How do you remember Phoenix? Stories from long time residents... (Tucson: dental, pizzeria)

[Brannen5]

Does anyone remember the j j newberrys downtown phx? During the 1970's, there was a older woman named "Martha" that did the cooking upstairs. I wonder what happened to her and also the store.

[roosevelt]

Originally Posted by Brannen5

Does anyone remember the j j newberrys downtown phx? During the 1970's, there was a older woman named "Martha" that did the cooking upstairs. I wonder what happened to her and also the store.

I have a menu from this location, the lunch counter was almost a half block long. Woman downstairs played any sheet music you wanted to buy. They opened a second store at Park Central in the late 50's and they had a lunch counter too; maybe your Martha also worked there later.

[Dave Bob]

Originally Posted by roosevelt

I bought a new Renault from Max, didn't like it and tried to return it. Max said he didn't want it back, he had a whole lot full of them!

Attachment 94064

That's a great photo of Max of Switzerland. I'd almost forgotten what it looked like and exactly where it was. Must be the SW corner of 70th & McDowell, with Papago Inn in the background. I salivated over those XKEs!

What did Max look like? Can't remember if he ever appeared in TV ads. My mental image, for some reason, is similar to Kurt the annoying Carpetime guy who's been much discussed here.
I do remember the jingle, and azdr0710 sings it so well!

And roosevelt, you bought a Renault?? But, but... you always seemed so sensible!
Your experience reminds me--in the '80s when I was working at Garrett AiResearch, one of the engineers (who was from Belgium) had a sign that said:

Heaven is where the diplomats are British, the mechanics are German, the bankers are Swiss, the lovers are Italian, and the chefs are French.
Hell is where the chefs are British, the diplomats are German, the lovers are Swiss, the bankers are Italian, and the mechanics are French.

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by Dave Bob

That's a great photo of Max of Switzerland. I'd almost forgotten what it looked like and exactly where it was. Must be the SW corner of 70th & McDowell, with Papago Inn in the background. I salivated over those XKEs!

This past Christmas I stayed at the Papago Inn. Nice place, if not a bit dated... think 1970s decor. How long have the birds in the cages been there in the center courtyard?

[roosevelt]

Originally Posted by Dave Bob

That's a great photo of Max of Switzerland. I'd almost forgotten what it looked like and exactly where it was. Must be the SW corner of 70th & McDowell, with Papago Inn in the background. I salivated over those XKEs!

What did Max look like? Can't remember if he ever appeared in TV ads. My mental image, for some reason, is similar to Kurt the annoying Carpetime guy who's been much discussed here.
I do remember the jingle, and azdr0710 sings it so well!

And roosevelt, you bought a Renault?? But, but... you always seemed so sensible!
Your experience reminds me--in the '80s when I was working at Garrett AiResearch, one of the engineers (who was from Belgium) had a sign that said:

Heaven is where the diplomats are British, the mechanics are German, the bankers are Swiss, the lovers are Italian, and the chefs are French.
Hell is where the chefs are British, the diplomats are German, the lovers are Swiss, the bankers are Italian, and the mechanics are French.

The car wasn't for me, it was for someone who failed their driving test 4 times so I figured the push buttons and small size would help, and it did. Max as I remember was middle aged, much better looking than the carpet time guy.

By the way, I bought the Dauphine from Fann Imports; let's just say big mistake.

Damn Ray Milland and his 'beep-beep' Dauphine commercial!

[trillcatz]

Originally Posted by Brannen5

Does anyone remember the j j newberrys downtown phx? During the 1970's, there was a older woman named "Martha" that did the cooking upstairs. I wonder what happened to her and also the store.

I would go the Newberry's and Woolworth's on Saturday movie days in town...this was back in the early '60's.

[Dave Bob]

SluggoF16 said:

First pizza I ever had... Burger Chef nearby was another favorite.[/quote]

Sluggo,
Pizza Pub might also have been my earliest sit-down pizza joint, in '64 or so.

Most "pizzerias" seemed to be just take-out back then, before the chains like Pizza Hut, Shakey's, Straw Hat etc. There may have been a few Village Inns. And of course there were Italian restaurants with pizza on the menu, like Red Devil and Riazzi's.

Pizza Pub was charmingly incongruous--Italian(-ish) food, with Olde English interior decor, located at Polynesian Village!

I remember that my Dad had to explain some of the signs they had inside; the door that busboys went through with dirty dishes was labeled the "Scullery," and the cigarette machine said "Coffin Nails." And I think the oven said something like "Caution 650 degrees."

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by Dave Bob

SluggoF16 said:

First pizza I ever had... Burger Chef nearby was another favorite.
Sluggo,
Pizza Pub might also have been my earliest sit-down pizza joint, in '64 or so.

Most "pizzerias" seemed to be just take-out back then, before the chains like Pizza Hut, Shakey's, Straw Hat etc. There may have been a few Village Inns. And of course there were Italian restaurants with pizza on the menu, like Red Devil and Riazzi's.

Pizza Pub was charmingly incongruous--Italian(-ish) food, with Olde English interior decor, located at Polynesian Village!
I remember that my Dad had to explain some of the signs they had inside; the door that busboys went through with dirty dishes was labeled the "Scullery," and the cigarette machine said "Coffin Nails." And I think the oven said something like "Caution 650 degrees."

I remember that! Did the Pub also have a window to the kitchen where one could watch the pizzas being made? Maybe I'm confusing it with Straw Hat at Thomas and Hayden; it seemed to have been pretty tall for a 7-year-old. Straw Hat, however, was a later addition, maybe 1970 or so.

Always liked Round Table on Rural across from ASU. Spent too many Tuesday evenings there, two pizzas, two pitchers of Coors Light, and then two hours of FORTRAN computer programming.

[jack swilling]

Anyone remember the delicious and inexpensive pizza slices that Woolworth's downtown sold in the 60s and 70s, and the lady who was in charge of the pizza counter?
I remember in the 50s when I went downtown to the YMCA in the summers that the man in charge called us in to a big room and told us to call an adult to pick us up, because the authorities had notified the Y that winds of 80 mph were heading from Tucson to Phoenix, and that winds like that could knock over some buildings.
That evening, Phoenicians waited for the winds which did not come, and for the news and weather stories which did not come.
The next morning, the Republic had a small piece which stated that a telegrapher in Tucson had hit a zero key by accident and changed 'winds at 8 mph' into 'winds at 80 mph.'
And remember Sherri Finkbine (Sherri Chessen) of Romper Room who went to Europe for an abortion because she had taken the tranquillizer Thalidomide? She ended up here in San Diego, where she divorced and married an anesthetist and still lives, I believe, in a near-north side neighborhood.
Recall the castor bean fad? As a boy, I wanted to grow some castor beans, but I couldn't find seeds, so I called a local plant nursery and asked if they sold the plants or the seeds. When the man finished cursing at me, he slammed down the phone, and I didn't call any more nurseries.
I remember when kids in the 50s had the idea that you could get looped by drinking Coca-Cola and taking one or two aspirins, or, if you were a brave soul, by dropping two or three aspirins into the Coke and drinking up. The innocence! Then, we would select a mortuary from the yellow pages at random, call them up on the phone, and ask to talk to something like ' slab 7.'
All in all, we were good kids.

[David Wendell]

Originally Posted by jack swilling

Anyone remember the delicious and inexpensive pizza slices that Woolworth's downtown sold in the 60s and 70s, and the lady who was in charge of the pizza counter?
I remember in the 50s when I went downtown to the YMCA in the summers that the man in charge called us in to a big room and told us to call an adult to pick us up, because the authorities had notified the Y that winds of 80 mph were heading from Tucson to Phoenix, and that winds like that could knock over some buildings.
That evening, Phoenicians waited for the winds which did not come, and for the news and weather stories which did not come.
The next morning, the Republic had a small piece which stated that a telegrapher in Tucson had hit a zero key by accident and changed 'winds at 8 mph' into 'winds at 80 mph.'
And remember Sherri Finkbine (Sherri Chessen) of Romper Room who went to Europe for an abortion because she had taken the tranquillizer Thalidomide? She ended up here in San Diego, where she divorced and married an anesthetist and still lives, I believe, in a near-north side neighborhood.
Recall the castor bean fad? As a boy, I wanted to grow some castor beans, but I couldn't find seeds, so I called a local plant nursery and asked if they sold the plants or the seeds. When the man finished cursing at me, he slammed down the phone, and I didn't call any more nurseries.
I remember when kids in the 50s had the idea that you could get looped by drinking Coca-Cola and taking one or two aspirins, or, if you were a brave soul, by dropping two or three aspirins into the Coke and drinking up. The innocence! Then, we would select a mortuary from the yellow pages at random, call them up on the phone, and ask to talk to something like ' slab 7.'
All in all, we were good kids.

Jack, That is amazing!! We were watching TV when that wind bulletin came across. Since we lived in an old broken down house my dad got on the roof and started nailing down some roofing that we had been putting up there but not completed. It was that old roll roofing so it took a lot of nails. I held the flashlight. We brought in every thing that was loose outside so it would not blow away. The joke was on us!

I remember Sherri Chessen, I was too old for Romper Room but I felt sorry for her and always wondered what happened to her. I also wondered if her baby would have had problems.

I don't remember the castor bean thing. What was it all about? We did have some growing in the backyard. They became huge plants with lots of those castor beans on them.

We never tried the aspirin/coke thing. We used to buy Kool Aid or something like that and add it to our Lotta Cola 16oz. soda pop (if we had any $$). It fizzed all over the place like crazy. The point was to drink it without wasting all that fizz.

Our neighborhood had "model airplane glue sniffers". I tried that once and thought my lungs and stuff were on fire. It did not seem a very smart way to get dizzy and goofy. I remember one kid used to be passed out in the alleys; he was a sniffer so I suppose the glue did it. Oh, he did turn out OK with a military career.

I had a secretary who gave me a message to call a mortuary with someone's name I needed to check on. Ole dumb me did and it was something like that. I was so embarrassed when they got mad and hung up on me. Wish I could remember what it was.