Thursday, May 28, 2009

A Dip in the 1954 Marietta Yellow Pages

Click on each set of pages to make them bigger and readable.

Here are some more 1954 Yellow Pages from the Marietta phone book.

The people that were in their formative years in the 1950s might find this very interesting… or boring.



On the above set of pages the 2nd category down is a category you will no longer see in the Yellow Pages: Adding Machines.

On the far right lower corner is an ad for Parkaire Field. Parkaire Field has been Parkaire Mall for at 35 years, probably more. Parkaire Field was an aviation field for small planes.

I remember a bunch of us teenagers visited Parkaire Field one time to see a certain pilot. The pilot very secretive took from each of us $5. He said if he got caught giving plane rides he would lose his pilot’s license. We all got into his plane, I think it was a piper cub, and we went flying over Marietta. It was a thrill to see the little cars moving on the little roads and the little houses.

It was my second time to fly in a plane. My uncle Herbert Hunter, about 10 years earlier owned a piper cub and jointly owned an airfield on Austell Road near Hurt Road. He had a near death plane wreck which almost crippled him which is probably the reason he gave it all up and took up boats and fishing.


A couple items of historical interest are on this page.

The top of the second column is an ad for Marietta Funeral Home that offered 24 hour ambulance service “for COLORED”; Then we lived in a segregated society, but there is little proof of that today.

Albert Dobbins Funeral Home and Mayes Ward Funeral Home were two separate businesses – that was before they consolidated..

In 1954 there was only one store listed in the Yellow Pages as an antique dealer. Antiquing presently is a big money turnover business in Cobb County. I would almost bet now there are more antique stores than restaurants. Also there are several big buildings that were once something else and now have booths or stalls with individuals hawking their antiques.

Only two apartment rental businesses are listed. Now, of course, with all the here-today, gone-tomorrow nomadic citizens there are much more apartments rental businesses.

On the right are a list of attorneys. Howell Ravan is listed. Howell Ravan went on to become a judge and also owned Marble Inn BBQ on the old Church Street Extension and Ravan’s BBQ on the 4-Lane.

Also Marietta’s own Boss Hog is listed: Harold Willingham.

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