Do you remember?
Do you remember swimming in the park? The Christmas parades on Main Street and the old swag lights that hung across Main Street and Route 13? You knew Christmas was getting close when White & Leonard's opened its toy store on the second floor Johnny's and Sammy's on Wednesday nights for chicken and dumplings and Gino's on Friday nights after Wi-Hi football games.
Then there was "Party Line" on the radio with Bill Phillips, and the great dj of country music, CR Hook at WICO -- and of course there was Jolly Jack during the WBOC news with John B. Greenberger and Roland Twigg reminding us to "tell 'em RT sent you.".
The S & H Green Stamp store was down by Carroll's. Use to get good prizes for collecting these stamps from grocery stores. Giant used to be more than just groceries. You also got your groceries from the Colonial Store on South Salisbury Boulevard
Remember the Wicomico Theater, the Boulevard Theater or the the Oaks Drive-In?
People would go to downtown Salisbury to Benjamin's or Hess Apparel or The Fashion Shop. Salespeople were friendly, mature and knowledgeable. And we actually dressed up for it. Hungry? There was also the Saddle Club or either go downstairs to Reads Drugstore lunchroom on your way out the back door to the parking lot or sit at the lunch counter in Woolworths. Read's Drug Store was the only place to pass through when other stores closed at 5 p.m. on Saturdays on the way to the new parking lot. Woolworth's had the long counter upstairs. Remember kids popping the balloons at the Woolworth's counter to see the discount? McCrorys on Rt 13 also had a lunch counter but they had a deal where if you ordered a banana split you could pick a balloon to see how much you paid for it. They said there was a balloon with a penny. As for the Benjamin family. They made sure that customers were treated with respect. That is what customer service was all about. Stores like that just don't exist anymore.
Does anyone remember how Watson's Smoke House stamped the date on a record when you bought it? Watson Smoke House was cool for not only 5 cent cigars but for the latest 45 record. An older gentleman by the name of Howard Riggins ran it, and was so very nice to kids. He would let you listen to recordings he had for sale, knowing we probably didn't have money to buy one. There was a soda fountain in the store, as well as a very hip magazine rack. We would often read it standing there. He never bothered us about reading and not buying, and whenever we had some money, we really would buy the magazine -- and even an album once in a while.
Do you want fresh vegitables? Go to any farmers stand and buying whatever was fresh-picked that day, and putting the right money in a mason jar.
Remember Polar Bar ice cream?, It tasted like home made.
What I really miss about the old Salisbury is being able to go places without being accosted by thugs. And feeling safe . . . and a sense of class in the businesses.
Salisbury was one of the last small towns (at the time) where everything would be closed on Sundays. No shopping or anything. It was sorta like they forced you to take a deserved day off.
Jack K Richards
23 comments:
The "bickering and dissention" that concern you have nothing to do with the absence of the things that you mention. And the troubles with Salisbury's City government can be traced directly to the conduct of Barrie Tilghman as mayor and that of her primary puppets -- Dunn, Cathcart, Comegys, Shields and Smith.
In the upcoming election in April we can begin to restore Salisbury by electing a mayor other than Comegys, reelecting Debbie Campbell and electing Cynthia Polk.
wonderful memories.... thanks
Love makes the world go round, but it's money honey that greases the wheel! - R.T. Twigg
What wonderful childhood memories this brought back! I remember leaving my name at the Jolly Jack store and watching it on TV to see if my name was drawn!
"There was also the Saddle Club or either go downstairs to Reads Drugstore lunchroom on your way out the back door to the parking lot or sit at the lunch counter in Woolworths."
I couldn't eat at those places, I lived on Lake St.
They were the "Good ole days" and yes I remember. Thank you!!
they were the good ole days!!!
Oh what fond memories. You would have to have been White middle income or above. Those were great times. I would have to drink out of a different water fountain. There were three arfican american cops in the whole county. One at the barrack, one at SPD, one at the Sheriff's Dept. Oh these were grand old times. Hey remember when that cop at the city shot that deaf black kid in the back who was running with handcuffs on. What a sight. You just cant buy those memories can you. Ahhhh. The riots afterward that nearly burned Cambridge to the ground. Oh the color of those flames. What an awesome thing. You cant buy stuff like that anymore.
It is funny how great memories are when you are one of the locals and have the right last name.
The children of these Grand Old Folks are now running the city and county Goverment you do the math. It is time for a real change. You can shine a Good ole boy up, but he is still just a crooked good ole boy at the end of the day. Time for change.
My wife said when she used to work at Bata shoe-store she always ate breakfast at Reads. I was still in diapers. Quick here she comes...
I’m sure growing up African American back in those days was rough. I can understand why you carry your hatred with you. The problem is, it’s today not yesterday. There is absolutely no way that you or anybody can change what we did in the past. You can’t even change what you said or did one minute ago. Everybody has to start living and enjoying today. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but we can sure make today a better day. Learn from the mistakes of the past and move on. A lot of our youth play some kind of sports today. The teams are made up of a mix of our society. The kids work together as a team to try and win. There are very little racial issues with these kids. The problem is they all have to go home. That’s where the problem is. We as parents have to teach our children how to respect people. It’s not the COPS, or the Politicians, it’s the parents who have to take control. If we as parents do decide to take control of our families we can not only fix the problems in our area but we can work together to change the problems with our government.
Just take control of your own family.
Mr. Richards:
Any idea how much theft occurred at the landfill during those "good old days"?
Anon 11:09
Very well said!!!!
10:38. I would bet a thousand large you are, in fact, as "urban" as Dolly Parton. 'Awesome'-why didn't you just completely give yourself away and say 'Jeepers'? Stop making trouble on a positive thread contributed by an experienced former citizen.
Things changed in the 60'or 70's at the Saddle Club when Mrs. Gertrude bought the place. The best cook and one of the most wonderful ladies that I ever met in my life used to work there. If memory serves me, I believe her name was Mrs. Libby! I worked there as a waitress and Mrs. Libby was a true gem! If she is still here and watching...Mrs. Libby, I remember how you taught me to get the shells off from hard boiled eggs in very little time!
Cindy
Thanks for the stroll down memory lane!!
My poppop Steele helped build most of Salisbury. I remember it well. He was a man that bartered with his friends and local companies. Pepsi gave him an old Dr. Pepper truck which he turned into a crane. He was a poor man's millionaire. Any one that knew him was rich by doing so. He and my mommom would drive me through Salisbury in his ole Goat(71Dodge ram pickup)and tell me this and that and remember when..... I remember how great it was to go to Parson's store and getting handmade sandwiches and him buying me a grape Nehi and a bag of penny candy. Ahhhhh great mememories. If you like the Red Roost restaurant, You can thank my Pop Ernest Steele, he was responsible for helping build it. He lived just passed it right on the Wicomico, in good ole muddy hole. He bought all the land when everyone thought he was crazy cause it was "nothing but swamp". When he and Bessie needed money , he would just sell a couple acres. GREAT MEMORIES!!!! Other than the GIGANTIC horse flies. It felt like they were big enough to carry you away. I would give my right arm to have my granny and pop back!!
Being only 18, most of these things I cannot relate to, but when I saw The Polar Bar, I'm brought back to Sundays when my Grandparents would take me there and buy me a Pepsi and if I was a good little boy they'd buy me my favorite donut, cherry with rainbow sprinkles. I also loved talking Redskins football with all of my Grandparents' friends there. Good times.
Ah yes, growing up in Salisbury and remembering all you have said, but what about the movies, the scary movies at the Ullman theater or the party room at the Boulevard. Now those are memories, or getting the ladder out of the back of Lesnar's shoes and being up high enough to watch the Christmas parade down Main St, or the Halloween parade contest on Main Street, now that's good old days, or learning to swim in the City Park by the Band Stand, being taught by the Red Cross, but before that you had to get a shot from Dr. William B. Smith, which by the way treated all kinds of folks, and even made house calls, WOW, WHAT HAPPENED TO SALISBURY??????????? I guess its progress or is it bad GOVERNMENT???????? Oh well I guess its still a memory.
I remember buying records at Watsons Smoke House from a man I still see around town. I believe I remember buying from George, the history guy on this blog, at Ralph and Gaskills mens store. I remember Acme being located downtown where the courthouse is now. I remember Peggys Stone bar. Most of all, I remember the most hatefull, racist, drunk of a mayor a town could ever have. He was a slobbering disgrace, Salisburys mayor!
Excuse me, but I worked at the soda fountain at Reads. One very good friend with whom I worked was black. Blacks were allowed at the lunch counter in Reads. Dunno about saddle club. It was outta my league.
8:57p.m.
In reference to your last sentence, well some things don't change! LOL
I loved the walk down memory lane that I just took. It brings back such fond memories!
I think credit should be given to Ernie Matthews who has this piece up on his 'Wi Hi 1961 Reunion" webpage.
A few observations. First, while blatant racism was a part of this country's past I do not onfer from the original post anything that makes me beleive the writer wanted a return to those days.
Rather he is harkening back to a time when life in this town was a bit simpler.
I have only been here since 1998 but I have watched the "urbanization" of Salisbury and the changes that it has brought...most of which have not improved our quality of life.
Government here did not anticipate the growth that would come and did not /does not have a plan to deal with it effectively.
If you drive around town you could be in any of many many small cities across America ....we have lost much of the character that made the area unique.....I think that is what the writer was lamenting...and I think he is right.
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