Hello Erieites! Plug in your memory generator and take this 20-question challenge to see how much you remember about your hometown’s background just a few short years ago. To make it more interesting, the answers and a rating key are located at the bottom of the quiz.

Questions

1. What was the name of the drive-in movie theater that was located off of West 12th Street near Pittsburgh Avenue/the Yorktown Center area?

a. The Shea
b. Skyway
c. The Star
d. Dipson Theater

2. Can you finish the missing words to this musical advertising blast from the past?

“You’ve tried the rest now try the best, ___________ and _____________ Tire.”

3. In the 1800s, what was the name of the area around East 28th and Parade Streets where Herman’s tavern was located for many years?

a. Uppityville
b. Marvintown
c. Pulakosburg
d. Osiecki Corners

4. When it was in its heyday, what was located in the basement of the Boston Store?

a. Boiler room
b. The ghost of Oliver Hazard Perry
c. Ball room
d. Discount merchandise

5. What was the name of the Volkswagen dealership that was located in Millcreek on West 26th Street near Loveland Avenue?

6. Complete this musical jingle from yester year: Call 4-5-2-6-8-3-1
Erie _____________ ______________ .

7. Name three “five-and-dime” stores in downtown Erie in the 1960s.

8. What was the name of the department store located off of West 26th Street near
I-79 in the 1970s where Champion Ford presently sits?

a. Miller’s
b. Stan’s
c. Ziffel’s
d. Lou’s Lollapalooza

9. Fill in the blanks to this 1960s local jingle: “When the hungries hit, when the hungries hit, hit the ___________ ___________ .

10. What was the name of the electronics store that was located at 14th and Peach Streets into the 1980s?

a. Mace Electronics
b. Big Boris Worthington’s
c. Zap Shack
d. Warren Radio

11. What grocery store could be found at West 26th Street and Brown Avenue in the 1980s?

a. S & H Green Stamp Grocery
b. Dandy Lion’s
c. Paul Bunyan
d. Rudy’s Red River Grocery Group

12. Fill in the blank of this well-known slogan from the 1970s: “Good prices, good service, and no _________________ .”
13. List four pharmacies that previously conducted business in Erie.

14. What was the name of the business that originally operated out of the large building near the southeast corner of West 12th and Pittsburgh Avenue in the 1970s?

a. Erie Fossil Museum
b. Headliners
c. Pat Crawford’s Jukebox
d. Grant City

15. ________________ is the low-cost living, anti-inflation department store.

16. Speaking of department stores, what was the name of the store that was situated on the northwest corner of 10th and State Streets in the 1950s and 1960s before a hotel was built there?

a. Erie Emporium
b. The Downtowner
c. Fisher’s
d. Tenth Street Surplus Store

17. Which obsolete grocery store started out in the middle of the Liberty Plaza and opened a huge mega store across the street that was open 24 hours?

18. “You get the ____________ _______________ in Koehler Beer.”

19. What was the name of the restaurant previously located on East 38th Street and Maxwell Avenue that was staffed by Mercyhurst College students?

a. Mercyhurst Laker Inn
b. Hallow Haven
c. Mercy Smorgasbord
d. Student Union Dinor

20. “School bells ring and children sing it’s back to _________________ ________________’s again.”

Answers

1. c – The Star drive-in was one of Erie’s most popular spots in the 1950s and 1960s, and many local residents can remember begging their parents to get there early so that they could play on the swings before the movie started. The Skyway drive-in was located in west Erie County near the present location of Wolf Run.

2. Ross and Copus Tire

3. b – Marvintown, which was named after Elihu Marvin who moved to Erie from Ripley, NY in 1842.

4. d – Discount merchandise. During the bustling Christmas season many local children told Santa what they wanted by visiting him on the 6th floor of the Boston Store.

5. Ben Fresch Volkswagen

6. Erie Insurance Exchange

7. Murphy’s, Woolworth’s and Kresges. The latter eventually morphed into Kmart.

8. a – Miller’s, which evolved into Super Duper, then Autoland.

9. Red Barn, a fast food burger-oriented chain with numerous locations around Erie.

10. d – Warren Radio

11. c – Paul Bunyan, an innovative grocery entity that even hosted an event designed to help single people meet each other. There was a second Paul Bunyan store located on East 38th Street near Pine Avenue.

12. “Good prices, good service and no baloney” was the well-known slogan for Hallman Chevrolet in the 1970s.

13. Some pharmaceutical names from Erie’s past are: Eckard’s, Arrow, Pal, Rexall, Edward’s, PharMor.

14. d – Grant City, which expanded from its original downtown Erie store to the busy West 12th and Pittsburgh Avenue location, and offered the “Bradford” brand of appliances.

15. Hills is the low-cost living, anti-inflation department store, and one store was located at 2323 W. 38th Street before the now-defunct West telemarketing company operated out of the same building.

16. c – Fisher’s, which was a stylish store for its time. Other stores also operated out of that same 10th and State location during the 50s and 60s, including one named Enterprise.

17. Loblaws, the first grocery store to be open around the clock in the Erie area.

18. “You get the Dutch touch in Koehler Beer” was a famous marketing hook used by Erie’s largest brewery back when it was thriving, and anyone who walked outdoors through the center of the brewery at 21st and State streets might have found themselves doused in a fine hops-and-grain mist.

19. a – Mercyhurst Laker Inn, which later became Panos Passport restaurant. Neither establishment still exists.

20. “School bells ring and children sing it’s back to Robert Halls again, mother knows for all their clothes it’s back to Robert Halls again.” This catchy singing advertisement referred to a store which was located near East 26th and Parade streets.
Rating Key

17 – 20 correct: ErieSistibly Excellent – There’s no doubt about where your roots developed. Chances are you had an account at Marine Bank, purchased a car from Pete Otis Ford and had a relative who worked at Marx Toys. You know your way around town, and probably bugged/cruised the Public Dock at some point in your illustrious existence. Pat yourself on the back for a job truly well done.

13 – 16 correct: ErieItis Infectious – Good job, you are a star. There’s a distinct possibility that you fed peanuts to Eva the elephant, after eating lunch at the Liberty Plaza Restaurant before driving home past Tech High School at 32nd and Cherry. Good job answering these tricky hometown trivia questions.

9 – 12 correct: Eloquently ExpERIEnced – There are probably remnants of Firch’s bread stored safely away in your memory banks. Your ancestors might have shopped at Kraus Department Store and raved about the pierogies at Stan’s Dinette. Lake effect forces point to the fact that you may have known someone who worked at the Boston Store with the outside possibility that one of your forefathers remembered the great flood of Mill Creek in 1915 where Erie’s fire chief and over 30 others were killed. Your knowledge about Erie’s formative years is truly admirable

4 – 8 correct: Erieily Entrenched – It seems as though you could have shopped at Sears when it was on 10th Street downtown, or recall how east Erie was previously draped in the aroma of Hammermill. It bears to mention that your mouth waters when reminiscing over Majestic Bakery, and in your childhood you could have seen your mom wear a dress from London’s, and your dad  purchase a magazine or two from Candyworld/Book City. You know enough about your hometown’s history to get around and answer random tourist questions, and that’s what it’s really all about.

0 – 3 correct: Eriesistibly Challenged – If you scored this low, there’s a chance you weren’t born here. That’s okay, there are plenty of local experts to help fill the void. You most likely aren’t even aware of the fact that Bob Hope was married in Erie in 1933, and probably never shopped at May’s in the Central Mall. That’s okay though, there’s plenty of Erieitis to spread around.