Almost everyone familiar with Sun City has heard about the 100,000 people that showed up for the opening day weekend on January 1, 1960. How home sales were near on legendary with DEVCO selling as many homes the first year as they projected over a three year period. It was magical and folks love to get caught up in the simplicity of a community that was an instant hit. If it was only that easy. In another thread a poster suggested a book on Sun City would be good. Truth be told, there are already a number of them out there. The best, far and away, is Jubilee, the 25th Anniversary. I use it often and there are copies for sale at the museum for $20 or if you are frugal, look for them at garage sales where the going rate is 50 cents to a dollar. A good friend, who is a history buff, is currently going through state archives. He's reading microfilm from local newspapers and culling out articles and letters to the editor. We get together and meet for coffee once a week or so and the stuff he is gathering is simply spectacular. I've read snippets of it in the museum's files, but his in-depth research and cataloguing is awesome. Here's my point, and why this community's history is so important: Sun City wasn't an instant success, at least not in the terms we like to think about it in. It was born of adversity and the internal struggles almost tore us apart. Say what? I know we like to think of Sun City as this perfect haven of happiness, but there is so much more that went into its development. Here's a short list in no particular order: 1). The explosion of home sales in the first year and half created a riff that wasn't resolved till 1967/1968. Seems there were two different philosophies from Community Center (Oakmont Rec Center) and Town Hall (Fairway Rec Center). At Oakmont dues were voluntary, at Fairway dues were a mandatory $40. Try and picture that today. 2). Even as early as 1961, there were forces in Sun City who wanted to see incorporation. The push was a constant, and the push back was at least as strong. The argument was by incorporating we would have tax dollars coming back from the state to use for our infrastructure. This battle lasted well into the 1980's, and mercifully those opposing it prevailed. Had we incorporated, Sun City would just be another city with a mayor and city council and all the trappings and costs that go with it. 3). While Sun City's massive success in the first three years was meteoric, it's fall from grace was just as historic. In 1964 only 387 homes were sold in Sun City AZ. The like communities Webb built in California, Texas and Florida were abysmal failures. Webb let the guys behind the community go (Breen, Ashton and Jacobson) for being unwilling to change their model. In 1965 he brought in John Meeker who made Sun City his life work. His vision for Sun City was all about building a sense of community and creating an ownership for the residents. Without his leadership, Sun City would be a shell of what it is today. These three items alone are worthy a book, but for most, simply knowing and understanding the challenges should make their love affair even stronger. Sun City didn't just happen, it was built with the sweat, tears and commitment from thousands of people who wanted a better way of life. It's why we can never take our eye off the prize and awesome someone else will do it.
