What was Charles County like in the 70s/80s?

[pixiegirl]

I miss Bob's Big Boy!

OMG, me too! I remember going to Cleveland about 10 years ago and insisting on going to a BBB because I hadn't been to once since I was a kid. We use to go every Sunday after church.

I also remember us getting dropped off at the mall!

 

[Chasey_Lane]

I also remember us getting dropped off at the mall!

We were such I mean back then.

Wheel-O-While, too!!

 

[medicated]

I've lived in Chuck County for 42 yrs. I can remember fishing in the lakes behind the mall, HH Greg was a Safeway, father buying paneling at Dart Drug, Malcom was called Dog patch and had an open air drug market, alot of the housing developments were farms, but the biggest change has been the demographics

 

[TimTheToolMan]

Grew up in Charles County in the 70s and 80s. OilHillcrestGuy is right, I remember Waldorf having only 2 traffic lights, and 2 in La Plata (Rt. 301 & 6, Rt.6 & Washington Ave.). We had one McDonald's in the entire county (the one across from the Festival Shopping Center, next to the Nissan Dealer. La Plata finally got one around 1980 (next to the Pepsi plant). La Plata Motel was where Arby's and Southern Tire is now. Walgreens was Roy Rogers, and Gino's before that. The shopping center that has Wendy's and Pizza Hut was built around 1977, before that, it was all trees, and the light at Hawthorne was a flashing yellow light. The little shopping center next to the La Plata Burger King used to be a John Deere dealer, Howard Johnson's was where the Sunoco is now, and the motel next to it was a Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge. It had the trademark HoJo's office building on that concrete pad next to the pool. The Shopping center that now has Outback, had People's Drug and Safeway, and had that little enclosed section of stores between the two that had Video Unlimited in it. I remember when the Safeway was pretty small, but they expanded it to almost double the size around 86. The Former Exxon station and the new Valvoline Quick Lube used to be Barnes Chevy-Olds, and the BB&T used to be Hardee's. Barnes became Eagle I believe, and they built a new dealership where Mitchel's and Enterprise Car Rental is now. They closed before they moved into the new dealership. There used to be a motel where Wawa is now.

I also remember Indian Head Highway being a two-lane road (one lane each direction) between the County Line and Old Forte Road in Fort Washington.

 

[EmptyTimCup]

I remember Sears Surplus, King's...

301 Drive In, Basics ... the only 'shopping center' was the one where Borders used to be .... everything else was woods ...

.... white plains was a couple of lights and a liquor store

 

[nutz]

I remember Indian Head Hwy. being 2 lanes from the beltway to the Naval Ordnance Station. Marlow Heights was THE shopping place, they had a Mont. Wards The other guys pretty much nailed it. St. Charles was much smaller with just a handful of streets.

It was the Springlake motel on the PG/Charles county line. It transformed a few times motel, topless club, night club...........Back in the day the Stardust and the Wigwam had slots and big name entertainers like Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Marshall Hall was an amusement park. The Wilson line had stern wheel paddleboats plying the Potomac from DC to Marshall Hall to Mt. Vernon.
St. Charles was the beginning of the end for our rural way of life.

How many of you guys remember when olde Rt. 5 was a clear shot from the rr tracks to Hughesville ? The cops almost always hung out at Forest Park and the "mall" And, the Goldmine was a "biker bar".

 

[EmptyTimCup]

I also remember Indian Head Highway being a two-lane road (one lane each direction) between the County Line and Old Forte Road in Fort Washington.

yep ... you drove past the Safeway, Dart Drug and Crown Books at Forest Center Shopping Center, and you were in the country after that, until the Chuck County Line ... then dual lane (must have been some political pay out for that) ....


ABC (across from Kirby Farm - Opps that has been gone awhile), Super Chief (where Memco - Bradlies, and Finally Heckenger was well the drive in was actually where the bus lot is behind the shopping center), Ranch (in Clinton) Drive in ...

 

[EmptyTimCup]

I remember Indian Head Hwy. being 2 lanes from the beltway to the Naval Ordnance Station. Marlow Heights was THE shopping place, they had a Mont. Wards

beltway, what beltway ...... was there a beltway then ... we moved in from Balt in 1973 and 210 was dual lane till the previously mentioned shopping center

I know the beltway was done in the mid 1960's ?

the old man up the st used to talk about when Oxon Hill Rd was dirt as was my street in the 1950's

my ex FIL lived in Hilcrest Heights way back when ... and my Ex BIL played in the frog swap that became Iverson Mall

 

[Metrocrap]

I remember riding my bike from White Plains and bicycling down what was going to be Western Parkway. It was just being cleared. Before the mall was built, we used to swim in those lakes and they were really clean. I used to bike up to Pizza Square on Rt 5 and play the pinball machines.

 

[PsyOps]

I can tell you how PG County was at that time. 180 degrees different than it is now; in almost every way.

 

[ItalianScallion]

That was a Topless Go -Go place right ! If I remember right

Sure was, but what a stink hole it was too! I only went there once and vowed never to go back. Someone, later, turned it into a real "fireplace"

...my ex FIL lived in Hilcrest Heights way back when ... and my Ex BIL played in the frog swap that became Iverson Mall

Hillcrest Heights was the place to be! I have many happy memories of that town; Marlow Heights too! We lived there from 1956 to 1977; right up until the time of it's downfall... I used to play on the very field where Iverson Mall now sits. We used to catch frogs there but now you can catch bullets there

 

[Gilligan]

That was a Topless Go -Go place right ! If I remember right

*sniff*..may Reb's rest in peace.

 

[nutz]

I remember riding my bike from White Plains and bicycling down what was going to be Western Parkway. It was just being cleared. Before the mall was built, we used to swim in those lakes and they were really clean. I used to bike up to Pizza Square on Rt 5 and play the pinball machines.

Pizza Square had great pizza. I remember one of the owners was Dave something or another. He had a fantastic weapons collection.

I don't know of any good pizza places anymore. Ledo's and pizza hut, yuck. Pizza hotline is about the best of them and that's not saying much.

 

[nutz]

Sure was, but what a stink hole it was too! I only went there once and vowed never to go back. Someone, later, turned it into a real "fireplace"

Hillcrest Heights was the place to be! I have many happy memories of that town; Marlow Heights too! We lived there from 1956 to 1977; right up until the time of it's downfall... I used to play on the very field where Iverson Mall now sits. We used to catch frogs there but now you can catch bullets there

While we're on PG, how about the good old Village Barn, then heading over to the El Rancho for huevos rancheros