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Page A4 / The Joan
De Arc Crusader / Friday, December 24, 2021
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Christmastime at
Westown
By J. Bueker
Way, way
back, in our primordial days on Joan De Arc Avenue, Westown Shopping City
was it. ‘Twas all we had.
Cast off as we were amidst the god-forsaken tumbleweed-ridden desert north
of Phoenix, our remote hamlet was singularly dependent upon that quaint
little flagstone-encrusted shopping center. The next nearest retail options
were literally miles off in the dusty distance, but the good news was that
Westown (as we simply referred to her) offered virtually every merchant and
service
any community in the mid-1960s could ever have needed, desired, or probably
even conceived of.
First and foremost, there was the grand trinity: the A.J.
Bayless grocer, Ryan-Evans drug store, and T.G.&Y. five-and-dime. These
three anchors alone could have sustained our day-to-day existence
in perpetuity, but Westown offered so much more: there was the hardware
store, beauty salon, cleaners, shoe repair, liquor store, TV repair, and
legendary Westown Barbers. Westown Bakery featured world-class sweet treats,
Dino’s Pizza served up some of the finest pies in town, and the timeless
Amber Inn tavern was ever present for all neighborhood carousing needs.
Finally, there was the Westown medical complex, a Union Oil service station,
and the adorable “Merry-Go-Round” nursery/kindergarten. Moreover,
this grand abundance lay smack dab at 28th and Larkspur Drives,
within easy walking distance of the entire Westown and Surrey Heights
subdivisions. Why would anyone bother going elsewhere?
Naturally each year when the Christmas season rolled around, Westown became
the absolute epicenter not only for our holiday shopping but for our
neighborhood holiday festivities generally: Christmas gifts, toys, foods,
drinks, parties, contests, religious displays and Santa himself – it was all
a veritable stone’s throw away at Westown Shopping City.
Bayless, comprising the largest retail space at the center, was probably the
most versatile Christmastime business at Westown. Most memorably, the grocer
was our sole neighborhood source for Christmas trees: the walkway in front
of the store would become packed each December with dozens of freshly-cut
firs, and the pleasingly pungent pine fragrance of that green spruce wall
crowded around the store’s entrance is a memory that will never leave me.
Aside from the obvious considerations of
holiday food and drink procurement, Bayless also presented significant
options for actual Christmas gift shopping during those early years. The
grocer stocked an extensive selection of merchandise that would today be
unheard of at your typical grocery store, including board games, toys,
phonograph records, books, clothing, and even small appliances. And don’t
forget your Gold Bond stamps!
 Meanwhile,
Ryan-Evans offered one of the supreme perks of the Westown Christmas season:
the free drug store calendars. Casually piled in boxes in the center of the
store every December, the giveaway calendars were there for the taking – one
could simply walk in and take one (or more) and walk back out. Although
replete with advertising for cold and flu remedies, the calendars had a
pleasingly unique and folksy charm, typically incorporating sentimentally
captioned illustrations or photos vaguely appropriate to each month and/or
season of the year. A Ryan-Evans calendar graced my bedroom wall on Joan De
Arc every year until the store was transformed into a Revco in 1968; Revco
continued the free calendar tradition for a time thereafter, but it was
never quite the same. I have managed over the years to locate but a pair of
the old Ryan-Evans calendars in local antique stores, as they have proved
exceedingly difficult to find. A 1965 Ryan-Evans calendar still graces my
wall in 2021.
The T.G.&Y. five and dime was of
course a definitive resource for a wide array of Christmas goodies. “I
remember at Christmas they always added a lot more toy displays at T.G.&Y.,”
remembers former Joan De Arc resident Charles Bueker. “So we spent a lot of
time in that store.” T.G.&Y. was also notable for their gimmicky
sales, and during the Christmas season they customarily held their “Nite Owl
Sale” on Fridays from 9 to 11 PM, thoughtfully catering to local insomniacs
and late-night tipplers at Amber Inn. The five-and-dime was the go-to source
for outdoor holiday light sets, Christmas cards, and artificial trees for
those who preferred the glimmering aluminum variety to the real things down
the walkway at Bayless. Crucially, our T.G.&Y. also featured a genuine U.S.
Post Office branch at the rear of the store for last-minute holiday
mailings.
 My most vivid Christmas memory of
T.G.&Y is the evening my father took me there for my holiday shopping one
December when I was but a tender lad six or seven years of age. Carl
budgeted a modest sum for the purpose and then set me loose in the store
with the cash and careful instructions to find some nice gifts for my
siblings. Much to the man’s chagrin, I proceeded to select items that were
suspiciously appealing exclusively to myself, such as army men, plastic
dinosaurs, playing cards and the like. Evidently, I hadn’t yet fully
absorbed the whole “to give is better than to receive” guideline. After
delivering me a decidedly stern sermon regarding my severe ethical failings,
Father closely supervised my purchases that evening to their appropriate
completion. I just wish I could remember now what I wound up getting
everyone.
The Deer Valley Lions Club held a
highly competitive and elaborate neighborhood home Christmas lighting
contest each year that was sponsored and promoted at Westown Shopping City.
Prizes were awarded in a trio of categories: “Best Religious Theme,” “Best
Non-Religious Theme,” and “Most Original.” Each category carried a first,
second and third prize, with winners being notified by phone in addition to
having their names posted on the shopping center public bulletin board. The
grand prize of $50.00 was certainly a substantial amount of cash in the
early 1960s, but a close reading of the fine print in the contest rules
revealed that all prizes were awarded in “Westown Dollars,” a form of
currency redeemable only at the various shopping center merchants. That was
still quite a few cherry phosphates at Ryan-Evans, however.
The Westown holiday decorations were relatively modest for the most part,
but when the shopping center first opened in 1960, the Westown Merchants’
Association did acquire an impressive Nativity scene display that was
erected each December at the northwestern perimeter of the center.
Constructed from sturdy wooden beams and plenty of straw, the Nativity
featured no fewer than 11 figures, including Mary holding the baby Jesus
alongside a fairly sizable and sedate cow. The Nativity was broken out,
constructed and put on display each year until it mysteriously disappeared
sometime in the early ‘70s. I’m guessing vandalism and theft were probably
factors in the Westown Nativity’s ultimate demise.
 The jolly old elf himself seems to have spent a rather inordinate amount of
time at Westown, appearing for remarkably generous stretches in the days
leading up to Christmas. In 1967, St. Nick showed up at the shopping center
for no less than a full six hours from noon to 6:00 PM on December 21st,
22nd and 23rd. Oddly, no one bothered to question how Santa could
manage such lengthy visits to an obscure shopping center in central Arizona
during his busiest time of the year, but such is the magic of the Yuletide
season, I reckon. It seems probable in light of such a demanding schedule
that the man periodically ducked into Amber Inn between shifts for some
badly-needed holiday refreshment.
The years flew
on by of course, and Westown Shopping City gradually morphed into Westown
Shopping Center, adding a 31 Flavors, Radio Shack and assorted other
businesses along the way. We still went there often, but by the time
Metrocenter debuted in 1973, our nearby shopping options had multiplied
exponentially and Westown was beginning to become more of an afterthought at
Christmastime. Why shop at T.G.&Y. when a mile further down the freeway
there were multiple major department stores and countless specialty
merchants at one’s disposal? Plus, the decorations at Metro were spectacular
and Santa had his very own workshop! Westown’s time was sadly passing into
history, as all shopping centers inevitably do. Just as Metrocenter itself
has.
In
the age of eBay and Amazon, it is ridiculously difficult now to recall what
it was like having but one lonely shopping outpost in the middle of nowhere
to meet all our Christmas holiday needs. On the other hand, it’s quite easy
to remember how those were the very best Christmases of all.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
JDA
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