Gone But Not Forgotten in San Antonio! - Part II (New Braunfels: assault, golfing)

[outafocus]

Originally Posted by SnappyBob

I started collecting soda bottles in my late teens back in the 70's when I worked for a local bottling company called Texas Beverage. I used to come across many bottles that I didn't recognise from around the country. They would come into the bottling plant as empties in those wooden crates. I still have a modest collection. Not sure if I have a Hippo or Grapette. I remember Pomack. I remember it tasted awful.

I collected them, too. I used to buy my candy and other snacks at a local Lone Star Ice House when I was a kid, and befriended the manager. One day a guy came in wanting a three cent deposit on a soda bottle that was not sold in San Antonio. The manager said he would only buy the bottles of sodas he sold. I gave the guy his three cents, and took the "Sunburst Of California" bottle home. The manager told me that it happened quite often that people brought in "foreign" bottles, and if I would buy them from him that he would take them and save them for me. I amassed a pretty nice collection! I also asked him to save the older style bottles of the more popular drinks for me. too. I have a VERY nice "Spizz" bottle from 1940. Does anyone remember "Mr. Cola, the Aristocrat of Colas"? It was the first brand that came in 16 ounce bottles. Hippos were still 13 ounces. I have some 6.5 oz. 7Up bottles with a girl in a swimsuit on the label. I have some Buck Soda Water bottles that the brand, and the deer are embossed in the glass bottle, not decaled on like some later ones I have. I also have a glass embossed Dr Pepper bottle with three hands on a clock pointing to 10, 2, and 4, and the slogan "Good For Life" embossed on the back. One I DON'T have that I really want is a Bireleys bottle. My great grandmother ALWAYS had a bottle of Bireleys Orange in her refrigerator for me when I came to visit her. For some reason I have never come across a Bireley's bottle.

Speaking of sodas, I thought I was imagining things when I would reminisce about old commercials with people my age, or even older, but no one seemed to remember the old Dr. Pepper commercials that ran in the 1950s that ended with a cartoon St. Bernard dog that ended the commercial by saying "Frosty, Man Frosty" Well years later I took my grandson to the Dr. Pepper museum in Waco, and bought a Tshirt with that St. Bernard on it with the caption "Frosty, Man Frosty" on it!

[ranchodrive]

My folks were throwing this RC carton away, but I kept it all these years.
I love the colors & over time I have added to the "collection". I believe my
mom used to buy her groceries at Boldner's grocery store located on S. Flores St.

[huckster]

I remember those old soda bottles and remember but more importantly the can of La Parrot sitting to
the right of the soda pop bottles. Never thought I'd see one of those cans again.
Great stuff for Duck tails, La Parrot. If a duck can be caught. Great post.

I own something very old too -ancient, from this area I will take a picture of and post.

[ranchodrive]

Besides "La Parrot", most of this stuff we bought at Sommer's Rexall
south side on Nogalitos St. close to the H.E.B. that is still under
construction...


Nearby in the same area was the Winn's Store.



The "Big Chief" tablet, I used in elementary school at Collins garden.
The soft paper made it hard to erase the stuff I wrote with my pencil.

Although the "Big Red" fountain pens & mechanical pencil I collected
are from an earlier period. They did make a comeback in the '70s.
But they were not fountain pens,they were ball-point pens.
I do remember using a fountain pen & I always got my fingers smudged
with ink when I used the ink well to fill my fountain pen. Later I switched
to the pen with the ink cartridges. I still have the Sheaffer cartridge pen
with the clear plastic that you could see the cartridge inside.

Btw: Later in Burbank ...I used the white notebook paper which was
available in two or three rings on the edge depending on what notebook
size you bought. This paper was easier to erase. I also used a bottle
of white-out to "cover" the words that I wrote in ink.
Looks like I made a lot of errors when writing....

[ranchodrive]

Originally it was KCOR-TV & located at 411 E. Durango St.
The station would have a television set in the front of the building
for the public to watch "live" programing. My dad's favorite show
was the wrestling matches.
Later it became KWEX-TV & I worked there.

[kimberlyjames]

Was delighted to find this online. My family owned Pen Foods. It was developed by my father, Norman Pentecost, who grew up in NYC and wanted to provide a vast wine selection including very fine wines, as well as Prime grade beef, fine meats and an awesome fresh seafood collection for San Antonio shoppers. Our city's residents had a great deal of travel, especially with the military related population, and he knew what it was like to crave something but never be able to find that product again - with that goal he developed Pen Foods, which was located in the Grandview Shopping Centre at San Antonio's Callaghan and I-10 East. Dad's fine foods but down to earth approach was behind my advertising jingle of "Corn Flakes to Quail" - Pen Foods truly did "have it all". Scratch bakery; full service floral department with full time very talented and remarkable floral designers. Pen Foods was a fully independent retail operation. A second location was opened to the north in New Braunfels, Texas, a short time after the flagship store in San Antonio.

Pen Foods was the location for many fun events in addition to being something akin to a museum of food for sale. We'd see people all the time in Pen Foods that seemed anxious to meet (I think the place had the reputation of being a good meeting spot) but so often people seemed shy, too. So we put on a "Single's Night" which turned out to be jaw dropping in results - the Fire Marshall arrived to count people coming out before they would allow more to go in. News media came out to cover it almost like the Papal Visit (dare I say that?!) - filled to capacity didn't describe the event, but give people lots of interactive activities that will force them to talk in order to participate and laugh when they do - and shy goes out the window

Staff in so many ways really DID become family. It was a great store, a great city back then as it is now, and I still hear from folks who fondly remember my Father, my family, and Pen Foods; the store so often still spoken of in wistful tones as is the venerable old Frost Brothers of San Antonio. Which was very fine company indeed.

[huckster]

Lucha Libre was it called ? I used to never miss the televised Bullfighting on Sundays on KWEX.

Originally Posted by ranchodrive

Originally it was KCOR-TV & located at 411 E. Durango St.
The station would have a television set in the front of the building
for the public to watch "live" programing. My dad's favorite show
was the wrestling matches.
Later it became KWEX-TV & I worked there.

[ranchodrive]

[/b]

Originally Posted by huckster

Lucha Libre was it called ? I used to never miss the televised Bullfighting on Sundays on KWEX.

I just got off the phone with Mr. Morin who worked at KWEX beginning in the
60's. Andres Ricardo Morin "reporter/weatherman".

He confirmed that it was called "Lucha Libre". There was live wrestling matches
at the "Wrestlethon" in San Antonio over on Josephine St.
It was pre-recorded for television.
"Fritz Von Eric, Wahoo McDaniel, Thunderfoot Patterson, Duke Keomuka & Mil Masqueres"
are some the names that I recall.

The bullfighting was pre-recorded from Mexico. The only "live" programing was the
5 o'clock news. I worked in the news dept. KWEX was on E. Durango downtown.


Working at a Spanish station, I became aware of the differences in which
Spanish is spoken. There are many. Being from Laredo, I spoke mostly Spanish.
Coming to San Antonio, I spoked half Spanish & English. Then there was
"pachuco" Spanish At KWEX, the reporters from Mexico spoked a different
Spanish then my own.
Someone asked me if I dreamed in Spanish or English....

[Willsatx]

Originally Posted by huckster

Lucha Libre was it called ? I used to never miss the televised Bullfighting on Sundays on KWEX.

I remember in the 70's they taped them at the municipal auditorium and then at the junction on Blanco, the Spanish announcer was Rapido Rodriguez.

[ranchodrive]

Originally Posted by Willsatx

I remember in the 70's they taped them at the municipal auditorium and then at the junction on Blanco, the Spanish announcer was Rapido Rodriguez.

Mr. Rodriquez. I believe, was with Telemundo in San Antonio back then.
A really nice gentleman.