Were You a ‘Mall Kid’ in the ’80s in Shreveport-Bossier City?

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I was hanging out with a friend of mine the other day that I went to Meadowview Elementary and Cope Junior High with in good old Bossier City, LA, and as per usual, we started waxing nostalgic. We talked about visits to Pancho's Mexican Buffett, how much we wish they'd bring back the old Tretorn tennis shoes with the velcro patch on the side.

After all, if you're of a 'certain' age and grew up in the area, you most likely spent a lot of time at Pierre Bossier Mall, Southpark Mall, or Mall St. Vincent, especially over the weekend. If you had a job at the mall, especially if it was at Gadzooks, The Gap, etc... you were pretty much the pinnacle of cool. Sadly, it appears that malls are now dying a slow death.

While I never worked at the mall, it holds a lot of memories for me. During my elementary school years, the best Saturday ever was when my family would load up and head to town. I'm quite sure the workers at KB Toys hated it. After all, we had hours to peruse the aisles and turn on every single noise-making toy in sight! I had my ears pierced at the Claire's in Pierre Bossier Mall and I remember my brother giving me my first pair of 'diamond' earrings from Piercing Pagoda.

During my junior high years, yes, that was before we called it 'middle school,' you'd see tons of tweens invading the movie theater hoping we got to sit next to our crush and checking out who else was 'going together.' If you were really lucky, you got to hold hands!

Then on into high school, we cruised the Pierre Bossier Mall parking lot, at least you did if you were from Bossier Parish. My family moved to Ohio by the time things started getting rough, but meeting up with your friends and cruising was the height of the weekend if it wasn't football season.

Ah, the years of big hair, earrings carefully matched to your Limited or Outback Red outfit, and tight-rolled jeans. I remember it fondly, but what were we thinking? Blue eyeliner is NOT COOL!

What do you miss most about being a mall rat in Shreveport-Bossier in the '80s? I'd love to hear from you! Send me a 'chat' through our free app or shoot me an email at erin.bristol@townsquaremedia.com.