- You remember when Bell Road (especially thorough Glendale) was the considered edge of civilization. There was nothing there but tumbleweeds and prairie dogs. Now, it's where you go to run all your errands. Or if you were traveling eastbound on Bell Rd. the sign that said 'Scottsdale- 21 miles'
- Your parents took you to Legend City.
- Mornings were spent watching 'The Wallace and Ladmo Show'. When it was over, it was time to leave for school. 'Ladmo Bags'.
- You remember when Beardsley Road was a seldom traveled, two-lane blacktop. Now, it's the eastbound frontage road for the 101 freeway.
- Before there was Target, there was Gemco. Now, most of the old Gemco stores are Targets.
- You watched Star Wars at the original Cine Capri.
- You remember stores like Yellow Front, Woolco, Newberry's, McCrory's,TG&Y, Fedmart, Sprouse Reitz, Wards, U-Totem, Woolworth,and Yates.
- You remember when there was a cabbage field where Metro-Center is now located.
- You remember when Metrocenter had a below-grade ice skating rink.Watching skaters from the overlook above was the best way to escape the summer heat.
- Farrell's ice cream parlor @ Chris-Town Mall. No Farrell's trip was complete without getting to see two waiters run though the restaurant with a sundae resting on a stretcher, while lights and sirens whirred in the background. Sometimes, the ice cream would fall off the stretcher. Don't forget the trip thru their candy store.
- You were bummed when Farrell's closed.
- You saw a concert at Compton Terrace. When it was attached to Legend City.
- Your dad subscribed to the Phoenix Gazette(afternoon paper) and the Arizona Republic on Sunday.
- You remember when the Brass Armadillo antique mall was Angel's--a building supply warehouse similar to Home Depot.
- You remember when you got your building supplies from O'Malley's, Entz-White or Payless Cashways.
- You remember when the Phoenix Suns were the only professional sports team in the state, and they played their games at Phoenix Memorial Coliseum.
- Your groceries came from Alpha Beta, AJ Bayless, Lucky's, Neb's Market or Smitty's. Smitty's even had a little coffee shop attached to it.
- A night out consisted of family dinner at the Lunt Avenue Marble Club. Their deep fried mushrooms were the best.
- You remember when eastbound I-10 ended at Dysart Road. In order to continue east, you had to take McDowell or Thomas Road 15 miles to I-17 and head south. I-10 started up again somewhere east of downtown.
- You ate breakfast at Sambo's or Bob's Big Boy.
- You remember when houses were built with carports instead of garages. Roofs were covered with wood shakes or asphalt shingles instead of concrete tiles.
- You remember home builder's billboards that advertised interest rates of 11%
- Your aspirin and cough syrup came from Skagg's, Revco, Thrifty's, Longs, or Drug Emporium.
- Your shoes came from Buster Brown.
- You remember when CBS was on channel 10...ABC was on channel 3...and channels 5 and 15 were independent. Now, CBS is on channel 5...FOX is on channel 10...ABC is on channel 15...and channel 3 no longer has a network affiliation. NBC and PBS are the only ones that stayed on their original stations (channel 12 and 8, respectively). You remember when channel 15 broadcast pay-tv at night (It was called ON-TV).
- You spent hours watching early music videos on UHF channel 61. Due to the limited number of videos at the time, songs like 'Down Under', 'I Ran', and 'Come on, Eileen' were repeated quite often. You were lucky if you could get decent reception.
- You accompanied your dad to the True Value Hardware store in Westown in hopes of getting to stop at Baskin Robbins afterwards.
- You shopped at Valley West Mall before it became a ghost town, and was ultimately torn down.
- You shopped at Phoenix Spectrum Mall when it was known as Chris-Town.
- You woke up to Bruce Kelly in the morning on KZZP. Before that - Jonathon Brandmeier and his 'loons'!
- You rode the 'Tico' to Park Central.
- You remember quality local programming like Open House with Rita Davenport or Sun Spots with Jan DiAtri.
- You accompanied your dad to the LaBelle's catalog showroom to buy your mom's Christmas present.
- Before he was governor, you remember Evan Mecham as the owner of a Pontiac dealership in Glendale.
- You remember when Castles 'n' Coasters was known as Golf 'n' Stuff.
- You remember when the entire state of Arizona only had one area code. Now, there are three in the Phoenix area alone.
- You remember when your phone number that started with '959' and it was changed to '840' and you never knew why.
- You remember when Scottsdale Fashion Square was an outdoor mall with Goldwater's, Bullocks and Lenord's luggage being the only stores. You remember when Goldwater's was bought out by Robinson May who was then bought out by Macy's. You remember when Diamonds was bought out by Dillards.
- You remember when Diamonds ticket box-was the only place to buy concert tickets.
- You remember when it hit 99° and that was considered HOT.
- You remember when Big Surf was the place to go to bet the heat. Then hitting the drive inn to see movie across the street.
- You remember when best ice cream was found at Thrifty's Drug Store, where 85¢ would get you three scoops.
- You remember when you wrote all your information down on a piece of paper and then your drivers license was mailed to you. It was very easy to change the 1968 to 1965 (because it was still in your hand writing) so that you could go to "Devil House" drinking because the drinking age was 19 years old.
- You remember when you could go to Devil House for dancing 'after hours' which was from 1am -3am.
- You remember going to see 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' at midnight on Mill Ave.
- You remember when 44th Street and Thomas was 'Thomas Mall'.
- You remember when 40th Street and Thomas was 'Tower Plaza'. And there was a few people that climb to the top and threaten to jump.
- You remember when there was a canal at 48th.
- You remember when driving up Pima Rd and you could see for miles & miles because there was nothing east or north of Shea Rd. And it was very dark and scary.
- You remember when the only way to get to Shea Rd was thru 'Dreamy Park' and there weren't any streetlights? Squaw Peak was only a name of a mountain. Not a highway.
- You remember when you saw a concert at Graham Central Station, because the band was not popular enough to fill Mesa Amphi Theater.
- This May is your 20th class reunion!
Click here to hear a lovely holiday song, http://objflicks.com/arizona.htm
16 comments:
Ted,
I visit your site from time to time. Love it! I grew up in Paradise Valley and went to SMHS. I also as well live in Iowa. Mt. Pleasant, Iowa that is.
I love the Statehood day list that was sent from classmates. It really brought me back. I do remember all of that! What was even better though was the Wallace and Ladmo shows on your site! I remember watching that everyday.
You have done an awesome job!
Thanks for the walk down memory lane!
n '87-88 I used to work at Shea Plaza. On Wednesdays, we had 50 cents day during those years. There was a man who would show up every Wednesday and pay with a Susan B. Anthony. He always wore tan coveralls and rode a strange bike. I never heard him speak. I used to call him the "Susan B. Anthony man." I saw him recently, wearing the same outfit, riding the same bike, 20 years later!
It was really, really fun working there. I was the assistant manager trainee. I had to run the films. One time I woke up at 1:11pm after a night of partying and thought it was 11:11am(still late). I called the theater and no one answered. Ugh. When I arrived, there was a line of people around the building and my staff had been sitting there on the sidewalk for 2 1/2 hours without anyone calling me. Everyone in the line applauded when I opened the door.
Another time, I started two of the wrong movies in the same theater and had to give out passes for them having to sitting through three sets of previews.
I can remember cruising central with my DAD, when I was about seven. He had an Anglea that used to be a race car. It had a "wheelie bar" on the back. It didn't have seat belts or a back seat really. He would peel out at lights and we would hit our heads on the back shelf. One night he got pulled over and ticketed for excessive speed.
I am proud to say I still own a red KUPD t-shirt--LOL! 98 KUPD
ROOOOOOOOOOOCKS Arizona!
Is Uncle Sam's gone too? I thought it was still there the last time I
visited.
I remember the cruising problems on Central and then later they set up
cops all over Metrocenter to make sure people weren't passing any
checkpoint more than allowed.
I saw the Beach Boys but it was at Veteran's Memorial Coliseum--free
with fair admission. I think that was my first concert--circa 1984 I
believe.
I am actually flying out to AZ next week (over V-Day, no less!) to
visit a friend--this post has really gotten me nostalgic and ready to
go home again, that's for sure!
Ted, I hope you don't mind--I reposted this on myspace and I want to
post it on the alumni website for everyone to read. These are great
posts!
Uncle Sam’s is still there. Same spot & Friday nights it’s still crazy busy. It hasn’t changed much at all. They still have the football team pictures they sponsored from the early 80’s up on the walls (some of my friends were the mini-cheerleaders).
They also have a Sam’s in Scottsdale (Shea and the 101-ish) and another on the West side.
Chompies is now at 32nd & Greenway. The restaurant is about 3 times as big. It’s still crazy busy on the weekends. Lovely is there wearing different wigs every time you go in there.
My mom used to work at the Kwik-Kopy in the same strip mall as the original Chompies (next to Fair Lanes bowling). I think the owner's name was Lovey though, I surprised she's still there - I thought she was very old back then! (good for her!)
hi everybody,
> I remember at shea middle that there was a bagle sale in the
monings during the first hour of school! remember Smitty`s restaurants
and the lunch and snack counter up front? Now that was good food!
s Chompies still over there? I remember there was always some club
or another selling them in the mornings or at lunch at SMHS. God,
those were the best bagles!
As for Smitty's...I worked there for about 3 years and ate enough of
their snack bar pizza on my breaks to choke a horse--LOL. Does
anybody else remember all the GREASE on that pizza? I remember we
always had to take a napkin and soak up the excess. Crazy!
Hmm... chompies :) yeah its still there.
I loved the BMX races at roadrunner!... I won a race or two on a piece of crap red and white K-mart bike with a banana seat! Stopped racing after I got a killer Mongoose.... go figure. I loved that track! I'd ride it all the time after school... I lived just down from there on 36th and Cholla. I can't imagine letting my kids cruise around with the kind of freedom I enjoyed. Too much traffic in the old "hood" now, and no sidewalks here in Tennessee.. lol
any one remember playing basketball with Larry Nance at Roadrunner park in the evenings, or BMX races at Roadrunner park on Sundays
OMG--these just keep getting better and better!
Mercury Mine did the field trip to Pioneer Village too, though I don't
remember what year.
I totally remember getting off planes on the tarmac...and not only
that, but remember when you could smoke (or your parents could at
least) in the airport AND they had that viewing area where you could
go out on the second level I think and watch the airplanes? That went
away long before 9/11, I believe.
Now what was so wrong about taking health--who doesn't want to be
scared to death of V.D. and unplanned pregnancy? LMAO!!! Mr. Hatcher
was too cool. I can only imagine all the snickering he had to endure.
Jootenhoops was the best store on the planet--they closed down about a
month before my last visit to Phoenix and I almost cried--that was a
must-visit store every time I went back home. Nothing like it
anywhere! (Now where I will find inappropriate cards and stationery???)
I do remember the Burger King boycott (did it work? That I don't
recall...)
Chem parties! Long live Mr. Dutton in our memories! I was in his
class when the space shuttle went down, as a matter of fact. I will
never forget Mr. Dutton disappearing into the back room for a bit and
coming back into class with just the saddest and most stunned look on
his face. It just did not seem like it was really happening at the
time. Ok, so if I was in class when it happened, why was Eric at the
mall watching videos??? ha ha ha ha ha ha (One word: FRESHMAN!!)
:O)
> Accidents on Bell Road used to result in arguments between the Phoenix
> fire department and the Maricopa County rescue squad, since Bell Road
> was the northern edge of the city. Dont remember
> Your Desert Cove 3rd grade class went on a field trip to Pioneer
> Village. Went to Arrowhead
> You watched The Terminator 12 times one summer at the Shea Theatre. Nope
> You flew into Sky Harbor and deplaned onto the tarmac at terminal 1. You were also allowed to go on the roof of Terminal one
> Al McCoy was the voice of the Phoenix Suns when they played at the
> Madhouse on McDowell, and we all tried to guess how many times Ronnie
> Lee would hit the floor during the season. (Ronnie lived around the
> corner from me, and used to play soccer with all the neighborhood
> kids. He was so cool!) Yes I do
> You rooted for the San Diego Chargers, because Phoenix didn't have a
> football team, and you liked San Diego because you went there in the
> summer to beat the heat. No comment
> You remember when Don Bolles was assassinated. Yes I do
> You remember when Bill Close was held hostage on live TV. Yep
> You remember Frank Kush being fired for punching a player. Yep Kevin Rutledge
> If you wanted to take driver's ed. you had to take health, too. That
> sucked. I loved runing over peds and signs in those little fake cars we drove
> Wasting time playing in Jootenhoops at Town & Country before the movie
> started. Yep
> When SMHS students boycotted Burger King because of their limit of 2
> students at a time during lunch. Cant remember who won
> Pegging your jeans and piling into the car to go to Tommy's. no
> The guy in the gorilla suit who used to deliver Eastern Onion
> telegrams during halftime became the Phoenix Suns gorilla. Yep
> You parked at Moon Mountain or at the top of Shea. Yep
> You went ice blocking on a golf course. No
> You learned to drive in the Shadow Mountain parking lot. Yep
> You felt cool/like a total dweeb (pick one) walking from Shea to
> Shadow Mountain to take wood shop. N.A.
> You remember the cocaine/prostitutio n ring that was busted at SMHS in
> 1984. Nope
> You hung out at "The Wave." Nope
> You waited until Thursday to buy your girlfriend flowers, because
> that's when they went on sale at Smitty's. Yea
> Gas was $0.85 a gallon when you started driving, and you still only
> put in $2 at a time. Still doing the same
> You groaned every time, but you still admired Mr. Dutton's glee when
> he announced "parties." Nope
> You can't honestly remember SMHS winning at any sport except baseball
> and track. "Victory Stadium" my ass! HAHA
> You argued over which was better: Tommy's Streets of New York or
> Uncle Sam's( STREETS) Garcia's or Carlos O'Brien's (CARLOS), KUPD or KDKB(RED ROCKER), etc.
> You remember where you were when you heard about the Challenger (the
> video store by the food court at PV Mall). (HOME)
I have yet to find anyone who remembers "TV-POW! - the afternoon game show hosted by Dewey Hopper.
- Buddy
I remember TV Pow. I googled TV Pow and was pointed to this sight.
My brother and I were just talking about TV Pow yesterday and laughing our heads off. (class of 85 and 87). My sister-in-law couldn't remember who Dewey Hopper was so out of curiousity I Googled his name and TV Pow and this website came up. We found it fascinating that no matter when the kid said "Pow" nothing ever happened until several seconds later.
It will interest some people to know that Steven Spielberg also used to watch Wallace and Ladmo.
-Stacey E
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