apollopride

At the risk of repeating a mention of this in the previous postings (which I've not all read), let me say there was a Marie Callender's pie place near Sharpstown Mall in the 70s. Only one in Texas that I had ever seen. Typically you would find those on the West Coast.

The big Marie Callender's restaruants showed up much later...at least we had them when I lived in Austin. But the one you are referring to was TINY!! It was sandwiched in between Frank Gillman and the Conquistador. That was our regular Sunday School skipping destination. You'd think we skipped and bought pie - but I remember always getting a bowl of soup and their yummy cornbread!

I went digging into the matchbook collection that I snagged from Mom and Dad's before we had the estate sale and found this:

It has the Fort Worth phone number...I wonder if they got it there, or did they give these out in Houston. Guess I'll never know!

As for the cafeteria in question, Apollopride, I remember it spelled as Jetton's.

I'm sure you all are correct. I don't know what I was thinking...I probably couldn't spell yet when we patronized the place!

as someone who has been away almost 40 years and is now back, can anyone say what happened to these?

albritton's cafeteria on waugh dr close to dallas? great twice baked potatoes

Jetton's cafeteria on richmond maybe at buffalo speedway? close to greenway plaza

ding

I've never found anyone else - besides my siblings - who remembers Jaton's (wasn't it spelled that way?) My family rarely ate out, but this was a favorite cafeteria. I remember huge lines going out the door on Mother's Day or Father's Day. I asked my brother about it recently - he said it is now one of those medical buildings on Richmond behind Greenway.

Here's one for all the old timers. Seems like 3 years ago I was in this photo. This is 1967.

LOVE IT. I think I see my Mom.

A thread that will include the Super Slide, the "Clock of Texas" automatronical diorama in Sharpstown Shopping Center (I learned the Six Flags from that thing),

The Pink Poodle pet salon,

and McIntyre's TV shop.

This one seems to have everything else!

I remember the Super Slide! And you only have to look at my avatar to see I remember The Clock of Texas.

I really wish people would realize that Sharpstown is not as bad as it is made out to be. The constant confusion of other areas with Sharpstown doesn't help.

I'm with you gwilson! "Southwest Houston" does not mean Sharpstown.

And the little places..about the same size as an old box shaped jack in the box but were made to look like windmills with cedar shake siding. can't remember the name seems like it started with a W.

I know this question is 2 years old, but I just saw it...and maybe I chimed in on this topic before and my aging brain doesn't remember...but you are thinking of Zyder Zee. There used to be one on Fondren between Hwy 59 and Bellaire Blvd.

Anyone list The Velvet Turtle?

Everything was to die for from the gazpacho to the chocolate mousse. It was on the Southwest Freeway before you got to that hotel that I can't remember the name of and it had a swinging disco in the 70-80's. Big old English looking Place.

I never ate at The Velvet Turtle - but I remember it well. It was south of Hillcroft on Hwy 59. Now it's some big flashy strip club. (COLORADO?) The old English looking hotel was further south - Royal Coach Inn. Was the disco called Ruggles?

They just opened one down in Pearland (288 & 518).........making a comeback perhaps?

Guess they ARE making a comeback - there's one on Hwy 59 in Richmond.

I thought the Purple Cow was on the west side of Hillcroft near Bissonnet. Or am I thinking of something else?

That's where I thought it was. Close to Bayland Park.

Love your post Chief! Not sure about your recollection of where Battelsteins was located...I thought it was on the other side of the mall just outside of Foleys - but you appear to have a much better memory than me - so you're probably right. Wasn't the restuarant with the phones at the tables called, "Across the Street"? That's what I remember.

Thanks for the trip back to the good ole days!

......and if you go to Yahoo to find a "Roger Clements" picture, you are gonna be very frustrated.

Well, not too frustrated, you would get this photo with former Texas Governor Bill Clements and Dallas Cowboys Great Roger Staubach!

Re: Palmeiro & OCD

I'm not talking about strap adjusting. I'm talking about when he's at the plate, he does all these quirky things that look involuntary. Watch his eyebrows and his hands. He's always wiping his forehead with his hands as if he's brushing the bangs out of his face or wiping sweat. Only he has no bangs and if it's sweat, sweat beads wouldn't have had time to build up on his forehead as frequently as he wipes it. He kind of reminds me of a spider monkey. Don't tell me you've never noticed. I can't be the only one who watches in fascination when Orlando's at the bat.

I haven't noticed this about Orlando - but I used to notice it about Biggio - only not so much anymore. It's been a few years now - but he would always come up to the plate, tap his bat on the base, turn it around in his hands, and then adjust the helmet with his right hand. I only notice him adjusting the helmet now. I guess that's how he got all the pine tar on it.

Well, first of all my brother and Dad were doing Scouts there in the Activities Center. Then again, I was a Campfire Girl from 1972-1983, and the church knew us all. Again, stupid things that kids do......I must have been a teenager because my son is acting just like I used to back then, lol.

Hey, do you remember Shed, Shay? My mind is going first. Shadrack?

Ha! Shed was correct. I remember him well. I just emailed him tonight because I heard a familiar voice on Channel 2 News and came into the room and re-wound the DVR - sure enough it was his Dad doing one of those "man on the street" interviews. He's one of those people I'll always be friends with.

Hey have you heard this! It's my favorite Public Service Announcement!

http://www.enviromedia.com/MP3/TCEQ_stormdrain.mp3

We were literally kicked out of Astroworld on an MYF outing! Oh man! Dumb things that kids do......

There were plenty of MYFers that did dumber! I wish that hadn't kept you away. I remember one time we were having a "lock-in" and a few of us sneaked away to the church sanctuary and decided to have "Disco Church." So we flashed the lights off and on really fast to look like a strobe...how sacrilegious could we get?! The church has those huge windows that face Bellaire and the Fire Dept guys saw the flashing lights and called the cops. The MYF leader awoke to find 3 of us with our arms spread against the church wall and a cop pointing a gun at us! Dumb at the time - but funny to remember.

Does anybody here attend the church in reference? It is now United, but when I was baptised there it was pretty basic. I noticed a building in the area of the former playground where we played. I was baptised in 1970. Was in MYF and sang in the chior. I have so many memories connected to this church.

Oh man - my memory IS failing me! Gethsemane IS where I knew you from! I went there from - well I don't know - since before I have memories until I left for college. But I'm still very connected because of my Mom and Dad...now just Dad. If you take time to look at it (this being an architectural forum!) - it really is a beautiful church too. All of us girls dreaded the thought of trying to decorate the place when we got married because we thought it was ugly. But fortunately by the time I DID get married I came to appreciate it's style. Kind of Frank Lloyd Wright...ish? I was glad that the organist suggested I use the original candlesticks on the altar. The architect designed them specifically to go with the church. I love that turquoise, orange and brown church!

Anyone remember SFDS carnivals? We went to those every year. I can remember playing BINGO....

...My dad used to take us to pick Dewberries also. What fun! I had forgotten about that...One thing that you brought memories of was seeing dead "frogs" smashed in the street. I know this sounds terrible, but we use to see them all the time, then many years later when I would go back to my parents home, I always wondered where all the "frogs" went to.

SFDS still has the "carnivals" - it's called the Bazaar! I too loved to go when I was a kid. It must have been over 30 years ago that I bought a little green plant there (that I named Simon) and took it home to my Mom. It somehow jumped out of the pot and took over the flower bed in the backyard. It really made kind of nice ground cover. Mom called it "Simon's children." It is still there today along the side of the house! I am going to grab some for sure before we sell the place so I can have some of Simon's children at MY house.

I remember all the dewberries in that area too. There was a row of them that grew between Sharpstown General Hospital and Gethsemane Methodist Church. We picked some one day at nursery school and I put them in my front pocket to bring to my Grandfather who was visiting at the time. Too bad I did that BEFORE nap time. I ended up with smashed dewberries in my pocket.

And I remember all the frogs too! And you know what else has disappeared? Turtles. We were always finding turtles and keeping them as pets until they wandered off again. I guess it's just too much development - no place for the turtles and the frogs to hang out anymore.

We moved to Sharpstown in 1969. We lived on the corner of Neff St. and Larkwood. The house with the big white barking german shepard. The dog's name was "Marbles," but my mom used to yell out, "stop barking Killer." I guess Killer sounded more intimidating than Marbles.

Of course my brother and I moved out in later years, but my parents stayed there until 1991. I went to went to Sutton Elementary, Jane Long Jr. High and graduated from Sharpstown High with the class of 1983.

Well I know I've driven past your house many times because one of my best friends lived on the corner of Carvel and Larkwood. I bet I know you too! Or at least know who you are - I was in Class of '83 as well. We were going through boxes at my Dad's house tonight - getting ready to move him out - and I found this little black and white cartoon that Mom cut out of the paper one day and stuck on my bedroom door. It said "Class of '83 is Number One." It stayed there for years until they turned my bedroom into an office....about the same time my favorite Dallas Cowboys poster mysteriously disappeared!

7) I remember the old EATON Car Parts and repair place when it went up near the corner of Gessner and Beechnut. I thought, "wow, what a cool building". I think we all know the building.

I don't think you bored anyone here - we all seem to be Sharpstonians in our hearts! Those are some great memories. I remember when they built that Eaton building and how "mod" it was...well it was kind of like that store in Astroworld, "The Mod Box." But oh it looks awful now! They demolished the old car dealership and lot next to it and I wish they could just keep going and raze that building too.

I remember the hill in front of Pat Neff Elementary School that always seems so big when we hunted Easter Eggs...

Well you just recounted MY life! Only I was one year old when we moved to Sharpstown in 1965. Funny you mentioned the hill in front of Neff. I just drove past the school last weekend and wondered to myself why they had to get rid of the hill. Probably from fear of some Jack or Jill tumbling down and filing a lawsuit. Remember how there were always two Golden Eggs when they had the Easter Egg hunt out front? And did you ever encounter a horny toad on the kick ball field?! We are in the process of moving my Dad to a retirement center and I can't help but be pretty sad about not having a home in Sharpstown anymore.

Two Pesos? Taco Cabana bought the Two Pesos stores in Houston. I don't remember a Del Taco in Houston. I know they are just about everywhere, but Texas though. I went to one last year in California!

I know there were 2 Del Tacos on S. Gessner - one near the Hwy 59 intersection and one near the Westchase district. I liked their strawberry soda.

There was a cool place to eat on the end that you ordered using telephones at the table. I don't recall the name.

I loved that restaurant! I think it was called Across the Street.

(And Mrs. Hughes was my 4th grade teacher too)

"Mansion" at Gessner and Beechnut? Yes, I wondered what kind of person would have invested in a building at that site at a busy intersection. Gypsy's? most likely.

So funny that you said that! I guess we heard the same rumor. If anyone asks me I always say the King of the Gypsys lives there. My 41 year old brain can't remember where that tidbit came from. I thought it was one of those crazy things my Mom was always coming up with.

Hey is Christie's still on Westheimer? Seafood.

Just drove past Christie's on Westheimer yesterday - still there! We always went to the one on Bellaire - near Hillcroft - no longer there.

In answer to your question, old_sharpstown, I don't know what PID is, but I remember reading about TIRZ an article that was in Chronicle a few months ago and partially quoted here:

The light has turned green for improvements aimed at increasing the Bellaire-Fondren intersection's safety, mobility, aesthetics and reducing flooding along Fondren.

The Southwest Houston Redevelopment Authority announced Tuesday that a contractor will be selected from two bidders - Jerdon Construction of Stafford and Reytec Construction Resources Inc. of Houston - to complete intersection improvements at Bellaire Boulevard at Fondren Road.

The project's engineer, HNTB Architects Engineers Planners, estimated the outlined improvements would cost between $2.5-$3 million.

Those costs will be financed through the (Sharpstown) Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 20, created by the city of Houston in 1999 and governed by the Authority.

Bill Calderon, executive director of the Authority and TIRZ No. 20, said the pilot project will set the tone for roadway improvements to rival those in the downtown and Galleria areas.

A couple of months ago there was a house fire at Burning Tree and Sharpview. I heard from a woman at my church that the owners are going to tear down and rebuild a larger home. There is one Sharpstown realtor who has been saying for years, "Sharpstown is the next Bellaire." Maybe this home is the beginning of Sharpstown's rebirth! However - I don't wish for all the old Sharpstown homes to be torn down and replaced with McMansions - they are great, solidly built homes.

Wow! Thanks for the photos MaxConcrete! So did the Sinclair Station become an Arco? (And I think later an Amco). The man in "station 7" is wearing an Arco shirt. I think that is Mr. Terhune - who I remember fondly from my parent's Sunday School class.

Also - I saw that water tower photo for sale on eBay, but I didn't buy it. Also saw the Sharpstown Clock on ebay...didn't buy it either, but saved it to my computer...