HIGH1.UAVS
NOVEMBER 1967
FIFTY CENTS
IN THIS ISSUE :
un City, Arizona, U.S.A .
A DESK OR \NALL
AS A GIFT
CALENDAR DESIGNED
TO FRIENDS,
•
MAY 1068
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SPECIAL
NOVEMBER 1068
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We proudly
announce our
new Happy 1968
Calendar is now off the
presses and available for distribution.
This calendar can now be
ordered direct from Arizona Highways,
2039 West Lewis Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona
85009. Price $1.50. (Bulk rates for business firms
are available on request.) Our Happy 1968 Calendar
can also be purchased at better newsstands and book stores
throughout the country. A convenient order blank for our mail
customers is provided in the center pages of this issue. * Left (above)
is a reproduction of the cover of our new calendar in reduced size. Actual
size is 9" x 12". Left (below) are reduced reproductions of two months listing
holidays and events of national interest. Each month of our Happy 1968 Arizona
Highways Calendar is illustrated with a carefully selected (for beauty and visual appeal)
Arizona scenic, panoramic view. * This year, with each Happy 1968 Calendar, is an
attractive mailing envelope especially designed (at the request of readers) for those
who wish to remember cherished relatives, esteemed friends, good neighbors and
respected business associates. Your thoughtful remembrance, we assure you, will last
a year! * Happy 1968 !
TO BE ENJOYED
RELATIVES OR
IN YOUR
BUSINESS
HOME . . . O R
ASSOCIATE S
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1
LAZY AFTERNOON- WHITE MOUNTAINS .
BY DICK DIETRICH
.JUNE 1968
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"North Country Scene" NORMAN RHOADS GARRETT, F.R.P.s.
£1RIZON£l HIGHt..UA.VS
VOL. XLIII No. I I NOVEMBER 1967
RAYMOND CARLSON, Editor
GEORGE M. A VEY, Art Editor
JOSEPH ST ACEY, Editorial Assistant
JAMES E. STEVENS, Business Manager
LEGEND
SuN CITY, ARIZONA, U .S .A ..
DEL WEBB'S RETIREMENT CITY HAS
BECOME PLACE IN SUN FOR MANY
PICTURESQUE ARIZONA PLACE NAMES.
INDIAN .. . SPANIARD ... MEXICAN AND
PIONEER-ALL LEFT MARKS ON THE LAND
4
I2
NOVEMBER JOURNEY . 1 4
THE MONTH PROVIDES A VARIETY
OF COLOR PORTRAITS FOR TRAVELER
DESERT WINTER BOUQUET .
DESERT WANDERERS FIND BEAUTY IN
FOLIAGE PATTERNS DURING WINTER
JACK WILLIAMS
Governor of Arizona
28
ARIZONA HIGHWAY COMMISSION
K. William Holbrook, Chairman .
Forrest C. Braden, Vice,Chairman
Bus Mead, Member
Ed C. Locklear, Member .
Peter B. Wilharm .
Justin Herman, State Highway Director
William N. Price, State Highway Engineer
. Patagonia
. Yuma
Winslow
Prescott
Benson
Phoenix
Phoenix
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS is published monthly by the Arizona
Highway Department a few miles north of the confluence of the
Gila and Salt in Arizona. Address : ARIZONA HIGHWAYS,
2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, Arizona 85009. $4.00 per
year in U.S. and possessions; $5.00 elsewhere; 50 cents each.
Second Class Postage paid at Phoenix, Arizona, under Act of
March 3, 1879. Copyrighted© 1967, by the Arizona Highway
Department. All rights reserved.
ALLOW FIVE WEEKS FOR A CHANGE OF ADDRESS.
BE SURE TO SEND IN THE OLD AS WELL AS THE NEW
ADDRESS INCLUDING ZIP CODE.
PRINTED IN ARIZONA, U.S.A.
FRONT COVER
"DESERT ENTOURAGE - SUPERSTITION MOUNT
AINS" BY DAVID MUENCH. Photograph taken approxi,
mately three miles from Apache Junction along the Apache Trail
where it passes the Superstition Mountains. View is taken in a
southeasterly direction toward the mountains. H ere the saguaro,
teddy bear cholla and barrel cactus plants form a dramatic desert
scene whose stark beauty is made even more dramatic with the
brooding Superstition Mountains in the background. Much of
this area has been put aside as the Superstition Mountain Wilder,
ness Area to keep the desert protected for all time . 4 x5 Linhof IV
camera; Ektachrome E3 daylight film; f.32 at 1125th sec.;
5 I/4" Schneider Symmar lens; I 4 on Weston Master V meter
reading; ASA rating 64.
COMING NEXT MONTH - AS A FITTING TRIBUTE
TO YEAR'S END AND THE CHRISTMAS SEASON,
WE PRESENT OUR ALL-COLOR CHRISTMAS ISSUE.
Arizona, "land of the sun," has been the goal of sun,
seekers for decades and decades. The early ones came to find
health and strength in the therapeutic warmth and healing
properties of sunshine lavished over the land by the most power,
ful and benevolent medicine man of them all - Old Sol.
Volumes of evidence could be produced to testify to the sue,
cessful quest of those early sun-seekers. This western land of
ours, molded and shaped by the sun, was not found overrated.
In recent years a new type of sun-seeker has come alongthe
retired person. These retired persons, in increasing numbers,
are coming to Arizona from all over this country and from
many other parts of the world to share with all of us who live
here our sunshine, our mild climate ( predominantly dry and
free from the more tern pestuous and cruel whims of weather ),
our scenery, our wide-open-spaces ( " land of room enough and
time enough" is not just a glib and empty slogan ) , and a more
relaxed way of life, a welcome way of life, if you please, for
the person whose younger and more productive years entailed
rigid adherence to the inexorable mandates of making a living,
often in an environment and under conditions not necessarily
the most pleasant or comfortable.
To serve these many sun-seekers, fugitives from the tensions,
pressures and frustrations of too -hurried lives coming our way
in recent years, a number of retirement communities have come
into being in Arizona. The first of these, Youngtown, was
presented in our January issue, 1957, and we are pleased to
report today, a deca<le later, Youngtown is a busy and active
place, a highly successful retirement community.
This month we bring you Sun C ity, Arizona's newest and
largest community designed specifically for the comfort, convenience
and well-being of retired sun-seekers. Sun Citians
have found the sun, we assure you, and much more, as you will
find in our presentation of this most interesting subject -
Sun City, Arizona, U.S.A .... R.C.
~
COLOR CLASSICS FROM ARIZONA HIGHWAYS
THrs IssuE
3 5mm. slides in 2" mounts, 1 to I 5 slides, 40c each; r 6 to 49 slides,
3 5c each; 50 or more, 3 for $ I .oo. Catalog of previous slides issued
available on request. Address: ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, 2039 West
Lewis Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85009.
DS, I 6 3 D esert Entourage, cov. 1; TA, 1 20 Stroll Through an
Autumn Lane, cov. 3; TA, 121 Palm Lake near Wickenburg, cov.
4; TC, 175 Street Scene, p. 5; TC- r 76 Apartment Shuffleboard,
p. 5; TC,177 Barbecue on Patio, p. 5; TC,1 78 Bicyclers Go Shoppin
g, p. 5; TC-I 79 Friendly Neighborhood, p. 5; T C,1 So Com,
munity Party, p. 5; TC, 18I Active Art Club, p. 8; TC, I82 Lawn
Bowling, p. 8; TC, l 8 3 Woodworking Shop, p. 8; TC- 1 84 Around
the Swimming Pool, p. 8; TC,I85 Busy Sewing Group, p. 8; TC,
186 Keen Shuffileboard Competition, p. 8; TA, 122 Autumn Along
a Bend in the Highway, p. I 5; CC,55 Finger Marks of a November
Wind, p. 16; C-31 Coal Canyon Panorama, p. 16; IN-155 Lonely
Road - Navajo Reservation, p. 17; DS, 1 64 November Day in the
Desert, p. 1 8; RI, 5 3 Meeting Place of the Salt and Verde Rivers,
p. 19; D S,165 Desert Mountains Feel a Touch of Early Winter,
p. 19; TA-I23 A Treasury of Autumn's Golden Coins, p. 20-21;
WH,99 Autumn Adorns a White Mountain Stream, p. 22; TA, 124
Fall Scene in Sunflower Area, p. 23 ; TA,125 Early Morning Camp,
fire Tapestry in Aspen Country, p. 23; TA,126 An Autumn Morn,
ing in Southern Arizona, p. 24-25; T A,127 Autumn Leaves on Seven
Springs Creek, p. 26; TC-187 Golf - Year 'Round Sport, p. 36;
TC, 188 P ost Office, p. 36; TC-1 89 Country Club, p. 36; TC,190
Town H all , p. 36; T C-191 Ladies' Golf Day, p. 36; TC,192 The
Medical Center, p. 36; TC,193 United Church, p. 39; TC,194
St. Christopher's Episcopal, p. 3 9; TC, 195 United Presbyterian, p.
3 9; TC- 1 96 Shepherd of the Desert, p. 3 9; TC, 1 97 Methodist
Church, p. 39; TC,198 St. Joachim Catholic, p. 39.
4
Cotton pickers on the pre-Sun City sc e ne .
In January, 1960, in the midst of
cottonfields, northwest of Phoenix, a new city
was born. Rows of houses grew faster
than the short-staple cotton they replaced.
Shopping center and recreation facilities
mushroomed. Landscaping along streets
and on house lots lining the eighteen-hole
golf courses completed the transformation
from rural to urban with almost magical
swiftness. Sun City was on the map.
Since that premier showing of 1960
models for lively retirement living, two
million visitors have driven out
Grand Avenue to look at the infant
prodigy of the Del E. Webb Corporation.
More than eleven thousand have stayed -
to buy apartments or houses. The
continual flow of tourists has pushed the
community into the spotlight shared by
the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest
National Park, and other major points of
scenic interest which draw visitors from
all over the world to Arizona.
When I first saw Sun City, about six years ago, I was
particularly delighted by its neatness. There are no rough
edges, empty lots, junk at back doors, unpaved streets. Here,
it seemed to me, was a really completely planned com,
munity. The shopping center, service stations, banks, garden
nursery are all either under a single roof or close by with a
roomy parking lot adjoining. Delivery trucks have easy back
access, and the ubiquitou s tra sh and empty cartons are
screened from view by trim brick walls. There is no place
in Sun City ( for I have looked ) where, by turning the wrong
corner or going down some particular way, you can find the
neglect or shoddiness which are all too frequently and too
soon a "slum" area even in new developments.
The entire residential sections , where streets wind and
bend around three eighteen , hole golf courses, are as pretty
as a picture. They have the unmistakable air of being tended
and loved. In spring, walking or riding through the streets
is an especial delight. The air is soft, orange,blossom scented.
To that delicate, elusive fragrance other blossoms have been
added: roses, petunias, spring -flowering bulbs, all blending
into the smell of sp ring . Cacia blossoms, which a few weeks
ago were sheathing the willowy parent bush in bright gold,
have bowed out, but the Yuccas promise to step into the
breech before long with magnificent white torches held high.
JOYCE ROCKWOOD MUENCH:
pages
P yracantha look like bridal veils, draped over hedges,
trellises, or espaliered on walls. Tall Ocotillos, bending in the
March breeze, will soon wave flaming tips at the end of the
prickly branches set with small, apple , green leaves.
As the season progresses, this parade of flowers will go
right on. There is really no month without flowers in Sun
City, there are just more in some months than in others.
People have brought their favorites from back home to make
a surprising array of bush, tree, vine, and flower on display
in the gardens. Added to them are the very special plants
and showy flowers for which the Sonoran Desert is world,
famous. Bees coming to call on the high-set crown of creamy,
white blossoms ( the state's official flower ) on the giant
Saguaro in April, may find Peonies holding court as well.
Snapdragons and Phlox, Calendula and a host of popular
garden goodies fill the borders while the Hedgehog Cactus
and their cousins, the Opuntias, demonstrate prize -winning
tones and textures . In my own yard, big Barrel Cacti, trimmed
this springtime with wind-sown African Daisies, begin to set
their own crown for summer showing, spinning out the
production with all the care of the perfectionist.
The gardens are only one of the sights visitors come for.
They admire also the pastel-tinted houses set among them,
with golf greens to provide spaciousness as well as a pleasant
Continued
"Str ee t Sc ene" "Apartment Shuff/, eboard"
'·
"Barb ecue on Patio" " Bicyclers Go Sho pp in g"
NEIGHBORHOOD SCENES IN SUN CITY
" Fri endly N eighborhood" "Community Party"
resort atmosphere. Other than the street names ( which make
a fascinating study in themselves ), the only signs along resi ,
dential streets point the way to the newest set of model houses.
A complete home show, displaying not just completed apart,
ments, houses, and villas but the last word in drapes and
furniture, carpet and interior colors . On his way out the
visitor may pick his site, house Boorplan down to color of
stove, refrigerator, or sink, as well as style of exterior.
Sun City folks love a para de.
Q f course, buyers are not convinced by a house, no
matter how inviting, a landscaped yard, a lovely view up a
golf course. Sun City's growing reputation as a congenial
place to live stems from its social climate. It is a very friendly
place. Everyone came here from somewhere else. Any who
settled in the retirement community as far back as 1960 are
looked upon as Mayflower passengers, practically natives.
Almost without exception the new residents take pride in the
state of their origin and are pleased to meet another "Hoosier,"
"B d " " G h " "V 11 h " "B " Th a ger, op er, a .Le ow ammer, or a ear. ere
are always those lucky coincidents of meeting a mutual friend,
making a link with the old home town. Some Sun Citians
come from outside the United States, too. They all seem
friendly. Conversations start easily, whether in coffee shop,
line at the market check stand, or at a concert in the outdoor
bowl. Smiles seem appropriate when asking or giving direc,
tions, asking or answering questions. It is true that people
seem to smile more in Sun City.
And for most of them their friendliest smiles and warmest
handclasps are extended to the man whose dream materialized
in the Arizona Sun City, as well as counterpart Sun Cities in
California and Florida. He's Del Webb, now 68, a native
Californian who, peculiarly enough, came to Arizona as a
young man to regain health from near ,fatal typhoid, and stayed
to build a world,wide construction and development business.
6 NOVEMBER 1967
As he welcomed Sun City's first residents, Builder Webb
said: " Concrete, steel and lumber can make the buildings,
but people make the community." Those who have settled
welcome him enthusiastically on his periodic visits and have
honored him time and again as Sun City's patriarch.
Sun City offers common ground, since everyone living
there is involved in the same adventure. They are not all
retired, but most of them look out on the world from about
the same platform, having reached the half , century mark.
Nothing, however, could be further from the truth than the
sometimes-quoted misconception of Sun City as a place where
" old people" sit on a bench - just waiting.
Productive soil r ewards Agriculture Club.
S huffieboard or lawn bowling, played diffidently to pass
some otherwise empty hours, is one thing. When real skill
and enthusiasm, built through years of experience, pilot
players toward local, state, or regional titles, these sometimes,
belittled games are real recreation as well as stimulation,
physical and social. Sun City boasts a high level of playing
in these sports, as well as in golf, bridge, or what have you.
Gradually a different philosophy is growing in Sun City.
Newcomers like the effects before they discover the cause.
It might be explained, in terms which are deceptively simple,
as a quiet declaration of independence by Senior Citizens.
Now is the time to explore new fields of self ,expression, do
the things for which one has been too busy.
Do not expect any committee to arrange "busy work"
here. Anyone who wants to do something with other people
finds others to join him, whether it is bicycling every morning,
oil painting, or square dancing. Presto ! A club is formed.
There may be no officers or dues. They may meet in one
of the recreation center rooms or outdoors in a church parking
lot, but they are doing it because they want to and because
it is fun to do it with so meone else. No strangers here!
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS
For some there are those serious hobbies or avocations,
relegated for years to second place while some less pleasant
occupation provided a living. Now fruitful years spread ahead,
men and women free to develop talents in art, science, litera ,
ture, or who can say? A second career is possible in an
atmosphere where no one finds it surprising for "grandpa" or
"grandma" to take lessons, study, or even ride a bicycle.
Many are learning, for the first time, to enjoy leisure.
As work hours shorten and retirement age drops , we are all
going to have to learn to play - an art which even children
seem, in this harried age, to have forgotten. Sun City was
built for this - to provide a complete little city in a grand
climate where recreation would be as close to the senior
citizen as the elementary school is to the child's home in the
more usual community.
Light opera b y Players and Orchestra Clubs .
As Sun City continues to expand, it will probably use
the pattern proving so satisfactory. Already there are three
fine outdoor swimming pools, skillfully landscaped, hub of
each recreation center. Craft and card rooms, auditorium, lawn
bowling and shuffleboard courts merge into the golf course .
A modest annual membership in the civic association
admits members to meetings, use of lapidary and other craft
workshops. It is open sesame, as well, to the golf world at
reduced rates, on two eighteen-hole golf courses. The third
course, financed privately along with its own clubhouse, has
the customary higher entrance and green fees.
On this skeleton of fine physical plant, Sun City residents
- people coming from everywhere - have built a structure,
invisible, but effective as its citizens come under its influence.
In essence, it is a second wind, another chance to grow,
learn, do, or to relax, just at the time when jobs - from
executive positions down to the housewife's responsibilities
in a busy household - have come to an end or been dissolved.
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS
So the people of Sun City have the choice of many
things to do. At home they pretty up the yard or trim it
back to essentials because of summer travel plans - maybe
to see children and grandchildren back in New Jersey, Maine,
or up in Washington. Housekeeping, like yard work, except
for those who make it a hobby, is kept to a minimum. Every,
thing, however, seems to be done with great enthusiasm.
There are men and women who play golf every day of the
year. A hole -in-one is always good for the lucky player's pie,
ture in the weekly paper. Tournament scores are featured -
columns of them.
Bridge players, too , are to be found under every Bower,
pot. Some duffs play it morning, noon and night. There are
not only clubs which concentrate on the game but other
organizations which hold bridge tournaments and bridge teas ,
as a sideline. Really dedicated players can usually get in
extra sessions with neighbors or guests.
SEWING
FOR 1/a1lf;J. &/ tiw S/UlJ
SCHOOL FOR HANDICAPP ED
Experts give their bes t - with love.
cyclists vary from the occasional rider on a two, or
three -wheeled vehicle to those who ride dail y. Some have
odometers as well as speedometers and one busy cyclist has
put 50,000 Sun City miles on his, in five years of residence .
In a well-fenced area across the highway is the trailer
compound where trave l and boat trailers and campers can
b e stored while not in use. Members of the Travel Trailer
Club keep the place looking shipshape, with a committee
to assign spaces and so on. Members also go in caravans to
inviting places in Arizona, down south into Mexico, or
wherever the wish of the group dictates.
The Sun City Merchants' Association sponsors the "Sun
City Saints," a softball team. T~e young women players
batted and slid their way into the community's unincorporated
heart during their first game on a new field, constructed by
the Del Webb Company. That night the usually strong voice
NOVEMBER 1967
7
"Active Art Club" "Lawn Bowling - Popular Sport"
"Woodworking Shop" "Around the Swimming Pool''
SUN CITIANS ENJOY ACTIVE LIFE
"Busy Sewing Group" "Keen Shu-ffieboard Competition"
The Guy Lombardo show packed the new Sun City Bowl.
of the very competent mistress of ceremonies sounded almost
overcome at the size and enthusiasm of the crowd which
overflowed I ooo bleacher seats, roared at the umpire and
did everything short of stealing bases to secure the team's
first and subsequent victories.
A 1 966 highlight for the entire town was opening of a
7,500 seat outdoor amphitheater - The Sun Bowl - with spa,
cious grassed levels for terraced seats, a necklace of seventy-six
stately palm trees, a bandshell thirty feet high and forty-eight feet
wide with a stage forty feet deep for plays, concerts and dance
bands. More than 6,000 Sun Citians turned out on a Sunday
early this year to hear nostalgic tunes by Guy Lombardo and
his band in the first of a series of Sun Bowl appearances by
"name" performers.
The drama club puts on an annual play in the hall and
every Monday night there is a movie, hand-picked by a
volunteer committee and shown on a fine large screen. Nor
can one mention every kind of entertainment or activity which
Sun Citians engage in; art exhibits, bazaars, tours, and dinners.
Eight charming churches have been built by the various
congregations and each offers, in addition to its special kind
of services, kindred activities of a charitable or social nature.
Add to these the groups coordinating the clubs: the
Council of Organizations, boards of the Community Civic
Association, the Town Hall, the Home Owners' Association,
and it might appear there was no time left for the life of
leisure. But one of the delightful sides of residing in Sun City
is people's appreciation of the climate, the sunshine, and the
chance to visit over a cup of coffee. Arizona provides many
months of the most delectable weather, a succession of "Junes."
A radio program offers a daily reminder: "Rain or shine, the
weather's fine in good old Arizona," and a phrase opens a
program by the now governor of the state, Jack Williams,
"Another beautiful day in Arizona! Leave us all enjoy it."
Sun City, twelve miles northwest of Phoenix on U.S.
60'70,80, is located in a sunny valley where rain is infrequent,
never snow, where humidity readings are among the nation's
lowest, and every day is blessed with a full measure of clear,
invigorating air. The broad valley is surrounded by picturesque
desert mountains. Among them South Mountain, the White
Tanks, the Estrellas, the Bradshaws seem to share honors at
particular hours or in special seasons. They are background,
often with dramatic lighting for the date and fan palm trees,
with ( if you pick just the right viewpoint) a pencil of church
tower floodlighted against a gorgeous maroon sky.
Sun Citians do not stay put as the common conception
of retirement might seem to demand. Men and women now
living here have, in many cases, discovered the community
in the course of travels. It is their headquarters and not the
end of exploration. Twelve miles away is bustling Phoenix.
With busy airport, excellent and varied restaurants, theatres,
museums and art galleries, in addition to shopping centers,
it marks the nearest of ever-enlarging circles, reaching for
some, the outermost boundaries of the world. Satellite cities
-Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale - are packed with interest, ranging
from prehistoric sites to a thriving university campus.
Andy Grant, right, president of the Men's Golf Club, presents
a box of special Sun City golf b alls to Bob Hope, center.
Sun City founder Del Webb smiled when Hope quipped:
"I hope Del can afford this. I hear he's down to his last city."
Farther away, in one direction or another, is all the color
and drama of Arizona's desert, her highland, and canyon
countries. Half an hour's drive away is Wickenburg, guest
ranch paradise. Spring's own favorite garden lies along the
Apache Trail, not many miles northeast. When, if ever, the
Grand Canyon becomes "old hat" for scenery, it is still there
to show off to visitors. Surely everyone should be exposed to
views along the Rim of Time, and either fly over it, ride
muleback, or hike from rim to river and then back up again.
A little farther north along the Navajo Trail is the most spec,
tacularly beautiful lake in the world - Powell, backed up
behind Glen Canyon Dam in the red rock country.
Sun Citians do not, of course, spend all their time playing.
They are still responsible citizens and have much to offer.
Some of their duties are discharged in service organizations
and in church activities. Other individuals may be called to
exercise their proven abilities even in foreign fields. Recently
Jack Williams, governor of Arizona, spoke to a Sun City
audience on the state's growth. He said that he was relying for
help on the pool of talents which he knew was here, gathered
from all over.
Besides the chance to keep busy in a galaxy of activities,
Sun City residents are drawn by the fact the town was designed
for those fifty and over, with no nurseries, no public schools,
children's matinees, etc. Yet the oft-applied tag of "childless
community" is a misnomer.
A dozen school-age children now live in Sun City, chiefly
with grandparents, because parents no longer are living. They
are bussed to schools in nearby Peoria. And during summer
Continued on {)age 3 z
10 ARIZONA HIGHWAYS
Let's take a look at the man in the rocking chair on the
porch of his home in - well, in any one of a thousand cities
and towns in the United States. He isn't what anybody
would call an old man. His hair is grey, but it's far from
white. His face is lined, but not wrinkled. He looks
down at strong, freckled hands ...
"I don't know what to do with myself these days," he'll
tell you. "I'm supposed to be old - I was sixty-five
last fall - but God knows I don't feel old. I suppose the
company was right about the retirement age; after all,
they have to make places for the younger men.
But what happens to me?"
This man could be sitting on a porch almost anywhere in
the United States. His cry and his question are being
heard more often and more urgently everywhere, for he
is a member of the nation's fastest growing minority
the so-called aged. Because of modern medicine,
U. S. citizens are living longer.
Today millions of Americans in the upper-age brackets,
their number growing each year, are learning to adjust
their way of life to retirement. How are they doing? Are they
sulking in the sun? Are loneliness and boredom inevitable?
Arizona can do much for retirees with its mild, health-giving
year-around climate; and retirees who find new homes
in the state can do much for the Arizona economy.
In the first half of the 20th century, life expectancy at birth
increased 17.6 years for men and 20.3 years for women.
Today close to eighteen million U. S. citizens are sixty-five
or over. Between 1950 and 1960, the over-sixty-five population
increased about twice as fast as the total population.
Between 1920 and 1960, the number of people seventyfive
or more increased by 279 percent, and the number
eighty-five and older increased a phenomenal 920 percent.
Estimates are that by the year 2000 A.D. the number of
U. S. citizens past the normal retirement age of sixty-five
will have doubled, and they will make up ten percent
of the population, comprising in all a body of people
larger than the present population of Spain, or
more than triple that of Australia.
At sixty-five, the average U. S. citizen can expect almost.
thirteen more years of life. He has money, or at least a
modest income. The seventeen million Americans over
sixty-five have an aggregate annual income of $32 billion
from social security, from private sources such as interest,
dividends, rents, etc., from retainers or consultation fees, odd
jobs and other employment; the rest from annuities, life
insurance, public aid, company and government pensions.
And their total income will be increasing as the oldest
generation (those who have tended to depend on younger
relatives for support) die out, and as the effect of the huge
expansion in company retirement plans makes itself felt.
Today t here are more than twenty-five million employees
covered by private pensions, and an estimated one million
are added yearly. The sum total paid out on pension
plans in 1935 was only $100 million. Now it's
estimated at $2 billion.
Retirement, therefore, will become more important with
each passing year. In presenting in this issue one of
Arizona's retirement communities, Sun City, other such
communities within our borders deserve the attention and
consideration of prospective new re sidents seeking
a place in the sun.
NOVEMBER 1967
Air view from south side of Sun City shows new
golf courses and recently developed a reas .
Ursula and Burt Freireich produce Sun City's
award winning weekl y newspaper. Although they are
too young to live in the community, they
are vita lly involved in its d ay-to-day activities.
Front-on air view facing south of Sun City shows the
Kings Inn motor hotel and the communit y's first shopping
center in foreground, w ith homes and golf fairways beyond.
FRANCIS H. FEENEY'S - THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF ARIZONA
The bookcase containing titles on the always interesting
subject "Arizona" is an ever-expanding one. To that bookcase
and subject should be added The Incredible Story of Arizona by
Francis H. Feeney, a chapter from which, "Picturesque Arizona
Place Names," we are pleased to offer herewith . T he author, with
both modesty and some truth, describes him as "An Old Timer
who, on occasion, has been known to drink from the river
Hassayampa," a reference he describes in a footnote as follows:
"Legend has it that anyone who drinks from the Hassayampa
River is thenceforth careless with the truth."
A citizen of Arizona for sixty years, he is a graduate of
Miami High School and received his B.A. and M.A. degrees
from the University of Arizona. For forty years he has been
connected with public education in this state as a teacher and
Director of Audio-Visual Education. Active in the affairs· of
the Arizona Education Association, he was at one time presi,
dent of the organization. He retired from his teaching profession
last spring.
His Incredible Story of Arizona is a history presented in a
wry, witty and unusual way. To share his views of the whys and
wherefores of Arizona, the book can be purchased direct from the
author, 4or W est roth, Tempe, Arizona 852-Br. Price $r.25.
PICTURESQUE ARIZONA PLACE NAMES
Camelback Mountain - one of Phoenix's
best known natural landmark shapes
12
The circular hole in the rock identifies
Window Roch, Arizona - Navajo tribal capital
W hen the first settlers landed on the shores of North America
they began the understandable but not very imaginative custom of
naming settlements after those in the Old Country, or after those who
started them. This practice was often continued as the people moved
into Middle America. Consequently we find streets, towns, counties,
mountains, rivers, etc. bearing commonplace and repetitious names
that have no connection with the area, geographically or historically,
in which they are located.
T he people who explored and settled the Far West, however,
frequently broke with the past and its traditions. They usually were
looking for a new and different way of living in a new and different
land. They accepted it as they found it, and the names they gave to
their surroundings were often taken from the physical and geographi,
cal characteristics which they observed, or from the Indians or Spanish.
Furthermore1 those people were realistic, imaginative, and frequently
possessed of humor and a tongue in the cheek. Consequently
the West in general and Arizona in particular is generously sprinkled
with picturesque, bizarre and otherwise descriptive place names.
T he origin of the name "Arizona" is somewhat vague but it does
not come from "arid zone," as is frequently assumed. It is generally
believed to be an Indian word meaning " little springs," and was first
used in referring to certain areas in the southeastern part of the state.
The names of Arizona's counties retain, for the most part, the color
and romance of the West. The fourteen counties, with the exception of
two, have Indian or Spanish names . (Imagine a state with approximately
the same area as Italy having only fourteen counties. )
Apache, Navajo, Pima, Yuma, Maricopa, and Yavapai Counties
were named after Indian tribes in this area. Pinal was probably derived
from the word "pine." Gila comes from a Spanish idiomatic expression
meaning "going to or from a place." Coconino is a Hopi designation
for Havasupai and Yavapai Indians. Mohave means "three mountains"
and Santa Cruz is "holy cross" in Spanish. Only Graham and Greenlee
counties were named after gringos.
Arizona's larger towns and cities did not fare so well when named.
Prescott, Bisbee, Douglas, Glendale, Wickenburg, and Scottsdale, for
example, are obviously imported names.
Phoenix, the capital city, and its erudite satellite, Tempe, are
handicapped or blessed, according to one's point of view, with names
taken from ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology. Their appropriateness
is debatable. The blame or praise must go to Darrell Duppa, an
Englishman ( how those Britishers got around) who, having somewhat
of a classical education and a broad accent, apparently had no difficulty
in impressing the less polished early se ttlers with his ideas. For those
who lamentingly point out that there are quite a number of "Phoenixes"
already, including now a brand of cheese, there is consolation in the
fact that the new town was not named after Duppa himself.
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS
PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAY MANLEY
Once there really was a brewery
in Brewery Gulch - Bisbee
Tempe, second child of Duppa's erudition, has a famous name
( connotating beauty ) to live up to; that is, if the Vale of Tempe in
Thessalonia has not been highly overrated.
Of the other larger towns, Tucson, Yuma, Mesa and Nogales have
names which come from the area in which they are located and which,
with the exception of Mesa, are to be found nowhere else . Tucson
derived its name from a Papago Indian word meaning "dark or brown
hill." Yuma is named after an Indian tribe. The word "mesa" is very
common in the Southwest and means high level land. Nogales is
derived from the Spanish word for walnuts.
The really colorful and picturesque names are found applied to
the smaller towns, villages, and to topographical characteristics of the
land. Ex;,mples are listed below in what might be called "geographical
couplets.
Ft. Defiance, Moccasin, Mingus Mountain, Manzanita,
Bullhead City, Honeymoon, Chino Valley, Sahuarita.
Thunder River, Chuckbox Lake, Lone Pine Crossing, Caliente,
Bronco Mountain, Chrysolite, Wild Horse Canyon, San Vicente.
Anvil Mountain, Horse Thief Basin, Jerked Beef Butte,
Hotevilla, Cinch Hook Butte, Comobabi, and Tuzigoot.
Ali Chukson, San Manuel, Coronado, Cimmaron,
Horsehead Crossing, Gila Bend, Rainbow Valley, Sacaton.
Ox Yoke Mountain, Windy Hill, Calabasas, Awatobi,
Montezuma, Pinto Creek, Spotted Mountain, Chimopovi.
Tuba City, Bloody Tanks, Palo Verde, Apache Leap,
Stray Horse Canyon, Silverbell, Santa Rira, and Tuweep.
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS
Spider Roch - legendary home of a
great spider bogeyman of Navajo mythology
Pena Blanca, Sacaton, Surprise Canyon, Moencopi,
Slaughter Mountain, Red Horse Wash, Guadalupe.
Tombstone Canyon, H appy Jack, Tonto Basin, Big Bug Peak,
Friendly Corners, Hermit's Rest, Sombrero Butte, Coyote Creek.
Oro Blanco, El Mirage, Catalina, Tonalea,
Buck Skin Canyon, Dragoon Pass, Dos Cabezas, Agua Fria.
Sunset Crater, Dead Man's Creek, Jump Up Canyon, Ocotillo,
Blind Man Creek, Cibicue, Devil's Kitchen, Peloncillo.
Tanque Verde, Lousy Gulch, Pumpkin Center, Camacho,
Bloody Basin, Rustler's Park, Steamboat Canyon and Picacho.
Zuni River, Screwbean Spring, Hassayampa, Freeze Out Creek,
Padre Canyon, Maverick Hill, Poker Mountain, Blue Jay Creek.
Inspiration, Brewery Gulch, Arivaca, Balakai,
Midnight Mesa, Beaver Creek, Cochise Stronghold, Supai.
Buzzard's Roost, Bright Angel Trail, Whiskey Creek,
Saddle Mountain, Totem Pole, Geronimo, Gobbler's Peak.
Devil's Windpipe, Doubtful Pass, Haystack Mountain, Kabito,
Kofa Mountains, Pipestem Creek, Vermillion Cliffs, Bonito.
'lC his sort of thing could go on for quite some time but perhaps
the point has been made. However, we should also mention Parrissawampins
Spring, Kuchaptuvela Village, Baboquivari Peak, Chub,
wichalobi, and Komoktetuvavosit.
FRANCIS H. FEENEY
13
"Autumn Along a Bend in the Highway (White Mtsf (>
DARWIN VAN CAMPEN
In a land as
large as Arizona with
its unique geographical position
and topographical composition, its
kaliedoscopic landscape riding off in all
directions with no apparent method or plan,
bucking, tossing and pitching without restraint, the
months of the calendar can become frustratingly evasive
when one tries to capture their charm with a descriptive
adjective or so, a lyrical turn of phrase, a glib metaphor.
Hrizona has three impressive faces with which it greets,
with equal satisfaction, the visitor or the Man in the Moon. First,
there is the Northern Plateau, mainly flat and windswept, dotted
with shifting sand dunes, cruelly carved canyons and sculptured
masterpieces in slick rock and colored stone with a few small
mountain ranges thrown in to relieve the monotony of
endless, empty, dancing horizons.
(3 hen comes the Rim Country of which the Mogollon Rim is the
formidable bastion keeping the arid, desert regions of south-central
Arizona in disciplined control. The Rim shoulders great, green forests
and gives birth to the streams that carry lif e-sustainirig waters to
parched desert lands below.
D ere, then, are three worlds in one - Plateau, Rim and Desert -
one so different from the other it is almost startling to find them all
within the boundaries of one great state. They differ in elevation; in
topographical formation; in geological structure; in their history,
archaeology, and anthropology; in precipitation; in flora and
fauna; in climate and in people and their economic endeavors.
They are even diverse in coloration as any discerning
photographer or artist so well knows -the reddish-orange
Plateau, brilliant and vibrant in color: the greenish
Rim with slashes of color made more dramatic by the
greenery itself; the gray-green Desert which owes
its appearance to the xerophytic plants growing
therein and to the absolute authority
of that supreme dictator
of Light and Shadow,
the Sun itself.
C onlinu ed on P oqe 17
"Finger Marks of a November Wind (Canyon de Chelly)" DARWIN VAN CAMPEN
"Coal Canyon Panorama (Hopi Reservation)" ARTHUR A. TWOMEY
"Lonely Road - Navajo Reservation
(Near Four Corners)" [;
WAYNE DAVIS
')Z., ; .. ,,
"Meeting Place of the Salt and Verde Rivers" JOSEF MUENCH FOLLOWING PAGES
J, "November Day in the Desert (Saguaro National Mon.)" "A Treasury of Autumn's Golden Coins (Williams Valley, White Mts.)" Q
\J RAY MANLEY " , . ,, DARWIN VAN CAMPEN Desert Mountains Feel a Touch of Early Winter (Near Tucson) CARLOS ELMER
"Fall Scene in Sunfiower Area (On Road to Payson)" M . PAUL JARRETT FOLLOWING PAGES
A "Autumn Adorns a White Mountain Stream" "An Autumn Morning in Southern Arizona (Near Patagonia)" ~
\J RAY MANLEY "Ea r l y M orm.n g C amp fi re r.r1-apestry i•n A spen C ountry (S an F ranci.s co p ea k s) " RAY MANLEY RAY MANLEY
:'t .,....,_..,...,,. ....... .......... ---
;.
1, "Autumn Leaves on Seven Springs Creek (North of Phoenix)"
\J EARL PETROFF
In each of
these three varied worlds
that is Arizona each and every
month offers a different portrait not only
of the month but of the season. A November
journey, for instance, can be three dissimilar but equally
enjoyable journeys.
(5 hanks to a remarkably well-planned network of
highways which knits the three regions of our state into one, a
November journey can be both exciting and adventuresome. For that
reason we take issue in our most stentorian voice with our lexicographer
who has the effrontery of explaining as follows: "Novemberish, adj . also
Novembery, Novembry. Like or characteristic of November; dismal."
@e object to the word "dismal" as being wholly unsuitable in
describing one of our favorite months, a month with many
pleasant characteristics of its own.
@hat is dismal about a November day in the desert, the air crisp,
bright and clear? What is dismal about the cottonwoods turned to gold
along lazy streams in desert foothills, or in mountain areas which
still herald winter's coming with aspen torches of golden yellow?
Surely there is nothing dismal in the Plateau region where
the chilliness of the season increases the clarity of the
atmosphere of November adding luster and brilliance
to an already radiant landscape.
Ir you take a November journey through any
or all of Arizona's three worlds mentioned above,
we promise you your journey will not be dismal.
For more eloquent evidence we refer you to our
color portfolio appearing herein, and with that
we rest our case and throw ourselves
on the mercy of our
readers . .. R. C.
28
D1ES1EBT WINTER BOUQUET
BY ALMA READY
Jl.s if to compensate for the brevity of the flowering season,
nature seems to go all out in her efforts to produce "after,
blooming" forms of lasting beauty. From a distance seed-heads
of the giant agave and the man-high sotol are easily mistaken
for the blossoms themselves. The Yucca elata bears its graceful,
podded stalks aloft throughout the winter months. The sun,
bleached, ubiquitous roadside grasses, th emselves an eye's
delight, are interspersed with the distinctive skeletons of desert
senna, sunflower and telegraph plant. When backlighted by
the westering sun, even the common thistle appears exotic, as
do many others of the "fuzzy,headed" clan.
Ji ike a sprig stuck into the sand, the D esert Holly can be
I, found beneath the catclaw. Paper white and brittle looking,
\J this tiny annual appears like a ghost of Christmas Past, and is
thought by many to spring white from the ground. This, how,
ever, is untrue . Actually, the plant appears, flowers and matures
very early in the spring. Then it stands stiffly, bearing its prickly
leaves outspread until they are bleached white by the winter sun.
Down Mexico way, another and perhaps more beautiful species
grows three or four times as high.
§ peaking of Christmas, in the town of Chandler on Arizona
93, it has become traditional to erect a tumbleweed, community
"Christmas Tree." The weeds are stacked in the town square
in a cone,shaped heap over twenty feet high. Sprayed white
and sprinkled with glitter, the " tree" is attractive by day and
positively dazzling when spotlighted after dark. Mistletoe is,
of course, a native here, but one must search farther afield each
year to find it, usually suspended from the branches of some
tall, elderly cottonwood tree. The coral,berried species of
mistletoe, favorite nesting place of the tiny Verdin and a major
food of the desert's own Phainopepla, is less well known.
Actually, it is much more common and quite lovely in fruition,
growing among palo verde and mesquite thickets everywhere.
'
The stately Soto!
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS NOVEMBER 1967
.A
Desert Willow
Graceful and as delicate as a Japanese print is the tracery
of Desert Willow branches against a winter sky. Elongated by
slender, eight,inch, hanging seedpods, posed with drooping
elegance before an apricot,tinted sunset, they make a never,to,
be,forgotten picture. They are just as lovely seen in a dancing
mood, flickering daintily in the sunlight, gilt against a cloud,
flecked midday blue. This is just one of the delightful surprises
awaiting the visitor to southern Arizona's desert country.
JI. number of unprepossessing plants bear seedpods of striking
individuality. Perhaps the most spectacular of these is the D evil's
Claw, end product of a short,lived orange,flowered annual.
Its curved, giant "claw" and interesting texture - like hardened
black lace - have long been an inspiration to the artist with a
pencil. Indians of the Southwest commonly weave the tough,
adhering threads into decorative patterns against pale strands
of yucca leaf in making baskets. The D evil's Claw makes a
distinctive souvenir in its natural state. Vaguely aware of this,
but apparently under a relentless compulsion to gild the lily,
curio dealers add a dash of color and a twist of wire, producing
various "birds" to be used as table decorations, party favors, etc.
Souvenir shops also contrive a dozen ingenious disguises for the
flower,like yucca pods whose separated segments resemble
miniature birchbark canoes.
Fairy Duster
Coyote Melons ( wild gourds) can be painted when thor,
oughly dry, but are colorful in the natural state when harvested
early in the season. Inconspicuous until the foliage has withered,
the bright yellow globes can be found trailing by the roadside
or hanging like Christmas decorations from the branches of
some convenient shrub.
1(1 he Crown of Thorns is often made to look "seasonal" at [)
Christmas time, by the addition of a little glitter. The growing
plant seems to know no season, standing gray, leafless and
gaunt in tμe low, sandy washes from one year's end to the next.
A single cut branch thrust into a container needs no "arranging."
Another shrub which needs no manipulation to become an
"arrangement" is the four-wing salt bush. The chest-high, bushy
shrub seems to grow just everywhere, and in November the
hydrangd-like clusters of pale tan fruits are much in evidence.
If cut just before the wings are dry enough to scatter, they
will last all winter. This trick of collecting dried material at
the right moment is the secret of arrangements that last. In most
cases, if the dry seedpods adhere firmly to the stem when they
are cut, they are likely to remain attached indefinitely-provided
the bouquet is gathered after the seeds have dispersed. Incidentally,
gathering pods containing seeds is tantamount to pick,
ing the flowers and contrary to the principles of conservation.
30
Some plants require even closer examination, a stroll through
the desert, a bending down to the earth. A magnifying glass
discloses further delights. Many of the small "weeds" are amaz,
ing when viewed closely. The tiny Lace Pod is simply exquisite.
One craftsman of our acquaintance makes miniature
" arrangements" under a glass bell, using fragments of driftwood
or rock for a base. With the aid of tweezers, bits of dried grass
are added, and th en tiny seedpods which look like fairy flowers
froz en in time. The whole thing is little larger than a man's
thumb, and the effect is dream-like.
The list of somewhat larger plants is endless. Having dis,
persed their seeds, the small daisies and the Rock Hibiscus
resemble silvery stars. The wild geranium is sometimes called
" Heronbill" because of its long, tapered seedpod.
Streptanthus Agave
Another plant reminiscent of the Oriental is the Streptanthus.
Tough and enduring, yet one of the most delicate in appearance,
its branching skeleton thrusts out two-inch, flat-bladed, glisten,
ing spears which seem to possess a radiance of their own. These
translusce nt, white blades have the texture of Japanese rice
paper. Actually, they are the inner septum of the seed capsule,
both sections of which have been dropped along with the seeds.
With the sun behind them, they seem to light up the hillsides
where they are quite commonly found.
I
And we mustn't forget the Chia. This fascinating plant has
received considerable attention lately because of claims made
by food faddists concerning the health -giving properties of its
seeds. This may be fact or fiction - although we do know that
they were long prize d as food by various tribes of Indians -
but it is undeniably an interesting plant to examine. Standing
straight and stiff in the sandy washes, it bears its seeds in
pagoda-like tiers.
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS
Some dried plants disintegrate at a touch. These are to be
admired only in the field. There are innumerable others, however,
whose dry bones make attractive bouquets or whose skele,
tons are interesting to examine. But they don't always invite
attention. One has to look. The two desert "Borgia's" are a
case in point. Lovely to look at but deadly when consumed,
the Sacred Datura and the D eadly Nightshade delight the summer
traveler along any highway. Purest white and fresh as the
morning, the night-blooming trumpets of the datura linger in
Blazing Star
the sandy washes. Reaches of lavender nightshade cool the
shoulders of the road on hot, sunny afternoons. They don't
disappear in the autumn. They simply escape one's attention.
The datura shrinks and dries to the color of the sand where it
grows. The nightshade droops and closes its gray-green leaves
about its glossy, golden " cherries."
Spanish Dagger Seed Pod
1f here are many more. But half the joy is in the discovery.
Altogeth er, the desert's winter bouquet is an inspiration
to the artist, a temptation to the collector, a delight to the
observant visitor, and a challenge to the photographer.
31
SUN CITY - from page 9
months and school vacations Sun City is alive with grand,
children, swimming in the big community pools, joining in
shuffleboard and lawn bowling games. But many a grandparent
heaves a sigh of relief when school bells ring for the youngsters.
The Sun City builders have had to contend, too, with the
experts on gerontology whose voices of doom warned from
the beginning that old folks hate to be cut off from the cross
section of ages that make up regular communities; in other
words, barring children as residents would be their downfall.
But Arizona's Sun City has continued to grow and - because
schools were not needed - has a tax rate about half that of
other communities in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Does the average Sun City resident find it depressing being
surrounded by older people? "We think that's a joke," grins
Mrs. Hazel Meyer, wife of Clarence ( Buck ) Meyer, a retiree
from Prudential Insurance's Chicago office. "Sun City isn't a
town of tottering invalids. Whenever we swim or play golf
with friends here, it's just as lively as being with our two daugh,
ters and sons,in,law. I love my children. I love having them
visit with us with their children. But they have their own lives
and interests just as we have ours."
Sun City founder Del E. Webb, who believes the identical
Sun Cities he has developed in Arizona, California and Florida
give him the greatest satisfaction in his forty years of building
experience, has this to say about the philosophy that led to
creation of the communities:
"The 'way of life' we promise emphasizes independence
for men and women who have reached an entirely new social
strata after their places in normal community life have been
taken over by younger people.
"In the average community there certainly is no way of
controlling the age bracket of our neighbors or the number
of their children. This we can control in Sun City, thus avoid,
ing the problem of mixing conflicting living patterns and, in
many cases, forcing social contacts that constitute an invasion
of privacy, with resulting inconveniences for senior citizens."
"Sun Cities are composed mainly of single,family residences
designed to meet the particular needs and desires of a particular
society. The wish to come and go at will is in no way impaired,
but the problem of mixing conflicting living patterns of
youngsters is eliminated."
Although first homes designed by the Del E. Webb Cor,
poration were not occupied at Sun City until April, I 960, by
the end of that year 1,618 homes and apartments had been
sold. Seven years later the town's population exceeded 10,000.
Now it is nearly 11,000. The top five states in contributing
new residents never have varied. In order, they are Arizona,
California, Illinois, Colorado and Minnesota.
C hoice of homes ranges from one-bedroom apartment con,
venience to the elegant luxury of a three-bedroom residence.
Built of concrete block in varying pastel shades, without base,
ments, Sun City's six types of homes ( eighteen elevations)
range in price from $14,490 to $26,290. Nine different style
apartments range from $12,990 to $26,290. Statistics reveal
the most popular home is a two-bedroom, two,bath model.
Further information on homes can be obtained by writing to
Community Development Division of the Del E. Webb
Corporation, P . 0. Box 7588, Phoenix, Arizona 8501 r.
Conventional financing is offered, as well as discounts for
cash purchases prior to start of construction or while the new
home is rising. Of sales to date, approximately sixty,five percent
of the purchasers pay cash.
Buyers own their home and lot outright; are at liberty to
sell any time they wish. Included in the cost of every home
and apartment is heating and cooling equipment, electric kitchen
stove, oven and garbage disposal, landscaping and paved street,
walks, curbs and driveways.
Owners of cooperative apartments have no yard work,
sharing the cost of upkeep, landscaping, etc. A new residential
feature offered the first time this year is one,acre estates, with
horse privileges, in a section of the community known as
Rancho Estates. This is a boon for horse lovers.
Residents new to the desert enjoy native plants for landscaping
The Riviera-size swimming pool is an integral part of Sun City life
In population, Sun City ranks in the top twelve Arizona
cities and towns, and each year it shows the greatest percentage
population increase of any Arizona community.
Sun City is completely self-sufficient.
For the visitor, a 100,room Del Webb's Kings Inn motor
hotel at Sun City's entrance serves overnight guests, offering
double rooms at $10 per night from mid,April to mid,Decem,
ber, and during the winter tourist season at $ 1 2. The Inn's
seventy-eight modern apartments, fully equipped to linens and
silverware for housekeeping, are reserved for vacation visitors
who wish to look over Sun City with a view to locating there.
Apartments are available in winter months at $75 per week per
couple, from April to September at $ 50 weekly summer rates.
Because a Webb survey early in Sun City's life indicated
its people often like to "eat out," a 2 5 o,seat restaurant,coffee
shop-cocktail lounge at Kings Inn is one of two cafes now serving
residents and visitors alike, with a third in the planning stages.
For the residents, a modern medical center is staffed by
eleven physicians and dentists. A retirement housing health care
center, Sun Valley Lodge, sponsored by the United Church
of Sun City, includes 1 20 housing units, central dining rooms,
infirmary, lounge area and administration offices and individual
lounges for entertaining small groups.
This year final financing is under way for a 1,000-bed, $3
million Sun City Hospital for which a citizens committee and
architect already are named. And James B. Boswell II, who
farmed the land from which Sun City has grown, as did his
father and grandfather before him, is making a $1,200,000
grant from the Boswell Foundation to assist in this construction.
NOVEMBER I 967
Sun City has three branch banks, a stock exchange office,
a savings and loan firm, two thriving weekly newspapers, an
office building, and an industrial park with a van and storage
company and a Chrysler automotive test facility.
The town's second shopping center was opened in 1965
and today forty -five community businesses, from supermarket
and drug store to haberdashery and hearing aids, lawyer to
landscaper, offer a tremendous variety of goods and services.
Even a theatre and bowling alley appear in Sun City's future.
I ncluded in this year's flurry of building activity was a
half-million dollar recreation center, the third built by the Webb
Corporation and presented without cost to the community.
Dedicated June 29, it will be maintained and administered by
a resident Town Hall group.
The spanking new center has an auditorium seating r, 1 oo
with mammoth stage for meetings, movies and plays; stage
dressing rooms, card rooms, kitchen facilities, an 80-by, r oofoot
swimming pool, exercise gymnasium, an inside heated
therapeutic pool, a botanical garden, shuffleboard and lawn
bowling courts, offices and cabanas and dressing rooms.
In the first week after it was opened, 600 Sun Citians
enjoyed a chicken dinner there one night, another 600 dined
on fish the next night, a dance and variety show attracted
hundreds another evening, and the free showing of the movie
"Oklahoma!" packed the center another night. continued on page 38
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 33
INDIAN RUINS - SIGNIFICANT IN
THE HISTORIES OF ANCIENT CULTURES
AND THE EVOLUTION OF COMMUNITIES.
Man is lucky, geologists tell us, to be living right now. The earth
was never more beautiful. Arizona residents or visitors share an extra
bit of that luck. Up in the north is the Colorado Plateau, most colorful
part of the earth's crust, and to the south the unusual Sonoran Desert,
one of Nature's spectaculars.
A century ago, when white men were first discovering the area;
the going was rugged. That has changed now, but the scenery has
not. Travel is what you make of it. There are tours, limousine to
four-wheel drive for those who prefer to let someone else do the driving,
planes if you want to get somewhere fast, boats on the lakes, rafts on
the rivers. You can camp in the forest or stay at the swankiest of hotels,
motels, resort places, and those may be in the city or out in the wilds.
There is just one thing no one can do in Arizona's varied and
incomparable scenery - exhaust its wonders and charms. Eastern resi,
dents once thought of the state as being mostly desert. Each year more
people taste its variety of elevation, climate, scenery.
HERB & DOROTHY MC LAUGHLIN
Arizona's excellent highways lead to treasures of
archaeological wonder - by the hour, day or week.
34
MONTEZUMA CASTLE - On Wet Beaver Creek, Yavapai County.
Five-story structure erected during early part of eleventh century.
Up in the northwest is the greatest of all canyons, and on the
surrounding plateaus the most extensive stand of the ponderosa pine.
Snow crowns the lofty peaks even while cacti are blooming on the
canyon floors. The Sonoran Desert, dominating the southwestern
quarter of the state, nurtures sturdy and unusual desert plants. The
spines of the cactus are a fascinating contrast to the delicacy and texture
of their blossoms. So, too, is the coloring of mountain and desert quite
different, according to the hour of the day. Midday the sun high over,
head washes out color and shadow, and the visitor may see only deso,
lation and aridity. Yet every additional hour spent in Arizona's desert
makes its magic more meaningful and satisfying.
Fourteen Indian tribes have made Arizona their home. Smallest
of tribes, the Havasupai ( Blue-green Water People ) live in an earthly
paradise, deep in the Grand Canyon. Only fifty miles east, airline,
spreads the some eighteen-million-acre home of the Navajos, our largest
TUZIGOOT - a National Monument. A vast area
inhabited from the tenth through the fourteenth centuries.
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS NOVEMBER 1967
below: SUN TEMPLE RUINS - Mesa Verde, Colorado. One of the many village
communities in the Pueblo Territory, started around our year one A.D., which
extended west beyond the Hopi Mesas and southward to Chihuahua in Mexico.
In winter you can ski in the mountains or fish through an ice hole
over in the Whites. A turkey shoot in Arizona means wild birds, and
there are elk as well as deer in some areas, doves in the desert, and
for something really different, get a buffalo permit for the annual shoot.
Horse shows, horse races, horseback riding - all occupy people.
Prescott shares a fairgrounds with the Downs in summer, and Phoenix
keeps two tracks going in the winter.
Yes, people who see Arizona now are lucky. They can drive up
into the beautiful Chiricahua Mountains where the Apaches eluded
United States cavalry riders. A boat, your own or rented, can glide
you up newly-opened canyons, along the r 8 oo,mile shoreline of the
fabulous new Lake Powell or unveil to you the recreational pleasures
of Lake Havasu, Lake Mohave, and Lake Mead, all jewels on the
Colorado River. Then in an hour or less you can be back in Phoenix
or Tucson, if you wish, swished there by plane.
This is all of the vast panorama of sun and scenery Arizona offers
the visitors. Residents of Sun City know it well. It is part of their
great backyard and they take advantage of it.
RAY MANLEY
tribe. Surrounded by the bigger preserve is J,lopiland, where a pueblo
tribe has lived for centuries atop three rocky mesas overlooking the
Painted Desert. There are Hualapais in the northwest and Apaches
in the White Mountains on the east. Down along the Mexican border
are the Papagos, who claim never to have hurt a white man.
The ancestors of these Indians, or per):iaps lost tribes, have left
us wonderful little cities set in cliffs, towers standing on the desert,
irrigation systems, and pop art scratched on some rock.
Then there are quaint little ghost towns in mountains or desert,
ancestors of today's yawning, rainbow-tinted open-pit copper mines.
Most everyone, new or native to Arizona, finds the cities as hubs.
Tucson to the south, Phoenix and a circle of smaller towns in the center,
Flagstaff, Prescott and Kingman in the north. Education, art, the social
whirl reach their peaks. Flagstaff and Prescott, set in the pines with
mountain vistas encircling them, are headquarters for fresh, tangy air,
rodeos and Indian celebrations. Cabins and trailers welcome summer
visitors with fishing, riding, golfing on the calendar.
WHITE HOUSE RUINS - Canyon de Chelly Nat'!. Mon.
Researchers set 1066 A.D . as time of origin. 35
"Golf - Year 'Round Sport" "Post Office"
"Country C lub" "The To wn Hall"
CENTERS OF COMMUNITY LIFE IN SUN CITY
"Ladie s' Golf Day" "Th e M edical Buildin g"
Sun Citians are always answering questions. "How do you like it
there?" "How did you happen to come here?" "Are you having any
fun?" People everywhere have heard something about the young
community. They want to know more.
Word of mouth has spread the news. The old grapevine still
operates among friends , relatives, or counter acquaintances . Visitors
stop in Sun City to see for themselves, hurry back to settle their affairs,
and here they are , part of Sun City's happy community.
The superb climate at moderate elevation is a lure for comfort
and for health. For many, years have been added with increased
vigor. The better you feel, the more fun it is to play.
I overheard one man say he came to Sun City to be near the race
tracks. An Indian tr ader, owner of a school sec tion for over forty years,
bought a house here "because he couldn't affo rd not to." Harry Gould,
ing, who with his wife, "Mike," "sold" Monument Valley to tourists,
the movie world, and the Navajos themselves for many years, now
winters in Sun City. About the time the cottonfields were first di s,
placed, the Gouldings went out to see what was happening. They
A nother question Sun Citians are often asked by people from
other climates is: What about the heat?
Now what about Arizona's summer heat, for it's an established
fact that temperatures top the I oo,degree mark for weeks at a time?
Well, here's a typical Sun Citian's view, this one from John Shafer,
a Detroiter more than forty years before retiring as an estimating
engineer from the hydramatic division of General Motors in I 96 I.
He and his wife, Evelyn, have been Sun City residents five years.
They came primarily because mid,west humidity was unkind to
Evelyn's health. John plays a lot of golf, is chairman of the Sun City
Agricultural Club, and Evelyn goes in for sewing, ceramics and bridge.
"The heat? Doesn't bother us because of the low humidity,"
says Mr. Shafer. "Anyway, everything is air-conditioned out here -
houses, cars, stores, the recreation centers. So what's the problem?"
D avid and Ann Stewart spent six weeks in Iran after they settled
in Sun City. Mr. Stewart was helping that country develop a program
for milk sanita tion while Ann taught English to natives who ranged
in age from ten to thirty years.
Mazatlan Lake Chapala Guaymas
bought a lot on the golf course and signed up for a house since,
according to Harry, "it was such a good buy and residents were being
offered so much." The house, built in I 960, sprouts a new room
every so often, usually about when the Saguaros in the front yard
start blooming. Through the gravel "lawn" is a winding road where
a little white jeep parks, when it is not out showing a visitor the
beauties of Arizon a's rugged desert terrain. It is a very busy jeep!
The Newbys find Sun City to their taste. John plays golf and
Margaret paints. She helps others in the Community Center Art Club.
Not content with stimulating art exhibits and class work, Margaret
became president of the Council of Organizations and saw it through
the ambitious presentation of Guy Lombardo and his band.
NOVEMBER I 967
Dr . John J. Grebe, inventor of Styrofoam, as well as other things
in the field of nuclear and chemical research, carries on in Sun City
a pet project which could someday transform sewage into soil.
"Aren't people fun?" I heard John DeMoss ask as he pedaled
along a Sun City street with some fifty others one spring morning.
Sometimes ahead, beside, or just behind us was a car carrying a TV
camera team from Munich, Germany. Making a travel film for use
in Cologne, the y had considered Sun City would be of interest clear
over in Europe.
When the DeMosses, John and Etha, are not riding bicycles·,
going to the club's monthly breakfa st , they are out with a trailer,
perhaps in caravan, but always having fun.
It always depends, of course, on what is your idea of fun. But
if you know that, you can find it - in Sun City.
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS 37
I
SUN CITY from page 33
Rendering d epicts a Sun City h ospital in a d vanced
planning and less than a year from groundbreaking .
38
Newest Sun City churches a r e t he
First Sou th ern B apti st Mission and the
First Church of Christ. Scientist .
Centers of Sun City a ctivity are the three
Town H a ll hobby-recr eat ion-me eting facilities .
8 y spring of this year eight church groups had built houses
of worship, beautiful if not pretentious in design and appearance.
Other congregations use community center facilities for services.
The agricultural center, for those with a "green thumb,"
with land and water provided by the Webb Corporation, produces
a twelve-month outpouring for gardeners of vegetables,
fruits and flowers.
All this activity is organized spontaneously by residents
themselves without artificial stimulation of the cruise-director
type. Nobody has to participate. Yet Sun City residents have
made such good use of facilities, are so friendly and compatible,
in spite of the fact they come from every state in the union and
from five foreign countries, that more than one hundred clubs
and organizations have sprung into active being.
For the privilege of using these recreation facilities, each
resident pays $20 per year toward their upkeep. This does not
include golf, which on two of the three eighteen-hole Sun City
courses ( the third is a private country club ) costs $ I 80 per
year per person or $290 per couple for everyday play, or$ 140
per person, $235 per couple, for five-day-a-week play. Or the
occasional golfer may pay regular greens fees for each day
he chooses to play.
Living can be relatively inexpensive, though not necessarily
cheap, in Sun City. Best estimates are the average couple can
get by on about $400 to $4 50 a month, including such essentials
as house payment, food, motor car expense, recreation, clothing,
taxes and insurance.
Problems of guiding the town's daily affairs long ago were
shouldered by several elected citizen groups. One such group
oversees operation of each recreation center. Another group
represents all citizens in governing daily town operation. Elections
for these bodies produce more candidates than offices.
The same civic-mindedness is evidenced in such other ways
as a Sun City resident serving a third term in the Arizona legislature,
four Sun Citians serving on their district school board,
a club which has donated more than $ I 0,000 in cash and many
wearable garments to handicapped and needy children in
impoverished areas, a Sun Citian serving on the Maricopa
County Planning and Zoning Commission, and the entire community
exceeding its United Fund goal by eighty-two percent.
Underlying it all is the oldsters' feeling that Sun City is a
town that is their own to shape and enjoy. They have no fear
of being shouldered aside by younger men. And they find that
they are competing with no one, while sharing age and past
achievement makes for relaxed companionships.
C ertainly the climate is delightful, the valley beautiful,
the little city a joy to behold. A wonderful group of people
has gathered here to live. In this spotlight of attention, Sun
City may well succeed in achieving a new level of community
life, transmuting the "lonely years" into the "friendly years"
and making Sun City one of the brightest spots in Arizona.
it is fun to do it with someone else.
ARIZONA HIGHWAYS N OVEM B E R I 967
"United Church" "St. Christopher's Episcopal"
"United Presbyterian" "Shepherd of the Desert (Lutheran )"
MANY CHURCHES SERVE IN SUN CITY
"Methodist Church" "St. Joachim Catholic"
j
N O VE MBER RAI N
T here's an outlaw h orse a n eighing
In wil d and so dd en r ai n;
A devil horse a prancin g
A nd tossing his black m a ne .
His whi nny hig h a nd fie nd is h
Is shatter in g m y ea rs,
But I would li ke to rid e him
Thro u gh cold Novemb er te ars.
- Ina D rape r D eF oe
AUT UMN SON G
Summer is go n e . It's au tumn again,
Dry leaves tap, t ap on th e wi nd ow p a ne .
Copper brow n or sil ve r gray,
They sp eak of bea ut y go ne away.
Out of th e heart of sprin g the y cam e,
Bl az in g w ith color lik e a fl ame .
Summer is go ne . It's autumn aga in.
The l eaves lie dea d on the w indow pane .
Peggy James
C OUN TY F A IR
Th e chil dr e n rid e th e carro u se l
A nd wa lk the ga udy m ake, b e lieve
O f midway, wh ere th e glitterin g ni ght
H old s m ys tery u p e ach curt ai ned sleeve ;
Where ca ll iope and p omp ous voice
Of b arke r ri de the country air.
At every colored b oo th and tent
Th ey co unt out fa mil y far e.
But A unt Jen spe nds th e evening
Where lights ar e dimm er, talk m ore tame,
Where n ee dl ework and pickle d pears
W ea r first-p rize ri bb ons - and he r name !
Elsie McKinnon Strachan
THE W I N D H A S A P U RPOSE
The wind has a p ur pose all of its ow n
Erodin g th e bare wes tern buttes;
It rounds th e co rners a nd soften s th e edge
Of cli ffs th at are sh arp, a nd l oose ns a we dge,
A nd tea rs a rock ou t b y its roo t s.
A n art is t at mimicry, it s grea t de li ght
I s to sh uffle t he mou ntai ns of sa nd,
A nd grin d them an d pile th em and carry
th e m h en ce
A nd leave them m pa tt ern s across
so m eo ne's fe nce
As ocea n waves d o on th e strand.
But wheth er in workin g or w heth er at pl ay,
Th e wes t wind un ceasi ngly bl ows,
And fo ll ows the tr ail th e an cients once trod,
P erh aps to t he rea lm of th eir last ti re d ol d go d
W h ose sec ret place nobod y k nows.
-Grace Barker Wilson
M IRACLES
W hispe rin g leaves
Of A utumn -
Radia nt af terglow -
An d th e rhin es ton e
Sparkle ...
Of new-fa ll e n sn ow.
y ours sincere f 9
THE SI N GIN G ORPHEUS CHORUS : OF A RT A N D ARTISTS :
. . . The O rp heus M ale Chorus of Phoenix
has acc ep ted an in vitation to partici p ate in
another International Musi c F es ti val to be
held this tim e in Stuttga rt , Germ any, in the
summer of r 968 . To assist in raising m on ey
for the trip , we h av e recentl y fini shed the
recording sessio ns fo r a ne w rec ord album
which was made available to the general
pu b lic in October of this yea r.
When ou r las t alb um was rea dy for the
public, yo u ve ry ge n erou sly u se d a " L e tter to
th e E dit or" which ann ou n ced and describ e d
tha t r ec ord . This notic e in ARIZ ONA H IGH•
WAYS resu lt ed in quite a large volum e of
or ders fr om all over the w orld.
Our n ew album will contain songs r e pre,
se ntin g two themes : C ow boy Ball a ds a nd
F olk Songs, a nd so n gs fr om Broadway and
motio n picture productions. On the " Cow,
boy" side w ill be: " The Colora do Trail,"
" Night H erding Son g," " Twilight on the
Trai l," " D on ey Gal," " Tumbling Tumbl e,
weeds," and " H ow th e W es t W as W on."
On th e "show tun e" si de we ar e sin gin g :
" H ey, L ook M e O ver" ( fr om Wildc at );
" Som ewh ere, M y L ove" ( D r. Zhivago);
" The G reen L eaves o f Summ er " ( The
A lamo); "Seve nty,S ix T romb ones" ( The
Mu sic M an ); " They C all th e Wind M aria"
( Paint Your Wagon ); and " The Impossible
Dream" ( M an of L a M anch a).
W e ar e calling the album "ST AGE
WEST."
Ra lph H ess, Dire ctor
Orph eus Male Chorus of
Phoeni x, A rizona
• The name, "Orpheus Male Chorus of
Phoenix," is familiar to readers of this
magazine. We featured this splendid sing,
ing group, whose concert appe arances have
pleased appreciative audiences thr oughout
this country and ab road, in our Ja nuar y,
196 1, issue . W e know many of our re a de rs
will be glad to learn of t his new album .
"Stage West" can be ordered direct from
the Orpheus M ale Chorus of · Phoenix,
P. O . Box 217, Phoen ix, Arizona 8 5 00 1.
Price : $ 5. o o. Please add 5 oc for pack,
aging and postage. This album is produced
in Compatible Stereo, which can be played
on any record player.
. .. Want to w rite and t ell yo u how much
we e nj oye d A ugust A RI ZONA H IG HWAYS .
W e here in San Dieg o are so art minded ,
and for th at m atter all ove r the w or ld, p eople
are b ec oming more and m ore interes ted in art .
W e wish you would show more arti sts in
your magazine. There have been many great
artis ts w ho ha ve be en in Arizona.
W e w ish you w ould sh ow so me of Charlie
Russe ll, Nicolai Fechin, and that Swedish
a rti st C arl O sc a r Borg y ou write about in the
A u gus t iss ue and others. W e think Ted
D eG razia is great and l ove his color. All the
artists you m entio ned in your A ugust iss ue
we wo uld love to se e in your m aga zine . It
wou ld b e mos t intere sting. I will always
treas ure this iss ue . This is my third year tak,
ing your magazin e and thi s iss ue is one of
your b es t.
Mrs. R ay E spino sa
La Jolla , C alifornia
• S ome of the m ost popular magazines we
have put out in the past have fea t ure d the
worn of outstanding artists. To n am e a
few: Maynard D ixon, Sept. 19 45; W . R .
Leigh, F eb. 194 8; Charles R ussell, N ov .
1949; Frederic Remington, Sept. 19 5 0 ;
Jimmie Swinnerton, Jan. 19 51; Nicolai
Fechen, Feb. 19 52; Jo M ora, S ept. 19 52;
Peter Hurd , Nov . 1953; O laf W eighors t,
Dec. 19 55; Ross S antee , Oct. 19 56 , and
others. T hr oughout t he past y ears, we hav e
also presented the art of some of our noted
Indian artists.
We have always hoped to d o a fe at ure
on Frank T enney Johnson and Carl O sca r
Borg. May b e we will some day.
And speaking of D eGrazia, m an y of his
admirers among our readers hip w ill b e
glad to know his new book Ah H a Toro
has just been produced by THE NoRTH•
LAND P RE SS, F lagstaff. The book, a b eau,
ti ful job in every way, co n tains sketches
and paintings by the artist inter p ret ing the
real meaning and beauty of the bullfight.
Ah H a Toro, which sells for $8. 50, can
be ordered direct from the D eG razia Gal,
lery in the Sun, 6300 N . Swan , Tucson ,
Arizona 8 5 7 1 8 . I n this book a mast er
colorist has captured the moments of truth
in the Fiesta Brava. R ec ommended!
OPP OSITE PAGE
" STROLL THROU GH A N A UTU M N L ANE" BY A RTHUR A. TWOMEY.
The W h ite Mountain s of Eas te rn Arizo na, one of th e st ate's m os t spe ctac ular mountain areas,
are p a rti cul arly co lor ful when th e touch of th e go ld e n se ason is felt upon th e. land. H ere
chilling winds and the approach of w inter have erase d summer's spark lin g gree n ery of an
as pen aisl e . The magic ch an ge of seaso ns h as tu rn e d t he w orld t o gold . The nature lov er
seeki n g such sce nes as this w ill d iscover in the W hite M ou nt ai ns m an y oppo rtuniti es to find
n at h er go lden b est.
BAC K COVER
:A LM L AKE N E A R WICKE N BURG" BY BILL BASS. Photo t aken about four and
on e,half mi les so u th of Wickenburg a t P alm L ake Sh ad y River R anch . Sce ne may be v iewed
from U.S. 6 070,8 9 , 93. This l ake is fed by springs . It is o n the orig in al " G ard en ,of,Allah"
R anch . Bei n g lat e Novemb er , th e cott onwoo d t rees we re ju st tu rnin g. The p os iti dn of the
sun is indicated by th e shad ow o n th e tru n k of the tree, cas t by the over ha nging branches.
This is n ear th e fa mous H assaya mp a River. M r. B ass opera tes th e Sies ta M ot el in Wicken,
burg, w here h is slid e shows p rove mos t popular t o gues ts a nd visito rs. 4x 5 Sp ee d Graphic
camera; Ektac h ro me E 3; f .27 at r /2. 5th sec.; Kodak Ektar ro rmm le ns; late N ove mber;
late af ternoon , lo ok ing so uth eas t; m e ter rea din g 400; ASA ra ting 4 0.
AR I ZONA HIG HWAYS NOVEM BER 1967
