Still Reading The Meadowlark, Part 5

This post will finish up the ads in that old student newspaper from Meadowbrook Junior High School, The Meadowlark. Let’s see what other businesses were around in 1951.

Meadowbrook Drug, 3636 Meadowbrook Drive, LA-1605. Mr. and Mrs. F.E. Wilborn, Miss Toni Edwards, Miss Jamie Trainer. Located in that same multi-tenant building at the southwest corner of Ayers and Meadowbrook as Meadowbrook Cleaners and Meadowbrook Dance Studio. There’s no way to know for sure, but it’s not an unreasonable assumption that the Wilborns were the owners with Mr. Wilborn being the pharmacist. The two single ladies would have been employees who handled the non-pharmacological aspects of the business.

J.E. Kuykendall Lumber Co., Lumbering Along, 3200 E. Lancaster, LO-1921. This business’s location is particularly interesting because it apparently occupied the future site of Meadowbrook Bowling Lanes, which gave way in turn to the current TWU soccer field. It must’ve moved shortly thereafter because Meadowbrook lanes had been there for some time when I returned to Ft. Worth in 1961.

Everybody ought to know to go to Tandy Lake Garage, 3505 E. Lancaster. Free Pick-Up And Delivery. Almost directly across the street from our late, lamented Flashpoint Boogie Burger, it was owned by Mr. Thomas. He and his wife lived behind the garage in a house that fronted on Sanderson (I believe). His wife raised Chow-Chows.

Tandy Lake Service Station, 3501 E. Lancaster, LA-9489. Texaco Products, Washing, Lubrication, Road Service. Immediately west of Tandy Lake Garage at the corner of E. Lancaster and Sanderson. By the early 1960s, it was owned and operated by a man who’s first name was Ted, but the last name escapes me. Still a Texaco station, though. I did quite a lot of business at both the service station and garage.

State Bank of East Fort Worth, 1100 Nashville, LO-2811. We would welcome a visit from you – Convenient Banking Service. Member of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

This was probably the largest building on Nashville Street between E. Vickery and E. Rosedale. It remained there until at least the late 1960s or 1970s when it relocated into that multi-story building at the corner of Beach and Scott on the south side of I-30. Today Chase Bank occupies the space.

Washing and Lubrication. Tire Service. Harry Lawing’s Service Station. “Sinclair Products”. 3950 E. Lancaster, Ph LA-9126. It’s been said that the more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s certainly true where service stations are concerned because 3950 E. Lancaster is basically where Valero is currently located, on E. Lancaster between C lairemont and Boston.

Beavers Food Store, 3301 E. Lancaster. Quality Meats and Groceries – Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. This store was on the northeast corner of Collard and E. Lancaster. By the early 1960s it was still a food store but operating under a different name.

Bill Kuykendall Appliances, 323 Collard. LA-8927, LA-2127. This business was south of E. Lancaster, undoubtedly between E. Lancaster and Panola.

Hart’s Dress Shop, 3708 E. Lancaster. Styles For Teen-Agers. LA-0964. That things were beginning to change is apparent by the rise of stores catering to very specific groups. Teen-age girls in this case.

Only two ads remain, one for a church and the other for a new pharmacy. Let’s look at the church ad first.

We Invite All Meadowbrook Students To Spend Their Sunday With Us. This Is A Young Peoples Church. Sagamore Hill Baptist Church. W. Fred Swank, Pastor.

It’s obvious from the ad that the East Side had a large population of young people, as well as parents who were mostly in their 20s and early 30s. No wonder Sagamore Hill promoted themselves as they did. The church was located on Panola at a point where Rand Street empties into Panola. Today that property belongs to the Charity Church and Sagamore Hill is building a new campus on Eastchase Parkway, just south of Meadowbrook.

As for the drugstore? Let’s take a look at their ad.

Hello! Meadowbrook Students! Have You Seen The New Jack Collier Drug Store? A Wonderful Place To Meet Your Friends and Enjoy Refreshing Fountain Drinks. You Are Always Welcome At Jack Collier Professional Drug Stores. We Give S&H Green Stamps. 3700 E. Lancaster.

The strip center between Ayers and Forby on the south side of E. Lancaster was the location for Jack Collier Drug. Today it’s a run down flea market, but in 1951, Jack Collier Drug Store anchored the center on the Ayers end. Next to it was a shoe repair, then Ben Franklin 5 & 10 and at the opposite end, Worth Food Mart. All of those businesses were there until well into the 1960s and some stayed longer than that. Jack Collier Drug remained until the early 1970s, I believe, when it moved to the corner of Meadowbrook and Yeager, becoming Eastern Hills Pharmacy in the process.

As the ad said, Jack Collier Drug had a full service soda fountain, complete with stools at the counter as well as booths. Believe me, you haven’t lived if you haven’t had a real, thick milkshake served in a heavy, tall glass.

Well, that’s it for all the ads. Next post we’ll look at some of the written information in The Meadowlark and I’ll see what I can do about scanning parts of it.

The Real Meadowlark

Ask people on the East Side today what The Meadowlark is and, if they even know, they’ll tell you that it's the newsletter of the West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association. That’s true as far as it goes, but it isn’t the original Meadowlark. The original Meadowlark took the form of the student newspaper at Meadowbrook Junior High School, 2001 Ederville Rd. S. This location was just north of the open field at the corner of Meadowbrook and Oakland that I mentioned in an earlier post. When the cattle left I can’t say, but that field today is part of the original Meadowbrook Junior High School, now known as Meadowbrook Middle School.

Where did that information come from? From a time capsule I didn’t know I had, in the form of the May 4, 1951 issue that focused on the graduating class of 1951. In the course of six pages, this version of The Meadowlark offers a fascinating window into what Junior High was like in those days and the activities they had. Even better are the advertisements that help rediscover the kinds of businesses that existed in the area back then.

So bear with me, folks. It’s gonna take more than a little time to wade thru all this history, probably forming a substantial number of posts in the process. To get us started, let’s look at some of the ads. They are:

Moseley Refrigeration Co., 1529 E. Lancaster. Their phone number was listed as FO-4118. The advertisement stated that they were Mechanical contractors – Heating – Cooling and they were located on that part of E. Lancaster that is now known as mission row.

Trailer Finance Company. No address given, but their phone number was NO-5696. Obviously a small loan company, but I know nothing else about them. Can any of you help?

Brandon’s, 1415 E. Lancaster. Their ad states Drugs – Groceries – Household Needs, so it’s apparent they were some kind of neighborhood market along the lines of what we now call a convenience store. No more than a block from Moseley Refrigeration, which indicates that part of E. Lancaster was thriving at that time.

University Supply & Equipment Co., 1204 Ayers St. Phone number was LA-0803. They described themselves as Printers – Publishers – Lithographers, Publishers of High School and College Yearbooks. Their address puts them right around the intersection of Ayers and E. Rosedale.

Ferry’s Boot Shop, 5807 E. Lancaster, phone number LA-9435. Location would have been pretty close to the intersection of E. Lancaster and Canton Dr.

Mott’s, 3008 E. Rosedale, phone LA-5629. The ad lists them as a 5c – 10c – 25c Store. Their address puts them just west of Vaughn Blvd. and almost directly across the street from Texas Wesleyan College in that block long strip of brick buildings that’s mostly boarded up these days.

Tharp’s Grocery & Market, 2636 Meadowbrook. Their ad states that they have Quality Merchandise. Location was around the intersection of Ward and Meadowbrook, not more that a block from where Meadowbrook joins E. Lancaster.

John Morris Floral Company, Flowers For All Occasions – Three Locations To Give Better Service. No idea where two locations were, but one was on the southeast corner of Boston St. and E. Lancaster, directly east of the Valero service station.

The Chicken Shack No. 2, Specializing In Leslie’s Fried Chicken, 4400 E. Lancaster, phone LA-2319. You know, they say there’s nothing new under the sun and this ad proves it. Fried chicken businesses have apparently been on E. Lancaster since the first fried chicken moved out of the family kitchen! Incidentally, their location was just the other side of the Rand/E. Lancaster intersection.

That’s about it for this post, but don’t go away. There’s another two pages of ads to go through. By the time we’ve turned the last page, we’re going to know a lot more about life in this area during 1951. Considering the way things have been going for us lately, meaning the economy, fuel prices, food prices, etc., we could wind up wishing we could go back to 1951!