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  iding ponies at Kiddie Wonderland, swinging at the High Hat and picking the winning horse at Epsom Downs — these are the things Houstonians did Just For Fun during the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s. Just For Fun, the third installment of the HoustonPBS Houston Remember When series, revisits favorite entertainment venues around the city through the stories of those who established, operated and enjoyed them.
Produced by native Houstonians Jim Fisher and Nancy Simonds with associate producer Ken Bailey, Just For Fun continues the Houston Remember When mission of documenting the city’s nostalgic history through an unprecedented collection of home movies and photo archives provided by individual Houstonians and long-time photographers from throughout Houston’s various communities. Not only does this series provide a nostalgic legacy for future generations, but it is also intended to spark conversations between generations now to ensure important personal histories from the 20th century are passed down before they are all but forgotten.
The first stop on Just For Fun’s trip down memory lane takes viewers to the most popular amusement parks — favorite places for children, first dates and the young at heart. From the city’s first major amusement park, Luna Park, to Astroworld’s predecessor, Playland Park, Houstonians share their fondest childhood memories of the days they spent in the shade cast by what was then some of the largest wooden roller coasters in the nation. Aptly named, Whoopee was an unusual locale in Pasadena that was essentially a series of hills on a wooden road bed where thrill seekers would drive their Model T cars for kicks. As passengers crested the top of the hill, everyone would yell “whoopee!”
 Next, Just For Fun visits such places as the Aragon Ballroom, the Eldorado and End O’ Main where a thousand people at-a-time would gather to check out the latest big band tunes — Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey style. Dancing was a hugely popular form of entertainment in Houston during the war years, recently reflected by today’s swing movement.
Starting with the goat races of the late 1800s and the first automobile race in 1903 at Harrisburg Raceway near the current site of the new baseball stadium, Houstonians have always been infatuated with racing. Whether staring in wonder at the first airplane race in 1910, cheering on the horses at Epsom Downs or watching a young A.J. Foyt earn his first victories at Playland Park and Arrowhead Speedways, there is no doubt that racing, in all its forms, was an important way to have fun in Houston — a pastime that has not waned in popularity over the later half of the century.
Just For Fun concludes with a visit to other popular attractions around the city. Buffalo Stadium, better known as Buff Stadium, was the home of the local minor league baseball team the Houston Buffs, which was a minor league organization of the St. Louis Cardinals. This was the city’s major sports facility for decades where high school commencements were held and the city’s only Negro League baseball franchise, the Houston Eagles, played during 1949 and 1950.
 The Polar Ice Palace, Houston’s first ice skating rink, was the brainchild of a man in the ice business looking to boost revenues during the slow winter months. William R. Eckhardt, along with Montrose subdivision founder J.W. Link, built the rink. Wanting to put it to good use, one of the Eckhardt family members invented a game called broom ball where the only rule was there were no rules. Anyone with a broom could get out on the ice and try to knock a soccer ball in the hockey net. With no rules to govern the game, up to 100 people might be on the ice at one time with three or four goalies at each net. Not surprisingly, the score was typically zero to zero, but participants had so much fun they kept coming back for more.
In 1947, J.S. Abercrombie set the stage for the biggest social event of the year — the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show. With the help of his good friend, Leopold L. Meyer, and the Junior League of Houston, they raised $35,000 that first year which went to the Texas Children’s Hospital Foundation. The show became an annual event and fundraiser for the foundation with horses from across the nation competing for the coveted blue ribbon.
The venues Just For Fun journeys to were all important places for those growing up in what was simply small-town Houston during the early part of this century. The show gives those who experienced these places a chance to revisit the memories of their youth, while recent Houstonians have the opportunity to find out something new about their city, its history, interesting locations and one-of-a-kind personalities.
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