Introduction

Downtown Wichita Falls, Texas, in the mid 1940’s was a bustling metropolis for a boy of 7 just away from the farm and ranch community where he was born. My father, a cook and cowboy by trade, had just started as one of the first cooks for the Casa Manana restaurant in 1947. He moved us to an apartment on Ohio Street, right across from the Gem Theater, between 7th and 8th Streets. It’s here that we would stay for the next three years. The Gem Theater became a magic palace for a young mind. But it had to share that distinction with the rest of the magic that was Wichita Falls. I attended San Jacinto and Carrigan elementary schools, as well as Reagan Junior High, and belonged to the Boys Club on 6th Street. Please join, and share your stories and pictures through a Guest Blog, of early Wichita Falls - or your home town. Contact me at fadingshadows40@gmail.com or leave a comment. We could use old pictures of movie houses, drive-in theaters, and other nostalgic pictures related to our youths.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Fill 'er Up?


Nah, just a dollar’s worth and check the air, please. Where’s the local drag? Ah the cars of the 1950s. And service station attendants actually checked the air pressure. Just ask someone to check your oil today – ha! When I was 16, one of my running pals had an older sister with a 1955 or ’56 Chevy that looked a lot like this one. She would take us riding an listening to Snuff Garrett’s Rock ‘N’ Roll show on the radio, and I remember her making the car dance on the street as she drove it. I try to do that today with our car, but Ginger bops me over the head making me stop (sigh).

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