Dan-Dee Drive In and other memories

1957 Chevy Susan Kayhill

Fred, do you have any old pictures of the Dan-Dee Drive-In Restaurant at 30th & Governor Printz Blvd. I should correct myself and say “30th St. and Northeast Blvd” The Governor Printz starts a little further toward the north. There was a website, Old WIlmington, OldWilmington.net

but I’m not sure that I recall seeing any pictures of the Dan-Dee. There was a steak house next door called Jan’s and there was the B&G Drive-in across the street on the east side of the Northeast Blvd, if I’m correct. I hung out at the Dan-dee when I was in 11th and 12th grades at P. S. duPont High School, I got there very late, most of my peers were home in bed sleeping. I worked at the Life Insurance Company of North America running IBM machines printing out Premium notices from 3pm to 11pm and would stop by the Dan-Dee on my way home. Actually, at that time of night was an older crowd there, so I got to meet and get into trouble with them.

Fred, every third Wednesday at Attilio’s Restaurant located on the corner of South Lincoln Street at Lancaster Avenue, a group of about 25 guys who attended PS duPont in the 50’s get together at Noon for lunch to talk over old times. I stumbled across this group at Richard Tucker’s funeral, Ray Panaro (Swimming Team member) and Ellsworth Edwards ( I ran around with Ell’s younger brother Joe Edwards, who got thrown out of PS and went to Sallies and then Mt. Pleasant where he scored the winning touchdown against PS duPont HS) invited me and I’ve been going for the past few months. My cousin, Bob Hamilton ’58, also is in this group. I think I’m the only person from the class of 1959, but they tell me a lot of the older guys are passing on and they need some younger blood in this group. Just sharing this with you.

PS – Is there an effort to have a P.S. duPont High School Class Reunion – Class of 1959 in the year 2014 which is only two years away? I thoroughly enjoyed the last class reunion and I think I’ve been to every reunion we’ve ever had, but the 50th Reunion was memorable to me. I would like to volunteer to work on the 55th Reunion if there is going to be one. It was good seeing my class mates from the younger years when I attended Harlan Elementary School and Wilmington Christian School at 14th & duPont Streets where Rockford Shoppes are now opposite the Acme store. I also remember walking home on the B&O railroad tracks over the Brandywine River and having to run if a train was coming, I don’t recall there being any side guard rails then. I would jump off the tracks between the WILM radio Station by Rock Manor Golf Course and Oberly Brick yard and come across Miller Road by Ronnie Cohen’s house at the end of 32nd street and then walk across Haines Park to my grandmother’s house where my younger brother Jim Richardson (now married 50 years) and I lived during our younger years. Those houses are still standing to this day. I should have bought my grandmother’s house and rented it out for the past 40 years.

Fred, I’m attaching a picture of my 1957 Chevy in front of 1614 Marsh Road with Susan Kayhill in the picture, the white brick house on the right hand side of the picture is the house I currently live in, 1616 Marsh Road and I’ve been living here for the past 45+ years. My brother Jim has lived in over 30 houses and I’m still in the same house. Times change, people don’t. Notice on the right hand side of the picture the date Sept. 1957….that was the beginning of the 11th grade for our class.

Ray Richardson