place in Vidalia called Jack’s Drive-In. “Jack’s Drive-In was where Hardees
is now,” said Jack. “That was the beginning of ‘The Strip.’”
“The Strip” was actually a loop from Jack’s Drive-In to the Pal
Theatre, down the one-way street (East Meadows), and back over to Hwy
280 again. Teenagers sat on the hoods of their parked cars or in lawn
chairs in the back of trucks at the halfway mark in the empty lot across
from what is now the Dairy Queen. The Strip was the place to meet
potential boyfriends and girlfriends as well as the source of countless first
fender benders. Famous last words in homes throughout Toombs County
were always, “And I better not hear you were riding The Strip!”
My sister-in-law Nancy (Williams) Stanley, said, “When my friend
Rose Anne (Page) Holman turned sixteen, we burned 13 gallons of gas in
her Chevy during Christmas break just riding The Strip.” She added, “But no guys would ever
talk to me on The Strip because they were too scared of my brothers.”
People came from all around for the French fries, BBQ, and Wing Dings offered by Jack's
Drive-In. “The room where we washed dishes was just a dirt floor,” laughed Jack. He smiled
at my questioning look. “Wing Dings was the name of the milkshake machine, so that’s what
the milkshakes were called. Uncle Jack also made a little hamburger, too, about the size of a
Krystal. One fellow told him, ‘Mr. Gibson, that was a good hamburger, but it was so small that
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP
Jack and his wife Martha
celebrating their 50th
Anniversary. Jack and
Martha during the time the
Captain's Corner opened.
Jack fishing off the Georgia
coast at Shellman's Bluff.
48 TOOMBS COUNTY MAGAZINE