I thought the Town Crier was done with the 1976 Dalton area phone book, the one for the bicentennial year, but I got several positive responses and so thought readers would like one more peek at what was around town in 1976.
It’s like the Hollywood story about the funeral of a detested studio head: Nobody liked the guy, but when a huge crowd showed up at his funeral one comic quipped, “Well, always give the people what they want!”
And so we shall as we dip into the phone book once more to try and bring up some forgotten names and fond memories. Last week we did dentists, dancers, department stores, data processors (aka computers) and grocery stores and restaurants. This week we’ll check out a few more subject headings in the Yellow Pages.
Everyone knew everyone
Ladies, how about some of your favorite dress shops? I can still remember as a kid the painful boredom of having to go with my mom from time to time when she went to buy “office clothes” for work.
I’m sure she was hurrying, but for me it was like I was being imprisoned in concrete.
At one place I would sit at the front of the store at the feet of the mannequins and watch those lucky, lucky people on the other side of the window walk about freely to someplace … anyplace other than a women’s clothing store.
Most women’s clothes now are bought at some type of national chain store here in town, but in 1976 there were many locally-owned places where everyone knew everyone, and the owner knew your sizes and your tastes. And they would make chalk marks on the new dress and have the sewing lady in the back come out and see what modifications were needed. The finished dress or outfit would be ready for pickup in two or three days. Which is how long it seemed I had to wait for mom to pick it out the first time.
Nestled between Wire and Wreckers was Women’s Apparel — Retail. Apart from the local places, there were a couple of “out-of-towners” that had entries in our phone book in quest of drumming up a little specialty business, perhaps offering things not found easily in Dalton or Chatsworth.
One was the Big Girl Shop in Chattanooga, which “specialized” in large and half sizes. The other was Frances’ Shop in Rossville. Their ad featured a sketch of a woman who looked like a French model stylishly outfitted in dress, overcoat, hat and purse, strolling down a French Avenue, looking for a French movie star like, oh, I don’t know, Quasimodo (he’s the only French movie star I know apart from the Phantom of the Opera)? Their catchphrase was “For Lovely Things” and on their list of offerings the one that stood out from Dalton places was “furs.” I don’t remember a lot of ladies wearing furs around Dalton then, but as a kid I wasn’t getting invited to the kind of shindigs where they might be worn.
I would think to spend money on a fur our ladies would shop in Atlanta, but if you were in a last minute hurry a fur place in Rossville would be handy before I-75.
Now for the Dalton places, get your Diner’s Club or Carte Blanche credit cards ready, we’re going shopping!
The first one listed was The Bon Ton. It was in Bry-Man’s Plaza and was one of the places I went with mom and had to hang out. I remember every time I went thinking to myself “What’s a Bon Ton?” It’s a French phrase and the literal translation into English is “good tone”, but the meaning is “a fashionable manner or style.” A good name, but then what ladies store wants to be thought of as “unfashionable”?
Most of the women’s clothing stores that featured a name featured a lady’s name, but in the Yellow Pages mix was Burt’s Clothing Store on Hamilton. For the women’s named stores there was Carol’s Fashion Outlet, Diana Shops (with an “s,” but there seemed to be only one), the Eleanor Shop, Linda’s Fashions, Rose’s Apparel Shop, Madonna Apparel Shoppe (note the “shop” and “shoppe”), Three Sisters (I know that’s not a woman’s name but if you knew the sisters that would be three women’s names) and the “Vanda Shop. I’m going out on a limb here and assuming Vanda is a lady’s name and not a Russian phrase that translates as “Bon Ton.”
Signs of the times
With it being the ’70s, there were signs of the times on the front of some of these stores. There was the Tutti Fruitti Dress Shop, whose ad stated “For the new and original look in fashions — Peggy Whitener — owner”, the ad including a lady’s name.
There was the Up the Down Staircase shop, named after a novel and film from the 1960s about a young, female teacher taking her first assignment in a tough, big-city school. The title references one of the staircases in the school. Perhaps the shop owner loved the book/movie or perhaps they just liked the name or had a staircase in the shop.
On Franklin Street was The Little Brown House, which I’m guessing was in a little, brown house. There was Threads, a nickname for clothes back then, and with a real ’70s style design for its name, and then another nickname for clothes back then, Duds. Rounding out the women’s wear stores were The Fine Store, the Town & Casual Shop, the Valencia Dress Shop and the Village Shop.
Coiffure calling cards
With great clothes comes great responsibility … to get a great new hairdo! Let’s check the beauty shops, all 95 or so of them, about a full page’s worth. We probably can’t hit them all but I will name what I can.
Maybe you got your hair done at one of these, or your mom, or your grandmom. Almost all were either beauty shops or salons, if they mentioned that. There were a couple of “Hair Styles By” either Paula or Thomas and one Hair Styles Unlimited. There was a Beauty Box and also a Carolyn’s Beauty Box.
One that did stand out, though, was Anne’s Sleepy Time Beauty Lounge. That name conjures several mental images as to what all went on there. Could you take a nap there? Were cocktails served? Open till midnight on Saturday?
For places with non-person names, there was Blythe Spirit (the name comes from a poem, play and movie), Bow ’N Beau (for men and women), Bungalo, Carrousel Coiffures, Charme, Cinderella, The Clip Joint, The Cosmetique (my mom’s shop), Cut ’n Curl, The Doll House, Foxy Lady, The Golden Scissors (sounds like a Greek myth), His and Her, La-Parisienne, Magic Mirror, Monte Carlo, Powder Puff, Style-a-Rama, the Style Shack, Town and Country, Tres-Chic-Harem, Two Sisters, the Wave and Set Beauty Lounge (another lounge) and the Windjammer. All in all, a clearly clever and ear-catching collection of coiffure calling cards.
Of course, many, many places included the owners’ name, such as (just a few) Alva, Annette, Beverly, Carole Ann, Carole and Carolyn, Deecie, Dimple, Dora, Dot, Felicia, Flo, Genella, Jeannie, Jean and Jewell, Laverne, Lois, Lynda, Melba, Mildred, Nell, Nora, Ozell, Paralee, Sara and Wilma. I know that was a lot of names but many of these women will be remembered and also you can use the list to search for baby names.
The last ones I’ll mention are the hyphen name shops, Lai-Lin Beauty Time, the La-Jen Shop and the Ru-San Shop, which I’m assuming are a mash-up of partners’ names.
Different degrees of dry
Many of those beauty shop names amuse me but I remember driving by these little beer joints with funny names when I was a kid. I couldn’t figure out how they could sell beer when I thought Whitfield County was a “dry” county. I guess there are different degrees of dry.
Some of the names of those places were the Tik Tock, Orbit Beer, The Happy Hour, The Happening, the Habit Package Store and The Beer Jug. And downtown there was The Eight Ball.
Quiz time
Now I’ll throw some names out and see if you recognize them and can tell what section of the ’76 phone book they were in. Dorsey. Ryman. Posten. Al Johnson. Dennis Brent. Burnette and Brooker. Mosteller. Mullinax.
These are the names of the new car dealers in the Automobile section of those Yellow Pages. A few of the used car dealerships I remember that are in this phone book are Bond Motors, C&H Motors, Eslinger Motor Co., Hise and Sloan, Homes Bros., Patterson Bros., S&C Motors and Underwood Motors (which was on Grimes Street, not Underwood). Whether new or used, and even if you weren’t born until after the “70s, there’s a chance you have ridden in a car sold at one of these places.
Well, it turns out memory lane is a long, winding street. Will we look a little more next time or move on? Check out next week’s Town Crier and find out!