Joe's Jail

A balding and bearded older fellow named Joe Calloway had a little shop near Progress Street in which he created jewelry and leather goods, as well as other creations that he learned to make as a young boy growing up in India.

I don't know exactly how long Joe had this particular shop.  He eventually opened his studio in a room at the rear of his house.

Joe was a resident of Blacksburg for many years, and in 1976 he packed his bags and went to Colorado.  I heard a rumor recently that Joe may have perished in a swimming accident.  I hope it's not true.

My wife still has a leather hair piece that Joe made in the early 1970's, and she cherishes it.

Fall 1972

Humble Pie

If there ever was a cool head shop in town it was Humble Pie.  The newspaper ads, lifted straight from the pages of our favorite underground comix, were a clue in itself

Humble Pie was located at 102 Roanoke Street across from the National Bank in what they called the "ugly green building", and was above Burt's Photo shop.  The building today is red, in case you were wondering.

Personally I was hooked on R. Crumb, the artist, and his twisted tales that appeared in Zap Comix, the Furry Freak Brothers (and Fat Freddy's Cat), Yellow Dog, and many more.  Whenever I needed a comic fix I trucked on down to Humble Pie.

They also advertised contemporary gifts, posters, blacklites, headgear, incense, inflatable furniture, wall things, candy, empathy cards "and a smile".

I really truly miss shops like this.  Please come back, Humble Pie!

Saturday Night Fever

Remember Disco?

It came boogeying into the American culture sometime in the mid Seventies and didn't let go until MTV finally saved us with the Eighties genre of music.

But as long as it was here, then "After Sundown" was the place to be .... with swinging skirts and open shirts and a glitter ball hanging above the dance floor.  "After Sundown" was in the back of the building adjacent to the National Bank, the place that in 1970 was the Kroger building that later became a sort of mini-mall.  Today you know it as the Tech Bookstore, across the street from Cabo Fish Taco.

For those of you who never heard of Bill Deal and the Rondells (in the ad above) they were a pretty big deal (pun intended) in the Seventies .... except I sort of remember them being more associated with beach music.

Before McDonalds

Rays Restaurant  - next to Radford Brothers on North Main Street

Before Ronald McDonald rolled into town there was Ray's.  In fact, there were two of them..... one on North Main and one on South Main.  Ray's served yummy charbroiled burgers and plump roast beef sandwiches, french fries, and other delicious fast food treats.

I need help from my readers out there who remember Ray's.  The one on South Main was up in the vicinity of what was then the Blacksburg High School.  It seems that particular restaurant either BECAME a Hardees, or WAS a Hardees and changed to Ray's.  Or were they two separate places?  See what 40 years does to your memory!!!!

I just remember, being a teenager, how much I liked the food.  By the way, they also went by the name of Ray's Kingburgers.

Bluegrass Music

(click to enlarge)

Despite the fact that in the late 1960's and into the 1970's many saw the youth of the day as "hippies" or just generally long-haired, disheveled, acid rock lovin' kids there was one type of music that brought this scruffy bunch together with the regular mountain folk, both young and old, and that was good old fashion Bluegrass.

Whether it was down the road at Galax Fiddler's Convention or, as the picture above shows, at a local farm this grass-roots music was enjoyed by all ages.  The gathering in this photo looks like "Woodstock Lite" and it may have been at Hawthorne's farm ...... it looks like the stage and the rolling land that I remember seeing.

Other festivals happened all over the New River Valley.  There was at least one or two weekends at Yellow Sulphur Springs in the early 70's and who knows how many others that were more private affairs.

The point is that this music has a wonderful way of bonding otherwise dissimilar souls.  Bluegrass is still a big draw at outdoor concerts.

Anyone out there have a good memory or two to share?

That Steak Place

"A new kind of dining" is what the local newspaper called "That Steak Place".  We all thought it was a pretty elegant restaurant with a couple of marketing ploys that kept us coming back.

As the name suggests, beef was their specialty but you could also order crab, shrimp, or lobster too.  When you entered, you knew by the gold and red decor and candle lighting that you were in an upscale eatery.  The tables were surrounded by captain's chairs and you might immediately notice there was a salad bar where you could create your own first course (a fairly new concept then).  If you came in to have a steak (and why wouldn't you?) then that's when the fun began.  A waiter would wheel a cart beside your table with the house specialty, Choice Rib-Eye steaks, and you could select the size of your entree by telling him to move the knife over just a little more !  You were then charged by the weight, and when they first opened that was only 50 cents per ounce .... just think, a half-pound steak for 4 bucks.  Filet Mignon and New York Strips were priced at $5.50.

That Steak Place was located in the front of the University Motel, the place that now hosts a laundromat just beyond the hospital and Dairy Queen on Rt. 460 South.

The co-owners were George Nettleton, a Tech graduate, and Vernon Roberts, both from Richmond.  Vernon was director of operations and manager of That Steak Place in Richmond as well.

The best part of this great dining experience was that you could get a free steak on your birthday.  Do you think many starving VT students showed up there?