Hyperbole? Maybe. But all of this Sun City history and my involvement with it drives me to the brink of exaggeration. Why? Because it is that damned good. And to think, the vast majority of the Sun City population has no idea it's all there to be studied, savored and enjoyed. Yesterday was very special for me, and hopefully the two people i was with as well. In another thread, i mentioned last week meeting with Jerry Svendsen and Joelyn Higgins for coffee. Jerry was the public relation guy for DEVCO from 1961-1982 and Joelyn does the publication work for the RCSC. We had agreed to visit three rec centers and get Jerry's impression of the new and improved Sun City. In some cases, it had been 30 years since Jerry had set foot in them. On our schedule was Bell, Marinette and Fairway. Our primary interest were the fitness centers. Jerry is a very young 83 years of age. He works out regularly, living in Phoenix in the same house he and his wife have owned for 43 years. His mind is sharp and his goal is to get back into public speaking, focusing on how and why he has maintained his positive perspective on life. He is amazing. Taking a page from the Talk of Sun City thread where you all suggested recording our interactions, we decided on an impromptu video of our visit yesterday. I haven's seen any of it, but while we were making our rounds, it felt surreal. This was the man that helped make it all happen. Walking into these newly remodeled fitness areas, Jerry was astounded at what they had morphed into. In fact, he mentioned when it all started fitness wasn't even part of the equation. That came along later, well into the 70's. He mentioned he had actively helped create the walking/running club and ran in the first Sun City 5k in the late 70's. Jerry's philosophy has grown from his experiences in Sun City. As a young man, he watched as seniors bought and moved into Sun City by the thousands. He organized the new-comers coffee's and interviewed nearly every one of them to send articles back to their home towns about their move. As he interacted with new owners, he got to see up close and personal how people adapted and blossomed. To this day, when you talk to him it's easy to grasp the values that shaped him and this community into what it has become. Staying positive is a way of life and gratitude is an attitude that he embraces. He said quite emphatically, John Meeker was a genius; the brains behind Sun City's success. I told him, in my opinion, the entire DEVCO team did something remarkable and i am never quite sure they understand how important it was; what a spectacular role they all played in changing the course and scope of the American landscape of retirement living. Yesterday was very special for me. It brought me back to those glorious golden years of an explosion that rocked the country. One that changed lives and futures for countless seniors over the past near on 60 years. He is one of a handful of those men left that did that and hopefully in the coming months we will be able to share that with those of you interested. More later, stay tuned.
It was a big gamble. It counted on people like my aunt and uncle retiring young and relocating from Minnesota (in 1967) to a tiny senior community outside a small city. Their world was south of Grand. There was nothing around SC except cows and cotton, Grand Ave was their link to the world. My uncle grumbled when we drove "all the way up" to the brand new Lakes West course in the 70s. If SC had been only homes they would not have come to SC. They "bought in to " the recreation and amenities. I don't recall them sending back photos of their tiny house on Concord. What we heard about was the life they were enjoying. I knew all about the Sun Bowl, North and South courses, their rec center etc. Back then residents were "tribal" about their rec center.
Great memories Fix, thank you for sharing them. That tribalism was what was known as the "mini Berlin wall." The first center, Community Center (now called Oakmont) opened with no mandatory rec fees. By the time the second one opened (Town Hall now known as Fairway)), they had developed a facilities agreement and all new buyers paid a set yearly fee. It created quite the stir and went on till 1967/1968. In most cases, Community Center could not use Town Hall. It was resolved when Mountainview was going to open and the owners around Community Center voted to sign a facilities agreement so they could all use any of the facilities. It didn't hurt that DEVCO decided to throw some money at Community Center on some major upgrades. Yesterday was cool because Jerry said the facilities we toured were far and away nicer than the one he uses in his neighborhood. And when we went out to the walking pool, he was stunned. He never seen anything like it and quickly grasp just how good it was having a little resistance as people walked in around and through the meandering streams. When i asked if he/they ever envisioned this back in the day, he just smiled. Who ever would have been able to foresee what Sun City was to become? Hell, Fairway had one old exercise bike around the pool for their equipment. Most have no idea just how far Sun City has come over the years.
One of the truly lost treasures of the museum are the oral histories of the "pioneers" and those that built Sun City. When i say lost, they aren't, they just get no play. Back in the days of tape recorders, the founders of the museum began a project of taping interviews, something more than a hundred of them, if memory serves me. Then to insure they aren't lost to technology that passed them by, a couple of volunteers transcribed them all to a typed format and put them in three binders, cataloged and just waiting to be rescued. As i have related any number of times, while president of the museum, i spent countless hours reading the volumes of material relegated to drawers, cabinets and files. In all likelihood, they will remain buried. Tragic, because some of them are spectacular, some not so. When we rebuilt the website we made an effort to put a couple of them on the front page (like the Meeker interview), so people could find them. Unfortunately, others must not find the value in them i did. If there is a bright light, the other thing we did when we built the site was create a searchable website. It is not the most user friendly data base, but if one works at it, things can be found. My hope is one day to go back to the museum , perhaps with my friend Ben, and figure out a way to better utilize and share the amazing buried treasures of this community. Damn, so many things to do, so little time.
I would like to read those. If they are typed up, why not put them on the museum website? Most people are not going to sit at the museum and read them. But I agree the search on that site is not very user friendly. The last time I tried to use it I had some issues.
I go to the site periodically C and almost always leave frustrated. Only if i am really persistent am i able to find what i am looking for. Just before i had left the board the last time, i had began searching websites for museum's that had added a research component to their configuration. There were some dandies out there that created a data base that was easy to search and could generate revenue. The other feature that most intrigued me was when they made looking a pleasurable experience, both visually and from ones ability to find what you are looking for. On a brighter note, i exchanged emails with Jerry Svendsen this weekend and gave him a link to this thread. I always am concerned a bit when i add information or comments about people who aren't necessarily in the public eye. In his case he said he was delighted and looked forward to getting together again later this summer. Hopefully we can work forward on a project that will be able to be viewed by as many Sun City residents as we can reach. I know people will enjoy his take on past, present and future as much as i did.
Too bad the old tapes could not be played next to a cell phone or iPad to record them obviously the quality might not be as good but what a treasure to have the person's voice telling about their experiences. It would be neat if the could be stored and available somehow on the website for playback.
Not sure where Joelyn is on cleaning up the video we shot. She tried to send me the file she was working with but i couldn't open it. Interesting comments J on the old tapes. They can reproduce video to quality digital so i can only guess they can do the same with tapes. If i ever get back to the museum is certainly is worth looking into. There's so much quality content buried in drawers, closets and cabinets it's a shame we can't find a way to get it to see the light of day.
I wrote a history book 8 years ago. It took me 5 years to go through 50 or more closets, cabinets and drawers in many differnent places. Some archives have great old stuff but they don't really want anyone to look through them, especially if you're writing a book. Even when they can review everything you use and give permission. But it is one of the few ways an average person can see the stuff. It reminded me of the librarian who never wants anyone to take a book off the the well organized shelf. What's the museum's policy on people looking for stuff?
Not sure how they handle it these days C, but when i was there if a person was a member, we would try and accommodate them without diluting the integrity of what they were looking for/at. Obviously we didn't want files and such being taken from the museum. They do have a small library of books that we used to loan out, but again, not sure what they are doing now. The best answer is to tak to them about becoming a member and see what they are willing to do.
