I always felt I was the luckiest guy at Tempe High and here are the reasons why. I've stayed friends with Greg, Billy, Sam, Kelly, Ned, Brent. Jorge, Nick Charlie and others that I've forgetton at the moment. I've traveled with Greg, Marco and Brent to the Yukon (ask Campbell about his diary). I was a very proud Best Man for both Ned and Sam. I've had many glasses of wine under Billy's mesquite tree. I get to see Kelly every Xmas and share stories. Jorge I talk once every 2-3 weeks and have had the pleasure of watching him teach my chidren to surf. Brent and his wife judy are coming to knoxville on Friday to stay with us for 2 weeks. and there is Nick Speth. After high school, Nick,Jorge, Ned, Charlie and Chris Nelson, Campbell, the Kwai brothers Kim and Robin and I played slow pitch softball for about ten years, it was continuation of the great times at Tempe High. Nick was our Captain. For a guy that looked like an orginal member of ZZ Top, he was a good Captain. I always enjoyed Nick's laid back attitude and approach to life. The day Campbell called and told me we lost Nick was the shock you get when you lose a family member. I will always be a fried of Nick Speth.
A few side comments, Elson as a fellow 15th Streeter I always liked your dad's nickname....Tiny. Jerry Kerr when I worked at Bayless going to college your mom would come in and I knew where you got that great personality of yours. Sandy Pizzo if you read this I expect either you or Campbell to tell how Nick got the nickname 'Huto'. One last thing, whoever put together the memorial to Pete, thanks. I ran somewhere between 12-13 million laps with Pete at Tempe High and he always finished. Maybe there is something to that story about the turtle and the hare.... cause Pete made us all proud.
Greg
Your right, it was good growning up in Tempe. They were 'happy days'. had it not been for FFA , Rick Evans and I would have been 'chargers' instead of Buffs. They didnt have ag at mclintock. I'm thankful I went to THS. Its cool that all you 'city dudes' that grew up together still have such fond memories after all these years. I loved living in the country but it wasnt real easy hangin out with your pals if they lived 3 miles away. I had a dog ( and a cat before Gail ran it down with her car) :0)
Jerry PS thanks for takin care of my mom at bayless
Thanks, Jerry. I had almost forgotten that tragic event. :)
Greg, you are right! Growing up in Tempe was wonderful. Plus, the fact that you stay close to all your friends. I remember Nick Speth. He was always very sweet and so quiet. It is true that our family and friends are the most cherished treasures of our lives.
My Tempe neighborhood was in walking distance to kindergarten at Broadmor Elementary, McKemey Jr. High, Tempe Hich School, and Arizona State University. The kids in my neighborhood where Peter Shelton, Steve Jones, Greg Campbell, John Wood, Genie Davis, Boyer Rickel, Nick Speth, then in 4th grade Denise Petty arrived. Also, Bill Richarson, Jorge Rundle, Brent Mullen, Kelly Moore, Doug Yount, Jan Bradbury and more that I can't remember now, lived just across Broadway from us. We had such freedom to roam the neighborhood streets and alleys from sun up to about 9pm at night. We played in Daley Park, especially when it was irrigated, so we wallowed in the mud. Peter, Steve Jone, and I would roller skate up and down those sidewalks. It was perfect set up, because you could crash into the grass (trying to avoid the palm trees) Remember the skate key on a string aroung your neck? We also, on windy days, would tie a sheet around our waist and hold the other end up to make a sail and going 'sailing down the sidewalk' We were probably the original sailboarders.
We played in the open ditched and caught crawdads. Then we would go over to the fraternity houses and raid their garbage cans for old playboy magazines and soda bottles. It was best loot at the end of the school year.
Many of us had older brothers who we all played 'ditch 'em' after dark. It was sort of a form of 'hide and seek' The boundaries were College Avenue, the railroad tracks, Rural Road, and Broadway Road. We ran free with no fear of any harm. It was wonderful.
I can't remember how many 'magic' shows and plays we put on in Shelton's driveway. And the endless games of basketball 'horse' in the same driveway.
Then, every Christmas, Peter would create a spectacular lighted and animated Christmas dispay on the rooftop of his house.
There are endless memories. Some that I won't mention on line. (Genie Davis and I just had a recent conversation regarding some of these. We remember Peter being the instigator of them all)
8 of us gal, high school friends had lunch together last Saturday. It was amazing that after 40 years we felt as if we were right back in high school. Genie Davis, Carol (Ann) Hurlabaus, Diane Hull, Vicki Smith, Denise Petty, Linda McDonald, Mary Bentley and I met at Genie's house and had lunch together. It was a riot. Don't worry, we only had fond memories and gossip about evryone. It was very heart warming for me to spend time with all those dear high school (and childhood) friends. It made us all more excited for the reunion to see more people.
I just need to add about my recent lunch with the gals. Many photos were taken and will be posted soon. You will be amazed to see that there is not one grey hair on any head. Amazing, huh? And no 'nip tucks' have been done. Honest! Really honest about no 'nip tucks', but only our hair dressers will know for sure about our hair. We all were beautiful inside and out. You will be able to tell from the photos all are quite more beautiful than I. How much weight do you think I can lose before the reunion? Darn those photos do not lie.
It was fun to see how different our lives became after high school due to the choices we each made. The best part for me was to feel how much I really care about my friends and truely how lucky I am.
Wow. Listening to the stories brings back so many memories, just different characters. I can only imagine what Peter created on the roof of his house at Christmas, Gail. Cousins Charlie & Chris lived accross the street, as did Steve & Stan Runnels, and Sally, Catherine and Litos Hayden just down the street. We were always ditching somebody, usually my little brother, Don. I remember lighting and throwing cherry bombs down the manhole in the street for New Years, playing SPUD, Kick the Can, playing baseball in the street, and dogs with no leashes. I remember a kid from THS cutting through our neighborhood after school, speeding. My Dad was 'hosing down' the driveway, and just lifted the hose and soaked him to slow him down, as he was in a convertable. The kid pulled over and got out and took one look at my Dad who was ready for him, got in his car and left. Nobody messed with my Dad.
Yes, Gail our luncheon was so fun. You have such a gentle spirit and are so transparent. While we haven't stayed as connected as Greg and his friends, we did pick up right where we left off 40yrs. ago, didn't we? It was great to be together. How about Denise, authoring a children's book; Carol painting amazing creations; Genie with this sweet house full of antiques, as well as her paintings; Mary with her great job, traveling, and a new husband; Vicki and the number of kids she's opened her home to over the years; and Linda taking care of all those grandkids and looking like a million bucks! We made some great new memories and I know we're all looking forward to making some more.
Diane,
Yes, I can't imagine anyone messing with your dad. He was such a great guy.
I had forgotten about all the dogs without leashes. Oh, yes, the fire crackers and cherry bombs. We loved blowing up the giant red ant hills and diging holes to put coffe cans at ground level, so the ants wold fall in and not get out. Then we would fry them with the sun rays going through a magnifying glass. I still remember the snap, crackle, pop. I am sure this was all Peter's ideas. I think it might have been Steve Jones' idea to catch bees in jars, put the lid on and then roll them across the yard. When the bee was released it flew all crazy and dizzy. Gosh, we sound like sadists. I do not think I could bring myself to do such things now. I even let spiders loose outside.
Then there were the 'Fox Holes' we would did in empty lots. Remember Christmas tree forts? And the tree houses that we built in the huge cottonwood trees that grew on the ditch banks. I think we stole the wood from the house construction sites. I do remember climbing the rafters at the construction sites of the houses in the neighborhood. I remember roaming through Grady Gammage Auditorium during its construction.
It is amazing how many things we all did back then that we probably would have killed our kids if they did it or we found out they did some of the antics we pulled. One of the best was roaming any where we wanted to go during the night. My Dad once told me they would get in the car and cruise by the park during our slumber party nights just to see we were all running around together and safe. He said they would stay far enough away so we wouldn't see the car but if we were all out together, they knew we were fine.
It was pretty neat to go into Gammage as they built it and roam around all the tunnels and rooms below, and we never got caught!
The lunch we all had together was so much fun. You men out there would be amazed at how pretty some of these girls turned out. By next weekend I'll get the pictures out of my camera and put them on here. Eat you heart out boys, wait till you see, the ladies 'grew up' to be very classy.
I sure wish I was able to go to lunch with all of you. It would be great to visit about our younger days! Sounds like you had a great time. It is fun to hear about all your accomplishments. I loved growing up in Tempe. Sally, Vickie V. and I were always busy doing something. I told my grandbabies that I skateboarded all over Tempe. They laughed...the thoughts of grandma doing that seemed hilarious. Remember those early skateboards? The wheels were wood. It you picked up a rock, the board stopped and you keep going.
I also have fond memories of JD's and dancing the night away! Belle
It's amazing how all over Tempe there were all those small groups of kids doing the same thing as we all grew up in a town that was nice and easy to grow up in. I remember the skateboards and Annabelle we are not that old. The wheels were not wood the boards were the wheels were steel(covered wagons had wooden wheels). Would have liked to been a fly on the wall at that lunch. Better yet i would have liked to have been there with all the hotties of the day. Now that would have been a dream come true!!!!
I don't know what they were made of, I just know they came to a dead stop just when you thought you were sailing along smoothly! By the way...Is Tempe Beach still there?
Very heartwarming to hear that so many of us loved Tempe. My story is a little different. We moved from Phoenix just before 6th grade started. I lived at the Mill Ave. end of E. 15th Street and nobody from Broadmor lived down there, so my sister Joanne and I kept each other company through the 6th grade. I rode my bike around Tempe and loved all the irrigation ditches, Daley Park, and yes, it was a safe place to be. No fear about being anywhere at any time of day or night. Not a lot of cars, either. Tempe Beach is not there anymore, Annabelle. Neither are the slides - anybody remember them? They were at the north end of the Mill Ave. bridge a little ways and were a series of fast-moving cement - lined canals that had starting and stopping points; probably they were using them as a way to control amounts of water they released. You could wear out the seat of your cutoffs in 1 afternoon. I used to go up there with Jill Boyd, Ronnie Erickson, Steve Dennis and Buck Albright. We'd all be barefoot and riding bikes in the heat of the summer. I agree with Mike that Tempe brought out the adverturous spirit in many of us, no matter who we hung out with or what we did.
Tempe nutured all of us is how I'd sum it up. I'd say we were all lucky.
Jerry, please tell Christie what fun memories several of us have of time on her farm. Wasn't it on Baseline, lined with the Cottonwood trees and the ditch? She was the only one I knew that had a pool AND cows. We'd go out there to swim with the whole Brownie troop. Have you seen Christie's picture yet with the Brownies? It's under the 'Looking Back' section.
Phyllis, I remember when you and Joann came to Broadmor in 6th grade. I think Joann and I were in Mrs. Glason's 6th grade together. Please say hello to her for me. Hope you can both make it to the reunion.
Larry, how are you sensing hormones from these exchanges? By the way, the girls at the luncheon are anxious to meet you (hormones)? You're a rock star to all of us for your relentless search of classmates. I'd bring a pen for autographs if I were you.
I don't know Diane, I just get this sense from the exchanges . . . Old loves still smoldering? However, if any guys want my old girlfriend from Coronado, they can have her. What was I thinking!
Anyone have fond memories of the OLD Tempe Beach? I do. A river rock bathhouse, 15 cents to get in, go for 'swim lessons' in the early mornings, which were free, just so we could stay and swim afterwards, a real high board, a great snackbar. What we're they thinking when they tore it all down and made a pool half its size?
Christy lived on Guadalupe Rd between McClintock and Price. Hard to believe that was a farm. She did see the picture, it looks like one of our grandaughters, go figure. Speaking of hormones, do you remember the TV show 'Then came Bronson'? It was about some guy that traveled the country on a motorcyle. One episode they filmed across the road from Christy's farm, story was, this guy was staying with this farmer and needed some money so the farmer paid him to paint his barn. Well, he painted the barn red then he added the farmers wife in the nude on the side of the barn. Disgusting, made me change the way I drove to Mesa Community ( I didnt drive by the barn before) hee hee :0)
Larry, I remember the Tempe Beach pool well. My brother and sisters and I were on the swim team and spent our whole summers there. My Mom would drop us off before she went to work at 9:00, and after swim team, we would all walk home, stopping at Baskin Robbins enroute. We lived accross Broadway from THS. Long walk, but we were worn out and didn't get into as much trouble in the afternoons that way. As students at Broadmor, Mr. Spracale would always take the 6th grade there at the end of the year. He and my dad were friends, and I think lifeguards together for a time. Can you tell I miss my Dad? Glad we still have Mom though.
Jerry, I don't remember the show, but I do remember Bronson. Didn't know about the painting either. I can only imagine the number of times you and your friends went that route...somewhere.
Diane, that is a long walk. I had a friend (Gary Meshew, '70) who lived in north Tempe. Our moms were at the pool with all the kids one day, and Gary and I wanted to go home early. We walked from Tempe Beach across the bridge, then all the way on Curry Road to their house north of Woolco . . . barefooted. We wound up scrounging some scraps of cardboard, would run until our feet were burning, then stop and stand on the cardboard to relieve the heat. When our moms found out, they thought we were crazy.
And speaking of Baskin-Robbins. My dad was on a business trip once, and B-R was having a 2 for 1 special on banana splits, so my mom took us there . . . for dinner.
Like probably 99.9% of the kids who lived in Tempe back in the 50s and 60s, Tempe Beach was my favorite place to be in the summer.
I remember making the long walk home to W. 12th street near Hardy Dr. one hot afternoon with my brother Roger (class of 70 and now a local eye Doctor in the Valley). I was probably 11 or 12 at the time. We had spent all of our money earlier in the day at the snack bar and we really wanted something cold to drink. My brother and I kept looking for change along the sidewalk as we walked along Mill Ave. Somewhere around 6th or 7th street I found a 5 dollar bill!! Woo Hoo, we were rich!! Then we ran practally all the way to Dairy Queen and pigged out big time.
Boy, I haven't thought of that old memory in years.
Reminds me that Rexall Drugs in Tempe Center had a soda fountain. So did Laird's Pharmacy on 5th and Mill. We'd order 'Suicides' -- Lyons rootbeer with a shot from each one of the fountain pumps.
Ahhh, Tempe Beach. I still remember running in barefeet on the hot sidewalk to get to shadey spots. I remember the cold, wet smell of the dressing rooms. Remember the wire baskets you could get to store your clothes or shoes? You would get a safety pin type of device with the corresponding number on it, to reclaim your basket. I rarely used a basket, because I would arrive barefooted, in my swimsuit, carrying my towel. My mom would drop my brother and me off in the morning and pick us up in the afternoon. Remember the big lawn area where we would lay out our towels and bask in the sun with our friends while devouring ice cream taffy.
I remember how the deep end had to two diving boards. The tall one was sooooooo tall. I finally got the guts to jump off and then I had to get the courage to dive off. I only did that a few times. It hurt too much. I, also, remember all the dirt that would settle at the bottom of the deep end. I still have dreams about waving the dirt away and finding coins at the bottom.
Remember the long narrow slide pool? I have never seen another pool like that. And the two baby pools. One was very shallow and the other just a little deeper. They seemed to big.
Joe Spracale taught me how to swim when I was about 4 years old. I have never forgiven him for backing up while I was swimming to him. I could see his feet moving under water.
This is like a walk back in time. It's all so true we all did the same things. Gail, i was thing about the Tempe Beach pool and thinking last night after reading the board that i've never ever seen a pool like it. The skinny slide pool i can remember i was 4 or 5 i really couldn't swim very well yet and my dad would stand at the end of the slide and catch me before at the time i thought i would drowned if he wasn't there. That was just as everyone has described it. We would hunt for pop bottles and then stop Charlie the ice cream truck driver and cash the bottles in for money to go swim. Sometimes that 15 cents was a great deal of money to come up with. One of my all time favorite movies was Sand Lot. There was a life guard at the beach that reminded me of Cindy Peppercorn but i never had the nerve to fake drowning to get mouth to mouth.
Joanne and I learned to swim at Tempe Beach and for a couple of summers we hung out there a lot. Having to prove you could swim was a big deal, but they'd make you swim all the way across the pool before they'd let you in the big pool. As for walking everywhere, Steve Dennis and I used to joke that we'd have a reunion in Tempe by walking from one person's house to another, as that was our main mode of transportation back then.
Diane, Joanne certainly has fond memories of you, but truth to tell, it will be a miracle if I can get her to the reunion. I'm still working on it, though!
You know we all sound like old-timers, don't you? Ron Windes (class of 66) told me his dad was the very 1st person to swim at Tempe Beach when it opened about 1920, so by the time we arrived on the scene, it was well loved by decades of Tempe kids. Anybody have any pictures of it? A birthday party or some event requiring a picture? It would be great to see it someplace besides my memory.
You're killin me Smalls!!!!! First you put the chocolate then you put the mellow........
Wow. that was just the way it was when we were growing up and if that wasn't the way, it was it should of been. Greg Tate, i got news for you we are all the luckiest.
Oh my gosh.. All of you describing Tempe Beach have brought back so many fun memories… I can remember a girl that lived a block over from me that had ‘Green’ hair every summer from the chlorine in the pool.. Our favorite game was to have someone dive to the bottom of the pool with a popsicle stick and everyone waiting on top to dive in as soon as they saw it come to the top.. Sounds easy enough but it was hard to spot it and pretty cut throat as we all jumped in to get it.. We’d amuse ourselves w/ that little stick for hours…
Pat, we called the game 'Dibble Dabble'. That's what you yelled when you saw the stick, hopefully to prevent banged heads from someone else diving in at the same time.
I'd go around all summer long with one big scab on the top of my nose from sunburn (have paid in spades since then for all that exposure).
I remember being at the pool one summer and watching trucks come south over the bridge, carrying the big cast 'scallops' that grace the front facade of Gammage.
OK... I got to get in on this.
I remember going to Pete's Fish & Chips, Jack in the Box and Joe Sella's (sp?) sporting goods store in down town Tempe.
Chris Nelson’s dad had a toy store just north of Jack in the box.
I used to go to the candy store (owned by Buddy Davis’ Dad) in Tempe Center and buy a long (black) licorice whip for ten cents.
As for Tempe Beach... Do you remember the ball filled just west of the pool? I played many little league games there.
Speaking of little league… Every summer they would have a little league camp and Ladmo would be there to help.
Speaking of Ladmo… Remember the Wallace & Ladmo show?
I also remember playing touch football with Greg Tate & Sam Fees.
You are right… We have a lot of fond memories.
Pete's fish & chips. Monster Burger and fries with hot sauce. Mons, how about cherry center sweet rolls at the University bookstore? Joe Sella's Sporting Goods Store. I can still smell the leather of a Wilson A2000 and looking for a new Mickey Mantle Louisville Slugger.
Tempe Beach Ballpark played lots of games there and watched even more and the best cherry flavored snow cones ever.
Pop Warner football in sixth grade. Ricky Sowell (68) had hair on his legs heck he might have even started to shave then.
