Lee High School - Huntsville Alabama Alumni

Before There Were Malls

by Tommy Towery

Class of '64

This morning the temperature in Memphis started off in the teens again for the third day in a row. Even though we never got the snow that was predicted, the cold Arctic blast of cold air made its way down into the South. Being retired and with no reason to leave the house to go to work each day, we've stayed home instead of getting out in the cold. This morning we decided to get out because the cabin fever was getting to us. We decided to go to our big mall here in Memphis and walk around in the warmth of indoor shopping.

While sitting in the food court eating a Chik-Fil-A sandwich, I watched the shoppers walk by, reminding me a little of the circles we used to walk in the sacred halls of Lee High School back in the Sixties. Since we have added many new non-Lee readers, I should explain that each morning before school, and during morning break each day, the students at Lee walked. We walked around and around inside the school, in a loop that took us around the auditorium and past the lunchroom hall and past the school's administrative and principal's office. We did this like lemmings and would walk in groups until the bell sounded sending us back to classes. But all of that is for re-hashing again some other time. For now, it is told just to explain to the new readers why I draw the similarity.

I also started thinking about how crowded downtown Huntsville was on a Saturday morning back in the Fifties. Back then I'd walk to town from my house on Clinton Street and spend most of the day there going to the Lyric or Grand, or sometimes both, theaters and just window shopping and hanging out. Then one day the death knell sounded for the life downtown as we knew it. Huntsville got a modern shopping center.

The photo above was taken at the grand opening of the Parkway Shopping Center. The original Parkway Shopping Center opened in 1957 as an open-air strip mall with 25 stores, with seven more stores added two years later. Yes, it was all open air but there was a metal awning-like cover attached to the fronts of the stores so that you could walk from one end to the other without getting rained on on bad days or sunburned on good ones. It did not keep you warm though, and on cold days you still got cold going from one store to another. But it was new, and it was modern, and it was something to make the Rocket City folks proud. Parking was the best thing it had to offer. Unlike the situation in downtown, where people had to look for parking spaces and feed pennies into parking meters, there was plenty of free parking at the Shopping Center, and people could park in front of whichever store they needed to visit. That didn't mean much for those of us who could not drive and who were accustomed to walking to the stores downtown.

I can't remember the first time I went to the "Shopping Center" as I called it. There was no use in adding Parkway City to its name, since it was the only shopping center there was. It was a long way away from Clinton Street, and the Parkway that provided easy access to automobile shoppers, added an element of danger to us bicycle riders, not to mention the great distance that make walking to it out of the question. But I know I went whenever I got the chance and I thought it was a really neat place.

It's odd how we associate things and times and people. My greatest memory of Parkway City, when it was still just a shopping center, happened in 1964, when I went to Montgomery Wards to buy a record. It was a 33 1/3 RPM vinyl record called "Meet the Beatles" and I had to make the great decision of whether to spend $2.99 and buy a monaural one or spend an extra dollar and buy one of the high technology "stereo" ones. Stereo records were in their infancy still since it was just 1958 when the first stereo two-channel records were issued. I couldn't afford the extra dollar and went to for monaural copy. It is still odd to me that every time I drive by the shopping center location, I still remember that. I also remember one period when the "d" and the "s" red neon lights on the store went out and as you drove toward the center you would see a giant red "War" sign instead of the less-theatening "Wards."

When I got home today from my nice mall walk, I looked up the history of Parkway City. I found the following.

"Two major events in the shopping complex's history occurred in 1974. First, the mall was acquired by Arlen Real Estate (which later became CBL), and a tornado destroyed the south end of the center. In February 1976, the shopping complex was re-opened as Parkway City Mall, a single-level enclosed mall, with Pizitz (later purchased by McRae's), Montgomery Ward and Parisian as anchors. The mall was opened with 467,000 square feet (43,400 m2), and was expanded in 1984 and 1994. It was Huntsville's largest shopping center until Madison Square Mall opened in 1984. Plans began in 1998 to redevelop the location. The mall was already losing stores, and, in 2001, the Montgomery Ward chain closed all of its retail stores, costing the shopping complex one of its three anchors. The demolition of Parkway City Mall and 2002 construction of Parkway Place were completed in stages so as to allow the greatest possible open time for Piccadilly Cafeteria, one of the major remaining businesses at the time of the demolition. In January 2007, an expansion to the mall began, enlarging the anchor spot used by Parisian as it transitioned into a Belk store. Parisian was then renamed Belk on September 12, 2007."

There are other malls that could have stories written about them, and perhaps in the future we'll look back at them. But for now, I will dedicate today's memories to the grandfather of them all in Huntsville. Below is a picture postcard of Parkway City back in the good old days. I doubt if it would be a destination today to go walking with the temps in the teens.

Polly Gurley Redd, Class of ‘66 - Oh, Tommy, the beloved charm bracelet. I wore and still have 3 in silver and one in gold that are so full of charms that I wonder how I used to wear the 3 together. They weigh a ton when I think about it now. The recent trend of putting your charms on necklaces and other ways to share them without the “jangle” around your wrist is nice, but not quite the same. I still love to wear my bracelets occasionally for the effect, just one at a time.

And many thanks for all the hard work you do to keep us both entertained and informed. Happy New Year.

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Cecilia Levan Watson - I still have my Charm Bracelet.. On it is a Lee High School charm, a small church, a clarinet that I played badly, a charm from my pen pal in England, sweet 16 charm, state of Alabama charm. Class of 68 charm and a roller skate because we all love going roller skating. I added many more after my children were born but the early ones are my favorite.

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Linda Beal Walker, Class of '66 - The only charm bracelet I ever owned was one that was given to me in the 6th grade by a boy whose name I cannot remember. I don't remember the occasion, although the charms could indicate Valentine's day. The charms included a Will, wheat, a bee and a heart, among a few others, creating "Will you be my sweetheart". I still have it in a very old jewelry box. I guess I kept it because I never had another charm bracelet.

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Dianne Hughey McClure, Class of '64 - I had a gold charm bracelet when I was in high school and I still have it. It was given to me by my older sister the year I started high school. When she gave it to me it had a piano on it because I played the piano and had taken lessons for several years. I added charms that meant something to me over the years and was given charms to add to it. One of the charms on it that meant and still means the most to me is a state of Alabama charm. It was given to me for graduation by mine and your "most illustrious" editor T. Tommy. Looking at the charms on the bracelet is like looking at a scrap book; it brings back many special memories. I have not added a charm in many years but maybe I will. Thanks for reminding me

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Barb Biggs Knott, Class of '66 - I still have my charm bracelet (photo above) from high school. As you can see some of the charms relate to my graduation day, May 31, 1966 and my 16th birthday as well as my first car my VW Beetle. It was fun collecting and receiving charms for my bracelet as each charm had a special meaning.

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Harold Shepard, Class of ‘67 - Every time I see a charm bracelet I think of Pam Wright. She had the most beautiful one I had ever seen. That thing must have had 20 charms on it. You could hear it when she walked down the hall. 14K gold when it jingles has a sound of its own. I can’t imagine what that bracelet must be worth today with the price of gold being $1,000 an ounce. She is the reason I bought my wife one when we started dating and have continued today to add to it on special occasions. So if you’re out there somewhere Pam and you read this, my wife says "Thank You ! "

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Sandra McLemore Dahlin, HHS Class of '64 - I still have both my charm bracelets from 1964. They are very precious to me and remind me of many wonderful memories of those high school years. The charms include a miniature HHS ring, charms from various trips, a couple from boyfriends, a basketball from YMCA girls basketball and numerous from family and friends representing a special memory. It's like a history book. Thanks for reminding me about them. I got them out and had a special moment!

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Subject:East Clinton Photo

Wayne Price

HHS Cass of '64

Yes Patsy that is me in the picture of Mrs Walker's fifth grade class getting a hug from Karol Bryant and looks like Gary Neely on my other side. I do hope I am wrong but a Gary Neely age 63 was listed as passing in the Huntsville Times last week. Patsy---I remember when you lived in the log cabin two houses up from mine back in the 50's on Randolph. The cabin is still there and I am back in the old homeplace (4years). Lost my Mother in Sept. she was 91.

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Subject:New Year's Snow

Eddie Burton

Class of '66

I remember that New Years Eve snow of 1963. My Mom and Dad went to a party and left me home alone. Ahggghh!!! I was 16 and had fun staying home and watching TV, playing my guitar and bringing in the New Year. Well it began to snow harder and harder and about 1am the phone rang and it was my mother telling me they were spending the night at their friends house because it was too dangerous to drive in the snow. So there I was by my self watching 1964 come in out the picture window of my house as the snow piled up in the front yard and on the street. The next day I built a snowman with some friends and my mother made snow cream. It was truly a winter wonderland.

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Subject:Traveller Article

Dillard Broadway

Huntsville High School

"Happy New Year" Tommy !...Thanks for the message...I did receive a Facebook note from Niles and a email from Taylor Wright to check out the mailbox. It was great to read that someone remembered my name after 55 years....especially your first grade girlfriend! I have such fond memories of East Clinton and all the friends I have lost touch with. Thanks to your efforts on the LHS web site I was able to reconnect with some old friends like yourself and the memories keep flooding my brain. Sorry @ the TCU game! I hope the TIDE does not have the same outcome tonight!!!....Later Dude.......Dillard

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