Thursday, June 8, 2023
  • Advertise
  • Submit Story Idea
  • Submit Event
  • Calendar
Arlington Today Magazine
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Arlington News
    • People
    • Community
    • Commentary
    • Business and Education
    • Featured
    • Wellness
    • Scene
    • Design and Interiors
    • Uncategorized
  • Digital Editions
  • Join the Newsletter
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Arlington News
    • People
    • Community
    • Commentary
    • Business and Education
    • Featured
    • Wellness
    • Scene
    • Design and Interiors
    • Uncategorized
  • Digital Editions
  • Join the Newsletter
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Arlington Today Magazine
Home Commentary

Six Flags Over Texas … 60 years later

Richard Greene by Richard Greene
May 1, 2021
in Commentary
0 0
0
Six Flags Over Texas … 60 years later

Six Flags Over Texas has held special memories for many Arlington residents – myself included. (Photo: pinterest.com)

0
SHARES
408
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Wade Family Funeral Home Oct 2020

Everything we see today in Arlington’s remarkable entertainment district may never have come to be except for a real estate developer looking for a solution to a problem.

Angus Wynne, Jr.’s vision upon the completion of the DFW Turnpike in 1957 was that of imagining Dallas and Fort Worth growing together and meeting at the halfway point in a growing Arlington.

Related posts

Mumentous Moms

Mumentous Moms

May 1, 2023
Love, Opportunity, Hope

Love, Opportunity, Hope

April 5, 2023

His plan was to build an expansive industrial park in that path, and he began doing just that when the project, seemingly ahead of its time, faltered.

Instead of giving up his dream, he came up with the idea of creating a small Disneyesque family entertainment center he hoped would produce some badly needed cash flow.

Maybe, the story is told, he would operate the attractions for a few years then recover the land for more offices and warehouses as the industrial park he had begun enjoyed greater success.

Instead, from its humble beginnings in 1961, he had launched an entirely new industry, and this year we get to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Six Flags Over Texas – a company that now operates 16 parks across the country and around the world.

There are a great many accounts of young people meeting their future spouses while both were working at the park in its earliest years. Here’s just a couple:

Steve Martindale, the recently retired chief executive of the Six Flags corporation, described his and his wife’s own story: “We did, indeed meet in 1977 while working in the rides department. When I first asked her to go out with me, she declined. I persisted, and she finally agreed, and we dated for six years straight before we married in 1983. We were very young when we started out; Paula was 17, and I was 19.”

New York Times best-selling author Sandra Brown met Michael when they were college students during rehearsals in the Southern Palace show in the park.

“After the first day of rehearsal,” Sandra reminiscences, “I went home and told my family, ‘I met my husband today.’”

The first time my wife and I discovered Arlington was on our wedding trip in 1964. Our honeymoon destination was Six Flags. Two years later, we moved here and made the city our permanent home.

One day in the early 1990s during a city council work session we got to talking about our early experiences at Six Flags Over Texas and discovered that three of my council colleagues were working at the park in those early days of my family’s visits to the park.

It is entirely likely that Bill Snider, Marti VanRavenswaay, and Kelly Jones and I crossed paths at the park when Sylvia and I were taking our little son Brian, who would, one day as a teenager, run the sound for the Crazy Horse Saloon.

I imagined them opening the door to the Astro Lift, or helping us onto La Salle’s River Ride, or discovering the Spee-Lunkers or serving us at the Colonel’s Café or helping us find a seat in the Southern Palace.

The fold-out map to guide us through the park we had in our hands at the time was designed by Dick Malec.

None of us would have imagined that one day we all would be serving on the city council together.

Today, tourism is Arlington’s largest economy. First launched by Wynne’s effort to shore up his fledgling industrial park with the little entertainment complex, it has soared to unexpected heights.

Six Flags’ success made it possible for former mayor Tom Vandergriff to point out to the barons of Major League Baseball how Arlington had the ability to attract crowds from all over North Texas and beyond.

I know it’s a cliché, but this really fits: The rest is history.

There are countless stories like these still being made and millions of people to share them. All of us would join together and say, Happy Anniversary, Six Flags. We love you!

 

Tags: Finish Line
72Sold March 2020

Follow Us

  • This album is going WILD for Texas Wildlife! 🎶 Read all about it in the link in our bio. 🐾
  • Thank you to all who have served and continue to serve our nation from Arlington Today. ⭐️ Happy Memorial Day! 🇺🇸
  • Not For Self, But For Country: read all about  @mohmuseum Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class William D. Halyburton Jr. In the link in our bio.
  • Should your Furry Friend be FAMOUS? 🐾 Send their picture to info@arlingtontoday.com for a chance to be featured in our magazine!
  • Don’t miss The Downtown Arlington Classic Car Show, Presented by Chevrolet June 10th from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the historic Vandergriff Town Center! 🚘 

This awesome event is showcasing over 150 cars from the early 20s to the late 70s with all proceeds going towards the creation of the Fire Station Museum at Fire Station #1.
  • Get a look 👀 at Local Law Firms we LOVE! Read all about it in this month’s digital edition in our bio.
  • Greenhouse Outpatient is changing the way people seek treatment. Read all about it in the link in our bio.
  • This Mansfield custom build is Home Sweet Home! 🏡 Read all about it in the link in our bio.
  • 🌸 Happy Mother’s Day from Arlington Today! 🌸
  • 12 Mighty Orphans: There’s a fascinating ‘story behind the story’ regarding this fine film

    12 Mighty Orphans: There’s a fascinating ‘story behind the story’ regarding this fine film

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • March Scene

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Visionary Who Didn’t Give Up

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Boot-scootin’ Boogie

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • In case of emergency: Mansfield Fire Department introduces the ‘Vial of Life’ initiative to keep residents on the ready

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Arlington Texas Area News and Events Magazine

Follow us on social media:

Recent News

  • Care Chair
  • This Re-opening is going to the Dog (Haus)!
  • Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation Introduces Texas Wild, an Album as Untamed as Texas, supporting Texas’ Wild Things and Wild Places

Category

  • Arlington News
  • Business and Education
  • Commentary
  • Community
  • Design and Interiors
  • Featured
  • People
  • Scene
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized
  • Wellness

Recent News

Care Chair

Care Chair

June 7, 2023
This Re-opening is going to the Dog (Haus)!

This Re-opening is going to the Dog (Haus)!

June 7, 2023
  • Advertise
  • Submit Story Idea
  • Submit Event
  • Calendar

© 2023 Arlington Today - Designed by

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Arlington News
    • Community
    • People
    • Commentary
    • Business and Education
    • Featured
    • Wellness
    • Scene
    • Design and Interiors
  • Digital Editions
  • Join the Newsletter
  • Contact Us

© 2023 Arlington Today - Designed by

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist