Life What are the iconic places of your youth? - Page 2

**Rain Man** · 11-17-2016, 02:56 AM

The mall thread got me thinking about the places that are pivotal to our memories of self. What are the iconic places of your childhood or youth?

For the purposes of this thread, let's NOT count our homes or schools since we pretty much had to be there. But anything else is open game, whether it's a restaurant or a vacant field or a parking lot or a street corner or maybe even a friend's house.

Only count iconic places that impacted you at age 18 or younger. No college stuff or army stuff or anything unless you were Doogie Howser.

For me, the iconic places were:

1. The steakhouse where I worked from age 17 to 23, though we'll only count the first couple of years. I spent a whole lot of time there, and made a lot of friends across different social cliques. Good times were had after our closing shift.

Today, it's still the same restaurant, though they've changed color schemes and business model.

2. The strip-mall pizza place where my friends and I would go for dinner during epic gaming sessions. I played my first video game there - Space Invaders.

Today, it appears to be some kind of clothing store.

3. The vacant lot where my friends and I played football. I have no idea who owned the lot, but it was well maintained. No one ever chased us off while we were playing.

Today, there are two houses on the lot.

**loochy** · 11-17-2016, 08:38 AM

Poppa Zs Pizza

It was a pizza place with arcade games over on the southeast side of 291 and 23rd. Birthday parties there were the greatest. One time we even beat the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade game! Of course we had the help of a nice teenage employee that opened the door to the coin bin and tripped the levers so we could get a zillion free play credits.

**Nzoner** · 11-17-2016, 08:41 AM

Numerous little league ball fields in our area because we played a lot of organized youth baseball growing up.

The Missouri Theatre-a classic venue for movies with the old time balcony etc. it's still operational today but only for concerts and plays,movies left sometime ago.

Arcade place at the mall,because ever since I was a young boy I played the silver ball.

**cabletech94** · 11-17-2016, 08:54 AM

my mom would take my brother and me to the antioch park? does that sound familiar to anyone here? i can remember always playing on the rocket ship-like jungle gym thingy. the thing was, that place was over an hour away from where we lived. idk why we went there to be honest, but always enjoyed it.

showbiz pizza was always fun.

and like loochy said, i played the hell outta that TMNT arcade game. what a freakin classic that was. actually think the first time we beat it was at king louie, and then at worlds of fun.

**loochy** · 11-17-2016, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cabletech94

my mom would take my brother and me to the antioch park? does that sound familiar to anyone here? i can remember always playing on the rocket ship-like jungle gym thingy. the thing was, that place was over an hour away from where we lived. idk why we went there to be honest, but always enjoyed it.

showbiz pizza was always fun.

and like loochy said, i played the hell outta that TMNT arcade game. what a freakin classic that was. actually think the first time we beat it was at king louie, and then at worlds of fun.

OMG WORLDS OF FUN!

It probably sucks now, but it was pretty awesome then!

**cabletech94** · 11-17-2016, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by loochy

OMG WORLDS OF FUN!

It probably sucks now, but it was pretty awesome then!

ha ha. went every summer at least once for 7 or 8 years.

i hear that place is nowhere near what it used to be.

KC_Lee · 11-17-2016, 09:01 AM

Metro North Mall
NKC Pro Bowl
Nolan Road

Pennywise · 11-17-2016, 09:06 AM

Rodeo arenas all over Central and east Texas.

Hog Rider · 11-17-2016, 10:06 AM

Fairyland Park around 76th(?) - and Kiddie Land on Wornall

If the family did'nt drive, we often take a train ride from Central Illinois to see Grandma who lived in Waldo. It was always a treat to go to the amusement parks. Loved the wooden roller coaster at Fairyland, scared the bejeebies out of me. My first coaster ride.

threebag · 11-17-2016, 10:12 AM

We traveled quite a bit between Liberal and Wichita Kansas. We would stop at the Dalton Gang Hideout. I always loved that when i was a kid. It was a kick ass museum and gift shop. The grounds and the tunnel to the barn kicked ass.

**Bowser** · 11-17-2016, 10:18 AM

Metro North Mall
World's of Fun/Oceans of Fun
NKC Bowling Alley
Antioch Shopping Mall
Godfather's Pizza
Food Barn (now defunct grocery store that was my first job)
Crown Center
Clint's Comics
Lamar's Donuts (Long Johns for .25!)
Annie's Santa Fe on the plaza (took my first date there)

threebag · 11-17-2016, 10:25 AM

Jesse James house was a cool trip too.

Spokane Chief Fan · 11-17-2016, 10:31 AM

Farris Truck Stop in Faucett Mo. My first real job. Self service islands were just starting so there were usually four of us pump jockeys at a time and we had some good times working.

**Bowser** · 11-17-2016, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowser

Metro North Mall
World's of Fun/Oceans of Fun
NKC Bowling Alley
Antioch Shopping Mall
Godfather's Pizza
Food Barn (now defunct grocery store that was my first job)
Crown Center
Clint's Comics
Lamar's Donuts (Long Johns for .25!)
Annie's Santa Fe on the plaza (took my first date there)

And add to these Winwood and Fantasyland Skating rinks.

**Iowanian** · 11-17-2016, 10:58 AM

My grandpa's farm would be my number 1.
It had about everything a kid needed. Animals ranging from a couple hundred chickens and turkeys, to pigs, milk cows and usually a baby deer in the spring, that we fed milk from a glass 7Up bottle(why do I remember that). Old timers found Indian artifacts after fall plowing so I KNEW there were wild Indians in the woods near the house where we played with our cousins. I got lessons in many things from bank lines, running a net in the river, canning fish for "salmon patties"...a laundry list of things to do to not get your arm pulled off or killed....like unloading corn, pto shafts and feed grinders, or "gas" in the bins or breaking through crust. It had a large orchard to eat plums in the summer.....butcher shop in the garage, swinging on the ropes in the hay barns like tarzan.....a large family and a huge cast iron pan of fried chicken on Sundays. Many of my best childhood stories are from there, and it was awesome.

My second would probably be Current River. We didn't do a lot of vacations, but if we did we were camping. Current River was a yearly trip when I was a kid...catching crawdads, snake stories every trip, the night 'the mom's" took a canoe trip and didn't make it back, and the dad team strapped flashlights to their heads with duct tape and took a lantern and canoed the trip and found them on a sand bar after a canoe had been sunk in a wash.....or my uncle shouting into the adjacent outhouse hole and convincing my young cousin he had fallen in..... I also remember a time we found a Tupperware container floating that was full of what my dad referred to as "funny cigarettes". It took several years to figure out why because they must have been full of jokes.....because after the kids went to bed in the tent, I remember hearing A lot more giggling at the fire than normal.

**alpha_omega** · 11-17-2016, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowser

....)
Annie's Santa Fe on the plaza......

That's one i haven't heard in a while....there was one at Bannister Mall as well.

11-17-2016, 02:56 AM
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $2858491 VARSITY	What are the iconic places of your youth? The mall thread got me thinking about the places that are pivotal to our memories of self. What are the iconic places of your childhood or youth? For the purposes of this thread, let's NOT count our homes or schools since we pretty much had to be there. But anything else is open game, whether it's a restaurant or a vacant field or a parking lot or a street corner or maybe even a friend's house. Only count iconic places that impacted you at age 18 or younger. No college stuff or army stuff or anything unless you were Doogie Howser. For me, the iconic places were: 1. The steakhouse where I worked from age 17 to 23, though we'll only count the first couple of years. I spent a whole lot of time there, and made a lot of friends across different social cliques. Good times were had after our closing shift. Today, it's still the same restaurant, though they've changed color schemes and business model. 2. The strip-mall pizza place where my friends and I would go for dinner during epic gaming sessions. I played my first video game there - Space Invaders. Today, it appears to be some kind of clothing store. 3. The vacant lot where my friends and I played football. I have no idea who owned the lot, but it was well maintained. No one ever chased us off while we were playing. Today, there are two houses on the lot.
Posts: 141,824

11-17-2016, 08:38 AM	#16
loochy Hey Loochy, I'm hooome! Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: PooPooKaKaPeePeeShire Casino cash: $1680752	Poppa Zs Pizza It was a pizza place with arcade games over on the southeast side of 291 and 23rd. Birthday parties there were the greatest. One time we even beat the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade game! Of course we had the help of a nice teenage employee that opened the door to the coin bin and tripped the levers so we could get a zillion free play credits. __________________ Hey Loochy, I'm hoooome!
Posts: 40,676

11-17-2016, 08:41 AM	#17
Nzoner a haw haw haw Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: MIZZOU Casino cash: $26365802	Numerous little league ball fields in our area because we played a lot of organized youth baseball growing up. The Missouri Theatre-a classic venue for movies with the old time balcony etc. it's still operational today but only for concerts and plays,movies left sometime ago. Arcade place at the mall,because ever since I was a young boy I played the silver ball. __________________ *Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.*
Posts: 27,111

11-17-2016, 08:54 AM	#18
cabletech94 Everything is Awesome!!!!! Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: The Pitt Casino cash: $1686805	my mom would take my brother and me to the antioch park? does that sound familiar to anyone here? i can remember always playing on the rocket ship-like jungle gym thingy. the thing was, that place was over an hour away from where we lived. idk why we went there to be honest, but always enjoyed it. showbiz pizza was always fun. and like loochy said, i played the hell outta that TMNT arcade game. what a freakin classic that was. actually think the first time we beat it was at king louie, and then at worlds of fun. __________________ Originally Posted by Big Smoke May as well laugh. Otherwise I will probably break shit.
Posts: 10,989

11-17-2016, 09:01 AM	#21
KC_Lee You're CARICATURES, ALL of you Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Kansas City, MO Casino cash: $1510960	Metro North Mall NKC Pro Bowl Nolan Road __________________ “There is no absolute knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they are scientists or dogmatists, open the door to tragedy.” - Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man
Posts: 9,574

11-17-2016, 09:06 AM	#22
Pennywise pew pew madafakas Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Derry, Maine Casino cash: $1554400	Rodeo arenas all over Central and east Texas. __________________
Posts: 7,916

11-17-2016, 10:06 AM	#23
Hog Rider Former Illinoisian Join Date: May 2001 Location: South-Middle Tennessee Casino cash: $4475610	Fairyland Park around 76th(?) - and Kiddie Land on Wornall If the family did'nt drive, we often take a train ride from Central Illinois to see Grandma who lived in Waldo. It was always a treat to go to the amusement parks. Loved the wooden roller coaster at Fairyland, scared the bejeebies out of me. My first coaster ride.
Posts: 1,085

11-17-2016, 10:12 AM	#24
threebag Snacks Are Under My Apron Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Edge Casino cash: $2661660	We traveled quite a bit between Liberal and Wichita Kansas. We would stop at the Dalton Gang Hideout. I always loved that when i was a kid. It was a kick ass museum and gift shop. The grounds and the tunnel to the barn kicked ass. __________________ Free DeBerg HayWire Greatest Almost Mod Ever In big nasty kcnut we trust
Posts: 24,002

11-17-2016, 10:18 AM	#25
Bowser sorta mod-ish Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: KC North Casino cash: $3061616	Metro North Mall World's of Fun/Oceans of Fun NKC Bowling Alley Antioch Shopping Mall Godfather's Pizza Food Barn (now defunct grocery store that was my first job) Crown Center Clint's Comics Lamar's Donuts (Long Johns for .25!) Annie's Santa Fe on the plaza (took my first date there)
Posts: 101,242

11-17-2016, 10:25 AM	#26
threebag Snacks Are Under My Apron Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: The Edge Casino cash: $2661660	Jesse James house was a cool trip too. __________________ Free DeBerg HayWire Greatest Almost Mod Ever In big nasty kcnut we trust
Posts: 24,002

11-17-2016, 10:31 AM	#27
Spokane Chief Fan Starter Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Clayton WA Casino cash: $2892646	Farris Truck Stop in Faucett Mo. My first real job. Self service islands were just starting so there were usually four of us pump jockeys at a time and we had some good times working.
Posts: 124

11-17-2016, 10:58 AM	#29
Iowanian Supporter Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Utopia Casino cash: $4608454	My grandpa's farm would be my number 1. It had about everything a kid needed. Animals ranging from a couple hundred chickens and turkeys, to pigs, milk cows and usually a baby deer in the spring, that we fed milk from a glass 7Up bottle(why do I remember that). Old timers found Indian artifacts after fall plowing so I KNEW there were wild Indians in the woods near the house where we played with our cousins. I got lessons in many things from bank lines, running a net in the river, canning fish for "salmon patties"...a laundry list of things to do to not get your arm pulled off or killed....like unloading corn, pto shafts and feed grinders, or "gas" in the bins or breaking through crust. It had a large orchard to eat plums in the summer.....butcher shop in the garage, swinging on the ropes in the hay barns like tarzan.....a large family and a huge cast iron pan of fried chicken on Sundays. Many of my best childhood stories are from there, and it was awesome. My second would probably be Current River. We didn't do a lot of vacations, but if we did we were camping. Current River was a yearly trip when I was a kid...catching crawdads, snake stories every trip, the night 'the mom's" took a canoe trip and didn't make it back, and the dad team strapped flashlights to their heads with duct tape and took a lantern and canoed the trip and found them on a sand bar after a canoe had been sunk in a wash.....or my uncle shouting into the adjacent outhouse hole and convincing my young cousin he had fallen in..... I also remember a time we found a Tupperware container floating that was full of what my dad referred to as "funny cigarettes". It took several years to figure out why because they must have been full of jokes.....because after the kids went to bed in the tent, I remember hearing A lot more giggling at the fire than normal.
Posts: 61,559