Oral history of Dolly Beville Robertson, 1985 March 4, 2006 March

Robertson begins by recounting her family's move from California to Arizona in 1911. Her father, Paul Baxter Beville, a citrus farmer, moved to Mesa to grow citrus because the land was plentiful and the temperatures were ideal. Robertson recalls that her father became a community leader, serving on the Mesa City Council and as mayor in the mid-1910's. She mentions several prominent Mesa families and local businesses including Everybody's Drugstore, the Toggery, Wendel's jewelry store, Gurley's meat market, the White House hotel, and Gibbon's Mortuary. She talks about the school system when she was a child, including the racially-segregated schools, and names some of her teachers. Robertson talks about some of the churches in town, describes the downtown neighborhood, and gives a detailed accounting of which family lived where.