Earl Hayes Chevrolet

Earl Hayes had already worked for Chevrolet from 1925 in a variety of managerial positions in Dallas, Detroit, and Oklahoma, when he returned to Dallas in 1945 and partnered with Roy Hill to purchase the John E. Morris Chevrolet Co. at Ninth & Lancaster (also listed as 132 Lancaster). In 1949 Hayes bought the dealership outright from Hill and built one of the largest showrooms in Dallas at the 9th & Lancaster location.  He also operated a used car and truck dealership at Commerce & Industrial.

The slogan "Come out our way, trade your way" appeared in ads in 1949, and Hayes apparently stuck with the saying for the duration of his dealership.

About 1974 Earl brought his son, Robert T. (Bob) Hayes on board, and in June 1975 the result of their partnership, Bob Hayes Chevrolet Co., began operating at its new location at Marvin D. Love Freeway and Wheatland Road. Sometime in the 1990's the dealership became Powell Chevy. In 2011 Robert T. Hayes was Chairman of the Board of Hayes Truck Inc. in Dallas.

See also Phorum at Dallas History Society.

Where the South Breezes Strike First

1911 Advertisement from Oak Cliff Civic League

Winnetka Congregational Church

While not nearly as imposing as the controverted Oak Cliff Christian Church, the two-story brick and stone building at 410 S. Windomere north of Twelfth St. is a unique building worth preserving. At least it’s unlikely the DISD will need to acquire the property (sealing its doom in my opinion), since the recently modernized Greiner Middle School lies across the street.

The Winnetka Congregational Church was organized about 1914. In 1915 they had a Sunday School attendance of about 60 and originally held services in a one-story frame building across the street from the present church. They called themselves “An Independent Bible Church” and were allied with the Dallas Theological Seminary (founded by the above Lewis Sperry Chafer) and the Dallas Bible Institute, and 8 out of 10 Sundays you could find an itinerant preacher giving the sermon. Some of the pastors through the years included J.W. Logan (maybe the 1st pastor), Allen Crabtree in the early 1920s, Ray D. Fortna in 1929, T. Warwick Brandon in 1933, W.W. Orr in 1937, and Floyd W. Shiery, who left in 1943 to become an army chaplain.

Ground was broken for the current 4600 square foot church in October 1929. It was designed by architect T. J. Galbraith and built by local contractors Eckert-Burton at a cost of $33,000. The 46×100 foot building would include 14 Sunday School rooms, a main auditorium, and a basement.
The last mention I could find of Winnetka Congregational Church was October 1955, under Pastor Estil Schale. Until about 2008 the building was home to El Buen Samaritano United Methodist Church.

In 2010 a reader, ElZilcho, told me the church was closed a few years ago and was being converted into a single family home/photo studio. What an innovation - I'll bet the light is great!

Donell Cafeterias

The first Donell Cafeteria opened about 1956 in the Westmoreland Heights Shopping Center. 3115 Dawes would have put in on the southernmost strip of center, probably at the east end across from and facing the old movie theater. J.J. McDonald was the general manager. In May1958 a second location opened at 328 West Jefferson, about 2 blocks west of Zang. Hours (at least for the Jefferson location) were 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, except Sunday. According to the latest view on Google maps, the Dawes location has been repurposed as a small store or an AmVets center and the Jefferson location is unoccupied.

Chalk Hill Drive-In

Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection

Just north of the “T” at the intersection of Cockrell Hill Rd. and Fort Worth Avenue,
Chalk Hill Drive-In opened in early July of 1941 and was the second outdoor drive-in built in Dallas. The setup was identical to its sister, the Northwest Drive-In, which opened two weeks earlier; a huge screen faced a 12 1/2 acre field arranged in graduated ramps. 204 loud-speakers were set in the ground with space for two cars between all speakers with a capacity for 408 cars. The opening attraction was “The Invisible Woman” with Virginia Bruce, John Barrymore, and John Howard.
The theater was in operation as late as 1976 but was later razed. The area is now part of or adjacent to Pinnacle Park, an area of retail centers and modern warehouses.

photographer unknown

COMMENTS FROM READERS

Jim Hanley - August 29th, 2009 at 22:50 | #1
My older brother and I both worked at the Chalk Hill Drive-In in the 60’s. Ray Trojahn was the Manager and Leverit Carpenter was the projectionist.

Randy Felts - September 23rd, 2010 at 00:30 | #2
Warehouses are now on the the old Chalk Hill Drive-in site. My brother Jerry Felts used to work there in the early 1960’s.

Matt Schaffer - November 17th, 2010 at 16:08 | #3

Great site, pix & commentary – thanks so much!

Just an FYI, but you refer to the Chalk Hill’s sister drive-in as the Northwest – it’s proper name was Northwest Highway. I may be wrong about this next comment but I don’t believe the owners ever installed a wide screen at the Northwest Highway, as the one time I was there (with my parents in 1963, just before it was closed and torn down) We were watching a widescreen western and the square screen could not contain the ends of the picture. No harm, though, because few of the other customers seemed interested in the movie. It was a hangout for Hillcrest High kids and their dates.

Glenda Allen - February 5th, 2011 at 01:34 | #4
@Jim Hanley
Jim Hanley, would love to chat with you about Chalk Hill and the 1960s. Thanks. Please contact me via email.

geneva richards - August 10th, 2011 at 04:16 | #5
my first job at 16 was at the chalk hill drive-in. i lived in walking distance. my cousin debra elliott and her boyfriend mario medelis also worked there at the time.

Larry Martinez
December 4th, 2011 at 20:21 | #6 -
@Matt Schaffer
Matt, the Chalk Hill and Northwest Highway drive-ins had another sister theatre, the Bowie Boulevard in Fort Worth. Like the Northwest Highway, the Bowie Boulevard (later shortened to just “Boulevard”) also didn’t upgrade to accommodate a wide screen, and was closed in 1961. A Neiman Marcus store was later built where the (Bowie) Boulevard once stood.

Walter's Beer

December 1933 saw the repeal of the Twenty-first Amendment and the end of Prohibition. Local breweries geared up and advertised their wares

 

In case you don't want to try to read the fine print, I've listed the fine Oak Cliff establishments listed on the ad where you could purchase this fine product:

The Street Inn  -  138 W Davis

H. B. Nichols - 332 W Davis

James Zara - 706 E. Jefferson

Webb Waffle Shop -1207 N. Zang,

J.S. Paul Drug Store - 1732 S. Ewing

H. Boedecker & Sons - 113 N. Lancaster

Clifton Coffee Shop - 214 W. Colorado

West Dallas Drug Store - Eagle Ford Road

New Wabash Drug Co - 102 Cliff

Jefferson Drug Co.-  Jefferson and Zang

Uncle Sam Sandwich Shop  - Tyler and Seventh

Crystal Cafe 831 - W. Jefferson

El Patio Cafe 220 - W. Jefferson

Kessler Cafe - 1305 W. Davis

Mandarin Inn - 1363 N. Zang

The Chapultepec  - 1126 N. Zang

Midway Cafe - 101 E. Jefferson

Blue Crest Cafe - 1315 W. Davis,

Jelly Parrino's - Beckley at Davis

I hope to visit some of these places in 2012. This beer bottle is a later vintage, probably about 1945, and I'm sorry to see the illustration on the original bottle is gone.

Roth's Cafe

Listed variously as Roth’s Cafe or Roth’s Restaurant, this eatery was in business from at least 1946 to 1967. 2701 Ft.Worth Avenue would have put the building in the same location as the old Bronco Bowl, maybe on the west end of the lot, right where the used car lot now sits in front of Home Depot. I have no recollection of the building, but that atomic tower must have been pretty cool, especially at night.