Regina | Historical Discussion

[H2O]

Originally Posted by spictacular mcluvin

Wow good memory, great post! and finally someone else who remembers PICK-A-POP!

I think it was spelled Pic-a-Pop. Don't forget Pop Shoppe. It came in a red plastic crate similar to a milk crate, unlike Pic-a-Pop's stylish but flimsier rounded corner orange crate. I couldn't really tell the difference between the two, but my Dad usually went to Pop Shoppe. I like all the wacky colourful flavours like cherry, cream soda and lime. I think there might have been a blue one too? There was also an older local bottler that my Grandpa used to buy stuff from. I don't remember what it was called.

[Dan0myte]

Do any of the old Cathedral-area residents remember a convenience store on 15th avenue between Robinson St. and Retallack St.?

I'm new to the area so I've only seen it in it's current state, a run down building, but it looks like it must have been a store of some sort at one time. It's built in a guy's backyard and has a garage door that opens right into a gigantic elm tree making it impossible to use.

[rsg]

Originally Posted by drm310

....

Downtown: Kresge; the "Malt Stop" in the old Bay building; Simpson-Sears on Hamilton St.; the Broadway, Met, Odeon and Coronet theatres; and the Plains Hotel, when it used to be respectable. I also remember a little place called Peppi's Gelato, on the NW corner of 12th Ave and Albert St. As well, for us Dungeons and Dragons geeks, a shop called Wizard's Corner II.

I could go on but I'll stop there...

This thread has really taken off.

I had a few malts and hot dogs at that 'Malt Stop' in the old Bay.

I remember when a Sammy's pizza used to be in the location kiddie-corner from the Pasqua hospital - now a daycare I think.

When the popcorn stand used to be on Broad St., you'd see people wandering downtown with the butter soaked bags. Then they were forced to move, and had a very temporary location at the site of the construction of tower 2.

Where ToysRUs is, I think used to be an AMC car dealership - maybe I mentioned that already.

Does anyone remember the r/c car track above Krazy Kiley's? I was heavily involved in it from the mid 80's and on. The management of Kiley's even allowed us put a tandem dump truck worth of dirt up there so we could dirt race - not a good idea in retrospect. It's strange to go up there and see a big screen tv showroom

How about the La Salle hotel? Maybe on Rose, the same block as Peking House?? Could be wrong. Anyhow, it had a giant mural inside on the wall depicting European sailors approaching the shore of the new world - or something like that.

One thing I do not remember, is a taco place on Dewdney across from McDonalds. 'What a Taco'?? and this was in the 70's I'm told???

[H2O]

Originally Posted by H2O

There was also an older local bottler that my Grandpa used to buy stuff from. I don't remember what it was called.

I think it was called Watts Beverages. I can still see (in my minds eye) the wooden crate in the corner of the cold room of my grandparents basement. I bet it was located at 11th and Ottawa, where there used to be a Pepsi bottling plant. It was right across the back alley from the Ukrainian hall that my family spent a lot of time at. The whole area (except for the Ukrainian hall) is now a neighborhood park built on top of a stormwater detention tank.

[H2O]

Are any of you old enough to remember stubbies? They were a standard beer bottle used throughout Canada in the 60s and 70s (into the early 80s). Think Red Stripe beer bottle. I really liked them, because of their stoutness, you could drop them on the ground, and quite often they would survive. That was important to me as a young drunk learning to party on the streets of suburban Regina.

I also remember several old breweries in Regina that I do not think exist anymore. Molson on Dewdney east was probably the last to go. There was a Labatt's a little further northeast of there somewhere, that I think the employees bought out when it closed. I think it became Great West brewery or something? There was also a Carling O'Keefe that made Calgary and Pilsner on North Albert (there was also a big bakery near there - McGavin's?). I think there was also one on South Railway (Sakatchewan Drive) just west of Albert. I might be getting confused with the Co-op Dairy at that location, though.

[H2O]

I remember when milk and bread was delivered door to door in Regina. Many of the houses in our neighborhood had mik chutes. They were a little opening in the wall with a door either side that the milkman could leave (glass!)bottles in, and the customer could leave empty bottles and bill payment envelopes (with cash!).

McGavin's also delivered (fortified white) bread door to door.

Dairy Queen even had a truck that plyed the streets in summer selling Push-ups and Dillo-bars to us suburban street urchins.

Not food, but the mail-order catalogues like Eatons and Simpson-Sears also used to deliver door-to-door.

All of these deliveries were done by small cargo trucks, but my parents remembered them (including ice for the ice chest) being done by horse and carriage!

[Dan0myte]

Originally Posted by H2O

Many of the houses in our neighborhood had mik chutes. They were a little opening in the wall with a door either side that the milkman could leave (glass!)bottles in, and the customer could leave empty bottles and bill payment envelopes (with cash!).

Oh yeah, I remember those. A lot of the Whitmore Park houses had those little "doors". I was intrigued by them when I was little. I would always open them up to see what was inside, but most people had just stuffed them with fibreglass insulation.

[H2O]

Originally Posted by Dan0myte

Oh yeah, I remember those. A lot of the Whitmore Park houses had those little "doors". I was intrigued by them when I was little. I would always open them up to see what was inside, but most people had just stuffed them with fibreglass insulation.

I remember when local dairies sold milk in 1 liter (or possibly quart - it was around the time Canada was transitioning to metric) plastic bags. They gave you little plastic pitchers to put the bags in, and you would clip the corner of the bag with scissors to form a spout. You inevitably spilled as much milk as you were able to pour. I guess the dairies sold more milk that way.

[spictacular mcluvin]

Originally Posted by Dan0myte

Do any of the old Cathedral-area residents remember a convenience store on 15th avenue between Robinson St. and Retallack St.?

I'm new to the area so I've only seen it in it's current state, a run down building, but it looks like it must have been a store of some sort at one time. It's built in a guy's backyard and has a garage door that opens right into a gigantic elm tree making it impossible to use.

Yeah I remember that place, unfortunately I don't remember the name but I used to go to Davin Elementary School and one of the kids dads used to run it, it was a Greek (I think) little corner store.

[spictacular mcluvin]

Wow, no posts on 16 days, this can't possibly be everything everyone remembers about Regina?

[spictacular mcluvin]

Originally Posted by H2O

I think it was spelled Pic-a-Pop.

I just found out that they still sell Pic-A-Pop at Brandy's in the Cathedral area and also across the street at Dessart Sweets!

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by spictacular mcluvin

I just found out that they still sell Pic-A-Pop at Brandy's in the Cathedral area and also across the street at Dessart Sweets!

yea they started to make it again

[Beadyeyez]

Originally Posted by H2O

Are any of you old enough to remember stubbies? They were a standard beer bottle used throughout Canada in the 60s and 70s (into the early 80s). Think Red Stripe beer bottle. I really liked them, because of their stoutness, you could drop them on the ground, and quite often they would survive. That was important to me as a young drunk learning to party on the streets of suburban Regina.

I also remember several old breweries in Regina that I do not think exist anymore. Molson on Dewdney east was probably the last to go. There was a Labatt's a little further northeast of there somewhere, that I think the employees bought out when it closed. I think it became Great West brewery or something? There was also a Carling O'Keefe that made Calgary and Pilsner on North Albert (there was also a big bakery near there - McGavin's?). I think there was also one on South Railway (Sakatchewan Drive) just west of Albert. I might be getting confused with the Co-op Dairy at that location, though.

HAAAA!!! I lost a tooth in a stubbie when I was around 7 or so.... my dad was letting me have a sip and it fell right in.

[Dan0myte]

How about this: The playground equipment in Shannon Park.

In the 80's it consisted of a gigantic steel drum with two handles on each side. You held onto the handles and ran on the drum like a treadmill. The steel drum was so heavy it's momentum would keep it spinning forever once you got it going. Apparently a kid fell on it and his leg got pulled inbetween the steel drum and the steps leading up to it and he almost lost his leg? They city ripped it out shortly after and now if you go to the park it just has a simple swingset and a slide. The place where the drum was is just grass now.

Playground equipment was way more dangerous when we were kids. We didn't have any of this plastic-moulded crap with soft padding and foam boards on the ground underneath it. We ran around on dangerous steel equipment and learned quickly that you have to concentrate on what you're doing and not fall because you can get seriously injured. Kids now can just fall all they want and not pay attention to anything because everything is protected now.

[cutterp]

They also used to have that steel drum play equipment at the park on Dalgliesh Drive just east of MacIntosh.

We were so easily entertained back then.

[drm310]

I used to play on that thing too, same place. I called it the "steamroller", which isn't far off the mark if some kid got his leg mangled by it.

Originally Posted by Dan0myte

How about this: The playground equipment in Shannon Park.

In the 80's it consisted of a gigantic steel drum with two handles on each side. You held onto the handles and ran on the drum like a treadmill. The steel drum was so heavy it's momentum would keep it spinning forever once you got it going. Apparently a kid fell on it and his leg got pulled inbetween the steel drum and the steps leading up to it and he almost lost his leg? They city ripped it out shortly after and now if you go to the park it just has a simple swingset and a slide. The place where the drum was is just grass now.

Playground equipment was way more dangerous when we were kids. We didn't have any of this plastic-moulded crap with soft padding and foam boards on the ground underneath it. We ran around on dangerous steel equipment and learned quickly that you have to concentrate on what you're doing and not fall because you can get seriously injured. Kids now can just fall all they want and not pay attention to anything because everything is protected now.

[spictacular mcluvin]

A lot more recent is, I remember when Regina didn't have all those large electronic video boards up all around the city and the one near the Albert St. underpass was one of the only few...I think the CAA relatively smaller but very BRIGHT one on Albert St. North was one of the 1st new ones (before I moved to Edmonton from 06-09)

[Devon]

This will be the all things Heritage Regina thread. Here is a nice little start to some beautiful heritage buildings/other things. Duplicates are definately ok, as all of these pictures were stolen from the dark corners of the internet, and not necessarily the best shots(except for yours Migs, thanks!).

Regina Powerhouse(Zest/Science centre)


Regina Armoury


Balfour Collegiate


Thomson School


Davin School


Connaught School


Balfour Apartments


Warehouse District


Canada Saskatchewan Production Studios(College building)


Connaught Library


First Babtist Church


Government House


Luther College


Qu`Appelle Apartments


Westminster United Church


Prince Edward Building


City Light & Power


Sacred Heart Academy


St.Pauls Cathedral


Wascana (1931)


Old City Hall(wish it was still around!)


Royal Saskatchewan Museum


Holy Rosary Cathedral


RCMP Church(oldest standing building in Regina)


Streetcar/Legislative Building/Albert St. Bridge


Land Titles Building/Sask Sports Hall of Fame

[one_brick_at_a_time]

This is wonderful! Thank You Devon!

[Devon]

No problem! I absolutely love heritage buildings, and after visiting Halifax for the first time this summer I was blown away with the amount of heritage buildings they have. Thinking back I didn't think we had much heritage stock. Then I got home and really thought about it and we have quite a bit. And lovely buildings at that. If only we preserved it earlier. Anf if only cyclones didn't exist...