Just a little history: Do you remember where these stores were?

After Sunday’s meeting of the Wake Forest Historical Association and the program, From Bucket Brigades to Hook & Ladder – The Wake Forest Fire Department Grows with the Town, John and Hallie Arrington Hearn – her grandfather Thomas Arrington Sr. was the first fire chief – handed out several copies of a 1947 small poster with the direction on the front: “SAVE THIS CARD Hang this near your telephone for hand reference to fire signals and emergency calls for FIRE, POLICE, or DOCTOR. See REVERSE side for map of Wake Forest and location of your nearest fire alarm box. Additional placards are obtainable from any advertiser.”

The center lists the 20 fire alarm boxes and their locations – with No. 44 W Chestnut added by hand. The numbers run from 12 through 52, but numbers 25, 26 , 27, 28, 29, 30 are missing as are 38 through 50, except of course 44. Where are those boxes? There are only 19 box locations on the map because 21 was for out-of-town fires.

During the program Wake Forest native Roger Shackleford gave an approximation of the wah-wah sound of the fire alarm as it sounded off across from his grandmother’s store. It’s doubtful anyone counted the wah-wahs up to 52; they just followed the fire truck or their neighborhood fire department volunteer to the fire.

Numbers are listed for Police – 215-1 – and Ambulance – 246-1 – which was then an oxygen-equipped hearse from one of the local funeral homes. The town’s rescue squad came much later. You could call about a fire at 247-1 during the day or 215-1 at night. The four doctors – Dr. G.C. Mackie and Dr. G.W. Corbin sharing an office and infirmary at 321-1 and 352-1, respectively, Dr. C.T. Wilkinson with office at 426-1, home at 265-1 and Dr. R.W. Wilkinson with office at 274-1 and home 323-1. The doctors Wilkinson built their homes next door to each other and shared a garage but practiced separately.

There is the schedule for the Wake Forest College 1947 football season, playing North Carolina, Duke and NC State, of course, but also George Washington in D.C., William and Mary at Williamsburg, Boston (College?) at Boston, Duquesne at Winston-Salem, Clemson at Clemson and South Carolina at Charlotte with the first game at home on Sept. 27 in the fairly new Groves Stadium on the west side of town.

The town had already heard the news that Wake Forest College would move to Winston-Salem, but its impact had not yet really been felt and would not until the move in 1956. The just-born Southeastern Theological Seminary, which began to share the campus in 1951, would be no substitute for the hundreds of college students and faculty.

But back to the placard, because around the emergency numbers and the football schedule several local merchants had paid for very simple advertising – a name, a telephone number and a brief description.

Starting at the upper left corner and going clockwise, they were Keith’s Super Market (Fresh Meats Sea Food Groceries) which was on South White Street, probably in the space now occupied by the Wake Forest Coffee Company and The Artists’ Loft; Service Chevrolet Company (Repairs to any Car) in what is now an office building and the next door White Street Brewing Co.; Miller Motor Company (Customer’s Satisfaction Guaranteed) in what is now headquarters for the North Carolina Surveyors Association and what was the Back Door Coffee Company (forgot the new name); Sure-Res Mattress Company (Manufacturer and renovator of mattresses of all kinds) in Youngsville (renovator?); Jones Hardware (Your GENERAL ELECTRIC dealer in the space Next Consignment Boutique now occupies; T.E. Holding & Company (Druggists since 1888) in the shuttered two-story building that has stood empty for decades at the corner of East Jones Avenue and South White Street;

Also, S.W. Brewer (Feeds and Seeds) which probably was in the spaces where Tonic just opened and Wayne’s Creative Hairstyling has been for years. S.W. Brewer had groceries and butchers and supplied several boarding houses; B&S Dept. Store (FOR YOUR CLOTHING NEEDS) occupied two older two-story stores with an archway between the women’s and children’s clothes on the left and the men’s and boys’ clothes on the right, now Wake Forest Art & Frame and Domino’s, respectively. An upstairs apartment above Art & Frame replaced a former beauty shop which was run by who?; Harvey Holding (Distributor Kerosene and Fuel Oil) is still a bit south on South White Street, run by Harvey’s son; and Morris Grocery with just a phone number. Was that in the building now occupied by B&W Hardware?

Wake Forest Florist (Flowers for all occasions) with a temporary phone, 447-1 was not where it is now south of Holding Oil, so where was it?; Hollowells Food Store (“Good things to eat” and The Complete Food Store with two telephone numbers, and again, where was it before it was on Roosevelt Avenue?; Lynam & Lee Grade A Market (“We Deliver” North End of Town) but do you recall which store it was in?; John M. Brewer, Agt. Representing Northwestern Mutual Fire Association, and where was his office?; Wilkinson’s Cleaners (New and Modern Equipment Quality and Service Assured) was either in the basement of the Wilkinson building where Las Margarita’s is now or had moved down to odd-shaped building constructed to fit into the scrap of land left over after Roosevelt Avenue was built; Meet me at Shorty’s with no phone number, but which location was it in in 1947? (Had the editor taken notes during Fireman Ben Davis’s presentation Sunday she would know the answer; Edward’s Pharmacy (REXALL DRUGS When it’s a Prescription was in the brick building in the southeast corner of Wait Avenue (spelled Waite in 1947) and South White Street that is now occupied by Salon One 21 and Color Bar; and finally, Glover’s (RADIOS – APPLIANCES Sales and Service For all you Electrical Needs) was where?

Next week the Gazette will follow up and ask some posers about the map on the reverse done while DuBois High School was still in full operation and before the U.S. 1 Bypass, now Capital Boulevard, was built.