Oral history of Dean and Zeta Thayer, 1983 October 6, 2006 March

Mr. Thayer tells the story of his parents' trip to Phoenix, from Lima, Ohio, as tourists in 1900. They ended up staying because the town of Buckeye badly needed a physician. The Thayers, who married in 1927, homesteaded in Mesa where they dug a well and cleared 200 acres of cactus and brush to grow citrus. They also milked dairy cows to pay for the land and trees. They ran a nursery and sold citrus trees to other growers. Mrs. Thayer recounts many funny stories of living on the land and the wild things they ate. She tells the story of adopting their two children. Mrs. Thayer also recalls many businesses located in central Mesa such as the Nile Theater, the Waldorf Cafe, and J.C. Penney's.