Oklahoma City Memories

[xrayman]

I know all the joke names for TG&Y, however, I have a question. (I know the answer, I am just seeing if anyone else does).

If you worked at TG&Y and remember your employee manual, you know this. What did the letters TG&Y really stand for?

Ahhhh.....Thompson, Goslin (sp?) and Young! I believe that there is still an art structure with their names on it at the airport. Great civic leaders from the past!

[xrayman]

I miss downtown as I remember it in the early sixties. The movie theaters of which a couple could have been called palaces, the department stores, the retail that kept it bustling. The art deco buildings we lost in urban renewal. A lot about the old downtown actually.

The fun places - Wedgewood and Springlake amusement parks. A lot of memories at both places.

Too many things that are gone to list! However, in their places are many great places that future generations will remember just as fondly.

[mranderson]

Ahhhh.....Thompson, Goslin (sp?) and Young! I believe that there is still an art structure with their names on it at the airport. Great civic leaders from the past!

You missed one.

[xrayman]

I did???
Thompson, Goslin (sp?) and Young.
That's TG&Y...
Trick question ----- or did I really miss something?
What do I win?????? I like my cars black or dark blue!
EDIT: You are absolutely right. I realize what I did, I won't ruin it for someone else and let the games continue! I guess that means my car color really doesn't matter, huh?

[mranderson]

[QUOTE=xrayman]I did???
Thompson, Goslin (sp?) and Young.
That's TG&Y...
Trick question ----- or did I really miss something?


Tomlinson, Goslin and Young.

[xrayman]

I had just edited my post above and saw your post.
I was close, but no cigar (or car).

[Moondog]

Yes, I know... the topic is called "Oklahoma City Memories".... but most of my memories are centered around my hometown of Guthrie and neighboring Edmond, which are part of the greater metro area

I can remember when Edmond's hospital was red brick and went by the name Edmond Memorial Hospital. I can remember when the doctors building on the SE corner was erected... I want to say around 1985.

Bealls, TG&Y, Edmond Discount Foods, Anthony's and Wyatt's Cafeteria were the main anchors at Bryant Square. There was another TG&Y at Edmond Plaza, along with a Skagg's Alpha Beta. There was a Safeway at 2nd & Broadway. The now-closed hotel across from UCO (then it was Central State Univ) was a brand new Sheraton. Another memory is when Kickingbird Square was built, anchored by a Foodworld, Hyde Drug and the Cinemas. In Edmond, there was nothing south of 33rd or west of the railroad tracks. And traffic in Edmond: I can remember when there wasn't any. Back then (1980s) Edmond was home to just about 35,000. (I believe it's up to about 80,000 now... I could be off just a little)

One memory that stands out: The 1986 Post Office shooting spree. A friend of my mothers just happened to be one of the postal workers who worked out of that post office. But he lucked out, he wasn't there during the rampage. My mom was pretty worried until she found out he was ok.

Now to Guthrie. Back then, downtown Guthrie wasn't the place for antiques, art galleries and B&Bs. Downtown was the place to shop for everything! We bought our clothing at JCPenney and Anthony's. There were numerous locally owned shops selling everything from dresses and shoes to hardware and electronics. My great-uncle operated the downtown Radio Shack until his death and along with his death came the death of the downtown Radio Shack. We knew it was back to school time when mom would take us to McVicker's Stationary Supply. I got my first bicycle from Otasco (anyone remember them?) Next door to Otasco, was Coast to Coast hardware -- which was pretty similar to an Ace or True Value. One of my earliest memories: Seeing E.T. at the Melba Theatre, now occupied by the Pollard Theatre. The town was angry when the Melba closed and the Pollard came in. That meant we had to go to the Beacon Drive In (still open) or go to Kickingbird Cinemas in Edmond.

The best memory I have of downtown Guthrie was in 1988 when I met Tom Cruise when him and Dustin Hoffman were in town filming Rain Man. I got his autograph and talked to him for like a minute. He was really friendly!

The Penney's and the Anthony's are both gone, as is the Otasco, McVicker's stationery store, Coast to Coast and pretty much everything else. However, Downtown Guthrie is anything but dead. Downtown Guthrie has just revamped itself into a tourist destination with the art galleries, antique shops, etc. I'll argue with anyone 'til I'm blue in the face that Guthrie has the best downtown of any town in the state. But the lure of Wal Mart and proximity to neighboring Edmond and OKC wiped out most of the real retail in Downtown Guthrie.

[carlinda50]

Wedgewood Park - When it first opened it was at 59th & N May Ave on the west side of the street, where Best Buy is today. We would drive south on May Ave and it was so exciting for a kid to see that little Ferris Wheel at the top of the hill ahead. I think they had a pony ride and a little bitty roller coaster. There was a golf driving range where dads could practice hitting the ball towards where Home Depot is now.

We lived between JMHS and Nichols Hills Elem. We'd shop at Corsin's or Humpty Dumpty in Casady Sq or Precure's in Britton, or even Puddin' Lanes IGA where Johnnie's is today. Britton Rd was 2 lanes. You could drive west from Puddin' Lanes (the bowling alley was on the N side of the street), past the Twilight Gardens (which had a great Kiddieland with a little train) and come to May Ave. Turn N on May and there was the Sonic on the west side and then the water tower and the Hangar, or turn S towards Wedgewood and you'd pass a Tastee-Freez on the left, then the Lakeside Theater and the shops across the street. I think there was a Humpty Dumpty at the S end of Lakeside shops, too.

There wasn't much on May then, but the just past the Sinclair station at 63rd & May, you'd see Wedgewood ahead.

Growing up in OKC in the 50's was the best.

[vineyardalto]

What a GREAT thread! Thought I’d add some of my many memories of OKC:

Danny Williams and co-host Mary Hart (later Kerri Robertson?) on “Dannysday” (our 10th grade Swing Choir performed on that show in 1979)

Ho Ho the Clown

Listening to KOMA and WKY in the mid to late-70s, when they were pop stations; debut of “album rock” station KATT

Springlake Amusement Park (the Big Dipper, Wilde Maus, Calypso, etc), Frontier City in the early days, State Fair of Oklahoma (as a kid, my favorite thing was the Native American dances), the Oklahoma City Zoo (I have home movies of my folks pushing me in a stroller around the zoo in 1966)

Penn Square Mall when it was an open air shopping center; the opening of the first mega-mall, Crossroads; Shepherd Mall

Shopping for toys at TG&Y, Gibson’s, C.R. Anthony’s, Walls Bargain Center, Streets, and … anyone remember this one? … AMC Department Store, now the AMC Flea Market

Us kids being dropped off at movie theaters such as the Apollo Twin, the Del City Theater, North Park Cinema

Eating at Kip’s Big Boy, Zider Zee Seafood Restaurant, Sleepy Hollow, chicken fried steaks at Del Rancho, Dotson’s Cafeteria, Don’s Alley, A&W Drive-ins (Papa, Mama and Baby Burgers)

Thanks for the memory of Linda Soundtrack -- I’d forgotten her!!

The late night horror movie (wasn’t there a “Dialing for Dollars” type of thing?)
Trust House Jewelers

B.C. Clark’s Christmas commercial

I remember going to dinner at a restaurant with my mom in either Moore or OKC in the early '70s, and watching Conway Twitty walk in and get a table. About a year ago, Mom pointed out his former house in Moore to me.

Leslie

[vineyardalto]

Was anybody else sad to see the Moore Shopping Center "golden arches" taken down?? They had been there since I could remember!

[xrayman]

I never knew that Wedgewood was on North May! What years??? I only remember Wedgewood on NW Expressway where the apartments are today. In fact, the "Lost River" ride dock (where you gave them your ticket and waited to get on) is still there. The bridge you walked across after paying is still there and on the farrr west side of the property you'll find HUGE stakes in the ground from anchoring the Tornado.

[vineyardalto]

A few years ago, I emailed MetroTech which is on the site of the old Springlake Amusement Park grounds, and asked did they mind if old visitors to the park could come and walk around. A very nice man wrote back and said you could come anytime during business hours and walk the grounds and see some of the park's memorabilia. I believe they have one of the horses from the carousel and one of the cars from the Big Dipper on display in one of the buildings. The original outdoor light posts were retained, and the base of the Alpine Skyline could not be removed so they made it into a fountain.

[carlinda50]

I never knew that Wedgewood was on North May! What years??? I only remember Wedgewood on NW Expressway where the apartments are today. In fact, the "Lost River" ride dock (where you gave them your ticket and waited to get on) is still there. The bridge you walked across after paying is still there and on the farrr west side of the property you'll find HUGE stakes in the ground from anchoring the Tornado.

This was between 1956 and 1958 when they moved out of the city limits to NW Expressway - You can do a yahoo search for Wedgewood Oklahoma and find a neat site with the park history and pics. There's a pic from the opening with my favorite robot, Bazark, there.

[xrayman]

Wow ---- What a blast from the past! The Wedgewood History website is great!
http://www.picturemeonline.com/wedgewood/

[Pete]

Have any of you nostalgic types explored the Oklahoman archives?

They charge (although I hear you can gain free access at OKC libraries) but you can sign up for as little as a day.

They have literally every paper since Day One on-line, and you can either just pull up a paper by date and page through it (everything is scanned, including ads -- looks just like the paper you'd buy at a newstand) or you can use various search tools.


I subsrcribed for a while and pulled tons of old ads and articles for a HS class reunion and for a similar thread on an OU board.


It's an amazing experience to 'leaf' through a digital version of the paper from any time this century.

[Pete]

I just uploaded a bunch of old ads and photos of TG&Y, OTASCO, Foreman Scotty, etc.

They can be found in my member's gallery here:

http://www.okctalk.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/515


Let me know if anyone has any requests for items to be added and I'll do my best to do so.

[Patrick]

Thanks malibu. I just approved your images. I love the images you uploaded. They bring back a lot of memories!

[Pete]

Even though it wasn't that long ago, here is a great website with lots of Molly Murphy's pictures and nostalgia:

http://members.aol.com/stoneforst/stonemain/mollys.htm

Who could forget the 'salad car' made out of a red Jag?

The place was arguably the biggest restaurant sensation in the recent history of OKC, with multi-hour waits common for many years.

[Doug Loudenback]

Great thread!

Let's talk about FOOD! Some of my favorite places in the late '50s, early '60s, were ...

Toddle House diner on NW 23rd, south side, west of Classen, near OCU. The BEST chocolate ice box pies EVER! Their hash browns were great, too, but I've never had a better chocolate ice box pie!

Beverly's Chicken In the Rough, the big one north of the state capitol. Loved it! It was by the old Park-O-Tell where we often stayed during high school debate trips when traveling to Okc from Lawton. Had some great shaving cream fights there, up and down the hallways!

And, of course, Glens (Glenns?) Hickory Inn on NW 10th ... anyone ever have a better steak? Cooked in open-pit flames, that's where I learned to love garlic on steaks, and lots of rare red beef!

Doug

[mranderson]

Great thread!

Let's talk about FOOD! Some of my favorite places in the late '50s, early '60s, were ...

Toddle House diner on NW 23rd, south side, west of Classen, near OCU. The BEST chocolate ice box pies EVER! Their hash browns were great, too, but I've never had a better chocolate ice box pie!

Beverly's Chicken In the Rough, the big one north of the state capitol. Loved it! It was by the old Park-O-Tell where we often stayed during high school debate trips when traveling to Okc from Lawton. Had some great shaving cream fights there, up and down the hallways!

And, of course, Glens (Glenns?) Hickory Inn on NW 10th ... anyone ever have a better steak? Cooked in open-pit flames, that's where I learned to love garlic on steaks, and lots of rare red beef!

Doug

Then there were the following. Kip's Big Boy, A&W, Coit's, the lunch counters at TG&Y and Jim's IGA, Underwood's BarBQue, among others.

[Bradley]

Saw a fan of Count Gregor - He will be speaking at the monthly Oklahoma Film Society Meeting about Acting and How to Survive in Television from 1pm to 2:30pm. Amazingly, he has been a horror host for over fifty years!

If you'd like to meet him and hear his story, we meet inthe Epworth Outreach Center on the corner of NW 150th and Penn - Enter from NW 150th - Go through Main Entrance to Elevator - we are across from the elevator in the Halloway Room. Hope to see some of his fans there!

Bradley

[mranderson]

Does anyone remember Beverly's Chicken in the Rough?

The late Mr. Osbourne's grand niece is a friend of mine, and that reminded me of how much an institution his places were.

I don't remember eating there, but he featured chicken without knives and forks. Basically like an indoor picnic.

Any information on this fine establishment would be appreciated. Memories, other stories.

[Doug Loudenback]

Does anyone remember Beverly's Chicken in the Rough?
The late Mr. Osbourne's grand niece is a friend of mine, and that reminded me of how much an institution his places were. I don't remember eating there, but he featured chicken without knives and forks Basically like an indoor picnic. Any information on this fine establishment would be appreciated. Memories, other stories.

That's exactly what I spoke of above, when I said,

Beverly's Chicken In the Rough, the big one north of the state capitol. Loved it! It was by the old Park-O-Tell where we often stayed during high school debate trips when traveling to Okc from Lawton. Had some great shaving cream fights there, up and down the hallways!

I've got some old postcard images, if you'd want to see them. They're not in my downtownOKC website since Beverly's wasn't downtown.

Doug

[windowphobe]

One Beverly's - the Pancake Corner, on Northwest Expressway just west of Penn - remains open for breakfast and lunch. I've been known to drop in from time to time.

[carlinda50]

Re: Beverly's - they had their own special dressing, it was white and a little like Ranch. I saw a recipe for it once and I would love to have it again. They even sold it in stores for awhile.

Crepes from Magic Pan would be nice, the peel and eat Shrimp that came in a huge bowl at Valgene's in Penn Square; El Charrito;Cherry's Drive-In. Best would be one of those combo meals from Kip's on N May that came with fries and a salad and hot fudge brownie dessert of some kind.