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HARRIS BLACKWOOD
Community Editor
‘Crummy’
memories
c
In the Broad
way musical,
“The Music
Man," there is the
famous scene
where the Wells
Fargo wagon is
coming to town
with all the the
instruments for the town’s new all
boy marching band. As the wagon is
approaching, the townspeople break
out into song and recall all the
excitement of having something
arrive via the horse-drawn transport
wagon.
Nowadays, we have to receive
everything either right now or at the
latest, the next day.
I used to like shooting pictures
with the old Kodak Instamatic. We
would take the film cartridge down
to the drug store and they would send
it off. I don’t know where "off’ was.
but usually in about a week they
would come back. The cosmetician,
a woman with big hair and way too
much makeup, would usually call the
house to tell me my pictures were
back. She was the first and only cos
metician 1 ever knew. 1 didn't buy
any cosmetics, but she was the fill-in
at the soda fountain, when the soda
jerk went on break.
I also remember sending off
memberships for various fan clubs
and for special offers in the back of
comic books. I ordered everything
from seahorses to secret decoder
rings. Once, I had to purchase a
money order to get a real robot set.
It turned out to be two pasteboard
boxes with some flaky gray paint.
There was something about wait
ing on things to come in the mail that
was special and gave me something
to look forward to.
But not for more than four to six
weeks.
One time, when something took
longer than the allotted time. 1
became frustrated. I couldn’t remem
ber the exact name of the company,
so I asked the postmaster what to do.
"Young man, if you don’t know
who’s sending you the package, we
don't know how to find it.” he said in
his official post office uniform.
"That’s crummy,” I said, and
walked off.
On my way out, I saw the answer
hanging on the wall. He could help.
His name was Richard Milhous
Nixon.
I went back inside and bought a
postcard.
"Dear Mr. President," I scrawled
in my best fifth grade penmanship. “I
have ordered goods from a company
and they have not been delivered by
our post office. This is just crummy.
I need your help, sir. Sincerely,
Harris Blackwood." I thought the
“sir" part would surely get his atten
tion.
Within a few days, I received cor
respondence from the assistant to the
assistant to the assistant to the
President assuring me that my com
plaint was being urgently addressed.
A few days later, a postal inspec
tor was dispatched from Atlanta.
They drove down only to find that I
was in school.
"Is he a teacher,” I’m told the
inspector asked. “No, he’s in the
fifth grade."
I soon received a letter from the
postmaster. He was quite concerned
in that all of his years as a postmas
ter, no one had ever referred to his
post office as “crummy."
He retired a few months later.
I sent the president a nice letter of
thanks and wished him a Merry
Christmas. I received a fancy White
House Christmas Card.
I was sad the day the day Nixon
resigned. I pulled out my Nixon let
ters and thought of throwing them
away. My momma, in a move of bril
liance, tucked them away in a drawer
and I did not see them again until
after she died.
I wish I knew what happened to
that White House clerk who respond
ed to a disappointed boy in Georgia.
I don’t remember if I ever got the
merchandise I was waiting on, but
the lesson I learned was priceless.
Harris Blackwood's column
appears Sundays in the Forsyth County
News. Send comments to lifestyles
Forsyth Life
* I / ~ I
Photo/David McGregor
Readers remember a simpler time in Atlanta
By Harris Blackwood
Community Editor
My column on the Atlanta of
yesteryear generated a wide range
of responses, most centered in the
era ranging from the late ‘4os to
the late ‘6os. I’ve categorized them
by place and locale.
Rich's, Davison’s and Downtown
For Avis Everett, the memories
include dressing up and taking the
trolley from Brookhaven to down
town with her girlfriends at the age
of 13. The girls would watch the
new clothes which were being mod
eled by youpg ladies on the runway
at Rich's Tea Room. She also
remembers trying on hats at
Regensteins. She also shopped with
her mother at Davison's (which
later became Macy’s) and would
dine across the street at the S&W
cafeteria. “Always wearing heels
and gloves," she writes.
Her husband, Ed. has memories
of eating at the Men's Grill in the
basement of Rich’s downtown store.
The S&W, also on Peachtree,
whs a popular stop for many who
responded.
“The S& W Cafeteria served the
best chess pie in town," writes Ms.
Carnes, “and their salmon cro
quettes with cream sauce were deli
cious.”
Cumming attorney Rafe Banks,
who grew up in Gainesville,
remembers eating at the S&W when
he would come to town, often to
shop at Muse's, a men’s store which
was located just down the block.
“I worked at Davison’s and
Thompson Boland Lee in my early
years.” writes Jane Crunkleton. “I
ate at the S&W and at F.W.
Woolworth’s. Those were good
years.” She also remembered an
early feature at Rich’s.
“I’ll bet no one else mention’s
Rich’s playroom. When I was a
young child, my mother would go
to shop at Rich's and would check
me and my brother into the play
room. The attendants were wonder
fully kind and had beautifully
attired uniforms.”
Art Kunzer, who grew up in
Decatur offers his memories of
downtown.
“I remember riding to Atlanta
with my mother and little brother
on the streetcar for a nickel,” writes
Kunzer. “We would eat at the S&W,
shop at Davison’s, get shoes at
Thompson Boland and Lee and
Forsyth County News—Sunday, March 14,20(M
have to go to J.P. Alien's where my
mom would shop." Like Banks,
Kunzer also remembers shopping at
Muse's for “husky” clothes at age
12.
Another downtown landmark
was the Henry Grady hotel. The
hotel, which was located near the
present day Peachtree Plaza hotel,
was a mainstay for Georgians who
were visiting the capital city.
The Paradise Room at the Henry
Grady holds a special memory for
Don and Myralyn
Harts-field, it
was the place
where Don
popped the ques
tion. "I also had
my bridesmaid
luncheon there in
high society,"
writes Myralyn.
“My wife,
Kay, remembers
going to lunch
there and wear-
I hajClr-SS
with two four barrel
ght I warcool.
x ' ~ 99
ing white gloves.,” writes Art
Kunzer. “We saw the Merry Mutes
with Dick Van Dyke and his buddy.
Phil Erickson, who later became the
Wit's End Players before TV fame."
The Yellow Jacket, The Varsity
and Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jacket was the
Varsity’s competition for the Tech
crowd’s business. The trademark
hot dog at the Yellow Jacket came
on a toasted bun. Paul Flood counts
that among his favorite Atlanta
memories. For Jack Murphy, the
memories of the Yellow Jacket and
the Varsity revolves around cars. “I
remember when I couldn’t wait to
build a ‘hot’ car just so I could
impress my high school buddies,
but mostly to impress the girls,”
writes Murphy. “I had a 55 Chevy
with two four barrel carburetors, a
full race cam and truck mufflers.
Man, I thought I was cool.”
Sandra Ford was a student at
Tech in the early ‘6os and still has a
football program from Nov. 30.
1963, a week after the funeral of
President John F. Kennedy.
“I was a majorette at Tech and
remember that part of the originally
scheduled program was a funeral
march, which we omitted,” writes
Ford. "We substituted another rou
tine instead.”
She said that the old football
program is chocked full of memo
ries. >
“The program had a lot of adver
tising sponsors that could make
your list of ‘do you remember' or
‘did you do'. For instance “The Top
O' Peachtree for drinks and fine din
ing. The Polynesian Lounge and
The Rendezvous Lounge in the old
Atlanta Biltmore Hotel. Munford
Do-It-Yourself stores. RAJAR
Drive-In restaurant on Lindbergh (I
don't remember that one!), Davis
Brothers restaurants, and the
Pickaninny Coffee Shop at Mammy
an Allen also had ads. The chair in
the Ivan Allen ad looks just like one
1 saw recently in a high fashion fur
nishings magazine,” she wrote.
Jane Crunkleton remembers the
colorful “Flossie Mae" a Varsity car
hop.
“He would come to the car in his
wild hat and jacket and reel off the
menu," writes Crunkleton.
For Bertie Carnes, no date was
complete without a stop at the
Varsity.
"Our movie dates in town were
always rounded off with a trip to
the Varsity," writes Carnes. “I
remember the toasted hot dogs from
the Yellow Jacket, but Varsity was,
and still is. my favorite."
Poncey Park and the Crackers
This was mentioned by many
who responded to our request for
memories.
Ed Everett remembers the big
oak tree which was the dominating
feature of the outfield at Ponce de
Leon park, which was home to the
Atlanta Crackers.
For Kunzer, it was a boyhood
pastime.
“Grandmother lived in Druid
Hills, and my dad would take my
brother and I to catch the streetcar
down Ponce de Leon to the ball
park. He would give us a dollar for
refreshments for the games ( a dou
bleheader). He would meet us at the
end oflhe streetcar line after the
game. We were in grammar
school!”
Another recollection: "I remem
ber many happy afternoons as a
child watching the Atlanta Crackers
at Ponce de Leon park, across from
the big Sears building." writes
Krunkleton.
West End
The area along what was once
Gordon Street out to the beginnings
of Cascade Heights was a thriving
area of Atlanta in the post w ar era.
"Everybody we knew either
went to West End Baptist or Park
Street Methodist Church," writes
Myralyn Hartsfield. "If you learned
all stanzas of ‘We’ve a Story to Tell
to the Nations (a Baptist anthem).'
then you were treated to a Scarlet
Nectar (like a soda) at Lane’s
Drugstore on the corner of Lee and
Gordon Streets."
One of the city’s best known
locales for steaks was Pilgreen's on
Lee Street. Paul Flood listed this
among his favorites.
Another venue on the southwest
side of the city was the Lakewood
Fairgrounds, home to the
Southeastern Fair.
“One of my uncles operated the
rollercoaster at the Lakewood fair
grounds for a while, and we young
folks certainly took advantage of
that,” writes Carnes.
“My father was from North
Georgia and always wanted to see
the trophy hogs and cows when the
Southeastern Fair was in town. 1
can almost hear the sounds and
smell the various odors that sur
rounded the fair.”
For Carolyn Pittman, the old
Atlanta to Stone Mountain streetcar
was almost as exciting.
“Maybe you never had the thrill
of riding the streetcar from Atlanta
to Stone Mountain," writes Pittman
“After the route reached Avondale,
most of the track was off-road and
went along beside the railroad
tracks. When the streetcar reached
that point, the operator would open
up the speed. The streetcar would
rock and sway at such speed. I
would pray to arrive alive! 1
guessed that the feeling must be
akin to a ride on the rollercoaster at
Lakewood which I was not permit
ted to ride."
This is a condensed version of
your responses. Many thanks for
yourmemories.
Shanty’s on
Peachtree.
The special
at the coffee
shop was a rib
steak, salad,
baked potato
with biscuits
for $1.65 ...
truly. I have
this in glorious
black and
white. Georgia
Power and Iv-
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