BOB'S MEMORIES
Tell us your fun memories about radio and
growing up in New Orleans in the 50's, 60's and 70's!
E-mail your memories to Bob Walker HERE
BOB's MEMORIES:
(Just a kid who grew up on Maple St. at South Carrollton Ave.)
The
Jax Beer "Golden Gill" fishing rodeo in Audubon Park
The
Audubon Park officer who would make you buy a fishing license for 50 cents
Putt-Putt
Golf
Mater
Dolorosa Church with Msgr. Joseph Pyzikiewicz ("Father Joseph")
...also
Father Philip Whitney, Father Henry Roth & Father Gerald Lefebvre
Mater
Dolorosa School with Principals Sister Patricia and Sister Walburga O.S.B.
...and
the unforgettable Sister Clare
Woolworth's
at Oak and Dublin
Amy's
Ice Cream Parlor on Maple St.
The
Mecca Theater
The
Raven Pizza Restaurant
Fried
chicken platters at the Camellia Grill on Carrollton at St. Charles (still
there!)
Eddie
Price's at Broadway & Zimple St. (Jerry Springer's old hangout)
The
Boot on Magazine at Nashville Ave.
Dusay's
Pet Store on Carrollton
Ye
Olde College Inn
The
Hobby Shop in the 8100 block of Willow St.
The
little guy in shorts who ran in the parades for Sunbeam Bread
Al
Hirt hit in the mouth by a thrown rock while riding a float in Bacchus
WTIX
orange Tenna Toppers
Archie
McConnell, the "King of Corn" on Bourbon St.
"Pic"
mosquito repellant...the green and stinky smoking coil on the dashboard
at the Drive-In
"Tunies"
tuna fish hot dogs (!)
Regal,
Falstaff, Jax and Dixie Breweries
Jax
Bock Beer at Mardi Gras
Pea-soup
colored streetcars rumbling down Canal Street
The
local TV newscaster who was drunk on air and got fired
Hap
Glaudi's political race
Lenfant's
The
locomotive engine in the rear of Audubon Park
Mayor
Vic Schiro's "Don't believe any rumors unless you hear them from me"
Concerts
at A Warehouse, 1820 Tchoupitoulas..."A Beaver Production"
Rodney
Fertel's run for mayor and promising two gorillas to Audubon Zoo
Dan
Dial's name on his bike as he rode around campaigning for mayor
(Imagine
a runoff for mayor between Dan Dial and Rodney Fertel!)
Miss
Sunbeam, the baby elephant at Audubon Zoo
Jo
and Crip, the Audubon Zoo whooping cranes
"Dawnbusters"
radio show every morning on WWL-870 (with Henry Dupre)
Half-hour
radio nighttime soap operas
Groucho,
Amos & Andy, and detective dramas on WDSU-AM radio
The
hot tamale man on the corner in front of Shambra's on Saturday nights (Jeff
Davis at Tulane)
Jax
Beer baseball teams
Pinball
machines (use the screens?) that paid off in bars all over town
"Shoot
The Bear" machines, claw machines and jars of pigs feet in bars
Signs
on streetcars and buses that said "Do not spit upon the floor"
The
Carrollton Centennial celebration and parade
The
WTIX "Lucky House Number" contest
"Andrew
Fabacher," the Andrew Jackson lookalike in Jax Beer commercials
"Papa
John Griesedeich" for Falstaff beer
The
rickety Seabrook drawbridge
Delicious
poboys at Martin's Restaurant
The
Beatles staying at Congress Inn on Chef Menteur Hwy.
The
Beatles concert at City Park Stadium on September 14, 1964
(with
Jackie DeShannon & The Bill Black Combo)
The
Hurricane Betsy Benefit Concert in 1965 at Municipal Auditorium
(featuring
Johnny Carson, Loretta Young, Bobby Vinton & loads of others)
The
"meteor" in Audubon Park
The
Audubon Park Tea Room and flying horses
Wright
Root Beer
Kids
in a cowboy hat photographed on a pony on the neighborhood sidewalk
The
paperboy and insurance man collecting door-to-door
School
paper drives
School
penny parties
"Popeye,"
"Little Lulu," "Henry," "Nancy & Sluggo"
and "Mutt & Jeff" comic books
The
soda fountain in S&S Drugs, Woolworth, K&B, Kress & Walgreen's
The
Hill Store for groceries
Hunting
in weeds for golf balls at Audubon and City Park
Saturday
matinees and cartoon festivals
Free
passes in popcorn boxes at the show
Collecting
foreign coins given at the door at the Saturday matinee
Merita
Bread with collectable Lone Ranger picture end flaps
Tip
Top Bread
Falkenstein's
french bread
Half
price admission at the show with an end flap from Blue Plate Margerine
Taking
a "ride" on Saturday night
Fountain
Cherry Cokes
All
movie theaters closed on Good Friday
You
weren't supposed to listen to the radio on Good Friday
Nuns
wore heavy habits and lived in a convent
Doctor
Nut soft drink
Metairie
and Kenner were "the woods" for hunting
Crowds
fishing on the lakefront at night
Royal
Castle hamburgers and root beer
The
Blue Room at the Roosevelt Hotel, with Leon Kelner & his orchestra
The
nightly Blue Room radio broadcast on WWL with announcer Don Lewis
The
Fountain Lounge at the Roosevelt, featuring Peter Toma and his Accordion
& Orchestra
O'Shaugnessy's
Bowling Alley
St.
Regis Restaurant
Bowlarama
The
Soap Box Derby on Wisner overpass
The
swimming pool at Audubon Park and the miniature park train
The
concession stand across the street from the Audubon pool
(where
everyone had to get delicious salty french fries after swimming)
Sam
Cortese and his Roman Candy wagon in a different neighborhood each day
Schwegmann's
Frostop
Lot-A-Burgers and root beer in frosty mugs that everybody stole
Cars
with St. Christopher medals and plastic Mary and Jesus on the dashboard
Rocket
radios with no batteries and antennas you plugged onto a clothesline
Conelrad
alert logos with triangles on radio dials at 640 and 1240 in case of attack
The
New Orleans Pelicans and Pelican Stadium at Carrollton & Tulane
John
Chase and Pie Dufour
Archbishops
Rummel and Cody
The
New Orleans States and the New Orleans Item
Mayor
Morrison and Police Chief Joe Giarrusso
Summers
in Waveland
The
2-hour drive getting to Waveland thru Gentilly and down Hwy. 90
The
White Kitchen with the sketch of an Indian building a fire on the sign
"Dead
Man's Curve" on Hwy. 90 where Jayne Mansfield was killed
Crabbing
at Little Woods
Dr.
Tichenor's "Cajun Pete," Pinky Vidacovich
The
LaPlace Snake Farm and roadside fortunetellers
"Tourist
Courts"
Kirshman's
"3-0-6-0 Dauphine Street, where the thrifty shoppers meet"
Rosenberg's
Little Betsy and "18-25 Tulane"
The
newspaper Dixie Doodle contest sponsored by Dixie Beer
Catholic
Action of the South and the Legion of Decency movie ratings
Express
70 busline
Ice
cream at Sealtest on Carrollton and Borden's on Airline
The
milk bottle atop the Sealtest creamery on Carrollton
The
"Hubba Hubba" sign on the Crescent City Connection bridge
Women
wearing hats and head scarfs in church...some with net over the face
Pony
tails and pedal-pushers
Hot
pants (Gawd bless 'em, especially the pink ones)
Mini-skirts
and calf-high boots (made for walkin'!)
Leather
skirts & outfits
Lotsa
pink lipstick
Bandannas,
hiding hair rollers
Bubushkas
Madras
Shirts
Nehru
Collars
The
air raid siren at noon
Catholic
church bells tolling the "Angelus" at noon (get up from your desk
and kneel)
Jim's
Famous Fried Chicken at Carrollton & Earhart
Playing
on Monkey Hill in Audubon Park
7
cent streetcar and bus fares with transfers
The
Swan Boat and end-of-the-year school picnics in Audubon Park
"Lucky
Bucks" in the newspaper...what odds!...have the $ bill with the correct
serial # & win!!
Laplace
Dragway
(Funny
Cars, "Big Daddy Don Garlits"
and "SUNDAY!
SUNDAY! SUNDAY!")
Dick
Bruce stuffing his face with McKenzie's pastries on TV