Centering in on this Small Town Center

I grew up in the small town of East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, a small suburban farm town located roughly twenty five miles south of Boston.  Early childhood highlights include Johnny the Farmer driving by on his tractor and a bull that occasionally managed to jump the fence from Millet’s, a farmstand located just across the Whitman town line.  Back then, we looked forward to Root Beer Barrels and Mary Janes, and you could still buy fresh pickles out of an actual barrel.  And although Johnny the Farmer was like a local celebrity to kids who would stop whatever they were doing to collectively wave hello at the side of the road when he drove by on his tractor, the man was simply doing his job at the time, as was Old Man Smith on the other side of town at Smith Farm who kept a watchful eye on kids that visited his property.  As with most small New England towns, East Bridgewater had an active center, the juxtaposition of four main roads converging at the only real traffic light in town where most of the local businesses were situated.  The center of East Bridgewater was like a small city compared to the rest of this agricultural suburb with parked cars lining the roads, people scurrying about taking care of their daily errands, and kids on every corner.  It was active and busy, the social center of the town.  I returned to the center of East Bridgewater four decades later to assess the pulse of what I remembered as being a busy and inviting community center. 

Driving past the once ivy-covered brick library with its landmark tower entrance, the buildings in the center of East Bridgewater were familiar, but the names of the businesses were unidentifiable for the most part.  In some cases stores were sadly vacant, some with windows that were boarded up.  I parked easily and walked down to what had once been the town’s general store, a newstand that managed to retain the name Luddy’s to almost everyone in town despite being purchased and renamed the Village News by East Bridgewater resident and entrepreneur Maynard Stetson in the late 1970s.  And although I had been hoping to go into this once busy establishment if only for a nostalgic look around, as was true with most everything else in the center of East Bridgewater on this day, it was closed.  The sign above the door told me that what was formerly Luddy’s was currently operating as the Central Street Café which seemed appropriate as both Luddy’s and the Village News had always featured a small neighborhood breakfast counter in the back.  

The overall appearance of the center of East Bridgewater was largely unchanged, consisting of late nineteenth century architecture mixed with post-war suburban construction.  The old Intermediate School dating back to 1912 still stands majestically across the street from the library.  This school was where many kids in town attended the fourth and fifth grades in its later years until the building closed its doors for good in 1981.  The parking lot constructed for the town’s large brick bank, formerly East Bridgewater Saving Bank, still has its steep hill spilling out onto the main street that only the bravest of us would skateboard or bike-ride down after it was completed and freshly paved over in 1976.  The old historic building that once housed old businesses like Swanson-Flood Appliance and Baggia Press still stands in close proximity to where the Rexall drugstore once operated, a small town pharmacy right out of Mayberry.  

The town’s Dairy Queen never did re-open, despite the optimistic message on their sign towering high above the old stone wall posted more than forty years ago proclaiming that they would be back in March, leading us to believe for a succession of years that they must have meant this March.   During the height of the 1970s, the Dairy Queen in East Bridgewater was a prime summer destination sporting a crowded parking lot of local folks with bicycles, customized vans, Corvettes, and motorcycles.  

I walked around the center of town eventually ending up on West Union Street where Nate’s Hardware once was.  When Nate’s was still in business, entering his hardware store was like walking into a Norman Rockwell painting.  It was dark and the old wooden floors creaked with every step.  If you were a kid, Nate would follow you around the store leering at you suspiciously convinced that you were there on a secret mission to steal Wiffle balls. 

Russell’s Barber Shop is still in business next to where Nate’s Hardware used to be, although it now lacks the distinct appearance of the classic barber shop with men and boys casually waiting inside patiently taking turns getting into the barber’s chair for a haircut.  Next door to Russell’s there is an interesting antique shop in one of the center’s oldest buildings.  Lorrie Parker told me that her antique store has been open in that spot for 18 years, also claiming that her building is “very haunted.”  She shared with me that her store had once been the town’s Masonic Lodge, was the location of the town library before it was moved to its current site in 1896, and was even used as a funeral home at one point.  Parker explained that the building’s location made it especially desirable for businesses when trains still ran through the center of East Bridgewater.  She showed me an old photograph of a gas station that had once operated at this address and told me that the store might also have been a bicycle shop at one time.  When I brought up Nate’s Hardware, she said, “Oh yeah. Everyone remembers Nate’s!”  Parker had no recollection of the Towne & Country liquor store that once stood a few doors away, the place where I remember buying smoked almonds at the counter decades ago.  This store was also known for having the coldest glass bottles of Pepsi in the center of town for kids who were coming back from playing summer games of pick-up baseball at the New Diamond, the state of the art little league complex built during the 1970s that has since been reappropriated.

I went into Towne Cleaners just across the street on the corner of West Union and North Central.  “We’ve been here for 75 years,” said store owner Craig Kambegian.  Asked about changes he has seen over the years in the town center Kambegian said without hesitation, “Traffic!  A lot more traffic and accidents!”  Kambegian went on to say, “A lot of the stores have changed.  Some of the businesses have stayed here.  Russell’s Barber Shop is still here.  He’s been here now for over forty years,” pointing across the street.  But when asked about the most noticeable changes that have taken place, Kambegian quickly responded, “For years this center was so busy they had to have a crossing guard on the street outside for the kids.  No more.  Kids don’t walk here anymore; not for school, not for anything.  They used to be everywhere.” 

I walked over to the location of the old Lil’ Peach store, our alternate outlet for Marathon Bars, Wacky Packages, and baseball cards when we were kids, but quickly discovered that Lil’ Peach is now a T Square Food Shop.  I asked the man behind the counter how long his store has been operating as a T Square Food Shop.  “A few years back,” he said smiling.  “It’s been a 7-11 and a Tedeschi’s and before that,” a Lil’ Peach we both said finishing the sentence together.  

I consider myself lucky to have grown up in this small town when I did.  Life was still filled with an element of simplicity, there was still a strong sense of community, and the streets were generally safe for kids (with the possible exception of some bad apple who might be coveting your bike). 

This small town center had a definitive pulse back then, at least in the eyes of the local kids whose heads were not yet buried in phones and were still able to recognize and embrace the intrinsic value of the world around them. 

“It would be nice to have the town center come back like it was years ago,” said Craig Kambegian nostalgically from behind the counter at Towne Cleaners.

A sentiment to which I totally agree, especially if they finally decide to re-open the Dairy Queen.