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

[plusmiles]

Originally Posted by cactus jumper

I remember when we swam in the ditches, and canals.
Out in the country we use to water ski along the canals, that was dangerous but we were just crazy kids having fun back then.

I remember when it was fun to drive along base line and ooo and ahhhh at all the beautiful flowers. They planted Stalks and their spicy fragrance filled the air. It was Baseline from around 40th to 7th streets.

I remember when there were Citrus groves EVERY WHERE and in the springtime the air was thick with the scent of orange blossoms.

Yeah, really miss it, never gonna be the same.

[plusmiles]

Originally Posted by cactus jumper

Driving all the way from Mesa to Drag Central, back in the late 50's.

Yeah, it was dragging Main in Mesa in the late sixties, went to Central a few times but it was too far away for me. A '57 Chevy was king back then!

[plusmiles]

Originally Posted by aj661

...do you remember Beeline Dragway? My brother took me there often when he was racing his '58 Merc or his '66 Chevy.

I went to the NHRA Winter Nationals held around 1970 at the Beeline Dragway. That was my first time ever at a drag strip, I'll never forget how long it took my ears to quit ringing from the sound of the engines at the starting line. You can still see the drag strip next to the Beeline Highway and the tower just off to the south of the road. I wonder why the tribe hasn't re-opened it, it would be a good weekend money maker on the East side of town.

[plusmiles]

Originally Posted by Melanie53

...I remember a big store that my parents used to take us to a huge store called Fed Mart. I also remember we went to a grocery store called Piggly Wiggly when I was very young.

We use to go to the Fed Mart in Mesa around Main and Dobson. We got such bargain prices we would stock up and come back about every six months or so.

Originally Posted by Melanie53

There also used to be a Bob's Big Boy on the Southeast corner of Bethany and 19th Avenue.

Yup, went there a few times, my cousin lived near there on McClellan.

[plusmiles]

Originally Posted by Ralph Score

Do you remember the Red Dog Saloon on Scottsdale Rd. next to the Kachina theater? How about Minder Binders?

I use to hang out at Minder Binders at McClintock and University, they had the barrels of free salted peanuts everywhere, to keep you thirsty, and man did we put away some suds in that place. The building is still there, but the development on either side have it all kind of boxed in now, I think it's closed.

[plusmiles]

Originally Posted by MichaelinWA

...Speaking of being a kid, one of my regrets was never seeing Tito Montez live at the "Madison Square Garden." Anyone remember him and that wrestling venue?

Oh yeah, my dad use to watch Big Time Wrestling whenever it was on so we could see Tito get beat, only to come back and beat heck out of the same guy later on. I saw him on the news probably 6 months ago, it must have been a birthday or something, I was shocked first to know that he was still alive, but second because he's just a tiny little guy. As a kid in the mid 60's I always thought he was huge. Here's a clip about him and another wrestler of the day:
In Arizona, Don Kent worked a storyline that drew full houses at the Phoenix Madison Square Garden against local face (good guy) Tito Montez. The two faced off week after week in a variety of specialty matches such as a chain match, Arizona Death Match and falls count anywhere match. The angle ended with a steel cage match that saw Montez win after overcoming Kent’s cheating ways. One week after the storyline ended, attendance dropped by half and Don Kent soon left the area.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by plusmiles

I use to hang out at Minder Binders at McClintock and University, they had the barrels of free salted peanuts everywhere, to keep you thirsty, and man did we put away some suds in that place. The building is still there, but the development on either side have it all kind of boxed in now, I think it's closed.

Funny about Minder Binders: my G/F used to go there in the early 1970's........and, yes, it is now closed.

[oaktowndiver]

what a great thread...

we moved to Phoenix in the late 70's, living near 19th and Myrtle first

-Orangewood elementary school
-being bussed to Royal Palm for sometime due to flooding
-tennis at the phoenix tennis center (near i think Washington park or in it???)
-Gemco
-the best pizza (Raphaels across from gemco) still there i think (we were NY's and had to search out this staple)
-abominable Straw Hat Pizza
-christown (my crazy ex-stepmother had me in some show there i recall)
-wallace and ladmo (whatever happened to my Ladmo bag?)
-moving to Moon Valley
-Lookout Mountain School 7-8grade
-sneaking out of Lookout Mt school with friends to swim during lunch hour at their house close by.
-moon valley...
-alpha beta in moon valley (my first/only time getting jumped by two kids and getting a fat lip, even recall one of their name's Carlos Munoz)
-the canals behind the houses
-my first concert, Peter Frampton at the coliseum
-Metro Center
-Golf and Stuff
-Big Surf (still there?)
-climbing the mountain across from Alpha Beta in Moon Valley (probably a hill!!)
-swensens
-O'Farrells

which of the ice cream places did the giant bowl of scooped ice cream?

what was the name of the western themed restaurant that snipped off ties if you wore one in?

[plusmiles]

Originally Posted by Lola4

I LOVE(d) Ladmo!! I listened to his funeral on the radio. My eyes were all puffy when I got to work. When asked what was wrong, I said that Ladmo's funeral was today. "What's a Ladmo?" Awww the wonderful person they missed out on!

You mention the theater on Bethany Home Road... 59th Avenue and Bethany (across from Chicken Park?) or The Glen in old Glendale?

I remember meeting Ladmo at the State Fair grounds it was about 1969. He was doing a show at the coloseum and was just walking around the Fairgrounds alone one evening and I introduced myself and told him how much I enjoyed his performances. I was surprised when he shook my hand because his hand was huge, I mean I wasn't a small person, I stood about 5'10" at the time, but his hand was huge, and he was as goofy meeting him in person as he was on the show. We were very lucky to have experienced that.

[Dave Bob]

Originally Posted by Arizona Mike

[/indent]Were the sheepherders Native Americans? UofA has a library of films that you can read descriptions of at:

North American Indians: Films and Videos | The University of Arizona University Libraries

If so, a description may trigger your memory...

Bingo, Eureka, or whatever! Many thanks for the tip on finding the grade school movie I was trying to remember.
The sheepherders weren't Native American, probably Basque, but the UofA library did indeed list the film. It really was titled Morning Star, made in 1951 by a man named Francis R. Line. Their description:
"Records the annual spring migration in Arizona of a large flock of sheep to summer pasture, showing the hardships experienced by the sheep, pack donkeys, dogs, herder, camp cook, and the lecturer, Mr. Line. Ends with a visualization of the twenty-third Psalm."

Found his obit too. He died in 1999 at age 95, described as an artist, filmmaker, author, humanitarian etc.
The film was only 36 minutes, shorter than I remembered, but I guess that was a lot longer than the typical 10 or 15 minute school films.

Different topic--the stone amphitheater on McDowell by Papago Buttes. I seem to recall that Easter sunrise services were held there decades ago. And one of the "Hub Kapp & the Wheels" publicity photos that I've seen was shot there as well, from the looks of it. Is it still used for anything?