Gone But "Not Forgotten" ~ What do you miss in NEPA? (Scranton: sale, amusement park)

[Summering]

I must say I was told of this thread, and it runs interestingly in the great state of Texas....The folks in Texas seem to enjoy the nostalgia of going back in time. What do you miss that is gone now in your area?

I'll start by saying when I moved to the Stroudsburg area there was no major stores. No big box stores and the town was closed by 5PM we were in shell shock.
Having come from NJ where everything was quite active, we now moved to a sleepy town.
Soon Walmart showed up and the area now had a new timeframe. The area had some action after 5PM ...we were quite happy about that.
After using the most wonderful Cramers for our building needs ( and they still are wonderful) we now had a choice between a Home Depot and Cramers.......
I'll say one thing. Cramers delivers, and they do it right away, smack quick......
They take your items, sheetrock, wood.........right to where you want it. A great company for our area, and good to their workers too. I applaud them.....
Years went on and the big box stores soon came one by one. Lowes, Kohls, Borders, Pier One, Target........Wow, we finally had things at our fingertips.
No more lights out at 5........That made for big changes in our area.
I feel bad that the Tannerville Lodge that stood since the 1800's ( if I am not mistaken) burned down and is now where a CVS has taken its long time location.
There is pictures of horses tied at the railings of that Lodge. A pure historic location.
Times are changing, towns are growing.........I see the old Lake House in Saylorsburg and wonder what it was in its heyday........
What do you miss? What makes your mind slip back into the past.........?

[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.

I also miss Ralph's grocery store in Scranton...used to be on the corner of Prescott and Vine (I think vine, maybe Olive St). I have no idea what is there now....

Ebersole Gulf gas station on Vine St...I know there is still a station there, but without Bud Ebersole there, it can't be the same!

[chezbowski]

I miss Main Street Old Forge.

Everytime I see that ugly new CVS that takes up a whole block, I think back to highschool, when we used to get let out for lunch. We'd go for pizza at Fat Boys, stop at Cherry's for some candy and baseball cards, then maybe look inside Godfathers for a new sweatshirt. All 3 places are now gone and replaced by a CVS.

Other Old Forge memories from the 70s and 80s...
Insalaco's Beer Store (now a Blockbuster)
Fay's Drug Store (now empty)
Montage Video (now shady used car lot)
Montage Video #2 (now a Dollar General)
Dr. Dragons Video (I think this is someone's house now)
Gert's (now some newer Gert's-type lookin place)
Fumanti's Market (a vision place now?)
Antonio's Pizza (only NY style pizza in OF - now another Chinese restaurant)

I could go on and on...times change I guess.

[chezbowski]

and The Globe Store

[ScranBarre]

Great idea for a thread, Summering! Greater Stroudsburg is indeed growing like a hungry, hungry hippo, and in some ways that is good in that it makes shopping/dining more convenient for existing residents, but it is also detrimental because the more businesses that open up, the more attractive the area becomes for new residents to show up as well to build homes, tearing down more trees in the process and making the roads more congested. It's a tough issue for sure. I'm sure you all hated having to drive up to Wilkes-Barre all the time to do your shopping, but at the same time it was that inconvenience that helped to give Monroe County a rural flair to it. Now that you have your OWN Border's, Best Buy, Lowe's, Target, etc., you're transitioning into an official suburb.

In Pittston I miss the old Borr & Casey Building on the SE corner of North Main & William Streets, which is one of the primary gateways into Downtown from I-81. The building had some nice detailing atop its windows and some very nice architectural features but was deemed "too costly" to rehabilitate so it was knocked down with the anticipation of a new building going in its place. That development never materialized, and this gateway to the city has remained as a vacant lot ever since---one that has been used as an unofficial parking lot for downtown professionals to free up space in front of their own buildings for customers. I'm a preservationist. I would have much rather have seen some sort of community fund-raising drive be held to raise enough funds to donate to the developer to justify the cost of saving that historic structure so that today perhaps it could have housed a book store or sidewalk cafe on the first floor with lofts overhead. Unfortunately I was a mere child at the time of this building's demolition, and now I just grimace when I bring people to our downtown as this very vital intersection is blighted on all four corners---that empty (parking?) lot, a hulking and largely-abandoned building across William Street, Senator Musto's office across Main Street with a nicely-remodeled facade that is only on the first story, leaving the rest of the building looking awkward, and a retro-looking one-story office building catty-cornered to the former Borr & Casey site.

What else do I miss about NEPA? All of my friends who continue to move away to pursue their careers, leaving me behind to befriend the dwindling number of peers that remain. Wave after wave of them leave, and I'm left befriending many people in the 30-50 age range because the only ones left in my own age range only care about booze/drugs.

[CHS89]

Tom Taylor's.

The courthouse lawn.

Rocky Glenn.

Electric Mindshaft.

The amusement park at Nay Aug.

Sugarman's.

The dollar movie theaters.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by CHS89

The courthouse lawn.

Amen to that! People STILL ask me "What are they building here?" when I take them on a little tour of Downtown Scranton. Wasn't the new Courthouse Square supposed to be more beautiful than what it replaced? Now it's an eyesore in my opinion. Never underestimate the power of urban green space. Trees breathe vitality into busy cities, and the lack of landscaping around the square has left many feeling VERY dreary. What a waste of tax dollars that was that could have been much better spent!

[Jungle George]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Wave after wave of them leave, and I'm left befriending many people in the 30-50 age range because the only ones left in my own age range only care about booze/drugs.

I'm SO sorry you have to settle for us geriatric folks Paul...(Jungle George runs to change his Depends & find where he put his teeth...)....please try to muddle through 'til some young & vibrant blood enters NEPA!!

[greentown]

I grew up in Hamlin in the 70's. The only businesses there at the time were:

Hamlin Diner was located at the corners where Penn Star bank is now located. It was one of those silver diner buildings.

Across from it was a store, but I can't remember the name of it and can't even remember going in it very often. That building is supposed to be torn down and a new Rite Aid built there. So far it doesn't seem to be happening.

Locklin's Bottled Gas was in the same location (other than they had a fire a few years back and had to rebuild).

Shaffer's EZ Shop (grocery store where Weis currently is). The building was half the size that it is now. The other half was added on later and was the original home of Salem Hardware. There was also a gas station located there for a number of years.

Turkey Hill opened on one side of the current Kundla's building and an ice cream place called "Marni's" on the other side. Our school bus driver always took us to Marni's on the last day of school for ice cream.

The fire house was always in it's current location

A bank opened in a small trailer across from where John's Restaurant is now located. It might have been the 1st National Bank of Carbondale, but eventually they built the current building and the bank name has changed many times. Before that, the closest bank was in Lake Ariel.

There was a gas station/garage, Strada's, located to the side and front of where Vector Security's office is.

The J & J Lounge (recently purchased and reopened as Benoco's). If you wanted to order take-out pizza, this was the only place to get it from.

Hank's Drive-in was located where there is currently a furniture store and ice cream place (next to Dollar General?), but I can't remember the name of either at the moment. The side with the furniture store wasn't there at the time.

Black's Garage and gas station was located at the intersection of Rts. 348 and 590.

And that was all that was in Hamlin way back when.

[W-B proud]

Hansen's and the amphitheater at Harvey's Lake, Top Dog, The Price Chopper on Third Ave in Kingston (this was close to my house), Perugino's restaraunt on S.Main st (ahh... The Linguini in Red Clam sauce how I miss you!), The Diamond Drop New Years celabration on Public Square, and summertime!