Remembering Lansdale

Remember when Bradlee’s and Builder’s Square were at Five Points?

Did you once steal cigarettes from I Got It at Gary’s?

Before it was Acme, it was the Beef and Ale, the Jerry Lewis Theater and, at one point in the mid-1990s, Jumpers. The Wu-Tang Clan played there once.

Remember Fantasy Zone, over where is near Five Points? Mortal Kombat II was a popular arcade game there.

Do you miss the Tremont Hotel? How about Schrey’s Diner?

Come around the bend on Route 309 toward Richardson Road, and there was Silo up on the hill on the right.

Before it was Towamencin Shopping Village, it was just aka The Old Mill, just a little walk up Allentown Road.

If you went to , you probably hung out at The Hill in Memorial Park.

If you grew up in the area, you also probably hung out at the Montgomeryville Mart, with its famed sticky buns. And who can forget Mickey’s Mouse? Apparently, if you were 16, you got in.

There was nothing better than an Italian rum cake from Peter Pan Bakery in Lansdale.

Town and Country Lanes, The Patio, Best Department Store, Denny’s.

Places? How about people? Remember Trooper Ash from the D.A.R.E. program? (He interviewed Frank Zappa once.)

How about George the Gentleman who rode around Lansdale on his bike and bought beer for the teens?

The list goes on and on and on and on …

If you grew up in Lansdale, and you are on Facebook, then this is the group for you.

Over the past couple weeks, there has been a surge of “You know you grew up in …. if you remember …” pages across Facebook.

Started on Aug. 5 by graduate Mike Oberholtzer, the group “You know you grew up in the Lansdale, PA area if you remember …” now boasts 2,125 members.

When it hit Facebook, the group had more than 600 members and more than 1,500 posts in 24 hours.

“It wasn’t an original idea,” said Oberholtzer. “I saw one for Abington, where I live now, but had nothing to contribute.”

Of all that once existed in Lansdale and Montgomeryville, Oberholtzer couldn’t nail down a specific thing he misses about the town.

“I guess as I get older, I miss having all my friends just a bike ride away,” he said. “I miss going to the mall as the big weekend event. I miss the McDonald’s on Main Street. I miss playing on the cannons at Memorial Park. I could go on and on.”

To join the group, simply click the link above to go to the Facebook page. Click “Join this Group” on the upper right, and Oberholtzer or another administrator will approve your request.

There is also a similar group on Facebook that remembers Lansdale. You can visit that group here.

If you are interested in other “Remember Groups,” here are the links to their Facebook sites:

• Hatfield: www.facebook.com/groups/266103636737451

• Philly: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2205120834

• Abington: www.facebook.com/groups/127428864018634

• Harleysville/Souderton/Telford: www.facebook.com/groups/105437636224374/

According to a post on Facebook, over the next few months, Facebook will be archiving all groups created using the old groups format. When a group is archived, its wall posts, photos and discussion threads will move to the new groups format, but group members will need to be re-added.

What are your favorite memories of Lansdale?