Many folks remember it from a popular long-running television show, but Papa and I have fond memories of actually traveling there in the late 70’s/early 80’s on our excursions away from our military post home back when Papa served in the armed forces.
I’m talking about Big D – Dallas, Texas. And when I think of Big D, I remember a song by the same name, written by Frank Loesser in 1956 for the musical The Most Happy Fella: ♪♫♪ “You’re from Big D…”Big D, little A, double L, A, S.” ♪♫♪
Road trips to Dallas proved fun and exciting; sightseeing, entertainment, shopping, and delicious steak dinners were highlights of those jaunts. Some of the photos from those times were taken with a point and shoot film camera and aren’t the best quality. A couple were taken later with a 35 mm SLR film camera.
For fun, we enjoyed excursions with friends to Six Flags Over Texas, a 212-acre amusement/theme park located between Dallas and Fort Worth. Being young couples with no children in tow, we spent an entire day on thrilling rides and watching live shows there.

The first park in the Six Flags family opened in 1961. The developer chose to name it Six Flags Over Texas to represent flags of six different countries – Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and United States of America – that all governed the state at some time in its history.
For historical observation, we visited Dealey Plaza, “the exact spot where President John F. Kennedy was fatally shot,” the JFK Memorial, and the Texas School Book Depository Building from where it was concluded assassin Lee Harvey Oswald fired the shots that killed the President in 1963.

The JFK Memorial, a white concrete monument located in downtown Dallas not far from Dealey Plaza, was designed by architect Philip Johnson. The design is a 30 feet high and 50 by 50 feet wide square, open at the top, and is an imposing piece of art dedicated in 1970 to the late President.

We viewed the Texas School Book Depository Building from the street. At the time of our visit, the building had just been restored but the sixth floor (where Oswald fired from) remained empty. Much later in 1989, the Sixth Floor Museum with exhibits about the Kennedy assassination opened and is a popular attraction today.

Another museum giving historical information about Dallas County was housed in the 1892 Old Red Courthouse. Currently, this historic building is undergoing renovation and the museum is being moved to other buildings. Unfortunately, I took the following photo on a drive through the downtown area of the city, so it’s not the best shot.

Another site we spotted on an earlier drive that surprised us was a log cabin smack dab in the middle of this modern city. It proved to be a replica of the one-room John Neely Bryan Cabin, the first home in the city founded by Bryan in the early 1840’s.

For shopping purposes, the first time we ever stepped inside the famous Neiman-Marcus store happened to be in Dallas. And I distinctly remember a very glitzy mall where it wasn’t unusual to see men in expensive cowboy hats, boots, and Western-styled suits along with their wives in fur coats.
But one memory I’ll never forget was experiencing Olla Podrida, a one-of-a-kind shopping gallery that existed in North Dallas on Coit Road. What a neat eclectic place it proved to be!
With unusual architectural structure, it was like shopping at an artisanal fair all under one roof. Inside Olla Podrida, which means “a bit of everything,” five levels of shops were found along walkways with canvas draped overhead.
All sorts of recycled building materials ranging from weathered timber and railroad ties to cell doors from an old jailhouse to antique stained glass windows were used in the construction of this one-of-a-kind place.
Shoppers could find an assortment of wares from artists and craftsmen including weavings, pottery, leather crafts, hand-made jewelry, amidst the 60+ specialty shops, galleries, restaurants, and antique stores.

The photo above is one I found on Pinterest (source unknown). I truly regret that I didn’t take any photos inside that amazing place, which no longer exists. But I have memories of what pleasant and entertaining experiences we had there.
I also have two concrete reminders of Olla Podrida. One is a “tin-type” style photograph of us dressed in vintage clothing taken in a specialty photography shop there.
The other is an antique wooden printer’s drawer that originally held printer’s type letters and symbols used in printing presses. This was of special interest to me because at the time I was a reporter/editor for a daily newspaper.

We bought this one, along with a couple blocks of type and some miniature items that reflected our lives at the time. It has graced a wall in every home we’ve lived in ever since. Over the years, we’ve added memorabilia from places our family has visited until that antique printer’s drawer is full.
Every time I glance at it and the trinkets it holds, it resembles a sort of travel diary and causes me to recall wonderful memories of so many amazing places including the Big D.
“Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.” ~ Oscar Wilde
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