Stacy Cooper (Bodie)

Stacy Cooper (Bodie)

Traci Parish (DeBuhr)

William Hunter

This is amazing!  Stacy Cooper, Casey Evans, Doug Holland, Phil Suggs, Mary Hall, and more!  You are all famous in my book.  Let's keep it going.  I just reconnected with the first friend I made after moving to Scottsdale as a wee lad of 6 and went to Mohave and Saguaro with - Scott Fletcher.  Scott lived several houses away and was playing tetherball in his backyard.  The fence wasn't completed yet and I rode by on my bike.  I am sure in my arrogance I likely said something like 'I'm good at that' when we can all safely assume I'd never seen a tetherball.  That was a long dang time ago - probably 1968.

Larry Clauss

Hi all - Larry here (or as some old friends from Mohave know me, "Chip").  Great to see everyone chatting and hear all the old stories.  Lots of great memories for sure!   I remember all of you that have checked in!

Every five years or so I'll drive by the old house on Bonnie Rose, between 'Little' Pima and 86th street.  Things have certainly changed in the neighborhood, but the memories are still there.  I remember riding my bike everywhere, and many times to see friends.  Kids don't seem to ride bikes as much anymore.  I recall going over to Bill Hunter's place, and one time we were playing with fireworks!  Fun times hanging out at Shane Hamilton's, Lance Cope's, and many others all around the hood.

I guess it's because we're all getting older, but sure seemed like times were much more simple then and life was really good.  Sure, life is great now, but the joy and innocence we experienced back then seems a little foreign these days.  I try to relive it through the kids and grand kids whenever possible!

Thinking back to High School days is a real trip.  It was kind of a transition between being a kid, and becoming an adult.  We didn't really know what the future would hold, where we'd end up, or how our lives would unfold.  I don't think we really understood what 'wisdom' was back then, but it's a little more clear now!!

A question:  Anyone considering having a 45 year informal get together?  It would be fun to get together at a local watering hole and catch up.  Nothing too elaborate.

Mona Stacy

Where would be a good place to have a Happy Hour or gathering for the 45th?? 
Not doing the whole hotel thing...🤣
McCormick Railroad Park? Or something indoors? What month?

Theresa Salem (Thornburgh)

What a great thread! Thank you all for posting your memories. 

Stacy Cooper (Bodie)

Anita Volgyi (Grinis)

It's been fun reading these messages! I remember most of you from either Pueblo or high school. Reading about the old neighborhood (I lived on El Charro) brought back so many memories. My friends Shelly Loughran and Lori Capellucci and I use to walk to school and cut through the alleys of the townhomes. After schools we'd stop in the 7-11 on Granite Reef for Slurpees or candy. In the summer we'd hang out at John's pharmacy reading comic books and magazines. Such a simpler but great time. How's the neighborhood changed? My folks (now gone) moved to Sierra Vista in 1996 so I haven't been back in a long time. I just see on Zillow that the house on El Charro that they bought in 1972 for $33,000 sold for over $700,000. Wild. 

Larry Clauss

Hi Stacy - to answer your question, my folks house was at 8662 E Bonnie Rose, in the middle of the block on the north side.  I remember where Andy lived, in a two story house west of there, as I recall.  The house at 8662 was $12,000 new when my Dad bought it.  Amazing to think what they're worth now.  We were in a simple middle-class neighborhood back then. 

That house didn't even have air conditioning originally.  I remember when my Dad installed a swamp cooler and we thought we were high-tech!  Hard to believe people slept in their back yards in the summer, with damp sheets draped over them to stay cool, before swamp coolers and refrigeration were common!!

An odd thing that maybe others can relate to - I sometimes have dreams that I'm back in that house, but it's modern times.  I remember the interior exactly as it was.  Crazy how a person's mind drifts back to something from their childhood, in dreams.

William Hunter

Great messages!  Remeber all the houses - all were Hallmark Homes.  My parents bought on Orange Blossom with the plan to move to another area inside a year.  We stayed for a full month when we moved from Virginia while we searched for a house (Dec 1967).  I remember one was on Piestewa Peak and he mentions another one north of Camelback on the lower mountain - and he said the price was a few thousand more than he could bring his mind to.  Of course today he says 'dang! we blew that' given what houses sell for in those area today.  But no regrets; I'd have ended up at Arcadia HS or something and I wouldn't make the trade today.

Larry's comment about sleeping in the back from not having a/c orginally reminded me of one night where some real trouble happened.  Randy Day was staying over on a weekend night - this was Mohave days, so probably 7th or 8th grade (he moved from PA in our sixth grade).  We were going to sleep in sleeping bags in my backyard.  It was probably about 9pm when his 1-year-older Ronnie and their couson Willy (Allen; he was in our HS class) came over.  My parents were still up but the four of us just wnet walking.  We walked north in the alley behind the houses on the east side of 86th Place and turned right where that alley intersected with the one parallel to the homes along the south side of Sandalwood.  As we turned north on 'little Pima' (Larry - I forgot that term for that part of Pima after big Pima was built), one of the others said 'there's someone with a light out there in the alley behind us' but we thought nothing of it.

100% true: we were not up to any trouble - we had done nor were doign anything bad.  As we got close to the alley between Sandalwood and Vista, we decided to 'hide' from a car on little Pima.  We went into that alley and hid about in different spots about one house distance into the alley.  The car passed by and we were just starting to move and BANG. As it turned out, a  homeowner from that south side of Sandalwood  apparently had had some patio furniture stolen sometime before that and decided we must be responsible.  He must've heard us, got a gun, and followed us to the Vista alley.  He discharged his pistol into the alley; the bullet made a indentation in the alley surface about 8 feet from my hiding position - it was close to all four of us.

It was behind the house of I Mike Morgan (I think that's the right name; he was in Ronnie's HS class one year ahead of us), who's dad happened to be AZ DPS.  Mr Morgan had us all into their house and kept that person there until Scottsdale Police came.  I remember my dad walking in with Mr Day - there was a different combination of charaters - in a good way - and my dad was actually joking around.  I thought I was doomed at home but he wasn't upset with me.  The Day's were a hunting family, had many guns, and were very big on gun safety.  Mr Day was none too pleased with that neighbor.

That was something I'll never forget. 

William Hunter

Larry mentioned riding bikes everywhere.  I remember riding up to Basha's, 7-11, and Circle K all at the Granite Reef and McDonald intersection ALL the time, probably from 4th grade on, from our house on Orange Blossom.  And more than that, I remember once in grade school riding to the Phoenix Zoo with Scott Fletcher and one or two others.  The Zoo!  It was during a summer; we never thought to ask or say anything to a parent - we just went.   I also remember riding out to the ruins of Beeline Dragway, which was out near where Fountaon Hills is.  Again - we just went.  Never a thought of how far nor any worry of anything happening.

Can you imagine that today?  You're in your Mohave or Pueblo house, only now you're the parent - and what would you say to a grade school child saying "we want to ride our bikes to the Zoo!'  Nope!

Stacy Cooper (Bodie)

Dave Micetic

I remember the summer between sixth and seventh grade, Pete Wastak and I riding our bikes to the river, just below Saguaro Lake for an overnight campout. Can you imagine letting kids do that now? We rode on the edge of Pima, cement and dump trucks whizzzing by, up to Shea, Beeline to Bush Highway, and camped below the dam. The next day, south to McKellips, then to Hayden with a stop at Whataburger, then home.

Parents would be reported to CPS now.

Phil Suggs

Beeline Dragway - Loved that place. My Dad bought Kactus Kawasaki down across from K-Mart freshman year. I would ride the Indian Bend Wash (before it became a green belt) all the way to McDowell to wrench on the new bikes...   I spent a lot of time at Beeline testing the KZ 750 drag bike he was having built ( first time over 140 MPH). When the drag strip closed I would ride my dirt bike out to Beeline via the canal through the Rez with a backpack full of tools to race Motocross... 

Sounds like I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks (Granite Reef). I grew up on 82nd and San Miguel. 

Anyone into skateboarding as a kid? Kelly Mystrom and Miles Zolin and I would cruise the allies of south Scottsdale standing on the hood of my truck looking for empty pools to poach. 

I'll have to go against the grain. I'd let my kids cruise the streets. Why take that experience from them. 

Check out my profile pictures for the graduating class from elementary school :) 

William Hunter

Dave Micetic is right - it would be CPS on parents if their kids today did what most all of us did then.  Your Saguaro Lake story reminded me of one that happened a few years later.  In the first and third summers after HS, I worked as a cook at the Scottsdale Hilton.  Colleagues there from Saguaro included Ron Day, Randy Day, and Matt Smith (Ron and Matt were +1 or 2 years ahead of us).  It was Randy that helped me get hired that first time.  That first summer, when I worked nights, the four of us went 'camping' - I think near Horseshoe Lake.  We packed and left after work - so at about 1am.  Someone had a 4WD and we took the road as far as we could.  There was zero light so we just put our bags down anywhere.  I woke up at sunlight - and realized we were sleeping in a massive pile of trash.  Everyone else was still sleeping and poor Ron had flys all over his face.

I recall Matt dated Kim Boren for a long time; she is Tracy's sister.  God Bless Tracy Boren.  What an awesome person and I'm certain she is deeply missed by many.

I've been in touch with Scott Fletcher since this latest round of messaged started.  We are planning to take in a car event together at some point soon.  We've spoken directly and exchenged many texts and in doing so realized it's been 15 years since we last saw each other.

William Hunter

So it was Bonnie Rose for Stacy and Larry; I remember being at Larry's house a few times.  I was on Orange Blossom east of 86th Street.  OB ended in a cul-de-sac, where Russell Young lived.  Scott Fletcher was on Bonita and 87th Street.  Randy and Ron Day were on Vista, one house east of 86th St.  Rob Stanley was on Sandalwood, two blocks up from me.

Gordon Spanger and Ron Hart were also on Orange Blossom between Granite Reef and 86th St (closer to the latter), nearly across the street from each other. 

I think in a prior message I mentioned 'Hallmark Homes'; that is incorrect.  I believe it was Hallcraft Homes.  Does anyone remember that?  My dad always thought the construciton was sh*t but he lived in that house several years after I graduated from ASU.

Larry Clauss

Lots more cool memories!  Bill, your memory is really good, but you are correct about HallCraft being the builder.  Not sure on the spelling!

Cayce Evans (Newton)

We lived on Montebello and it was kind of weird because our street was the school dividing line. If you lived on our side of the street you went to Mohave. If you lived in the other side of our street you went to Pueblo. 

Andy McClure

Good to read some of the memories for those in the class of 1979.  We also lived on Bonnie Rose... east of Stacy.  Great memories from riding our bikes back and forth to Basha's and 7/11.  Be well my friends!

Traci Parish (DeBuhr)

William Hunter

Just seeing the old street names brings back memories! For those that went to Mohave, I drove by there not too long ago. Evidently some of the campus was developed to house district offices, so much of it isn't recognizable. The bus stop area in the north side of campus remains; I want to say that went it whilst going to school there. I always walked or ride a bike to Mohave but of course the PE fields were nearby, especially the sandy long jump pits. Saguaro campus has changed, too. I wonder if the classrooms would seem smaller now...

William Hunter

I must have missed it - I just saw Anita Volgyi mentioned John's Pharmacy in a posted message (above).  I'd completely forgotten about John's Pharmacy.  Someone help me - where was that, exactly?  I am thinking part of the Basha's complex there.  The west edge of that building hosted Casella's Deli - I recall that being pretty great - and also where the Einig Brothers opened their music shop. 

Phil Suggs

John's was on the North West corner of the Bashas building. Casellas is still there and still good. Joe passed a few years ago but the girls are keeping the deli running. 

William Hunter

Thanks, Phil!  It's silly, but I've been thinking about the question since I posted it!  Maybe now I can sleep tonight.  When the pharmacy name was mentioned, it was 'boom' because I'd completely forgotten.  Somehow now I am recalling maybe a small mortar and pestle in their sign - that I'm also thinking was neon.  Perhaps just my imagination.  I'm in the vicinity every so often, so I'll make a stop at Casella's.  Thanks for the tip!