Oklahoma City Memories

[jmpokc1957]

Most of my memories centered around the NW part of town.

I worked at Kennards Grocery at 50th and MacArthur for a few years. Mr. Kennard was a great guy. He gave a lot of kids a chance at a job. I also remember the minimum wage was $1.30 !

Fishing on the docks at Lake Hefner was great fun. We could ride our bikes there and afterward we'd go to the ranger station where we'd get a pop and they'd let us go up into the observation tower.

There was the Oklahoma City Country Club( or something like that ) at 63rd and Portland Ave, across from channel 5. We belonged there for a few years and went swimming there. There was the Coronado Square shopping Center there, too. I remember the barber shop. Walk in on saturday morning and take a number!

My father was an engineer at the General Electric plant. That was in the days when a computer occupied an entire room.

NW 39th street still looked a lot like the old Route 66 it once was.

Good days and we managed to survive without cell phones, computers, the internet or video games.

Anyone else remember these things?


Mike

[Prunepicker]

Most of my memories centered around the NW part of town.

I worked at Kennards Grocery at 50th and MacArthur for a few
years. Mr. Kennard was a great guy. He gave a lot of kids a
chance at a job. I also remember the minimum wage was $1.30!

NW 39th street still looked a lot like the old Route 66 it once
was.

Good days and we managed to survive without cell phones,
computers, the internet or video games.

Anyone else remember these things?

Mike

$1.30 That would be 1968 or 69, right? I know Kennard's
daughter.

I was a southsider but did most of my cruising on the northside.
39th Expressway was a staple as was N. Classen, i.e. Hollie's
to Quick's.

[skyrick]

Most of my memories centered around the NW part of town.

I worked at Kennards Grocery at 50th and MacArthur for a few years. Mr. Kennard was a great guy. He gave a lot of kids a chance at a job. I also remember the minimum wage was $1.30 !

Fishing on the docks at Lake Hefner was great fun. We could ride our bikes there and afterward we'd go to the ranger station where we'd get a pop and they'd let us go up into the observation tower.

There was the Oklahoma City Country Club( or something like that ) at 63rd and Portland Ave, across from channel 5. We belonged there for a few years and went swimming there. There was the Coronado Square shopping Center there, too. I remember the barber shop. Walk in on saturday morning and take a number!

My father was an engineer at the General Electric plant. That was in the days when a computer occupied an entire room.

NW 39th street still looked a lot like the old Route 66 it once was.

Good days and we managed to survive without cell phones, computers, the internet or video games.

Anyone else remember these things?


Mike

Yep, a little west of my territory but that's right in the heart of my Miller Beer and Coca-Cola routes circa 1973-77.

[Generals64]

a $1.30 per hour?.....I started TG&Y at 65 cents per hour and after a couple of weeks got a raise to 80 cents....then (4 years later) $1.05 but, I got to work 54 hours a week with over time....Then Asst. manager...$125.00 a week and worked about 65 hours a week (no overtime....in middle management by then)...got married then I didn't ever know how much I got......oh yeah, $10.00 per week for lunch....for the week guys.....

[Prunepicker]

... oh yeah, $10.00 per week for lunch... for the week guys...

Let's see... $0.35 for a hot dog with everything + chili! $0.15
for fries and $0.10 for a fountain drink then $0.02 tax. That's
$0.62 x 4 because you went to El Charrito on Wednesday for
the enchilada special, that was $1.49 and iced tea was $0.15,
$0.05 tax $0.25 tip.

Hey! That's $4.42 on lunch. You had $5.58 for the weekend!
You made out like a bandit!

[jmpokc1957]

a $1.30 per hour?.....I started TG&Y at 65 cents per hour and after a couple of weeks got a raise to 80 cents....then (4 years later) $1.05 but, I got to work 54 hours a week with over time....Then Asst. manager...$125.00 a week and worked about 65 hours a week (no overtime....in middle management by then)...got married then I didn't ever know how much I got......oh yeah, $10.00 per week for lunch....for the week guys.....

Yup, about $1.30 an hour. That was about 1973. I remember when we got raised to $1.50 or so! Of course with gas
around 25 cents a gallon or less!

Kennards store did a big business, especially on Saturdays. I can remember looking on with awe when someone spent $100 on groceries and the four full carts it got you! Had to call another guy over to help me take it out.

I'll never forget one morning at the Community National Bank at 39th and Macarthur. I saw Mr. Kennard pull up in his beat-up old pickup and pull out sacks of money to take in to deposit. Just slung them over his shoulder and walked right in!!

Those were the days!

Mike

[papaOU]

My first by the hour job was the summer of 1965. Washed dishes at a hamburger joint downtown on California, just right across the street from the Santa Fe Railroad Station. Only worked the lunch rush Monday - Friday. $.50 an hour.
Downtown OKC was a very busy place during that time and era.

[Generals64]

Hey PapaOU was that Ellen's Grille?....there was a diner right across the street from the railroad station....

[skyrick]

My first by the hour job was the summer of 1965. Washed dishes at a hamburger joint downtown on California, just right across the street from the Santa Fe Railroad Station. Only worked the lunch rush Monday - Friday. $.50 an hour.
Downtown OKC was a very busy place during that time and era.

1st hourly job was busboy at El Charrito-Paseo. 1968. $1.11 an hour. Waiters/waitresses got $0.85.

[papaOU]

Chick's Burger Bar.

3 locations. On W. California across from Santa Fe Depot./ On Walker directly south from the Bus station/ The third on west side of N. Broadway around N.W. 8th or 9th.

Chick's and Cherries could have been mistaken for each other. Same tin (?) building (part of a bus) red and white paint job. Spinning stools, same menu. The location on N. Broadway I know changed hands at least once.

The burgers. So greasy that the bun started falling apart before you were half way through. A real chicken-fried steak sandwich. A hot steak which was roast beef on sliced white bread, mashed taters, all covered in a brown gravy. Individual boxes of cereals, single cans of soup. And a for real "malt" machine.

[Prunepicker]

1st hourly job was busboy at El Charrito-Paseo. 1968. $1.11 an
hour. Waiters/waitresses got $0.85.

Was Jorge ever the Maitre'd? He was at the one on S. Robinson
for years.

[skyrick]

Was Jorge ever the Maitre'd? He was at the one on S. Robinson
for years.

Florinda, the old-maid sister of Luis Alvarado, was the hostess for years, then after they sold out to the Cuellar family and became El Chico they hired some incredibly hot, blonde woman from Spain, whose name I can't remember.

[RealJimbo]

1st hourly job was busboy at El Charrito-Paseo. 1968. $1.11 an hour. Waiters/waitresses got $0.85.

The Paseo restaurant is still my favorite of all time. Lupe was the greatest. My standard order was the Explorer which we nicknamed the exploder.

[Prunepicker]

The Paseo restaurant is still my favorite of all time. Lupe was the
greatest. My standard order was the Explorer which we
nicknamed the exploder.

Did the Explorer have an enchilada, tamale, taco, rice & beans?

[OKCisOK4me]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone remember a place inside of North Park Mall that had a slide going out of it? I might have asked this before but I really can't remember. I believe it was on the west front of the main corridor kinda near the movie theater. It was a kids store and the slide went through the wall at the end and you'd slide out to the main walking area. I remember being a kid (early 1980s) and doing this. What was that place?

[Prunepicker]

I remember the menu at El Charrito's but not everything because
I always ordered the cheese enchiladas & iced tea. What was
the name of that?

Here are some of the names of the platters, I'm thinking
everything came with rice & beans.

The Defeat - wasn't that soft cheese tacos.

The Explorer -

The Village? or was that Monterrey House?

Laredo -

Nachos - a slice of cheddar and jalapeno on a chip.

What do you all remember?

[bluedogok]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone remember a place inside of North Park Mall that had a slide going out of it? I might have asked this before but I really can't remember. I believe it was on the west front of the main corridor kinda near the movie theater. It was a kids store and the slide went through the wall at the end and you'd slide out to the main walking area. I remember being a kid (early 1980s) and doing this. What was that place?

Tammy-Linn?

I thought it was the same people who did the Guy Madison's/The Madison Shop there. Here is an old Journal Record article from 2000 about the son who took them over.
Bnet.com - The Journal Record: Finding your life's work

[skyrick]

Did the Explorer have an enchilada, tamale, taco, rice & beans?

The Explorer was two enchis, rice and beans. $1.29 on Wednesdays. The Defeat, one enchi & one cheese taco w/no rice or beans, was $0.99 on Wednesdays. I hated Wednesdays.

[OKCisOK4me]

Tammy-Linn?

I thought it was the same people who did the Guy Madison's/The Madison Shop there. Here is an old Journal Record article from 2000 about the son who took them over.
Bnet.com - The Journal Record: Finding your life's work

I skimmed over the article and didn't see any mention of a slide. I wish it had pictures in the article of the old store. I have an image in my head but can't paint it, if ya know what I mean and my parents are so old they've probably forgotten the name of the store!

[CarltonsKeeper]

I remember the menu at El Charrito's but not everything because
I always ordered the cheese enchiladas & iced tea. What was
the name of that?

Here are some of the names of the platters, I'm thinking
everything came with rice & beans.

The Defeat - wasn't that soft cheese tacos.

The Explorer -

The Village? or was that Monterrey House?


Laredo -

Nachos - a slice of cheddar and jalapeno on a chip.

What do you all remember?

The Laredo!

The Juarez Special!

The Jalisco!

Wasn't the Juarez Special an explorer plus a Meat Taco and a Guacamole salad????

[village idiot]

I remember them having a "Boomer Sooner" on the menu. I asked the waiter one day why they didn't have a dish named for OSU and he replied: "senior we do. . .we call it The Defeat!

[gen70]

i remember them having a "boomer sooner" on the menu. I asked the waiter one day why they didn't have a dish named for osu and he replied: "senior we do. . .we call it the defeat!

lol..lol..

[Dood]

The restaurant you speak was called 'Lion's Share'. I worked at the one near to Grant Square bank on 44th and Western. I was a dishwasher.....almost every menu item included chili. Needless to say, dishwashing was a greasy job.

I also worked at the Del Rancho around the corner. (years ago there was a Griff's hamburger joint across the street...where the bank drive through is now). Anyway, at this Del Rancho, we stopped getting paid at 10pm and yet we had to stay later then that to clean up. I remember the managers name was Nadine. talk about a chain smoker....but she was likeable. She always called the owners 'Mr. and Mrs. '

[MikeOKC]

This thread should be a book.

[skyrick]

This thread should be a book.

This thread, and others like it in the Nostalgia and Memories Forum, are what got me started on OKC Talk. I googled C.R. Anthony's and Rothschilds to see whatever became of those stores, and this forum popped up in both searches. Sometimes when I wander into the political forums I want to abandon the whole site, but then someone will revive one of these threads and I'm hooked all over again.