Bob Young
Pat Colville, a PebbleCreek resident since 1994, recently discovered her copy of the first official PebbleCreek newspaper. In 1994 it was called the PebbleCreek Eagle. What was PebbleCreek like in 1994? I want to share some of the more interesting news from that issue with all of you. So if you like history read on.
Before we look at life in PebbleCreek, here is a very brief history of Goodyear, Arizona. It was established in 1917 by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. They came here to cultivate cotton. Cotton cords were used to add strength to automobile tires. Goodyear became a town in 1946. At that time, Goodyear had 151 homes and 250 apartments, a grocery store, a barber shop, a beauty shop and a gas station and not one chain restaurant. The town became a city in 1985. In 1994 the population of Goodyear was 7,419 people. From the 1990s through the 2010s, residential development stimulated the growth of Goodyear as a suburb of Phoenix. Robson’s PebbleCreek community played an important part in that growth. According to Census Bureau estimates, Goodyear is among the fastest growing cities in the nation. The city’s population grew by 4.3 percent between July 1, 2014 and July 1, 2015 and ranks the fourteenth fastest growing city in the nation. Buckeye ranked fifteenth. Goodyear’s population in 2016 was 77,258 and is projected to be 358,000 by 2035.
And you think traffic is bad now?
What was life like in PebbleCreek almost a quarter of a century ago? Well, there were no stop lights and very few, if any, businesses between the I-10 exit and the entrance to PebbleCreek’s Eagle’s Nest. There was no Tuscany side. Many of you may remember that if you were headed west on I-10, after the 101 beltway there was total darkness. It seemed there was nothing but cotton fields. And that’s about all there was, except for Eagle’s Nest. Now we grow far more chain restaurants than cotton.
In 1994, there was much growth and development for the PebbleCreek community. The PebbleCreek Eagle Volume 1 Number 1 was published in the winter of 1994. The PebbleCreek Eagle was circulated by mail to all PebbleCreek property owners on a quarterly basis. The first issue was only 12 pages. Today’s PebbleCreek Post, the new name for the paper, is published on a monthly basis and averages 40 to 60 pages. There were 20 companies that advertised their businesses and services in the first edition. We now have over 100 advertisements in a typical PebbleCreek Post edition. A few of those 20 original companies that advertised in Volume 1 Number 1 are still in business and continue to advertise in the Post. This is proof that advertising works. Here are some examples of businesses that supported our community during those early years.
In 1994 you could buy a La-Z-Boy recliner for $299 from Leonard’s Furniture and Carpet; have a mailbox installed by Dave & Son Construction for as little as $170; have your desert Landscaping installed by Gabbard’s Desert Rock Lawns; Frank L. Ross & Gary A. Goebel, Attorneys at Law, offered free consultation and an estate planning review; John Monobianco offered State Farm Auto, Life & Fire Insurance; The Charles Company & Associates advertised Insurance and was the only advertiser to offer the infamous “PebbleCreek Discount”; Desert Rose advertised Concrete Coating with a personal touch; Neil’s Garage Storage Cabinets offered to organize your garage; Tucker & Weaver offered quality water softening systems and St. Vincent de Paul Society advertised to Join the Family.
The first key article in Volume 1 Number 1 publication of the PebbleCreek Eagle news focused on the newspaper itself and informed residents about the purpose of the PebbleCreek Eagle newspaper. Its purpose was to inform the residents and those who will be future PebbleCreek homeowners, of the events that were shaping the community in which they lived. The second key article was announcing the grand opening of the new multi–million dollar Eagle’s Nest Clubhouse. The clubhouse was a big deal and would be open soon and would have four consecutive weekends of grand opening festivities. The paper went on to say that where once there were a few PebbleCreek property owners now (1994) there are nearly 200 homeowners that call PebbleCreek their home. We now have over 8,000 property owners and new construction is continuing at a fast pace. The first edition also announced that Ed Robson, PebbleCreek Resort Developer, was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Arizona University College of Business.
There was no Source Book but the Handy Number Guide included 18 contact numbers. There are now over 108 handy contact numbers listed which include email addresses as well as our Source Book has over 181 pages where you will find updated lists to all PebbleCreek activities and clubs, general homeowners association information, local and state resource guide and homeowner telephone directory and much more. Life was a lot simpler in 1994. If you wanted to know what was going on in PebbleCreek all you had do was to go to the bulletin board. There was no “yahoo email group” or any other email group or email for that matter. There was no PebbleCreek HOA website to answer the ongoing burning question about when trash day is. Just for the records, our website pebblecreekhoa.org is an excellent resource to learn when trash day is in your Unit and all about what’s going on in PebbleCreek and Goodyear.