July 10, 2010 "Do You Remember?"

I had a nice chat recently with Joyce Davis about how Tallapoosa has changed over the years. I never thought I'd see a gourmet coffee shop, a Thai-Chinese restaurant, a Mediterranean pizza place or an establishment where you could a cheese enchilada in our town. Joyce and I talked about how the Burger Inn, Club 78, the Smokehouse, Tasty Treat, Tri Mi Grill, Southern Cafe, and Hat Robert's cafe are all distant memories of the taste buds of many Tallapoosans. I remembered Mr. McGinnis' service station. Classmates Michael and Carolyn McGinnis' dad always greeted customers with a smile as he pumped high test into the DeSoto. When is the last time you had someone fill your tank for you at a gas station? Arlen Buttram's Amoco was on the east side of town. My Uncle Henry swore that the motor in his Ford Fairlane ran better on "white gas" from the Amoco. Do you all remember when the Anchor and later the Hess stations were on the town's edge at the bottom of the hill from Whitey's Tavern. I've wondered what he and Kate would think about the current administration in Washington. Tallapoosa had Bruno's Place also known as Essie Mae's. It was next to Smith's Cafe where Burt and Ailene the cooks made the best chili spreads and meat and three vegetable plates in town. Smith's Cafe also served as a stopping place for the Greyhound Buses that came though our town on the way to Atlanta or Birmingham. Movies that were shown at Mr. Moon's Grand Theater came by bus back then. Joyce also shared her memories of the Red Dot on Head Avenue and later Thriftown. Firpo Smith knew how to cut a chicken up blind-folded. My first job was for G. B. Evans, Jr. He owned the Jitney Jungle and in the mid 1960s became affiliated with Red and White stores out of Illinois. I often wondered what his cashier Bea Hart Hallman would have thought about scanners in supermarkets. She ran a register with such ease and speed and never made an error. When I'd bag groceries at her spot, it was all I could do to try to keep up with her magic fingers tallying up people's purchases of meat and vegetables. Forney Walker taught me about stocking shelves and how to pick out a watermelon. He was the best produce manager this town ever saw. Forney's booming voice would sometimes sing a hymn as he brought up stock from the basement. I remember vividly those 19 steps that we'd climb every Wednesday as the wholesale grocery truck came in from Rockmart and we'd stock the shelves for the weekend specials. I remember Red and White chow mien noodles were five cents a can when they'd be on special. I remember working with Red Hughes and Denver Morgan at the Red and White. Denver took me to my first Braves game on July 4, 1966. It was also my first visit to Stone Mountain Park as the Atlanta team had a twi-night double header and there were several hours between games. Denver Morgan has always loved the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the music of Roy Orbison. Back in 1984 I interviewed Roy Orbison and told him his all time biggest fan wasn't George Harrison or Tom Petty, it was Denver Morgan from my hometown. Joyce remembered the businesses on Head Avenue like the National. Hal Strasberg was an avid fan of the Atlanta Falcons as an early season ticket holder and he also served as the public address announcer for the Tallapoosa Red Devils. Do any of you all remember how Mr. O.D. Lipham could slice hoop cheese and stick baloney while selling you a pair of Red Goose Shoes and playing a ditty on his harmonica all at once. He was truly one of our town's most memorable citizens. He was fiercely independent and refused to observe daylight saving time and if you asked him for his opinion, you'd sure get it. Tallapoosa had two pool rooms on Head Avenue at one time. I was given a cue stick from Gentry's Recreation Center also known as Fat Gentry's pool room a couple of years ago. Tallapoosa is the only place I know of where you could make a bet on a game called "near or far." There was a map next to a Coca-Cola machine and when two people would buy a bottle of Mr. Pemberton's tonic you could look on the bottom of the bottle where a city was stamped on it. You could call "near or far" and who ever lost had to buy the other guy's Coke. Some of the older guys raised the stakes and bet money. I never confessed to my grandmother that I went to the pool room. Jackson's Pool Room was across the street and Mr. Jackson also had a pool room on Brock Street. Both establishments were packed on Friday and Saturday nights for games of 8-ball and snooker from men who spent 40 hours a week at American Thread and Dixie Steel. How many of you remember the Crossroads Restaurant when Mrs. Castleberry managed it back in the early 1960s? I can still remember the heavenly aroma of their onion rings that you could smell all the way to the ballpark. How many of you remember the ballpark when couples would go out there at night with no game on tap? Tallapoosa at one time had a couple of cab companies? Walton Cab was run by June Walton and he lived on Freeman Street across from where I call home now. I remember he had an employee named "Termite." When he died the Walton family handled the arrangements. They were just nice people. Remembering years gone by in our town is something that I do quite often. I recollect sage advice from people like Hershell Kirkland who taught me some life long people skills. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss Jess Newman. In the old office of the Georgia Power Company there is a law office. Across the street from there is the old location of the Commercial Bank. Mr. Wright who was president of the bank had a menagerie of animals at his home and would let kids come in and feed the peacocks and ducks. Mr. W. I. Lanier who ran the West Georgia Bank here was a very kind man who more than once helped my family. I am wondering what your memories of Tallapoosa's days gone by are?