Gone But "Not Forgotten" ~ What do you miss in NEPA? (Scranton: for sale, to rent)

[Summering]

Scranbarres old person chiming in here ( don't want to leave JG on his own.......)
Guess all the young dudes either went for greener pastures,or are boozers ........as SB says....

Anyhow, when did that park go down that was at Harveys Lake. ( Hansens )It reminds me that in NJ we had Birchlands Island which was the amusement park we'd head to as a local fun place. Small and old, but still working.....( hummm sounds like us old folks here.......yep)

I can just imagine it in its hayday, loud and full of screams of laughter......then off for a ride on the lake in the motor boats. The park in NJ was on a huge lake too........NOW that park is townhomes, and the big old wooden coaster is gone for sure.

[Summering]

Right now I am remembering Mikes Pizza, and I hope they are ready to build soon. Right now as it stands we have lost a wonderful part of our village of Brodheadsville.

[cathyde]

I grew up in Nesquehoning, and I will always remember Drigan's Grocery Store. I remember when I was finally allowed to cross the alley to get there to pick up the Italian bread that would be delivered every Thursday (we pretty much had spaghetti that night!! ) There was also a great candy store in town too, but for the life of me I cannot remember the name. My mom and dad said that the store was the primary reason for me having so many cavities!! I also vaguely remember a gas station on Catawissa St. that my parents never let me go into. The reason? There was gambling in the back!!

I was just telling my kids how much fun it was to run around town when I was young; so I must say I also miss the security we had in the early 70's, to be able to just go anywhere in town with no cause for concern. To know that when the street lights came on you better get your butt home!

*sigh* I sure do miss that...and people actually living IN TOWN, instead of everywhere but. Too much driving now...

[I LOVE PA!]

Greentown...I love to hear the history of Hamlin & Lake Ariel. The folks I work for are in their late 70's and have lived here all their lives so I hear plenty of stories and I love every one of them. Especially about Lake Ariel in the amusement park/beach/train station days.

Since I'm a 'transplant'...the only thing I can say that I miss is AMES!!! And I really do miss them. Too bad someone couldn't open a similar place in Hamlin..it would make a fortune and provide local jobs too.

I do remember about 20 years ago, when up visiting relatives...there was a place where you could sleep in trains, had a diner in one train car also and a Restaurant built right around the train station with the original pub upstairs. (First time I ever heard of fajitas!!) Name of the Rest. was Norma Jeans and had all Marilyn Memorabilia in it. We slept in the trains, they were beautiful inside and it was a wonderful weekend...I know the place isn't there anymore...it was in the Wilkes-barre area. I have pics of my daughter who was 2 at the time, standing on the edge of the train...very cute.

[I LOVE PA!]

For some reason Paul didn't include me in the 'old folks' list on another thread...should I be flattered or did he just plain old forgot me!!?? But he did include John for Scranton...who is a youngster himself

[greentown]

Originally Posted by I LOVE PA!

Greentown...I love to hear the history of Hamlin & Lake Ariel. The folks I work for are in their late 70's and have lived here all their lives so I hear plenty of stories and I love every one of them. Especially about Lake Ariel in the amusement park/beach/train station days.

Since I'm a 'transplant'...the only thing I can say that I miss is AMES!!! And I really do miss them. Too bad someone couldn't open a similar place in Hamlin..it would make a fortune and provide local jobs too.

I do remember about 20 years ago, when up visiting relatives...there was a place where you could sleep in trains, had a diner in one train car also and a Restaurant built right around the train station with the original pub upstairs. (First time I ever heard of fajitas!!) Name of the Rest. was Norma Jeans and had all Marilyn Memorabilia in it. We slept in the trains, they were beautiful inside and it was a wonderful weekend...I know the place isn't there anymore...it was in the Wilkes-barre area. I have pics of my daughter who was 2 at the time, standing on the edge of the train...very cute.

I miss Ames too and I'm really surprised that another store hasn't opened to take it's place. It's honestly pretty funny when "transplants" start to complain about the lack of amenities in Hamlin. If they only knew what it used to be like. I actually miss it.

I think the place with the trains was called the Station Complex. We went there a long time ago for a New Years Eve party, but it was the only time I was there.

[returningtonepa???]

sans souci,rocky glen,harvey's lake,the dances ,joe nardone's all stars,mel wynn,rhthym aces,kays in moosic,scranton dry,old american theatre in pittston,moonlite drive in,comerford drive in,oak hill drive in(where you could see free soft porn if you parked where that motel is now(so i heard--lol),illegally diving into the gorge at nay aug, lake gennaro,the haunted churchyard near tobyhanna

so many things to do here in the 60's--mostly i miss the neighborhood feel where even strangers were welcome---WHERE DID THAT GO??

[scrantonluna]

Originally Posted by kvysmom

The Globe Store....

Well I miss the restaurant there...we would sometimes go there after church on Sunday's for breakfast, and then stop over to the book area...my parents used to let me pick out a book. I was an avid reader (and still am). I also liked to go to the "bargain basement".
What I remember most fondly was the Christmas Village they used to set up on the 2nd floor. It wasn't just Santa, but an entire little village with elves and fun little games for the kids to play. You also got coloring books, etc. to take with you. Usually ended up getting a "rudy" bear to take home (my dad still has one in his attic).
They also had a nice display of trees out front.

I also remember the parking garage...the ramps were so narrow and winding...we used to beg our Mom to "drive faster"...now that I have driven in that garage as an adult I see why she never listened to us!


You know what I also miss....I think it was called "Bargains Galore"...it was a grocery store at the top of Moosic St...now there is a CVS there. (My mother used to work at that grocery store when we were younger...she ended up helping it become unionized...of course she didn't last long after that...but instead got a job with the labor union itself. She made a nice career for herself.) I think the store was related to Sunshine Market...every now and again I make a trip to Sunshine and it always stirs some nostalgia...the handwritten store sale signs...etc. remind me of Bargains Galore.

Boy, I can still remember the floors in the bargain basement (a dark color with kind of a pebble look to them), and the tin ceilings of the main floor of the Globe. That and the 'bing bing' noise that I guess was maybe for their phones or public address system? The tall escelator, the big jewelry counter, the the revolving doors, and oh yes, the Christmas setups. I had at least two Rudys...

We used to get 'Five Alive,' which was a kind of breakfast drink, at Bargains Galore...

I also miss the boats and the bison at Nay Aug, the accordion-door elevator at Uffburgs (sp), and the pancake house on Rt 6

[ScranBarre]

I also miss the train store on the second floor of the Steamtown Mall.

[KarenRice]

I remember Shafer's store in Hamlin. I also miss, in no particular order:

• Ames in Hamlin
• Smith's Ice Cream Parlor in Hawley. It's now Joe and Lorenzo's Pizza but no longer has the old fashioned ice cream parlor feel to it. Smiths had terrific home made ice cream.
• Sandercock's Dairy in Honesdale - speaking of home made ice cream. Currently has the name of Rothrock's on it; not sure if it's open or not.
• Tastee Freeze - this was on the corner of Rt 6 and 652 in Indian Orchard, not far from the Maple Drive In. We used to get a bucket of Tastee Fried Chicken.
• The Maple Drive In. Now it's a Ford Dealership.
• Capital Theater in Honesdale. This was an old movie theater with one screen. It's now a vacant lot, I believe. The Cinema 6 lacks character.
• Sugermans. We went there once a month or so.
• Karkheck's Market in Hawley, on Church St. It was a small family owned market where they would grind your hamburger for you fresh.
• A&P in Honesdale. It was in the Stourbridge Mall (LOL @ calling it a Mall.) My mom used to shop there a lot.
• The Great H store - also at The Stourbridge Mall. Mom and Dad used to call it The Hussco. It was sort of like Sugermans only on a much smaller scale. Also in the Stourbridge "Mall." Said Mall is now comprised mostly of health care offices.
• Adrian's Music Store in Honesdale.
• The Hawley Department Store. Now it's the Dime Bank complex on Main Street.
• Drakes Hardware in Hawley. Now it's the A.M. Skier Insurance administration offices or something.
• The Hut on Route 6 in Hawley, almost to White Mills. It was a little hot dog stand/ice cream joint. They had great pierogies and Texas Weiners. Now it's some kind of weird ranch style duplex. LOL
• Tink Wig Casino. I have NO idea why this bar was called a Casino. It was a dance hall with some Native American decor, mixed with some old WW2 "VICTORY" posters. It was on 590 a couple miles from Hawley, just before you go down the Towpath. It's now Cheetah Excavating. When it was a bar, my parents went there every sat. night to the dances and they took me with them. I seem to think the band was "Eddy Eldred" but not sure. I was little when the place burnt down. I made my singing debut there when I was 3 and asked the band if I could sing Happy Birthday to my mom. LOL
• Oh, and the Tink Wig had GREAT pizza, and I remember mom would also get a large bottle of coke with a pizza to bring home - it was probably a quart bottle but looked just like the little glass bottles of coke.