The Rocket Club

Drive north on Henderson until you cross the intersection where University Drive North and Northside Drive change names and you will find yourself on the Jacksboro Highway. Actually, you’re not going due north but northwest. Still, on the west side of the highway is Rockwood Park for a good distance. On the east is a retaining wall and a very steep hill that forms the back yard for houses that front on Grand Street. By the time you’re halfway between University/Northside Drive and N.E. 28th, the area is a hodge podge of car lots, cafes and abandoned buildings. But it didn’t use to be that way. In the late 1940s, you wouldn’t have been wrong to have called it nightclub row. There were quite a number there. The Starlight Club at 1301 Jacksboro Highway and the well known Rocket Club at 2202 Jacksboro Highway to name only two. As of the last time I’ve passed thru that area (and it’s been several years), the Rocket Club building was still there and I think the sign was still mounted on it. Might be wrong because I’ve slept since then.

Since anyone who knows me knows that I don’t drink (can’t stand the taste), nor do I care anything about going clubbing, you’ve got to be wondering why I’m talking about the Rocket Club. Well, there’s a couple of reasons. First and foremost, the Rocket Club is part of Ft. Worth history. As for the second, I have a folder from the Rocket Club containing a photograph of my parents sitting at a table inside the club. The date had to be around 1949.

In that time period, many clubs had roving photographers who took photos of the customers, much like sidewalk photographers in downtown Ft. Worth. If they wanted to buy the photo, it would be presented to them in a photo folder that appears to be made from heavyweight construction paper. Not only did it bring in extra money for the club, the folder did an excellent job of publicizing the club. To give you an idea of exactly what the folder looked like, I’ve added three photos to this post. The first, seen below, shows the front cover.


This was actually quite a creative cover. Note there are two planets Saturn, along with a rocketship passing by. As it nears Ft. Worth, it’s spotlight illuminates a crooner (think Bing Crosby) standing on a cloud holding a microphone with musical notes wafting into the ether. By the way, the folder is a horizontal format with the fold on the left side.



Inside the folder were four slits designed to hold a 5”x7” print. Black & White in those days, of course. As I told you, the couple in the photo are my parents, Caesar Sarafino “Jack” Marmo and Ruby Claudine Wacaster Marmo. This picture was most likely taken in 1949, making my father 41 and my mother 44. I would’ve been a few months shy of 7. Note that all tables had white tablecloths and a centerpiece that appears to be comprised of a number of glasses and at least one bottle.


The back of the folder provides the club name and address, as well as the number of the folder. If the number is sequential and started from #1, then we can assume that over 5,000 patrons had purchased photos at the Rocket Club. If anyone has similar folders from the Rocket Club or any of the other clubs on the Jacksboro Highway, I’d like to hear from you.

Next post I’ll deal with the Starlight Club & The Telephone Pioneers Of America.