Back in 2008, when there were still a host of people who remembered Forestville as entirely separate from Wake Forest though only a mile or so separated them and when there were lots of people who remembered the Forest Theatre, the Gazette had an article about memories which triggered even more responses. Many of those people are no longer with us.
First, Esley Forbes wrote that he recalled “Chicken” Tingen and his auto repair shop in a bay next to Charlie Lowery’s grocery store in Forestville. “I think his first name was Napoleon, and I am sure he was there from the mid-fifties through the late sixties.”
John Rich remembers it differently. “The service man at Charlie Lowery’s Store was his brother Joe. Joe worked there from the time he started working until Mr. Lowery sold the store and then he went to work with either Cary or Raleigh, working with their motor fleets.
“‘Chicken’ worked at the Ford dealership as far back as I can remember. He changed oil, greased, fixed flat tires, etc.,” was the way Rich recalls. “Albert Perry was the service manager there in the early ‘50s before he started with the Highway Patrol. Doc Denton worked there with radiators and cooling equipment. Both Albert and Doc were first class mechanics.”
“The store you asked about was run by Mr. Howard Pearson,” Rich continued. “He and his wife, Miss Geneva, lived in the house. The store was more than a hardware store, more like a grocery/general store.”
Charles East to his sister: “You certainly remember Lowery’s grocery store where we (Mom and Dad) could charge our groceries and they would settle up at the first of each month. Wonder if K-mart, Costco’s Wal-Mart and Lowes would allow you to do that now?? I guess they do in the form of credit cards.”
A couple reminisced about Shorty’s prices. “I remember Shorty’s hot dogs being 10 cents or three for a quarter,” George Hooks wrote. “Hamburger (which is now a meatloaf burger) was 15 cents. A steak sandwich (which is now a hamburger) was 25 cents. These were ’56 and ’57 prices.” Esley Forbes also remembered Shorty’s hot dogs were 10 cents.
When it came to the ticket prices at the Forest Theatre, it apparently depended on what years you went to the movies. Charles East said he thought they paid 25 cents for admission, 10 cents for popcorn and five cents for a coke.
George Hooks wrote, “I can remember when adult admission was 14 cents and a child’s was nine cents. Popcorn was a dime and cokes a nickel. I recall when adult admissions went to 25 cents the college students picketed.”
Jean McCamy chimed in to say that she remembered pricing from the 1940s when children paid 14 cents and adults probably paid 44 cents. Thurman Kitchin backed her up and laid a lick or two on his friends: “I am younger than any of you chronologically, mentally and physically, and I am positive that it cost 14 cents for the movie, including Saturday’s double feature with a cartoon.” Take that!
I want to thank everyone for taking the time to remember and to write it down. Trips down memory lane can be a lot of fun even if not everyone agrees on the landmarks.
(Lowery’s grocery store was about where the Main Street Grille is now, except smaller, and the Forest Theatre, with an entrance on South White Street, was gutted by fire on July 1, 1966. The Fidelity Bank was built on the site several years later. The store mentioned in the earlier article is now the Hoy Auction.)
2 Responses
I do know Chicken worked at My Uncle Charlie’s store. My Uncle Joe, Charlie’s brother, worked at the store too.
I recall Chicken being very scared of snakes and people putting rubber snakes on cars to scare him.
I am sure my brother and sisters being older than me will remember him too.
Alice Lowery Ray
I remember 14 cent movies 10 cent hot dogs from 1940s.Jean McCamy & I are about same age, but I won’t publish a # number in case Jean is sensitive about that!