Craig McEwan is the scheduled speaker for the next Westerners meeting, to be held on Tuesday, February 16, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. at the Cross Point Church Fellowship Hall. Cross Point Church, formerly named Glad Tidings Church, is located at 11600 Highway 180 East, 1.1 miles east of the Walmart entrance on the south side of the highway. A full dinner will be catered. McEwan will provide a presentation on C.S. Fly, the legendary Tombstone, Arizona photographer who captured many famous Old West characters in his photos, such as Geronimo, General George Crook, and Tombstone founder, Ed Schieffelin.

Camillus Sydney "C.S." Fly recognized the value of his photographs and took his camera to the scenes of important events where he purposefully recorded them and resold pictures to editors nationwide. He was an eyewitness to the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, which took place just outside his window. He was present at the surrender meeting between General Crook and the Chiricahua Apaches at Canon de los Embudos, where he documented the meeting with pictures of the entire group as well as individual pictures of the participants, including Geronimo and his sons. As Fly took the historic photographs, he was described by Captain John Bourke: "Tombstone photographer Fly kept busy with his camera, posing his Apache models with a nerve that would have reflected undying glory on a Chicago drummer. He coolly asked Geronimo and the warriors with him to change positions, and turn their heads or faces, to improve the negative. None of them seemed to mind him in the least except Chihuahua, who kept dodging behind a tree, but at last caught by the dropping of the slide."

McEwan is the president of the Chiricahua-Peloncillo Historical Society and secretary of the Cochise County Historical Society. He has published articles on his research, including "The Last Fifteen Years of C.S. Fly: From a Chiricahua Mountain Perspective" in The Cochise County Historical Journal. Like his Tombstone subject, McEwan was born in Missouri, where he grew up working on his family's cattle farm. He currently lives on the east-side of the Chiricahua Mountains. The life of Fly continues to draw McEwan's interest, resulting in numerous revisions to his slide show on the Cochise County's most famous pioneer photographer.

McEwan has a bachelor's degree in Social Studies, with an emphasis on American History. His current research has culminated in a presentation and article entitled, "The Siberian Doughboys of the Borderlands: The Collective Experience of the Southwesterners Who Went to Russia, 1918-1920." He is still seeking additional information on some of those World War I veterans who resided in southwest New Mexico at the time of their enlistment, and would welcome any information that their descendants may be able to provide.

Westerners International is an international group dedicated to sharing and preserving the history of the American West. The local chapter meets on the third Tuesday of every other month throughout the year, except for December, when the meeting is held on the second Tuesday. Dinner is served at the meeting, and the cost is $12.00 per person for members and $15.00 per person for non-members. The public is invited to attend the meeting, and should make reservations with Mary Margaret Soule at 538-2888 by Sunday, February 14.