Gone but not forgotten in Jacksonville! (University, Atlantic Beach: oceanfront, home, to buy)

[majormadmax]

Originally Posted by dcarlo

I loved mr dunderbachs!! It is now called the European Street Cafe or Emporium. There is one on Park St. And another was built just recently near the beach.

Actually, the owner of Mr Dunderbak's/European Street--Lew Zarka--was killed in a car accident in May 2006. His son Tony lives here in San Antonio, and we exchanged a few emails but unfortunately never linked up. His dad was a great boss, he took care of his employees and didn't take crap off of anyone. I loved working for him, he was a really good guy...

Cheers! M2

[RockSteadyVibe]

A few more I remember...

Sir Goony Golf on Blanding Boulevard.
The Crossroads Shopping Center, also on Blanding just before I-295, and among the stores there were Carter's Children's Wear, Eckerd Drugs, Lionel Playworld and the big Save and Pack/Welcome/Food World/Publix grocery store. I remember going there with my parents and sometimes they would buy some of the bulk candy (chocolate covered raisins or peanuts). Later on there was a Discovery Zone location there and I remember going with friends and playing there. That shopping center's still around today, but of course it's just not the same, and most times it seems deserted. Probably because of some of the newer shopping centers or developments nearby, and because the strip mall is over 20 years old.
Further up the street on Blanding, just after 295, the Argyle Village Shopping Center had Marshalls, Zayre's, T.J. Cinnamon's and Service Merchandise, just to name a few. There was also a Zayre's on Normandy Blvd. where Big Lots and Fred's are now.
And last but not least, Showbiz Pizza (I remember going to the one in Orange Park by the motels and across from the shopping center).

[orca17]

Wow, you guys are bringing back a lot of memories. I am a 1973 Andrew Jackson grad now living in Las Vegas. I will really date myself here: I remember being in chemistry class on the third floor at AJ my senior year and seeing the revolving sign at the Hess station across the street advertising gas for 24.9 cents per gallon - enough to keep my '68 AMC Javelin going for a while.

A few things you guys mentioned, and a few you didn't:

Hockey: Before the Barracudas, Lizard Kings and even the Barons there were the Jacksonville Rockets. The Rockets were usually dreadful. At one time they held the record for the worst winning percentage for a single season in the history of professional sports. Things were so bad that one restaurant (I forget which one) offered a free dinner to anyone who brought in a ticket stub from a game the Rockets won.

Skipper Ed: I was on his show with my Cub Scout troop in the 1960s. His name was Ed McCullers. I went to school with his daughter Meg from elementary school through high school. He was a very nice man.

I also went to school with Nancy Ritter, daughter of former Jacksonville mayor Lou Ritter.

Skinner Dairy, with the butterfly-wing stores. There is a nice Wikipedia article about Skinner Dairy, along with some recent pictures of some of the stores that still exist in something resembling their original form.

And another dairy: Holly Hill. I went there on a field trip in elementary school. Part of Jacksonville International Airport now sits on the land where the dairy was.

May-Cohens bakery: Wow, what a trip back this is. My mother's aunt used to take me on the bus (called City Coach back then) downtown to get apple turnovers from the bakery counter, and maple nut goodies from the candy counter.

When the big battles took place on the AM dial, and WAPE and WPDQ fought it out for supremacy of the airwaves.

Milligan's Beefy Burgers. Kind of a poor man's Krystal, but when you are living on the income of a high school student a nice cheap place to eat.

Putt Putt on Arlington Expressway: I used to play this course with my high school buddies quite a bit. One night I was shooting the round of my life and had a shot at the course record, but fell short by two shots.

Civic Auditorium: I saw a speech by Leonard Nimoy there, as well as the worst concert I have ever heard: Eric Weissberg and Deliverance. People kept yelling for them to play "Dueling Banjos", and they kept playing other things. People started trickling out. Once they did play the song, everyone got up and walked out, and the show wasn't over.

Rowlab: A cool place to go when you're a kid. They had a lot of neat stuff, like a volcano you could out on a table and light it and it would erupt.

Krystal on Main Street - next to Kirby-Smith Junior High and WJCT Channel 7. This Krystal had a full-blown drive-in with car hops. The restaurant is still there, but the car hops - and Channel 7 - are long gone.

Imeson Airport - My father was in the Air National Guard, and he would sometimes take me out to the base. I remember drinking Sprite with him (in glass bottles, no less) on a hot summer day sitting under the wing of an F-102. One summer in the mid 1960s they had an air show and open house on the ANG base and Luke Halpin of "Flipper" fame was on base (he was in the ANG serving his military obligation) and they had to hide him from the crowds as the show was immensely popular then.

Someone else mentioned double sessions. Before my sophomore year Matthew Gilbert High School was closed and combined with Andrew Jackson. We were on double sessions the entire time I was in high school. I had the morning session, with band practice after school (on the asphalt in the J. M. Fields parking lot).

An Alhambra Theater story: My father and mother went to a play at Alhambra starring the late Bob Crane (of Hogan's Heroes fame). After the play ended my parents lingered in the lobby for a while because it was pouring rain. Crane came out and talked to them for more than an hour. They talked more about their conversation with Bob Crane than about the play.

Going to the fence at North Shore Elementary School to see President Kennedy's motorcade go past on Main Street.

Taking Civil Defense survival kits to school and practicing evacuation drills during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Going grocery shopping at Food Fair, Pantry Pride and A&P. Going to Woolco, Grant's, JM Fields and Pic 'n' Save.

Playing with the Andrew Jackson band for a visit by Vice President Spiro Agnew.

Going to a mock political convention at the Civic Auditorium in 1972. Shirley Chisholm and John Lindsey actually showed up for it. Both were seeking the Democratic nomination for president. A couple of other candidates sent representatives.

Being a member of the School Boy Patrol in sixth grade, and taking a trip to Washington, DC at the end of the school year (still the only time I have ever been there).

Going outside to see the rocket launches during the Mercury series, our first venture into outer space. You couldn't always see the rockets depending upon the weather and the trajectory, but sometimes you could.

Casey Jones buried by the side of the track on the train ride at the Jacksonville Zoo (with just his shoes sticking out of the ground).

The 1969-'70 JU Dolphins basketball team, and their incredible run to the NCAA championship game. Artis Gilmore came to a pep rally at Andrew Jackson my sophomore year. I had never seen anyone seven feet tall before.

The Jacksonville Fair down by the Gator Bowl.

Ranger Hal on Channel 4 and Miss Penny's Playhouse.

More as they come to me...

[Iremembertoo]

Hey Rocksteadyvibe, I so remember the Roosevelt Mall,Furchgotts is where I got my Prom Dress, and my best friend worked in Rosenblum's. Also the ducks that we at the Mall, Woolworths was the best place for a soda. Remember the shirts the guys wore with the loop and the back and the girls always tried to rip them off, madras prints the old plaid that the kids are wearing now thinking how new it is, gag me with a spoon, I loved it then but now, wonder if the color runs as bad as it did then? How about hang ten shirts? Do you remember that Dairy think it was called Grays, that was Argyle shopping strip and Hughes Dairy that is now Cinnamon Lakes, I have lived here for over 40 years, Went to Forrest and Wesconnett 57. and of 'course Jeff Davis.

[Iremembertoo]

Oh my god Orca17 I forgot about Ranger Hal I used to watch him every morning before going to school and Skipper Ed...man that takes me back too. Do you remember the Monkey Farm?? You probably didint live close enough to get that rumor or was it??? That was a westside thing before there was a westside. My dad and I used to go to the ice hocky games and the Ape getting stolen one time. How bout the Grit fields of Middleburg, the one disc jocky used to talk about all the time. He was on the Big Ape, I can hear his voice but not the name Mike Renari comes to mind I know the spelling is off may be totally wrong but maybe you can think of it.

[JagFan27]

Originally Posted by Iremembertoo

Remember the shirts the guys wore with the loop and the back and the girls always tried to rip them off, madras prints the old plaid that the kids are wearing now thinking how new it is, gag me with a spoon, I loved it then but now, wonder if the color runs as bad as it did then?

Interesting how fads go. I am from Indiana and we did the same thing with those loops.
Also, the madras now probably doesn't run. They have discovered ways to keep colors fast.

[ttefylooc]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

OK, it appears I am the only one having fun with this, but what the heck!

Here's one more from the history books...the United States Football League's Jacksonville Bulls!



And the Tea Men??



Or even harder to remember, the Jacksonville Barons ice hokey team, who were only around for a few seasons (72-74??).



Cheers! M2

HA HA that Jax Bulls!! That was one of the best reference for getting the Jags. Those Bulls games really sold out.

[ttefylooc]

Originally Posted by mocando

They were crazy, but not as bad as the Southern Brick & Stone commercials with Chicken Man, Dolph Agloff, in short pants waving a rubber chicker shouting "Leave me give it to you again!"

LOL LOL LOL....You had to remind me of that!!!

[ttefylooc]

Originally Posted by RockSteadyVibe

I remember the old Normandy Mall. It had the Orange Julius stand, the two-screen Twin Theatres, an Aladdin's Castle video arcade, Spa Fitness, and a popcorn shop. Some of the stores that have been in that mall were Montgomery Ward (later Jefferson Ward), Eckerd Drugs, Woolco, Roses Department Store, Murphy's Mart, Tempo Fashions, Sam's Wholesale Club, Radio Shack, and Sports-a-foot. There is a strip mall next to the mall that had Save Way (now Sally) Beauty Supply and Pantry Pride (later Rawsons) among other stores. The mall has been remodeled and is now owned by the Potter's House.

I also remember Peterson's Five and Dime in Five Points, Club Five, the Skinner's Dairy drive-thru buildings (there was one near Lee High School that is now demolished) that were called "Dairystores", Family Video (one was in Avondale and later on Roosevelt in Venetia), and the Roosevelt Mall (which had Woolworth's, Ivey's, Stein Mart and May Cohens/May Florida/Maison Blanche/Gayfers/Belk, the hot dog stand, Kinney Shoes, Underwood's Jewelry and Musicland).

Wow I remember the Normandy Mall! I was abandoned for a long long time, maybe about 20 years. It has been fixed up by the Potters House. I also remember there was a Winn Dixie at Lenox and Cassat, before the one on Normandy was ever built. I remember as a kid seeing Ed White & Lee High school football players get in a wrestling/fight in front of Zayres on Normandy...lol its Big Lots or Freds now.

[bonnielass]

I grew up in Mandarin when San Jose Blvd was a two lane road and there was nothing down there but the Post Office, Mandarin Supermarket, and a Lil Champ. It was the country back then - everyone had horses and land, and at six years old, I was allowed to ride my bike up to the super to get my mom milk. The closest fast food was a Dairy Queen located at the intersection of Kori Rd and San Jose. It was a big deal to go there and get a Mr. Misty or cone. The Hardee's came later and had a super slide which you could not get me off of. In junior high we lived to go to the Skate-n-Space and Skate Road 13; we were "rubber leggers" to "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" and "Back in Black".