MAKING VALLEY HOME DIDN'T TAKE LONG AT ALL
Arizona Republic; Phoenix, Ariz.; Jun 17, 2001Excerpt from: ARIZONA DIARY / DEAR DIARY Dolores Newman Gaskins I still recall the unexpected sunshine and wonderful warm weather that greeted us when we got to Phoenix in November 1941. We checked into The Green Parrot Court on East Van Buren Street, a place with small cabins and cute little porches. The cramped quarters suited us just fine for a few weeks until we found a rental house near Samaritan Hospital on Willetta Street. The kids would ride the Brill Streetcar downtown on Saturdays and go to the Fox Theatre on Washington Street. There'd be an emcee on stage announcing contests, getting us cheering and laughing, then a double-feature movie. If you wanted to stay and see everything twice, that was OK. As a teenager, I attended Phoenix Union High School on Van Buren at Seventh street, one of two public high schools in Phoenix. After school I worked at a laundry on Jackson Street in downtown Phoenix. When I'd pressed all my handkerchiefs, folded them neatly and gotten the OK from the boss, I'd walk to the bus stop and head for Riverside Park on Central Avenue. The swimming pool was huge, with grassy banks and shade trees - a slice of heaven on a hot desert day. My friends and I used to take the Friday night bus from the YWCA to Williams Air Force Base, or "Willy," as we called it, to dance with the young men at the Cadet club. One of the gentlemen I met there was a musician. He would come into Phoenix on Sunday afternoons, and we'd go over to the Westward Ho hotel where he'd play tunes on the grand piano in the lobby. At that time, the Ho House, as it was lovingly known, besides being the tallest building in town, was considered the most chic. |