Listen my children....
"If South Peoria was the Restless Ribbon, and it certainly was, then Pennington's Drive In was Ground Zero. If you went to a movie at the Brook Theater, you drove up to Pennington's after the movie for a coke and fries. If you went to a high school football game at Skelly Stadium, you drove to Pennington's after the game.
During the early and mid-sixties Hale, Edison, Memorial, Central, and Rogers all played their football games at Skelly Stadium. Two teams would play on Thursday night, two on Friday night, one team would play out of town, and TU would play on Saturday afternoon or evening. At that time the stadium only seated 20,000. There would be 14,000 fans for the Edison/Rogers rivalry or the Hale/Rogers rivalry games. Back to Pennington's. After a basketball game or wrestling match at Edison, you went to Pennington's. All summer long, you went to Pennington's. For Edison students of the sixties, Pennington's was not only Ground Zero for the "Ribbon", it was the epi-center of our social life outside of school.
There was a place though that you would take that "special" date after a concert or a movie. On the back side of Ranch Acres shopping center, tucked in the corner, was St. Michael's Alley. The interior was like a rustic English Pub. It was waaay upscale from Pennington's. If you went on a date that called for a sport coat, then St. Michael's Alley was going to be your last stop of the evening, before taking your date home. One last thing about the mid-sixties was the dress code for dates. Don't laugh, this is serious stuff. If you were invited to a party and the invitation said "casual", that meant slacks, collared shirt, and a sweater (weather permitting). If the invitation stated semi-formal, that indicated sport coat and tie. Formal wear meant suit and tie, or a tux. Only if someone invited you and said "wear your grubs" did you show up in jeans and t-shirt or polo.
That's all I've got for now.
Later"
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