‘Downtown Ocotillo’ coming into its own

1 comment:

• Dale Whiting posted at 8:32 am on Sun, Apr 1, 2012.

  Posts: 3705

  What's in a name?

  Is "Downtown Ocotillo" really downtown Ocotillo? Where is Ocotillo anyway? Some older maps show it located on South Arizona Avenue between Queen Creek and Ocotillo roads. But those maps are off by one mile! Recently when a business used "Ocotillo" in its name but was located near Germann and Alma School, that snootie Homeowner's Associtation that thought it had exclusive rights to the use of the name "Ocotillo" sued. But we who have lived here a few years and who know our history told that business to stand its grounds. It did and the association withdrew.

  After the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company relocated Goodyear from where it once was to where it is now, the residents left behind started calling their community "Ocotillo!" But it was no where near today's "Downtown Ocotillo!" No folks, downtown Ocotillo is where today's Basha's Headquarters is located, next to Snedicar Park. That's Downtown Ocotillo! And the water tower used to proclaim it! Its long time residents know where they are living. They live in the real Downtown Ocotillo!

  What's left of the old and original Goodyear Rubber plantation was picked up and operated by Bogle Farms. Some of the Bogle Brothers' children and grand children still live there. The street we once used to visit there, once called Alma School Road, is now named Basha. But to us old timers, its Bogle Blvd.

  For any of you out there who are interested in history, go pay a visit to the southwestern art museum at Basha's Headquarters. It's amazing! It's free! And if you have a charity, Basha's will put on a dinner in their museum, charging you only their catering costs and your charity gets to keep all proceeds from ticket sales. That's community service as it used to be. Thank you Eddy Basha, Jr. Thank you Bogle Brothers.

  But Spike Lawrence, go fly a kite. The winds are up today!

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