I came across this video showing some good footage of the Glen Canyon Dam construction as well as some great shots of early Page Arizona. Some of the narration gets a little cheesy but the footage is amazing. You may even recognize some of the faces. I was surprised to see Chet Huntley narrating it. After the first minute and half to two minutes in, it picks up and gets good. The total length is only 27 minutes.
Enjoy!
Source: Lonnie Carl DeArmond via Donna Bloxton Petersen. Photo was originally a 35mm color slide. 1958-1959
Here’s a great shot of the Butler Buildings that housed Page Schools in the early years of the town. These sat on the rim where North and South Navajo Drives meet. A few of the pink transa homes are visible on the left side of the photo. The sidewalk and curb on the far side of the road haven’t been poured yet. Click on the image to open it in a new tab. You can see more detail that way. I have an aerial view of these buildings in another post called A Color Aerial View of Page. Does anyone remember what the black-sided building to the right of the Butler buildings was?
Photo: USBR, Date Unknown
Do you recognize anyone in these photos? Are you in any of these shots? I don’t remember who supplied me with the picture above. It’s uncategorized in my files. But each time I open it, my eyes are drawn to what appears to be a Chevy Suburban behind the bus. After I stare at that Suburban for a second, wishing it was parked in my garage, I realize there are other things in this picture, like children and a school bus. 🙂
I don’t know where this was taken exactly. Maybe in front of the old Butler buildings? There’s no road curbing or pavement yet, if that’s the case. I’m having trouble identifying the plateau on the left side of the picture behind the Chevy. Here’s another one….
Photo: USBR, 1957
This basketball rivalry took place at the Transa Homes along South Navajo Drive. Are you in this photo or do you recognize anyone in it? If you are or do, please leave a comment below. I’d like to hear the story. The paragraph below concerning the above photo was sent to me from Donna Bloxton Petersen:
Steven Clark “Steve” LeClaire, Page High School Class of 1962, as an 8th grader, December 14, 1957, behind his pink “Transit-Home” near the PHS “Butler Buildings” on South Navajo Drive in Page, Arizona, playing basketball with Howard ’62 & John ’64 Perkins & Paul ’62 & Mack ’63 Page. Steve’s back is to the camera. He is third from left, if you count the boy in front of him. (USBR photo). Steve lived in Kanab, Utah, part of 1957, where he attended first semester of 8th grade while his dad worked on the Glen Canyon Construction Site until their Transit-Home had arrived in Page with the others that made a long row along S. Navajo Drive.
Photo: USBR, undated
Based on the building at the end of the road on the right side of this photo, it looks like it was taken on or near D, E, or F-Street in the MCS Trailer Court. Do you remember those buildings along that road to the airport? They were barracks and a cafeteria for the Dam construction workers. The dirt road they sat along is called Aero Avenue today. Maybe it was called that then too, it’s all a blur at times. From the air, most of those buildings were H-shaped (not that spent a lot of time in the air or anything like that). Also, if you were in this photo or recognize someone in it, please leave a comment.
Enjoy!
This post is a hodgepodge of some Page school pics that have floated my way. This are in no particular order. I have fond memories of this first one because I spent many cold nights up there watching football games. Do you remember this scoreboard? It was at the end of the football field near the teacher’s apartments. The important thing is, we were winning. I give you….(drum roll)…. the football scoreboard!
This pic is from 1968. I think I got this from one of my yearbooks. A special prize goes to the person who can identify the scorekeepers.
This next one is from the 1971-72 school year and it shows the old high school gym (C-Building) in the background and the excavation underway for the new High School.
Source: Unknown. New High School construction, 1971-72 school year.
These next two are more pics of the new High School construction. This is looking toward Chapman’s Trailer Park with LeChee in the Continue reading
Gene LeGate loaned me a box of old Page Signal newspapers that I’ve been scanning as I have time. The Page Signal was Page’s first newspaper and pre-runner to The Lake Powell Chronicle. I’m scanning these old newspaper stories and pictures and will be posting them from time to time in a new category called A Day in the Life. Catchy, I know. 🙂 This first one is dated October 30, 1958.
Do you remember a post I did a while back called School Daze? I didn’t know it then, but the first two pictures in that post appeared in the Page Signal. To see that School Daze post, just click —>here<—. Here are the two pictures from the Signal. The captions gives us names. Pretty cool!
If you still have that School Daze post open, look at the second picture of the kids lined up by the old X and Y school buildings. Here it is again as it appeared in the Page Signal, complete with names.
Continue reading
1959 Aerial View of Page, Arizona. Photo Courtesy of Terry Edwards.
Some of my favorite early pics of Page and the surrounding area are these old black and white aerial shots. You can see a lot of detail and they always bring back memories of what it was like. One of the reasons I’m posting this one is because in my next post or two, I’ll be highlighting some early businesses and I want you to have a reference point for their location if you’re not familiar with it.
We have a lot to talk about in this photo. Click on it to open it up and you’ll be able to zoom in. Let’s start on the right side, as you come into town on 7th Avenue. The Glen Canyon Steak House and Motel aren’t there yet, but it looks like the ground is being cleared for their construction. To the right, along Vista Ave., you get a good look at the Page Hospital and what was at that time, the USBR offices. You can see a close-up of that building and read more about it HERE. You can also see/read more about the hospital HERE. Okay, back to our journey up 7th Avenue. The next building on the left is the Page Boy Motel. The building across the street was the Vostron building and now houses the City of Page offices.
The building across from Vostron on this side of 7th Avenue is the bowling alley. The big rectangle building just this side of the bowling alley is the USBR warehouse. The white rectangle building to the left of the bowling alley in this photo was (is?) the fire station. The smaller building that’s attached to the right end of the fire station was the USBR Ranger station. The only thing I remember being in the Continue reading
Photo: USBR. Undated. Photo Courtesy of Terry Edwards
Here’s an early shot of Page taken from the rim where North Navajo Drive and South Navajo Drive meet. Those are the Transit houses that dotted the rim along South Navajo and Aspen Street. As you can see, they are still being placed on site. The roads are being graded and the ground cleared. Notice the sewer pipe laying on the ground, awaiting installation. This photo is undated, but it has to be 1957 or 58. For comparison, look at the second picture I posted in the second blog on this site. It’s an aerial view showing the curve and the first airstrip which was about where this photographer was standing, along North Navajo. See it HERE.
Okay, back to this photo. There’s a school bus there because the Butler buildings were just to the right of this picture. They housed the first Page schools and they sat on the rim. You can see them in the link I provided above. I remember being told the water tank in the background of this picture was temporary while the town’s permanent water treatment plant was being built. I think that’s the water treatment plant being built in the far background. Did you know that the first water treatment plant for the town of Page was at the bottom of the canyon? It’s no doubt what supplied water to these tanks. See it HERE. Don’t miss the guy walking away on the left edge of the picture, as well as the outhouse. This picture provides a clear look at Le Chee on the horizon.
-Mike
Photo: USBR. Courtesy of Terry Edwards. Undated
This first picture is a great look inside an elementary class in the old X and Y buildings. These were the temporary buildings that were built across from the Catholic Church, but I think they pre-dated that church. Maybe you were in this picture. If so, leave a comment and let me know. This teacher looks familiar, but I don’t have a name to go with the face. I remember those light fixtures and the heaters in the corner, hanging from the ceiling. The boy and girl closest to the photographer look pretty chummy. 😉 These pictures are undated, but have to be early 60s.
Photo: USBR. Courtesy of Terry Edwards. Undated
The photo above is an outdoor shot taken from the east-ish end of the buildings, looking west. 7th Avenue (Lake Powell BLVD) and the Catholic Church are to the left of this picture. Are you in this, or do you recognize Continue reading
Have you guys seen this yet? It’s a link to the Page High and Junior High yearbooks, beginning in 1960. You can scroll through the pages. This is a great way to look back if you no longer have the yearbooks. Just pick the year you want to look at from the drop-down selector. The one in the link will take you to 1960. From there, you can select others. Enjoy!
-Mike
A History of Glen Canyon Dam and Page Arizona 