INSIDE THE MAY 2025 ISSUE: Quicker ER Care at Microhospital p. 3 Favorite Local Eatery Making its Return p. 4 Lucy Leyva Cleaning Up in the Verde Valley p. 18
Geronimo Descendant Setting History Straight p. 19 Experts Weigh in on Regional Real Estate Market p. 22 Local Firm Becomes Region’s Largest Brokerage p. 22
John’s Box of Bricks Sparks Imagination Kids of all ages are following the yellow, blue, red and green brick road back to LEGO By Stan Bindell, QCBN
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hat started as a childhood hobby has turned into a thriving business, inspired by a Wall Street Journal headline.
Seven years ago, John Donovan came across an article suggesting that LEGO bricks had become more valuable than gold bullion. That simple discovery would soon reshape his career and passion.
“I’ve been building with LEGO all my life,” he said. At the time, Donovan was working as chief financial officer for an international irrigation company. But intrigued by the collectible potential of the Danish building blocks, he began selling sets online. Demand exploded, and what began as a side
hustle quickly turned into a full-time venture. “It just kept getting bigger and bigger!” That momentum led to the opening of John’s Box of Bricks, a dedicated LEGO store in downtown Prescott. On opening day, 20 LEGO fans eagerly waited at the front door. Within a year, Donovan outgrew his
Continued on page 39
Delmo 4X4 Adds Performance, Rugged Style to Old Trucks
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This 1959 Chevrolet Apache pickup is a flagship restoration project for Prescott-based Delmo 4X4. Courtesy photo
May 2025 | Issue 5 Volume 13
By Peter Corbett, QCBN
t has been an interesting path for Del Uschenko to get to Prescott and find his niche customizing classic American pickup trucks from the 1950s and ‘60s with modern performance gear and vintage style. Imagine driving a fully restored 1959 Chevy Apache four-wheel drive truck, fueled by a 525-horsepower engine that can outpace a roadrunner. It’s one of Uschenko’s latest builds for his local company, Delmo 4X4. He grew up in Calgary, Alberta. Eventually, he had a hot rod shop there. He decided in 2009 to move 1,200 miles south to sunny California with his wife, Ola. “It snows for seven months of the year so it’s a bummer having a nice car there,” he said of Calgary. The Uschenkos landed on their feet. Ola got a nursing job at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills. Del went to work at Hollywood Hot Rods in Burbank. A year later, he moved to
a shared garage nearby with a friend who had the Old Crow Speed Shop. Next, Uschenko rebuilt a 1965 Chevy C-10 pickup, lowering it but keeping the faded-paint patina and adding larger diameter stock wheels with 10-inch “dog dish” hubcaps. “Things blew up from there,” he said. “From then on, I was kind of considered a truck guy. It was busy. It was new and it was fresh.” Hot Rod Magazine in 2013 noted that his unusual style of customizing trucks was “attracting a lot fans.” Uschenko’s move to Arizona came in 2015 after scouting in Austin – “too humid, too busy.” Colorado was “too wintry.” “No way were we living in Phoenix – too hot.” So, they headed north to Prescott. “We went to Whiskey Row, had some drinks, stayed at the St. Michael’s Hotel and fell in love with the town in one weekend. It was that easy. In five weeks, we had a house.” Continued on page 38