Globe, Arizona is a little mining town about 95 miles east of Phoenix. It's not especially significant in history except, maybe, for me. My parents were living there in 1939 - my dad was a teller at the Globe branch of the Valley National Bank - and I was born to them in January of that year. My mother spent the final month of her pregnancy with her parents-in-law in Phoenix, so I could be born at Good Samaritan Hospital. This was considered prudent because I was a breech birth, and had to be turned around before I could come into this world. I joke that I had heard rumors about what was out there, and I didn't want to go.
At any rate, in 1940, my folks moved to Tucson, where dad was working his way up the company ladder. I have my earliest memories there. But I never remembered our home in Globe; I was way too young when we left there.
Over the years, I've been able to visit every one of the homes where we lived, and take pictures of them as they appear today, except for one - the Globe house that my parents often talked about, but the location of which was lost to me. My wife and I have driven through Globe, but I had no clue where my first dwelling was located.
Last year, we were having dinner with some friends, a husband and wife who were born in the Globe-Miami Arizona area, and who were quite familiar with those "twin cities" that exist close to each other. I mentioned that I had tried in vain to find where my parents were living in 1939. No city directory or phone book could be found for that year, and I was about to give up. My friends took over the quest. They knew folks who knew folks, and finally figured out that my mom and dad might have registered to vote in that year, and since an address was a requirement of registration, that could be the key. The staff at the local library was given a mission, and microfilms of the voter registrations of 1939 in Globe were scanned. Bingo.
Our friends then invited us to take a day trip to Globe just for the fun of it. I had located where my dad worked, where his Masonic lodge was located, but still was in the dark about our old home.
Immediately on arriving in Globe, our friends took us right to the old home, which was still standing after 75 years. I was so pumped! Here is a picture of it:
It was a small bungalow home, probably built, by the look of its architecture, in the 1910-1920 time period. It was currently unoccupied and being renovated, but locked up with no access. I would have loved to go in, but had to be satisfied to peek through the windows. The back door still has what appears to be an original doorknob, and the dashplate has a slot for an old-fashioned key. Of course a more modern lock was later applied. Here I am, on the front porch of where life began for me so many years ago:
I took many pictures, and I'll keep them as long as I live as a reminder of my earliest beginnings.
Later, while in Globe, I got some pictures of the bank where my dad worked as a teller. The building is now vacant and has held many businesses since it was a bank. I'm told that the old vault is still downstairs. You can still see "Valley National Bank" above the entrance.
A peek through the window of the old bank shows that the marble floor is still intact:
Here's some of the gingerbread on the exterior of bank, probably built around 1910:
My dad was a very active Freemason, and later achieved their highest 33rd degree. Here's a picture of the lodge he attended back then, and the plaque in front of the entrance. The lodge was located, and still is, on the upper floor of an old building.
Globe has a local attraction. It's the certified tallest 3-story building in the world. No kidding. Here it is, built according to the cornerstone, in 1910:
While we were there, we encountered a native american street fair. Here it is, with the city hall in the background:
Some White Mountain Apache children were doing a dance, traditionally costumed:
All in all, this was one of the better days in my life, spent with good friends, enjoying a trip into my past that allowed me to come full circle over the years. And we got to enjoy the simple pleasures of a small town - something that's disappearing now in America.
John
At any rate, in 1940, my folks moved to Tucson, where dad was working his way up the company ladder. I have my earliest memories there. But I never remembered our home in Globe; I was way too young when we left there.
Over the years, I've been able to visit every one of the homes where we lived, and take pictures of them as they appear today, except for one - the Globe house that my parents often talked about, but the location of which was lost to me. My wife and I have driven through Globe, but I had no clue where my first dwelling was located.
Last year, we were having dinner with some friends, a husband and wife who were born in the Globe-Miami Arizona area, and who were quite familiar with those "twin cities" that exist close to each other. I mentioned that I had tried in vain to find where my parents were living in 1939. No city directory or phone book could be found for that year, and I was about to give up. My friends took over the quest. They knew folks who knew folks, and finally figured out that my mom and dad might have registered to vote in that year, and since an address was a requirement of registration, that could be the key. The staff at the local library was given a mission, and microfilms of the voter registrations of 1939 in Globe were scanned. Bingo.
Our friends then invited us to take a day trip to Globe just for the fun of it. I had located where my dad worked, where his Masonic lodge was located, but still was in the dark about our old home.
Immediately on arriving in Globe, our friends took us right to the old home, which was still standing after 75 years. I was so pumped! Here is a picture of it:
It was a small bungalow home, probably built, by the look of its architecture, in the 1910-1920 time period. It was currently unoccupied and being renovated, but locked up with no access. I would have loved to go in, but had to be satisfied to peek through the windows. The back door still has what appears to be an original doorknob, and the dashplate has a slot for an old-fashioned key. Of course a more modern lock was later applied. Here I am, on the front porch of where life began for me so many years ago:
I took many pictures, and I'll keep them as long as I live as a reminder of my earliest beginnings.
Later, while in Globe, I got some pictures of the bank where my dad worked as a teller. The building is now vacant and has held many businesses since it was a bank. I'm told that the old vault is still downstairs. You can still see "Valley National Bank" above the entrance.
A peek through the window of the old bank shows that the marble floor is still intact:
Here's some of the gingerbread on the exterior of bank, probably built around 1910:
My dad was a very active Freemason, and later achieved their highest 33rd degree. Here's a picture of the lodge he attended back then, and the plaque in front of the entrance. The lodge was located, and still is, on the upper floor of an old building.
Globe has a local attraction. It's the certified tallest 3-story building in the world. No kidding. Here it is, built according to the cornerstone, in 1910:
While we were there, we encountered a native american street fair. Here it is, with the city hall in the background:
Some White Mountain Apache children were doing a dance, traditionally costumed:
All in all, this was one of the better days in my life, spent with good friends, enjoying a trip into my past that allowed me to come full circle over the years. And we got to enjoy the simple pleasures of a small town - something that's disappearing now in America.
John
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