First - remember when the city limit was 35th Avenue? ( or Hancock Avenue )
And 27th was called Adrienne, Mission, or Alhambra depending on where you were..
Let's take a little trip around town. We all remember dancing in the gym -
but how many of you all remember . . .
• Stage Seven on 7th St just North of Indian School ( building is still there - North one lot from the Jack-in-the-Box ) across from the Carl T. Hayden Veteran's Hospital. Saw quite a few different groups there over the years.
• JD's, in the river bottom on Scottsdale Road ( photos of the foundation after the Salt River got it are memorable ).
• The Fifth Estate. In the shopping center at the NE corner of Curry and Scottsdale Rd. Then it moved to a shopping center at the SW corner of Southern and Mill Avenue. Saw the 'Seeds' there I think - early psychedelic rock.
• Dances in the center court at what will always be known as Chris-Town Mall. Built on Mr. Chris' farm land. Remember the noisy birds - also in the center court? They've renamed it the 'Spectrum' mall. (ed: they've renamed it again - to the "ChrisTown-Spectrum Mall" - ha!) No one seems to care, and we still call it Chris-Town - bad name anyway.
• Dances inside the long and very straight center court of Thomas Mall, and in the parking lot of the Colonade Mall, or those in the parking lot of the shopping center at 32d St. and Cactus - or was that Shea?
• What was the name of the little, and I do mean little, club that was in a building on the North side of Camelback about a half-block West of 35th Avenue? I was within arms reach of Cher - as they carried her out of the club after passing out from the heat. ( '65 I think ) They finally? closed it because it had only one bathroom - total.
• Can't forget Legend City. I was the chief of security for the inaugural year of Compton Terrace there in 1979 - years later. Worked for Stevie Nick's Dad, Jess - but never met Stevie there or while in radio. ?
• The Calderon Ballroom, the Riverside Ballroom, and the Motown Review, and more.
• Can't forget about Mr. Lucky's. The top floor for Country & Western, and downstairs for Rock 'n Roll. Who ever thought that was such a great idea? Sure the Phoenix PD didn't, but it was successful for a lot of years.
• How about Nelson's Pool - located at 19th Avenue and Campbell (right on the North side of the canal there. And was the one down on Broadway named Riverside Pool ? ( the old concrete swimming 'pool' ) just West of 19th Avenue ( in Riverside Park ? ) - where the Class of '66 had its' Senior Day.
• The State Fairgrounds ( when McDowell was just two lanes ), we walked there on opening day - Kids Day, and Teachers Conference Day - always the first day of the State Fair. I loved it when the Fair used to open at eight in the morning so we could be there when the animals were being tended to. I loved going at six in the morning with Dad, when he was working security there in the Indian crafts building ( they had asked for him specifically after his first year there ). They used to use old Cops before security guards were an industry. But that first part of the day when Dad was working and I was free to run all over the Fairgrounds when no one was there was really great. Jason Kaye ( 66 ) went in with us one day, and his Mom sent along a giant bag of her fresh Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies. Her cookies are one of my all time favorite things - and she even gave the recipe to my Mom ( now lost to time ).
• Then there were Jesse Luevano's ( 66 ) Mom's tamales at Christmas time. Two new garbage cans ( when they were still metal ) and cooking a whole bunch of them at one time. And that little pest BeBe ( Jesse's little black terrier ) nipping at your heels with endless energy.
Let's do a few in the neighborhood
• Remember that Larry Yee's ( 66 ) parents had a little grocery store where the Taco Bell now sits at 35th and Van Buren? Larry and I were allowed to Trick or Treat a little further one year - above Roosevelt. My parents were waiting for us at the house they had just bought on Moreland. Big move North from Polk - both houses are still there last I checked. Barbara Tadano and Dayna Faye Taylor lived next door to one another, nearer 35th than I did.
• The fifth 'point' at the intersection of 35th and Van Buren, SW corner. It was the entry gate to Reynolds Aluminum. Quite a few of our parents worked here. ( My Mom and Suzie Hassell's Dad for two ) And do you remember that Melvin St. was actually named 'Aluminum' between 35th and 37th Avenues.
• Moreland was the next-to-last street then. Judy Trevillion ( 66 ) lived right behind me, on Belleview. Then there was a dairy farm - then it was gone. Homes galore. Then they were gone too - eight years they stood. Then about 20 years of vacant land while they 'planned' a freeway. The wall is close behind my old kitchen window now.
• How about the original location for Garcias? Was called 'el Mercadito' for a time and completely closed now. (I've recently been informed that Garcia's had an ever earlier 'original' location, on the North side of McDowell Rd, just West of 35th Avenue. It was owned by the mother of a greeter at Carlos O'Briens - who worked at Garcia's long ago. No matter what the corporate line is - the big, nice restaurant 'complex' at 35th and Palm Lane is NOT the original location. I remember going in the back door after school for fresh warm tortillas.
• Of course there was the Budget Foods store ( where Phoenix firefighter Brett Tarver was lost a few years ago when it burned ), K&H Variety / Hardware, and the barber shop right at the South end of the center.
• Bob and Sally Rada and the first version of Radas restaurant. Five stools and three tables. And the 'Crazy Burro' enchilada style, with rice & beans for $1.05. They did well for many years, and the kids ran the restaurant afterwards too. Bob and Sally finally moved up around Payson. The restaurant now occupies the space where the laundry and the television repair shop - were with new ownership - just isn't the same.
• How many remember the original name of Bonjos' Drive In? Com'on think. Bob's Drive In. Now called Rita's Mexican Food.
• And what about the Pink'n'Green? Bill's Ranch House Burgers and the first drive-thru, the Milk Depot was on the side. Building is still there.
• Remember the first Jack-in-the-Box? On McDowell at 33d. And when Burger Chef opened on the site of the ( very ) old house at 35th and Roosevelt? Burgers ten for a dollar!
• Pete's Fish n Chips - is still! in the same place on Van Buren just East of 27th Avenue. And it is still run by the family. Their 50th Anniversary was a couple of years ago now.
• The first U-Tote-M Market at 37th and McDowell? How about grand openings of Blakely's Gas Stations, the frosted glasses they used to give away with gasoline ( now fetching high dollars online as collectibles ) - and the little loaves of Holsum bread? Monroe Blakely's first station was located in Gilbert, and had franchised 88 stations before selling 'Blakely Oil' in 1963.
• Anyone remember Charlie's House of Fun?
• How about the candy store ( name someone? ), Coker's Trophy shop, and across 35th, Tamuty's Market. Right at or just above the intersection of I-10 and 35th now.
• There also was the Tastee Freeze on 35th just South of Van Buren.
• My favorite was the t i n y place in the little parking area on the SW corner of Fillmore? - for it's greasy french fries. 10 cents for a huge paper plate. Joe Friday's Fish n Chips. Collect pop bottles and buy fries! Ah, the easy life.
• There was the Alzona Christian Center - we'd go there after school for many years - and terrorize Mr. Yates. Without a worry about being abused either.
• Remember split sessions? When both Alhambra and Maryvale students were on campus while they finished building their schools.
• Before high school I delivered the Phoenix Gazette for awhile. In six months I made my bill three times - nobody paid! The daily station was in front of Bobby and John Corella's house on the NE corner of 37th and Belleview ( right down the street from Larry Reynolds house ). The Sunday station was at Dickie Bremer's ( 66 ) house on Moreland, right across the street from Thomas Woolridge's ( '66 - KIA VN '68 ).
• How many remember Alzona Park? Government housing I lived in when I moved here - at 35th & Van Buren, where the shopping center is now. Maybe just a bit too long ago for most. Still see some of the homes in the neighborhood. They were slate-sided row houses on pier blocks. They were 'broken up', sold, and moved when the area was rebuilt.
• The Westdale Shopping Center was the home of El Rancho Market, TG&Y Variety store, Totem department store, Cox's Bakery, Daniel's Jewelers, WT Grant department store, Thrifty Drug, and several more small stores. Thrifty Drug's Vanilla Ice Cream won the best ice crean award for many many years - and cheap too! My favorite was the Cherry Vanilla with Chocolate Chips. I met my future ( sadly temporary ) wife at a store there later on.
• The whole area was alive with activity in a thriving blue-collar world, Shopping Kart and Russ Keeton grocery stores, Rock Bottom, Yellow Front surplus store, many many little shops along Van Buren and McDowell, up 35th, and even some on Roosevelt too.
• Karen Hawkins ( 66 ) parents started their little Attorney Services business right at the house there at 27th and Fillmore too. The first in Arizona - still thriving nearly 50 years later under new owners, and now sold and merged into a large corporation.
and beyond -
• I actually remember coming into Phoenix the very first time - August 23d, 1953. On US-60, which was along Van Buren then - and staying the first night in one of the many 'motor courts' on the East side of town. Those should've survived the passing of time, but places like Motel 6 killed them off. I think there are a few left out in Mesa?
• Remember the field from 39th Avenue ( it stopped at Roosevelt - another canal was there ) West to 43d? Played there a lot, especially in the stand of trees about where 41st would be. Roosevelt was still dirt when we went to Butler ( Mrs Alta E Butler, was still alive then too ) school. There was still a planted field just East of the school then too. And the first part of first grade, being taken by bus every day to Isaac Elementary for lunch because our lunchroom wasn't finished yet.
• How about students that just stick in your mind? I remember when PT Coe was opened - lonng ago. I distinctly remember watching as Patty Wright walked away on the day they moved the students ( in '56 I believe ). Why? Not a clue. BUT. I was standing in line at the Red-Dog-a-Go-Go in 1970, ( you remember this place I'm sure ) waiting to get in and turned to talk to the young woman behind me. I realized it was her - and certainly not seven years old anymore. I knew it was her immediately. Freaked her out - and still remember her name at that time - Patty Covarrubias - 34 years ago now! I think she went to West High - and I'd really like to know what she's doing these days. Freak her out again! Same for Peggy Bernard and Suzanne Villamez from West High.
• Did you spend much time downtown? Remember the ( now old ) Courthouse? It housed not only the courts, but the jail and the police department. Too bad we need all that we have now. All refurbished now too - beautiful building. Now Court Administration and more for the Arizona Superior Court in Maricopa County.
• Do you remember the State Capitol building - before the House and Senate buildings? Much bigger place now, especially since the addition of the nine-story building adjacent to the rear of the old capital.
• How about when Gammage was built at ASU? A great theater.
• Does anyone remember the area where Phoenix International Raceway is now? It was completely deserted way back when. Dad would go out and fix pumps and generators for many of the desert dwellers. I remember going through the river bed, walking next to the truck, putting rocks under the tires to get across when there was water. Hard to believe the crowds that are there now - and that 115th Ave. is about six lanes wide near the raceway. I wonder if there is still a place in the desert for those who would choose to live there? Some were probably right about where the lake is in Estrella Mountain Ranch now. ?
• There is a monument on top of a hill at the East end of PIR - the beginning point of the survey for Arizona. The Gila & Salt River Base & Meridian. The North line of the Gadsden Purchase runs along the Gila River across Arizona. Consider how close we are to Baja Arizona and what the purchase might have been if the message had gotten there to buy the land straight across - giving Arizona a real coastline at the Baja Peninsula. Rocky Point in Arizona?
• I remember potluck picnics on South Mountain Park grounds. Anyone from other states ever go to the Ohio, Michigan, Iowa . . . state picnics? Must be an old thing. And hikes from Butler to the Boy Scout Pueblo, clear at the bottom end of 7th Street, too. We walked the entire way often. And Tommy Woolridge's Dad 'Shorty' making stew all day long.
• Does anyone remember the Pink Sidewalk ( it ran kinda North from the Wrigley Mansion on the Biltmore Estates to a water facility then. Now only a little of it exists North of Lincoln Drive - on private property - I know you all. Most of the grounds of the Biltmore have been redeveloped now. ), or how about Merriwether's or the 'Mews'? ( which ones - 7th St or 40th St or . . . ? ). And several other little oddities around town. Remind me of the names and locations of any you remember and I'll put together a map with all of them on it - and what may have become of them too.
• I remember many of the visitors to our house in those days. Real cowboys ( who didn't wear cowboy boots when not working - wingtips were popular. Didn't drive pickup trucks - but sedans and convertibles when they could afford them. And didn't wear what we think of as 'western' shirts - but plain white western-style shirts when “going to town” ). The house always got a variety of visitors - lotsa cops and deputies ( Dad repaired guns for them ), and we made 'Sam Browne' style belts and holster sets for some - in a basketweave western style. My job was to do the lacing on them. Racers too - Dad would do machine work in our shop as he could - but did some work on Indianapolis racers and Bonneville cars too. And he did a lot of work on the earliest Bell helicopters right there at our house.
• Arnie Page ( few years older, lived down Polk from me, next door to the Britnells, and across from the Tadanos - Barbara, and Taylors - Dayna Faye ) took me to Carl Hayden one day for 'Show-n-Tell' – nooo, for some reason I can't remember. I walked into a USO in Vietnam to exchange some paperback books one day, we frequently signed a 'guest' book then, and there was his name. Just missed him by a couple of days.
• I was hitchhiking near Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam once - and Mary Hautz's ( 66 ) big brother was the one who stopped to pick me up! My, my, how small is the world. A one-hour chance meeting 10,000 miles from home. It was fully ten years later, in 1979 that we ran into one another again - fifteen seconds ( I looked completely different, to say the least ). He looked over and just said Hi, as if we'd seen one another every day.
• Was gonna write something here with military memories - but that is a whole different story - and will get its' own section later. One strange thing - Vernon Hull ( 66 ) and I joined up separately, ended up at the same basic training camp at Fort Ord, California, and in the same intelligence school at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, went to Vietnam separately, and ended up in the same unit, the 173d Airborne. We both stayed there pretty much our entire time in the service. Jason Kaye ( 66 ) joined the Marines and was fortunate to be a survivor of the seige of Khe Sanh. Dave Brosemann ( 66 ) was also in the Marines. Jesse Luevano ( 66 ) went into the Air Force and was in Phan Rang while I was over there. Many many other veterans in our class - not all as fortunate.
• 35 years later and I'm completely dependent on the VA's umm, generosity. Agent Orange, what a wonderful thing.
Okay - kids, let's move on to a few other places to jog your memory.
• How about Bob's Big Boy? Big Boy hamburgers, thick fries with Thousand Island dressing, and cherry Cokes. Probably the one place most will remember, it opened in Phoenix in 1955. ( Founded by Bob Wian in 1936, it may well be the first successful franchise. That double-decker came along in about 1940. The first restaurant was built in 1949 in Toluca Lake, California - which is still there! Later it became known by many names all over the US. Shoney's, Azar's, Elias', Abdow's, Frisch's, Manners, Marc's, Lendy's, Yoda's, Elby's, Kip's, Tote's, and of course - JB's ). A brief attempt at resurrection happened in 1999 by the Elias Brothers ( who franchised the original restaurant to Mr. Wian ), but collapsed in under a year.
• But there are other places too!
• Brookshires at the NW corner of Central and Osborn - and the NE corner of 16st St and McDowell. All-you-can-eat basgetti night was Wednesday. Another 24hr place I spent much time in.
• Next is the Carnation Ice Cream shop on Central just a block North of Indian School on the West side of Central. If you went all the way up to Camelback, there was Uptown Plaza and a little drug store on the West end that had great shakes and malts ( it hung on until about 1995? - Now there is a Boston Market there ).
• How about the Palms Theater? And did you know a 1966 classmate, Larry Kuhn, managed the Paramount Theater after our graduation? ( now again known as the Orpheum Theater after a complete restoration. Beautiful. ) I spoke to Larry recently and he owns a mechanical engineering firm here in the valley.
• Events held in the parking lot of the first mall in Arizona - Park Central - mostly Wallace & Ladmo shows. Chris-Town was the first indoor mall. 
• The original McDonalds in Phoenix ( the second franchise location ) - which swapped locations with a Der Weinerschnitzel down a bit on the other side of Central. The original location became an Arbys ?, then finally was torn down. The spot is now a parking lot. Just South of Indian School on the West side.
• Lester's Coffee Shop ( building is still there - now Pat's Family Restaurant ). It's on Grand Avenue, a bit South of McDowell Rd. This is where much of the movie "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" was shot, and is said to be the inspiration for Mel's Diner on the televison show 'Alice'. I spent many nights ( mornings ) there. PIE! And of course, Fredricka Susan Kohler too ( another mystery disappearance ).
• The Phoenix Public Library and the Children's Theatre were on the Northeast corner of McDowell and Central. The library is now moved South about a half mile and is truly a beautiful world class library. The old corner still has some of the buildings - but is now the Phoenix Art Museum. A great place - and expanding too! Right up the street is the Heard Museum another place that has grown in stature in the arts community.
• Remember the hospital that was on the SE corner of Central and McDowell? Send me the name if you do. I spent two long weeks there between first and second grades, having my lungs pumped daily - and having to drink a quart of buttermilk for every meal to help them do that. A(nother) new Walgreen's is there now.
• Aero Theater - later Aero Bowl. Ruth Cole ( an older woman of say twelve or so ) used to take me there on Saturday mornings on the handlebars of her bicycle when I was about seven or eight.
• The drive-ins. Acres-of-Fun, Peso, Indian, Nu-View, Big Sky, Round-Up, Rodeo, Phoenix ( the first in town, on East Van Buren St ), Silver Dollar, Thunderbird, The Oasis in Avondale, Northern - and many more. One in particular - Cinema Park at 7th St and Missouri - was finally torn down and has been a small shopping center ever since.
• Lots of times we went to see movies at the Acres and sat in the theater seats right in front of the snack bar - way before we had cars ( or air conditioning ). And back then we would also go over to Jesse Luevano's house on Taylor ( his brother Paul, CHHS 69, still has the house! ) and we would all walk up to the outside fence, ask someone to take one of the speakers off the hanger, point it toward us and turn it up, and sit outside the theater to watch the movies.
• Let's not forget the fact that Phoenix was one of the select locations with a Playboy Club. It was in the tower at 3033 North Central. They never tossed us out either - strange. Wouldn't serve us but let us in regularly. I was a Junior and Senior. ??
• How 'bout when Lincoln Drive East of 16th Street toward Scottsdale ( way before 32d Street was cut through ) was a narrow, dark, windy, bumpy, two lane roadway - perfect for fast cars and stupidity.
• Annd - of course, cruising Central. Down to the old Phoenix Public Library, up to Indian School or Camelback, over-and-over-and-over again. When gas was a quarter a gallon. Rounding up the money for a Friday night cruise was sometimes a challenge. ( Hmm, that's not too different from now. ) I don't care how much whiny power the modern compact cars make - kids are missing the feel of real heart-pounding horsepower of the cars of that time. And we refuse to forget the more - umm . . . spacious back seats too!
Let's mention some of the people, and see if you remember them.
• The Righteous Brothers at Stage Seven, George Carlin at JD's ( many others there too ), Sonny & Cher at the un-named club on Camelback, Hub Cap and the Wheels everywhere.
• Please don't forget that Audio Recorders, on 7th St. just South of Indian School was where quite a few early recordings were done too. Duane Eddy and many others recorded there. Other's included Dick Dale and some of the first and best remembered surf music - those great guitar solos. The place was owned by a friend of my Dad's and I got a lot of early albums from him. I think I had gotten nearly every one of Elvis' albums - and in first pressings too. I gave them away - and I later saw some on sale for as much as $2000 per album over in LA and Santa Barbara!
• Does the name Don Imus sound familiar? ( if anyone gets up that early ) He was on Phoenix radio in the early 60's. 'Drop Kick Me Jesus, Through The Goal Posts of Life' - now you remember, huh?
• Okay then, How about Joe Pyne? Considered to be radios first 'shock' jock - yep, right here in Phoenix. Look him up. Some people in the Army ended up calling me Joe Pyne, Jr. Hmmm?
• Al McCoy sound familiar? From KRUX to the Phoenix Suns. KRUX is the place I first went on the radio, in October 1960. A wannabe, on the Coca Cola Hi-Fi Club ( from 7-8pm weeknights ) with Diamond Jim Clausen.
• Dave Biondi ( not his real name - after Dick Biondi in Chicago ) at KRIZ. Another CHHS ( 64 or 65 ? ) student - at the time! Kept it a pretty good secret as far as I can tell.
• I can't remember if it was KRUX or KRIZ - but Don Lincoln was on the air there - brother to Clara Lincoln ( 64? ).
• If anyone remembers the early years of KDKB ( K Dwight Karma Broadcasting ) and the success of the station after KCAC ( 1010am, daytime only ) had all their equipment stolen in one night from the makeshift studios in an old house about 5th Av and Camelback. Anyway, I had waited nearly five years for an opening when I was open to take it - I got the call late afternoon from Eric Hauenstein ( the Gen Mgr at the time ) asking if I wanted the job. Sure. I was to work that night and come in the next morning to fill out paperwork - well, that was the day they fired 23 people. One night - no record I was ever there.
• I later worked for KHCS ( K Howard Christian School ) a station that ended up with the 1010 am frequency. I was the token hippie there in the mid-70's.
• I ended up working for 14 stations in town over the 25 or so years I hung around radio and television. ( from 1960 to 1985 ) Everything from disc jockey, engineer, news, studio and transmitter maintenance, to studio construction. Strange business.
• Tom Parsons ( CHHS '65 ) and his rock n roll group, made it into a movie in late '66 or '67. Got my first guitar from Tom. Playing it? That's a whole 'nother thing entirely.
• How about when Channel 5 was in the Westward Ho? Mom got a picture of me walking up First Ave. Wayne Newton holding my hand on one side and brother Jerry holding the other hand - I wuz a little tyke.
• I was also on the Lew King show - with Mrs Kline's square dance group in second grade.
• Remember Gold Dust Charlie? Then some noisy kid with an ice cream cart came into the picture - I think his name was Wallace? Then it really got out of hand. Ladmo will always be remembered. And the mulitple personalities of the escaped mental patient Pat McMahon. And later - Jody of the Pink Berets ( Cathy Dresbach, my partner in voice class at PC one semester in 77 I think ).
A few trivia items . . .
• When Three Dog Night ( fka the 'Cory Wells Blues Band' ) from L.A. ( not! ) opened for the Rolling Stones at the State Fairgrounds in the Veteran's Coliseum in 65 - the drummer was a student at Maryvale.
• Remember a little group called the Monkees? Well Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart are credited with much of their early recordings. Bobby Hart's ( Harshman ) Mom worked at Diamonds, in Park Central, and the home was on Laurel Lane just South of Encanto. Ralph Destrini ( Maryvale 66 ) lived behind her house in a converted garage. He played drums and they would come by sometimes to visit and play - tiny place.
• Some guy named Waylon Jennings was the bass guitarist for Charles Hardin 'Buddy' Holly's group the Crickets, in the last show he played. That night a plane crash ended the careers of headliners Holly 22, J.P. ( Jiles Perry ) Richardson 28, - 'The Big Bopper', and Richard 'Ritchie' Valens 17, ( Valenzuela ) early on the morning of the 3d of February 1959, after the show at the Surf Ballroom. Richie Valens made it onto the plane in the last seat by winning a coin toss with Tommy Alsup - the other guitarist for Buddy Holly.
They left Clear Lake, Iowa in a chartered Beechcraft Bonanza ( N 3794N ), in a snowstorm, headed for Fargo, North Dakota. The crash site is approximately 5 miles North of the Mason City Municipal Airport. The crash was about 0100 hrs. The pilot was Roger Arthur Peterson 21, of Dwyer Flying Service.
A 15 year old kid by the name of Bobby Velline ( shortened to Vee ) and his band The Shadows was called upon at the last minute to open the show in Moorhead, Minnesota the night of the crash. Tickets were $1. The show was a benefit for United Cerebral Palsy.
The 'Winter Dance Party Tour' continued with Jimmy Clanton and Frankie Avalon substituting as the headliners ( there seems to be some disagreement as to whether Fabian or Bill Parsons was the third headliner ). Dion and the Belmonts and Frankie Sardo performed also. The Crickets also finished the tour - with Ronnie Smith filling in for Buddy Holly.
• It was over ten years later that Don McLean had a hit with "The Day the Music Died". Speculation abounds as to the meaning of the lyrics. I do have a very good version of the explanation of the lyrics I may put up here someday.
• March 5th, 1963 - plane crash near Camden, Tennesee that killed country artists Patsy Cline along with Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, and Randy Hughes.
• Janis Joplin played here, once. In Mesa. They had a few problems I heard. I got to see her Saturday night June 17th, 1968 at Winterland, in San Francisco, along with 'The Crazy World of Arthur Brown' and someone else I can't remember. Tickets were $3 - and the show was nearly six hours long! Me and the rocket man, Regor Tegmar, went up there for the weekend in my new Camaro. We made it there in 13 hours - nice trip with six stops for gas and food. Sunday the 18th we went to a big street party in Haight Ashbury. We took a little detour on the way back and ended up at the Grand Canyon for a little while. My Camaro had over 6600 miles on it when it was three weeks old.
• Don't know if Elvis played here before or after this, but I saw him in 1973 - at the Civic Plaza. Not in Symphony Hall either. Strange show in the conference hall we now see car shows in. The city is in the process of more than doubling the size of the Civic Plaza too.
• How many listened to Wolfman Jack in the '60s? Wolfman - Robert Weston Smith - came to prominence on the high power station XERF in Del Rio, Texas in 1963. The broadcast station was really in Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, across the Rio Bravo about two miles over the border. Much higher power limit in Mexico and the program could be heard on most nights all the way across the country and up to Canada too. Later he was on XERB, XEG, & XTRA ( Tijuana / San Diego ). And played himself in the movie American Graffiti. He died on July 1st, 1995 at 57, at his home in North Carolina.
• Everyone seems to know the Rolling Stones version of Gimme Shelter - but if you take note of the female voice on that cut - there is a MUCH better version done by her alone. Merry Clayton. Such power. Still trying to find that song - on 45, album, or CD - let me know if you see it.
• CHHS Class of 1966 President Art Hamilton was to be the youngest elected member of the Arizona House of Representatives. A bill was passed allowing him to assume his seat - too young!
• Ellen Lauper ( sister to Cyndi ) ran for Mayor of Phoenix in 1986? - as a Socialist Party candidate. Time frame is getting too far afield. I'll stop now.
Oh yeah, school memories.
• I guess the first thing is - the first day in high school. I don't remember it at all.
• I remember I used to get my books on the very first day allowed, read them all before school started - and then never carry them again.
• Since I really didn't belong there at school at all ( and I was reminded of this over and over again ), it never really made an impact on me.
• No physical examination - so no sports. Never have had a birth certificate - hmmm?
• Oh, the day I got glasses - a girl said "you don't wear glasses" - and smacked me up side my head, knocking them to the sidewalk. Put a chip directly in the center of both lenses. After Mrs. Robertson's English class.
• Wonder what ever happened to Peggy Connelly? ( 66 ) Just wondering.
• I wonder who all remembers Janice Hughes ( would've been CHHS 66 ). Still married after all these years and still local too.
• Let's see, Mrs. Overton was my counselor ( and my sister's several years later ). And with what they gave them for ideas - well, it's like a crap shoot. Never did get to take what I wanted. The school kept trying to send me away ( began after 6th grade! ) - and my parents nixing those ideas at every turn.
• I do remember Chemistry class. I was distinctly not interested in being there - but was interested in the person on my right, with a crush that lasted for many many years - so I did her homework ... and never my own. Six 'Fs' but flew through the finals - damn, we can't fail him.
• Finally got so fed up with school that I just worked - and blew off the scholarships to MIT or Art Center - bright move - and joined the Army. Should've accepted one and then joined the Army. Parents take note - or is that Grandparents take note. :-)
• Does anyone remember the Summer that some of us were kidnapped? - It just seemed like it - to work picking melons in the fields South of Yuma - in July! This was the first Summer after the end of the Bracero program. I dragged a long burlap bag down eighth-mile long rows of canteloupes to empty them into boxed flat bed trucks. Thought I was doing well - not a chance. Could not believe I missed so many melons of THAT diameter. Get up at 3:30 am, breakfast of umm, all I remember is the runny refritos and carton of milk, on to the old school bus and off to the fields. Well, it was a profitable two weeks that I lasted. I came home with seven dollars - ? If anyone doesn't appreciate where you get the fruit and veggies you buy - shame on you.
• I came home and got work at the El Rancho market with a few other miscreants - Ron Woods, Roger Kloeppel ( 66 ), and Ralph Destrini ( Maryvale 66 ) for a whopping 30 cents an hour. I had to have the entire price of a car, any repairs it needed, and a years insurance, before I could buy one. Saved $700 in six months - how? - dunno. Got the old '59 Ford wagon everyone made fun of - but carried everyone to the lake. Got rear-ended in that car - with taillights a foot in diameter! - by a '62 Corvette. It was while sitting a the light at 59th and Indian School at about 2am - with Larry Kuhn and Ralph Destrini in the car. My car didn't budge - the Corvette was destroyed. The drunk driver got nine citations and got off - 'cause I was in the service and couldn't make the hearing. Wasn't even his car either!
• Cars - ah, this was the time to be alive. Regor Tejmar's 55 Chevy, Tom Brawner's white 55 Nomad ( later ), Aaron Parrish's bright orange 58 Impala ( 377 ci I think, with the front wheels a foot off the ground in the parking lot! ), Larry Leister's '54 Ford sleeper with a 390. And the car accident at 35th & McDowell, with the wife of a CHHS teacher that took Bobby Guzman. Larry Hunt's ( 65 ) 348 59 Chevy ( and changing the clutch plates every week or so ). Doug Linkey's gorgeous yellow 2-door 1928 Ford Model-A sedan. And these are just a few of the great cars running around in those years.
• John Loper's mechanic lived across the street from Ron Woods - and the Lil Hoss Anglia, beautiful in solid black paint, was sitting there quite often.
• Don't forget Ray Elliot and his cars - I remember he had a 390 Fairlane - but he did build that great 1923 T-bucket with lots of 24k gold plating on it. Made it into Hot Rod Magazine too. I'd like to find a photo he took one night with us holding the new body over a bare chassis.
• What the heck was the name of the mechanic down at the Union 76 at Van Buren? Classmate? But he had a Studebaker that was supercharged - what a wild ride!
• Can't forget Frank Oviedo's ( 65? ) 1957 Ariel Square Four rigid-framed candy purple chopper.
• I bought a new 350ci SuperSport / Rally Sport Camaro after I got home from my first year in Vietnam. Vernon bought a Camaro too. But I went on to a 427 Corvette and a 396 El Camino - oh yeah, these were great investments. ( but great fun ). Mom loved the Camaro - floated all the valves hot rodding with that four-speed tranny.
• Sunday ... Sunday ... Sunday - Beeline Dragway. This was actually the last commercial I did ( as an emergency fill-in announcer ) when I was at KUPD, and by then pretty much fed up with radio, and doing mostly engineering work.
• I also won a small transistor radio in 1963 ( yes, it was a big deal then ) for the closest guess for the fastest speed on the very first weekend race at the drag strip way out Grand Avenue. Name is forgotten now. 179.63 was the top speed, my guess was 179.60! Slow compared to today's speeds of 300+ mph in the quarter mile, and under 5 seconds.
• I did ride a Honda Dream for a little while too. White, full fenders, great fun. Nothing like that Ariel chopper though. Parents. Learned to ride on giant police Harleys but . . . not the chop.
• Trips to Lake Pleasant, Saguaro and Apache lakes. Tony Vargas ( 66 ) was lost our senior year. And Eddie Patterson's ( 66 ) red Triumph Spitfire convertible - in the lake - at Saguaro.
• My first trip to the Grand Canyon in 1955 was truly memorable - no railings, just camping. The trip up was in the back of an open Chevy pickup with my Dad and a friend and another kid my age. We went up through the old roads through Sedona of that time. Camped frequently back then. Drive out into the desert and toss a blanket on the sand. Not now - have you seen what is crawling around there?
• Let's see, a trip to the Snow Bowl was great fun. I wonder if Linda Durschmidt ( 66 ) remembers our trip down a snow covered hill on a garbage can lid? I remember it well - and I wasn't the one whose fingers were squished between the bottom of the lid and the ground! Pulled all four fingers on one of her hands - and felt greatly on the bus ride home.
• Where were you? This question is asked over-and-over again. The day that President Kennedy was assassinated. I was walking from American History with Mr. Maser.
• Nearing graduation, and by then only a ghost at school, after I got my cap and gown I was called into the office, and told that if I didn't cut my hair ( gee, it was actually short ) I could not walk at graduation. The next day I brought my cap & gown back in - and they relented. A few years ago I got my first haircut in twelve years, reached from palm to palm with arms outstretched. Where is that guy now?
• Does anyone, by any chance, have a copy of the infamous 1966 graduation special edition of our very own Hayden Headlights? Take note - not the Hayden Highlights newspaper.
Changes then-to-now
• It was announced that the population of Arizona was 2.2 million at the end of 1995 - and then at the end of 2004 it was approximately 5.9 million. Recently we are gaining over 100 new residents per day! I remember reading old signs that said 93,000.
• There are six new high schools planned - just for the Phoenix Union High School District!
• Let's just see how astounded you are at the growth of Phoenix. The 'Valley of the Sun' is now well over three million in population! Building continues unabated and at a breakneck pace. Phoenix is projected to be the third largest city in the entire U.S. in the near future - NY ... LA ... Phoenix ... !
• There was talk that Buckeye - yes, Buckeye, will surpass Phoenix as the nation's largest city in physical size - Phoenix is about 520 square miles (though Jacksonville, Florida is much larger by strip annexation - 780 square miles). The one map I saw showed the annexations Buckeye is making - all the way down to near Gila Bend and all the way up to near Wittman just South of Wickenburg! Supposedly they have let 380,000 building permits for the next 30 years.
• 115th Avenue has been re-named 'Avondale Boulevard' in their area, which is expanding dramatically. If you continue further South on 'Avondale Boulevard' you will run into Phoenix International Raceway which has grown into a world-class motor racing facility ( from the desert I remember as a child ).
• The beginning of the survey which established the State of Arizona ( the Gila & Salt River Base and Meridian survey. The confluence of the Gila and the Salt rivers is right near here. ) is on the top of a hill just to the East of the racetrack. Baseline Road is named for the 'baseline' of the survey. And the Gadsden Purchase came all the way up to the Gila River - that was Mexico on the South side of the river until then - all the way to near Phoenix.
• Recent developments & announcements are also astounding. ASU is basically taking over a good section of downtown Phoenix from 3d St. to 3d Ave., from Roosevelt to Van Buren, and expects to have 16,000 students there by 2008. They've just renamed each of the ASU campus' to make it more clear which campus is which.
• The State just sold a relatively small parcel of land on the banks of the Tempe Town Lake (boy that is strange to say) for about $2 million dollars ... an acre!
• Hi-Rise condos seem to be the rage. One that seems to be about four stories tall is kitty-corner from the Heard Museum. And Right across from Xavier at Central and Highland they are planning a 40-story (yes, 40) condo development.
• Then at 1st St. and Polk it was just announced that a 50-story (yes, 5 0) condo is planned on the old Ramada Inn site. Is to be the tallest building in Arizona.
• They apparently want to build at least a couple of 150 to 200 foot tall towers on East Camelback near 24th in the Biltmore Fashion Park area.
• Some mention was made of an 11-building complex on Scottsdale Road near Camelback - one of which is to be 40 storys. And remember that Scottsdale Fashion Square is now extended South across Camelback Rd. There is a plan to fill-in that area from this mall to the East and across Scottsdale Rd with another retail and condo development.
• Westcor ( Metrocenter ) just announced development of six more malls in the Phoenix area.
• I just went to a 30-screen movie theater, with an IMAX screen, in a sprawling 'strip' mall at I-17 and Beardsley - !! And there are about 200 golf courses in the Metro area too. Phoenix, desert, water problem - let's ignore it - it'll go away.
• University Pool and park at 11th Ave and Van Buren are gone - now an apartment building.
• Instead of the 'Old Courthouse' ( one of my favorite buildings ) being a single location including the court, the Phoenix Police Department, the jail, and the City Council - there are now separate buildings for each. Not to mention that we have 23 Justice Courts in the County, and new Superior Courts too. A new one opened in Surprise, one will open at basically 32d St. and Beardsley ( the intersection of SR-51 and 101 ), and one is now being planned for the Avondale area. There is a new building just for the court records and research too.
• The Phoenix Civic Plaza 'reconstruction' is moving along. Since they doubled the size of the original Civic Plaza by going South they decided to double it again by going up. And the large concrete picnic area just North of the ( un-touched ) Symphony Hall now will be a six-story something.
• They tore down St. Mary's High School downtown - relatively soon after the church was named a Basilica - and now they have built all the way out to 5th St with an enclosed church grounds.
• Old 'Phoenix Union' is long gone but they had kept a couple of the original buildings facing Van Buren. One was a school for the arts. NOW the plan is that the UofA is building a medical school right there on the corner of 7th St and Van Buren!
• Central Avenue is about to be lost to the new 'MetroRail' - it is to run right down the middle of Central from Camelback to Jefferson, then to ASU. Wonder what they are going to do with all those $10 Italian bricks they just had to buy for the center lane?
• Of course these are just a few of the bigger changes - there are so many more. The Phoenix we grew up in simply does not exist anymore - they tore it down and built over it or paved over it.
