Gone but not forgotten in Jacksonville! (Orlando, Pembroke Pines: schools, club, shop)

[dcarlo]

It was Dipper Dan's and they had the most unusual flavors---Blue Waltz, Licorice, Bubble Gum to mention a few.Remember the bakery, Goodes? They had the best choclate rum balls.How about Denny Moran's on cedar creek and the golden point across the street---had the best fish sandwiches.

[hansbronson]

I have looked through these post to see if anyone brought up an annual ritual in Jax at Christmas time. Channel 4 use to have a tower like channel 12s tower that use to be supported by wires untill they built their new tower. But back in the 60s and 70s at Christmas time channel 4 would do a live broadcast and would turn the lights on . That tower with its multi-colered lights could be seen for miles and would stay lit till the first of the year. I would hate to have to be the one that would have to climb the tower to change the light bulbs.

[LRChevy]

Originally Posted by ggregchap

....they had ther best burgers and genuine Milk shakes cooked by an Elvis wannabee behind the counter.

The "Elvis wannabee" with the sideburns was Herman Mobley! lol He was a great guy, was a sad day when he passed away

Originally Posted by ggregchap

Most of us older "Jax Brats" give directions from "where the old Pic and Save used to be"

I'm in my early 20's and even I give directions using the old Pic and Saves

[dcarlo]

I remember Applejacks,it was a great place to party. Usually a big crowd on Friday nights. Remember "Someplace Else"? It was a restaurant near the Friendship Fountain. Also a bar called "My Club" we went there after the graduation ceremonies from FJC in 74. I miss the beautiful little duck pond that was on San Juan Av. Now it is a marina and you can't go there unless you have a boat docked there. I have read alot of negative things on these forums about Jax. But I love it--always will.

[Parkerclassof72]

I stumbled across this site just yesterday while googling for a photo of the old Beaches Coliseum (couldn't find one). I read all 15 pages and had a blast. I'm getting more & more nostalgic as I age (Parker, c/o 72), and I decided I just had to join in.

In response to some earlier posts: dcarlo, you mentioned Mouse and the Boys, google them, they have a web site, and have had a couple of reunion shows the past few years....... Believe it or not, the Greaseman is back. He moved back to Jax radio just a few weeks ago. I listened for a few minutes, I guess I've outgrown his humor....... The Bldg where Patti's was is now a Dr.'s office. Someone said it burned down, so maybe it's not the original Bldg .......Someone mentioned the dinosaur from the Goony Golf that was on Beach Blvd. After the debris of the course was removed years ago, a chain link fence was put up around the dinosaur. For years he stood there looming over an empty lot as his paint slowly faded. Just in the past year or so, a small shopping strip was started there. So many people asked what the fate of the dinosaur was going to be that the new land owner commissioned local art students to restore it. It now stands proudly in front of the strip. ...... someone mentioned the mock convention of 1972. I was there also; Parker represented the state of Pa. ......
Other memories:

In the late 60's, my buddies and I rode the city bus downtown to Hemming Park. From there we went to that great Sears store to get popcorn and/or candy. We'd stop in at Rosenblum's (sp?) to check out the expensive Gant shirts our parents wouldn't buy for us. We always ended the day at Paulus music store (again, I'm not sure of that spelling) and messed around with the drums & guitars.

I remember using burlap bags to go down the big slide behind Regency Square, and also remember the sand dunes that stretched from there to Merrill Rd. We rode around on dune buggies out there, and took the fins off our surfboards & slide down the hills. We also had some wild parties in the dunes; some of them might have involved underage drinking. Nobody told us about anything that had been dumped out there.

I could write for hours about how Arlington has changed since I moved here in '68. I just might do that here when I have more time.

[Florida Ex-Pat]

I haven't seen anything about the Putt-Putt Golf location that I remember on the south side of Arlington Expway- I seem to remember it being between University Blvd and maybe Cesery? I never played at that one, but would always bug my Dad that we should sometime.

How many of the old-time Car dealers does everybody remember? My grandparents and aunts and uncles always bought from Gordon Thompson Chevrolet on Phillips, which of course became Jerry Hamm- We are cousins of the Bowdens that worked there for years.

My dad bought our '73 Chevy pickup truck from John Diehl Chevrolet, and I seem to remember it being out on Arlington Expway- But wasn't there also a John Diehl Dealership out Cassat ave on the Westside?

I remember an "OK Used Cars" Chevy dealer on Riverside near the Penninsular building and the fred Abood's Green derby restaurant.

Tom Bush VW I remember being by the old Zayre's store on the westside.

Of course Coggin Pontiac on Atlantic at Southside Blvd- And am I making this up or remembering wrong, but for some reason I remember the neighborhood right around there, between Atlantic and Arlington, and between Southside Blvd and Arlington road referred to as 'Sin City'....Does that ring a bell with anyone else?

I remember the Massey-Mixon ads- And I bought my Datsun pickup truck from Sunrise Datsun on Wells road in Orange Park in 1979.

Speaking of Orange Park, my Dad and I moved into the "Springcreek Apartments" on Wells Road, when the Orange Park Mall was still being built- Wells road was dirt from where the west (?) end of the mall property was all the way to 17 (Roosevelt) from there. I think that was like '74 or '75.

Here is another random recollection, how many are old enough to remember when Jax Liquors would actually serve open beers and mixed drinks at the drive through? I do ;-) Of course I remember the suckers they handed out to the kids more lol


I love this thread! ;-)

[Parkerclassof72]

Fl Ex-Pat, the Chevy dealer you mentioned on the Arlington Expressway is now on Merrill Rd, right next to Merrill Rd Elem. For several years back in the early 70's, a good friend and I would wander thru the lot late at night in Aug/Sept checking out the new models. Can you imagine a couple of teenage boys doing that today? They'd be arrested, or maybe shot.

You're right about the location of Sin City. Supposedly the area was populated by 20-something hippies who partied 24/7. True or urban legend? I never knew for sure. Some still call the area by that name, but now it's not a place to be in after dark.

The Putt-Putt has been mentioned on earlier pages of this thread. I moved into the Arlington area in '68, but I don't remember it. Maybe I was such a bad putter I've blocked the memory?

Ah, the Jax Liquor's drive thru - good memories.

[ggregchap]

I grew up in Arlington and "Sin City" was bordered by Arlington Road, Atlantic Blvd and basically Kona Road. It was mainly the Apartments off Arlington Road right where the curve is. All the one bedroom and studios that set around the ponds. That is the "true" Sin City and still is for the most part. And I do remember the Jax Liquars serving open beer and mixed drinks from their drive through windows. Now THAT is a true American idea....LOL....No chance of a DUI/DWI there, my friends!!! And I too remember Rosenblums and the Gant shirts and Paulus music. Man, they had some instruments and records and sheet music. And they were kinda cool with all of us high schoolers hanging out in the store. And then going to May Cohens for the apple turnovers or to Hawthorne for their frozen pineapple drinks....mmmmmm....or the Krystal behind the Library on Forsythe to just hang out until we caught the bus back across the river....and all was well. And going to Access 5 or the Crossroad on the weekend....Thanks for keeping the srting going, Folks. Happy All Hallows EVE !!!

[Parkerclassof72]

ggregchap, you must have been a Parker Brave. What year? Now that you mentioned it, I do remember driving down that road off of Arlington Rd and passing by the Apt complex known as Sin City.

Ah, the accesses. Back then the beach (Seminole Beach) just south of Mayport wasn't a state park, it was just a beach. My friends and I usually hung out at Access Three. For those that weren't around then, the accesses were gaps or paths through the dunes that led to the beach. They were known as one thru five, with five being the northernmost access. Driving on the beach was legal back then, and the beaches never closed. We spent the night on the beach a few times, and at least once, surfed by moonlight!The youth group I was involved in at St Paul's Meth. held a few sunrise services there.

You mentioned the Crossroads. Wasn't that a few miles south of Ponte Vedra where a road intersected with A1A? Right where there was a gap through the dunes to the beach? I remember there was parking there along that road, but do you remember whether or not driving on the beach was allowed there? There was another name we had for that area, started with an "M" I think. Can't quite remember what that other name was.

Folks who weren't around in the 70's might find it hard to believe, but back then A1A was jungle from Ponte Vedra to Vilano. We'd plan ahead to spend the day down there, and the first car down would pick a spot and just pull off the road and park. Everyone who followed would then park there, and we'd hike thru the dunes to join our friends. Also, back then we never worried about someone breaking into our cars.

I meet regularly with a group of friends who've known each other since Jr High, and we frequently talk about what a great time we grew up in.

[Florida Ex-Pat]

Oh yeah, I remember the crossroads, but I guess I don't remember it being called anything but Ponte Vedra beach- I remember the sign that was there about the German sub and spies that were caught there and executed- I think I have a picture of that sign some where, I'll try to dig it up. My dad was the one that showed the mthe sign, he grew up during the war and remembers when all that happened.

When my son and I were back home last year we stopped by there on the way back from St. Augustine- there is a condo building there now and I couldnt find the sign. I remember you used to be able to drive onto the beach there, and then there were a couple places further south that you could as well. The entrance we used was a bit further south on A1A, just past where the telephone poles switched from the right side of A1A to the left, ocean side.

I also remember a place about a mile or two south of the Ponte Vedra entrance and past where the beach houses ended going south where all the high school kids would grafitti the road- Remember that?