Phyllis and Weldon Heald were free-lance writers who relocated to southeast Arizona from the northeast. They owned the Flying H Ranch in the Huachuca Mountains, and the Painted Canyon Ranch in the Chiricahua Mountains before settling down to write full-time in Tucson. They wrote books, articles, short stories, poems, plays and screenplays. Much of their writing was on the flora and fauna of the Southwest as well as historical sites in Arizona. Before his career as a writer, artist and photographer, Weldon worked as an architect. He wrote several books including, "Sky Island," and "The Arizona Scenic Guide." Phyllis began her career as a playwright and she continued to write plays with her husband. The Healds taught writing workshops at the Southwest Writers Conference in Flagstaff. Later in her career, Phyllis was a writing consultant for writers.

Most of the collection consists of manuscripts of various works by Phyllis and Weldon Heald. Also within the collection are articles, clippings, and miscellaneous materials about the Healds and other topics. The majority of the photographs were taken by the Healds during their travels throughout the Southwest. Other images were made by Stephan Blake, Manley photography, the Las Vegas News Bureau, or are reproductions from various historical societies . The photographs are of outdoor scenes taken throughout the Southwest.