My home town

I recently watched a program about Bruce Springsteen where he sang about his home town which got me thinking about my home town. I was born and grew up in Palmer Massachusetts and specifically the village of Thorndike. It's a typical small mill town. The mill in Thorndike was Diamond National which manufactured egg cartons. It was also the place where my dad worked for over 35 years. This might be a boring post to some but the following is a description of how Thorndike was in the 60's.

I'll start with a tour of Commercial Street. It really was commercial at that time. The first place we come to is the dairy bar. Entering it there was a magazine rack to the right where we would browse the magazines until we heard the familiar call "This isn't a library!". So then we would go to the counter where there were several stools. We might order an ice cream cone that cost ten cents (fifteen if you wanted a large cone). Or maybe we'll have a frappe which costs thirty cents. There was also a selection of sodas for ten cents. It was a true soda fountain where you could order the flavor of soda you liked best, from a coke or a vanilla coke, or a cherry coke. If you felt brave, you could order a zombie, which was a squirt of all the flavors. There was so much to choose from there and we would hang out until the owner had enough of us and threw us out.

Next on the street was a laundry mat which I didn't frequent. After that was a store call Charlies Variety. This store had quite the variety of things but it was famous for it's candy. It was a favorite stop for kids after school. The owner was Charlie of course. He seemed gruff behind the counter usually with an unlit cigar in his mouth but he had a heart of gold. Outside of the store was a coke machine where you could get a bottle of coke for ten cents. You always had to check the bottom of the bottle. If it was red, you would get a free coke and if it was gold you would get twenty five cents.

The next place up the street was the post office. Thorndike didn't have mail delivery (it still doesn't) so everyone would come to the post office to get their mail. It was a great place to meet people and get the latest gossip. Inside were a couple of walls of post office boxes, each with it's own combination to open it. I can still remember the number of our box, 217, though I don't remember the combination. The post office has since moved to a newer building on Church Street.

Moving up the street there was Bob's barber shop, one of two barber shops that were on Commercial Street. We never went to his shop. Crossing the street from there was Topor's grocery store. I don't know much about is since we didn't do much shopping there.

Down the street was a place called the Thorndike Cafe, or commonly known as Salomons. It was a small white building (it's still there) and inside was a bar and several tables. Inside also was a bowling game that used a disk that would slide down to "knock down" the pins. We would go in there to play every now and then. It also had a Jukebox for music. One of the things I can remember was the pizza. It was the best pizza in Thorndike. It was also the only pizza in Thorndike but it was good. It was a thin crust pizza and I can remember my mom would always get one on Thursday night. Next to the cafe were horseshoe pits that anyone could use for free. I spent many an afternoon playing horseshoes there.

The next place on the street was/is St Joe's club. It's a Polish American club but anyone can go there. It's the one bar on the street that is still open. When I was growing up it was the bar that many of the factory workers went to for a drink after their shift at the mills. By 3:15 on most days the bar would be full. It's still a popular place but not quite as busy as when the mills were open. Growing up, we used to sneak upstairs from the bar to where there was a pool table. Most bartenders didn't say anything but we were kicked out a few times. Attached to the bar is a hall where many weddings and other occasions were held including the wedding ceremony of two of my sisters.

Next stop on the street is a building that used to house two businesses. The first was Quink's market. It was a small grocery store where we did most of our shopping. It didn't have everything but it had the necessitates. Mr Quink was also a butcher and he had a good selection of meats. My mom would send me down to pick up a few things and I never needed money. We would always "put it on the tab" and then pay it at the end of the week. The other business was Art's barber shop. It's where I always went for my haircuts. Art was known to have coughing spells while cutting your hair. It's a wonder that I still have both my ears!

The last place on Commercial Street was the Citgo gas station. It was part owned by my grandfather and it's the place where I think I had my first job pumping gas. Back then it was always a job finding where the filler on cars was. Sometimes it was behind the license plate and on some cars it was behind the rear tail light. Gas at that time was about 30 cents. You could easily fill your tank for $5.

Thorndike also had it's own grammer school which was on the corner of Main Street and Commercial Street. It's where I spent my first eight years of school. Back then we had double classes which meant that two grades would be in the same classroom, like first and second grades. The teacher would teach to one grade and then give them work to do while she taught the othe grade. I remember we could walk home for lunch before returning to school by one o'clock. That would never be allowed now!

I have fond memories "hanging out" on Commercial Street. There was no internet or cell phones back then. We would usually sit on the grass near St. Joe's club just talking or maybe playing cards. It was a much simpler time back then. Sometimes I wish we could have a reunion of the "Thorndike boys" but I don't think that will ever happen.

Driving

I feel that I'm a pretty patient person (except maybe grocery store lines, where I have been known to switch 3 times to save thirty seconds). The one thing I have a problem with though is driving and other drivers. I've never went as far as road rage but some drivers can really test my patience. Here is a list of some of them.

1. Sir brake-a-lot. This person is constantly hitting the brake while driving. Being in back of them is trying. They brake on the slightest curve. The brake going down hill. They brake going up hill. They brake approaching a green traffic light. They brake if there's a car coming out of a side street. I'd hate to see how often they need to get their brakes replaced.

2. Mr left lane. This person drives in the left lane of a multi-lane road and never moves over. It doesn't matter that they are going slower than most of the other traffic. It doesn't seem to matter that everyone is passing them on the right and flipping them the bird. I can almost imagine them singing to the tune of exodus - "This lane is mine, god gave this lane to me". Hopefully their days are numbered since you can now get a ticket for driving in the left lane when you are not passing.

3. Little miss blinker. This is the person whose turn signal is constantly on. I never know where they are going to turn if they ever do turn. I just see the constant "blink, blink, blink".

4. Mr no blinker. This is the opposite of little miss blinker. This person thinks that turn signals are for other drivers but not him. He'll be in front of you when all of a sudden he'll make a turn into a side street or driveway and expect you to slam on your brakes so you don't run into them.

5. Mr change lanes. This driver is on a multi-lane road and keeps changing lanes to pass other cars. He'll go from the middle lane, to the right lane, back to the middle lane, and then to the left lane. Sometimes he'll go from the right lane directly into the left lane. All of this lane changing might get him ahead of two or three cars. It's especially frustrating in heavy traffic where he will squeeze in front of you if you leave more than ten feet from the car in front of you.

6. Joe slow. This is the one who drives under the speed limit and it's usually on a road where it's very hard to pass. So you're stuck in back of him for miles. He might be on the turnpike where he makes everyone change lanes to pass

To be continued....

Breakfast

Breakfast has always been my favorite meal. I think I realized that when I was around five or six years old. We lived in a multi-family house at the time right next door to my Nana. I would get up early and have breakfast at my house. It was usually eggs and toast, white Wonder bread or rye from Tyburski's bakery. Sometimes it would be oatmeal. I can still remember the names of the oatmeal we would get. It was Maltex or Maypo. I liked Maypo more because it was a little sweeter. We couldn't afford bacon very often being a family of seven with my dad working in the local mill and my mom at home taking care of all of us kids. After breakfast, I would go next door to Nana's where I would have a second breakfast. It was at this time at the age of five I started drinking coffee. I can remember my Nana having her cup of tea and I would have a cup of coffee. I've been drinking coffee ever since. There were usually some muffins to eat too. And if you were good, you could go into the pantry and help yourself to cookies from the cookie jar. My kids can still remember that special pantry. I have fond memories of coffee perking on the stove and waking up to the smell of that strong coffee. Even when I went into the Navy and boot camp at Great Lakes Illinois, one of the memories I have is waiting in sub freezing temperatures at six a.m. to get in the mess hall for breakfast. I never missed it! After I had kids of my own, I usually was in charge of making breakfast for them. It was usually eggs or cold cereal. They loved the sweet cereals of the time like Coco Puffs or fruit loops.

Today breakfast is still my favorite meal. I usually get up, make my coffee and fix myself an egg. I always have to fix one for Zoey our golden retriever too. She likes hers over easy just like me. If I break the yellow on mine she gets that egg. She doesn't seem to mind. Sometimes I'll fix oatmeal for Susan and I or have cold cereal. We usually go out for breakfast at least once a week. Our favorite place is the Apple Barn and my favorite breakfast is "Nana's french toast". I wonder if my Nana had something to do with that being on the menu. It's the one meal that I get together with my kids the most often too. I guess in instilled my love for breakfast in them too.

Water, water everywhere

It's been a rough few weeks here at home. It started about a month ago when we noticed some water leaking into the basement. It's been a very wet fall and winter so we figured it must be due to the high water table. We'd clean it up with the wet vac and hope for the best. It didn't get any better. It was coming in the room we just finished last spring. We noticed that water was under the floor that we had put down. It's a fake wood floor so it wasn't damaging it but we didn't know how much water was under it. So we ripped up part of the floor and saw where the water was coming in at the base of the foundation. We still thought it was ground water so we would put down towels to soak up the water and use the wet vac when it got too bad. This went on for over two weeks and we started to wonder if it would ever stop. Then, last week we were doing a wash and noticed that the water got a lot worse when the washer was running. I started to wonder if it had something to do with the pipes coming from the well. I decided to test it by doing another wash and watching the leaking water. Sure enough, the water came in fast while the pump was running. To make a long story a little shorter, I called a well company to check it out. They discovered there was a leak in the water pipe and a bad valve on the pump. They came out the next day and dug up the yard. We'll have some landscaping to do this spring! They found the leak in the pipe and repaired it. Finally, after spending quite a bit of money, we have a dry basement and better water pressure. Ah, the joys of home ownership!

More memories St Joe's Park and labor day event

This is another memory of growing up next to St. Joe's field in Thorndike. When I was young, school never started before Labor Day. The first day of school was always the Wednesday after Labor Day. And Labor Day was always special at St Joe's park. That was the day of the annual Lion's club picnic. It started the day before when a big circus tent was put up. On Labor Day, the tent was filled with all sorts of games and food booths. There was always the "wheel". It consisted of a wheel with the numbers 1 to 100 on it. In front of the wheel was a table that had boards with series of numbers. For example, the first board might contain the numbers 1,10,15,20 and 25. Each board had numbers like that. To place a bet, you would put your money on one of these boards. The wheel is then spun and if it stops on one of your numbers, you would win 10 times your bet. Most of the time I would bet a dime and win a dollar if my number came up. Sometimes I was brave and would bet a quarter to win 2.50. The big spenders would bet a dollar! There was also a game called chug-a-lug. This game had three dice in a cage that was turned three times and the the dice would come out. In this game you would bet on one number and if your number came out you would win the amount of your bet. There was always a chance the your number would come out on all three dice and you would win triple your bet. I never won a lot of money but I would come out ahead quite a few times. There were games during the day on the ball field and at night there were fireworks. It seemed like most of the town would turn out for this event and a good time was had by all!

The next day (Tuesday) my brother and I would always get up early and walk around the field and tent to see what we could find. We usually found some change and if we were lucky we might find a dollar or two. We also would see if we could find any fireworks that didn't go off but we never did. I'm not sure what year this Lion's Club picnic ended. These were simpler times but I miss them.

Birthday greetings

Yesterday (January 15) was my birthday. I received over seventy birthday well wishes. One would think that I must have a lot of friends. I guess I do but most of the greetings were on facebook. I also received several text messages and my son Brian did take me out for lunch. This must be the "new normal" but I think I like the way birthdays used to be. You would get real cards from some people (I did get a very nice card from Susan) and then there was cake and candles! And there was always the singing of happy birthday and a round of "Sto lat" while the candles were being blown out. It's just not the same anymore.

Birthday Musings

Since today is my birthday, I thought I'd look way back to a much simpler time when I was growing up.

I grew up next to a baseball field (St Joe's Park). How great was that! During the summer we'd have pickup baseball games every day. The were no uniforms, no umpires, no parents, just a bunch of kids playing the game for the joy of it. I remember hitting a home run a few times. I'm a lefty and I could pull the ball down the first base line. We didn't have a set number of innings, we just played until we were tired. On every Sunday during the summer, there would be a real baseball game. There was a local league and the local team was St. Joes. There was always a good size crowd watching the games. My brother and I kept the score on an old wooden score board. For this we were paid the big sum of one dollar and all the free sodas we could drink. At times we would get distracted and would forget to put up the score until someone yelled at us. The parking lot was pretty close to the field and foul balls would often go that way. We would wait for the "thunk" that would mean that someone was going to need a new windshield. We were also part of the ground crew and we would groom the infield and line foul ball lines and batter boxes. After the game there was always a Polish picnic at the pavilion that was nearby. There would be a Polish band and good Polish food. In the fall, the pickup baseball games gave way to pickup football games. We would play tackle football with no equipment. I don't remember anyone ever getting hurt though. It was just good, clean fun. I don't see much of that anymore. Everything has to be organized and scheduled.

The field is still there and there are still baseball games but it's not the same. There are lights on the field now so most games are played at night. The crowds are nowhere near what they were when I was growing up. And there aren't anymore Polish picnics. The pavilion was torn down long ago. I still go to the field to let my dog run around. Being there brings back so many memories.