Beal’s Dixie Kream – Memphis Flyer

Last week, when I posted the images of Beal’s Dixie Kream taken in the 1960s, I sort of hoped that the place might still be open — perhaps run by the children of the original owner, Hazel Beal.

Boy, was I wrong. My pal Jeff Crook ventured down Old Highway 78 this weekend, and found the place, just about at the Mississippi state line. This is how it looks today. Pretty depressing.

Here’s what Jeff had to say:

Hi Vance. I think I found Beal’s Dixie Kream. I”ve attached the photo.

The place is in Mineral Wells, next door to an establishment that used to be called John’s Creek Cafe. The cafe’s sign has been painted over white, but there are some neon beer signs in the window and a sign on the door that says “No one under 21 allowed.” Sounds like a charming place to see some genuine local color, but I had the wife and kids in the car, so I just took a photo of the wreck next door.

The building now appears to be owned by a concrete company whose fence runs all the way up to the walls, and maybe through them. I didn’t open the door. It had a padlock, which looked broken. Maybe somebody broke in to set the fire.

Thanks for your hard work, Jeff. I always like it when readers do all my work for me.

PHOTO BY JEFF CROOK

Beal’s Dixie Kream in 1966

So the other day I was looking through a stack of 50-year-old yearbooks from Olive Branch High School. Doesn’t everybody do that on a Saturday night?

I didn’t find any Lauderdales among the students, but one thing I did notice was an ad in the back of all the yearbooks, for an establishment called Beal’s Dixie Kream. Yes, that’s right — it (and the owner’s name) was spelled Beal — without the “e.” Sometimes the ads spelled the name of the place “Cream” but the neon sign out front says “Kream.”

The owner, as you can see, was Mrs. Hazel Beal. No mention of a Mr. Beal, so I wonder if she was a widow? Divorced? None of my damn business? (choose one)

The yearbooks spanned 1960 to 1967, and one thing that caught my eye was how the brick exterior changed over the years. In a 1961 ad, it was apparently a solid color, but in later ads it clearly had a checkerboard pattern. What’s curious is that by 1967, the walls were back to being one color. Too bad the ads were in black-and-white, so I don’t know what color(s) the place was painted. I bet it was quite festive, and since it appeared in every yearbook, THE place to go on Friday and Saturday nights in Olive Branch.

Like most ice-cream joints, Beal’s offered milkshakes and a variety of sandwiches. But it also provided customers with “Memphis telephones” so they could “Talk While You Eat.” In fact, look at the 1966 advertisement, and there’s the phone booth, right in front.

The ads say Beal’s Dixie Kream was located on Highway 78 at the Tennessee/Mississippi state line. I haven’t driven out Lamar in a while (probably ever since Maywood closed), so does anyone know what happened to this cute little place, and what’s there now?

Here are some other views of it, taken from the old yearbooks:

Beal’s in 1961

Beal’s as it looked in 1965

Beal’s in 1967. Note the popcorn maker.