Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Old Calgary stuff you miss...(The Nostalgia thread)

expatflame · 01-02-2019, 05:16 AM

I grew up in Calgary in the late 70s and 80s and left in 1988; of course the year before the Flames won the cup

I've been back twice since since. Once in the summer of 1995 and once in the summer of 1997. I'm sure so much has changed since but absolutely loved living there.

Things I remember and miss:

-A time when Calgary was small and relatively safe. I could leave my house on my BMX in the "dirthills" with my friends and be outside for hours. We lived on the absolute outskirts of the city and the dirthills were the literal boundary between the subburbs and the prairies. We would search for tadpoles and gophers for hours on end. We lived in the NE-Castleridge (which I guess was where many immigrants came) and I was one of 2 white kids in the class. Everyone just got along as well. I didn't notice this fact till many years later looking at school photos.

-C-train had just opened a few years ago so riding on this was so much fun and novel.

-Calgary stampede. Rodeos and pancake breakfasts every year. Loved this experience as a kid. Not sure how much has changed since then but I'm guessing a lot.

-Chinook center-this was one of the big malls. Think they had a giant indoor waterpark and wavepool here (edit: think it was Village Square) or somewhere in the NE where we used to go on the weekends.

-A time when you played with hockey cards. We collected hockey cards and playing with them by throwing them against the wall and winning cards from friends. I'm pretty sure I lost a few Mullen rookie cards. I used to have every Flames player's stats memorized and would go to Flames games and tell my parents every single stat while the game was going on.

-1988 Winter Olympics. I remember so much hype around this and going to all the venues. We left just before the olympics so missed this huge event too.

01-02-2019, 05:16 AM	#1288
expatflame Formerly FlamesFaninChina Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Thailand Exp:	I grew up in Calgary in the late 70s and 80s and left in 1988; of course the year before the Flames won the cup I've been back twice since since. Once in the summer of 1995 and once in the summer of 1997. I'm sure so much has changed since but absolutely loved living there. Things I remember and miss: -A time when Calgary was small and relatively safe. I could leave my house on my BMX in the "dirthills" with my friends and be outside for hours. We lived on the absolute outskirts of the city and the dirthills were the literal boundary between the subburbs and the prairies. We would search for tadpoles and gophers for hours on end. We lived in the NE-Castleridge (which I guess was where many immigrants came) and I was one of 2 white kids in the class. Everyone just got along as well. I didn't notice this fact till many years later looking at school photos. -C-train had just opened a few years ago so riding on this was so much fun and novel. -Calgary stampede. Rodeos and pancake breakfasts every year. Loved this experience as a kid. Not sure how much has changed since then but I'm guessing a lot. -Chinook center-this was one of the big malls. Think they had a giant indoor waterpark and wavepool here (edit: think it was Village Square) or somewhere in the NE where we used to go on the weekends. -A time when you played with hockey cards. We collected hockey cards and playing with them by throwing them against the wall and winning cards from friends. I'm pretty sure I lost a few Mullen rookie cards. I used to have every Flames player's stats memorized and would go to Flames games and tell my parents every single stat while the game was going on. -1988 Winter Olympics. I remember so much hype around this and going to all the venues. We left just before the olympics so missed this huge event too. Last edited by expatflame; 01-02-2019 at 05:22 AM.