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Page A2 The Joan De Arc Crusader / Saturday, December 25, 2010 Front Page A1 / Nostalgia A3 / Christmas A4 / Crossword A5
“Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.” – Voltaire
Westown Barbers still alive and kickin’ Lost in the hoopla of Sahuaro School’s 50th birthday extravaganza last month was another golden anniversary that should not pass without comment in the neighborhood newspaper of record.
For it was exactly 50 years ago this fall that
Westown Shopping City first opened its doors for business in what was then the
remote and sparsely developed area of Westown (and soon Surrey Heights). For the
next 30-odd years, this steadfast little shopping center constituted the
economic and cultural hub of our neighborhood. The old shopping center is today but a rapidly fading memory for local residents. Many current Joan De Arc-ians probably have no recollection of the place at all, which was long ago transformed into a church. Yet there was a time when this diverse collection of neighborhood merchants was the very life blood of the community. Some among us still nurture very fond memories of shopping for groceries at A.J. Bayless, quaffing cherry phosphates at the Ryan-Evans soda fountain, and snagging the latest Beatles LP at the T.G & Y. five and dime. Them was the days. And so it is a remarkable fact that one of the original tenants of Westown Shopping City not only still exists, but continues to prosper in a small strip mall across Windrose Dr., just a stone's throw north of the old shopping center site. Westown Barber Shop first opened for business in 1960 and amazingly continues to endure, literally decades after its fellow Westown business brethren have long since drawn last breath. The barber shop even retains its original telephone number, first issued in 1961. Such longevity is a rare thing indeed. The Westown Barber Shop story began with two close friends from Plentywood, Montana: Joe Ereth and Bob Holtan. This pair of aspiring entrepreneurs came to Phoenix in 1960 determined to have a go at the barbering business, and opened their Westown shop in November of that year. For the next 35 years, the barbers of Westown lowered the ears and trimmed the whiskers of countless locals, some of whom remain loyal customers to this day. We estimate that all told, the Westown Barber Shop has performed in the ball park of half a million haircuts. Not too shabby. Sadly, the shop lost its lease at the shopping center in 1995. Determined to carry on, shop owner Steve Demory moved the business to its current location that spring, spending an entire Easter Sunday tearing up the old linoleum floor at the new location. The new Westown Barber Shop opened in May of 1995 and continues to this day under the updated appellation of Westown Barbers. Demory, who began his barbering career in 1965, recently marked his 44th anniversary with the shop. He finally retired last year and sold the business to partner and fellow barber Terri Morrison. Happily, Steve continues to perform his craft at the shop on a part-time basis, trimming hair, cracking jokes and wielding an imperishable supply of stories about the old days in Westown. Westown Barbers are well known for their community involvement, supporting and participating in countless neighborhood causes and charities over the years. Their sponsorship of Sahuaro's big birthday bash last month is only the most recent example of the shop's ongoing commitment to their community. We hasten to add that Steve and Terri have made several generous and priceless contributions to the Crusader’s Westown Shopping City memorial web site, including rare photographs and even rarer ephemera like Westown shopper guides that date back to the 1960s. For this they have our unfailing gratitude. The Joan De Arc Crusader proudly salutes Westown Barbers as they embark upon their sixth decade of service to our community. Thanks for sticking around, guys.
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LETTERS
Gimme Compton
I am trying to locate any video or photographs of the Compton Terrace concert venue. I used to frequent there in my teens and was wanting to see something about the venue. I love your Legend City web site and all the pictures and video are outstanding. Maybe you could add a Compton Terrace section to your site? I have always associated the two together. Have a great day.
Josh Wallace
We dug up this old photo of the original Compton Terrace, circa 1979. Hope this helps. – Ed.
The Crusader welcomes your letters at jdacrusader@aol.com
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This ‘n’ That: End o’ year edition
Sometimes I have the attention span of a squirrel on crack, and sometimes… um, what was I just saying? Oh yeah. Time for another installment of Chuck’s “This n’ That.”
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Kudos to the organizers of the Sahuaro School 50th anniversary celebration for putting on an outstanding program of events last month. Imagine, if you will, a time machine that could take you back to the exact space-time coordinates you inhabited exactly fifty years ago. Well, that would be just weird and this wasn’t anything like that. It was nice, however, to see former teachers, classmates and neighbors from so long ago. And the chance to display my times-tables prowess to my thoroughly impressed fourth grade teacher Miss Frank? Priceless.
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One of my favorite holiday treats from the Joan De Arc days was potato chips with onion dip. Give me a bag of Ruffles, a pint of sour cream and a bag of Lipton’s onion soup mix, and I was a happy (and luckily lactose tolerant) boy. I recall one year when the Mitchells came over for a New Year’s Eve bridge game with my parents and I felt the need prepare a batch of this glorious fare for the party. Sadly, there was no sour cream in the house, but I luckily had just read an article in the Arizona Republic that suggested beaten cottage cheese as a good low-fat alternative. I whipped a container of Food Club small-curd cottage cheese in the blender, added the soup mix, and placed the resulting product in small bowls within arm’s reach of all the players. At the end of the evening, every bit of the unfortunate dip was left remaining in the bowls. Fortunately the stuff made pretty good wall spackle, and so I used it to fill assorted nail holes throughout the house.
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Look for copies of my new book, “Chuck’s Joan De Arc Recipe Book and Home Repair Guide,” coming to bookstores this spring.
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One plug I really would like to make is for the “Guggenhead Museum of Awfully Modern Art” website, located at www.guggenhead.com. If you remember this nomadic art exhibit at all from the 60’s and early 70’s, you might enjoy seeing it once again. It’s just like traveling back in time to your favorite website from forty years ago. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________JDA
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