old_Sharpstown

One of the all you can eat steak houses in Sharpstown was called "Billy Outlaw's" I sadly worked there for about 2 years while in High School. other cool places in the 80's: 1) Rocksey (across from where Tootsies was in the Highland Village shopping area 2) driving south on US-59 and seeing nothing but fields past Sugar Creek. No developement at HWY6 and US59 at that time.

The entry to the Gaylynn was always a black concrete surface with a sparkle in it. It may have been refinished prior to the premier. I am fairly sure for the "Urban Cowboy" premiere, they covered the entry with red carpet. My friends were the doormen/ticket takers for the event (they had to wear brown , western style tuxes the studio rented for them). I stood in front and watched Andy Warhol (with Jerry Hall?) walk in with her tight gold pants, Charlie Daniels standing around, etc. I went in after everyone had left and we tripped over so many wine/champagne bottles people brought in and drank. I recall Debra Winger leaving the theater last with no crowd around (she was petite and no one knew her).

I had visited the last Farrell's in San Diego a few years ago. I just read that it just closed 45 days ago.

My only experience in this church is attending regular Boy Scout meetings in the Activity Building behind the church and also doing an over-night camp out on the lot behind the church with the Boy Scouts. All in the late 70's. A good friend of mine also was married in that church in the mid-80's. I had always attended the nearby Sharpstown Baptsit Church. Have you seen the "large" mosque that is behind the Gethsemane church now? You can see maybe 50 to 100 or so men outside attending their daily prayers.

All I could recall of the old Tommie Vaughn jingle is: "..They got great service..they got good price, they got everything (missing words) that's nice......Tommie Vaughn...Tommie Vaughn Ford" All done in a deep baratone/"Texan sounding" voice. Allthough no song comes to mind...I guess everyone recalls the "Rocket City" dealership on the Gulf Freeway near the Gulfgate mall. Was it Dan Boone's dealership? Lastly. was it Frizell (??) that had "A whale of a deal" with a whale cartoon as a logo?

As I understand it...the 2 letter prefix in an old phone number was the name of the exchange (or Central Office) that your phone service would connect through to reach the rest of the Bell system. If, for example, you had "PR" for Preston...your exchange was likely on Preston street. I am fairly sure the MO (Mohawk) is on Mohawk street in Bellaire. Most central offices are hard to spot as they are very plain buildings and they have few if any windows or signs. As for 10 digit dialing....yes..it is a fact of the times. I believe it was 5 digits in the 50's, 6 digits in the 60's, and 7 digits in the 70's and beyond. The Bell system was constantly implimenting a "geographic" split of existing area codes to accomidate growth. This always meant that many existing...and many long established numbers, would have to change. As the 90's came, SBC decided to impliment an "overlay" pattern where multiple area codes would inhabit the same geographic territories.....your next door neighbor could be in a different area code. One day...we may even have to go to a 15 digit numbering system...if growth continues. As seen on another website...Houston had 27,000 telephone customers in 1920. We have a few more than that now.

That was actualy a "Sage Drugs" which was an off-shoot of the Sage stores. Sage was the orignal "big box" store/mass merchandiser. It was the precursor in Houston to K-Mart and Walmart. Sage Drugs were smaller stores and were more in-line like a Walgreens. There was a "Globe" at Bellaire Blvd. and Hilcroft (it became a Fiesta store later). There was a Sage at 610 and Beechnut and a Builder's Square (now closed??) came to occupy that space later.

Der Weinerschitzel (??) I believe is based in San Diego. There are lots of those places there. It is also their "official" hot dog at Petco Park where the San Diego Padres play baseball.

How old is the Dot Diner at the old Gulfgate Mall location? It is next to the Pappas Bar-BQ place (formerly called Brisket House). Both are some of the oldest in the Pappas chain. They are probably from the 70's. Although not Houston....how old is Gaido's in Galveston? Has it always been at that seewall location? I went there in the 60's at least. Until it burned down maybe 5 years ago....how old was the "Sho 'Nuf" Bar-BQ place on I-10 east right past Mercury on the south side of the freeway? It looked old......... How old is Bonnie's on the Gulfgate freeway near Woodridge and how old is Dante's also on Gulfgate (a little further south on the freeway feeder road). Just some thoughts of old restraurant locations.....

That place was called "Billy Outlaws". I worked there as a kid. They did very well. The owner sold out to the manager who mis-managed the place and it folded later. The original owner opened several Mr Gatti's later...but I believe those folded too. I do remember his daughter, Nadine...very attractive. It was sorta of a college hangout in the late 80's. I recall Mary Lou Retton coming over for drinks...and this before she was married. She had to sit on pillow in her Corvette to see over the dash. She had already won her Olympic medals. What was their punch based drink called? They would only allow you 2 instead of their 3 for 1 deals. It was very potent.

The location we frequented was one at the corner of Gessner and SW Freeway....in a shopping center that had a Bert Wheelers and a Pier One at one time. It is all hispanic businesses now. It was popular with Little League pizza parties and maybe with the local hippie/high school hip crowd. I would not be suprised about the cleanliness of the places. They became "big" for several years, but then the "disco age" came in and their funkiness faded fast. Anyone recall "Village Inn Pizza" at the corner of Bissonnet and Fondren? ALso another place Little League teams would eat pizza. They had live entertainment and lots of long tables.

Peppermint Park was at the Gulfgate Mall in the 60's. It moved to near W Bellfort and US-50 South in the 70's. I think the building is still there. It was a body shop most recently. I may have photo of the one near Gulfgate.

Not sure if I saw these posted on this thread.....does anyone remember: Kip's Big Boy on Bellare (now a bank building) Herfee's (?) hamburgers - all of the locations became Whataburgers. I think these were here in the mid 70's Yamin's Pizza (from the 70's) Danver's - great Roast Beef sandwiches and good cookies Gabby's (still one on Shepherd that I know of) BTW - Farrell's Ice Cream is still in San Diego...where they are based. They still have that 99 scoop item. and Last...Hoi Sai Gui...at Post Oak at San Felipe...my first Chinese restraurant experience as a kid