Living in the Past, Springfield Style, Part I

Ok, you caught me.

On more than one occasion, I've been accused by any number of people of living in the past. Yes, I do like spending precious amounts of time trying to remember things from my childhood, like almost everyone I know does. I was just dusting off some of the cobwebs so, feel free to join me. A trip down memory lane - The Queen City of The Ozarks circa the 1970's:

• How did that jingle go for Swiss Villa Amphitheatre in Lampe? (...Swiss Villa, where the Star's Come Out At Night!) Larry Wood @ KY3 gets the credit for creating it. And for those who read this blogg @ KY, tell Elrod I never forgot it either.

• My favorite drink at Taylor's south side location, across the street from Aunt Martha's? (Cherry-Vanilla Dr. Pepper)

• Who was that barber that pealed my noggin like an onion at the Professional Building when I was still an ankle-biter? (Well, none other than Herb @ Herb's Barber Shop)

• I remember Herb's Barber Shop too. The lighting was kind of yellowish, there was a TV mounted up high in the corner. The floor had linoleum tile with little gold/brown flecks in the pattern. And there was a shoe shine stand.

• Who was the woman behind the fountain at the Professional Building that served me up a huge chocolate malt AFTER I got my head pealed by Herb? (Flossie)

• Who were the two Pharmacists behind the counter, one older, one younger...and both of them were bald. (Easy one there. My dad & grand-dad :)

• What was the name of the nice old janitor at the Professional Building who would lean down and talk to me? He was distinctive in that he wore nothing but Florsheim wing tips when he worked. (Thomas was his name, but I always heard others refer to him as Black Thomas. There has never been a kinder soul than that man. Sad ending. He was shot to death in an apparent burglary/robbery attempt some years ago here in Springfield.)

• Walking through the "Bargain Breezeway" on the West side of Heer's.

• Laughing when someone called Heer's "Here's." I knew right away they were from out of town.

• Meals in the Dogwood Room.

• "Consumers, Consumers, the Best Supermarket Under the Ozark Skies" (Clarence & Edna Wheeler - BOTH class acts!)

• There was a restaurant there in the Plaza Towers @ Sunshine & Glenstone. Damned if I can remember the name of it. Right up until it closed, it reeked of the 70's...and I loved it.

• Ditto with the original name of the night club where Studebakers - now Foreplay strip club is today. I remember seeing the guys in their white polyester leisure suits, strutting up to the door, in search of a pretty young bird to hook up with. Damn, I wanted to be one of those guys when I grew up.

• Ebenezer’s Restaurant.

• Toby's Restaurant (corner of Campbell & Walnut, where the bookstore is now.)

• The Library / Ray Yep's Cafe USA / Ray's...all inhabiting the same building at Oak Grove and Sunshine. One of the few lots in town that was cursed. I always thought that building would have been one hell of a nightclub, but it was torn down, and now is a Great Southern Bank branch.

• Crazy Cecil's Toy Land.

• Napolitano's Restaurant on Walnut Street (This used to be a very nice place to spend an evening out. Start at the Landers and walk east toward Jefferson. Stop at the photo studio and that's where it was. The 2 big circles above, on either side of the studio's name, used to be pizzas.)

• Sunshine Drive (Where Corporate Center is now.)

And I'm going to take a breather for now, but not to fear, I'll keep on with the list over the next few days. So many memories! Hope you enjoy them as much as I have remembering them!