Thursday, February 18, 2010

Teenage Hang Out


On Far Guys birthday we went out for breakfast..it is one of his favorite meals.  I had a Orthopedic appointment, I have escaped the surgeons knife this time, the exercises that I do for my shoulder really worked!!  I do them in both shoulders..I wouldn't want to be lopsided.  I can begin some of the Chuck Norris exercises on the total gym..not the fancy ones..I must still keep my elbows tucked in.   We did our errands and on the way out of town Far Guy said that it was too bad the bank ( it was a holiday) was closed (free coffee), I said, "What the hay it's your birthday..lets go to Schmiders for a coke!"  We have both given up sodas..we have them only occasionally..I was down to one a day..then I gave that one up too. Far Guy drinks coffee. I drink water.
Schmiders the old "hang out" on main street.  It was a soda/ice cream fountain.  Kids in high school went there for lunch of chips and a soda.  It was the place to meet after a game, after anything it was packed..there were so many kids in there it was hard to move.  They served Hot Dogs from one of those revolving spits up on one of the counters.  The chips hung from clips up on the wall.  You could get a malt, or a ice cream cone or a sundae.  You could get a fountain coke..flavored..cherry or vanilla or orange or lime.  You could get a lime phosphate..I never had one..but they looked interesting if you are partial to the green color.
 Otto was in charge, Donnie worked hard there..there was no swearing allowed, no fighting,..Otto would growl at you and kick you out if you caused a problem..they had pinball machines..and booths in the back...Far Guy and I used to play pinball there..if we could get the favorite machine away from Danny Hawks.  Otto also sold funny cards, magazines and tobacco products.  He had a successful business.  There were other hang outs..the pool hall, the pizza shop.and the Dixie..but Schmiders was the favorite of all the teens in town back in the sixties.
 I recall coke being 30 or 40 cents.. Far Guy says he can remember 25 cents. Now a days it is 1.75 for a medium... we had no problem placing our order for a regular coke and a cherry coke to go. There was no line of kids standing four and five deep to get to a stool next to the counter..there was only a group of silver hairs in the back that had pushed some tables together..it was the group of neighborhood women that get together every Monday and go to lunch.  Far Guy went to talk with them, I just sat on my stool and recalled how different this place used to be.  The cherry coke is still the same..and Far Guy declared the fountain coke his absolute favorite..but it just wasn't the same.  Forty years ago this place would have been bursting at the seams at 12:15 on a school day...main street America sure has changed. Schmiders is now known as The Minnesoda Fountain.  New name, new people, new customer base..same building..same coke..but just not the same old hang out:) 

21 comments:

RURAL said...

That is to cool for words, you guys got to hang out there before, and now you get to go back as adults?

That's the joy of living nearby where you once grew up.

Um,...I remember when chocolate bars were .10 cents, and coke was probably .15 cents a bottle. Popsicles were .02 cents. Yes I am in my mid forties, ha!

Hugs to you today, how is the eye?

Jen

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

I had one of these places growin' up. It was just across the street from the high school called Castles. There are so few places anymore that still have a soda fountain where an ice cream soda or a flavored coke can be had. Thanks once again for the memories!

Have a great day enjoying your many blessings!!!

Patsy said...

Kids today just don't know what a wonderful time we had back when. We knew our county was a winner we had just saved the world. 1940'S--50'S
Patsy

Linda said...

Lime phosphates, my absolute favorite. Hadn't thought of one in years. Wonder if they'd taste the same? I loved those things.

DayPhoto said...

What a neat building. The one 'spot' we had as a kid is now a woman's clothing store. It has very pricy clothes in it so I never go. It doesn't look anything like a soda fountain store.

Linda
http://coloradofarmlifelwordpress.com

Maery Rose said...

Now all the teens are hanging out at Starbucks or Caribou drinking Mochas. The world it is a changin'.

Emma Rose said...

What a trip down memory lane! We also had a place... I wonder if everyone has some place like that to remember. It's a different world for sure, and those were "the good old days".

Anonymous said...

A very neat place; so many of these places have been closed. I have given up on sodas too but occasionally when I get a good fountain coke, I am in Heaven! Thank you for sharing part of your memories with us.

Becca's Dirt said...

OOOhh can you hear me squealing. You are describing a place that was across the road from the high school. Those were the days. The places are like walking into a place filled with ghosts now.

You don't miss a beat do ya? I wondered how long it would take someone to pick up on that and somehow I knew it would be you. Yeh he is trying to hang out too much at my place though. He is an someone I broke with last year.

Merideth in Wyoming said...

I did not even know such a place still existed. It's like a photo from my childhood. How nice and too bad they are not more appreciated and busier.

Connie Peterson said...

We have a place that is very much like that, only no jukeboxes. This is our "drive-in" cafe in Storden. The owner collects coke product stuff so it looks very much like your pictures.

Great food!

Rae said...

Very few places like that exist anymore and it is a shame. Now days kids hang out at the mall or McDonald's. They have no clue what they are missing. Our local hangout was much the same. I feel like I just time traveled back 40 years - such great memories. Thanks!

West Side of Straight said...

Yes those were the days! We have met there during our class reunions, and then it feels the same. My how time has flown. Wish our grandkids could experience those days!

Karen Anne said...

I miss the lunch counter at Woolworths, and their egg salad sandwiches on toast.

Soda 5 cents a bottle except Royal Crown Cola which was in a bigger bottle and cost 7 cents.

The Retired One said...

Loved the photos of this place..isn't it neat that most places in America had places like this around the same time???? I still remember ours too!

Lo said...

Oh, yeah!! My bff worked in her father's drugstore after school and I would sit at the counter and gossip or help her wash dishes and make sandwiches.......your piece drips with nostalgia ...thanks for stirring it up.

Leah said...

I remember Schmiders - and Mr Schmider (Don) (he's grandpa) now to kids my kids age... I loved their old fashioned hotdogs (just like home) and my favorite drink was "real cherry coke" and the vanilla phosphates were awesome... I don't remember so much the kids being there after school but I went there alot maybe because mom did? Great memory Connie!

LadyFi said...

What a great hang-out! It looks like it could be an old place in a movie. Love it.

Glad to hear you splashed out on Far Guy for his birthday! ;-)

Lanny said...

Hold it, it sounds like the same customer base to me! Just fewer of you at a time eh?

Not a one of my high school hang outs are even still a building let alone remotely like what they were. Oh wait, one pizza parlor remains, but out of about six places that we would frequent, that doesn't bode well for longevity around these parts.

L. D. said...

That is so nice that they have kept it open and running. I remember the pink ladies and green rivers. They were all so good, plus a cola was fantastic. That looks like quite a teenage museum. It would be fun.

gayle said...

It is so wonderful that the building is still there and open and you can go there but it's sad that not many do!!