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Bruce Anderson

Karlan Fairchild

Wow, several things popped to mind.  First, Debbie Dupree lived across the street from us on Westwood, Cynthia Woodward lived two doors to the west, Tina Miller two doors down from there, Roxanne Baxter lived down on the corner...oh, wait, I've mentioned only females, haven't I?  And Bob, I have some really good memories of exploring the creek, too, not to mention playing pick-up baseball until we couldn't see the ball any longer because it grew dark.  And, Bruce, I'm really saddened to learn about the legendary PizzaVilla closing its doors really soon.  I've known for years that Terry never drove into Richardson without stopping there for a pizza.  Does anyone remember Fred's Barbeque in Heights Shopping Center?  How about the Wyatt's Cafeteria in the same shopping center?  And the fascinating collection of models available at Woolworth's?

David Grant

Pizza Villa.  That place has lasted so long with the same sign.  I can't believe it is a family business.  We jused to joke that it was front for Mafia money as it was rarely busy when I drove by and it outlasted every other retail store in that area.  Lots of high school memories there.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

And also, in that same Heights shopping center, was Sun Rexall, where there was that obnoxious talking Myna bird, the rack of "45" records, & teen magazines, plus that Jewish lady who would chase us out of the store, by sweeping the floor with that gigantic broom, if we lingered too long by those records or mags!  Then too, there was Pam Keese's family dance studio business, a "Dad & Lads" store, where we often bought handkerchiefs for Father's Day gifts.  In the springtime, usually a travelling carnival group would come into town, and setup their operation in that shopping center parking lot, providing lots of fun for all of us, if we could talk our parents out of  some of their "hard earned money," to go!  Then, of course, that darn "Tilt-O Whirl," would leave us with "upset" tummies, after downing that huge, pink, cotton candy fluffy stuff!  Now those were the days!  The carefree, crazy '60's of yesteryear! Those were the years when only those "carn-y people,"  who worked the rides at the carnival, had tatooes all over their arms!  Times have certainly changed, haven't they?

Russ Stovall

How about the "The Battle of the Bands" at the rec. center.  Boone Richards group was great.  Sneak out with your girl to the baseball fields and make out in the dugouts (this is before we could drive of course).   Bob what a shame that our kids and grand kids can't  leave the house in the morning like we did, and not see their parents until supper.  

Pizza Villa,  yes it is sad that it might not be there any longer.  May just have to go get one last pizza tues. night.  Somewhere in that same shopping strip Daryl Summers dad had a restaurant  that had great chicken and the best home made rolls.  We would go over for lunch during exams when we were at Richardson Jr. High.

The baseball games at Heights were awesome.  Great crowds, stands were full, cars driving thru the park ckecking everyone out.   Our names in the Richardson paper about the games by Kip Currens.  I will never forget our Pirates team with Steve Magner and his gold front tooth with  SMU engraved on it. 

Hope to see some of you Tues. at Pizza Villa.

Daryl Summers

My Dad's place next door I would trade chicken for pizza. I was a bus boy and dishwasher. I remember I was in jr high and the high school boys were working at Southern Maid and Ashburns. The high school boys would get me to ask our cooks to run down to the Creek and make purchases for weekend parties.

Glenn Messmer was on Channel 11 news Sunday they were doing a story on the closing of the Villa and he was in Pizza Villa picking up a pie.

Under the bridge that led to the ball fields was another good make out place.

Phil Fielder

How could you guys forget about Del's Hickory Burgers that was and still is just around the corner. Same old sign. I tell some of the teachers at school about the circle at Belt Line & Coit and they all respond "a circle what for". Any one got an answer other than Aggie engineering?

Sharon Stuteville (Smith)

When my family moved to Richardson in 1958, I think the population was 11,000.  We lived on Vernet, and there were only fields between us and the tiny town of Plano.  When I was in high school, we moved to Melrose (just before Pearce opened), and I would ride the motorcycle that I had won at Kinney's Shoe store opening to Renner Road.  There was a large farm there that had peacocks.  I also remember the myna bird at Sun Rexall, and Jean Richards and I spent a lot of time at the Rec Center.  I always knew that my parents bought in Richardson for the school system.  If I remember correctly, it was listed in the top ten in the nation at one point.

Russ Stovall

Lance loved the DQ while in high school.  Art Devatalis and someone else one night decided to play chicken in their cars.  Neither one chickened out, head on collision.  No one hurt.   That actually did it again.  I also hung out more at Pizza Inn.  We would hang out there for awhile then go over to Forest and Marsh to see who would drag race and watch burn offs.  Scotty Baxter held his own.  Rarely lost.  Or we would go north east of town somewhere to have drag races and run from the police when they would show up.  

Danny Lynch was the coach and I played catcher.  This was the age group about 8th or 9th grade.  Steve Magner, Danny LynchJr, Bill Walton, and maybe Larry Mumaw were on the team.

Loved the yo-yo or top contests in front of Sun Rexall.  

Phil Janice and I eat at Del's often.  Love the frosted mugs for your root beer.   Had a traffic engineer at church say the circle at the time was to be a simple way to keep traffic flowing.  Found them to be dangerous later on.  Spent to many late evenings trying to see how many times we could go around the circle before we got sick or the police stopped us.

Russ Stovall

Hey Lance played on the bulldogs first moved to Richardson in 4th grade so the Pirates would have been earlier than 9th.  Maybe 6th,7th or so.

Debbie Mabry

Having moved to Dallas/Richardson schools my junior year we lived on Alto Caro in a new house near Coit and Arapaho.  I was doing similar things in San Antonio that you were in Richardson.  Your stories are interesting!

 I would love to know where some of these landmarks are to drive by them next time I'm there.

Lowell Tuttle

Some more good stuff.. While at Heights Elementary, I think 4th grade, there was an article about Jimmy Baker and family moving to Richardson.  They were the 25,000th residents.  I played on the Rebels with David Darr and Randall Talley.  The first year the coach was Mike Callanhan's dad.  We won first place inthe "B" league.  I think there was a A B and a C.   Bobby Cedarberg, my friend and neighbor, played on the Warriers in the C league.  We had Bruce Debona, Ed Kneese, Dave and Bobby Cedarberg, and a guy named Bob Sichterman over on Newberry Dr.  We ran and had Christmas tree forts and wars.  Cheif rivals were the Swords, with Flippo et al...probably Fairchild and Fuzzy.  It was great.  Then, having been on the Rebels in 4th grade, went out for the Rinky Dinks.  They actually had 50-60 kids try out and had a cut.  This was before RSI football...  Rival was the Colts.  We played against Kbox Tiny Tigers, and Compton Citadel.  Those guys were tough...Greenville Ave Gym was great action also.  That's when the Y started, about 63.  The Richardson Fair was held each year.  One year, my dad won the Sun Rexall grand prize, a 1960 or 61 Ford Falcon.  It was worth about 800.  We would ride bikes to Rexall, take a quarter, buy Mad magazine, play a game of pinball, and buy some candy...usually milk duds.

Karlan Fairchild

Lowell, now you've mentioned sports in grade-school and that brought-up the good, old Rinky Dinks football team!  I can remember playing with Bob Fleming and against the Colts, for whom I believe Russ played.  And all of our games were played down at Floyd park.  As far as baseball is concerned, I played for the Hawks and was the catcher for Ron Knight.  Great memories, for certain.

Lowell Tuttle

My sister, Joan, is over at Pizza Villa right now, ordering her last Pizza's there.  They won't answer the phone, she says.  Love that place now, but, back in the day it was Pizza Inn and Shakey's.  Shakey's was the first place I ever had pizza.  Second best now is ordering from The Egyptian, up near Arapaho and Campbell, I think.

Debbie Mabry

Do you remember in 1968 when Titche's at North Park started staying open on Thursday nights late? I was the first high school sales person to work Thurs. P.m.  Also worked on Saturdays and loved it.

Steve Keene

Loved the memory of cruising Forest Lane.  Ralph Stolow and I would go the year after high school and sometimes with a six pack.  Ralph's Dad sold Israeli War Bonds and his mother was a cross between Wallowitz's mom on Big Bang and George Castanza's mom on Seinfeld.  Ralph would undress at the front door of his house and tiptoe in to keep from waking her.  She met him at the door one night when he was standing there in only his underwear and gasped loudly  "Oh My God Ralph,  Where have you been?  "  Out with Steve", he replied.

Barbara Barron (Wagstaff)

Sharon,  Barbara Barron Wagstaff here.  Where are you now. The last time I saw you was when our husbands were coaching basketball. You were in Corsicana and we were in Garland (Garland High School). 

Bill Light

Hey Phil, about your question regarding "why a traffic circle?"...in my case it was to see how many times I could back around it in a Karmen Ghia before the cops came.

Russ Stovall

Lance forgot all about the bottle rockets.  Glad I wasn't involved in chase.  Keith Kelly, Wayne Reneau , and I would sometimes go over to Bryan Adams to hassle them.  

Best pizza is Egyptian/Campisi's still.   First summer to play baseball broke my nose when Jimmy Harmon and I ran in to each other going for a pop up down first base. I think Lowell you were the first baseman, maybe not, might have been Hull Barbee.

Played one year with the Colts.  Played against the Rink Dinks at Greenville Ave. Big game.  I remember crying  at the end of the game. I was so happy to have won.  Weirded emotions never had happy tears before.  Dad took over the next three years coaching the Colts when my brother started playing.  He never lost a game in those three years.  Bruce Bells dad coached with dad.  Randy Talley's dad coached the Dinks.   The Lions club would have that huge bar-b-que out in the Heights shopping center.

Anyone load the car up, trunk included, to get the one car load price at the Gemini drive-in?

Off to Pizza Villa one last time.

Lowell Tuttle

Steve Keene,  that's about the funniest story I;ve heard....

Phil Huber

Happy New Year to all.  I’ve been reading these posts with much interest and thought I’d join in on the music topic.  I went to the Texas Pop Festival in Lewisville as a working photographer for two NY-based trade magazines, Billboard and Amusements Business. Was there all three days and somewhere have all the original photos.  I’m attaching a copy of what ran in Amusements Business way back in September 1969…and thanks by the way to Lance for the great PR for crediting me with the photos he’s posted :).  I somehow missed Hendrix at UT, but remember meeting Janis Joplin as she arrived at the Austin airport.  She came into baggage claim wearing a hat with a large pom-pom tassel hanging from it, sunglasses and the inevitable bottle of Southern Comfort. 

Melody McNeil (Tarrillion)

Happy 2014 to all!! AND...Congratulations to Pat Gantt Allday Munson who married former RHS'er Randy Munson on Dec. 29 in San Diego. A wonderful new beginning for two special people.

David Cordell

Karlan--don't forget that Sandra Abbot lived across from you on Westwood, and Dian Zimmerman was down at the corner of Thompson, across from Roxanne. Fred's Barbeque: they had a special on their anniversary--a po-boy sandwich and a root beer for one buffalo nickel. Not bad!

Janalu--I think the old Jewish lady at Rexall was the mother of the owner, Dave Kaplan. She was a bit cranky, but he was a big supporter of the community.

Melody--Pat Gantt was at my house a few weeks ago and looked great. Was very happy about pending nuptials, but a bit concerned about moving to San Diego and leaving her daughter, who requires attention, here in Richardson. 

Russ--I didn't play RSI football (Rinkydinks? Rams?). As I recall, there was a 90 pound limit and, even though I was shorter than average, I weighed about 94. So I continued to play YMCA 6-man football. Toward the end of sixth grade, Belt Line football coaches went to Heights Elementary and held preliminary try-outs, including an agility course requiring running around pylons. I must not have been very good because I was not invited to fall practice for seventh grade, and the announcement of the names of the invitees was made on the school PA system. Don Chester, I distinctly remember your name being announced, and mine being absent from alphabetical order. What disappointment! Oh, well. I managed OK, nevertheless. 

By the way, three YMCA football photos are posted on this site with kids you will recognize. Click "Old Photos & Clippings"/"Grades K-6 Misc Photos." If anyone has sports photos to add, scan and email them to me.

David Cordell

Personal story from the Heights hood:

When I was seven and lived on Newberry, my mother gave me $3.95 and told me to ride my bike to Sports Distributors, on the other side of town, to buy some baseball cleats. They were out of my size, but it turned out that Sun Rexall was happy to sell me $3.95 worth of baseball cards. My mother was not amused and decided that it would be fine for me to play baseball in tennis shoes. How embarassing! Besides, I didn't even get any good cards--four of mediocre Washington Senators pitcher Roger Craig.

Anybody remember when some outfit had a publicity stunt in which a helicopter dropped dollar bills over Heights Shopping Center?

Debbie Mabry

Lance, feel free to call me Debbie!

So, how is it u have a 6 year old?  I'm sure he's precious.

My 35 yr. old daughter in Dallas has a six year old son also.  She will more than likely be my date for the reunion.  Mabry Roskamp on Facebook...she's gorgeous.  Unlike me, she's 5 ft. 8 and very thin from daily workouts at Cooper Clinic and Pilates.  I did not take the last name of Mabry back until recently.