A patio kind of weekend

     I spend a LOT of time on the deck (built over top of a tiny old patio) and the forecast is spectacular! What will you be doing this long weekend? Hope y'all enjoy these retro pics of 'outdoor living.'  

1984. 'Basket chairs and glass-topped patio table. New woven vinyl fabrics allow wide, bold stripes in outdoor seat cushions.'

1971. 'Mr. Van Fossen and son Kirk check tomatoes and other vegetables... whole family helped lay bricks, then swept sand in between cracks to stabilize and settle bricks.' 

- Phil Drake/Staff

1971. 'Family enjoys most meals ourdoors during warm months of the year. Leigh with her parents are on terrace adjacent to back of house with vegetable garden border.

- Phil Drake/Staff

1964. 'Easy living in an informal setting of high visual interest is the guiding concept for many of today's quality houses.'

 1984. 'Canopy table and chairs is practical project.'

1984. 'An easy-to-assemble PVC lounger.'

1979. No info, but it looks like another do-it-yourself project!

1964. 'Marble patio overlooks wooded yard, sparkling lake.' 

Wonder where this is?

Wendell Scott: NASCAR Hall of Fame Nominee

   Wendell Scott (1921 – 1990) is the only black driver to win a race in what is now the Sprint Cup Series. Scott, nominated for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, ran 495 races run over 13 years.

'Auto racer Wendell Scott of Danville, Va., stock car racing's only African American driver, is shown May 24, 1972, with the maroon Chevrolet Monte Carlo he will drive in the World 600 at the Charlotte , N.C., Motor Speedway. ' (AP Photo)

1977. Wendell Scott.

Wendell Scott, Jacksonville, Fla. 1964.

September, 1973.

1973

Bill Elliott: Hall of Fame Nominee

'Awesome Bill from Dawsonville'

    Bill Elliott holds the fastest qualifying speeds at Talladega and Daytona and won the Daytona 500 twice.   He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2007 - is this his year for the NASCAR HOF?

1994. 'TO THE LINE: Bill Elliott takes the checkered flag in his Ford Thunderbird to win the Southern 500 at Darlington.' - Mark Sluder/Staff

1998. 'Bill Elliott's pit crew flies through their stop and Elliott went on to win the pole for The Winston.' - staff photo

 2001. 'Bill Elliott and his crew get his car ready for qualifying Friday at Lowe's Motor Speedway.'

-Christopher Record/Staff

2001- 'Fans in the infield react as Dave Blaney (93), Bill Elliott (9), Matt Kenseth (17), Ricky Rudd (28) and Tony Stewart (20) crash in turn one in the second-to-last lap of the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington . Ward Burton won the race under caution.' 

- Davie Hinshaw/Staff 

1987. 'Bill Elliott, The Winston.'

 2010 - 'Drivers Kyle Busch, left, Mark Martin, and Bill Elliott, right, are seen during qualifying for Saturday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Bank of America 500 auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord.' - AP photo

 1995. 'SPIN OUT: Bill Elliott (94) throws sparks while sliding through Turn 2 Sunday as Steve Grissom (29) drives past Elliott's spin-out during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.'  - Davie Hinshaw/Staff

1995. 'NASCAR driver Bill Elliott poses with movie character Batman and the Batmobile during a news conference at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, 1995. Elliott will drive the new paint scheme for the next three races beginning with Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at CMS.' - AP

The World 600 in ads

         The 600-mile NASCAR race was intended to compete with the Indy 500's Memorial Day weekend race. The inaugural World 600 was held on June 16, 1960, however, due to snowstorms that delayed the completion of Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race was called The World 600 through 1984. Here, some ads. 

1964

1964

1977

1977

1981

1981

All-Star races through the years

      First was The Winston, then the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, and now it's called the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

'Boogity, boogity, boogity!' - Darrell Waltrip, winner of the first All-Star race, 1985

1993. 'Dale Earnhardt sprays the Victory Lane crowd, including his wife, Teresa, with champagne after his victory in the Winston. Earnhardt held off Mark Martin in the final 10-lap leg to win his third All-Star Race.' - Gary O'Brien/Staff

1995. 'PIT ROAD WARRIORS: Bobby Labonte's pit crew had the ninth-fastest stop Friday among 15 qualifiers for tonight's Winston Select all-star race, but Labonte's speed coming in separated him from the others as he earned the pole. Labonte sped around the track at 180.276 mph in his first lap before heading to pit road.' - BOB LEVERONE/Staff

1996. 'Michael Waltrip gets a victory lane hug from his brother Darrell Waltrip after Michael scored his first NASCAR Winston Cup victory in the Winston All-Star Race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.' - Robert Willett/Staff

1997. 'Jeff Gordon was showered with confetti after winning The Winston at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Gordon's victory, his second in the All-Star event, came after he started 19th -- next to last.' - Christopher Record/Staff

1999. 'Drivers Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace confer in the garage area at the Lowes Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Saturday, May 22, 1999, before The Winston all-star race.' - AP

2000. 'Bill Elliott, front right, and Mark Martin touch as they head out of turn four on a restart of The Winston all-star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.' -AP Photo

2006. 'Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin and others are involved in a crash on the backstretch of Lowe's Motor Speedway during the second segment of the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge race.' JEFF SINER/Staff

2008. 'Fireworks explode around the stage area as NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers are introduced to the crowd prior to the running of the Sprint All Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.'  -JEFF SINER/Staff 

2012.  'NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver (48) Jimmie Johnson performs a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.' Jeff Siner/Staff

The Chero-Cola bottling plant in Hickory

    Chero-Cola, based in Georgia, opened in Hickory in March 1916 next to the Catawba Creamery.  Chero-Cola's national sales the year it opened in Hickory were $1.1 million. When sales peaked in 1927, Chero-Cola had 463 bottlers in 14 southern states. In 1934 Chero-Cola was reformulated and re-released as Royal Crown Cola. (I'm not sure when the plant closed.)

1916. Chero-Cola route salesmen. 'In the TWIST Bottle'. - Estate of Dick Cannon

1916. First day bottling at Chero-Cola.  - Estate of Dick Cannon

Chero-Cola building in 1916. Catawba Creamery to the left.  - Estate of Dick Cannon

1989. 'Hugh LaFone used to work at the Chero-Cola bottling plant in Hickory. He holds an empty Chero-Cola bottle.' - Jeff Willhelm/Staff

1989. Old Chero-Cola bottle owned by Hugh LaFone. - Jeff Willhelm/Staff

2003.  'Workers tearing down buildings along East Trade Street, the site of Charlotte's new uptown basketball arena, revealed World War I-era advertisements painted on the side of 405 E. Trade St. The two-story, tan-brick building dates to 1914 on what was then called East Avenue. Local historians encouraged city officials to save the structures along East Trade Street and incorporate them into the new arena site, but were unsuccessful.' Todd Sumlin/Staff 

Thank you to the reader who sent this in! 'From the Florence, SC bottling plant.' 

Definitely looks older than the other bottle.

Interested in purchasing photos? Email me at mdavid@charlotteobserver.com 

Movie Theatres of Charlotte

     My first job in high school was selling concessions at SouthPark Cinemas, 1979. The Midnight Movies were a lot of fun to work ---- we'd sell a ton of, um,  munchies.  I remember 'Rocky Horror' and 'Harold and Maude' were popular. Did you go to the Midnight Movies in the '70s? What'd you see? Maybe I sold you popcorn and Pepsi! Hope y'all enjoy the photos...

Fox Drive-In, 1977, Old Statesville Rd. Commenter says movies here were 'instructional.' LOL! 

Will plan a Drive-Ins blog soon.

 Visulite Theatre on Elizabeth Avenue.  'On its way back to showing quality films, the Visulite made some stops, one of which was showing X-rated movies. Then, early this summer, a sign on the marquee, above, announced a new look.' - September, 1977.

'Even at midnight, the theatres at the Charlottetown Mall have lines of people waiting to get in.'

Fred Wilson/Staff. December, 1980.

Regency Twin Theaters, Albemarle Road near Farm Pond Lane.  1978

'We made a mistake," says Kermit High, operator of Dilworth Theatre on South Blvd. 'The sign should say 'Two horror-ible movies.' He didn't mean to say the movies were 'horrible.' Even so, High said, he'll let the wording stand as is. 'The pictures are doing too much business for us to change it,' he said. - Don Hunter/Staff

Caption just says 'Big A: On Auction Block'

1976

December 7, 1979.  'First they had to wait 10 years after the TV program 'Star Trek' was canceled and then Friday night people lined up two abreast outside the Capri Theatre on Independence Boulevard to buy tickets for the local opening of 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture.' A handful of people even waited more than 12 hours to be first in line.  - Jeep Hunter/Staff
(Thanks to reader for correcting date to Dec. 7!)

1970. Carolina Theatre. BofA recently pledged $5 million to restoration efforts.  Foundation for the Carolinas hopes to turn the boarded-up theatre on North Tryon Street into a civic meeting hall