You can view all the caches in this series here.
Photo courtesy of Cline Library, Special Collections
Right across the street sat two of Flagstaff’s early establishments. The Saguaro Club on the property occupied by Tractor Supply and the Arrowhead Lodge. As noted in the interview below the Saguaro was the first nightclub in Flagstaff and hosted many social events as well.
The Arrowhead Lodge, originally called Gobles Auto Court, has undergone some recent remodeling and renovation and as you can see from the old photo and changed it’s name back from the Twilite Motel.
Josephine Babbitt, who is the widow of Herbert Babbitt. Herbert was the son of George Babbitt, Sr., one of the five original Babbitt brothers. Interview conducted by Kristine Prennace on July 20, 1976. Transcribed July 20, 1995. Transcriber: Nancy Warden Courtesy of Cline Library Special Collection.
JOSEPHINE BABBITT: Hell, yes I remember. (Both laugh). Well the Greenlaw mill was out there, way out there. And, you know where the… what do they call it? The Twilight Motel is?
KRISTENE PRENNACE: Uh huh.
JOSEPHINE BABBITT: Where you turn off on Arrowhead. That, all that in there, my husband had, it was the old potato ranch. He raised potatoes out there. And I can't remember that man's name right off the bat. He and his wife came in here, and they wanted to build a motel. And he bought that property there. Right across the road from it was the old Saguaro Club. Herb had sold that frontage off, too. Well he didn't sell it, he had sold it, he sold it a little later. But these folks bought that property there. Of course the street didn't turn because it just went into the old thing ____. And he sold that to them, and they built that motel. And everybody raised sand with him. Told him what a nut he was and everything, because there were no restaurants, no anything out there and anything at all. And what did he want with a motel out there. He said because it's out where it's quiet. And he did great guns. He had a beautiful place when that thing first started. And then, of course, the son of b**** bought some more frontage, and they built the old Saguaro Club. And, of course, that was the first real nightclub that Flagstaff had.
KRISTENE PRENNACE: Oh.
JOSEPHINE BABBITT: And they served dinners. And everybody had dances out there. I know a lot of us women entertained out there with bridge parties and luncheons and all. But really it was really the Saguaro Club was the first night club Flagstaff had. And the rest of it was not there.