Shoe Column: Back in the day…

By Tim “Shoe” Sullivan

Dave Garber was a Little League teammate of mine “back in the day.” 1961 Firefighters. His dad Ben owned Garber’s Recycle Storage.

John Schmitz was related to my next-door neighbors Helen and Walter. John went to Pacelli and worked in his family ice cream plant along the river before becoming a local cop.

Both gentlemen have a life-long love of Stevens Point, and they enjoy reading about how our fair town was “back in the day”.

Ed Clussman also is a Point native, and get this: He found a map that showed what downtown Stevens Point looked like in 1957.

Perfect! We’ll now go back in time to take you on a tour of “Point” starting from 1957 but also including places 20 years later.

Almost all of the businesses no longer exist. And that’s sad.

Hopefully, this journey will be for the young and older folks alike. We’d like to hear “Yeah! I remember that!” or “I didn’t know that!” That’s the goal.

So let’s start from A to Z.

We’ll begin with Archie’s Cocktail Lounge on the Southside. They had music bands and a great kitchen. Their beer-battered chicken wings in a basket were truly awesome! And owner Craig “Archie” Hansen was a whiz with the guitar.

ATHLETIC BAR: Hank Wanta’s tavern next to the Flame which was next to Romie’s.

ALIBI: Was a nightclub downtown which I think was behind Woolworth’s. Pretty sure Hank Duda’s Pour Henry’s was in the same spot.

A&P: The grocery store was across from the downtown Post Office. Always had the great smell of fresh coffee.

A&W root beer stand. Also was Reber’s and Tess’s Twist. Located right across from the Top Hat bar downtown. A must-stop for all Little Leaguers following their baseball games at Mead Park or Korfmann.

Artic Locker Plant: Also downtown on the west end of Main. Place for frozen stuff.

Arenberg’s Jewelry Store: Downtown Stevens Point was always big on diamonds, necklaces, and rings. If Arenberg’s didn’t have it, you could try Ben’s Jewelry, Peacock Jewelry, or Otterlee’s Jewelry.

Big Moon Saloon: Pete Marsh’s “Moon” was the “home” of “One Time” and lots of beer in orange juice containers. Now it’s the Cabin on the Square.

Across from Big Moon is Buffy’s Lampoon with the big mural out front on the walls. It will soon be no longer. Was a big hangout for the UWSP Siasefis.

Backstreet Pub on the Southside by Skipp’s. Was once owned by Terry Kluck and Ma Pesch. Is now the 13th Floor.

Badger Paint was downtown next to Shippy Shoes. Also downtown were Barnaby Beauty Shop, Bon Ton Beauty Shop,

Bob’s Food King with the Twinkies (Used to be “National T”) … Ben Franklin (Fairway) across from Woolworth’s, and Berens Barber Shop next to Sport Shop. And we can’t forget the Big Shoe Store, where you expected Ed Sullivan to walk in and say “I’d like a really big shoe right here on our stage”.

And Bill’s Shoe Store, Bartosz & Clark Photo, and Boston Furniture which also did funerals.

And a gem of a shop on Church Street was Barsness Coins which is now Klismith Insurance.

And to quench your thirst, you could stop in at the Bottle Stop.

Cooper’s Corner was yet another bar. Chartier’s was a nifty business where all the high school kids hung out. It was across from PJ Jacobs High School.

Chuck’s Tap was on the Southside… Cigel’s Grocery was down the block from Lincoln School… and downtown were Campbell’s Department Store,

Copps Cash & Carry, Citizen’s Bank, and the City News Book Store next to Guu’s. Jim Feigleson (Mayor) ran the City News.

College Shop For Women could be found downtown, but don’t confuse it with Pollyfrocks Women Clothes, Stevens Apparel Shop Women,

Quality Store for Women, Parkinson’s Clothes For Men, Pasternacki Clothes, Erzinger’s, Shippy Bros Clothing, Jean’s Hat Shop, or the Point Fish Company.

And we haven’t forgotten Dutch’s Men Store, Dan’s Ice Cream Parlor (which was a block from Town Clown), and the Southside’s Dewey Bar where

Dave Dudley used to sing.

Whew! So that’s all of the places that ain’t no more, right? Well, no.

Flame: The bar next to Romie’s. Great softball team always fighting it out with Moore Barn for championships… and Fitz playing ’60s music on Thursday nights. Place was always packed. Jim Billing’s building now.

Then the First National Bank was downtown as was the historic Fox Theatre where Harry Houdini performed. You didn’t know THAT, right?

Grubba’s Jewelry downtown, and Gwidt’s Drugstore downtown which was not Hannon’s Drug Store that burned down or Osco or Roska’s.

Then there was Harold’s Clock Shop. Guess what they had in there. I’ll wait.

Time’s up. They had clocks.

And don’t lie. You DIDN’T know that Houdini once played at the Fox. Just admit it.

Oops. We forgot Gambles.

IGA Foodliners were in Point. I sorted pop bottles at the Northside IGA over by Kim’s Barrel Inn. There also was Eastside IGA and Southside IGA.

Another “H” was Holt’s Drugs in Park Ridge.

Judd’s Drive-In in Park Ridge. Delicious french fries! Joe Mama’s on the Square and Jurgella’s Market before it became Big Daddy’s and Buffy’s Lampoon. And J.C.Penny was down the block from Jim the Blind Man’s Popcorn Stand. Always picked up a bag of buttered popcorn from there

before going into the Fox to watch a Zorro movie or Randolph Scott show.

Kellogg’s Lumber on Water Street is long gone, and Belke Lumber by KBI came down as did the Harmony Bar.

We said goodbye to the Loop Bar and Brunswick and Kuhl’s Department Store and did we mention Campbell’s? And what about Kremb’s

Furniture and the Lyric Theatre? Not to mention The Long Branch Saloon and Tom Meyer’s Grin & Beer It on the Square. And recently K-Mart a few years ago.

So many great places, no longer around.

Mickey’s with the awesome pizza. Eat with the Elite at the Main Street Café. That was close to Mirman’s Furniture Store. Harvey Mirman was my Little League umpire (a great one!), and he always gave us a good deal. The Maple Leaf Tavern before it was Ma’s Backstreet… McLellans 5&10 downtown for marbles… the Majestic Hotel by Archie’s… and downtown gave us Miller’s Wisconsin Corp, the Masonic Temple, the Moose Lodge, and Montgomery Wards which everyone called “Monkey Wards.” Their wooden floors creaked just like Campbell’s.

The National T food store became Bob’s Food King.

Peickert’s Meat Market had meat… Pagel Mill by the Lincoln School had straw…The Point Journal had a newspaper… Piggly Wiggly had groceries… Point Bakery by Krembs Furniture had awesome do-nuts… Point Café and the Pal Restaurant had great sandwiches… Point Bowl had bowling lanes and pool tables… and Guu’s on Main used to be the second Unique Bar and Parkinson’s Clothes before that.

Quality Beverage made fantastic soda, especially the orange crush in the small brown bottles.

Romie’s Rendezvous was mentioned… you could eat at Robby’s, Richard’s, and River City Diner. You could grab a pizza or burger at the Red Lantern on Isadore or buy some crackers at Rudnick’s Market. It’s now Graffiti’s. Or have a sip or two at Rusin’s Tap, Ray & Gertie’s, or the Ritz which became Friendly Bar and then The Outfit.

And we’re STILL not done with the Point Tour.

Spurgeons…Shippy Shoes… Schwartz Buick… Singer Sewing Center… Shamrock Pizza on Dixon… ShopKo…Sport Shop…Smart Shop…Sherwin-Williams Paint… Shafton’s… Sears Roebuck, and Soik Plumbing.* At the Sport Shop, you could talk to Garth Whittaker and he’d set ya up with a Voit basketball, a Rawlings baseball, a Dudley softball, a Wilson football, or a hockey puck.

Point also had Thrifty, Town Clown, and Tempo.

You could get a shot and a beer and a fantastic barbecue at the Unique Bar & Liquor Store or grab some salted-in-the-shell peanuts at the Upper Wisconsin River Yacht Club and shoot the breeze with Ray Smith and Nancy and Ted Nugent. Or perhaps pick up a Hartland baseball figurine at Uptown Toyland.

And finally, our back-in-the-day journey might take us to the Wilshire Shop, Westy’s with the cherry phosphates, Woolworth’s, Wisconsin Public Service, Westgate across the river, Whitman’s Candy Company, or Weltman’s by Joe’s Bar.

And a good time could always be had at Zimmie’s or Ziggy’s!

I hope you enjoyed the “Back in the Day” Tour.

As David Selznick once said, look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered.

He meant the South during Civil War times in “Gone With The Wind”, but the same holds true for bygone Stevens Point.