Gearhead Paradise for sure. Dickie Harrel's place on Hickman Mills Drive, Russell's Go Carts on Blue Ridge, and lots of hot rod/muscle cars. And, I beleive that is why we all hung out/cruised from 87th and Blue Ridge all the way to Truman Corners on Blue Ridge Zombie. Tom
Already thread drift, that was my cruising area too. I used to stop at Russel's while riding my bicycle to Truman Corners and stare at those Rupp Roadster mini bikes and dream along with looking at the racing karts on the showroom floor with those beautifully welded side tanks, I'm sure they influenced me to become a tig welder. Valerie Harrel rode my school bus and I had a crush on her. Never got the time of day from her and I think she was a little shy then. There was a tall skinny guy in the area at Ruskin auto parts named Jerry Slover , best counter man there was, now he is the patriarch of Pete & Jakes. Sorry Zombie to clog up your thread.
Haha clog it! I wanna see/hear more! I moved to nearly. 87th and blue ridge about a year ago and am still blown away by how much hotrod stuff there is going on. I'd love to hear more about what was and etc Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Please clog away man! My dad(RIP) and my two uncles cruised the same area. They lived in the 107th and Blue Ridge area (Ewing ave) I would love to hear more!
Well, it's been sitting far too long, so I'm pulling for you, zombie...hope you can find your way to get it and put it back on the street. Lot's of fun back then. VOETom and I used to cruise Blue Ridge back in the mid '70s-early '80s. He had a wicked cool and unbelievably detailed 'Cuda fastback and I had a ratty '40 Plymouth coupe. Tons of cars on Blue Ridge running from McDonald's (87th Street) past Ruskin Auto Parts to McDonald's (Grandview). "Raytown flats" (now under Longview Lake). Going out Brickyard Road to Noland Road and up to Independence to check out the hot rodders. State Avenue in KCK always had lots of hard-core street racers.
I was born in 78 and moved away in about 1990, but there was always a very nostalgic feel about that area when I was a boy. Almost as if it was frozen in the 60s. I remember a Bobs Big Boy style burger joint down near the Loma Vista area on Blue Ridge that hosted cruise nights (fist place I ever saw a Plymouth Superbird in the flesh) everything from 55 Chevys to a tunnel rammed 69 Charger! One of my earliest memories was being in the backseat of my folks Dodge Monaco, setting at the light on Blue ridge where it goes under I470 and watching a VW powered dune buggy in front of us do a wheel stand when he left the light! I have very fond memories of that place. Please share more stories guys!
My parents moved us from Raytown to Grandview in 1965. Even though we were deep in grandview our house was the last one to go to Hickman school district which disappointed my mom as she wanted her sons to go to grandview schools. I left a lot of broken U joints, driveshafts and other assorted parts on blue ridge blvd in the '70's. One of my hang around buddies had the former Howards Speed shop '67 Nova and you couldn't miss it with its chevy orange body with the tweed vinyl top. It was a true custom built car for its day with hand built headers and rear suspension. The area you speak of where blue ridge passes under 470 was widened out long before the hiway was built over the top and that was kind of a place to mix it up on blue ridge and then gather at Paul's drive in. I went back in march to see my brother and drove around all the cruising areas. Obviously lots of changes. I stay in touch with Ron Runyan (former funny car racer) He keeps me up on anything happening of interest in the area.
I remember seeing that sitting still in the early 90 s when we would cruise blue ridge an running Hillcrest up to Bannister mall. I forgot all about that thing. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Well, all this talk got me feeling all nostalgic and sentimental and stuff. I packed up the wife and kid, and made the drive down. Car is either gone or can't be seen from the road now. It's not like I need or can afford another project anyway... It was a cool trip though, I hadn't been around there for a while some things have changed(where the hell did Banister mall go?), and some never will. Drove Blue Ridge and bored my wife and daughter with stories of what cars used to set where, it was cool. Didn't see the famous Hillcrest Road sled, but had a fun trip down memory lane.
My brother tells me Bannister Mall turned into a 'hood rat haven with a lot of crime and drove away the people. I was surprised when I saw the area in march.
That does not surprise me man. Really strange seeing it gone, was a cool place when I was a kid. I bought a lot of model cars at the toy store in that mall.
Yea zombie, real strange seeing the mall gone after it being there through my childhood. Parking lot now for metro buses. Talk around I'd a big tech company is wanting to build a monster complex on that site. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Yup, just gone man, everything around there looks kinda ghetto now. I don't recall the y... That burger place that I remember going to cruise nights at is gone, looks like a library sets there now. Paul's looked like it was still there though!
The 'Y' got torn down to build the movie theater, which got torn down to build a restaurant, which got torn down for a bank... Remember the Smorgasbord restaurant up at the corner of BR and 71 with all the old Fairyland stuff? Had lunch with my oldest sister today (Ruskin class of '68) and she and her friends used to hang out at Paul's, and "the hoods hung out at Griff's!" (Griff's was across the street, if I remember correctly, where the Aldi's is now.)
A possible person to ask would be Jack Walker. He lives in the Belton, MO. area. Jack has owned many custom cars over the years. He has put together the custom car area for the yearly World of Wheels show for some years now. I don't see him frequently; but I'll try to track him down to ask him. He might know.
I do remember the restaurant with the old bumper cars and stuff in it, and I saw more than a few movies at that theater. I'm gonna have to call my uncle (Ruskin class of 69 or so) and try to get some stories out of him.
Restaurants name was Freddie T's if I remember correctly. Man , yall bring I no back memories as a kid. Movie theater played movies for a buck. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Close, it was Harry T's. It was right before you get to Truman Corners. Any of you old enough to remember the helicopter dropping ping pong balls at Christmas over Truman Corners? The balls had prize numbers inside and you redeemed them at Truman Corners' stores. There was a card reading machine you ran your IBM punch cards though and it told you if you won the prize? What about this? Any of you KC locals remember it? We spoke of it on here before but we just celebrated a 34 year anniversary of the May 1980 event.
I do remember the Harry's Heydays carnival that sat up at Truman Corners every summer. As far as that cruise event, man I wish I did! Looks bitchin
Dang, Tom, yer killin' me! I remember the day you told me that CC was coming to KC, and totally devastated when my company sent me out of town that month! Re: Harry T's: I thought you were talking about the restaurant that used to sit out in the parking lot of Truman Corners; it was a diner-type place similar to Winstead's. Didn't Harry T's take over the old Smorgasbord location? Anyone remember the Mug's Up next to the Hen House at 95th and Blue Ridge? The bowling alley at Hickman Mills and 115th? The "jump" on Food Lane? Al Vander Woude's "Flying Dutchman" shop in the Hickman Mills-110th-Hillcrest "triangle" just across the street from Dick Harrell's joint? Anyone know what was in the Dick Harrell building before he moved in?
Hen House! That's the name of the grocery store! Couldn't remember that for the life of me yesterday. It's a big ass Price Chopper now. Made alot of beer runs to the liquor store in the corner of the Hen House parking lot with my granddad.
Ha, I think I remember hearing that before, now that you mention it. Did anyone here know Ron, Don, or Tom Pinaire? They graduated Ruskin in '67, '69, & '71.
I remember the ping pong ball drop at Truman Corners. One of my dad's friends was the pilot. My dad was also a helicopter pilot, not a lot of civilian helo pilots around at the time. The house right behind the Milgram food store was one of Harry Truman's boyhood homes. One of my friends parents rented that house for years, the Williams family. Now I think they have a mini museum there or did. That IBM card reading machine was huge and made a lot of racket when reading your card. I remember I "won" a super ball from Woolworths. I'm sure the same technology now fits in a small I pod.
Can I play? I went to Midwest Technical Institute in 1977 and worked at the Midas shop off Grandview then they moved me to the shop at 30th and Troost and lived in Belton wile I was in school.
In the 60's, we used to go into KC and swing through Sydney's Drive In and sometimes Winstead's . Those are probably long gone by now. Last time I was there, was early 70's. Stu
Sidneys is gone Winsteads still there. Peters is gone, A+Ws on Blue Ridge are gone, Burger King behind Truman Corners is gone. Mugs Up on Bannister and Blue Ridge is gone, Even Micdonalds on 87th and blue Ridge is gone and moved across the street. MTI is where the old dairy used to be that we went to on field trips in elementary schools! Midas I think is gone too.
Degenerate, the technology in an Ipod will make millions of those old card readers I bet! You remember that set-up too huh? Santa Claus was in a trailer down one of those side aisles at Truman Corners from what I recall. Glad you know the ping pong ball story, some thought I was mad! Yep on the bowling alley and it was on the same side as the Chevy dealer and hobby shop and Sears I think. Harry Tees was in that old Smorgasbord and seems it was called the Swedish or Swiss Smorgasbord maybe? We used to sit at the Hen House and watch for hot cars . Jack in the Box was on the same corner diagonally for a while. Mom and Dad used to get us free Root Beer at Mugs Up on 95th and Blue ridge or maybe it was nickel in those little shot glasses. With 7 kids, they had to watch pennies back then. Not heard Raytown Flats for a long time but I know just where it was. Went fishing a while back right on top of old Longview Road,;it was weird to think about. Not sure what was in Dickie Harrells shop. Here it is now in the photo below. A plumbing place maybe? Our bank was right down the road from his shop up a ways from the little amusement park.
The Jalopy Journal
