Do You Remember?

We had our DAWN DANCE at the VFW!

      
Spending Friday and Saturday nights "cruisin" Main St... the candy aisle at Wayside Drugs... putting a dime in the restroom at Murphy's... the huge barrel in city park that had windows on the side, the front door and sand inside (whatever happened to that thing)... the bale of hay that was hung from the barn behind the Super Dairy... George's Candy Store with delicious carmel apples and his world famous "Whips"...  the bicycle that hung from VanLoon's Sporting Goods on Main Street... the clock in front of Kerr's Jewelry Store on Main Street...  Scott's Health Foods (where Casey's is now)... the goofy golf and driving range that was where the new YMCA stands today... the small lunch counter at Top Save... Little Red Hen Chicken... the "good" concession stand that was always across the street from the city park carnivals in the service station parking lot owned by the Wissen family...Don's Music Supply (where Family Dollar is today)... Byerly Music in Illini plaza... Tenderloins at Woolworths!... the church park ball diamond on Richards St...the Roller Rink...a quart of Silverfross rootbeer in those strange looking orange and white containers...the flashing neon sign above the building on the SW corner of Bloomington and Hichory. It flashed alternately: "Need Cash Quick" "See Citizen Loan"
           
 How about the Super Dairy Free Movies on Saturday afternoons when you "paid" with milk bottle lids...Eisenbart, Goslin, and Hudachko Drugstores...The men's clothing store that had a big scale outside in the entrance that you could put a penny in and weigh yourself. 
   
Downtown parade - 1955 - Thanks to John Burt for pic. 
Hi-Lo Gas Station workers dressed in uniforms for work!              Putting a card from a deck of cards just right in your cable box so you could get all the pay channels like Cinemax, HBO and Showtime for free.  Ace Hardware's window decorated for Christmas. Being on a party telephone line.The balcony at the old Montgomery Wards store where kids could go up to and drop paper on people. The ice cream truck that used to drive around Streator. The Bookshelf on Bloomington St.


Do you remember...........??????
the candy counter in Murphys
Jupiters with the squeky floors
the music section in Top Save 
the minah bird in Top Save
Thompsons food basket

Katchewan lake
Pitsticks!!!! and the summer concerts they had
banana seat bikes 

Maria's pizza on S.Monroe St and then on Main St.
Slack piles on the northeast and southest sides of town

church bells (kept curfew for me)
the original Silverfross
all the shoe stores on Main St.
Marx's &  Gura's neighborhood grocery stores - Can you name more?
The driving range on Oakley Ave.
The miniature golf course at Westgate Plaza.
The tavern and junk yard across Main St. from the Westgate Plaza
entrance where the canoe launch is now.
The Hobby Show at the Armory
The traffic on Main Street going in both directions
Going to  the Drive-In

Can you name the stores that were in these storefronts in the 60's?

Here are more places and things that should bring back the memories of growing up in Streator:

Rizzo's Motorcycle Shop by the Fire Station
The Pumpkin wagons going to the Canning Factory on South Vermillion St.
Novotneys Cigar Store (Next to Cali"s East.)  
Fishing Rodeos at Fekens Pond, where they tagged the fish on the tail and gave prizes to the kids for different categories.
Flip, " The most famous bartender"
The Church where Bulldog's is now located. High School Kids would eat their lunch on the steps.
The Go Kart track out on East Livingston Rd by Smith Douglas Rd
"Grandma's Lounge"
The bus station at the Schultz Hotel on corner of Hickory & Bloomington The Montgomery Ward tire store on Hickory St.
When IFP was on Iowa Ave
Art's Record Store
How about Rokey's and the Plumb Hotel?
Then there is the Grove and Indian Acre's too.
Streator's "Woodstock"?
Opdyke's, Krystal's and Esther Kirk's
When they use to block off SouthPark Street in the winter for sledding.
The Granada Theatre on S. Monroe St.
and then there was the fire that destroyed it
Matthews IT Book Store (office/school supply store)
Woolworths and Murphys Dime store food counters
Hamburger Inn on Bloomington St. where Times Press parking lot is now. You could get 6 hamburgers for a dollar.
TG&Y
The gas station north of Streator Lanes where a guy was murdered.
Del Monte Tavern across from WIZZ where the closing statement was "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."
Dixie's (Yum) Pizza - The original
THe little gas station at the four mile corner.
Moon Creek Ghost Stories.
Harcharik Bottling Soda
The soda fountain at the Circle Dairy
And what ahout the popsicle vendors that would ride those white cooler bike contraptions
The hippy section at Top Save back in the corner where they had the black lights, posters, incense and candles
Harvest, Kosley, and Federal Bakeries
2 tailor shops, one in Westgate Plaza, and the other on Sterling St.
Buehlers Market (the best polish ham)
Gracos Market

Trapps Bar and Dutches (great beef sandwiches)
Smittys tap, Arthurs Lounge, the Cresent Lounge, Rokeys (that Freida thing)
Plumb, Grant, and Greeley Schools

Ice skating at Marilla and Oakland Park
Playing tennis in the city park
The Polish picnics in Oakland Park

The old bun haired head librarian @ the public library....(mean... mean)
Van Loons
Bowl-More Lanes and their resturant called the Lamp Light Room Zwang's Furniture Store


Do you remember going to the Illinois Valley Dairy ice cream store at the east end of Main Street by the train depot- you could get an ice cream cone then go sit on the wooden luggage wagons at the depot and watch the Sante Fe Super Chief or frieght trains come by. If you looked across the street you would see Zwang's Furniture Store.

Here are some more........

WHITE HOUSE RESTURANT. USED TO BE NEXT TO WOODY,S
CALLING UNION BANK FOR TIME AND TEMP
UNCLE LARZ,S
JAY NELSON RIDING HIS BIKE AROUND TOWN
PHONE BOOTHS
AND PARKING METERS
FIREWORKS AT SOUTHSIDE DIAMOND
REMEMBER HANGING OUT IN THE OLD KROGERS PARKING LOT? DRAG RACING ON THE OLD KERNAN ROAD??
RIZZOS BARBER SHOP /BODY SHOP.
FOREMOST LIQUORS

THE ROOT BEER TREE AT SILVERFROSS
AIRPLANES PULLING ADVERTISEMENT BANNERS FLYING OVER STREATOR.
DAREDEVEL AIRPLANE PILOTS PRACTICING THIER STUNTS ABOVE THE OUTSKIRTS OF STREATOR. ONE OF THEM CRASHED &BURNED IN A CORNFIELD NORTHEAST OF STREATOR.
THAT SMALL CAFE THAT WAS WEST OF WHERE TIME OUT ICE CREAM IS NOW and the HILO GAS STATION ACROSS THE STREET
 SUPER DAIRY CASH & CARRY
THATCHERS & OWENS COMPANY PICNICS
GO GO GIRLS
STREATOR CAB....CHECKER CABS WITH THE FOLD DOWN STOOLS IN THE REAR
FREDS DRIVE UP WINDOW WITH THAT LOUD BUZZER MCFADDEN REALTY
VIRL Z.HILL SELLING o.K. USED CARS

 When they built the "NEW" pool, and we used to go swimming there all day long. We would go over to Dog and Suds for frozen Milkshake candy bars.
"Green River" soda fountain pop...
parking meters... bookstores...pool halls...cigar stores...Clark station...railroads crisscrossing all over town...Rudy's....Washko's Hobby Shop...The pet store on Illinois st across from St.Stephens...Millers Cigar Store...The Streator Grill on Bloomington St... Montgomery Wards... A&P on Bloomington... Tot-n-Teens on Main St...Colony Room in the Plumb Hotel...Baskins Robins...Savoia's...Dixie's...Chalkeys...The beauty school in the back of the Plumb Hotel...The PigglyWiggly...Duis electric.... Okraski TV and appliances...Toms Boots and Western Wear...Dittmans (I think paint store... and horse tac)... FredmansFurniture... THE BEER GARDEN!! On the parking lot of the Bowl- Mor...The Country School chicken joint where Western gas station is...The Little Red Hen which was farther north...Mother Goose Garden near Starved Rock ..the place where people went shooting opposite the dam...the old Christmas decorations on Main Street which were green with all color lights snd reached all the way across the street. They were replaced with horrible gaudy gold tinsel with large stars...Illinois Valley Milk delivery trucks...Watching the fireworks and Circus at the Owen's Diamond...Rodeos at the south side diamond area...The Barr brick streets...Joe's Tap...Chris', Dorothys.... and Bonnies flower shops...THE GINGERBREAD PLAYERS...The flashing stars on the Rudy's sign. The letters would light up one at a time to spell RUDYS...then the stars would  twinkle! Rudy's also had a very cool way of delivering your groceries to your car. They'd bag em at the checkout and number the sacks, then give you a number card. They'd put your groceries on one of those conveyers made of rollers. The groceries went to a delivery area under a car port. You then drove your car under the port with your number card displayed in your windshieldand the bag boys would load your groceries into your car.
How about the smell of the freshly roasted nuts and fresh popcorn from the candy counter at Murphy's
Going to Rashid's to buy those weird gym uniforms for PE
Listening to the request show they had on WIZZ on weekday afternoons after school
Speaking of WIZZ, how about Pet Patrol, Swap Shop, Ralph Hart (say 'ral fart') reporting, and polka music every day
The days when you could use the Silverfross walk up window and get a cheeseburger, fries and a root beer for $0.95
Also like the corn dogs at A&W on N. Bloomington or Dog N Suds by the pool.
Do you remember the drum and bugel corp competitions at the high school field over 4th of July?
Going tubing in the river or at Bailey Falls over by Lowell
Miller's corner downtown on Main St. - lots of characters hanging out there on weekend nights!
The Streator Municipal Pool where you put all your belongings into the wire basket and got a pin with the basket number to pin to your swimsuit.
Going to Baldwin's Market afterwards to get a slowpoke or sweet tarts, walk around the store so the cashier would follow you to make sure you didn't steal anything.
The ice cream social at Sherman School right on the lawn.
The elevator in the Murray Building. There were dentists, doctors and many offices in the Murray Bldg.
The carnivals that they would set up right on main street and close the street down or on Illinois St by the old meat packing building
Every Friday and Saturday was cruise night
Williams Hardware Fire
The foot bridge over the tracks by Owens
Marilla Park
Fashionaire where any high school girl could have a charge account and have all the clothes you ever wanted. I think a good dress cost about $10.00 The women would actually wait on you and tell you how great you looked!!! (they worked for commission)

If you have a  memory you want included send it to Mary Volkman and she will add it to the list.
 

 

 

Going to the YMCA and the dances at the HUB?

How about the fire at the Heenan Hardware store? 



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