger Lane.  The railroad-tie corral fence is a defining feature of the neighborhood.  A young vaquero practices his skills with his lasso.
 
The walkway to the adobe house is made from TPBCO (Tucson Pressed Brick Company) bricks. TPBCO and other brick manufacturing companies thrived on the west bank of the Santa Cruz River in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and employed many of Barrio Kroger Lane’s residents.

The little hand-made capilla (chapel) was used to celebrate mass on special occasions. It was also built to honor elders unable to attend regular church. Succumbing to benign neglect, it has since been removed.

The cave high on the hillside is a tiny grotto-like cave honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe. The story goes that, in the 1990’s, a local resident was thrown in jail for a crime he did not commit. From the jail he could see the A Mountain hillside, and every day he prayed to La Virgen. He promised her that if the real criminal was found he would build a shrine to her on that hillside. Sure enough, eventually the true culprit came forward and the man was freed. True to his manda (promise), he created this shrine honoring La Virgen de Guadalupe. The tiny grotto holds offerings to other saints, in particular San Judas, the saint of impossible causes, who is held dear by the neighborhood.

In more recent years, another shrine to the Lady was built on the mountain by local firefighters. She overlooks the sweeping intersection at Star Pass and Mission Roads, and is cleaned and seasonally decorated by Barrio Kroeger Lane residents. The traditional flower arch on the shrine is handmade and decorated by a faithful, dedicated woman from the Yaqui Nation.

Overlooking the entire landscape is the Tohono O'odham Nation's "Man in the Maze". It is there to honor their ancestors who first inhabited this land over 4,000 years ago, and to whom this land remains sacred.