Were You Born Yet When These Places Popped up in Texarkana?

Have you ever been cleaning out a closet or some old junk drawer at the house and you run across something nostalgic from Texarkana pasts?

If you grew up in Texarkana back in the 60s and 70s as I did then these items I am about to show you will definitely bring back some happy memories. Long gone but never forgotten, as I like to say.

Mother's Club

Some of the guys and I were just talking about this the other day, the many clubs that Texarkana had in this town back in the day. The two most popular were the Pines Country Club and let's not forget Mother's Club on State Line. Back in the day, Mother's was the place to party on the weekend. Remember, drinking a cool one out of this glass?

Tape Village

Back in the day, we had the Audio Center and Tape Village. When you wanted the latest stereo equipment, speakers, and music you went to either one of these audio stores. Tape Village was well recognized by the huge satellite dish that used to sit out front of the store.

The Melody Shop

Then there was 'Tthe Melody Shop' located at 206 Broad Street. It was probably one of the hippest and cool record stores in town. They sold vinyl 45s, LPs, of the latest artist from country, rock, soul, and pop that was currently on the charts and heard on the radio airwaves. And if you bought records here you had to buy a record buffer for cleaning your records. I'm happy to see records making a comeback, glad I didn't throw mine away.

Speaking of "The Melody Shop' I recall buying my first 45 single of "Sugar Sugar," by The Archies. The Archies had their own Saturday morning cartoon that was spinning out hits like this one. I love the sound of the needle hitting the vinyl and hearing those pops and crackles.

Bonanza

Not to be confused with the popular western television show "Bonanza" back in the day. Bonanza was a steakhouse and served up some of the tastiest steaks in town and other homestyle food like chicken fried steak with gravy. Yes, Bonanza was the "Hoss" of our time, no pun intended, it was our Texas Roadhouse of that generation. Bonanza was located in the Kmart plaza where a Chinese restaurant is now. For the record, Western Sizzlin' Steakhouse is where Hooters is now.

Spero's Cafe

Finally, on our trip down memory lane let's not forget about Spero's Cafe on East 9th Street. Spero's not only served Greek-style cuisine but a variety of home-cooked foods. I ate here many times, the service was always great, and the owner was very friendly and accommodating to his customers, something that is really hard to find these days.

So, what about you? Do you have any places or things you remember from Texarkana's past?