Stories From Under A Bootheel (Rants, Laughs, and Tears)

Chapter 6 The Race to the Varsity Part 1 The Varsity

Smith Hall was at the very corner of the Georgia Tech campus. It was a five-story dorm that looked like it was built in the 1940s and probably was. To the East, it overlooked Interstate 75, the highway that separated the campus from the rest of uptown Atlanta. Directly across from Smith Hall on the other side of the freeway was the world-famous drive-in hamburger and hot dog joint, the Varsity. Its fame derived from the fact it was the largest such drive-in of its kind in the world and probably still is. In addition to an incredibly large canopied parking area serviced at one time by carhops on roller skates, the Varsity included several separate eating areas set up like classrooms. At least three of the areas I remember had twenty or so school desks each all facing toward a television mounted high on the wall at the front of the room.  

At the end of the day the desks would be filled with the most diverse cross-section of society to be found anywhere on the planet. From the uptown Atlanta high rises came banking, insurance, and other business executives. From the headquarters building for Coca Cola at the other southern corner of the Tech campus came the Coca Cola employees. These business people would stop on their way home waiting for the traffic to let up on I-75. From the Techwood government subsidized housing project that was between I-75 and the Coca Cola headquarters building came the less fortunate because even they could afford the Varsity's dogs and burgers that were the cheapest to be found in the city. Those prices and proximity also attracted the Georgia Tech students and faculty. Students and faculty who themselves represented not only a cross section of the country but in fact the entire world. And of course, there were the tourists and other travelers from I-75.

This diverse cross section would come in, order at the front, follow their food as it was assembled on a moving conveyor belt, pickup their orders at the end, and take their food to a school desk in one of the TV rooms. The nightly news would be on the T.V., but the real entertainment was the lively discussion of current events as the diners talked back to the TV newscasters and each other. Since all segments of society, and many different regions were represented the opinions could be quite varied, making the discussions quite interesting. It was not uncommon to see the occasional french-fry thrown at the T.V. screen.

This chapter isn't really about the Varsity any more than the space race in the sixties was about the moon. Still, the race to the moon was made more interesting by knowing where and what the moon was. That is why I have included this description of the Varsity. Besides, I just like telling people about this fascinating and unique bit of Americana.