I wish this picture was bigger. When I try to enlarge it, it gets blurry. This is the Pink Sans Drive-in circa 1961. It was (and still is) located on 7th Avenue (now Lake Powell BLVD) across from the park. More precisely, it was located across the street from the pool at the park. Yes, there used to be a good sized town pool at the corner of South Navajo Drive and 7th Avenue. I spent many summer days there.

This is the way I remember the Pink Sans looking. It was all outside, covered seating with picnic style tables. Just to the right of this picture was the Chevron gas station and on the other side (in the direction the camera is pointing) was the old Sportsman’s Headquarters. It eventually became a laundromat and after that, who knows. I don’t know what’s there today.

The Pink Sans was like Al’s Diner on Happy Days. It was the place to hang out, so we did. I remember watching occasional high school drag races down 7th Avenue. The Pink Sans was the starting line for those races and it seems like First National Bank, on the corner of Elm and 7th Avenue, was the finish line. There were no traffic signals back then, and evidently, not much traffic either! I’m not sure where the police (they were called Rangers back then) were, but I don’t remember ever seeing any when someone decided to race.

When I hit high school, we usually walked to the Pink Sans to grab a deep fried burrito from Sue, who always seemed to be working there at lunch, followed by some kind of Hostess treat for 13 cents at the Sportsman’s Headquarters next door. Ah the good ‘ole days!

-Mike

Does this building look familiar to my Page friends? It’s the old Green Thumb Nursery and the building that housed it was (is) located at 810 N. Navajo Drive. I don’t remember who owned it or who ran it, but I do remember peering in those windows a lot. If you can help add some background to this, please jump into the conversation and let me know.

This building eventually housed a fix-it/small appliance shop that always reminded me of Emmit’s Fix-it shop from the old Andy Griffith show. I don’t remember the name of that business but it may have been run by the Dolands. That sticks in my mind for some reason. Maybe Mrs. Doland just worked there, but I seem to remember her in there a lot. They also owned/ran the movie theater and Doland’s Curios Shop, which was located a couple of doors down from the theater. But I digress…

It seems like it sat closed for quite a while, but it eventually became Bella Napoli Italian Restaurant. No wonder I always liked their salads! Today, I think it’s called Bonkers. By the way, is that a Buick sticking its nose in the left side of this picture? It might be. Our family had one with that body style. If that’s a Buick, I’m not saying it was ours, but it could have been. Just sayin’. I’d sure take that pickup in a heartbeat though. And that VW bus would look real good in my garage!

Speaking of VW busses, here’s a shot of yours truly in 1974 filling up my bus at Specht’s gas station and car wash. This was located next door the Green Thumb Nursery building, across the street from what would one day be Stromboli’s. I don’t think Specht’s is there anymore, but if I’m wrong, let me know.

-Mike