How do you remember Phoenix? Stories from long time residents... (Cameron: concert, based)

[trillcatz]

Originally Posted by desertratz

My wife said that all the kids were in fear of getting caught ditching school and being sent to Jameson/Jamison and having their parents have to come get them out. This was back when they had truant officers. No offense, but they need them more today than they did back then.

That must've been before my time...no truant officers when I was a kid...actually the law at that time stated that a kid either needed to be 14 or must have completed the 8th grade in order to drop out. We cited that many times when ditching high school classes and no one was ever picked up. lol if my kids had ever acted like that I would have knocked them silly. I certainly vote for truant officers and they are alive and active in northern Utah.

[trillcatz]

Originally Posted by AZDesertBrat

The first Safeway in that area...far as I know...was built two doors down from my grandparents in 1950. I remember ruining a pair of roller skates because I insisted on skating on the not yet hard enough new parking lot. lol I also remember playing by the front door because the 'electric eye' opened it when you passed through. That old Safeway eventually became some sort of office building but I don't remember when. Maybe early 60's?

I remember when the strip mall was built but don't remember it being a Safeway, unless that's where it was moved to when the other one was used for something else. I remember shopping at El Rancho too.

I can't remember if the "new" Safeway was there in '65 when I moved to CA for a couple of years but it was definitely there when I came back in '67. I think in '65 we were still getting our ice cream cones over at 31 Flavors in South Plaza which means that Thrifty hadn't opened up yet because if I remember correctly when Thrifty opened we were able to get 'tubular' shaped ice cream cones at a nickel a dip.

[trillcatz]

Originally Posted by AZDesertBrat

I remember when there were no...or very few...houses out by South Mountain. I sure did my share of horseback riding out there too! When I visited in 1968 there were homes out there and some of my childhood friends lived out there. The stables were still there in 1969 and I used to do trailrides back then. At least one stable was still there. It doesn't surprise me at all that they'd be gone now.

I used to love going up South Mountain at night just to see the lights of the city...and 'burbs'...all spread out below. Gorgeous! I have a few pics...if I can find them...that I took from up there in 1964 and it was still a lot of empty space down the mountain to Baseline.

Exactly! My parents built a house south of Dobbins in '60 and I think we moved into the house in '61. Lots of desert and orange groves. Euclid Avenue was still either desert or groves but the road and those houses hadn't gone in yet. Circle K was in the middle of the desert...Cliff's Phillips 66 was on the corner of Dobbins and Central...a couple of years later a drive-thru dairy (?) was built next to the gas station.

We spent our summer days swimming at the country club pool or Palm Beach, riding our bikes out to Valley View Elementary to watch movies, eating windfall grapefruits/oranges from the groves when we were thirsty, building 'forts' in the Palo Verde trees, collecting pop bottles along Central on the way to Circle K where we would enjoy a cold soda and some penny candy or maybe a nickel candy bar, shooting at the end of 7th St or climbing down into the gravel pits past Mineral Rd...maybe heading up to the old mine just behind Mystery Castle...bats would fly out of the mine at sunset and many times one would dive bomb us while swimming at the cc pool. If we were lucky we might be allowed to take a golf cart out and shag balls and sometimes we'd even get paid a quarter! Pretty wild stuff!

[Commander Max]

Here is an obscure one, perhaps someone out there will remember it.

The Bug Haus, (4245 N. 7th Ave) it later became the Black Forest. Because Volkswagen served the owner(Tim Horn) with a cease and desist.


This was the BH billboard, Tim told me he got some flack for the line,
"we won't jack you around". But then it was 1972(I have no clue what was appropriate at that time, I was 5 when this pic was taken).

[Commander Max]

Here is some pics from one of my family's albums.

Luke Field 4-28-43, this was taken by my Grandfather(Forest Cox), when he was stationed there.After seeing action(in the UK, India and China) that's another story. He was a pilot and administrative officer.


Things have sure changed in 69 years.

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by Commander Max

Here is some pics from one of my family's albums.

Luke Field 4-28-43, this was taken by my Grandfather(Forest Cox), when he was stationed there.After seeing action(in the UK, India and China) that's another story. He was a pilot and administrative officer.


Things have sure changed in 69 years.

I haven't been to Luke since 2001 but when I was there that building immediately behind the flag pole on your top picture was still there.

[Dave Bob]

Originally Posted by SluggoF16

I haven't been to Luke since 2001 but when I was there that building immediately behind the flag pole on your top picture was still there.

In the "historicaerials" website's 2007 satellite photo, that building is also visible.

Those are neat old photos by Commander Max's granddad. He must have climbed onto the roof of a hangar to take the shot looking east over the swimming pool.

The mountains on the eastern horizon are sure clear! Even the Superstitions show up well.

I remember that when my grandparents lived near Christown in the 60's, my grandfather (who was a Marine vet) would drive out to Luke to buy groceries at the PX or Base Exchange or whatever it was called.

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by Dave Bob

In the "historicaerials" website's 2007 satellite photo, that building is also visible.

Those are neat old photos by Commander Max's granddad. He must have climbed onto the roof of a hangar to take the shot looking east over the swimming pool.

The mountains on the eastern horizon are sure clear! Even the Superstitions show up well.

I remember that when my grandparents lived near Christown in the 60's, my grandfather (who was a Marine vet) would drive out to Luke to buy groceries at the PX or Base Exchange or whatever it was called.

The building in question is the 56th FW HQ. In the 90s while assigned to Luke I had to visit there a couple times. I remember the unique "I" shape.

[roosevelt]

How many remember this place?

[observer53]

I don't remember that one, but I do remember a later location in the original Fashion Square in Scottsdale.