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Monday, Sep. 28, 2009

Memory counter working overtime

Who said nostalgia ain’t what it used to be?

The Macon memory counter has been working overtime as readers have been sorting through some of their attic treasures.

I am thrilled at the response, and I would love to have a bottomless cup. But I will have to stop taking orders after one more week.

In the meantime, here we go again. ...

Rock’s Grill on Emery Highway was lauded for having the best catfish this side of the Ocmulgee, as well as the R&R truck stop which had its own “bull” table for a group of men who met for coffee there every day.

Pinebrook Inn. The city’s first McDonald’s on Rocky Creek Road. Denny’s restaurant on Riverside Drive, home of the grand slam breakfast.

Heath Ice and Coal on Montpelier. Sheftall’s Barber Shop. The Knot Hole Gang at Luther Williams Field. The Mulberry Methodist youth dances. What-a-Burger on Houston Avenue. Hadden’s Restaurant (also on Houston Avenue), where you could get cakes made from scratch every Sunday. The old Lanier Hotel. H.L. Greene’s dime store. The Goo Goo restaurant at the corner of Walnut and Third. Mutt & Jeff Hamburgers on Vineville. LaVista restaurant on Vineville.

The Busy Bee restaurant on Broadway. Lee & Eddie’s Barbecue. The Baconsfield pool and the controversy after integration because it had been left in a will to Macon’s “white residents.” Roy Raines Grocery on Montpelier Avenue. The Chili Bowl Taxi Stand on Cherry.

The Nancy Hanks. The Herman’s Hermits concert at the City Auditorium. Greenwood Bottom, at the end of Broadway, a place to go “jukin’” on Saturday night.

One reader remembered a local talent show called “Search for the Stars” on WMAZ, where the winners were taken to Hollywood for an appearance on “The Art Linkletter Show.”

Also, the Cerebral Palsy Telethons at the City Auditorium, often hosted by such celebrity actors as Kirby Grant, of “Sky King,” Jay North, of “Dennis the Menace,” and Milburn Stone (Doc) and Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty) of “Gunsmoke.”

The “original” Mellow Mushroom Pizza on Riverside, along with Minnie Pearl’s Fried Chicken. The old Sears building downtown, which reportedly boasted the city’s first escalators. The Butler House, a boarding house that served awesome helpings of home-cooked food on Washington Avenue.

I was told not to forget Harry’s Drive-In Restaurant at the corner of Rocky Creek and Pio Nono. One reader claimed it “showed movies while you ate in your car, even in broad daylight. We would squint trying to make out the faint pictures on the smallish screen.”

Edwell’s Trick & Novelty Shop on Second Street. The Duck Inn. Davis Brothers Cafeteria on Riverside Drive. Bill Elder’s “Hiney Winery” of little L.A. (Lizella) on WNEX radio. Reed Griffin’s Jewelers downtown, where you could also buy new strings for your violin. Georgia Beauty Academy and Georgia-Alabama Business School. Three more drive-in theaters: the Motorview, Starlight and Houston Avenue.

The Dutch Pantry, where you could get German food. Sterchi’s Furniture, which is now the Georgia Children’s Museum. The Trailways bus station, now the home of the Macon Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

I’ll look forward to another round next week before we retreat.

Reach Gris at 744-4275 or gris@macon.com