Flashback : Dallas

April 21, 2019

Dallas Ephemera and Memorabilia #1

by Paula Bosse

I come across a lot of stuff that I don’t know what to do with, but which I find interesting, odd, or amusing. Why not just throw them all together in their own little post? Most of these are from old eBay auctions, but if something here strikes your fancy, it’s always worth an online search to see if one of these might be available in a current listing.

Above is a ticket for a benefit show for the Army Emergency Relief Fund, held in the Cotton Bowl, Nov. 10-13, 1942. The back of the ticket is below (all images are larger when clicked).

Who doesn’t need a burlap bag which once contained 50 pounds of extra-large (artificially-colored) pecans, packed by the Hines Nut Company? (An absolutely fantastic photo of Hines’ Farmers Market location is here.)

This little cardboard advertisement for the Morten Milling Company’s La France Flour “walks” when a dial is turned on the back, moving the girl’s feet. “I would walk a mile to get a bag of La France Flour for my Mamma.” Not only did one get flour with one’s purchase, one also often used the flour sacks to make clothes for little girls (and their dollies).

Will Dallas ever be as languidly sophisticated as it was in the champagne-and-dancing days of the Adolphus?

Every business needs a commemorative glass paperweight — even the Continental Gin Co.

If not a paperweight, then certainly a pin. “Metzger’s Milk keeps them smiling.”

If not a pin, then maybe a glass tumbler. Like this one featuring a scantily-clad Sivils carhop.

If only there were more odd and incongruous vintage advertising like this religious-themed thermometer for the Chas. F. Weiland Co., one of Dallas’ top funeral homes for decades.

Ross Avenue used to be lined with used-car lots. And if you remember that, you certainly remember Goss on Ross, the Tradin’ Hoss. “We tote the note.”

This colorful Dr Pepper can is great. I’m sure this probably pre-dated both the aluminum can and the pull-tab.

Speaking of soft drinks, just what is a “7-Eleven Cola”? I must have missed this Southland Corp. beverage, which the internet tells me was made in the ’70s. (There was a whole line of flavors, as seen here.)

Lastly, another oddity: High Sobriety, a “bar” of sorts, which offered “Non-Alcoholic Wines, Beer & Liqueurs” (“Free Tastings”).

***

Sources & Notes

All images from eBay.

2 Comments

April 14, 2019

A Texas Centennial Scrapbook — 1936

“Starring Texas”

by Paula Bosse

Here is an aerial view of Fair Park I’ve never seen. It shows Centennial buildings under construction, along with labels marking the locations of those not yet started. It’s always hard to place where some of these no-longer-standing buildings once stood, so this is very helpful. Click the picture to see a larger image, but to really zoom in on the photo, see it at the Portal to Texas History, here.

Below is another view — an illustrated map from a Centennial visitor’s pamphlet (the zoom-in-able image is also at the Portal to Texas History, here). It was an early illustration, as it shows the original design for the Hall of State with wings never built.

(all images larger when clicked)

These pictures came from a Texas Centennial scrapbook made by 10-year-old Doris Rae Levy for a contest in her class at Lily B. Clayton Elementary School in Fort Worth. The scrapbook is impressively packed with Texas History-related newspaper and magazine articles, pamphlets, and postcards. A couple of the things she included that I enjoyed seeing were photos of a giant Centennial “sombrero” and a photo of honorary Centennial Rangerette, Shirley Temple:

This photo shows four Fort Worth businessmen holding up a “200 gallon sombrero” which would soon be making an appearance at the Fat Stock Show. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram photo, Feb. 25, 1936)

And here’s Shirley Temple — who might have been the most famous star in Hollywood at the time — dressed in a snazzy cowboy outfit and an eye-catching pair of boots. She had been appointed honorary Chief of the Texas Centennial Exposition Rangerettes (a bevy of attractive Texas women who acted as goodwill ambassadors and made personal appearances all over the country promoting the Dallas Centennial). Miss Temple’s honorary commission apparently came with a tie-in merchandising deal — see the official Shirley Temple with her official Shirley Temple doll below (the latter photo was not from Doris’ scrapbook).

I thought I would look up Doris Rae Levy, the little girl who compiled the impressive packed-to-the-gills scrapbook, to see what I could find out about her. This sad news appeared less than two weeks before the Texas Centennial Exposition opened in Fair Park:

FWST, May 26, 1936

***

Sources & Notes

Doris Rae Levy’s “Texas Centennial Scrap Book” was provided by the Fort Worth Jewish Archives to UNT’s Portal to Texas History; it has been scanned and may be viewed in its entirety here.

The photo of Shirley Temple with the Centennial Rangerette doll was found on Pinterest, with the original image here. Color images of the doll can be seen here.

Leave a comment

April 4, 2019

From the Vault: Downtown Dallas at Night

by Paula Bosse

Things have been busy in recent weeks, but I hope to get back to posting more regularly soon!

In the meantime, check out “A Decade of Spectacular Growth for the Dallas Skyline: 1929-1939,” a post from 2014 showing just how much downtown grew (and illuminated itself) in the span of only ten years. The photo above, published in a 1929 issue of The Rotarian magazine, is the “before” image….

Leave a comment

March 24, 2019

“Birdseye View of Greater Dallas” by Ashley Bond — 1925

Spot your neighborhood? (click for larger image)

by Paula Bosse

This great drawing from 1925 features several of Dallas’ then-new (and new-ish) neighborhoods.

The “birdseye view” appeared in a Dallas Chamber of Commerce publication and was drawn (with a few large dollops of artistic license) by Dallas commercial artist Ashley R. Bond.

birds-eye-view-greater-dallas_DCoC-1925_ashley-bond_sig

I couldn’t find much about Mr. Bond except that he had a son who became a child actor in Hollywood — his son was Tommy Bond, who was best known as “Butch,” the bully in the Our Gang/Little Rascals comedies (which featured another Dallasite, Spanky McFarland). Little Tommy was walking down a Dallas street with his mother when a talent scout saw him, thought he had a great face for the silver screen, and told his mother that if she got the boy to Hollywood, he would guarantee a meeting with the famous Hal Roach. A short time later, 6-year-old Tommy Bond signed with the Hal Roach Studios.

Here’s a great clip of Master Bond (who briefly attended Bradfield Elementary School and lived in the 4400 block of Potomac in University Park…) admirably belting out the song “Just Friends” from a short which appeared not long after he had been plucked from obscurity on the streets of Big D:

It’s a good day when an obscure Dallas Chamber of Commerce illustration leads directly to the Little Rascals.

***

Sources & Notes

Map by Ashley Bond from the June, 1925 issue of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce magazine.

More on Tommy “Butch” Bond can be found at Wikipedia here. I’m not sure about the dates in that entry. The Dallas Morning News reported on Dec. 3, 1932 that Tommy’s parents had received word the previous day that Hal Roach had offered the boy a 5-year contract and that the youngster had been in Hollywood for two-and-a-half months.

3 Comments

March 20, 2019

Spring, Brought to You by The Texas Seed & Floral Co.

The Texseed Home Collection, 1913

by Paula Bosse

In honor of Spring’s arrival, I give you a collection of lovely illustrated covers from the Texas Seed & Floral Company’s seed catalogs. The company was established in Dallas around 1885 and was located for many years at the northwest corner of Elm and N. Ervay, with offices and a warehouse opening onto Pacific’s railroad tracks. (See photos of the interior of the business — later renamed Lone Star Seed & Floral — in the post “Next-Door Neighbors: The Palace Theater and Lone Star Seed & Floral — 1926.”)

Happy Spring! (All images are larger when clicked.)

1896

1906

1911

1912

1913

1915

1916

1917

1920

Below is the citation for the company from the book Greater Dallas Illustrated, published in 1908.

Texas Seed & Floral Co.

The great progress which has been made in agricultural and horticultural lines in the southwest has resulted in an ever increasing demand for a high quality of seeds, and to meet this demand many reliable seed houses have been established, among which is the Texas Seed & Floral Co., whose retail store is at 387 Elm street, and whose office and warehouse department is at 311-313 Pacific avenue. The line of seeds carried in stock includes all kinds of garden and flower seeds as well as field seeds, their leading brand being known under the name of “Texseed,” and they have the exclusive right to sell this brand in the southwest.

The company was established in 1885 and it is recognized as the largest seed house in the southwest, and its beautifully illustrated catalogue, which tells all about the best seeds for the southwestern planter, can be had upon request. R. [Robert] Nicholson is the secretary of this company, and the active manager of its affairs. He is of Scottish birth and has resided in Dallas for thirty years. He is a member of the Commercial Club, and is an Elk. Ably assisting him is F. J. Poor who comes to this firm from Kansas City.

***

Sources & Notes

All images from the Internet Archive.

Leave a comment

March 17, 2019

From the Vault: Lunch-Ladies of Yesteryear

by Paula Bosse

Ah, school lunches. I’m pretty sure the scene above of Dallas school cafeteria workers shelling fresh peas was one not seen in my lifetime. I’m definitely a product of the canned-and-frozen-food era. Check out the post “School Lunches of Yesteryear” for a list of eyebrow-raising delectables from a typical menu offered to Dallas students in the 1920s and ’30s.

2 Comments

March 10, 2019

My First Home — 3809 Cole Avenue

Home sweet home, circa 1900…

by Paula Bosse

Above is a photo of a stone house which once stood at 3809 Cole Avenue, across from North Dallas High School. It was built by John H. “Jack” Cole — probably around 1880-1900 — and it was occupied for decades by family members, up until the 1960s. By the 1980s it was owned by the Southland Corp. and was ultimately torn down around 1987 or so. And it was the very first house I lived in (…briefly).

Jack Cole was one of the sons of Dr. John Cole, an important early settler who arrived in Dallas in 1843 and whose family soon owned thousands of primo acres in what is now Highland Park and Oak Lawn.

cole-jack_flickr
John H. “Jack” Cole

According to a great-great grandson, Jack’s farmhouse once stood on land which is now the site of Cole Park (about where the tennis courts), and his barn and stock tank were on the land now occupied by North Dallas High School. Below is a photo of the farmhouse (it looks like it might be the back of the house); built in the 1850s (and added on to over the years), it was said to be one of the first brick houses in Dallas County (Jack had his own brick kiln on the property).

photo: Bill Gillespie

Below is the only other photo I’ve been able to find of the house — apologies for the image quality!

The smaller house seen at the top was located a short distance away.

At some point Jack Cole’s farmhouse and barn were torn down; the land for Cole Park was donated to the city by the family and became part of the Dallas park system in 1921, and North Dallas High School opened the following year.

The small stone house was occupied by various Cole descendants over the years, primarily the Miers and Warlick families. It was opened up to renters in the 1960s and until sometime in the late ’80s was rented as both living space and retail space.

My parents lived there only about a year. My father ran a small book business out of the front of the house, and my parents lived in the back and upstairs. The floors were brick and the walls were stone, and according to my mother, a lot of the mortar was gone and you could see outside though gaps in the walls. It was a very, very cold place in the winter. I was born during this time, and lived there for a few chilly months until we were off to someplace across town with better insulation.

I mentioned this house a few years ago in a post about North Dallas High School and a guy named Craig Thomas contacted me to tell me that he had lived in that same house in the 1980s — along with friends who were part of local bands The Plan and Luxor. They dubbed the house “Green Acres” because it was definitely something of a fixer-upper along the lines of the TV show of the same name. He even sent me a photo of the house from 1984! It looked a little tired by then, but it was close to a hundred years old by that time.

photo: Craig Thomas

It pleases the history geek in me to know that I started out my life living in a house built by a member of one of the most important founding families of Dallas. …I sure wish I remembered it!

1952 Mapsco

***

Sources & Notes

Top photo is from the collection of Michael Warlick, a Cole descendant who grew up in the house. (Many thanks to Danny Linn for bringing this fantastic photo to my attention!)

The photo of the Jack Cole farmhouse is from the book The Park Cities, A Photohistory by Diane Galloway, credited as coming from the collection of Bill Gillespie, another Cole descendant.

The blurry photo is from Jim Wheat’s site, here (the accompanying article is very interesting, here).

The color photo is used courtesy of Craig Thomas (whose blog is here).

8 Comments

March 7, 2019

From the Vault: W. W. Orr, Buggy Man of the 1870s and ’80s

by Paula Bosse

I love this ad from 1878, showing W. W. Orr’s carriage shop at Main and Martin (with an open-air second-floor showroom!). Read about Mr. Orr in the Flashback Dallas post from 2014, “W. W. Orr: Buggies, Phaetons, Carriages — ‘Everything On Wheels!'”

Leave a comment

March 3, 2019

Rugged Highland Park

by Paula Bosse

Two views of Turtle Creek, wending through Highland Park. The view above is from a postcard mailed to East Hampton, Long Island in 1909 (“Haven’t seen this but it must be true. Pretty good for Texas…”); the view below is from about 1915, the year Highland Park was incorporated (the photo appears to show the same three children seen in my earlier post, “Wading in Turtle Creek, 100 Years Ago”). (Both images of the bluff-lined creek are larger when clicked.)

***

Sources & Notes

Top image is from a C. Weichsel postcard titled “Woodland Scene. Highland Park. Dallas, Tex.” (photo possibly by Charles A. Arnold). Another image of this postcard can be seen on the cover of the Fall, 2015 issue of Legacies (here); the story it illustrates is “Attempts to Annex the Park Cities,” here.

The black-and-white photo (captioned “Highland Park”) is from a booklet on Dallas education, published around 1916.

2 Comments

February 28, 2019

Interurban Coming Through

Street traffic used to be a lot different… (click for larger image)

by Paula Bosse

Great photo of Interurbans trundling down Commerce Street, past the Adolphus Hotel. …Wish I’d been there.

***

Sources & Notes

Photo is from the Dallas Area Rapid Transit archives, but I neglected to note a linkable source. (Click photo to see a larger image.)

16 Comments

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Like this:

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Like this:

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Like this:

Sources & Notes

Share this:

Like this: