Gone But Not Forgotten in San Antonio! - Part II (Houston: crimes, camps)

[Dwangle]

The Taffy Puller machine was on Josephine St or somewhere around there

[gy2020]

Originally Posted by 1313

There was an Army Navy surplus store right across from the Alamo. I forget the exact name but I remember that there was a full-size plastic horse statue that stood out front. The store was owned by the father of a guy that was married to a cousin of mine back in the late 70's or early 80's if I remember correctly.

The Army-Navy was across the street from the Menger Hotel, next to the Alamo. It was the Wigwam Theatre #1 back around 1915.

Wigwam I and Wigwam II Theatres (http://www.satheatres.com/Wigwam_I_and_Wigwam_II.html - broken link)

[BudB]

Originally Posted by 1313

There was an Army Navy surplus store right across from the Alamo.

The only army/navy store downtown I can recall was an original Academy Surplus on Commerce at about S. Presa or St. Mary's on the SE corner and near Brock's Book Store. Another one was out on East Commerce across from the Frederick Refrigeration plant. It had great WW II stuff into the late '70s but was then hit hard by dealers who bought everything in sight and then tripled prices. I cannot recall one on Alamo Plaza across from the Alamo itself so could you guesstimate the dates it was there? If it was there in 1969 it may have been caught on film when "Viva Max" was shot down there.

[gy2020]

BudB: This is the photo of Army Navy store that was the site of Wigwam 1. I took the pic in the mid 80's.

[BudB]

Originally Posted by gy2020

BudB: This is the photo of Army Navy store that was the site of Wigwam 1. I took the pic in the mid 80's.

Many thanx for sharing the foto as it pinpoints the location. I was living in Austin by then and rarely went to downtown SA anymore so have learned something new which is always a good thing. That stretch of sidewalk has seen a lot of change over the years. Was it in the middle of the block with Woolworths on the north end and another 5 & 10 store on the south end about where the stairs go down to the hotel/river entrance?

[gy2020]

BudB: It was across the street from Menger Hotel. It was on Alamo Plaza, a good block from Commerce St. You might say it was almost to the Alamo but in the block south.

[Dwangle]

Wow the only Army Navy store I remember Downtown was north in that weird part of town. Where KONO was on Ardin Grove and an Aviation supply place. South of the old Lone Star Brewery that became an Art studio. Kinda close to the Locomotive.

[SATX56]

That old locomotive sat there in the park for many years. Gillespie Ford was right there north of Jones and the park. Broadway on the west and N. Alamo on the east side and 10th to the south. I remember a Singer Sewing Machine Shop and a linoleum dealer just across Alamo from the park. That was in the 50's and 60's. I remember when the trolley still ran from the old Brewery across Broadway and Alamo.

[*mud*]

Originally Posted by BudB

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The only army/navy store downtown I can recall was an original Academy Surplus on Commerce

at about S. Presa or St. Mary's on the SE corner and near Brock's Book Store.

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Commerce and Presa Bud.

That was the good one. Had a shooting gallery in the basement.

Brock's was just to the West on the other side of Presa.
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[BudB]

Originally Posted by mudpuddle

.Brock's was just to the West on the other side of Presa.

Familiarity with Norman Brock's place dates me as a genuine old timer but that's ok because I still have some of the treasures found there and one in particular is a true family heirloom now. Those who recall the WW II movie "12 O'Clock High" with Gregory Peck will appreciate my find. While digging thru the piles and shelves in Brock's dark and creepy basement one day about 1980 or so I found a first edition of the novel 12 O'Clock High, the book the movie was based on. It was written by Bernie Lay and Sy Bartlett who were both 8th Air Force veterans and Hollywood screenwriters. That would have been a great find on any day and this copy was still in its original dust jacket. Best of all was the fact that the book had been signed by both authors with an inscription to its original owner General Jimmy Hodges wartime commander of the 2nd Air Division, all the 8th Air Force's B-24 units. He was one of the men who the story's main character Gen. Savage was based on and as portrayed by Gregory Peck. After the war Gen. Hodges headed the Air Training Command at Randolph.
There was no penciled price noted in the book so that meant carrying it upstairs for old man Brock to evaluate personally. He nearly always sat at his desk chewing a cigar and surrounded by piles of books. Never what you'd call friendly, I luckily caught him on the phone so handed him my little treasure and held my breath. Apparently in the middle of wheeling and dealing a big money, rare book sale, he glanced at my book and said 10 bucks by flashing five fingers at me twice while still talking on the phone. I paid him and walked nonchalantly out the door then ran for the next three or four blocks down Commerce St. with a big grin on my kisser but afraid that he might have second thoughts and yell for me to come back. He didn't tho so it's still mine and I love telling the story. His wacky politics aside Brock's was indeed a gold mine of such treasures if you took the time to dig for them amongst all the mountains of published material he had collected over a few decades. He had countless other rare books, journals, and maps, etc. and also a lot of worthless stuff too. My book is worth a lot more then $10 but I will never sell it.
Btw, in the years following WW II many important generals retired in San Antonio and Jimmy Hodges was one so I guess following his passing the book somehow got to Brock's. Gen. Hodges' grave is in the Fort Sam National Cemetery along with a lot of other famous WW II names.