Today will be warm and sunny. It is already 61° and will get a bit warmer as the day moves on. The branch pile in my backyard is much larger. The Nala trash is gone. The bird feeders are all filled. I was busy yesterday.

The older I get the more often I have bouts of nostalgia. I remember my hometown as it was. When I drive on Main Street through the square, I can see in my mind’s eye the buildings of my childhood, but the years have not been kind, and most buildings just exist in my memory drawers.

 The square is much less interesting. I used to love to window shop. I’d ride my bike up town and walk it on the sidewalk. Woolworth’s had fun windows which changed with the seasons. My favorite was the Christmas window. Grant’s was far less interesting. Lobsters floated in a tank in the window of the fish market which had an unpleasant smell even outside the door. The diner was right below the square. Sometimes my dad took me there for breakfast. We always sat in a booth. He’d give me money to play the jukebox. When bread was baking at Hank’s, you could smell the aroma around the whole square. The movie theater had Saturday matinees and nighttime movies. I used to spend many a Saturday seeing a movie and a couple of cartoons and watching Oscar patrol the aisles with his flashlight while chomping on his cigar. Later the theater was sold but didn’t stay open long. It was closed for years and deteriorated. But it is back as a live theater and is anchoring the square. Three drug stores were in the square. The Chinese laundry and the barber shop were on the same block. A bank was near Woolworth’s. It had a sort of awning.

Further down the road, Hago Harrington’s Miniature Golf was adjacent to the China Moon which closed first. The Moon used to be the dinner spot before proms and special dances. My sister said nothing remains of Hago’s.

The bowling alleys are also gone. They were Saturday night spots when my friends and I would bowl a few games. I was an awful bowler. 

I have a fun singular memory. I had read about square dancing at Marconi Hall. My friend Jimmy and I decided to go. When we got there, we were told it was for adults only, but we asked to stay. They let us. We do-si-doed all night. 

This entry was posted on May 3, 2025 at 11:02 am and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.