Early Page Businesses

In this post I want to share with you my remaining pictures of the first Page business district. I am indebted to Petey Lloyd Dietz, Ernie Severino Jr., and Terry Edwards for these pics. As a reminder, these businesses were located close to each other with the small shack businesses in a row along North Navajo Drive, and the building with the bank and Babbitt’s located just behind The Bottle Stop (now Stix Market). You can see exactly where they were in [this post]. Check these out…

Photo Courtesy of Terry Edwards. Undated

The Men’s Store was going out of business when the above picture was taken. I’m not sure of the date.  The strike of 1959 may have contributed to the decision to close. The picture below shows Grant Jones with a customer. I don’t know who the customer is or if it was taken inside the Men’s Store.

Photo Courtesy of Terry Edwards. Undated.

The photos below show the early businesses from different perspectives.

Photo Courtesy of Ernie Severino Jr. Undated.

Warner’s Firestone building under construction. Photo Courtesy of Ernie Severino Jr. Undated.

Before we go any further, check out this picture of the bank, located in the same are:

Photo Courtesy of Terry Edwards. Undated.

That looks pretty safe! As long as nobody drives off with it. I can’t make out who that is standing there. The street sign says B Street. The sign in the window just says The Bank of Arizona Page Office.

As you face these buildings, looking south from North Navajo, Babbitt’s and newer location of the Bank, were just off to the right, behind

Page Jewelers

Photo Courtesy of Terry Edwards. Page Jewelers Original Store. Undated. Is the customer USBR photographer A. E. Turner?

Hey Peeps, I’m sorry it’s been so long since my last post. I guess I have a life after all. In my last post, way back in March, I promised my next few posts would be of the businesses in those small white buildings along North Navajo Drive. If you need a refresher, go back and read that post and then come back here.

In this post, we’re going to talk about Page Jewelers, one of those businesses. It was owned and run by Ernie Severino. The photo above shows him inside the original store located among other business trailers along North Navajo Drive. Does anyone recognize the customer? Is it USBR photographer A. E. Turner? Ernie Jr wrote me after I sent this picture to him and said,

“That chair is outside my shop, I use it all the time. I also see the machine that he used to clean watch parts, it’s in my shop too. Just can’t give it up!”

He gave me permission to share that with you. Thanks Ernie! He also gave me some good info on the layout of these businesses and the trailers there. He told me,

“At least that’s what we called them [The Shacks]. Starting at the left was our trailer, then Page Jewelers, and Kerry and Sonia Jones’ trailer, and then the shoe store, and then Bob Jorgenson’s (I’m pretty sure that was his name) trailer, and then his shop. The Men’s Store, and then the Firestone Store.

 “There was a store next to our trailer, I think you mentioned it and said something about a Key Shop, I remember it as a place that sold carpet and floor covering it was owned by Bud Lippert. He had a son close to my age named Dennis.

 “Then the next shack was Bill Lee’s restaurant I don’t know if it was called The Steak House at that point. I think it was a triple wide shack. It caught on fire during the middle of the night. A night I’ll never forget, luckily there was