Apr 5, 2022 2 min read

My deepest thanks to Rick Shrum on his March 29 article regarding the Washington Mall.

I was 2 years old when the mall opened. I grew up in that mall. At Christmas, that place was beautiful. Santa was set up in the center beside the Pretzel Oven. Speaking of which, a soft pretzel and a frozen Coke were the ticket! Those were the days!

Shorty’s was just down the hallway near one of the entrances. Dad would take me in there for something to eat. When you ordered hot dogs, you just said, “Two with,” and they knew what that meant. And the cook had hot dogs up and down his arm. I remember it as if it were yesterday.

Sports card shows, car shows, Ag Days, the Super Bowl of Chili – that mall would hop. It was the place to be in its heyday.

When a radio station announced an album was coming out, everyone got excited and made the trip to NRM, National Record Mart, and half the fun was checking out the album cover art. Unfortunately, today’s generation has no idea what that means. There was something special about that.

So many great and wonderful memories from that place. It makes me sad to see what it looks like now. They say sign of the times. Well, these times are nothing to write home about. I have not been enamored by this new millennium and new century. Those days were the best days. Now they’re gone. So, a big thank you to Rick Shrum for a trip down memory lane.

Rich Briggs

Houston