Fresno Famous

KYNO Preacher

I remember KYNO had some doofus preacher named Bufe Karraker (?) on Sunday nights. Strange for a rock station, eh? But they made up for it by having Sam Schwan as a DJ.

I remember the original "Main" on Fulton before the mall arrived and we all had to start driving Belmont from Blackstone to the roundabout by Roeding Park.

Bobby Kennedy came to Roeding Park to campaign for Brown in '66 and then again to Fresno State before he was killed. The Roeding appearance was a madhouse as people swarmed his car trying to touch him or shake his hand.

I saw Ronald Reagan give a speech at Fresno State, where he had earlier been hanged in effigy over UC cuts. I was among those Fresno State students who shut down Shaw Avenue to protest Vietnam.

Heck, I even remember when McLane won NYL championships in sports like football, wrestling, baseball and basketball.

How about the best pizza in the world

Diccio's on blackstone and harvard . The owner Al used to sing and had a great voice. Then there was KMAK the music of america and Peanut Butter Bobby Martin doing mid days And Gary Dee in the mornings. And the old Sambo's on Blackstone and Mckinley 10 cent coffee we used to go sit in there all night long .

Fresno Feed and Fuel

I also worked at the Fresno Feed and Fuel back in the early 80's. Steve Johnson owned the place. I remember seeing a lot of local bands there. I grew up near there and remember seeing it since I was a little kid. The last time I was in Fresno it was vacant.

Dunebuggy Pizza delivery

Can't remember the name of the pizza place at just south of McKinley on West ave that delivered pizza in red dunebuggies. I would love to know where one of those buggies are today$$$$$

Armond was killed in a tire

Armond was killed in a tire shop by his cousins. I believe their name was Pashayan, but not sure.
I saw "Crazy Charlie", the last known Lucifer's Knight at the Madera County jail years ago. Forst recognized him by the tattoo on his arm that said CHUCK, but looked like CLUCK. They used to hang out at Shakeys Pizza at the Blackstone & Abbey split back in '66 -'68. Bill Vance and Big John Carlson were also local "bad boys" at the same time and place.

MUNCHIE'S!! Loved 'em!

MUNCHIE'S!! Loved 'em!

More nostalgia about Fresno Area

Wasn’t Bletcher shot to death in his garage while playing pool? Other hard cases include the Clark Brothers (Dickie, Harvey, Donald) , Vedo Garcia, the McDonalds, Star Kennison and the local biker group Lucifer’s Knights.

Playing pool at the Pussy Cat Lounge on Belmont by the underpass or the Rack on Blackstone.

Sky Harbor to party and check out the city lights. Lost Lake for partying and romancing the “ladies.” Winchell Cove at Friant to launch the boats for a party weekend. Pearce’s Place (had a dummy hanging from the front entrance) on the way to Sequoia . They never checked ID’s and had cold beer & several pool tables.

Going to the folk concerts and nudists hangout at Sweets Mill….good times, good times.

Tripping at the occasional (every 10 years or so) tarantula breakout in the hills around Squaw valley…they were all over the place and just driving around you could kill dozens with your car.

Seeing Pat Travers, Super Tramp, The Tubes, Johnny Winter and Rick Derringer at Warner’s Theatre.

Going to the outdoor concert at Radcliff Stadium which featured Dr Hook & the Medicine show, War and the Doors (after Morrison’s death). With a large contingent of Hells Angels harassing anyone wearing sleeveless denim vests.

Madera Speedway to watch dirt track racing.

Reedley Beach for swimming at the Kings.

Listening to “acid rock” DJ Ray Appleton on KFIG…might still have a bumper sticker from his show.

Yturri Hotel for “family style” basque dinner. 10 hamburgers for a dollar at Bimbos in the Mayfair area. Fruit Juice bars from Harpains Dairy.

Dialing for Dollars movies hosted by a lady named Nancy (?)Carr.

The rope swing at the San Joaquin by Hwy 99 and the train trestle.

Jackies Costume Shop

I lived at 1120 Olive a house across the street from the Jackies Costume Shop decades later. I loved that old house in the early forties. I fell off that garage there breaking my left elbow. We played in the Dry Creek Canal, Turpins Furniture store bin of cardboard, played kick the can . In the 80s I helped a crew fumigate the Jackies Costume Shop. I folded chicken boxes at Chrismans for a returned piece of chicken many times.. Orry Straight and Morris McGlaughlin were sheffs then.. It was Heaton, Washingto Jr.Hi. then FHS . as Bert sang.. Thanks For The Memories

Give me a break -William Smith

What story are you referring to? Or are you just commenting on the memories of the posts here?

Give me a break!

This is what can happen to a story when you start at one end of the bar and grows as the drink flows. By the time it reaches the other end of the bar, Napolean Dynamite is Rambo. If you believe this story I would love to sale you scenic beachfront property here in Phoenix Arizona. Signed ...... William Smith

early days in fresno ca

IM a 37 yr old woman and i cant get enough of the old pictures of fresno, wish so much i was there to experiance all the nice memories from when fresno was a safe town for teens love to hear how the youths had their favorits places , the pictures from the 50's thru the 70's what an amaizing views how woamn use to dress so classy, men so handsome every one seem to have a better life more of a worry free mentalitey it seemed like,, every time i look at this pics all i can do is sigh and smile ,, i hope i get to have great memories as well of Fresno, tell storys to my future grand children... wish i was there when every one was growing up with Fresno thank you so much for sharing all your special memories of our city, hope to make more nice ones, keep up the good work

Fresno in the 50's and 60's some memories

Mars Drive In
Reed and Bell
Armen Bletcher.. too scarey
DeVos(sp) Swimming Pool
Roosevelt VS Fresno Hi Football
Bullard VS Mclane Footbal
Washington Union VS Edison Basketball

To The Guy Who Wrote - "Late Night Horror Flicks" on 9/16, Weds

Sebastian definitely wore the skull mast and intro'd Shock Theater. He was the scariest of all the creep shows during the late 50s and early 60s. Loved it.

Do you know where I can get a pic of Sebastian? Couldn't find anything on him connected to Shock Theater in Fresno. Thanks man.

Remember

Empire Video Pinball 3 locations
Festival Game Palace by Yoshinos
ZROCK We LIKE WE IT LOVE IT
The Federated Group With Shadow Stevens and those crazy commercials which are on youtube
ZODYS
Pizza and Pipes
Liberty House
FARMERS MARKET which had Grandmas Cookies which is now Doug Out a Video Store which always played wrestling on the big screen and had an aracde next to it Richies Hamburgers and the magazine store had a lot more stuff but I was a kid and thats all I was interested in.

Cruising Blackstone and the AMF Bowling Alley

Carnation

I remember Carnation quite well. I stated there as a dishwasher (a swamprat as we called ourselves)in 1968 while a student at what was then Fresno State College. I worked my way up to "fountain boy" and then cook before graduating and moving away. We had a great crew working there, lots of fun. I also worked occasionally at the old Carnation on Olive.

Carnation Restaurant

Remember the Carnation Restaurant next to the Cinema. When I was a kid I saw "Paper Moon" at the Manchester Cine.

High lights of my memories in Fresno

Star lite drive-in,Country squire theater,The Tressel,Watching the Draft lottery on television. Sub marine races at Lost Lake, Parking on the Friant Dam,
Doing wheel packs for the Hard top races in Clovis on a clay track, Me & Eds on Blackstone, Doing the chains for football games with Dad at Fresno city college, Week end Party's at Elwood's by Awahwanee.
Cb radios, Street Races by the Airport, Quadraphonic 8 track player and Led Zeppelin.Ah and being in a car that rolled end over end an estimated 12 to 18 times ending up in the Clovis cemetery clearing the fence all with out a seat belt..
Bill

The Little Theater in Headliner shopping center

I as a kid remember that center going up,I worked for the theater putting flyers around the neighborhood when it opened..
Do you remember RUDYS just a few doors down from the theater?
Bill

Late PM Horror Flicks

Right on man. In addition to my favorites, Way Out, Twilight Zone, Shock Theater hosted by Sebastian, there was Chiller Theater. Scary stuff when your a 10 year old. HA Man, I wish I could go back in time for a couple of Friday and Saturday night TV events.

Rainbow Ballroom

Remember Rainbow Ballroom. It was one of the more popular places in the 60's to have your proms and school dances. I had my All Night Party there after graduation.

High Deb

Oh my gosh, I hadn't thought of Gottschalks and the High Deb pictures in years. Thank you so much for jogging my memory. In Jr. High and High School I used to look at those picture and think those girls were so lucky to be on that board. Gottschalks was a great department store back then. My first job was at the Gottschalks downtown and I loved it. Too bad they went downhill and now are gone.

Late PM Horror Flicks

In the 60's there also was Chiller Theatre on the CBS affiliate (KFRE?) after the 11pm news. Very creepy intro & music...

Tower District

Don't forget Lauck's Bakery & their yummy fruit pizza pies, strawberry thumbprints & chocolate crumb donuts! Hestbeck's with the butcher who wiggled his ears. Sprouse Reitz, the 5 & dime variety store. Loved shopping there for cheap toys. Good old Chicken Pie shop is still there! Just down the road on Van Ness...College Pharmacy. Many hours spent perusing magazines (Horror, Tiger Beat, 16), paperbacks (Dark Shadows) & costume jewelry. Saw Help! at the Tower Theatre. Thanks mom for being so cool to take me to a Beatles flik. What great times in the 60's-70's.

The Eagle Cafe is now a restaurant called Ribs & Tips.

Hmmmmmm...nice ad, wrong place to place it, but nice ad...

Star Drive In

It was actually the Starlight Drive-In. I used to climb the screen back to catch pigons when I was a kid. Went to WB Holland Elementary shool right up the street from it.

About the Eagle Cafe-New Ownership

The Eagle Cafe is now a restaurant called Ribs & Tips. I spoke with the restaurant owner and he was delighted to share with all of you the exciting information about his restaurant and business.

Jeff Freitas has proudly been serving the valley and beyond with casual and formal catering for over 12 years! Private parties, Corporate events, Weddings, Graduations- Just about ANY function or event you can come up with- Large OR small-he has done it.

His Restaurant and Office is located in the former home of the Eagle Cafe @ 575 Divisadero (at the corner of Divisadero and H street, next to the Lamppost) and is exactly a mile north of Chuckchansi Park on H Street. Come by and See us! Restaurant hours are Monday-Thursday 10:00am-6:00pm, Friday 10:00am-7:00pm, and Saturday 11:00am-3:00pm.

Call for for take-out at (559) 222-4202. By the way- Fresno Bee Readers just recently (June 12th) voted Ribs & Tips as the absolute BEST Tri-tip Sandwich in town!!!
For more information, I have put the restaurant's contact information below, as well as a link to a webpage of theirs.

Contact Info
Jeff Freitas-Restaurant Owner
Phone number: (559) 222-4202
Location: 575 E Divisadero St
Fresno, CA

Link to webpage:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=115666176610&ref=search&sid=163045...

Sebastian

That's it dude! You got it. Sebastian was the host of Shock Theater which came on right after Way Out and the Twilight Zone on Friday nights, or Saturday nights at 10 pm. As I kid I remember he was one scary dude. Nightmare city.

You got it! Good goin!

Lavender Hill Mob

I remember the LHM... Fresno's first and best psychedelic band. They had that Jefferson Airplane vibe. My favorite Fresno bands back in the 60's were the Roadrunners ("I'll make it up to You") and the zany Raiks Progress ("Love Chant of a Sewer Rat").

JACKIE'S COSTUMES TOWER DISTRICT

Jackie's costumes. What a cool place that was. On corner of Olive Av and College St just off of Van Ness. Had a magic shop too.

Late Night Horror Flicks

Now I'm a bit confused. I seem to remember a creepy character called Sebastian who wore a skull mask introducing Late Night Horror Flicks, but I can't remember if that was in Fresno, or in the Bay Area.

Tacos??

For late-night tacos, we used to cruise through Naugles on Blackstone after hitting The Wild Blue or The Olympic Tavern. YUM!

DOUBLE SHOCK

I don't remember "SHOCK THEATER" but do remember Channel 26 used to have a late-night horror double feature on Saturdays they called "DOUBLE SHOCK". There was no host, but there was a voice that always introduced the program using a picture of the famous "All Is Vanity" (the woman looking into the mirror / skull---that was the "Double Shock" of the title. I LOVED watching those old horror flicks. Channel 26 also used to run horror double feature at noon--"Action Cinema" or something like that--where i got my first taste of such wonderful gems as "The Amazing Colassal Man", "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman", "Attack of the Puppet People" and many other groovy flicks!

Taco Drive In on Blackstone

I think it was called Taco Tienda but I'm not sure. We used to stop there on the way home from Wonderland Roller Rink.

The Tacos were cheap but good. The price was just right for teens with a big appetite after skating, but not much money.

I learned to skate at Carousel Skating Rink, but after I got to know what I was doing, Carrosel seemed kinda small so it was on to Wonderland.

I learned to dive at the Wonderland pool as well, until I hit my head on the bottom of the pool.

Twilight Zone, Way Out, Shock Theater, Creep Show

I used to watch these one after another on either Friday or Saturday nights. Loved Ronald Dahl who hosted Way Out. Way Out came on at 9:30 pm right after the Twilight Zone which came on at 9 pm. After that, Shock Theater was on.

In the 60s, who hosted SHOCK THEATER in Fresno? Was it John Zacherle in character as Roland, the scary host? I believe he is the one I recall at that time. I was a kid, scared to death already from The Twilight Zone and Way Out. Roland's Shock Theater made sure I didn't get any sleep at night!

Loved it all!

Fresno In the 60s and 70s

Remember Blakley's golf course? They had a huge public pool we used to swim in. The other pool then was Airways.

How bout the air raid sirens that went off on Tuesdays at noon? I think once a week, or month, can't remember.

I remember our cub scout troup did a tour of the cheese factory in Hanford. Do some of these places still exist? Del Rey, Chowchilla?

I recall being a big silver robot in the parade down Van Ness one year.

Loved the Dairy Queen on Fresno and McKenzie.

HEY, HOW BOUT THE EAGLE CAFE? Still there? Anybody know?

Belmont Ave

In the 60s, we used to cruise up and down Belmont, hanging out at several of the drive ins along the route. 57 chevy's, Vettes, rods, listening to Green Onions on the radio. The downtown area, although mostly gone now, was safe then. No grafitti. No bullet holes in the walls. I graduated from Roosevelt (go Rough Riders) in 1970. Ended up on Blackstone that night at Dicicco's Italian Restaurant. Close to Pinedale. Went up to Bass Lake every weekend in summer. Also hung out at Shaver, Hunington, and Friant Dam. Ever been, or heard of, Whiskey Creek up in the sierras past North Fork? Great camping. Speaking of Al Radka, I played football with Don Oberti, son of the olive grower, Al's biggest sponsor on TV. THOSE WERE THE DAYS!!!!!!

Carnation Restaurant

I was born in Fresno in 1949. My grandparents lived on Wilson off of Olive in the Tower District. Remember McMahon's Funiture Store? It was on the corner of Olive and Wilson. My grandfather took us to Carnations all the time. If you recall, directly across the street, there was a palm reader. A neon hand sign lit up at night in front. I loved the glass blocks (panels) that lined the lower half of the entrance to Carnations. Remember the homemade tacos at the Fresno County Fair sold by the Spanish ladies in the little booths? My best friend's dad Jess Bartlett was the one who created all those moving figures in the Valley Motor Lines exhibits at the fair every year. How bout the calzones at Rossi's at Mayfair Market on Tulure? As a kid, I used to watch Twilight Zone, followed by Way Out (narrated by Ronald Dahl), then Creep Show, ending with Shock Theater. Scarrrry.

TOWER DISTRICT

My parents and I spent a lot of time at the Carnation Restaurant. When I was little it was usually for breakfast. They used to have breakfast cereal in those small individual packages. I have no idea why I preferred those to ham and eggs. Of course, as I grew older banana splits were the attraction.

I remember going with friends to see Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" at the Tower Theater in 1960. My friends didn't know that I had already seen it once so I was able to convince my date that I had nerves of steel.

Fulton Street

Fulton Street downtown used to be the "Main Drag" where everyone who had nothing else to do, like homework, would aimlessly drive back and forth to what purpose I really don't remember. I guess when Fulton was turned into a mall that activity moved elsewhere.

Where did they move the parades since they were all on Fulton Street before 1962?

Downtown Woolworth's

I left Fresno just before there was a Fulton Mall. I never saw the Fulton Mall. The building of the Fulton Mall seems to have been the dividing line between old Fresno and new Fresno. I still think of Fulton as the main street of downtown Fresno and remember Woolworth's and Gottschalk's as being distinctively on street corners.

Did people still consider the Fulton Mall to be "Downtown Fresno"?

Villa basque

I would like to know if anyone has the recipe for the potato salad that used to be served at the Villa Basque that was on Blackstone in Fresno?

C&C Shopping Center (at First and Ashlan) and Food Bank

C&C Shopping Center (at First and Ashlan) and Food Bank was across the street on the east site. C&c had the plus of having Rudy's dime store...

SAMBO'S RESTAURANT

Sambo's restaurant at Blackstone and McKinley. Smoking or non-smoking?

ARDAN AND BEST

Ardan at Willow and Shaw and Best at Browning and Blackstone near Bullard Ave.

STAR DRIVE-IN

Back in the day! Star drive-in south-east corner of Shaw and Fresno St where Macy's parking lot is now. JC Penny's was the end of the Fashion Fair Mall. Drive-in had the blue neon-lit star on the back of the giant screen.

TOWER DISTRICT

Drug Fair and Mayfair Market at Olive and Van Ness. Drug Fair had icecream 10, 20, 25 cent cones.

Downtown Woolworth's

Yes. Walking the Fulton mall as a kid with my mom. Eating lunch at their counter. Strolling through Gottschalks at the end of the mall. Good times.

FRESNO HOBBY Cedar and Shields

Fresno Hobby on the southeast corner of Cedar and Shields was a great store. Was a major disappointment when that went away. Also Author's toys. Tulare and Chestnut and north Blackstone near Barstow.

Woolworth's

I used to spend Saturday's at the White Theater watching old Westerns and serials like Dick Tracy, then kill time waiting for my mother at the downtown Woolworth's until she finished work at Gottschalk's across the street.
Kids used to show up at the White Theater with a lunch bag in hand every Saturday at about 9:30 in the morning. It served as babysitter for a lotta parents in the 1950s. Woolworth's was a great place to kill time because they sold just about everything from candy to toys to clothing.

Remember the old Chester Rowell School

The brick building with it's own outdoor swimming pool. The pool was open to the kids every summer for a small admission. It seemed to be Olympic size but only 3 ft deep. I guess both the old school and the pool fell victim to a freeway construction in the 1960s.

My 5th grade teacher Mr. Keesling was the official lifeguard. There were two Mr. Keeslings that were teachers in Fresno, Floyd and Lloyd they were twins. Only one taught at Chester Rowell however. Every once in a while I would say hello to the brother thinking he was my old teacher.