The Old Corner Soda Shop

Betty Boop

Betty Boop

Member
I remember after school and on the weekend being a fixture at the Soda Shop during my teen years. Ordering a Soda, Malt, or an Ice Cream Float just was the best. Also playing the Juke Box and hanging out with my friends.

Anybody else remember the great times hanging out at the Soda Shop?
 

We had a drugstore on the corner that had a soda fountain counter. I seldom had the money to get anything but when I did, it was always a cherry Coke with crushed cherries in the bottom of the glass. Yummm....

Otherwise, we'd just wander around looking at stuff or trying to read the comic books before the old lady who owned it or her husband the pharmacist would chase us out.

All kids and teenagers were considered to be potential shoplifters.
 
The fountain sodas(cherry and vanilla) were the best.

We made a day out of it there it seemed. Playing the Juke Box and just hanging out. It probably drove the owners crazy because we didn't have that much money to spend. It was so much fun though.
 
jujube said:
You.could.afford.a.milkshake???? That was what I aspired to in life.....to sit at that counter and slap down a dollar bill and demand a milkshake.

By the time I got big enough to afford it, we were all too "cool" to be seen at the drugstore. Everyone was across the street at the drive in/walk in hot-spot with all the other would-be juvenile delinquents.
Click to expand...
Usually, the owner of the diner looked the other way while we tied up a booth over an order of toast.

It has always fascinated me that kids who don't seem to know much math are always able to scan a menu and instantly find the best value.
 
Mine was Foster Drugstore on the corner. Only it was my pre-teens. 14, I guess. I'd check out the Archie "funny books" while the high schoolers would be at the soda fountain. The girls had "sheath" skirts, turtle necks with "snow-cone" bras, saddle shoes and thin neck scarfs., bobby socks. A handsome (always alone) boy named Woody always leaned against the back wall watching them. I would lean against the side wall watching HIM! (years older but so cute).
Sometimes, I'd jump on a stool and order a cherry coke. I always wore rolled up jeans and my Dad's old white shirt, pony tail, white tennis shoes.
(My uniform).
When I turned 15 and could drive my old 40 Ford, I was too busy draggin Main and listening to Wolfman Jack and the hits as loud as possible.
(with all the windows rolled down so everyone could enjoy Buddy Holly!)
Nice memories!
 
Our Corner Soda Shop was Rexall Drug. After Mr. Carmichael, the pharmacist retired, it was closed down. The building is now owned by hubby's nephew and has been thru a huge renovation. The building is quite large and he converted the two back rooms as office spaces and a candy store in another section of the building. Oh, and the front is the cutest soda shop.
 
Last edited:
We would hang out at “John’s” which was a joint on one of the corners on Main St. You could get a burger and coke at the counter or check out the magazines near the entrance. He got mad if you just looked and didn’t buy. In the back room was a jukebox called a “Rockola” which took nickels. My favorite was Poison Ivy by the Coasters. It was a hangout for both kids and adults. In the summer we just hung out outside and threw the bull and watched the cars go by. Below is actual photo from 1955.
1650243796316.jpeg
 
Entertainment provided by Ted Wray a/k/a Hot Fingers Peroni


The history of soda fountains


Soda fountains in the 1930s


Soda fountains in the 1940s


Soda fountains in the 1950s

 
My grandfather lived just a block from a really nice soda fountain, in Bridges Drug store. He and Mr. Bridges were friends so we got special treatment, or that was the way it seemed. Still remember the cherry cordials. Mr Bridges built a small house using his bottles, always interesting for a kid. The drug store, soda fountain, and Mr Bridges have been gone a long time...
 
I think it was Nestor's. It had a small soda fountain. When you asked for a coke, the guy would squirt brown stuff in a tall glass, then add ice and soda water. Then he stirred with a long shiny spoon. It tasted a lot better than anything you get in a can, today.
 
W23RZO1.gif
 
There were 2 in my life. In my younger years in the summer my best friend & I would bike to a shop called the KarmelKorn, which was once of the few air conditioned places available, and dawdle over a root beer float cooling off. Then late HS & college age there was another restaurant/ice cream parlor called the Toll Gate we would go to after dances, dates, school breaks etc. it still exists! Sadly all but one of my old crowd has passed on.

But then one night not long ago I had the most wonderful dream. I was visiting the home town, going alone to the Toll Gate, not sure what to expect, and one or two old friends were already there, and in a few minutes ago the rest showed up and we laughed and talked and ate chocolate ice cream just like the old days. A preview of heaven?
 
jujube said:
You.could.afford.a.milkshake???? That was what I aspired to in life.....to sit at that counter and slap down a dollar bill and demand a milkshake.

By the time I got big enough to afford it, we were all too "cool" to be seen at the drugstore. Everyone was across the street at the drive in/walk in hot-spot with all the other would-be juvenile delinquents.
Click to expand...
When I was a kid a milk shake was about 25 cents. And that was in the big city of Chicago. We're talking late '40s and early '50s.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top