The (extra) ordinary world of Phoenix, Arizona in 1921


I just love things that are ordinary, especially in old-time Phoenix. I've never had much interest in politics, or war, or headline news, but I can be fascinated by things that are so ordinary that to me they become extraordinary. I love to browse through the Phoenix newspaper on the Library of Congress site, and I never bother with the front page. I especially like the ordinary stuff. These ads caught my eye.

I think that the fertilizer that's being sold by the Porter Cattle Company of 11th Avenue and Buckeye is the "all natural" kind.

As far as the $202 Central Bank Certificates for $170, I'd have to know a little bit more. If they're valuable, it sounds like a bargain, if they're just pieces of paper, that's too expensive. By the way, the name of the newspaper was the Republican (they dropped the "n" in 1933).

Railroad ties for thirty five cents each seems reasonable. I know that prices have gone up, but presumably the City Ice Delivery was offering a bargain. I wonder where they got them?

Bicycles were very popular in old-time Phoenix, going back to the turn of the century. Phoenix is still a great place for bicycling, since it's so flat (I grew up in a hilly part of Minneapolis, where biking wasn't so easy!), but with the traffic it's a good idea to stick to riding next to the canals. Interesting to see these addresses, which are now downtown, as residential areas.

OK, I'll admit what really caught my eye on this was the Cotton Picking Bags. Yes, there was a lot of cotton in Phoenix at that time, and they would have been very useful. I really don't know if the term "cotton pickin'" had the same goofy meaning that springs to my little cotton pickin' mind nowadays?

I'm guessing that milo maize is a type of corn, and 17 dollars seems pretty reasonable. I don't know how I would move a ton of it, I might need some help!

Thank you for visiting the (extra) ordinary world of Phoenix in 1921 with me!
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