How do you remember Phoenix? Stories from long time residents... (Mesa: lifeguard, insects)

[desertskies]

Originally Posted by roosevelt

Ha, you bankrupted the Fox Theater, they needed the money from selling snacks, and had to close in 1974.................

The building Skagg's drugstore is in was Diamond's department store that moved out of downtown to Park Central. Before that they called it the Boston Store because is sounded classy but later changed the name to their family name Diamond. They were the official Boy Scout store for a while too.

Diamond's at Park Central was where my dad would take us to get our Cub Scout uniforms. Never gave it any thought until you brought it up.

I made it to Webelos before figuring the political ramifications of being a Cub Scout. That's another thread.

[desertratz]

Originally Posted by desertskies

Diamond's at Park Central was where my dad would take us to get our Cub Scout uniforms. Never gave it any thought until you brought it up.

I made it to Webelos before figuring the political ramifications of being a Cub Scout. That's another thread.

In Mesa, J.C. Penney's is where we went to get our official Boy Scout threads. Troop 352...............now how did I remember that?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[wizard33639]

Jacob Connor
HI you probably don't remember me but I trained at Traco on 44th and Indian school road from about 1986 to 1989. After Tom Connor passed I followed Ray Fisher to ACS in Tempe. ACS "Arizona Chuan Fa" is Mr. Fishers school. He still teaches many of the Traco Forms.
I now live in Kalamazoo Michigan for work and school and am currently studying via distance under Larry Tatum from Pasadena. Do you know if Traco had any of the forms on video and or if i can find them available anywhere? I would really like to find them. I do have Ray Fishers complete video set and all the books. I am also building up my Larry Tatum DVD and manual collection as well. I would love to add more of the original Traco manuals and video if I can find them.
Rae E. Phillips
Kalamazoo

[desertratz]

Having been born and raised here, I think one of the things I miss most are the open irrigation ditches that crisscrossed the valley from north to south and east to west. Most were lined with large cottonwood trees that provided much needed shade in this hostile environment, but unfortunately they sucked up a lot of the water. The cool, clear running water was a natural mecca for all of us kids on a hot summer's day. Another bonus to the ditches were the frogs and the billions tadpoles to be had when the water wasn't running. Life was grand for an Arizona kid!

To this day when I pass an open running ditch on a hot day, I'm sorely tempted to stop the car and just jump in and soak in the coolness. My kids think of swimming pools to cool off in the heat, but give me an irrigation ditch any day.

[SuzanneDeAz]

Originally Posted by desertratz

Having been born and raised here, I think one of the things I miss most are the open irrigation ditches that crisscrossed the valley from north to south and east to west. Most were lined with large cottonwood trees that provided much needed shade in this hostile environment, but unfortunately they sucked up a lot of the water. The cool, clear running water was a natural mecca for all of us kids on a hot summer's day. Another bonus to the ditches were the frogs and the billions tadpoles to be had when the water wasn't running. Life was grand for an Arizona kid!

To this day when I pass an open running ditch on a hot day, I'm sorely tempted to stop the car and just jump in and soak in the coolness. My kids think of swimming pools to cool off in the heat, but give me an irrigation ditch any day.

When I grew up in Phx. I was told as a child the danger of swimming in an irrigation ditch so I never did it.

[locolobo13]

Originally Posted by desertratz

Having been born and raised here, I think one of the things I miss most are the open irrigation ditches that crisscrossed the valley from north to south and east to west. Most were lined with large cottonwood trees that provided much needed shade in this hostile environment, but unfortunately they sucked up a lot of the water. The cool, clear running water was a natural mecca for all of us kids on a hot summer's day. Another bonus to the ditches were the frogs and the billions tadpoles to be had when the water wasn't running. Life was grand for an Arizona kid!

To this day when I pass an open running ditch on a hot day, I'm sorely tempted to stop the car and just jump in and soak in the coolness. My kids think of swimming pools to cool off in the heat, but give me an irrigation ditch any day.

I can remember doing that too. Back in the 70s. Especially cool was to jump in above a bridge and float past.

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by desertratz

Having been born and raised here, I think one of the things I miss most are the open irrigation ditches that crisscrossed the valley from north to south and east to west. Most were lined with large cottonwood trees that provided much needed shade in this hostile environment, but unfortunately they sucked up a lot of the water. The cool, clear running water was a natural mecca for all of us kids on a hot summer's day. Another bonus to the ditches were the frogs and the billions tadpoles to be had when the water wasn't running. Life was grand for an Arizona kid!

To this day when I pass an open running ditch on a hot day, I'm sorely tempted to stop the car and just jump in and soak in the coolness. My kids think of swimming pools to cool off in the heat, but give me an irrigation ditch any day.

There were also the SRP valve boxes throughout the Valley. They were about 3 feet high, with expandable metal covering them. The water would flow through them, making loud noises and filling the air nearby with the smell of the Verde and Salt Rivers. The attached picture, from Google Maps, is of the valves at Highland and Granite Reef.

As kids we were taught two very different dangers in school. One, about the irrigation ditches, was relevant. We had flood irrigation at Navajo Elementary, there was the Pima Reservation, and there were suburban horse ranches with open ditches all over the place. There was a big deal about the diverter valves as well in the 60s; every year some child or children would be playing in the ditches, and would be trapped in the water, resulting in a rescue, or worse, a drowning recovery. In the spring our principal would come to our classrooms and address the dangers of the irrigation ditches. Of course, we played in them anyway.

The second I am still puzzled about. In first grade we received a lengthy instruction about the dangers of blasting caps and detonator (or "det") cord; there was a movie, and a guest speaker from one of the mining companies came in and talked to us about it. Today it doesn't seem relevant that Scottsdale would have blasting devices, but was there significant use around there before the 60s? Or maybe it was a general warning, since there are a lot of prospects and borrow pits in the McDowells and eastern mountains.

[trillcatz]

Originally Posted by desertratz

Having been born and raised here, I think one of the things I miss most are the open irrigation ditches that crisscrossed the valley from north to south and east to west. Most were lined with large cottonwood trees that provided much needed shade in this hostile environment, but unfortunately they sucked up a lot of the water. The cool, clear running water was a natural mecca for all of us kids on a hot summer's day. Another bonus to the ditches were the frogs and the billions tadpoles to be had when the water wasn't running. Life was grand for an Arizona kid!

To this day when I pass an open running ditch on a hot day, I'm sorely tempted to stop the car and just jump in and soak in the coolness. My kids think of swimming pools to cool off in the heat, but give me an irrigation ditch any day.

You are so right desertratz...a clear running, tree lined, open ditch always brings me back to W. Dobbins Rd...about 19th Ave...I don't know what's out there now but in '63-64 it was out in the country. It was oh so refreshing on a hot summer day. These were all open, fairly slow moving and possibly hand-dug ditches with no grates...on Dobbins someone had dug out a small swimming hole. We still have ditches up here in northern UT and kids still play in them during the summer... lol but then we're 20-30 yrs behind the times.

[roosevelt]

Originally Posted by trillcatz

You are so right desertratz...a clear running, tree lined, open ditch always brings me back to W. Dobbins Rd...about 19th Ave...I don't know what's out there now but in '63-64 it was out in the country. It was oh so refreshing on a hot summer day. These were all open, fairly slow moving and possibly hand-dug ditches with no grates...on Dobbins someone had dug out a small swimming hole. We still have ditches up here in northern UT and kids still play in them during the summer... lol but then we're 20-30 yrs behind the times.

My grandfather lived at various places along Van Buren and I would go swimming in the ditch; at that time there were no iron grills protecting kids from going under a road. I still remember how dirty the canals were out at 59th Avenue, the debris in the fast flowing water would sting like a hundred insects biting.

[AZDesertBrat]

Originally Posted by roosevelt

My grandfather lived at various places along Van Buren and I would go swimming in the ditch; at that time there were no iron grills protecting kids from going under a road. I still remember how dirty the canals were out at 59th Avenue, the debris in the fast flowing water would sting like a hundred insects biting.

The irrigation ditch down South Central wasn't nearly big enough to swim in! It WAS plenty big enough to splash in though. Till my friend stepped on a broken jar and cut the bejeepers out of her foot! From then on we were forbidden to do that. Our families told us that they took us to the pools often enough we could just stay OUT of the ditch. I remember all of our driveways had small wooden bridges over the ditch to get into the yards and we used to 'hide' under those. lol