Gone But Not Forgotten in San Antonio! - Part I (Houston: learners, Irish)

[49 Olds]

Posted by centaur1

“And of course. you remember the Sommer's Drug store and Winn's at the corner of Blanco and Fulton. Casbeer's has been there forever. I can't believe they put that roundabout in and squeezed Blanco down to one lane in each direction from Hildebrand to Summit. It seems that our elected officials do everything to impede the smooth flow of traffic.”

Across the street in the 1950’s was J. Kahn & Associates, auction gallery. It became a Country & Western nightclub I think called the “Junction”, then the wrestling arena. At the northend of the block at the time was a café that sold a cheap steak dinner. In the early 70’s became the first (and best) BLANCO CAFÉ. Complete Mexican dinner for $1.79 on Fridays, $1.99 other days. My first choice for tex-mex then Jacala. Just across the side street was the Blanco locker plant and cold storage (name may be off a little). After the locker plant closed Blanco café used the building for storage for years. Refurbished into attorney offices a few years ago. Blanco locker plant may have been the same owner who had a meat market across Blanco road between Casbeer’s and I think a grocery story on the north corner and sold to the public. The meat market may have been in the back of the grocery store. I was 11 yrs. old so memory is a little iffy.
He told my dad how he cured the meat for so many days at a certain temperature and it turned black and green. Among other meat we would buy whole beef tenderloins for Sunday grilling. The most tender and best tasting meat I have ever eaten.

I don’t understand the need for the traffic island either.
Next step make it a toll road roundy roundy!!!!!!!!

[texasoasis]

I have been here since 1969, it is heart breaking to see how much has changed. You used to be able to get the best fried fish at "The Flame" drive in.

If you watch Goldie Hawn's old film Sugarland Express in the long car chase a corner gas station in Converse, Texas was filmed as they went through.

As a teen I spent many nights at the Stardust drive in out in Schertz that is gone now, and there was another nicer drivein in Live Oak, Tx but it's gone too.

Out in Helotes there was a beer&food establishment where Willy Nelson would play, they used to bake fresh bread there and the chili was fantastic, they sold out to someone who took out the neat hanging antiques and the great food and they commercialized it so much that they totally destroyed the hill country ambiance of it.

I used to shop with my mother at SoloServe when the prices were great! New ladies slips for a quarter and new shoes for a buck, fifty!

Piggly Wiggly Food marts were everywhere.

The population was much less diverse back then, not near as hostile or as dangerous as today and much friendlier.

The good old days are gone, I feel bad for the younger people that missed it.

[irnag]

Originally Posted by texasoasis

Out in Helotes there was a beer&food establishment where Willy Nelson would play, they used to bake fresh bread there and the chili was fantastic, they sold out to someone who took out the neat hanging antiques and the great food and they commercialized it so much that they totally destroyed the hill country ambiance of it.

Are you referring to Floore's Country Store? Where there was a $200 fine for fighting?

[rsasse]

Actually the Handy Andy on Army Blvd was #1. I worked there for 1 week in 1956; then I transferred to #12 further north accross the street from he old Alamo Hts junior HS. Found out later that the manager of HA #1 fired everyone a week after I'd left

[rsasse]

Hey '49 Olds' you and I graduated the same year, only I went to Alamo Heights. There wasn't much of a rivalry back then as you guys would regularly pound our butts. I think the score was 48-7.
So you're old enough to remember the Wrestlethon on Josephine Ave? Remember the little old lady who would jab the wrestlers in the butt with a hat piin? Was televised on WOAI.

[rsasse]

The two sporting goods stores on St. Mary's wer Potchernicks (sp?) and American Sporting goods.

[rsasse]

Speaking of frosted mugs, before air conditioned cars, we would always stop at Weber's Root Beer on our way home from shopping down town to cool off wit a frosted mug of root beer. They had car hops who'd bring they tray out, hang it on the driver's window and give you a "little Cow" (small mug for me), a "Black Cow for mom (scoop of icecream) and a regular for dad.
Webers was located on Broadway just north of where I35 crosses.

[rsasse]

Originally Posted by tjdsatx

OzzyRules, my dad worked there 35+ years, so that place was like a second home. They had a large man-made lake that was stocked with pretty large catfish. They also had an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a smaller kids pool that was open to employees and their families (spent MANY days there during the summer). I looked at Google Earth and it it looks like they filled in the pools because it's green where they were....probably for safety reasons - didn't want a large "skate park" The lake was horse shoe-shaped and wrapped around the pools. There was a concrete grandstand (still visible on the pic).....they had water shows on the lake at one time and private parties on the Buckhorn grounds.

My Dad worked there too. He was an announcer for the "Aquacad" swim shows the brewery used to put on.
I remember swimming is the pool and they had a diving tower in the middle with 3 metre, 5 metre, and 10 metre diving platforms.

Do you remember the great bar-b-ques they used to have with live country bands? Back then a "keg" of beer was 32 gallons and barely fit into a 55 gallon drum. Then they'd pack ice around the keg.

[rsasse]

Concerning the Buckhorn. When I was about 12, we'd go downtown and park at the Joske's lot and go to shop at Joske's, then walk to Houston Street and walk west to Wolf & Marx and go one block further to the original Buckhorn Saloon. It had a black and white tile floor, fun house mirrors and a majic tricks store. I'd usually buy an Adam's trick like a finger guilotine and walk back up to our car and drive home.

[rsasse]

Originally Posted by TexasBAD

I saw John Wayne's "The Alamo" and "The Dirty Dozen" sitting up in the balcony at the Majestic Theater. Our mother would drop us kids off there on Saturdays and she would go to the beauty shop across from the Alamo to get her hair done and then go shopping at Joskey’s before picking us up. When I was about 10 years old I remember and “Old Timer” saying to us: “I wouldn’t go up there, that’s where the “Negros” used to sit.”

Majestic Theatre

Even on the Majestic website, they tell you tahat the Majestic had three balconies. What they don't tell you is that the top two balconies were for black people only and that the ticket booth was on the street behind the theatre.