Remembering Old Tucson in its glory days

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — "It was a fun time," said Sandee Fischlin, who worked at Old Tucson in marketing and as a receptionist in the late 1970s. "Not only busy with tourists, but the movie industry. This was a well-sought-after place to do filming."

Fischlin reminisced about her days at the movie set in the years prior to the infamous fire of 1995 that left it changed forever. April 24 of this year marked 30 years since that night.

"So anyone who came through into our office, I got to meet everyone, including some of the stars that would be working on films out here," she said. She fondly remembers getting to meet Hal Needham and Chevy Chase during the filming of 'Three Amigos.'

"Michael Landon, at that time, was still filming 'Little House on the Prairie' segments," Fischlin recalled. "Father Murphy, he did a segment for 'Highway to Heaven'."

The job even led Fischlin to have her own brush with stardom, appearing in a few movies.

"I was in 'The Villain' with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ann-Margaret and Kirk Douglas," she said. "It was a fun movie. It was based off the roadrunner and the coyote cartoon."
For Fischlin, Old Tucson was about family.  
    
"My father was out here for over 15 years in security and working the front gate and the back gate, and he would work the movie sets," she said. "He also was in the series called 'The Sackets' with Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott."

Her son, Jay Metz also worked on the show, 'The Young Riders.'

This story is part of a KGUN 9 Original Presentation. Watch our entire in-depth special report, Old Tucson Fire: 30 Years Later, only on KGUN 9 online:

"It was just a magical place for kids to grow up and play and be little cowboys," Metz said. "Probably the highlight of doing that was being able to wander away from the set, from everybody, and go back in time a little bit. It's probably the best feeling I've ever had, and the closest I'll ever be to experiencing that, and that's really what we have, are the experiences. And this was a wonderful experience."

Old Tucson was built to be a movie set, but it became a theme park where families could visit for train and stagecoach rides, restaurants, even a shooting arcade. But Fischlin remembers it as extending beyond that.

"The people that got engaged in Old Tucson, also were involved in the city of Tucson," she explained. "So if you were lucky enough to be able to see an actor out in the city of Tucson, they blended in. I think they liked the feeling of this, not feeling so much like Hollywood. It was a more natural setting, and people let them blend in to be themselves."
Her first trip back to Old Tucson since the fire was an emotional one, mostly because of how much the park has changed.

"Totally different. It looked a lot older, more authentic," she recalled. "The sad part about this theme park is that with the old buildings, there wasn't a sprinkler system. If there was a fire, it was just like putting a match in a haystack. Everything would just ignite."

While the park has been built back up, Fischlin will always remember it as a different scene.

"When you're working out here, whether it's how you're dressed in your Frye boots back then, or your cowboy hat," she said, "You just feel like you were a part of the environment. So it didn't just seem like a theme park. It just felt like you're on a movie set."

Claire Graham is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. She grew up in Tucson and graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in musical theatre. Claire spent a decade in Washington state, where she worked in journalism, met her husband and welcomed their baby boy, before moving back home. Share your story ideas and important issues with Claire by emailing claire.graham@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and X.