Town & Country Shopping Center - 1962

I think this picture was put on Facebook by either Joe Jenkins or Skip Are – and I, of course, lifted it like a fine refined thief.

See the dirt strip in the foreground? Not long after this picture was taken in 1962 the dirt strip became the home of Shrimp Boat and a trampoline jumping place. I think about 4 or 6 rectangular holes were dug and a rectangular shaped trampoline was installed above each. Then, you paid and jumped away all you couold afford.


Not in view but I think it was probably still there at the time was a two storied green tower in the middle of the parking lot. It looked something like a short air traffic control tower. It was owned by either WFOM or WBIE Radio Station. They ran live broadcasts from there and had giveaway contests. It must have been designed as a crowd getter. I won an iron, which still holds the record of being the only thing I ever won

Also not shown in the picture is the huge parking lot. I remember about March of 1961 a huge ice storm hit Metro Atlanta which virtually paralyzed everything – except for the young and foolish. We rode around looking for good places to slide our cars. Town and Country Shopping Center parking lot did not have a car in it. We had a slip and slide party. I learned a lot about the physics of car slipping and sliding and car traction in ice that day. Really. I think what I learned have got me through driving in some terrible snowy and freezing weather.
I vaguely remember that one of us driving and sliding around the parking lot hit the curb and the car turned over and smashed into the new Kroger’s grocery store. But that may have been my imagination.

*Except the many times I won a free trip to Florida to look at a land deal or something (I never accepted).