When Kelli Brown laces up a pair of roller skates, pushes to her feet and begins a gentle, rolling glide, the stress of the day begins to melt away.

CASA GRANDE -- Stepping into Grande Central Station is a visit back to early Casa Grande.

COOLIDGE -- Skip Laclair understands cars. He also understands car collectors.

CASA GRANDE -- Jeff Law still remembers his first record. He was 7 years old and rode his bike with his allowance in his pocket to a local store, where he found a 45-rpm single of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You To Want Me.” Like most of the band’s songs, the music immediately blasted out of his p…

CASA GRANDE -- From the outside, you can tell there are many cherished memories attached to the place that was once Casa Grande Union High School.

ELOY -- It was in 1926 when Frank W. Shedd & Company donated a 1.7-acre site to the Toltec School District, which was where children living on the farms surrounding the area went to school.

ARIZONA CITY -- Connecting to the good ol’ days is the goal at Flashbacks, a ‘50s-themed casual diner in Arizona City.

SAM TAN VALLEY -- Redeemed Threads may be limited to a compact space between four walls, but the thrift store’s mission is limitless.

FLORENCE -- When Tom and Lynn Smith were newlyweds in the early 1960s, they would drive up from Tucson to visit Tom’s aunt and uncle, with whom he lived as a teenager. Lynn still recalls her shock at how Florence had become so rundown.

COOLIDGE -- Kenilworth School is one of the oldest buildings in Coolidge. The property is also one of the oldest schools in Arizona.

GOLD CANYON -- On any given night, you may be sitting down to your meal at a local eatery in Gold Canyon when all of a sudden, the front door swings open and you hear the shout of excitement: “WAHOO!”

In big cities, the history associated with the downtown is often forgotten — or in some cases reduced to street names and the occasional mural or memorializing statue.

A huge thank you to everyone who submitted their photos for this season’s section of Pinal in Pictures! We were thrilled to see so many classic cars throughout our county. Don’t miss our online gallery, where you can find all photos submitted to PW for this issue. If you missed your chance t…

CASA GRANDE -- For a few years, Kelsey and Peter Redwine have been on a mission to bring a good old-fashioned family fun venue to Casa Grande. And they’re on track to open their new entertainment venture, Throwback Family Fun, in the spring.

COOLIDGE -- When Larry Roberts was growing up, his favorite hangouts included the local arcades around Coolidge and surrounding areas.

CASA GRANDE -- There’s nothing better than spending the day in your car on a long, open road with the windows rolled down, accompanied by 40 of your closest friends. At least, that’s what the members of Desert Sky Mustang Car Club of Arizona think.

FLORENCE -- At the Windmill Winery in Florence, the grapevines, barn and farm-like setting provide a rustic backdrop for happy brides celebrating nuptials, couples observing an anniversary or various other events.

CASA GRANDE -- It’s become one of the hottest Mexican food restaurants since coming to Casa Grande over a year ago.

T he global spread of the coronavirus changed the way many companies, government institutions and other organizations do business overnight.

FLORENCE -- W illiam “Mac” McWilliams visited the Windmill Winery one day while he was looking for a house to buy in Florence. The 79-year-old former Navy diver, who had worked for oil companies in Alaska in civilian life had just become a truck driver.

T here’s an anecdote behind how St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery found it’s spot not far from the town of Florence that says much about the place that eventually became a key hub for members of the church.

Just a year ago, the Future Forward Foundation had evolved beyond its previous passion for planting backyard gardens. The group and its volunteers were focused on big production on larger plots of land to grow as many vegetables and squash to share with as many people as possible. But now, i…

COOLIDGE -- COVID-19 has changed a lot of things. Long-awaited events have been canceled, many are working from home and schools have put off campus reopenings.

I ’ve always viewed the fall as the start of new beginnings. Growing up in Northern California, I loved watching tree leaves turn colors before eventually drifting down to the earth. In Central Arizona, our experience of autumn is usually more like an encore of summer — but for me, the fall …

MARICOPA -- As if there were storm clouds rising from the horizon, Jim Schoaf could see trouble coming. The reports were coming out of Asia and Europe of a highly contagious virus that was upending entire societies, putting the stability of civilization to the test. In its wake, the coronavi…

Editor’s note: Interviews for articles in this issue of Pinal Ways were conducted in early or mid-May, and reflect the state of the industry at that time.

Editor’s note: Interviews for articles in this issue of Pinal Ways were conducted in early or mid-May, and reflect the state of the industry at that time.

Editor’s note: Interviews for articles in this issue of Pinal Ways were conducted in early or mid-May, and reflect the state of the industry at that time.

Editor’s note: Interviews for articles in this issue of Pinal Ways were conducted in early or mid-May, and reflect the state of the industry at that time.

Editor’s note: Interviews for articles in this issue of Pinal Ways were conducted in early or mid-May, and reflect the state of the industry at that time.

Editor’s note: Interviews for articles in this issue of Pinal Ways were conducted in early or mid-May, and reflect the state of the industry at that time.

Editor’s note: Interviews for articles in this issue of Pinal Ways were conducted in early or mid-May, and reflect the state of the industry at that time.

Editor’s note: Interviews for articles in this issue of Pinal Ways were conducted in early or mid-May, and reflect the state of the industry at that time.

Editor’s note: Interviews for articles in this issue of Pinal Ways were conducted in early or mid-May, and reflect the state of the industry at that time.

The December groundbreaking at the Lucid Motors plant in Casa Grande officially cemented Pinal County as a hub for the budding electric vehicle manufacturing industry.

I f an area is lucky, a massive company will move in and bring thousands of jobs with high wages. That company’s economic impact will be immediately felt, and if it can stay in business growth and prosperity will continue for generations.

FLORENCE — As the new Florence hospital on the north side of Anthem continues to grow into its community role, it began offering surgery early this year.

F arming is difficult, even when there is plenty of water. The historic, long-term drought that has parched Pinal County and cut farmers’ access to water here has made it even tougher.

It is the dawn of a new decade, which brings any number of emotions. Some are excited about what’s to come while others dread the future. Some are flat-out terrified of the unknown. Whichever camp you fall in, it’s difficult to not feel something strong when that third number in the year cha…

There is perhaps no place out there more aware of the constantly changing world than Biosphere 2. Those changes, after all, are what it’s all about.

I t’s pitch black at the bottom of a copper mine, hundreds or thousands of feet below the earth’s surface. That’s true now just as it was for the miners who worked in the Superior area a hundred years ago.

During the holiday season, we are all bombarded with million-dollar marketing campaigns pushing the bulk distribution of the hottest gifts. That’s what it takes for major corporation to grow their profits. But for the many still remaining mom-and-pop shops in Pinal County, the key to keeping…

COOLIDGE — On a Friday in early November, the normally workmanlike atmosphere at The Tire Factory in Coolidge was noticeably different. There was a party going on.

CASA GRANDE -- Even in his young adulthood, Bob Brutinel had no idea he was going to be a plumber, or that he was going to live in Casa Grande. Yet now his name, and indeed his face, have become synonymous with both.

CASA GRANDE — Life has a way of throwing curveballs. In the late 1970s, Janie Garza Brown was looking for work and found a job at an insurance shop. She had no idea that one day she would be running that business.

W hile the lifespan of a business can see many different people and directions, the same can be said for a building.

B uilding a relationship with the local community can be tough for any business, especially a car dealership.

There wasn’t much in Maricopa in the mid-1980s when C.L. and Debbie Chitwood drove through town, looking for rural property where they could live with their new baby and their animals.