Gone but not forgotten in Jacksonville! (Starke, Macclenny: work, house, move)

[dadzilla57]

I remember when Keys Chile Parlor was downtown, and Ralph's Dry cleaners was at 8th & Main.
There was a bottle club next door to Key's Chile Parlor.
The best to offer was Chile with 2 no beans.
I remember eating it from the green paper cup it came in with a spoon brought from home and sweating in the back of the car from the spices.
Is Key's Chile still available in a can?
Wow was it ever the best!

[dadzilla57]

Sea Clusion Lounge!
WOW!
What a Great Place

[ggregchap]

I remember going to Keys on REALLY cold days and you would warm up fast. Keys used to be available in cans at Winn Dixie and Food Lion. I recall seeing it in both of those places, but it has been a while since I have looked for it. And there was a really GREAT Chinese restaurant where the BellSouth building is...King Woo if I remember correctly. REALLY good food and large portions. ANd how about the S and S Cafeteria downtown across from Hemming Plaza and that old black gentleman in the red waiters coat yelling "No waiting in the short line" standing outside by the entrance...

[Florida Ex-Pat]

Wow....

I stumbled on this site doing a random search for "Milligan's", "Lum's" and "Burger Chef" together with Jacksonville! What a great site!

I grew up in Crackerville...er uh Jacksonville in the 60's-80's and before anyone gets their feelings hurts by 'crackerville', lol I only mean it in jest, that is what we all called it when I was growing up.

In response to some of the posts here, and going back a while, (I'm just catching up!) Walter mentioned the Switzerland racetrack back in May, I don't know if he still keeps up with this site, but he also mentioned "Point La Vista" up in San Jose- that was actually 'family' property- My great grand mother was a Bowden, and I remember going out to the 'Point' back in like '68 or the early '70's when they sold the property and getting all the furniture out of the house- We still have the furniture and a ton of photos of Sheriff Bowden and relatives.

I lived in a house two blocks away on Cordova until '87 when I moved out to Colorado, the family sold that property when they retired down to the lake property in Keystone Hgts.

There was another race track on a former Navy landing strip that my Dad and Uncle used to race on- Thunderbolt race way in Dr. Inlet- They used to race our Pontiac Tempest out there in the late 60's.

Someone mentioned a bar, 'The Grand Fallon' was that the same as the 'GranFalloon' that was in Riverside?


Wow, great memories! I am bookmarking this site- who knows I may run into some 'old friends' ! lol



Chris Alvarez
Jax Ex-Pat

[Florida Ex-Pat]

Originally Posted by ttefylooc

Aww almost got you matched, Oak Hill, Jeff Davis & Forrest High...Do you remember Charger jacks?

Wow....

My sister went to Jeff Davis (I think, that was off Westconnet rt? was originally Forrest High before they built the 'new' one on 103rd?) And then she graduated from NBF in '74 I think- (I ended up at OPHS, '79) She remembers going to school with the guys from Molly Hatchet and Lynard Skynard, although the LS guys were a bit older- I remember dropping her off at Forrest when LS was playing a school dance there- And then my dad and I would go to Burger Chef lol

Our first house was in Cedar Hills- on Tyndale and I went to Stonewall Jackson elementary and we played in the woods that were there. I should still have one of my Ked's interred in the parking lot of what was then an 'Atlantic Bank'. There was also a 'Lums' restaurant there on Blanding right across the road from where Pappa's was.

I got caught shoplifting matchbook cars from the Grant's that was one of the 'anchor' stores there in Cedar Hills Shopping center- I remember the JC Penny's there would have a whole section of the store devoted to Christmas toys each year- and I think there was a A&P there too? And the travelling carnivals that would take over the parking lot every fall. And of course the Cedar Hills Movie theater...... What was the seafood restaurant that was on the creek there on the left just past the shopping center at the bridge? and if I remember there was also a restaurant on the other side of the creek?

We moved out the 'the country' after 3rd grade, the country was Dinsmore at that time lol and I went to Dinsmore elementary and we lived way the heck out on 'Jones Road'- There was nothing out there except dairys and pine woods.

We moved to Dr's Inlet when I was in 6th grade after being bussed to a school out by Ribault. That was like....1972? There wasn't much in Dr's Inlet then except the wooden post office 'hut' lol, and Price's country store there on the corner of CR220(?) and CR224(?)

[Florida Ex-Pat]

Originally Posted by 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.

Gawd....apologies guys because I'm going back in time reading these.....

Do you mean either 'the Greaseman' ? or maybe Alan Moore? two different jocks of course, but they were the 'voice' of WAPE in the mid-70's that I remember- Moore's 'tagline' was "This.......(loong pause).....is Alan Moore"

I went to OPHS from '75 to '79 and I certainly remember the Monkey Farm- It was abandoned initially, then ended up as an office park by the time I graduated. Heck, when I started at OPHS, there was the school, and the Publix on the other side of Kingsley and that was about it! then the Kmart came, then the Racetrack Gas station, (and we bitched about gas being 75 cents a gallon!), then the movie theaters (That we streaked a few times ;-) ) and of course the hospital and more importantly, Sonny's BBQ!

Apanda and RockSteadyVibe mentioned Normandy mall- I spent a lot of time there too- My sister worked in the Monkey Wards there for a long time- Furniture Dept. A couple things I remember about that area- The Orange Julius of course- Cheese Hotdogs- Watching Peter Sellers 'Pink Panther' movies with my dad in the theaters, there was a restaurant across Normandy from the mall- 'Southern Table' or something like that? does anyone remember that? Also, by the Wendy's that if I remember was one of the 1st in Jax, wasn't there a 'Lotta-burger' or 'Whatta-Burger' on the opposite side of the street? I remember there being a gas station there at the corner of Cassat and Normandy, and then a Watta-Burger/Lotta-Burger a bit further down Cassat- There was a '69 Pontiac Grand Prix for sale at that gas station that I wanted sooo badly- They wanted like $1000 bucks in 1980, and I had no money.....wish I had been able to buy it lol.

Does anyone remember Applejacks? It was on San Marco by the bridge? (Near the RC Cola plant and the 'Clarks Burger's' grocery?) ....For that matter, do you guys remember the 'Clarks burger' ads?

Has anyone mentioned 'Beach Road Chicken Dinners' ?? Are they still there?

Someone mentioned 'Sir Gooney Golf', spent a lot of time there..... How about the race-cart track that was on Roosevelt right before I-295? They gave you a 'license' to drive the carts. Then right by there was the old Navy surplus yard that used to have old WWII aircraft there for salvage? I remember a couple old F4 Corsairs rotting in the Fla sun there for years.

[Florida Ex-Pat]

Yikes, at home now and had a chance to read the entire thread, I see majormadmax and others have already discussed all the places I remembered....like a year ago haha!

Well, I have some old photo's from home that I'll share as a contribution at least!

[ggregchap]

Clark Burgers !! OMG !!! And they came breaded and non breaded and wasn't it Dick Stratton and Virginia Atter Keyes who endorsed them ?? I haven't seen them in years. And some of ya'll mentioned the Southern Brick and Stone man with the rubber chicken who swore his siding was chicken proof too...and do you remeber the National Furniture Warehouse and the 2 "Mexican Twins"..."Did you say two for Juan ?" Hilarious !! Does anyone remember the huge outdoor slide at Regency Square ?? And how about the ever popular Gateway Mall on Golfair Street?? I do remeber the Greaseman whose sign off song was "Happy Trails" and his ever popular "I'm a Redneck tune" ......and FM radio was'nt even heard of yet....good memories..thanks !!!

[Florida Ex-Pat]

Originally Posted by ggregchap

Clark Burgers !! OMG !!! And they came breaded and non breaded and wasn't it Dick Stratton and Virginia Atter Keyes who endorsed them ?? I haven't seen them in years. And some of ya'll mentioned the Southern Brick and Stone man with the rubber chicken who swore his siding was chicken proof too...and do you remeber the National Furniture Warehouse and the 2 "Mexican Twins"..."Did you say two for Juan ?" Hilarious !! Does anyone remember the huge outdoor slide at Regency Square ?? And how about the ever popular Gateway Mall on Golfair Street?? I do remeber the Greaseman whose sign off song was "Happy Trails" and his ever popular "I'm a Redneck tune" ......and FM radio was'nt even heard of yet....good memories..thanks !!!

I don't remember a slide at Regency, but I do remember one at Gateway, and then it seems like there were a couple of reports about someone putting razor blades on them and they closed down- it seems like the one at Gateway just sat there abandoned for a couple of years before it was torn down- I seem to remember it back by the Holiday Inn- I worked at the Monkey Wards there for like a minute in like '80 or '81 lol. Ohhhh and the Ice cream shop at Gateway- Was that a Carvelles? or maybe Baskin & Robbins- I can't remember-

Speaking of Ice Cream......How about 'Dapper Dans' in 5 points!

I will post those pics I threatened to share this afternoon ;-)

[Florida Ex-Pat]

Ok, I promised some old photos- please bear in mind these negatives have been in storage a loooong time lol