Gone But Not Forgotten in San Antonio! - Part I (Houston: day care, airplanes)

[GWhopper]

Originally Posted by mudpuddle

I ate there in the fifties with my family.

Young at the time, I don't remember much about it,
but I do remember the places we ate,
because it was a great treat eating out once a week.

YoungBloods was another great place to eat out,
and DeWinne's at the corner of San Pedro and Oblate
was very memorable. A little older then. Early sixties.

HaHA check out the postCard -

d b cooper - FBI's 10 Most Wanted

mud

I wondered about that, too. Maybe he ate there and sent the postcard!

[GWhopper]

Originally Posted by mudpuddle

First off Hopper, yes I do have better memories of the T&C Lodge -

corner of San Pedro and Oblate not JK.

I lived two blocks from there between 1957 and 1966.

Tommy Caldwell and his family lived there for a few months
when their home was being rebuilt
after it burned down.

Hopper, did you have a Honda 250 Scrambler??

mud

Mud,
Never had a Honda Scrambler. Thinking about buying a Honda Accord or Civic now, though. It's great you can remember so many things in there area. I was a kid in the 70's and have just the vaguest memories of so many of these places. Going through some of these posts is just like unlocking so many forgotten memories. Town and Country for instance, I completely forgot about. But now I remember that place being converted to a kind of strip mall with an antique store in it and I am fairly sure one of the first "Blanco Cafe"s outside of the original one on Blanco. I remember eating there one time and my mom didn't like it.

[Macgrad89]

The small chain of produce stores in the mid 70s was The Bushel Basket. There was one at Mossrock and Vance Jackson (behind the old FedMart - who remembers them?) and another at Brees and North New Braunfels.

We went to Wyatt's a bunch after my football games on Saturday mornings. The fried chicken was excellent as were the mashed potatoes. We usually went to the one on 410 near Nacogdoches next to Broadway Bank; that Wyatt's is now a Luby's.

There was a United at Windsor Park - it was on the upper level near Dillard's. I had completely forgotten about that bunch until Willsatx jogged my memory. They seemed to have more than electronics - I'd have sworn my folks got some of my Star Wars stuff there.

Re: Hemisfair. There is sadly so little left down there from the fair. There are still some outlines of the old canals from years ago. Look around near the front of Texan Cultures and some of the concrete walls are there in the grass. All crews did was fill in the canals with dirt - this was probably done in the late 80s or early 90s. I still remember the carnival and snack bar running into the early 80s before those were removed.

Makes one wonder what the Spurs' four title runs would have been like had they taken place at Hemisfair Arena. I miss them taking the court to the Cotton-Eyed Joe. I also miss Al Sturchio's band during time-outs and the baritone voice of the late Pat Tallman as PA announcer.

Macgrad89

[GWhopper]

Originally Posted by Macgrad89

The small chain of produce stores in the mid 70s was The Bushel Basket. There was one at Mossrock and Vance Jackson (behind the old FedMart - who remembers them?) and another at Brees and North New Braunfels.

We went to Wyatt's a bunch after my football games on Saturday mornings. The fried chicken was excellent as were the mashed potatoes. We usually went to the one on 410 near Nacogdoches next to Broadway Bank; that Wyatt's is now a Luby's.

There was a United at Windsor Park - it was on the upper level near Dillard's. I had completely forgotten about that bunch until Willsatx jogged my memory. They seemed to have more than electronics - I'd have sworn my folks got some of my Star Wars stuff there.

Re: Hemisfair. There is sadly so little left down there from the fair. There are still some outlines of the old canals from years ago. Look around near the front of Texan Cultures and some of the concrete walls are there in the grass. All crews did was fill in the canals with dirt - this was probably done in the late 80s or early 90s. I still remember the carnival and snack bar running into the early 80s before those were removed.

Makes one wonder what the Spurs' four title runs would have been like had they taken place at Hemisfair Arena. I miss them taking the court to the Cotton-Eyed Joe. I also miss Al Sturchio's band during time-outs and the baritone voice of the late Pat Tallman as PA announcer.

Macgrad89

Pat Tallman, another great memory I had forgotten.
"Welcome to the world's greatest fans and the noisiest arena in the NBA."

Growing up, our neighbor was a lawyer and had some ownership stake in the Spurs. He would always give me and my family tickets, especially for special occasions like my birthday. We got to sit in seats designated for "owners". I remember they had the word "Owner" spray-painted in white through a template on the back of the chairs. I remember feeling like a king, or at least a little prince, at those games. What a great memory.

I still believe we here in San Antonio are the "world's greatest fans." And I think our players know it.

[GWhopper]

After my last post regarding the Spurs, I have to admit those experiences probably made me the fan I am today. I know it's all just a big business right now, with team loyalty just as fake as a political candidate's loyalty to their constituency or party ideals, but I really do love the Spurs. When they lose, I feel a pain in my chest. When they win, I feel giddy.

I found this great story on the net. BTW, I know the Big George mentioned here and haven't talked to him in over a year. I think I need to catch up with him soon. He isn't getting any younger, nor am I.

"The last great experiment in American professional sports ended 20 years ago this basketball season. (this is from 1996)
Moderator cut: copyright

[irnag]

And the Spur team in the late 70s should have gone to the NBA finals. The Spurs were just a dominating team with Gervin, Kenon, Silas and Louie Dampier, just to name a few. The Spurs built a 3-1 game lead on the Washington Bullets and then the refs took over. But that was the NBA, there was no way they were going to 'allow' the Spurs to win. I'm sorry, 30 years later and I'm still upset about it.

I think that was the series that Dan Cook uttered the immortal words "It ain't over until the fat lady sings." during a post game interview with Dick Motta, the Bullet coach. Motta is credited for the quote more often than Dan. So it's like they stole the series and the best line from SA.

[tcs]

Good reading gw and irnag. I too got to sit in those 'owners' seats. My dad would hook up the tickets from the Steves. I loved the ABA. I remember the first few nights when they started spotlighting Dancing Harry. A few beers and 'nothing from nothing' got him going. Only in San Antonio.

[gy2020]

GWopper

Also, do any of you remember about a place called Electric Park? I found a bunch of references to it and some old cool postcards, but I myself have no memory of it. Where was it? What happened to it?

GWopper, the Electric Park was located south of San Pedro Springs where the (Via Bus) Transit Company Bus Repair is now resides was one of the most exciting recreational parks. It was called the Electric Park and Amusement Parlors and ran around 1900. Electricity was new and the park was lit up.
One of the early fairs was the International Fair and Exposition first held in 1888 at the old fairgrounds called Riverside Park, now Roosevelt Park. Annual fairs were held at Riverside from 1899 until 1911, some starring Buffalo bill, Annie Oakley and daring air shgows. Closed down in 1911, the next San Antonio Fair was a re3newal of the International Exposition in 1928 at the new Exposition Park, where the Coliseum is now. Built in 1949, the Coliseum building was opened with the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus. The first San Antonio Livestock Exposition and Rodeo was at the Coliseum in 1950.
Another favorite playground, Bowen's Island-located at the present site of the Tower Life Building, Bowen's Island was an amusement area which attracted young people. It was eliminated when the river was rechanneled to construct a cutoff after the devastating flood of 1921.

[gy2020]

In 1872, Jack Harris ran the Vaudeville Theatre. It was the first time in the U.S. that the name Vaudeville was used. Jack Harris was shot and killed by Ben Thompson on July 11, 1882. Ben Thompson and King Fisher came back to the Vaudeville on March 11, 1884. Both were killed when three men ambushed them after an argument transpired between Ben Thompson and Joe Foster ( a proprietor of the Vaudeville and the man who originally caused the bad feelings between Ben Thompson and Jack Harris).
Boston claims to have been the origin of Vaudeville, dating back to around 1886, but this was clearly 14 years after the original Vaudeville in San Antonio. The two shootings made the front page of the New York Times. Also Jack Harris frequented New York City to gain acts for his establishment. He was due to go to New York City on July 12, 1882. He didn't make it.

[Willsatx]

I think T&C in San Pedro was there in the 80's? Not too sure.