The man who used to stand on Wanut Grove each morning and wave was John ______, and his dog was "choo-choo" I can't recall John's last name, but he was a retired railroad man.
Vance, I think that Central Ave. location was actually where Dollar General is now. It was a Burger Chef, then something else before becoming John Wills in the '80s.
Funny you should ask this now, Vance. I belong to another forum where someone else was asking about this same boat. He has 2 pictures of it up:
http://www.steamboats.org/forum/steamboats…
Yes, you are probably right when you say that commerce was too heavy at the foot of Union Ave. for a showboat's extended stay. Wharfage fees would have eaten up any profit they would make.
Nowadays cotton is left at the side of the field where it is grown. They now have smaller portable compresses that they compress the cotton with at the field. These large piles of compressed cotton are called "modules", and the tops are covered, but they stay outside until being transported to the gin.
Compressed cotton is VERY dense. If it catches fire, water cannot put it out. The old-timers' way of extinguishing a cotton fire in compressed cotton was to pour kerosene on it ... the kerosene would soak into the compressed cotton and smother the fire, so I don't think water would bother the bales of cotton awaiting shipment no longer than they would be outdoors awaiting shipment.
Two shows come to mind, both of which were on WMCT Channel 5. One is Looney Zoo, whose hosts were Trent Wood and Tiny the clown. This was a kids' show that had a live kids' audience and they had magic performances, treats for the kids, and showed cartoons.
The other, and more likely show in this case, was a locally produced talent show that aired live late on Saturday mornings. There was always all kinds of talent, but mostly kids up to about age 15, I think, and they usually had live music accompaniment and kids could do anything ... dance, sing, whatever. Sorry I cannot remember the name of this show!
Audubon Drive is about halfway between Perkins and Goodlett, so it would not have made much difference which stop he got off at. Also, depending which train he was on, the train may not have stopped at all stations. I believe White Station was located in the building that now houses a small bookstore at the southeast corner of Poplar and Colonial.
Sienna College is just out of our field of vision to the right in the larger photo.
Re: “Dowdle Sporting Goods' Great Neon Sign”
Vance, if I'm not mistaken, that sign was originally at their Walnut Grove Rd. location, just west of Racine St. and east of the viaduct. I do recall the bouncing balls.