You Grew Up or
Lived in Rhode Island Since the 1960s
(or even earlier) IF....
...you cried when
Salty Brine's collie Jeff died.
...you remember when Art Lake and Salty Brine had dark hair.
...you remember Sara Wye, Franz Laubert, and Jay Kroll.
...you remember Jack Comley and Dick Pace.
...you remember the Outlet Company at Christmastime: Toyland in
the basement and the Christmas windows.
...you smile wistfully when you think of the names Shepards,
Woolworths, Grants, Peerless, Gladdings, and City Hall Hardware.
...you remember when Kmart was still Kresge's.
...you once ate at the Ming Garden or the Waldorf Cafeteria.
...you remember when it was the Sheraton Biltmore.
...you were assured by classmates that the Industrial National
Ban building was the same one as in the opening of the Superman TV
series.
...you remember when they used to show all the Disney films at
the MajesticTheater.
...you remember the RKO Albee, the Loew's State, and the Strand.
...your mom wouldn't let you go near the Strand.
...you remember that neat paperback bookstore cattycorner from the
Outlet having so many books and rock posters that the cashier had to sit
up in a little booth.
..being bussed to the Rhode Island Philharmonic once a year for a
special concert for schoolchildren.
...you remember when that big pyramid that became Apex went up in
Pawtucket.
...you remember when WPRI was WPRO.
...you remember neighborhood bakeries and all the great pastries
they carried: lemon squares, New Yorkers, cornets, zeppoles, and
sfogliatelles.
...you know what a hermit is.
...you remember when Garden City was just about the only shopping center
out in that direction.
...you remember when Garden City was just about the only thing
out there besides farms and houses and how at Christmastime when they
put up their light display you
could drive to the top of Laurel Hill
Avenue and see it shining like a beacon in the distance.
...heck, you remember the coal tipple that used to be on the
north side of Sakonasset Road at what's now the "back end" of
Garden City.
...you remember Child World.
...your parents would threaten to "send you to Sakonasset"
when
you were particularly bad.
...your mother would say, when you made her crazy, "You're going
to drive me to Howard!"
...you remember Reservoir Avenue when it was only two lanes.
...you remember going north to Massachusetts before there was an
interstate.
...you have fond memories of Rocky Point, Crescent Park, and Jolly
Cholly's.
...you remember when Rhode Island Mall was Midland Mall.
...heck, you remember when Midland Mall opened.
...you remember the junkyard that used to be where Warwick Mall is now.
...you used to love the Cranston Drive-In.
...you wondered if they gave out free samples at the Eclipse syrup
plant.
...you remember free parking at the beach.
...your mom grocery shopped at Almacs, Stop and Shop, Finast, or the
A&P.
...heck, when your mom shopped at a neighborhood supermarket like
FoodTown.
...you remember Warwick Shopper's World, Niantic Mills, and the
BenFranklin Store.
...your parents still referred to Warwick Shopper's World and Ann &
Hope as "mill outlets" and going
to one of these stores was
"going to the mill."
...your parents still referred to the airport as "Hillsgrove."
...you remember when the section of Cranston at the intersection of Park
Avenue and Gansett Avenue
was called "the Speedway."
...you know what a "superette" and a "spa" were (and
that the latter had nothing to do with health
clubs.
...you remember when Bald Hill Road was almost all farms.
...you remember the downtown Newport waterfront before they
remodeled it.
...you remember when there wasn't a McDonald's in Rhode Island.
...you remember Burger Chef and Jeff.
...you bought a small Del's Lemonade for only a dime,
Hershey
bars for 10 cents, popsicles a nickel, and penny
candy--for a penny!
...you remember going to Stamp's Farm for eggs and
Highland
Orchards for apples.
...you passed the Narragansett Brewery on your way
downtown--and
people were working there.
...one of the big landmarks on Post Road was the Scholes
roller rink.
...every time a hurricane was forecast your mom and dad
or
grandparents would immediately talk about the
Hurricane of 1938.
...heck, they'd take you downtown to show you the
high-water plaque on the Providence
Journal-Bulletin building.
...you remember Trifari and Coro being two of the
biggest employers in town.
...instead of getting your chickens from the
supermarket, your mom or dad went to the chicken man in
Silver Lake.
...your parents took you to the Slater Zoo.
...you remember Bosco and Maypo.
...you remember the old Calart's Christmas display.
...you remember the big rivalry between Old Stone Bank
and Citizens Bank.
...the moment you drove out of Rhode Island no one had
coffee milk or coffee ice cream any longer.
...you still have nightmares about "Choo-Choo"
on the Railroad Salvage commercials.
...the Ragman coming around yelling, "Raaaags,"
asking for old rags from the community.
...the Ice Cream Man coming everyday during the summer
and we'd wait for him knowing
about the time
he'd arrive in our area. As soon as we'd see him,
we'd raise our hand for him to stop! Fudgesicles &
popsicles = 5 cents Ice cream Sandwiches,
Creamsicles & Drumstix = 10 cents!
...Remember going to the Drags at the Charlstown Aux NAS
to watch the Blown Hurst and the Growler and the
races between TASCA FORD and HARRIS AUTO with
Smokey Serronne driving the 426 Hemi.
...Driving over the Old Jamestown Bridge.
...Asking for a Coffee Regular at the Donut Kettle.
...Getting a Cabinate at Alex’s Ice Cream Parlor.
...Record Hops at the High School.
...American Motors and Studerbaker Dealerships.
...The Induction Center at Fields Point, Cranston when
you got your Draft notice.
...Flying out of Hillsgrove on Eastern, Mohawk or
Allegheny Airlines.
...you remember
Pippin Orchard Dairy that was at the base of Route 4 and
everyone passed by on their way to the South County
beaches.
AHHHHH MEMORIES!
