Gone But Not Forgotten in San Antonio! - Part I (Mission: owners, youth)

[PoliceCaptain]

Originally Posted by 940

This thread is for those who have lived in SA for some time now or maybe just have memories of places that no longer exist. It might be interesting to some of the newer folks who have no idea what used to be here, whether it was a beloved place or just something different that you can't find anymore.

I'm in my early 40s but I remember all the old movie drive-ins that used to be everywhere in the city. We used to frequent the old Bandera Rd Drive-In that used to be located at the SE corner of Bandera and Loop 410 where the old Target building sits empty. We also used to go to the Fredericksburg Rd Drive-In about a mile past Crossroads Mall (the old Wonderland Mall) just south of Loop 410. I remember the Woodlawn, the Mission and the Valley Hi theaters also.

For those that live on the far west side near Potranco Rd, there used to be a business just about 1/2 mile south of Potranco outside 1604 where you could drive back into the woods and target shoot. It was called appropriately enough "A Place to Shoot"...original, eh?! That wouldn't go over so well now with all the new homes being built, of course.

Also, at the eastern corner where Potranco Rd and Talley Rd deadends, was an old country gas station and store named "Reds" with old 1930s or 1940s gas pumps. It was owned by Mr and Mrs Red Laidley and they stocked everything from some basic groceries to farm and ranch equipment and feed for livestock. Most people don't know this but if you can find an old scary movie entitled "Race with the Devil" starring M*A*S*H TV star Loretta Swit and also starring Peter Fonda, you can see just how rural Potranco and that area used to be. The film was made around 1973 and the premise of the film involved two couples trying to get away from devil worshippers who caught them spying on one of their sacrifices..anyway..the scene shows them driving on Potranco towards Talley Rd in their RV and stopping at Reds for gas and information. You get a great shot of what the interior of this old country store looked like and you see both Mr Laidley and his elderly wife who had bit parts in the film. In the distance, you can see empty farm land and not the sea of homes that inhabit the view now.

The old gas station there off Culebra just to the west of 1604 that I hear was finally demolished for a new Jim's was called "Dan's"...it was similar to the store just mentioned above..Red's...everything seemed to have just one name! It serviced all the farms and ranches on FM 471 from where the old Grissom Rd intersected to the east all the way west towards the county line.

Anyone else have any old memores? I'll add some more later!

Floyd's Dairy Bar on Goliad Road. A couple of picnic tables under an overhang. Hamburgers at 6 for $1 in a white paper sack. 1968.

[SATX56]

Originally Posted by PoliceCaptain

In 1971, I drove a Tiner's truck the summer after my junior year at Highlands High School. It was a kind of a pickup with a freezer in back, no doors. Blue and white and my truck played "3 Blind Mice" over and over. Every morning we'd pick up our trucks at Tiners (somewhere around W. Commerce), sign out for the boxes of ice cream and head for our neighborhoods. My route was in Highland Hills. It seems like I cleared around $20 -$30 on a good day.

I remember the Cravy ice cream trucks. They were blue & white and were around before tiner's came along.Think all the ice creams were 5 cents in the 50's then they went to 6 cents. I think cravy and some of the others operated out a cold storage place on Colorado just north of I-10. Between I-10 & Culebra. In fact that place was still in operation not too many years ago. Cravy used like early 50's chevy trucks. Tiners were later model don't recall what type. Think they were orange & white.

[SATX56]

Originally Posted by PoliceCaptain

Floyd's Dairy Bar on Goliad Road. A couple of picnic tables under an overhang. Hamburgers at 6 for $1 in a white paper sack. 1968.

I know of Floyds . A place to shoot was on 1604 even in the 80's. They now call our old Lake side shooting range "A Place to Shoot" I believe. South of town out old Pleasanton Road actually Moursund along side Mitchell Lake.

Anybody remember Art's drive in? Just north of Division on S. Flores. Near St Leo's Catholic Church. 1950's era , at least 6 hamburgers for a dollar. Art and his wife Ann ran it . She would car hop on occasion. Had to be in their 50's or 60's. It was a small building. They had a bar (served root beer & such, no alcohol) frosted mugs of course. They had a couple booths a couple tables a shuffle board game and an old round top juke box. The building was still ther until the meat market built there a few years back.

[SATX56]

Originally Posted by Willsatx

I think around 1981-82 the eckerds opened up next to supercuts i thnk, the winn's i think opened around 83 or 84. But yes Winn's was at the far end and it was a preety good size store. I remember Revco only being at Shoppers City from about 1980 till i think the early 90's.

We went to the Eckards next to Supercuts & Academy a lot. Still think it changed to Revco then CVS and I assume it closed when they built the new one right out at the edge of Flores & Military.

[SATX56]

Originally Posted by disappear-here

You're right about the Winn's. I think you're right about the Revco too (that rings a bell). Maybe it wasn't Skillern's or maybe it was both at one time or another.

I now have the skinny on Winn's in strip with Academy. My daughter just reminded me it wasn't Winn's it was Crafts Etc. NO wonder it was mistaken for a Winn's. Also I do believe Skillern's was where Walgreens used to be in Shoppers City. Was the coin shop B & E or something similar?

[SATX56]

Originally Posted by willsatx

is that coin store still in there?

b & e ?

[Willsatx]

Originally Posted by satx56

We went to the Eckards next to Supercuts & Academy a lot. Still think it changed to Revco then CVS and I assume it closed when they built the new one right out at the edge of Flores & Military.

The Revco was always at Shoppers City, and Eckerds was there with Kroger for many years.

[Willsatx]

Originally Posted by satx56

I now have the skinny on Winn's in strip with Academy. My daughter just reminded me it wasn't Winn's it was Crafts Etc. NO wonder it was mistaken for a Winn's. Also I do believe Skillern's was where Walgreens used to be in Shoppers City. Was the coin shop B & E or something similar?

Winn's store opened in the strip as i mentioned early, a family friend worked at that Winn's. It became Crafts etc when Winn's went under in the early 90's.

[SATX56]

Originally Posted by Willsatx

Winn's store opened in the strip as i mentioned early, a family friend worked at that Winn's. It became Crafts etc when Winn's went under in the early 90's.

Your correct , My wife just told me it was a Winn's before Crafts Etc. My daughter was born in 1984 so she doesn't recall Winn's only Craft's Etc.

[Willsatx]

Ok thought i was losing my mind.