Draggin Douglas Memories
| < - - Back - - 1 2 3 4 5 - - Next - - > |
|
For T-shirt Sales Nadine Wards Signworks Recently Carl Fry and I did some photo shoots of various local Wichita Locations of Interest. Several of those locations were on Wichitas main drag, Douglas Avenue. So, I decided that maybe a photo narrative and history of the tradition of 'Draggin Douglas' might be in order. I believe that most likely 'Draggin Douglas' began as soon as the first motor car drove down Douglas Avenue. But the impetus of the Wichitas youth making Douglas the 'See and Be Seen' place in town on weekends probably began when Wichita High School East was built at the intersection of Douglas and Grove street. As soon as kids started heading to East High in cars on Douglas for school the racous and rowdy activities of teenagers would have begun. Wichita High School East being for a time the largest school in Kansas would meant a lot of teenage drivers in the area. Traffic on Douglas would have seen the influx of the teenagers at regular schools out times as the kids would be leaving school and many heading west on Douglas to home or places for meeting up. On Friday nights traffic would have had kids coming to East high for evening football or basketball events and afterwards the winning team supporters would have taken to the street and headed west on Douglas to proclaim and celebrate their teams achievements. And these celebratory activities would most likely have continued for many long into the night until until gas money or stamina ran out. Other area high school students not having as prominent a street for display of school pride, most likely found Douglas Avenue the best place to espouse their own schools achievements and compete with the East High school supporters. Thus would have began the tradition of teenagers 'Draggin Douglas' on Friday Nights. and with this activity also would come the establishment of 'rest stops' or 'meeting places'. To take advantage of these teenagers in cars the 'Drivein' or 'Burger Joints' appeared on Douglas.
The Continental Grille and NuWay Burgers on the West end of Douglas and in the 60's Sandys Burger DriveIn at the intersection of Grove and Douglas conveniently catecornered across the intersection from the East High School complex. Checkout Chuck Kerls Sandys Burger Drivein Page The high school teenagers celebrating school activities on Friday nights would have also brought others not so interested in the sporting celebrations as much just the seeing and being seen aspects of being on douglas. Knowing that most everyone was likely to be on douglas on a Friday night made it easy for kids to go to find and be amoung friends as well as meeting other area kids. The rise of the 'automotive culture' made douglas the perfect place to exhibit and observe everyones distinctive automobiles because of the ready made audience. Thus began the activity of 'cruising' from one end of Douglas to the other and back again with the turn around or anchor points being the Sandys Burger Drivein for the Eastern loop and the Continental Grille or NuWay Cafe for the Western end loop with various sub/alternate loops added for other locations that became popular like the KingsX drivin at Lincoln and George Washington Blvd and the Town & Country Drivein at Hillside and Pawnee. 07/08/13
Blood on the Washer. I can't believe this. I was sitting in the living room at my laptop last night and started to smell nail polish, or paint thinner. Just a few whiffs at first and then even more as time passed. My house normally has a smell to it because of Shadow's remains, and my lack of housecleaning and such. Anyhow, it started getting overpowering as I sit and wondered what the heck was going on. Refrigerant leak? an ink pen leak, a bottle of something tipped over and finally leaking? So, got up and tried to follow my sniffer around. It wasn't too hard to follow it back to my washer/drier area adjacent to my dinning/kitchen in the wall next to the garage. Opened up the doors and much to my horror, My open washer was covered in blood splatters all down the open door, over both sides of open top and all down the agitator. Upon further analysis it turned out to be Chevrolet Engine Orange paint. I've had 3 cans of Krylon Engine Orange spray paint on the shelf above the washer since back when we put the 350 Chevy engine in my 40 back in 89. Kinda thought it would last longer inside instead of out in the garage with it's range of temps. Never gave it any thought. Now it appears the bottom of the can finally rusted thru and let the paint spay out all over my washer. Doesn't appear there's much I can do about it now, except let the paint dry, which it pretty much has now, and just use it as a very colorfully spotted washer.
Guess I should take the remaining two cans out to the garage now. 07/08/13
Anyone else Remember those? Soon after hearing the first one it seemed all the really 'cool' cars cruising thru the local hangout burger joint had them echoing away as they drove thru. I seem to recall that most all the 65 and 66 GTO's seemed have had those reverbs. Heh, heh, I think Shelly Fabraes song 'Johnny Angel' was specifically made to be played on a Motorola Vibrasonic Reverb unit just for the echo. Early units actually had springs for the Reverb function, I can remember being in a car going over railroad tracks and hearing the echo go boing boing. The first thing I put in my new 67 Dodge Charger was a Motorola Vibrasonic Reverb Unit hanging under the dash hooked to a speaker in the rear fold down panel. Man was that cool or what. But alas those didn't last long technology wise, they came out just before real stereo tape players and then FM stereo radios. I soon replaced the Vibrasonic under the dash in my Charger with a big metal clipon removable gadget that a stereo FM 8track tape deck was attached to, It was removable, not so much for theft protection, but to allow me to drag the contraption over and click it in place in my 31 Ford Coupe thus only having the expense of one Stereo Unit for both cars. Darn if I didn't find one of those removable Stereo brackets on ebay.
Well, heh, heh, not sure if posting this will let me go to sleep now or not, but I do feel better about getting it posted. Comments: On 4/23/2011 11:12 PM, John Gabrielsen wrote: I read an article "Anyone Remember" I thought it was funny because I still have the original reverb that I had in my 1965 Covair Corsa convertible when I was in Witchita Kansas in the summer of 1965, I also have several of the slide out brackets that you have pictured. This all occured just before I went in the service. John 04/11/13
From the collection of Rocky Burress 12/29/12
Pat Houchin 08/27/12 Howard McCain skta/ striprunners.... One evening in April '57, while in route from Continental to either T&C or Dearmores, with the front end about 1/2 an inch off the frame bumpers, I hit the storm grate which was on E. bound Douglas accross from the old Depot, in front of where Century II is now. Douglas had had so many asphalt overlays that the grate was in a 6-7 " hole. My teenage wife, who was about 8 1/2 mo pregnant, said ungh ! and our daughter was born about 4 the next morning......... I also hung out at darrels shop on mt. vernon BTW, looking at photos of drags at McConnel '58, I THINK that's me standing at the trophy truck, in the white shirt. I know I was there- worked the control tower with Rex Raines' first wife and "whitey" 08/01/12
That's my story and I'm sticken to it. 07/11/12 by Jim Slaughter
I remember my Dad bringing in a brand new 1958 Corvette and handing me the keys. I guess I was about 15 at the time. He said “if you like it, you can drive it for a while’. Wow was I excited. I took off down south Broadway (the auction at the time was at McArther and Broadway) and drove it about 6 blocks and turned around. After arriving back at the auction, I handed my Dad the keys and said “That thing drives like a truck, has no good suspension, and no way to make out with a girl in it. Thanks Dad, but you can keep it! About 1958-1960 a lot of really crappy little foreign cars were making the scene. I had a bunch of ‘em. The weirdest one was a Little coupe called a Goliath. It had a 4 cylinder opposed water cooled engine in it. But when you dropped the headers, it sounded Like a full blown hemi! We loved to cruise Douglas in that thing with the headers off! We would pull up next to somebody with a Hot chevy at a stop light and challenge them. Some of them actually turned us down! For the ones that took us up, it was a riot. Revving up the Goliath sounded awesome but as soon as I dropped the clutch, it didn’t have enough power to get out of its own Way. Catching up at the next light we were all laughing our heads off. In my senior year, I had a sweet little 56 Ford coupe that Was dego’d with the long pipes under the axle. Totalled it on my way to graduation! Got grounded all senior summer for that. I Never forgave my Dad for that! One of the memories of dragging Douglas were the Rambo Wichita cops. They would stop and harass you for no good reason. I hope the Wichita police department has a better image by now! My brother, Charles, went to school with Darryl Starbird. He and I would visit Darryl’s shop from time to time and be amazed at The artistry going on there. I’m pretty sure I met Dave Stuckey there as well. Darryl’s big customs show at the Forum (dump waiting For a fire!) were a highlight each year. I remember seeing Roy Orbison on a tiny little side stage around 1957 or 58. He wasn’t a Huge star yet but had a couple of big hits. What a gas! My days of ‘crusin’ were about 1957-1964. In 1964 I met my wife to be and we pursued more ‘mild’ pursuits like finding a dark Stretch of road to stop and ‘converse’. I miss Wichita. We had our 50th reunion last September. What a memory flood. Jack Tanner showed up in his Henry J hotrod! Very cool! We have lived in Florida for over 30 years now After living in Germany and Oklahoma for a while. KEEP ‘Em Cruisin! Land O Lakes, FL 07/01/12 Joyland Restoration by Carl Fry I’ll bet a lot of us Draggin’ Douglas guys have fond memories of Joyland and I bet they would be interested in what it took to run and maintain the park. As an example , I guess it never occurred to me they generated their own electricity! Maybe you should jot down some of your recollections about the “behind the scenes” at Joyland. All us Draggin’ Douglas guys went there back in the day… the Dodge’m Cars, the Roller Coaster, the Octopus, the Tilt-A-Whirl… especially when they added the Go-Karts and of course the Moonlight Swims. I have indeed received a kiss at the top of the Ferris Wheel… just like Freddy Cannon in the song “Palisade Park” I remember one occasion…… I had a "first date" with a girl named Diane (I think). I, of course, had on my required charcoal slacks and a pink oxford-cloth shirt. She was wearing a "poofy” summer dress with about a dozen petticoats under it. My point here is we were both sort of dressed up for our first date. There wasn't much happening on Douglas, so we headed from the T&C to Joyland . They had a brand-new ride! It was sort of a big vertical drum that spun you around against the wall. At some point the centrifugal force would hold you against the wall and they would quickly lower the floor leaving you sticking to the wall. Of course all the girls screamed when the floor suddenly fell about 6 feet. Great fun! When it came to our turn, the machine spun- up pinning us against the wall (so far.. So good)…. However, when the floor fell away, my date slowly slid down the wall because she was wearing nylons and had on so many petticoats there was not enough friction to keep her pinned against the wall. She did her best to hang on to the grab bars but slowly ended up with her arms stretched completely over her head. After about a minute she had slid down the wall about 4 feet below me with her dress and petticoats under her armpits. Everybody on the ride got a real good look at her legs and black lace panties. The ride operator had to slowly raise the floor to allow her to struggle back in position before he could slow the darn thing down. (I think he took an extra long time for safety sake of course ..) All this took place in what seemed liked 10 min. while the poor girl is trying to get her petticoats down, pull herself up the wall and keep from crying.. I had a few more dates with her (none of them at Joyland ) and each time it was hard to look at her without remembering the night she slid out of her dress at Joyland…… Carl 07/01/12 http://www.kansas.com/2012/07/01/2394335/wichita-teens-joyland-restoration.html Wichita teen’s Joyland restoration project inches forward By Amy Renee Leiker A Wichita teen’s multimillion-dollar campaign to renovate Joyland, the city’s defunct amusement park, has taken a tiny step forward. But Alex East – who drew public attention in May 2011 after he asked the Wichita City Council to fund his $10 million push to buy and restore the park at 2801 S. Hillside – still faces an enormous project plagued by major problems. Six years after it closed, Joyland is littered with debris, defaced by vandals, and decaying with weather and time. And East’s Joyland Restoration Project has about $6,000 – a fraction of the $10 million he estimates will be needed to buy and renovate the park. None of which discourages East. “Honestly, yes, the account is low right now, but only because we are strictly running off of public” donations, said East, 18. “You know, people just donating their $10 or $20 or buying T-shirts.” Last month, East took a step toward potentially earning more support when his organization, Restore Hope Inc., was granted nonprofit status. The change will allow the group to apply for grants and accept tax-deductible contributions. Experts in the amusement industry say it’s a small victory for East. “I wish them well,” said Gary Slade, publisher and editor-in-chief of Amusement Today, “but they have a long, uphill battle ahead of them.” ‘It’s absolutely horrible’ Joyland owner Margaret Spear and her late husband, Stan Nelson, bought the 40-acre, southeast Wichita park in the 1970s. The couple – who met in 1950 when both worked at the park – ran it for decades, but shut it down in 2004 as rides aged and attendance dwindled. Joyland opened again a couple of seasons later, but trouble with the people operating the park forced the Nelsons to permanently close after the 2006 season. Later, the park became a target for vandals. “We were sad to see it go,” said Spear, 78. “My husband (Stan) and I were just sick about it. But we were at the age when we just couldn’t do anything.” The couple put the park up for sale, asking $2 million. Later, the price dropped to $1 million, after the Nelsons sold some land and rides. Today, the landscape at Joyland is bleak. Evidence of intruders — trash, discarded clothing, beer cans — litters the midway. Glass shards are scattered on walkways. Buildings, defaced by vandals, are damaged or knocked down. An arson fire destroyed a building in 2011. Wood is rotting. Roofs sag. Weeds and trees are overgrown. “It’s horrible, it’s absolutely horrible,” District 3 council member James Clendenin said of the park’s current state. “And that’s putting it lightly.” A lifelong love East’s interest in restoring Joyland began a few years ago, when he devised a plan to buy the land, fix the rides and restore the ambience of “classic” Joyland. He said he visited the park with family and first rode the wooden roller coaster – one of the last surviving coasters designed by Herbert Paul Schmeck – at age 2. “Every since then I’ve been in love with amusement parks,” he said. “We always plan our family vacations around them.” At 17, he announced his intentions to City Council members and requested $10 million to help him buy and renovate the park. Eventually he partnered with Kira Johnson, the 25-year-old vice president of Restore Hope, who helps manage and market the project. East, who graduated from Northwest High School in May, is currently working with volunteers to determine the cost of repairing the rides. If successful, he plans to operate Joyland as a nonprofit amusement park. An ambitious project Experts say a renovation won’t be cheap. Estimates by developers and others in the amusement industry range from $5 million to $20 million. Most say they haven’t stepped foot on Joyland since well before it closed, but agree time is a factor when figuring revitalization costs. Lack of funding sources may also pose problems, sources say. “Joyland is sitting closed in Wichita. The Hard Rock Park is sitting closed in Myrtle Beach. The old Six Flags New Orleans site is sitting deteriorating,” said Slade, of Amusement Today. He pointed to dwindling grant money and tight reins on loans as problems Restore Hope may encounter. “They’re all sitting idle because nobody has money,” he said. Despite hurdles, experts say a renovation can happen, especially when the community feels nostalgic. “It will be an ambitious project, there’s no question about that,” said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, a Cincinnati consulting company. “But our industry as a whole has a tremendous upside as it relates to bringing back facilities like this.” Growing support East admits the project is lofty, but says community support is building. East’s request for $10 million in public funds was met with enthusiasm – but no money – by City Council members. The city’s future role in the project, if any, remains unknown, according to director of Urban Development Allen Bell He said East’s plan is “nowhere near being ready for the city to look at yet. I have no idea if there’s a role the city will play in this. It’s too early to tell.” Clendenin, whose district includes the park, said he continues to support Joyland’s return to “a thriving amusement park.” “I hope that we can get something done on this. I really do,” Clendenin said. “It’s been closed too long. And this is a place the whole city could enjoy.” In neighboring Planeview, East’s project is “all the buzz” among older residents, who recall the park’s heyday.
“The neighborhood thought is it (restoration) can happen, but it will take a major effort,” said the Rev. Al Rose, longtime Planeview resident and secretary of Planeview’s neighborhood association.
“A dollar here, a dollar there,” Johnson said. “We believe in our hearts that once we purchase the park, everyone will be on board.”
By the end of the year, East hopes to have $1 million to buy the land and remaining rides.
For now Joyland sits empty, a ghost of the park it once was.
“When I walk in the park, I may see what you see for the first five or 10 seconds, but then it all turns back into what it was before,” East said.
“The fun memories of everyone screaming down the first hill of the roller coaster … and Louie the Clown playing the organ.
I mean I see that. I see all of it.
“But under no circumstance is it only memories to me, because I know that the park does have the chance of reopening.”
http://www.kansas.com/2012/07/01/2394335/wichita-teens-joyland-restoration.html
Joyland Memories by Carnut
From the age of 8 to 18 I lived just blocks away from Joyland,
I can remember spending most every summer day at the Joyland swimming pool
, actually against the rules mom using the pool as a babysitter for both me and my brother.
Mom worked at Boeing A/C and enjoyed 'Free Rides Days' at Joyland when
I also got to enjoy the End Of School party day at Joyland when kids were
I went to gradeschool at the 'helicopter' school of Sowers Elementary which was physically
I never actually took a date to Joyland, I just lived at Joyland.
On slow days I remember looking under some of the more ambitious rides like
Oh and the 99cent days when admission was 99 cents and free rides on most of the
Also remember some girls coaxing me onto the ferris wheel, which really did scare me.
I have so many more memories, just to numerous to list, it would almost be
Today I can actually see Joylands Roller Coaster and Ferris Wheel from the top of my house.
I also remember 'Kiddieland' over by the Twin Drivein Theater.
Draggin Douglas by Nancy Boewe
Gear Gents Car Club by Carl Fry
I was (am still) a member of the Gear Gents Car Club.
We were sponsored by Darryl Starbird and met in his old Star Kustom
shop on south Mead at Mt Vernon back in 1956.
I attached some of Char’s pics from the 2012 Starbird-Devlin show. John and I gave
Darryl a picture we took at the 2011 show (note the Broadway & Douglas sign
in the background), a Gear Gents jacket and an original Gear Gents plaque.
Some kind of karma….. John & I hanging around Darryl’s shop when we were in high school back in 1956,
end forming a group and buy his Wichita Car Show…. Draggin’ Douglas and The Wichita Tradition Continues..
The Starbird-Devlin Rod & Customs Charities Car Show
A personal history of Draggin Douglas by Carl Fry
THE ROUTES:
My first "real" trips "Draggin' th' Gut" were in the back seat of Leroy Ellis's 1953 Red-Ram hemi Dodge.
He then bought a brand new 1955 hemi DeSoto. Leroy lived about a half-block from us, was working at Boeing
and always had a new fast car.
In 1955 "The Route" was not specifically defined. (Or else we were not tuned in on it) We would drive up
Pattie to Douglas and then Douglas to The Henry Burger on West Street. The Henry Burger was a good place
to eat, look at girls and arrange drag races on 21st Street and on Tyler Road. The Route was then;
Douglas to Hydraulic, Hydraulic to Kellogg, Kellogg east to Bowers Root Beer Stand. Bowers Drive-in was
also a good place to arrange drag races on Rock Road and on Greenwich Road. Some places we visited along
this route were: By the summer of 1958 the route had changed for a number of reasons. I was working at the Ford dealer
located 1226 E. Douglas and I had inherited my brothers 1957 Chevy my last year in high school.
Brother John had a 1957 red and white Corvette. Both cars had factory fuel injection and close ratio
transmissions. We thought we were pretty cool .. And You know, We did have two of the fastest cars
on Douglas at the time. I met Bill Rahn who was working at the Pontiac dealer next door. Between my brother,
Roger Pike, Bill Rahn, Johnny McDowell, Kenny Stillwell, Joe Honeycut, Steve & Perry Ward,
we pretty well knew all the car guys and gals Draggin' Douglas the summer of 1958.
1958/1965 there were two basic routes:
Route "A" Started at the Continental Grill & Tel-A-Tray on West Douglas and went east on Douglas to Sandy's
located at Grove and Douglas. From Sandy's, south on Grove to George Washington Blvd., then southeast to
Hillside, then south on Hillside to The Town & County Drive In (T&C) located at Hillside and Pawnee.
Route "B" Started at the T&C and went north on Hillside to Harry Street, then west on Harry to
George Washington Blvd., then north-west to Kellogg and Hydraulic, then north on Hydraulic to Douglas,
then west on Douglas to the Continental Grill & Tel-A-Tray.
Most of us guys would drive both routes whenever we were Draggin' Douglas.
The "best" places to see and be seen with your car were The T&C, Sandy's and the Continental.
Some places we visited along these routes were: (In addition to some of the ones listed above)
We passed the afternoons and evenings burning fuel and rubber without regard to weather or season.
Other than an occasional 'loud and unusual noise', driving without headlights, speeding, and (of all things),
'driving too slow' tickets the cops left us alone.
I met my wife Bonnie and got married in 1966, traded the '57 Fuelie for a '65 Buick Riviera and
dropped out of the Draggin' Douglas scene.
Carl Hi George,
Got the note from Carl about your cruising stories and thought you might enjoy this one.
One evening in early 1954, my friend John and I were dragging Douglas in his family's new 53 BelAire and the heat
and tunes were on high. We stopped at Washington and a couple in a brand new blue 54 Corvette stopped next to us.
The driver motioned to roll down the window and when I did, the man asked if we would like to trade cars.
I laughed and said "sure" but he said he was serious, so when the light changed, we pulled over to the curb
in front of Ed White's car lot and the guy got out and came back to talk to John. Seems he wanted a warm,
closed car to make out in, so we took his Vette and he took the BelAire and we arranged to meet back at
the same spot two hours later. It was a memorable night of top down, frosty cruising but I don't remember
being particularly cold.
Tim Hatfield Hi Carl, Here's what I sent to whoever has the Sandy's Hamburger site;
Hi, Steve Mericle Hey Steve,
Carl Ok Carl,
Heh, heh, that's the story as best I can remember it this time around.
Hey Chuck,
Later..
Hey George,
Carl The Last Ride,
From Carl,
Ski King:
Red Light / White Light
Here Kitty, Kitty...
Carl From Carl,
Draggin' Douglas - It was an "inexpensive evening" (most of the time)
Carl Carnut
- - Heh, heh, I always frequented Griffs, Sandys and McDonalds, T&C and KingsX were too pricy for me. Oh and we can't forget the Tastee Freeze
on south Hillside a lot of south end kids liked to frequent. Also remember KingsX as the only drivein being open 24hrs a day. Think they stayed open
for the swing shift crowd from the Aircraft factories, Beech, Boeing and Cessna which were running 3shifts a day. Manys the time I remember Mom coming
home from 2nd shift at Boeing and going out to a grocery store that was open 24hrs so she could get her paycheck cashed and get some groceries or
going to KingsX for 'Breakfast' at 2am.
|
A Pictorial Narrative of 'Draggin Douglas' from Grove to NuWay Cafe in 2008.
 2008 Douglas West from Grove Street to I35 Overpass  2008 Douglas West from I35 Overpass to Hydraulic Intersection  2008 Douglas West towards Hydraulic Intersection  2008 Douglas West Hydraulic to Railroad Underpass and Old Town  2008 Douglas West Hydraulic to Railroad Underpass and Old Town  2008 Douglas at Old Town Entrance  2008 Douglas at Union Station and Railroad Underpass looking West  2008 Douglas at Railroad Underpass looking West  2008 Douglas West from Railroad Underpass to Eaton Hotel  2008 Douglas West from Market Street  2008 Douglas West towards Garvey Building  2008 Douglas West towards Hotel Broadview  2008 Douglas Bridge West Across Arkansas River  2008 Douglas West from Delano Roundel  2008 Douglas West at Delano Roundel  2008 NuWay Cafe on West Douglas Now heading back East on Douglas.  2008 Douglas East to Garvey Building From Hotel Broadview 2008  2008 Douglas East to Garvey Building From Tripodal  2008 Century II Convention Center on West Douglas at Water Street  2008 Holiday Inn Plaza on West Douglas at Water Street  2008 Douglas East from Century II Convention Center  2008 Douglas East to Old Town From St Francis Street  2008 Douglas East to Railroad Underpass From St Francis Street  2008 Union Station East of Railroad Underpass  2008 Douglas East to I35 Overpass From Hydraulic Street  2008 Wichita High School East  2008 Douglas East to College Hill from Grove Street |
- - More - -
If anyone has any Draggin Douglas stories they would like to have posted, please email me carnut@carnut.comA Photo History of Douglas Streetscenes and Locations of Interest from 2002 to 1870.
GM and Kooweetoo Do Wichita Photo Tour
Last Update: 04/11/13
Home
- Links
- Events
- Store
- Vendors
- Forums
- Specs
- Pics
