REMEMBERING FM544 BACK BEFORE THE 1970S
BRENDA KELLOW, 2013
Tracing Our Roots http://starlocalmedia.com/opinion/blogs/blog_7/
Before sometime in the 1960s FM544 had many curves, one curve went over to what is now Park Blvd. The road is still there where 544 used to turn and continue on as 544 (now Park Blvd.).
The airplane pilot teachers used the curve (it was all pasture/farm land then) as the place solo students were to turn around after flying out of Addison, or Highland Park Airports, which was then on 635 and Coit. That field became Olla Podrida on Coit, but now is high rises.
My husband and I had a good friend get killed landing at Highland Park Airport. He was landing from the north. Where 635 and Coit is now there was a slight rise in the terrain and he hit it and was killed instantly. Bob and I used to fly in and out of both airports, but our hanger was at Addison.
FM 544 has had many changes before and since. At 544 and Country Club/1378 by the new Kroger superstore, 544 at the tracks crossed the tracks and went behind the new Wylie city hall. FM544 never continued straight as it does now. FM544 curved behind the new city hall and continued back onto what is now Country Club/1378, and went on east to curve into what is now Brown Street to now Ballard/S. Parker Road. Back then we turned from FM544 to go through Wylie to 78. You could continue on what is now Brown and hit Hwy 78, but it was white rock and muddy with deep ruts. Where FM544 (now 1378 at the Brown intersection) turned east to go into Wylie became 1378 which was a white rock road all the way to Parker Road and Lucas. Downtown Wylie was a muddy mess in winter until maybe the 70s or later.
I used to travel old 544 to the Wylie Factory Outlet each month to buy clothes for the girls. My aunt made clothes there, some going to Neiman Marcus. I bought the baby and children’s clothes and such during my monthly trip there. The girls always looked darling in their clothes. I bought some things for fifty cents up to maybe five dollars. Then I would go down to the Lady Like shop to look for ski coats and such. I didn't buy much there because they were not cheap.
We used to go west on 544 out of Plano to the County Line BBQ at 544 and Preston. Along that stretch was where all the massage parlors and hookers lived in trailers. If we went North on Preston we came to the big, dangerous intersection at 121. We traveled 544 to Preston to go to Frisco back then.
We usually went to Denton on 380 from K Avenue/Hwy 5 when it was our ‘75’ and the main road long before 75/Central came through in 1957. I went to the ribbon cutting along with some of my closest girlfriends. I believe we skipped school. I had permission from my mother to attend. Afterwards, we went to Richardson to eat at Dell’s Hamburgers on Greenville Avenue. It was just north of downtown Richardson and had the very best hamburgers ever.
Things surely were different back then. Sometimes I hardly recognize some of those roads. It still feels funny to me when I’m in Plano and drive east on 15th Street where it connects through the Southwood Estates and hits Jupiter. Jupiter and Shiloh never came through from Garland then.
FM544 used to curve south there at Rigsby and continue until it curved east again and went in front of the Rice home place and farm, then curved back over to its current route. They cut out a lot of curves when 544 was curbed and guttered.
I learned to drive on 544. I was driving at 12 and had a driver’s license at 14. Today, my license begins with a 0. It was legal then to get a license at that young age. I was driving in downtown Dallas at 14 and 15. Dallas was different then. Not as huge.