My father bought the camera shop at 111 Second Ave. N. in the summer of 1950, it
became "Parkison's, the Beaches Camera Shop". It was a 2-story white building right
next to the gas station - the shop was downstairs and we lived upstairs. This was right
across the street from the "rides" and just half a block from the boardwalk. In those days
of no air-conditioning, the music from the merry-go-round put me to sleep every night.

The boardwalk was a fascinating place - all the pinball machines etc. with the guys
calling out "change, change" - games of chance with baseballs to throw at bottles, ring
toss, balloons to burst with wonderful prizes to be won - cotton candy and my first
introduction to "hot dogs on a stick". A place to join the crowds to see the "Blue Angels"
fly over. And the old wooden stairs leading down to the wide, white beach complete with
palm frond thatched shelters from the sun. Of course we would not want to be in the
shade! We lathered on our baby oil or suntan lotion and lay out in the sun for hours -
some of us are paying for that today! This was also the spot to comb peroxide through
our hair to achieve the blonde bangs so popular in the early 50s. Oh, I have such
wonderful memories of the boardwalk in those days!!!!

Margery Parkison Ruse
Jon & Margie Ruse
jmr422@mindspring.com

I sold newspapers on the Boardwalk. I worked in the kitchen of one of the beer
joints. I was there almost every day during the summers of 51, 52, 53, 54, and
55.

Lots of memories and stories. Remember the stories get better with age.
I D Sams and the 21 club is a full day of conversation.
ed

My Daddy worked as a "short order cook" at one of the stands, we think
it was "Shorties", or something like that, this would have been in the
early 50's. I can still smell the hamburgers and the french fries. The
things I remember most is, the wooden board walk, and the cover over it
in some areas. I remember the dodge cars and the smell the cars made
and sound of the crashes. I remember the ferris wheel, the "mighty
mouse", the merry go round, and the boats, (my favorite) and the "egg
scrambler", where I would always check for loose change from the
pockets of the riders before me. My grandmother and mom use to love to
play the games of chance along the board walk. At the "penny arcade",
as teenagers we loved to make goofy pictures in the picture booth with
our friends, I still have some of those pictures, also you could make a
sorta of tin coin, and imprint words on it, like boyfriends, etc. I
remember on a hot summer afternoon playing in the yard and hearing
the music from the ferris wheel and wishing I was there. There was a a
taffy pulling machine that use to get my attention, and a case that
contained a doll to look like an old black man, that would dance for a
nickel. Before the original pier was closed, you could hear the music
from the dance bands, and see the couples strolling hand in hand in and
out. Sometimes we would be able to ride the rides for one can of food,
that was a real treat. Also people would dress up to walk on the board
walk, a lot of people came down from Jax. on Sunday afternoons, ladies
with hats and gentlemen in suits and ties. As a teenager as the board
walk started to deteriorate we pretty much lived at the skating rink,
upstairs right next to the ferris wheel, the large windows were open
during the cooler months and you could see the lights, hear the sounds
and smell the food, while skating.

Sandy Smith
Perdue Office Interiors
904-807-5791

My Mother, sister (Sandra Lee Roberts) & I would walk to the "Boardwalk" where I was allowed to spend
a dime. My favorite: the little ducks that floated around in the waterwith a number on the bottom telling what prize you won. We were never allowed near the roller coaster.

Beverly

Please pardon us as we work on some mailserver report.
The boardwalk played an important role in the lives of the Beaches. Some
of us worked there; almost all of us went there at least several times. It
brought tourists to the Beaches.

What memories do you have of the boardwalk?

I have 4 fond memories of the boardwalk.

1. Some concession had the most wonderful coconut drink, with little shreds of coconut
throughout. It was served icy cold in a paper cup.

2. The game that you had to pull a string to get a prize. The consessioneer (is that a
word?) had a thick bunch of strings he'd present to you, and you had to decide which of
the many was attached to your heart's desire.

3. The merry-go-round. I had a favorite horse, (I even named him!) and if he was taken,
I'd wait until he was free to ride.

4. That roller coaster. scared me to death. never rode on it.

Hi Ed,
You mentioned the Club 21. That was owned by my Daddy,
Bob MacDonell and I used to go there for every 4th of July
celebration, sit in the window with the screen pushed out and
watch the fireworks. I also watched all the beauty pageants
from there that took place on the old pier as my sister Bobbie
was always in them. I so remember the slots and roulette
wheels also and playing with them with my Daddy. That was
in 1945,46,47.

E.J. MacDonell Taylor

Don...I have two memories of the boardwalk. There was a glass box with
the head and shoulders of a mechanical gypsy woman who told fortunes. I
always thought she looked spooky as her head turned and she put those
glass eyes on you. The other was the pool hall which was on the second
story of the building behind Smitty's Beach Club. The younger boys
played pool while the more accomplished played snooker. This was in the
early 50's.

Jerry Cotton

Oh, yeah.....I remember the spooky woman.....I am loving these memories of the
board walk. The sailors ruined it for us young girls in the 50's as our mom's
were sure that they were all wild and lusty young men! And....what's the problem
with that? But it cut out our freedom to wander the boardwalk and eat cotton
candy and ride the Tilt-A_Whirl and shriek at the hairpin turns and quick stops of
the Wild Mouse! I can still gasp with awe and fear remembering the rocking of
the open seats on the Ferris Wheel...looking over the beautiful beach and
the Atlantic and wondering if you were going to be flung right out into the water!
Amazing how the years just fall away when these old memories come flooding
back!

BTW, no safety harnesses or anything other than a metal bar kept you from
falling out when you were left dangling at the top of the immense metal (think rust
and salt air) structure. Hmmmm...but we are all still here to remember, aren't we?
Toni Lawrence Calabrese ('58)

Great hearing about all the experiences on the Boardwalk.
Beverly Roberts account of her memories on the Boardwalk were great.
Hearing about the experiences on the Boardwalk bring back great
memories but even better memories come from those sending in the
memories. Beverly Roberts lived on 7th street in Atlantic Beach and I
on 6th street. We went to the Atlantic Beach Elementary
School together and I was madly in love with her throughout the 1st-6th
grades. Beverly, if you read this thanks for great walks home from
school on Sherry Drive back then when it was just a dirt road. I
remember Mike Shearon and I got in a fight over you one day while
walking home. He won and the fight kept me from becoming Captiaof
the School Patrol. I think George bull got it. Take care. George
Borders

I worked on the boardwalk in the summers from 1952-1955 from the ages
of about 12-15. I worked at Joe's Kiddieland, Howard's Hotdog Stand
and Bud's Juice bar. So did my brothers and sisters work on the
boardwalk. Joe's Kiddieland was the first place I worked and it was in the
middle of the covered boardwalk by the string game. He had a jukebox
which played the hits of the day in the early 50's. I can still hear these
songs playing in my head. When I started working I was so tiny I could
barely see over the counter. I still have my health card from that job. The
crowds were so thick at times on the boardwalk that there was not room to
walk on it. This was especially true on the weekends and holidays like the
Fourth of July and Labor Day. It was the fun place to be. People spent
their time walking up and down the boardwalk looking at the sights and
sounds and other people. There was a roller coaster originally back of the
covered boardwalk and games where someone guessed your weight.
Howard's Hotdog stand was on the corner as you first entered the covered
boardwalk coming from the Lifeguard Center. The boardwalk was the
place to go for sailors from whichever aircraft carrier or ship was in at
Mayport at that time. Families from the Southeast primarily Georgia also
took their summer vacations in Jacksonville Beach and would come to the
boardwalk. Local people from Jacksonville and the Beaches also
came. These crowds would walk up and down the boardwalk and then sit
on the numerous benches under the covered boardwalk. Their favorite
pastime was watching the other people on the boardwalk and the various
sights and sounds on the beach. To assuage their hunger they bought from
the various concessions foot long and regular hot dogs, hot dogs on
the stick, french fries, cotton candy, snow cones, ice cream, fruit juices and
drinks. We were taught how to make all of these various items and we had
to work as fast as we could when the stands were busy. Joe would yell at us
if we weren't busy because he saw it as money being paid for our salaries
while nothing was coming in. So to avoid being yelled at when it was slow I
would find something to do like carry gallons of soapy water and wash the
walls. When we weren't busy and he wasn't there, I would watch the
porpoises play in the ocean if it was a still day or watch the
perennial parade of cars driving up and down the beach ogling the people
sunbathing on the silky white sand. I saved my salaries during these
summers and bought my fall clothes and shoes for school. This all paid all
because it taught me before I was even 15 how to earn money, ask for a
raise, save money and pay taxes and file tax forms.

Gosh! The boardwalk was our destination! When we were teenagers at Fletcher in the late 60's
we would wake up early every Saturday and Sunday morning and walk from 934 North 10th
Street to the Boardwalk. Pretty young women in flip-flops and bikinis we Fletcher lasses would
put together our nickels and dimes and buy cotton candy, cokes, and a tasteless hamburger.
We would eat the junk food because we walked for miles just to get to the boardwalk.
The girls, Sharon Hardee, Jane Hardee, Angela Labaito, Cindy Kohoutek - all Fletcher girls from
junior high through high school - products of a beaches upbringing. All of us had single moms
who worked - no cars. Just our feet and our destination. The boardwalk.

Let's Make a Difference
Sincerely,
Sharon H. Jimenez
Icon Imaging PR
1506 So. Bentley PH1
L.A., Ca. 90025
310-478-0114 Office
310-409-3306 Cell

Ah the boardwalk. Remember it well. Both as a young kid when my parents would take
me and as a teenager working there.

As a kid, I remember my dad throwing balls at a target, which if hit would dump an
unlucky soul in a tank of water. The taffy machine was neat too, as was the my favorite
ride, the boats that revovled in a circular tank of water.

As a teenager from 57 - 60 the boardwalk was my favorite place in the whole world. I
worked in the dart game next to the pull the string game Pat Hammond wrote about. The
same couple -the Markovs-owned both. I worked with a buddy - Bill Perry class of 62 -
blowing up balloons. With a compressor!! When enough balloons had been popped, we'd
revolve the double-sided boards, pull out the darts and fill it up with fresh ones. Cool job.
I could inflate and tie 21 balloons a minute. It was a lot more fun when I got to work the
counter and talk to the girls.

There was a food stand on the corner of the boardwalk that sold steamburgers. I
remember it was loose ground beef not a pattie. Had lots of pepper in it. Good. I recall
the smell of ozone as the bumping cars sped around the track. There was a short guy we
called cigar that usually operated them. I always got a kick out of the lifeguard initiation.
Those guys looked rediculous. Remember the bullet, trying to ring the bell with the big
hammer and trying to knock the stuffed what ever the hell they were off the rack with a
baseball. The concession was called the cat house. Not sure if that was the real name or
notr. I think you had to knock three loose to win anything. My bubby Bill worked there
for a while. He said they set the cats in a narrow groove along the shelf and give em a
little twist to hold them in tighter. They didn't like to give away the big prizes.
Looks like everyone remembers the fortune telling gypsy in the Penny Arcade. She
spooked me too. You could make a record in a booth for abot a quarter. I remember the
guy with the apron full of coins wondering around yelling, CHANGE.

It's funny how you remember things so differently as a kid. I was looking at this picture
of the boardwalk and don't remember so much trash along the beach. Dirty or not I sure
miss it and wished some of it could have been saved. I still live in Jax and go the beach
often but it's not the same. The new Archive building is one of the best things going.