ANNOUNCING THE HUB: THE COMMERCIAL CENTER OF SHOW LOW BLUFF

We are happy to announce that our central commercial district will be named after a store that was once at the heart of Show Low—The Hub.

Show Low Supply was built by John Scott Sr. in about 1944 at what is now the intersection of the Deuce of Clubs and White Mountain Road. He and his partner, Bill Huso, operated the store until it was leased to Clair Tenney. It was a hardware, sporting goods store and gas station selling Shell gasoline and petroleum products. The Round Up Motor Lodge and Branding Iron Bar soon followed, all of these businesses virtually next door to the Scott home.

John Scott Jr. told us in an e-mail that “with my father owning basically all four corners of the intersection, it was definitely the hub of our business livelihood.” But only after Clair Tenney leased Show Low Supply did the business change its name to The Hub.

“The main reason my husband wanted it at the time was for the gas business,” Imogene Tenney told us. “We sold the things that people in Show Low needed. In those days, there was no sporting goods store, no gift shop, no liquor store, no Circle K.”

Clair Tenney bought the Shell Oil Co. contract in 1952 then leased the store in 1965. He, Imogene and two of their sons, Gary and Arlee, worked at The Hub. Their other son, Randy, worked at the Maxwell House, where JB’s now stands. Their home, formerly the Scott’s, was on the current site of Chase Bank.

“It was so much fun,” Imogene said. “On weekends people were lined up to buy gas, fishing licenses and camping gear. People were always coming up here to take their kids camping. I remember that we had a big map of the White Mountains on the back of the building and I was always drawing maps for people on how to get places. I always talked to the fishermen, so I knew what was biting.”

The State of Arizona bought the property in 1972 to build a new, expanded intersection. With that, The Hub as everyone knew, the business that was at the center of Show Low life for almost 30 years, came to an end.

The name represents a lively tradition in the history of the city, one that Show Low Bluff intends to renew.