Burger Chef on Bluffton Road

Burger Chef 1970's
Originally uploaded by kristinafh

This isn't the picture of THAT Burger Chef but still, it looks remarkably like the one that we used to visit from time to time.

I loved the "fun meals" and the works bar was awesome. It was one of the earliest times in my life that I was allowed to make decisions for myself - i.e. what to put on my burger and what I could leave off. I was always a fan of tomatoes - lots of them. Not so much on the pickles or lettuce. Mustard was always left off but ketchup and mayo were two that were always found on the bun side that didn't face the cheese.

We only seemed to visit the Burger Chef at the Bluffton Road location - maybe because that's the one we lived closest to. I know that there were other ones located in the city - one on Coldwater Road and one on East State Street. Maybe there were other locations too...those are just the ones I remember.

If you're a fan of Burger Chef - you've got to check out this guy's website - http://burgerchef.webs.com/8memorbilliapics.htm

He has TONS of pictures and I had a blast looking through all of the old stuff.

Finger Lickin' Good

Alright. Here's a new postcard for you. On the back it says, "5 Locations, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Specializing in Col. Sander's Kentucky Fried Chicken - Mac's Famous Barbecue and Original Pancakes.

Color photo is by Virgil V. Marquart (my Fort Wayne, pop-culture historian, RIP)

It was mailed to someone on May 31, 1965.

SO - where were these restaurants located at?

You can click on the picture - which will take you to flickr and you can look at the postcard in even more detailed (about 4 times the size you see here).

Is that center picture the KFC that was on Bluffton Road???

And whatever happened to the Hobby House?

Reflections On My Trip Home - Why I Still Have BIG Love for Fort Wayne

Why I Still Have BIG Love For Fort Wayne

* Not in any particular order and certainly - not an exhaustive list.

• It still doesn't take very long to go from one side of town to another - get on Clinton, Lafayette, Jefferson, State Street, Coliseum - and boom - you're there in no time at all. Let me tell you - living in Central Indiana - it is a major effort to get from one side of town to another, regardless of the route you take.

• I never once felt unsafe regardless of the neighborhood I stopped to take photos in.

• Every single person I ran into (stranger and otherwise) - NICE. SMILED. Didn't think I was a complete freak. And you know, that's something (for me) which has usually been the case (80/20) rule. Fort Wayne is a friendly (without being creepy friendly) city.

• Families are alive and well and do things that make me smile - bike ride, go to the parks, eat together, etc...

• While I was at Indian Village, the fifth grade convocation was going on. It was absolutely beautiful watching the parents - watching their children. Great love. Great pride. Now, if the school board could just have the same attitude...

• I was pleasantly surprised by small things (and new things to me) I had never seen. Example - sparkly squared lights downtown around the Hilton (the sidewalk lights).

• I was pleasantly surprised by BIG things (and new to me things) I had never seen. Example - the Wells Street bridge (that entire area - which has been completely overhauled since I lived in this area). This was a major (foot) route for me and my grandparents. I remember how fragile the wood was - walking across. We had to stay in the middle because the walkways on the side of the bridge were way too dangerous. Approaching the bridge, it used to be quite overgrown with weeds. But now - look at this. It is beautiful and gorgeous but in a very subtle way.

• Which is why this is its own bullet point - for the most part - Fort Wayne does a great job of making things personal and subtle and not gaudy and not flashy.

• Every single retail, food, service related establishment that I frequented - people were nice. Genuinely nice.

I wish I could have taken a picture of every positive moment - however - it just wasn't possible.

Throughout the two days I was here - I took over five hundred shots.

Aside from the photos - I have much more to say about my trip this weekend to the Fort. Some things - I'm disappointed with. Some things - I'm curious about. But more on those later. Right now, I'm goin' back to Indy to enjoy the rest of the weekend with my husband and son.

Roller Dome South

Roller Dome South
4540 Bluffton Road
Fort Wayne, IN 46809
(260) 747-3919
Photo Credit:
Roller Dome South Web Site

I can't recall exactly, the first time, that I stepped foot into the Roller Dome. I think I was ten or maybe eleven. Growing up on the Southwest side of Fort Wayne, the Roller Dome was like "the" place to go on Fridays and Saturdays. So many times, my sister and I would stand outside, in the freezing weather, waiting in line, just to get in. There was always a crowd. ALWAYS.

The picture above - well - if that's really what it looks like today (from the outside), then it hasn't changed a bit! Just inside the door was a lobby area where you would stand in line to pay admittance. Gosh - $1.25 sounds right - but I could be wrong on that one. It seemed like forever to get up front and pay to get in. I remember staring down at the ugly carpet (I think it was red) and then staring at the information board which was located in the upper left hand corner of the room. It listed open/close time, prices, when the next all night skate was scheduled, etc...

One exciting thing about standing in line (either freezing - outside - or freezing inside the lobby) was that you could hear the music booming from the rink area. The bass on whatever they played - literally - shook the entire building. Today, that might make me afraid :) but back then, it just made me want to skate MORE.

My sister and I didn't own roller skates - we always rented ours. I wore a size 8. The skates were a flat-mud-brown color with black wheels and a black stopper (that thing in the front you were supposed to use when you wanted to stop yourself from skating).

The wood floors upon which you did your skating - they were always clean. Note: this is the mother in me coming out. I never had a fear of tripping over random trash because the general population seemed to be hypersensitive about anything ruining their skating time. You see - the Roller Dome actually limited your skate time. When you purchased a ticked for admittance, it was usually for a two-three hour period of time.

No one "taught" me to roller skate. It was a privilege to just pick it up on my own. I was proud when I mastered (okay - could do) turning corners. Before I could turn corners, I would just drift around them :).

Songs I can remember skating to:

The Rubberband Man - the Spinners
Le Freak - Chic
Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry
Boogie Oogie Oogie - A Taste Of Honey
Brick House - Commodores
Turn The Beat Around - Vicki Sue Robinson
Boogie Fever - The Sylvers
The Candy Man - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Rockin' Robin - Michael Jackson

And THEN - the slow songs. Man! There was a lot of pressure. Would someone ask me to skate? Sometimes it happened. More than not - it didn't. I was a tall, thin, geeky girl with glasses and mousy brown hair.

Three Times A Lady - Commodores
Precious and Few - Climax
Colour My World - Chicago
If You Leave Me Now - Chicago
Beth - Kiss
Let's Stay Together - Al Green

Note: no major girl crushes involved in the roller skating/Roller Dome set of memories. Of course maybe you wouldn't expect a 9/10/11 year old to go there but later on, maybe I'll tell you about Tiena Spears and Bobby Braun (4th grade - "going steady").

So here's a picture of the concession stand. The scary thing is that it looks exactly the same! I don't even think they've rearranged anything.

We were pretty poor so I didn't eat at the concession stand unless I was there for the all-night skate. Then, when you purchased a ticket for admittance, you also received a coupon for a hot dog and a soft drink.

YUM!

There wasn't a lot of trouble at "the Dome". The biggest issues had to do with the d.j. or the "official" floor skaters, busting people for thinks for a moment...what's the words??? Can't find them (definitely a sign of old age), but it was when more than two people were skating in a line and whizzing around the rink. The third person in this skate line always got busted. Getting busted meant you had to sit out for 'x' number of songs.

I was never cool enough to be in a skate line. Even if I was, I probably would have fallen on my butt. All of those people were much better skaters...

My time with "the Dome" was cut short by my parents split.