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November 10, 2020

Ads from St. Mark’s Yearbooks — 1960s

Wall’s Delicatessen, Preston Royal, 1968

by Paula Bosse

I love ads. Here are several from various editions of the Marksmen, the yearbook of St. Mark’s School of Texas, a North Dallas landmark. Above, another North Dallas landmark, Wall’s Delicatessen in the Preston-Royal shopping center. The full ad is below (all images are larger when clicked).

1968

The Pit Club, at the Bronco Bowl.

1965

Jack in the Box, 3545 Forest Lane (west of Marsh).

1965

ICEE — “Get a glob of your favorite flavor.” (The ICEE/Slurpee machine was a Dallas product, courtesy of the John E. Mitchell Co., which I wrote about in 4 separate posts — the main one is here, with links to the 3 posts about its WWII munitions work linked in the first sentence.)

1966

Reynolds Penland, Preston Center.

1966

The Dallas Music House, Preston Royal.

1968

While we’re at it, Melody Shop — 4 locations, none of which is NorthPark (yet).

1965

Speaking of NorthPark, looks what’s coming. “Soon.”

1965

Another mall, way across town, Big Town, “a city of shops.”

1968

A change of pace: a city of medical institutes, the Leland Fikes Research Center (including what is now Carter BloodCare), on Harry Hines Blvd. (color photo is here). (A history of the former Wadley blood center can be found in this 1984 article from D Magazine.)

1966

The Torch, 3620 W. Davis.

1965

Dominique, 7713 Inwood Road.

1965

Preston State Bank (formerly the Highland Park State Bank), 8111 Preston Road. Their “Presteen” checking accounts were for high school and college students.

1965

Vick’s Steakhouse — “House of D’lish Foods” — Northlake Center (E. Northwest Highway and Ferndale, Lake Highlands). (According to a full-page newspaper ad from 1963 — which you can see here — the steakhouse was actually part of “Vick’s Northlake Dining Center” which was comprised of the steakhouse, Vick’s Northlake Cafeteria, and Vick’s Northlake Club, the latter being a private club which charged $10 a month, the equivalent of more than $75 in today’s money!)

1965

Zuider Zee, 5427 Denton Drive.

1965

Beard Plumbing Co., “installers of larger mechanical work,” 510 W. Davis. (I thought the fountain pictured might be the one in One Main Place, but that fountain (which, incidentally, was designed by the same man who designed the fountain at Lincoln Center in New York, J. S. Hamel) — did not make its appearance until the end of 1968.)

1965

UPDATE: Found an earlier ad in the St. Mark’s yearbook identifying the fountain as being in the Dallas Trade Mart:

John Niland’s Kings of Bar-B-Que, 5423 W. Lovers Lane — one of many Dallas restaurants owned by current or former Dallas Cowboys.

1968

Fox & Jacobs Construction Co., 12020 Denton Drive. I’ve heard of Fox & Jacobs houses all my life but didn’t realize until a few years ago that it was a Dallas company and not a national one. A history of F & J can be read in a 1978 D Magazine article here.

1965

Lucas B & B, 3520 Oak Lawn — the granddaddy of the 24-hour diner.

1965

Neiman-Marcus — “There’s only one way a St. Mark’s man can go… up!”

1965

Pandemonium, 2621 McKinney Avenue. “There is only one way for a St. Mark’s man to go… groovy!”

1968

***

Sources & Notes

Ads are from the 1965, 1966, and 1968 editions of the St. Mark’s School of Texas yearbook, Marksmen.

See other St. Mark’s-related Flashback Dallas posts here.

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8 Comments

October 25, 2020

Highland Park High School: Ads from the 1964 Yearbook

Charco’s on Lemmon — with “14 friendly electronic speakers”

by Paula Bosse

Here are a few ads from the 1964 Highlander, the yearbook of Highland Park High School — some of the ads feature HPHS students. (Click ads to see larger images.)

Above, Charco’s, 5300 Lemmon Avenue (James R. Inman, manager). The full ad is below. This was the third “Charco’s Circle-Thru” drive-in, following the first location at 6375 E. Mockingbird (at Abrams), which opened in 1957, and the second location at 10218 Garland Road.

Danny’s Waffle Shop (Danny L. Edwards, owner), 171 Inwood Village. Featuring students Chris James and Suzy Corgan up on the roof.

Sanborn’s Hi-Fi-Center (Charles Larsen, president), 5551 W. Lovers Lane. Featuring Peggy Merritt and Jan Hugenin.

The Army-Navy Surplus and Salvage Store at 4538-40 McKinney Avenue (Julia Cooper, owner). Featuring students Liz Wilson, Gay Crowell, and Suzanne Shepard.

S & S Tea Room, 25 Highland Park Village (Dr. Raymond C. Libberton and Mildred A. Libberton, owners). Featuring waitress Lyn Ashmore with students Suzanne Presley, Bev Vaughan, and Susan Behrman. (Dr. Libberton was still a regular presence at the restaurant until his death in 1976 at the age of 104.)

Midnight Coiffures, 5628 Lemmon and 4826 Gaston (Esther Groves, owner). “Dallas’ only midnight salon.” This is a great idea!

Centex Construction Co., 4606 Greenville Avenue (Tom H. Lively, president).

Dr Pepper, national headquarters located at Mockingbird and Greenville. Ad featuring teen bridge players Nancy Naber, Sue Fincher, Johnetta Alexander, and Melinda Anderson. “Frosty, Man, Frosty.”

La Tunisia, 200 N. Exchange Park (Iqbal Singh Sekhon, general manager — he previously managed Safari in North Dallas at Preston and Royal).

***

Sources & Notes

All images from the 1964 Highlander, yearbook of Highland Park High School.

Other Flashback Dallas posts which have dipped into the HPHS yearbooks can be found here.

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October 11, 2020

“A Man’s Shop With a Texas Man’s Viewpoint” — 1945

by Paula Bosse

Back when men wore Western pearl-snap shirts embroidered with cardinals, leaves, and acorns — and, if this ad is anything to go by, they wore them proudly and unironically.

Frankly, I’d like to see a return to this style.

“Wherever Texas men gather to relax and play
you’ll see fine sports clothes by Irby-Thompson.”

Western Suit: $115 (equivalent in today’s money to about $1,660)
Sport Coat: $45 (today, $650)
Slacks: $20 (today, $290)
Tie & Handkerchief: $5 (today, $73)

***

Sources & Notes

Ad found in the pages of the 1945 Texas Country Day School yearbook.

Irby-Thompson (housed in the Mercantile Building), was opened in 1944 by Collis P. Irby and J. S. Thompson; in 1948 Irby and his former store manager, Count Mayes, bought out Thompson and became Irby-Mayes.

Related: see the Flashback Dallas post “Irby-Mayes Ad With a Cameo by the Merc — 1948.”

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6 Comments

October 8, 2020

Awaiting the “Victory Fair” of 1946…

by Paula Bosse

Many of us are missing the State Fair of Texas, canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last time the fair was canceled was during World War II. Here is an ad from 1945, assuring everyone that the State Fair would be back in 1946.

Dallas Texas Victory Fair in ’46

Since the day we turned the entire facilities of our grounds and buildings into a base for military operations, officials and management of the STATE FAIR OF TEXAS have been dreaming and planning for the time when more than a million people would again throng the nation’s greatest annual exposition. Now those long-made plans are becoming realities that will focus the eyes of North and South America on Texas in 1946!

***

Sources & Notes

Ad found on eBay (originally published in the “Billboard Cavalcade of Fairs,” Dec. 1, 1945).

More Flashback Dallas posts on the State Fair of Texas can be found here.

September 9, 2020

Luby’s, In Dallas Since 1929

Luby’s No. 2, Main Street, 1954 (photo detail)

by Paula Bosse

The liquidation of Luby’s restaurants was announced this week. There are a lot of people (Texans in particular) who are going to take this news hard.

I spotted the Luby’s seen in the picture above in a photo I found on eBay a few years ago (see the full photo here). I was surprised to learn that the first Luby’s in Dallas opened in 1929. (I think it was the first Luby’s in Texas — there might have been a tangentially related “Luby’s”-branded restaurant in Muskogee, Oklahoma, but let’s just say that the Luby’s at 205 Browder Street in downtown Dallas was the first one in Texas. It was opened by Earl E. Luby on January 8, 1929.

Jan. 8, 1929

The second location (the one seen in the photo above) opened at 1006 Main Street (at Poydras) two years later, on May 19, 1931.

May 19, 1931

Earl Luby was the first cousin of Harry M. Luby, the man who is generally considered to have opened the forerunner of what we now know as Luby’s. In September, 1911, Harry opened a cafeteria in Springfield, Missouri called New England Dairy Lunch — there were several other restaurants around the U.S. with the same name, so I’m not sure if he bought it as a franchise, but whatever the case, that cafeteria was the start of a tray-toting empire.

Springfield News-Leader, Sept. 20 & 21, 1911

He opened other New England cafeterias in Missouri and, with cousin Earl, in Oklahoma. (There was one in Dallas in 1919, located at 1409 Elm, which appears to be connected to the Luby family.)

Apr. 16, 1919

In 1929 Earl branched off, moved to Texas, opened his own cafeterias (mostly in Dallas), and made a fortune. (There were Luby’s cafeterias run by other members of the Luby family, most notably Harry’s son, Robert Luby, who was active in South Texas a few decades later. I don’t know whether these were two completely different business entities, but Earl was king of the very lucrative Dallas market.)

Here’s an ad from 1953 with Luby’s locations at that time (along with a Miss Inez shout-out). (Click to see a larger image.)

And from the same ad, a photo of cousins Earl and Harry enjoying a convivial cup of coffee.

June 1953 ad (details)

And, below, a 1960 ad for the new Luby’s at the Preston Forest Shopping Center (that sign is fantastic!).

Sept. 1960

It’s a shame to say goodbye to such a long-lived Dallas institution. RIP, Luby’s. And thanks, Earl (1897-1990).

***

Sources & Notes

1954 photo of Main Street is a detail of a larger photo found in the Flashback Dallas post “Streetcar #728, Main Street — 1954.”

Luby’s website is here (hurry!).

More on the history of Luby’s (with some incorrect information and nary a mention of Earl!) can be found on Wikipedia and The Handbook of Texas.

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23 Comments

September 6, 2020

Labor Day Weekend, Union Bus Depot — 1952

Waiting for buses… (photo: Dallas Public Library)

by Paula Bosse

Labor Day in 1952 was on Sept. 1. The people in the photo above were waiting for buses to whisk them away for a nice end-of-summer Labor Day holiday. They were in the Union Bus Depot in the Interurban Building (downtown, at Jackson and Browder). They were probably waiting for a Continental Trailways bus. (While waiting, they might have availed themselves of merchandise at the Sigler’s Jewelry & Optical Co., seen in the background. This was their downtown location — I wrote about their main store at Peak and Elm here.)

So what was going on in Dallas on Labor Day in 1952? Well, it was hot. Real hot. (It’s always hot.) (ALWAYS!) It was 102°, and it was very dry and very windy. Grassfires were popping up everywhere — there were 30 fires that day!

There were, of course, Labor Day picnics. The largest was for members of the UAW-CIO — the crowd of union members and their families was estimated at 5,200 and was held on ranchland (the D & L Ranch) west of Grapevine. There were also hundreds of AFL plumbers and carpenters at a picnic at Vickery Park on Greenville Avenue. 6,000 Dallasites took advantage of the city’s swimming pools on the last they were open. And then there were 500 people who waved off the whole “outdoor” thing and spent the day skating at the chilly Fair Park ice rink.

The movie “Jumping Jacks,” starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, was playing at the Majestic, and “Merry Widow,” starring Lana Turner, was at the Palace. Kay Thompson, the singer (and creator of the Eloise children’s books) was opening at the Adolphus Hotel’s Century Room. And there was a square-dancing contest on the Fair Park midway.

It was a bad day, however, for a motorist who indulged in one too many Labor Day adult beverages. The guy zig-zagged in and out of traffic on the Houston Street viaduct, hit a curb, and then swerved back into traffic. He was stopped by one of the cars he had whipped around. Unfortunately for the tipsy driver, the man who stopped him was Sheriff Bill Decker. Bet he’d wished he gotten out of town, along with all those sweaty travelers seen above waiting at the Union Bus Depot.

March, 1952 (click for larger image)

May, 1952

I was unaware of the Union Bus Depot until researching this post. It was established around the time when the Dallas-Fort Worth Interurban ceased operation on Christmas Eve, 1934 (the line from Dallas to Waco and Denison kept going a while longer). Suddenly the Interurban terminal at Jackson and Browder streets was going to be sorely underused, so it was decided to make it a great big bus depot. Most of the major bus companies serving Dallas (except for Greyhound, which had it own terminal) used the Interurban Building terminal as a shared depot.

July, 1937

***

Sources & Notes

Photo, titled “Labor Day Weekend crowd at the Union Bus Depot” (Aug. 31, 1952), is from the Hayes Collection, Dallas Public Library Dallas History & Archives Division, Dallas Public Library; Call Number PA76-1/11420.

From the Dallas Morning News archives:

“Outings on Labor Day Lack Only In Oratory” by Frank X. Tolbert (DMN, Sept. 2, 1952)
“Last 24 Hours in Dallas” by Lorrie Brooks (DMN, Sept. 2, 1953)
“Grassland Areas Hit By Flames” (DMN, Sept. 2, 1952)
“Negotiations For Union Bus and Interurban Terminal Are Under Way By Electric Lines” (DMN, Oct. 25, 1934)
“Electric Line Station To Be Bus Terminal” (DMN, Dec. 1, 1934)

More on Labor Day in Dallas can be found in the Flashback Dallas Post “Labor Day Parade — 1911.”

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8 Comments

September 2, 2020

Smith College Book Sale — 1962

Smith College Club book sale, Highland Park Village…

by Paula Bosse

As the children of a bookseller, my brother and I spent our childhoods surrounded by books — at home, in the Aldredge Book Store, at book shows, and at book sales. The two big annual book sales I remember were the Smith College Book Sale (the really big one) and the Brandeis Book Sale, both being fundraisers for the respective colleges.

The Smith College Club of Dallas put on their book sales. The club was organized by alumnae in 1949 in the home of Mrs. Joseph L. Higginbotham (Elizabeth Higginbotham, Class of ’32), and the first informal sale was conducted on her back porch in Highland Park. Proceeds from the book sales funded Smith College scholarships for Dallas girls.

I was excited to see (silent) film footage of an early Smith College sale, footage which showed up in SMU’s endlessly interesting WFAA-Channel 8 newsfilm collection. I remember much larger sales from the ’70s and ’80s, so this one from 1962 seems very quaint. This 9th annual sale was held on May 1-2, 1962 in an empty storefront at 84 Highland Park Village. Volunteers were wearing “candy striper” uniforms, and shoppers filled up Neiman-Marcus shopping bags.

Stanley Marcus, always a supporter of book-related events in Dallas (and the father of two Smith grads), even had the event incorporated into a Neiman-Marcus ad that year (their Preston Road location was an official drop-off spot for book donations, and after the store moved from Preston Road to NorthPark, the empty building was given over to the Smith women a few times to use as the site of several of their book sales).

Neiman-Marcus ad, April 20, 1962 (click for larger image)

***

Sources & Notes

Top image is a screenshot from the YouTube clip (here), from the WFAA NewsFilm Collection, G. William Jones Film Collection, Hamon Arts Library, Southern Methodist University.

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August 2, 2020

Neiman’s First Suburban Store: Preston Road — 1951-1965

Original design by DeWitt & Swank, 1949 (click for larger image)

by Paula Bosse

In January, 1949, Neiman-Marcus announced they would soon begin construction of their very first “branch” store. It was to be built in the new “Varsity Village” shopping area on Preston Road, just south of Northwest Highway (on the east side of Preston, facing Preston Center). This store was referred to in early articles as their “town and country store.” The downtown store was running out of room (in fact the expansion and renovation of their downtown store was announced at the same time as this new “suburban” store) — and the new store was to provide 30,000 square feet of primo retail space.

The original idea for the store’s design is seen in the drawing above, which was accompanied by this caption in a Chamber of Commerce publication:

New suburban shop of Neiman-Marcus Company (pictured above in drawing by Roscoe DeWitt and Arch Swank, architects for the building) is scheduled for construction this year in Varsity Village on a plot 30,000 square feet facing Preston Road and extending from Wentwood to Villanova Drives. The store will conform to the general architectural plan of Varsity Village and will represent a total investment of about $1,500,000. (“Dallas” magazine, Feb. 1949)

I LOVE that drawing! Unfortunately, things changed between the time that DeWitt and Swank offered that initial drawing and the almost three years that passed before the store was actually completed. The store was expanded to two floors (with mezzanine and basement), and… I don’t know — it just lost all of its supercool sleekness. It went from mid-century-modern fabulousness to big boring blocks. I’m sure the interior was still fantastic (designed by Eleanor Le Maire), but that exterior is uncharacteristically (for Neiman’s) blah.

Under construction:

Dallas magazine, Feb. 1951

Constructed:

1951, via thedepartmentstoremuseum.org

But back to the decor. This store was aimed at suburban families — the shoppers were primarily stylish mothers with kids, so there was a lot of thought put into making the store appealing to children. The basement — which was home to the toy and nursery department — sounds pretty great, complete with a Willy Wonka-esque attraction: at the entrance was an enchanted forest mural and a giant cage filled with toy animals, and “in the toy shop there is a magic tree — one with a built-in dispenser that pours out an endless supply of orangeade” (Dallas Morning News, Oct. 14, 1951).

The store was designed in a Southwestern color palette, featured a glass mosaic, lots of Kachina dolls, a glass-walled landscaped patio, a specially commissioned Alexander Calder mobile, and it was an immediate hit. The denizens of the Park Cities and Preston Hollow would still have to make the trek downtown if they wanted a gown for that do at the country club, but for casual clothing for mom and a large selection of clothing for children and teens, the “town and country store” was perfect. And nearby.

It lasted until NorthPark opened in 1965. Realizing the Preston Road store would be unable to expand, Neiman’s decided to close the 14-year-old store and move into Raymond Nasher’s striking new NorthPark Center.

via Dallas History Guild Facebook page

Below, two night-time photos by Squire Haskins, taken on May 23, 1952:

via UTA Libraries

Instead of placing a “Grand Opening” announcement, Neiman’s teased the public with a “we’ll be opening soon-ish” announcement (in fact, the store opened exactly one week after the appearance of this ad). This ad describes that the new location will be more geared to families — to children (“from pram to prom”), adult casualwear, and gift items. With a restaurant and salon. The more typical Neiman’s couture lines and more expensive items would be available only “in town.” (Click ad to see a larger image.)

Oct. 8, 1951 ad

In the “Wales” column — a regular feature of N-M ads, with chatty text written by Warren Leslie (“Wa” from “Warren” and “les” from Leslie), a Neiman-Marcus executive and spokesperson and, later, author of the controversial book Dallas Public and Private) — the store’s opening is discussed, including the unexpected appearance of John Wayne (in town for the “Movietime in Texas, USA,” a promotional Hollywood caravan tour through Texas, packed with movie stars (watch cool footage here). Too bad about that orangeade, kids.

Ad detail, Oct. 23, 1951

One of the features of the new store was a specially commissioned mobile by artist Alexander Calder which hung above the stairway (a bit difficult to see in the photo below, but it’s there!). This was the first permanent installation of one of Calder’s kinetic sculptures in Dallas. (The three photos below are by Denny Hayes.) The staircase was used for fashion shows (watch Channel 5 news footage from a swimsuit fashion show from April 25, 1958 here, via the UNT’s Portal to Texas History site — according to the news script, the last suit was priced at a whopping $500, which in today’s money, would be about $4,500). (UPDATE: Perhaps because of its current financial situation, Neiman’s decided to sell the Alexander Calder mobile, titled “Mariposa” — it was auctioned by Sotheby’s on Dec. 8, 2020 and sold for $18.2 million, far surpassing its high estimate of $8 million — more info and several photos of the sculpture can be found on the Sotheby’s site here.)

Dallas Public Library (PA76-1/5388.1)

Those floor-to-ceiling windows and sheer draperies are wonderful.

Dallas Public Library (PA76-1/5388.5)

Dallas Public Library (PA76-1/5388.2)

The listing in the 1953 directory described the Preston store as “the New Preston Center Station Wagon Store.” That’s right, the “station-wagon store.”

1953 Dallas directory

In May, 1960 there was a relief drive throughout Dallas to send much-needed supplies to Chile, which had recently experienced almost simultaneous devastating earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, and avalanches. Neiman’s coordinated with several agencies and the State Department to rush food and clothing to Chile. The view in the screenshot below shows Preston Road looking south (watch the 1-minute Channel 8 news footage, via SMU, here).

After 14 years, the Preston location closed up shop in July 1965. This coincided with the opening of the much larger Neiman’s store in NorthPark. Bye-bye, “suburbia”!

July 15, 1965 ad

The Preston Road building still stands, but it’s not very interesting looking these days. I think I’d prefer the “blah” look from 1951.

Google Street View, 2017

***

Sources & Notes

Top image appeared in the Feb. 1949 issue of “Dallas,” a monthly magazine published by the Dallas Chamber of Commerce.

Photos by Squire Haskins are from the Squire Haskins Photography, Inc. Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries, Special Collections.

Interior photos by Denny Hayes are from the Hayes Collection, Dallas History and Archives, Dallas Public Library.

Image of the 1960 Chilean American Red Cross relief drive is a screenshot from the WFAA Newsfilm Collection, G. William Jones Archive, Hamon Arts Library, Southern Methodist University.

15 Comments

July 4, 2020

Independence Day at Shady View Park — 1880s

Grand Fourth of July Celebration! (1882)

by Paula Bosse

A popular gathering place in Dallas for picnics and celebrations in the last couple of decades of the nineteenth century was Shady View Park, a sort of “private park” in which beer could be sold. It was out in the hinterlands — at the end of the San Jacinto streetcar line, at San Jacinto St. and N. Washington Ave. in Old East Dallas.

4th of July celebrations were often held there. Below is a breathless and comma-laden recounting of the 1884 event which throbbed with patriotism ‘neath the umbrageous branches.

At the Park.

Every car that rolled out to the park was crowded with people and hacks, and vehicles of every description drove a lively business in carrying out passengers. A band discoursed patriotic music and added life and pleasure to the assemblage of two thousand people that thronged the beautiful grounds and lounged ‘neath the umbrageous branches of the trees where only a few years since the so-called noble child of the forest roamed, so to speak. It was a great gathering and a great day in the history of our country and if there was a bosom on the grounds that did not throb with patriotism it was not manifest, for had there been and had it been known such a recreant would have been jack-ketched upon the spot.

At 3 p.m. Dr. Schuhl, in a clear, distinct voice, read that remarkable document, the Declaration of Independence, and when he concluded the crowd made the welkin ring with the shouts of liberty. Several Russian exiles who were on the grounds and to whom friends had interpreted the meaning of the meeting, rushed up to an American flag near by, and raising their hands heavenwards as though they would bless the colors, kissed them reverentially. The English, our kinsmen, were there, and were by no means lacking in patriotism. They blessed this country, shook hands all around, but never forgot the Queen, and never once did the true American. England of 1776 is not England of 1884. “By golly!” said old Swamp Fox, an eccentric character, “if old Gen. George Washington and them boys what signed artikle of agreement could be here and see this I would be willing to die this minute and go to the bad.” When the enthusiasm was at fever heat Dr. Arch Cochran was called for and responded in a stirring speech. He was followed by Mr. J. M. Hurt, jr., the orator of the day, a son of Judge Hurt of the Court of Appeals, who delivered an address, which was well received, as evidenced by the rounds of applause that followed it.

The Dance.

The grand pavilion was then cleared and the merry dancers glided over the waxed floor, keeping time with nimble feet to the sweet strains of music. It was resumed after supper and continued until far into the night. The park was illuminated with lanterns and presented a beautiful scene. Everything passed off pleasantly, and all left, carrying with them sweet memories of the festivities of the glorious Fourth of 1884 at Shady View park.

The day was celebrated at Mayer’s garden and Meisterhans’ pavilion, and by private parties who went on excursions to the country to picnic. In the city there were pyrotechnic displays. (Dallas Daily Herald, July 5, 1884)

Dallas Herald, July 5, 1884 (click for larger image)

Shady View Park/San Jacinto Park was around from at least 1881, possibly from the 1870s. Its main reason for existing seems to have been to attract people to the area to build homes (on land owned by Col. William J. Keller, who also, I believe, owned the streetcar). Here’s another breathless description of the park, possibly written by the same person who wrote the above article (or at least another person smitten with the word “umbrageous”).

Dallas Herald, May 31, 1881

The location of the park can be seen at the top of the circa-1898 map below.

Below, a photo taken at Shady View Park on May 12, 1896. A caption identifies the people as “La Reunion Colony settlers”: Mrs. Louie Maas, Annie Gramatky, Paul Hartman, and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Gramatky.

***

Sources & Notes

Articles from the Dallas Daily Herald were found at the Portal to Texas History.

The ad at the top is from The Fort Worth Daily Democrat, June 14, 1882, which was also found at the Portal to Texas History.

Bottom photo from the collection of the Dallas Public Library.

5 Comments

June 28, 2020

Highland Park High School: Ads from the 1959 Yearbook

City Downtown Mercury, 2100 Cedar Springs

by Paula Bosse

I love the ads from old high school yearbooks — especially the ones that featured students. Below is a sampling of advertisements from the 1959 Highlander, the yearbook of Highland Park High School.

Above, City Downtown Mercury, 2100 Cedar Springs — R. J. “Bob” Acton, manager. New and used cars. Cool sign.

Below, the Sam Snead School of Golf, 5960 Northwest Highway. Ad features HPHS golf team member Tommy Abbott. (Most images are larger when clicked.)

Hillcrest Hi-Fi and Records, 6309 Hillcrest.

Sanborn’s Hi-Fi Center, 5551 W. Lovers Lane. Featuring Jim Stiff and Brian Stiff and their loafers.

And because everyone was high-fi crazy in 1959, another one: Custom Music of Dallas, High Fidelity Specialists, 3212-14 Oak Lawn — Oong Choi, technical supervisor. (Oong Choi was listed in a 1956 newspaper article as being a philosophy student at the Dallas Theological Seminary who was presenting a lecture on the children of Korea.)

A & L Upholstery, 5617 East University.

Mr. Drue’s Beauty Salon, 6808 Snider Plaza — Duffy D. Houghton, prop.

Holiday Cleaning and Laundry, 5540 Preston Road, between St. Andrews and Mockingbird.

Cline Music Co., 1307 Elm Street.

Wall’s Delicatessen, 10749 Preston Road, at Royal Lane — Milton Wall and Rose Wall, props. Wall’s opened at Preston and Royal in 1950, one of the area’s first business — the landmark closed in 1987 when the family changed its focus to catering.

Preston State Bank, 8111 Preston Road. “Check the time — Check the temperature — And drive by often.” The time is currently 9:14.

Asburn’s Ice Cream, various locations. Featuring HPHS students Terry Coverdale and Susan Zadic, with impressively balanced six-dip cones.

Fabric House, 8317 Westchester. Featuring Patsy Wilson, who is shown contemplating “something swishy.”

Henry Miller Insurance Agency, 5010 Greenville Avenue. Featuring Venetian blinds.

Little Bit of Sweden restaurant, 254 Inwood Village. Featuring smorgasbord.

Village Camera Shop, 86 Highland Park Village — Al Cooter, owner. Featuring student Susie Stone.

W. R. Fine Galleries, 2524 Cedar Springs.

Friendly Chevrolet, 5526 E. Mockingbird Lane. Featuring HPHS students Mary Jane York, Sarah McNay, and Mary Lee Jones sitting in the trunk of a car.

The We Three Weber’s Root Beer drive-in, 5060 W. Lovers Lane.

Kathryn Currin Real Estate, 5964 Northwest Highway. Weird not seeing Ebby’s name on the roof.

Fear not, Ebby wasn’t very far away: Ebby Halliday Realor, 8400 Westchester, in Preston Center.

Dr Pepper, national headquarters on Mockingbird and Greenville (across the street from Friendly Chevrolet, above). Featuring HPHS students George Denton, Pat Pierce, and Kathy Thomas. “Frosty, Man, Frosty!”

A bunch of random ads: Prince of Hamburgers, 5200 Lemmon Avenue; Miller-Beer & Co. Realtors; Henry Nuss, Bookbinders, 419 S. Ervay; Roy Hance Humble station, 4831 McKinney Avenue; The Fish Bowl, 235 Inwood Village; Inwood Pharmacy; and Margie’s Dress Shops.

And the big “get” for the yearbook staff, an ad for Highland Park Village (see a larger image of the photo here).

***

Sources & Notes

All ads from the 1959 Highland Park High School yearbook, The Highlander.

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