Remember when the closest Safeway was Villa Italia? My grandparents' only choices for local grocery shopping back in those days were the Grant General Store or Burgess Mercantile in Bailey (the late Bailey Country Store) - there was hardly anything in Pine Junction or Conifer, and Aspen Park was just a big meadow. Once a month or so we'd pile into the Oldsmobile and drive down to town. We'd pick up a few contractor supplies, stop into Monkey Wards on Broadway, and the last stop before heading back up the hill was the Safeway at Villa Eye-talia (as grandma pronounced it) to stock up before heading back up the hill to Santa Maria.
OOoooh, just remembered how awful it used to be coming home on a Friday afternoon and getting stuck in miles long traffic in the summer behind the Safeway traffic light.....
And trying to meditate to keep calm as the smartie pants drivers all cut through Safeway parking lot to make the backup even longer for the "polite" folks.....
Traffic lights? I remember when the route from Denver was out Morrison Road to Morrison, over to Turkey Creek Canyon, and then up, and the last traffic light you went through was at Federal.
pchistory wrote: Traffic lights? I remember when the route from Denver was out Morrison Road to Morrison, over to Turkey Creek Canyon, and then up, and the last traffic light you went through was at Federal.
Sorry, I haven't lived here that long. Heck I haven't lived that long. But I do remember a lot of things up here that a lot of relative newcomers don't.
You'd be surprised how many people haven't been around long enough to remember what a crap shoot it used to be trying to commute Windy Point on wintry days when it was two lanes, no guardrails.
My grandparents and dad moved to Santa Maria in 1932 - grandpa had been working there with his father since 1930. They could really tell some "remember when" stories.
pchistory wrote: My grandparents and dad moved to Santa Maria in 1932 - grandpa had been working there with his father since 1930. They could really tell some "remember when" stories.
Remember the "Red Rooster" in Pine Junction before there was a stop light, "Coney Island" in Aspen Park. SkyVillage Restaurant at Windy point, most changed names of any place I can remember.
Mini golf course where Archlies studio is at. Green Valley Grill was a Dr. Office, kinda grossed me out when it turned into a restaurant.
I am in the process of writing a comprehensive history of Santa Maria dating back to the first settlement there in 1872. I've spent the last fifteen to twenty years researching (part time, of course) the area. It's a bit beyond the the normal extent of this community, which seems to more centered around Conifer. As time permits, I'll try to post some tidbits here, but I've been generally disappointed in the level of interest, based on the number of views of similar posts in the Local History forum on pinecam. Plus, it's been strongly suggested that only my historical posts are of any value here.
