Hey Ernie

Ron61 · #1 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 04:25 AM

This year for Kool April Nights they are honoring Gene's Drive In. The cover page picture of the newsletter is when they had the 19¢ burgers and the deluxe Gene Burger was 34¢. Bad news is that in less than 2 years it will be gone as Redding wants to put a strip mall there. They have already made downtown a rotting ghost town with that stupid mall so they may as well waste money on another project that will just set and rot. I hate to see it go as it is the last of the places we used to hang out. All of the old A&W Root Beer stands have been gone so long most of the people here don't even know what they were.

Ron

Excaliber · #2 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 10:22 AM

My good friend is right on the verge of retiring (Navy) and heading back to Happy Valley. I'm thinking about coming out there and do some visiting within the next year or so. If so, see ya then!

Ron61 · #3 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 10:46 AM

Hey, that would be great. I may have to take you around as you won't recognize Redding from our days. Even Happy Valley has changed but not as much.

Ron

Excaliber · #4 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 08:41 PM

Would I get to ride in your Cobra? The '69?

That would be cool.

wtm442 · #5 (**permalink**) 04-17-2008, 08:41 PM

19 cent burgers?

The Howdy's in town, when I got my car and license, the burgers were 11 cents and the small fries were 9 cents!

But the A&W stand was the best. Best drinks, best burgers, best fries .... there are still a few in my area, about 40 miles away.

Ron61 · #6 (**permalink**) 04-18-2008, 01:49 AM

Ernie,

You can drive the 69 if you want to. Very few people besides me have ever gotten to do that.

Warren,

Gene's didn't serve small fries and their hamburgers were more than just a small piece of meat on a bun. I like the 5 for a dollar ones as I could spend $4 dollars and have enough to snack on for most of the evening.

Ron

Wayne Maybury · #7 (**permalink**) 04-18-2008, 06:03 AM

I live about 35 miles north of the Canada / US border and Plattsburgh, NY is about 25 miles south of it. A bunch of us used to go for a ride on our motorcycles down to the A & W in Plattsburgh. That's where I discovered "swamp water" which is a mix of about 2/3 root beer and 1/3 orange. It looked terrible but tasted great. I don't remember the A & W prices but in the Montreal area 2 hot dogs and a fry were 35 cents. Those were the days.

Of course back then I only made $50 a week.

Wayne

Ron61 · #8 (**permalink**) 04-18-2008, 06:53 AM

Wayne,

Small world isn't it. When I was in high school my Father worked as a foreman for M & K Construction and he worked on the St. Lawrence Seaway project. We lived in a little town called Lawrenceville and I used to go to many of the other towns in that area including Plattsburg. We also drove over into Canada to buy Sturgeon as they could catch and sell all they wanted to. That is one of the few places that I lived during my school years that I really enjoyed. The people were great and it was just a nice area back then.

Ron

Wayne Maybury · #9 (**permalink**) 04-18-2008, 09:22 AM

Ron

Small world indeed. I live about 5 miles from the St. Lambert lock which is the most easterly lock in the St.Lawrence Seaway.

Plattsburgh isn't the same since they closed the SAC base there about 10 years ago. I think that Plattsburgh has more used car lots and more retail stores per capita than any other town I have ever seen.

Wayne

Ron61 · #10 (**permalink**) 04-18-2008, 12:04 PM

Wayne,

I am familiar with all of the locks on the seaway as my Father got me a job on the Eisenhower Lock while school was out. I was making a fortune then for a school kid. Then I would go with them on inspection tours of the seaway. I know I wouldn't recognize many of the places now as that was long ago. I used to really like going off up into the Adirondack Mountains. They had a place beck then way up in the mountains called Santa Claus Town with all of the elves and a lot of real reindeer that you could pet.

Ron