THROWBACK THURSDAY: “Bubba” and Time and Temperature

Here is a great throwback that will bring many memories back. 'Back in our day' we used to actually call a telephone number to find out the time and temperature. It was a number that we called quite regularly so we remembered the number pretty quickly. In fact, some of y'all might still remember the time and temperature number in Victoria, 575-2311.  I even tried calling that number yesterday and it still works! Back then it used to say. "Victoria Bank and Trust Time is..." The only difference today is that you will hear an ad before hearing the time and temperature. Wow! Who remembers Victoria Bank and Trust?

'BUBBA' THE GORILLA HAS STOOD THE TEST OF THE TIME:

Bubba the Gorilla stood at the corner of Rio Grande and Navarro for most of our childhoods and then just disappeared. Luckily it was found and now has a permanent home at the Shenandoah Pool in Victoria.

HOW IT GOT THERE:

Over time the gorilla became a Victoria icon and stood at the same location until Tom's Vaccum closed back in 2014. Shortly afterward, Bubba found a new home at various places around the area until he made his way to Nissan of Victoria.

The new owners of Nissan made a new home for Bubba on the roof to welcome customers. However, sales were not good at the new Nissan location so they decided to throw Bubba in the trash because they felt he was "bad luck." That's when Steve Birmingham, a shop foreman at the time, heard a thump while he was working! It turns out, they had just thrown Bubba in the dumpster. Steve who also grew up in Victoria, wasn't having this. He retrieved Bubba from the dumpster and took it home.  Shortly after, they gave Bubba a new home at the Shenandoah Pool and that is where you can find him today sporting different outfits.

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