Mary Belk: Auburn really was a village 40 years ago

Sweet Auburn … the loveliest village of the plains. No kidding. Auburn really was a village 40-something years ago.

Just about everything was within walking distance in those days. You could eat out, shop for a new dress or groceries, have your shoes half-soled, or go to a movie while your car was being serviced at Andrews’ Service Station on North Gay Street.

For entertainment there were two picture shows: the Tiger Theater on North College Street and the War Eagle Theater on West Magnolia.

If you didn’t have the price of a movie ticket, you could wander up Magnolia to Herbert Music and listen to records. Dave and Gloe Herbert kept the turntable spinning the livelong day. Or you might mosey across the street for a game at the bowling alley where a kid in the back set the pins.

Auburn had a variety of eating establishments in the 1960s. On the corner of Gay and Magnolia was the famous Kopper Kettle, home of the 10-cent Kettleburger. Night and day, diners drifted in to scarf down eggs, toast slathered in butter, and as much high-octane coffee as they could hold — all for about 69 cents.

Next to the War Eagle Theater was Athey’s Café, a gathering place for friends to talk and drink iced tea. Or we’d meet and eat at Barney’s Cub Café. We spent hours in those booths dropping dimes into the miniature wall jukebox.

If you wanted fancier fare amid the daily ordinariness of life, the coffee shop at the Pitts Hotel was slap-dab in the middle of Magnolia Avenue.

For clothes there was the Poly-Tek Shop, Parker’s and Deb’n Heir. Men shopped at Harwell’s or visited Olin L. Hill, “The Man with the Tape.” And shoes were fitted to perfection at The Bootery.

When it came to everyday essentials, there were two dime stores to choose between, Crest 5 & 10 and V.J. Elmore’s. We took our pennies for bubble gum and nickels for candy. We walked and looked, picked up and pondered. Sometimes we bought.

Having film developed was an adventure. Manning Studio was upstairs in a building next to the Pitts Hotel. The winding stairway that led to the loft was long, narrow, dark and creaky. It took some courage to climb those stairs alone, film in hand, sniffing the sweet smell of acetic acid and alum.

Downtown Auburn has had a heap of changes since then. A few of the old establishments are still around—places like Johnston & Malone, Ware Jewelers, Auburn Hardware and Hill’s Jewelry.

Mostly they’ve been torn down and replaced. When I sit back eyes closed and meander through the old stomping grounds of my youth, I can’t help remembering the remark, “The past is a foreign country; they do things different there.”

Mary Belk lives in Auburn and writes a column for the Opelika-Auburn News.