Summer Memories: From Drive-Ins to Fireworks

>> Announcer: This is the Tri State Time Machine, brought to you by Alex R. White, pllc@suedistractedriver.com each week, your host, Vanessa Hankins and her guests share memories and stories about the past, the present and the future of the Tri State area. That's West Virginia, Kentucky and the Ohio areas. If you used to live here or you currently live here, you're going to catch yourself saying out loud, wow, I remember that. Now here's Vanessa.

>> Vanessa: Hey, guys, it's Vanessa.

>> Jason Arthur: It's Jason. Good morning, everybody. How are you?

>> Vanessa: We're excited to be back. And we don't have a guest today, so you get to put up with just me and Jason, so.

>> Jason Arthur: That's right.

>> Vanessa: Good for you. Lucky, Lucky. Um, today we've kind of did, um. I'll be honest, we did a little bit of a hodgepodge today. We didn't have a plan. We just knew we wanted to get some content out. So we came in the studio, ah, we sat down, we small talked, and we decided we're going to take a trip back into the summer summers decades past, uh, of, uh, Huntington. So, you know, we're talking Cannon Park Drive ins, fourth of July fireworks festivals. We're talking all that, all the great.

>> Jason Arthur: Memories for everybody, you know, and it's funny, it's very similar to our Christmas episode that we did, kind of going back, touching base on all those memories for the Tri State area. And this one will be also very great memories. I feel like Christmas time and this time of year are the two most memorable times of year for everybody.

>> Vanessa: I think so, too. I would agree with that. And it's crazy how fast winter goes away and summer approaches, but it goes away just as quickly as it came. So there's definitely a lot of memories in the minds of all of us crammed into these little bitty mini summers that we've had, which of course, back in the day, they were a lot longer than we seem to get nowadays.

>> Jason Arthur: Started later, all that. Yeah, it's changed everything.

>> Vanessa: It really has. So, Jason, what's your strongest summer memory in the Tri State?

>> Jason Arthur: Wow, that's a tough one, to be honest. You know, I have a lot of great memories, just like with Christmas, Tom, you know, as kids, as teenagers, as adults, the things that we look forward to, I mean, obviously memorable things, and this is outside of Tri State is, you know, going on vacations, beach trips, things like that.

>> Vanessa: I was gonna say that's the big one. The big one around here is we always say that Myrtle, uh, beach is full of people from West Virginia on vacation.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah, it's the 2.0. Yeah. You know, and I was actually talking to Councilwoman, uh, Teresa Johnson yesterday, and we were talking back and forth about all the pools that used to be in the city. Oh, y. I can even remember even Milton, West Virginia, in their little city. They had one. Barbersville had one. You know, and you work your way back here, you're looking at, you know, Guyan Dot. You had the Olympic pool, which we all knew very, very well.

>> Vanessa: Yes, yes. That was where a lot of my childhood was spent.

>> Jason Arthur: Thank God that AD Lewis is still thriving. It is the pool in the city now.

>> Vanessa: It is.

>> Jason Arthur: It's made it through all of it. And, uh, you know, I'm just so glad for those kids. And that's what her and I were talking about. All these people would say how. How expensive it was to upkeep and blah, blah, blah. Well, we spent a lot of money on a lot of things, but this is childhood memories. They need things to do to keep them out of trouble, to have fun, to live a good life.

>> Vanessa: Right. And, you know, we're not sure exactly when this episode will air, but, um, if you're in the Tri State, you know that right now it's Tuesday. We're in a heat wave. Like, it is hot around here. And I actually seen that there was like a surge in electricity, I think, like on the south side, um, a day or two ago. So think of that many people that were just without. Even if they had the ability to have air conditioning, they had that luxury. A lot of them were without it in this heat wave because of the outage. So, I mean, just that amount of people alone, having something like a pool available to them, like at, ah, 80 Lewis, is huge because the closest one that we have other than that is the one in Kenova. We have Dreamland M. And then we have the one on Route 2, the Kennedy Center. Is that what it's called?

>> Jason Arthur: The YMCA?

>> Vanessa: With the YMCA? Yeah. So, I mean, you've got a haul either direction. So that. That is the closest one.

>> Jason Arthur: And that makes it difficult because now you're talking, you're going to be wet in your car, blah, blah, blah. You know, all these things. And I know you change and all that, but let's be honest, kids are kids. They just want to hop in and go.

>> Vanessa: They just want to hop in.

>> Jason Arthur: They're ready for summer and just do all the things.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely. So it's perfect for everyone that lives in that neighborhood. They can just stroll right down the road and jump in and Call it a day. Be dry by the time they make it home in the evening.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah, for sure.

>> Vanessa: Yeah. I'm very thankful that we put the, um, the money and the, um, education behind fixing the AD Lewis. You know, we weren't just putting a band aid on it. Everything was repaired the right way, and. And, uh, it's going to outlast this in right now. And I think that's awesome.

>> Jason Arthur: And it shows great leadership in our administration right now, making that a priority. Our kids are a priority. Our safety is our priority. And that's why I don't think that they missed anything to make sure that was done the right way. You know, if there was faucets that needed. If there were certain paint and cement work and all that, I mean, everything was done top notch. And I love that.

>> Vanessa: I do, too. I really do. I did a lot of work over at AD Lewis. And you really get attached to the kids that hang out in that center. Um, some of them have great home lives. It's not limited to children that do have rough home lives, but there are a handful that do have a rough life, and that is the place that they call home. That's where they get to go. And, um, I'm thankful that our city keeps supporting that in that neighborhood. I really am. I, um, think, um, going back to the question that I asked you, I think probably my strongest summer memory is going down the big double slides at Olympic Pool.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: Do you remember before they closed those down?

>> Jason Arthur: That was way back.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, that was way back. Yeah. So, like, I just remember that being, like, the highlight of. Of my summer is, like, it would take me almost the whole summer to get brave enough to go down those slides.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: And then once you did it, you were like, oh, okay, now I'm one of the cool kids. I can hang out in the deep.

>> Jason Arthur: Side of the pool, right?

>> Vanessa: Yeah.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah. You have to earn your way.

>> Vanessa: Yeah.

>> Jason Arthur: And that reminds me, too, of even thinking about. It's not here in Huntington, but of course we're tri state.

>> Vanessa: Yeah.

>> Jason Arthur: I think of the wave pool and hurricane. Oh, yeah, that was. And even Foxfire. That was such a fo.

>> Vanessa: Was such a cool place. I, like, I only got to go one time, and I got to go as an adult, but I, uh, always, when we were traveling down the interstate, would look over and be like, oh, my gosh, I want to go there. It's like a water park. Which, uh, as an adult, I see that it wasn't quite that magnificent. But as a kid, you get excited.

>> Jason Arthur: When you see that oh yeah, the slides were great, the pool was great. Paddle boat you could swim over in the, the lake part of it, kind of like you do out at Beach Fork, which. That's another lot of my great memories. We used to go to the Beach Fork at the beach part.

>> Vanessa: I was going to say that was before there was an actual pool. So yeah, you had the swimming area that kind of got roped off and turned into uh, uh, the area for you to. And you know, something that I always appreciated about Beachfork and the swimming area out there is that for the longest time it was the only place that I ever seen that was ADA compliant for people to be able to get into the water. And you wouldn't think that in Wayne, but it really was one of like the first places that I remember like in a swimming area seeing like a wheelchair ramp that came all the way down. The shower houses were ADA compliant, all that. And I thought that was really cool because it was way before its time. Yeah, for sure it was before places were being made to do that, you know, to be politically correct.

>> Jason Arthur: They were ahead of the time in this area for sure.

>> Vanessa: They really were. And speaking of Beachfork, you know, now they do have that pool and it's phenomenal. There's like two parks on either side of it. And then if you cross the, uh, the road, the county road out there, then you're in the campground.

>> Jason Arthur: Right.

>> Vanessa: Um, they've got disc golf out there, they've got the cabins. Yeah, they've got everything. Uh, you can rent boats, uh, canoes, kayaks, all the things. So I mean, it's super cool and I, I'm thankful that we have stuff like that. Um, that's been there for a really long time too. Um, it's man made, so that's, that's been around for like our grandparents and probably their grandparents as well. So I think that's awesome that we share in those memories. Um, of course, the crowd favorite in the tri state area and still to this day is always Camden Park.

>> Jason Arthur: Oh yeah.

>> Vanessa: I was actually getting ready to. Yeah.

>> Jason Arthur: To mention that I remember of course, going in the little kitty part towards the front of the park as a child.

>> Vanessa: Oh yeah. There to the left.

>> Jason Arthur: And then now I've seen my children go through it and my grandpa used to tell me stories of when he was there. One, uh, memory I talk about with everybody is the Camden Queen that used to go up and down the creek here. I miss that.

>> Vanessa: Yes. I was out again. I only got to do it one time and it Was because a friend of mine's parents treated us to being able to afford because it was like $50 a pop. It was a little expensive. It was a little. Even for its time, it was expensive. But, yeah, you got to get on the boat and go down the. The. What is that? Is that a stream? What is.

>> Jason Arthur: I think it's a creek. It's just very large, and then it feeds into the river.

Cannon park launched, um, in: 1903

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah, it 100% is.

>> Vanessa: Yeah. We had a, um. We had a. On a whim, we went a few weeks ago. We took our daughters, and we had such a blast. But there were so many things shut down for various reasons, which I haven't touched base with you about this since then. But we were really bummed because the paratrooper was down and they weren't opening it back up. And we were like, well, what's the deal? What's the deal? I have since heard they cannot find a replacement part for it, and it's probably going bye, bye. Uh, and my heart breaks a little bit for that, because that was the first big, brave ride that Carly got on that fell in love with Camden park for, you know, so that's a bummer.

>> Jason Arthur: All the rides that we've gone through, you know, when we talked about this, you know, through the years, all the rides that we've lost there, you know, whether it be through fire, whether it be through whatever.

>> Vanessa: Ye.

>> Jason Arthur: Thunderbolt Express was one that we talked about.

>> Vanessa: Yes. That was like. That was the deal back in the day. If you heard that, you were such a badass. Yes, yes. You were like the cool kid on the block, though, if you could make that ride.

>> Jason Arthur: Right.

>> Vanessa: First of all, you had to be tall enough. It was the only, like, height restricted.

>> Jason Arthur: Ride I felt, because it was just a piece of an other roller coaster.

>> Vanessa: Piece of a much bigger. Yeah.

>> Jason Arthur: And we hyped it up like it was the real deal here at Kings Island.

>> Vanessa: Yes, yes, yes. That's what it felt like, though. Which was really cool. Um, what I find really fascinating about, um, Cannon park is that it originated as kind of like a parking ride. It was the hub for the community and people would, you know, get dropped off there by train, meet up with co workers and carpet.

>> Jason Arthur: Just a way to kill time.

>> Vanessa: Just a way to kill time. So they made it a little nicer here and there. They made it into a walking park with a rose garden. And then it became a zoo. And then they got the, um. What is this? What's the spinny thing? The, uh.

>> Jason Arthur: Oh, yeah, yeah.

>> Vanessa: The horses.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: The carousel. I could not think of the word. Then they got the carousel, which is. It's not the same carousel, I don't believe. I think that's the second one that they've had.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah, it's the second one.

>> Vanessa: Um, but then it became a zoo. Like they had hippos and like elephants and all the things. And you could just go on your little date courtship and walk around the park and do all the things. And then it ended up getting bigger and bigger to the amusement park that we have today. And I think it's pretty cool that they've again, uh, they've brought in a new rod. Uh, what is that thing called? Carly's gonna kill me for this because I can't remember the name of it. Is it the rattler?

>> Jason Arthur: It is the rattler.

>> Vanessa: Okay.

>> Jason Arthur: They used. I feel like they used to bring in something every year and I feel like the last couple years they've kind of just dealt with what they had.

>> Vanessa: Yeah.

>> Jason Arthur: Um, which, you know, who's the paratrooper and things. Maybe that'll get replaced with that.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, hopefully. Hopefully.

>> Jason Arthur: You know, I think about the loss of the spider. It's gone still. It was really great. You know, we had the roller rink there for years.

>> Vanessa: The roller rink has a lot of my childhood memories.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: There. Yes. And then I noticed, um, the last couple of years they put a putt putt place in and it had been down. But when we were there the other day, it was back up because there were people putt putting the whole time we were on the sky lift, which if you go on the skylift as of like this summer, take a look to your far left over towards the river and see all the magnificent dirt moving that is happening already with our sanitary ward. That's pretty cool.

>> Jason Arthur: Absolutely.

>> Vanessa: Um, hopefully by the time you hear this one, you've heard our previous episode. Um, and that'll chime in a little bit better for you. But, um, it was pretty cool to loop around there and see how a lot of those grounds have been cleaned up back that way and underneath the sky lift and things like that.

>> Jason Arthur: It really is.

>> Vanessa: I thought that was fun. I'm afraid of the skylift so I try to focus on literally everything but being on the skylift.

>> Jason Arthur: When I'm on, I think everybody is. Cuz it's just. You're uh, very high up and you're just open. There's a bar that just.

>> Vanessa: That you can just open.

>> Jason Arthur: Literally open and close as you.

>> Vanessa: I get terrified when I see people with like littles on it. Cuz I'm like they could literally just throw their back up, slide out and slide right out. Like what is the, what is the world, you know, coming to when that is.

>> Jason Arthur: That's why they don't have any accidents though is because where it makes us so nervous, we're very, very careful. Maybe we don't take advantage of it.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, maybe.

>> Jason Arthur: And when you, you know, you mentioned that dirt that's over there, you know, even Camden park owns some of those houses that are going to be removed and they've been bought out to put in the new highway for all the construction and things there. So that's really good too.

>> Vanessa: It's going to be really nice. I'm excited for it and I'm excited for all the drivers because living um, in Westmoreland we, we use that road a lot. Ah. Out there. And they'll just be setting forever just trying to turn because of how narrow the road is for them to turn onto. So this is going to be a game changer for them and for us too. They're not going to be messing up our traffic flow.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: Which is pretty awesome for sure. Um, I think uh, we would be remiss if we didn't mention some of the burial grounds at Cannon park while we're talking about it a little bit.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah, the burial mounds for sure.

>> Vanessa: Super, super cool. Um, so that's a 26 acre site and it's got the third largest bandstand that was ever put around which was a, that was a big deal back. That was before our time. But doing the bandstand there, they did that and they did it at Dreamland too. I mean it was huge. That was a big staple in summer.

>> Jason Arthur: Around hunting some of the biggest names when you're talking even back then, Bing Crosby.

>> Vanessa: Um, yeah, I was going to say just whoever everybody was, orchestras at Dreamland and stuff like that. So I would imagine they probably did at Camden too.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: Right. So crazy.

>> Jason Arthur: We had the big Names here, for sure.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely. What, um, is another big thing that shaped Huntington life? Probably the river. Living by the Ohio River.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah. We used to have, you know, obviously, the regatta, which we've talked about previous episodes. We had the jet boat races. We've had, you know, all the different carnivals, and, you know, the festivals. Listen, Huntington's known for its festivals. Rib fest and all these. I mean, you know, you get Chili Fest in the fall, and we do a really good job of everybody coming together with these festivals and just trying to make it a lot of fun. Good food, good fun. Everybody gets together. You see all your neighbors and family and things, and people even come back to town because of them.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely. I remember, actually, the regatta was the first time I ever got to go to a concert. Um, I should have shared that with Dan the other day when we had him on, because he's so proud of the regatta, and, um, I think it would have meant a lot to him. But I'll, uh, have to tell him next time I see him. But I got to see Aaron Tippen.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: At. At the riverfront at the regatta, and we got VIP passes because we won them on what it was like, 93.7 or something like that. Or wk. WTCR. That's what it was. 103.3.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: And, uh, all these radio stations, they were, like, embedded in my head because I was so obsessed with music when I was a kid. Had to have that station just right on the knob to pick them up. But, um, yeah, going down there and watching the boat races and seeing all of the community members come together and have a great time, and all of the restaurants and things like that thrived in Huntington for that weekend because all of the influx of people coming in and wanting to eat and the food vendors, and they even had, like, skydiving.

>> Jason Arthur: Oh, yeah.

>> Vanessa: You could go up on this big platform and just jump off and, like, do base jumps. I mean, they had it all. It was so cool.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah, we. You know, it's funny, we'll lose a few things here and there, but we gain a few things here and there. And, uh, again, the testament to the city of always just kind of revamping itself and all the different activities there are from our park systems and how well they're utilized at Ritter. There's something going on there constantly.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely.

>> Jason Arthur: Rotary has that almost heaven, West Virginia swing that's up there. I encourage. A lot of people still have no idea about that.

>> Vanessa: They have no idea it's up there, and it's been up There for. It's over a year at this point.

>> Jason Arthur: Year and a half. Two years.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, I was gonna say it's been a while, because I remember, um, my girlfriend who was with Parks and Rec, she's now in Pocahontas county, but she was just now starting her new journey into Pocahontas County.

>> Jason Arthur: The view up there is unbelievable. Huntington, I mean, it just is.

>> Vanessa: It's beautiful. It really is. And they take really good care of it, and they take a lot of pride in their work. Um, we've had Lauren on here before, and it's always a great time. I, um, think as a community, I think we're still. We love to come together and celebrate. So we have several festivals that still go on to this day. You know, we may not have the regatta anymore, but, you know, we have the West Virginia hot dog Festival. We've got the new taco Fest. They do a Juneteenth festival.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah, M. We just passed it.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, we just passed that. So the downtown Huntington Art walk, the I heart summer concert series. You've got ninth Street Live. That's a.

>> Jason Arthur: All of our concerts.

>> Vanessa: All of our concerts. We have so much music. So if you're a music lover, like, this is the place to be. It really is. You can see music, I think, starting Wednesday night, all the way through the weekend in Huntington at any given time.

>> Jason Arthur: Not including what our civic center does with concerts and stuff.

>> Vanessa: Not including that. Right, Exactly.

>> Jason Arthur: Such a great regime of just different bits of music for all likes. And then, you know what? You and Brandon and I and so many others, we go to the Loud. That's always great.

>> Vanessa: The Loud is always great.

>> Jason Arthur: Great venue.

>> Vanessa: Yes, absolute. And we shout out to Luna Pizza, since we're talking about loud, because it is superb. There's nothing better than capping off your night with a Luna Pizza. Um, some other festivals that we also have are the, uh, Rails and Elves is huge.

>> Jason Arthur: Very big.

>> Vanessa: Very, very big one. And it's always successful.

>> Jason Arthur: Courts and kegs and barbers.

>> Vanessa: Courts and kegs. We've got the flying festival up on Route 2. Um, we even have a film festival. We have the Appalachian film Festival that comes big time right here into Huntington.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: So, I mean, we. We have so much. And most of. Well, all of it, to my knowledge, aside from the Flying festival in Rails and Elves. I think they're all free.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah. I believe you're right. I mean, and that's the crazy part is so many things are free.

>> Vanessa: Yeah.

>> Jason Arthur: That's why when all these people say, oh, there's Nothing, man. Listen, it's free.

>> Vanessa: Get out and do it.

>> Jason Arthur: There's stuff to do. But not only that, it's free.

>> Vanessa: Right? Absolutely. Um, who are some people that you have seen over the years in Huntington? Can you think of anybody else? Top of your head?

>> Jason Arthur: Oh, gosh. I mean, I've seen. You mean like concert wise? Yeah, I mean, just. Gosh, I've seen tons of country people. I mean, you know, of course you have Tyler Childer, but that's more newer. But I can remember seeing Chubby Checker back in the day when I was younger.

>> Vanessa: Yes. Ah.

>> Jason Arthur: You know, I remember when 98 degrees and NSync and all these different people have been around.

>> Vanessa: I remember going in girls going crazy.

>> Jason Arthur: The concert parking areas.

>> Vanessa: Yes, yes. I was gonna say, I remember going and seeing like Ashanti and Nelly.

>> Jason Arthur: Oh, yeah.

>> Vanessa: And it was like a few other people. And that was like my first experience with like a live rap show. And I was like, only been to country music shows at that point. So I was like, what is going on? These people do not sound anything like what they do on their albums.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: So that was a rude awakening for m. Me. I learned my lesson.

>> Jason Arthur: You know, I think of, um, WWE used to come here all the time.

>> Vanessa: Yes.

>> Jason Arthur: They'd have Monday Night Raw here and all kinds of stuff. I remember seeing Stone Cold and Goldberg and, you know, all these big time names here.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely. And you know, I know we weren't talking about this specifically, but another kind of thing we've had in the area for quite a while is the Tough man contest that's right there at the Civic Center.

>> Jason Arthur: They love to see the fighting.

>> Vanessa: Yearly event. Yes, they love it. They really.

>> Jason Arthur: Anything to do with fighting, I promise the Tri State's gonna be there.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely. Um, so let's talk a little bit about places that we no longer have anymore. Um, you know, there's a lot of places that are gone that we talked about in the beginning about pools. We have Olympic pools gone. The pool that was in Westmoreland, I don't remember what it was either.

>> Jason Arthur: That was a long time ago. Guyandot. Um.

>> Vanessa: Guyandot. I mean, there's a lot of places. Like, um, we have a lot of like soda fountains that was really big back in its day. Those are gone. So the only one remaining is, uh, that Griffith. How do you say that?

>> Jason Arthur: Griffith and File.

>> Vanessa: Yeah. In Canova. Um, or is that considered. I think that's Canova, not Cerrito yet.

>> Jason Arthur: I believe so. Yeah, it's.

>> Vanessa: I was gonna say, I don't know. Exactly where that line is. But, um, I think that's the only one that we have in the area, to my knowledge.

>> Jason Arthur: I believe so.

>> Vanessa: Which is pretty cool to still have that thriving and people still love going there for lunch and. Yeah, it's a big still. Um, another thing that we don't have anymore are drive ins. Um, which once was a, ah, Walmart on Route 60 was the huge Route 60 drive in. Um, that one was. That one was the big player. That was. That was the place you took your date.

>> Jason Arthur: And 64. I mean that big screen just right up there.

>> Vanessa: Yep. Yeah, super cool. Uh, which later, you know, Walmart didn't last either. And now it's a medical center. But, um, there was another big drive in over in Ashland. I can't remember the name of it either, but that's, that's a thing that I would love to see come back. I don't know that there might not be money in it to be made. So maybe we just need to keep wishing. But how cool would that be to take your kids to a drive in movie now we really did make use of, uh, COVID 19 and everybody bought the inflatable screens. Yeah, we did things like that. So we kind of get a taste of what a drive in movie is like minus the drive in. But, uh, what would be cooler than having that little box that you tune in on your radio and having the kids experience that? I think that would be really cool.

>> Jason Arthur: I think about too the, the bowling alleys that we've lost.

>> Vanessa: We really have.

>> Jason Arthur: That used to be the thing Fridays, uh, people were in leagues through the week, all that kind of stuff. And you know, to my knowledge, the only one even semi close now would be Strike Zone still. And they've kind of revamped and changed things and developed with the change in times a little bit with the Galactic. And then they have, you know, all the, the different glow in the dark and this, that and the other and the music and videos playing on all the screens.

>> Vanessa: Yeah.

>> Jason Arthur: So I've made it almost like a party theme there.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely.

>> Jason Arthur: Um, but other than that, you.

>> Vanessa: Ted's Imperial Lanes, Colonial Lanes is gone. I think we do still have one. Um, what is it called up in Ironton?

>> Jason Arthur: Um, yeah, I think you're right because it's kind of like a multi.

>> Vanessa: Spare time.

>> Jason Arthur: Spare time.

>> Vanessa: Spare time.

>> Jason Arthur: It's laser tag. There's a few things.

>> Vanessa: There's a few things there but close.

>> Jason Arthur: Blue Ribbon or whatever it's called.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, it's gone too. Too. Um, and there was one right There in Cerrito, and I think it actually burnt down. Um, and then they didn't. They chose not to rebuild. But, um, we had a. We still have. And I know this from friends that do it. I wouldn't have known otherwise, but we still have a pretty big following for bowling around here with bowling league stuff.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah. Marshall even had one down in.

>> Vanessa: Oh, that's cool. I didn't know.

>> Jason Arthur: Student center. They had one at one time.

>> Vanessa: That's really cool.

>> Jason Arthur: Um, there was one in the arcade downtown. Honeytown.

>> Vanessa: Oh, cool. I did not know that.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah, we've lost a lot. Of course, that's way beyond our youth, but I do know that those were there.

>> Vanessa: Um, well, it was a lot more common if you. You know, m. When you. We talked about courting earlier, um, around the, uh, hub, what became Cannon Park. Um, that's what you did when you went on dates back in the day. You went and did an activity. There was none of this hanging at each other's houses or meeting online and all that. You got to know one another by going and actually going and bowling, going to a swimming pool, going to these locations, going to the theater, the parks, and all that. So the times were different. And I think that's why probably the need for all those places isn't as relevant anymore, because people aren't meeting in the same way anymore.

>> Jason Arthur: Social media has changed so many things with that. And, you know, uh, sometimes I feel like we're losing our personal touch, you know, in being involved in things and doing things. Things to have fun together, have an experience.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely.

>> Jason Arthur: Humans need to interact.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely.

>> Jason Arthur: It can't just be by typing.

>> Vanessa: Yes.

>> Jason Arthur: We need to see how each other acts. The way, you know, our eyesight is towards each other and the way our facial features change.

>> Vanessa: So if we don't vibe with each other. Right. Yeah, absolutely. I, um, think that just makes me think of having, you know, my family over all weekend. We had my family in from out of town and stuff like that, and we were in the pool and just goofing off. And, you know, my nephew's climbing up my shoulders and jumping off and showing his big muscles and talking to us about how much he's grown. And then you've got Carly showing us exactly how to get on the dinosaur perfectly so that you don't flip. And it's. It's those kinds of moments that humans need and crave.

>> Jason Arthur: Need human interaction.

>> Vanessa: We have to have that in order to thrive and be happy.

>> Jason Arthur: You don't get that with a tad.

>> Vanessa: No, you do not.

>> Jason Arthur: That's why, you know, people get mad at me. You know, I've lived in these bigger cities and traveled so much. I always want to drive. People are like, what is wrong with you? I said, you're missing all the memory from the in between.

>> Vanessa: Yes.

>> Jason Arthur: You know, whether your car breaks down, that's memory. Whether, you know, you see some weird side or you know, something weird or the new restaurant you've never known about and all these things you're missing, all that you just go from A to B and fly through the sky.

>> Vanessa: I'm trying to think the biggest thing that is my new fun thing to like, um, find around town is Alex, our, uh, podcast sponsor. He is really big into marketing, so he will have his billboards pop up in the most random places.

>> Jason Arthur: I've seen them at Poco.

>> Vanessa: Yes. They're like everywhere, but they're like in the most random places. So that has been like new fun thing to like be on the lookout for around town is like, where's Alex gonna pop up next?

>> Jason Arthur: So that's right.

>> Vanessa: Shout out to Alex White and uh, and your randomnessdriver.com and your randomness. Yeah. Your genius marketing. I don't, I don't know who you. Or it m. Might just be you, but, uh, it's working. They're everywhere. We love it. All right, so let's talk a little bit about cool, uh, treats and summer eats. Where are your favorite places in the summer? I think my number one when I think cool treats, which we're really lucky now, and that's changed from the past, but we have two Austin's ice cream locations now.

>> Jason Arthur: Do have two.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, two, uh, places you don't have to wait for hours. Yes. Yeah, it's nice.

>> Jason Arthur: You, uh, know one of my favorites and I don't even know if there's any around anymore was snow biz.

>> Vanessa: Oh, yeah.

>> Jason Arthur: I used to love all the different flavors with the. The icy things and that was always cool. And then I remember in gas stations you had the slushy. Slushy machines.

>> Vanessa: Yes.

>> Jason Arthur: And the icy machines and all those kind of things.

>> Vanessa: Oh, Carly and I got into it like bigger than crap over slushies and ices. Cuz they are two very different.

>> Jason Arthur: Definitely not the same.

>> Vanessa: Well, I, uh. Excuse my. Me. Excuse me. But I learned. Not the same. Absolutely not the same. She schooled me this weekend.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah. She schooled you.

>> Vanessa: That's good. She called me out in front of everybody. It was, it was pretty ridiculous. But you're right, I mean, things like that, um, you don't see every day anymore in, in these gas stations and stops, things like that. So yeah, um, that those were. I always love the alligator ice. Do you remember the alligator ice? The little, like little bits. Yeah, those things were so good. And I love the blue one. They always turned your mouth like bright blue and your lips and everything. Yeah, that was my favorite. Um, as far as eating, you know, we, we talk about this a lot in the Tri State. We have so many options for outdoor seating to enjoy, you know, not only each other's company, but the ambiance and, and the culture that's surrounding us in the area. And you've got that all the way from up in uh, Taze Valley all the way down past Ashland.

>> Jason Arthur: Oh yeah.

>> Vanessa: Um, we've got so many places, uh, a few of our favorites, I would say. Um, lately we love Davis's place for lunch. So that's always. And they've got the best outdoor seating and indoor seating and a lot of people don't know, but it's kid friendly up until a certain point in the evening. So you uh, if you ever have a hankering for it and you're like, oh, I don't know about taking my kids out, call ahead, see what the vibe is. If it's not out of control and they don't have the jukebox and all that stuff going yet, it's definitely a kid friendly vibe. Like it can be a family favorite I think easily. Um, another, uh, great place that I think has wonderful seating for 9th Street Live is Sip.

>> Jason Arthur: Sip is a great place.

>> Vanessa: A great little place to like have a glass of wine. Uh, you can sit in the building but see the outside of the building. But does the, Is it like a garage door that opens up?

>> Jason Arthur: It does, it just slides up. It creates that indoor outdoor kind of thing. The Paddock is a great place too, that has some outdoor.

>> Vanessa: People don't realize. Great. It really is. And it's a great. If you're, if you're a Westmoreland person and you come into town, it's a great midnight stop on your way back home to Westmoreland. It is, it is, it really is. And they have, they have great food and great service.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah. And you know, I think of some of a little more upscale. Uh, you've got of course, our rooftop bar.

>> Vanessa: Mhm.

>> Jason Arthur: With La Fontaine. One that I can almost guarantee that most people don't know about. About. It's one of my favorite places and I may lose the reason. This is one of my favorites because it's quiet when I go there, but, um, so many people like the grill on Third and have no idea that they have a beautiful outdoor patio area with music, with fireplace. I mean, it's got everything. Fire pit, I should say. Um, the waiters and waitresses still come in and out. They wait on you. They take care of everything. But their patio is very nice. It's fenced off with privacy.

>> Vanessa: Fencing is wonderful.

>> Jason Arthur: Right.

>> Vanessa: We've never had bad service.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah. And it's not once hustling and bustling inside. I mean, the place is booming, and y' all go outside, and it's like I'm in a whole different world. So, you know, you may have just lost it out, but, you know, listen, you can get great wines, great food. They have Wednesday steak specials, all that good stuff, which I'm not marketing them. But that outdoor area, take advantage.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, take advantage of it. All the places that have it. Um, even, um, the place right down the road from it, uh, right there on the corner by Marshall, used to be, um. What is that now?

>> Jason Arthur: Calamity.

>> Vanessa: Calamity. Calamity Cafe.

>> Jason Arthur: They've got that upstairs.

>> Vanessa: I was trying to think of what it used to be called, because I remember when I was in high school, they had like, a little, um, like, uh, a downstairs where they did, like, you can come and do, like, live acoustic and stuff like that. What was that called then? It had the kind of, like, hippie vibe and all that. I can't think.

>> Jason Arthur: Well, there was a Calamity Cafe that they.

>> Vanessa: Back in the day.

>> Jason Arthur: Right. That's what it was.

>> Vanessa: And maybe that was it. Maybe that's what it was called.

>> Jason Arthur: Then Black Sheep moved in there.

>> Vanessa: Black Sheep was there for quite a while.

>> Jason Arthur: Then they, of course, went to their new location, which they just recently closed.

>> Vanessa: Yep.

>> Jason Arthur: And then it became Calamity Js, which they brought a few items back. It's kind of almost like a Tex Mex.

>> Vanessa: Yep. Uh, they brought some of the menu items.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah, A couple of the items, which was cool.

>> Vanessa: Yep.

>> Jason Arthur: But we have a lot of great outdoor. And again, I know I talk about our park systems all the time. You can go all up and down the rivers through here, and there's seating everywhere.

>> Vanessa: Grab some food to go and take up an evening in the park.

>> Jason Arthur: Nothing better.

>> Vanessa: Have an old school picnic. Um, my mom and dad's favorite thing to do for us, and it was few and far between when it happened, but go through kfc, get the bucket, and then go out to the lake and, uh, spend your evening out of the heat and get some sun, for sure.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: Such a nice thing. Um, you know, the more we talk about this stuff, it's like the more things change, the more they stay the same. We're still, like we talked about. We're still as humans, looking for that connectivity, and that comes from getting out and enjoying our community. And we've touched on a few things, but I want to talk about all of the amazing things, or as much as we can think of anyways, uh, that we have going on here in Huntington. We touched on it a little bit. We have the Pullman Square Thursday night. We have ninth Street Live on Friday night. Saturday, you can go into the Loud. You can go into. I mean, there's multiple places that.

>> Jason Arthur: 14Th Street West, Boots.

>> Vanessa: Uh, there's so many places you can go. Um, what is the. What is the bar right there at 14th Street West? They always. Bobby G's.

>> Jason Arthur: They always have.

>> Vanessa: Always, always have live music, and usually they'll get somebody for, like, the week.

>> Jason Arthur: Oh, yeah.

>> Vanessa: So any day of the week, you could probably go in there and catch a band, uh, which I think is really, really cool. And 14th Street west is so cool. You could go there. You could grab dinner at the cafe if you do an early enough dinner and walk on down to Bobby G's and, uh, have you a good evening and take it home at the end of the night and have a day well spent.

>> Jason Arthur: Cicada Bookstores there, they sell records and books. You can go in there and eat, get coffee, whatever you need to do, too. You've got, uh, the Wild Ramp.

>> Vanessa: The Wild Ramp.

>> Jason Arthur: It. Of course. M. Yeah. Especially on weekends.

>> Vanessa: My gosh.

>> Jason Arthur: And there's festivals going on there all the time.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, they did. Ramp Fest. They did, uh. What was the most recent one? They did?

>> Jason Arthur: Most recent was the, um, Central City Days.

>> Vanessa: The Central City Days, yes. Which they didn't have the best weather for that. But I've seen the tents up and everything else. They kept carrying on. Yeah, they. They kept it up. But I mean, we really do have so many wonderful things to get into in this community.

>> Jason Arthur: So I think about our trail systems, too. We have outstanding trail systems here. Um, and even at our local high schools, there is, you know, they have their trails for, you know, all of their things with cross country and different things like that. So. But Ritter Park, Rotary park, you have the Ambrose Trail that goes all up and down.

>> Vanessa: You know, the Ambros Trail, you've got.

>> Jason Arthur: Um, Carter Caves down there has beautiful Heritage Farm. Heritage Farm.

>> Vanessa: Amazing bike trails, hiking trails. And then if you're really Brave. And you make it to the top, you can, uh, zip line back down.

>> Jason Arthur: That's right. Man, that place is going to be unbelievable here. So.

>> Vanessa: It really is. And I think I talked about it a little bit before, but, um, the holler holler that you drive up in to get up to the top to the zip line is probably 3/4 of the fun experience of doing the zipline is feeling like you're going to fall off this mountain in the side by side going up to the top of the hill, which is pretty cool. Um, Carly rode up with WG and I when we went to do the zipline. And uh, when I say someone was hanging on by their bare knuckles because she was so scared, I mean, her knuckles were white. Love her heart. But it was it again. It was, it was part of the fun. And, um, I almost convinced her to zip line down because she was afraid to go back down in the holler Holler.

>> Jason Arthur: What a change up. Kind of screwed either way on that one.

>> Vanessa: Yes, exactly. But it almost worked. It almost worked.

>> Jason Arthur: That's great. I love that.

>> Vanessa: Oh, Lord. Um, any fun events that you know. I know. Well, I know yesterday you guys had council and you got to make a really big announcement. So.

tion will now be built on the: 3200

>> Vanessa: Exciting.

>> Jason Arthur: It's great.

>> Vanessa: I know that everybody in Huntington doesn't understand us, uh, when we get so excited about this fire station, but you have to understand if you've never been stopped in traffic while they're trying to back that truck into that tiny little place, which they are phenomenal at it, do not get me wrong.

>> Jason Arthur: Oh, they've got it down to a science.

>> Vanessa: They have it down to a science. But you hate that for them. You hate that so much.

>> Jason Arthur: It's a hundred year old building that wasn't equipped and built for these big things like that.

>> Vanessa: And it wasn't built for these guys to be staying in it like they do either. It was more of a small time kind of back in the day. Yes, they were paid firemen, but they had more of a volunteer schedule than they did a 9, uh to 5 or 24 hour shift like they do nowadays.

>> Jason Arthur: Well, it's an outstanding career. Uh, our guys work so hard. This is not only for the safety of them, but the safety of our people.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely.

>> Jason Arthur: Uh, Westmoreland and the western part of the West End has Needed this for so long. These guys work extremely hard in all conditions, and they need the best of the best. And now we're going to have the newest, the best fire station. And I'm very proud of that.

>> Vanessa: Yeah, absolutely. And then, um, not to keep on keeping on to pull the councilman out of you, but, um, you guys also got to announce yesterday, uh, Mayor Patrick Farrell is putting some downtown police patrol.

>> Jason Arthur: We have a brand new precinct. Um, that's something that's being worked on. And we kind of knew about it, obviously, and it was about public safety. And I know everybody thinks we need a precinct individually all over the city, but right now we need a lot of emphasis here.

>> Vanessa: And this is the first step. Maybe more will come.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah. And it will. You know, we're increasing the police for force. We just recently had some retirements. We just had recently some upgrades in ranking. But we also have some guys at the academy right now.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely.

>> Jason Arthur: Things are going great. Our police force does a phenomenal job. Our numbers are climbing. Um, it's good to see it. It's a good feeling to see our guys down there. Makes people feel safe and comfortable. And I know some people would disagree with that. I can promise you the mom and her little kids that are walking down there, whether nothing's going wrong at all, it's just nice to get a friendly nod from a police officer and say, how are you doing, ma' am? And things like that. It really is, uh, it just means the world to people. And if that is all it takes to make you feel safe as presence, go for it.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely. I was gonna say just as being a woman and getting around on my own, maybe I've had a late meeting over at the Huntington's Kitchen or something, and I parked at Pullman Square, walking in the dark over there by myself. That's gonna be reassuring, knowing that, that that is available and if I do have to yet it's there. I mean, I don't anticipate that happening. I feel like this is going to be more of a. Letting, um, people know we're here, and we're not going to tolerate your ability to act less than human.

>> Jason Arthur: Yeah.

>> Vanessa: Uh, I think that's going to be most of the focus. And I. And I hope that that's all it becomes. I hope that we, we don't need them in other ways. Um, but it's very, very exciting. And I agree with you wholeheartedly. Just getting that friendly nod from an officer or that, hello, how are you? It makes a world of difference.

>> Jason Arthur: I encourage people to take advantage of this situation. This is such a good situation. I know. People think automatically police. Oh, gosh. Listen. Our officers are complete gentlemen and ladies. They are there if you have a flat tire, if you have an issue or anything. That's another way to look at this. This is not always about. That's not what this is. This is about good people helping good people.

>> Vanessa: These are humans being human signing up extra to protect us.

>> Jason Arthur: What a beautiful thing. And we already own Pullman Square.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely.

>> Jason Arthur: So we're not. There's no differential there. We already own this building. We're just in a blank space putting our officers to have that precinct there.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely.

>> Jason Arthur: So it's great.

>> Vanessa: I think it's awesome. It's super exciting. Uh, well, I guess that's really all I have going on. Um, I'm excited for summer. I think we're going to keep on keeping on with our, uh, really cool, uh, interviews. Those have been going really well.

>> Jason Arthur: Why don't you talk a little bit about the growth of how our podcast is doing. Seems to be going very, very well. Quickly.

>> Vanessa: And you guys, we, we're so thankful for you. We tell you all the time. This is, this is your podcast. We're just, you know, the, the mouth's running it. But we, uh, have grown from 11,000 to 11.4,000 literally in 24 hours. We had 91 downloads yesterday alone. That's huge.

>> Jason Arthur: It is.

>> Vanessa: It's huge. And we are so thankful to you guys beyond words. And we hope that you continue to support us like, and share and rate the podcast. Uh, it takes two seconds and it means the world to us. It helps us get noticed on other platforms when you guys rate us and share and things like that. It really means a lot. Um, it's the difference. A way I like to explain it is it's the difference in. You log into Spotify and you search tri state time machine. You're gonna have 15, 20 different random ones come up. But because we get rated. And the more ratings you have, even if they're ratings, which we don't want, we don't want bad ratings. But even if they're bad, the more ratings you have, the higher you are up in that queue when you search for those things.

>> Jason Arthur: Right.

>> Vanessa: So, um, it's a little play on the algorithm. I don't think I'm saying that correctly. Agarithm. Is that correct? Algorithm that you said it. I can't say it for nothing. Um, today I can't speak at all. But, um, we, we're just thankful. So Thankful beyond words. It's. I woke up this morning. Ah. I told Jason this. I woke up this morning and I hardly ever check the podcast ratings first thing. That's something that I did very early in the beginning. And then I would let myself down very quickly doing it. So I had made myself stop doing it. And this morning I rolled over and checked it, and I honestly, I thought my phone was acting up. I was like, there's no way that's right. So I get out of the bed, walk to the desktop, reload that one, and sure enough, it. It shows up 91 yesterday. And I was like, oh, my gosh, Like, I can't believe it.

>> Jason Arthur: This, to me is a testament of just trying to do what's right for everybody.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely.

>> Jason Arthur: We tell everybody. This is your all's podcast. We're just trying to get you seen, get you heard, be there for everybody. Talk about what a beautiful place this Tri State is. And, you know, that's why it's so important that everybody get involved in this. This is your podcast. Get involved. We want you to, like, share, share it, make it yours, be a part of it. Tell us the things you like, you don't like, what you'd like to see and hear. Um, and we're going to announce very soon that, to be honest with you all, what we're going to do is we're going to start doing some lives. Yes, we're going to come to you.

>> Vanessa: I'm glad you thought to share this with everybody.

>> Jason Arthur: Come to you. So it's up to you, Tri State. Where do you want to see us? Where do you want us to be at? Uh, what do you want to hear about? Um, and that, again, will be a testament to just doing things right way. You know, we could invite you here all the time, but let's come to you some, too. Let's make it a little easier for you.

>> Vanessa: We're excited. We want to meet some of you guys. We really do. We interact with you. Yeah, we interact with you online and we want to know you in person and we want to be able to hear your stories of, um, how we got you through maybe a hard time or something like that. Because I know for me, some of my favorite podcasts, um, it's the ones that I can turn on and zone out big time and kind of leave the world behind. And I hope that we're that for you guys.

>> Jason Arthur: I really do, too. Uh, I hope that we bring back great memories of you and your family and, you know, whether it be your grandparents, uh, your parents, even your kids grandkids. We hope that we're touching base on a little bit of everything to make you smile and remember these things on your trips back and forth.

>> Vanessa: Absolutely. Well guys, it's been great but we are out of here.

>> Jason Arthur: We're out of here. Thank you all.

>> Announcer: Thanks for listening to the Tri State Time Machine brought to you by Alex river white, pllc@suedistractedriver.com if you have a memory you want Vanessa to talk more about, just send her an email@tstmail m.com or post a comment on the Tri State Time Machine Facebook page. Did you like the episode? Be sure to share it with friends and family. It's the only way we can continue this fun work that we do. You can find a link in the Show Notes that you can use to share it and be sure to let our sponsors know you like the podcast as well. Their contact information can be found in this episode's Show Notes.