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A few years back, I was headed back from somewhere and decided to grab a few burgers from Stanley's. They sure were delicious, but you can bet I sat right by the window and had one eye on my truck the entire meal.
We've managed to eat at Taqueria Lupita many times w/o staring at our car, with no problems, as apparently have plenty of other reviewers on Yelp, Chowhound, TripAdvisor, etc. I wouldn't live at that corner, sure, but it's not exactly the Chevy Chase 'hubcap' scene from Vacation.
Ok, now you made me miss the steak fry. I don't think we have any of those out here. We're not nearly as ethno-centric here in the West (other than the large Mexican population that holds celebrations from time to time in certain parts of town), so I haven't seen any social clubs that are designated as French, Portuguese, Italian, etc.
I still get the monthly newsletters from Frontenac in the mail, even though I haven't been there in a couple years. I don't even know how they found my address in Nevada! LOL It was a nice club, very charitable. Have fun!
Actually, I just looked at my ticket again and the event is at Evelyn's, so my record of never stepping foot in the Frontenac stands intact - not on purpose!
You missed the point, which is that CF is much more urban than WW, regardless of WW having a higher total population. All of CF's population is within one square mile, which is why it's a city and WW isn't.
Off topic, I suppose, but could someone explain social clubs like the Frontenac? Somebody implied they tend to be ethnic -- are they all? Does the Frontenac cater to people of French descent? How much do they cost? What are the benefits? Why do people join?
Density matters because if Central Falls were the size of West Warwick, it would have 119,000 residents.
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A few years back, I was headed back from somewhere and decided to grab a few burgers from Stanley's. They sure were delicious, but you can bet I sat right by the window and had one eye on my truck the entire meal.
We've managed to eat at Taqueria Lupita many times w/o staring at our car, with no problems, as apparently have plenty of other reviewers on Yelp, Chowhound, TripAdvisor, etc. I wouldn't live at that corner, sure, but it's not exactly the Chevy Chase 'hubcap' scene from Vacation.
I usually end up parking a little ways up Cowden Street and can't even see the car from the restaurant. And I had a good friend who lived two blocks from there; living there isn't as bad as it would seem from going by drive-through impressions, or by reading the opinions of out-of-staters...
There used to be a sign up saying something to the effect of "A proud past with a promising future". Whatever LOL, although it's really not funny. It occupies a tiny land mass of one square mile and as far as redeeming qualities go, well I'm not even gonna say it...
The bottom line is, that while if there ever was city in need of a boost...
like HTree said it's nothing but rampant poverty crammed into substandard housing and a population with minimal odds of lifting the place out of it's current squalor. I once worked for a company that wouldn't even do sales in the city as it wasn't considered credit worthy. Now there are areas of Pawtucket and Providence that were also written off as places we did business. But for an entire city...
A few years back, I was headed back from somewhere and decided to grab a few burgers from Stanley's. They sure were delicious, but you can bet I sat right by the window and had one eye on my truck the entire meal.
So the fact that it is so small, has no nice areas to speak of (like even Pawtucket has a few); a destitute, non-assimilated and uneducated population; and no land area to develop; it really has no future as a self-sustaining city. It's only hope is either being demolished or absorbed by a neighbor (neither will happen). No infusion of tax dollars can save it from itself.
Going from downtrodden to more prosperous is not exactly unheard of in America. It won't be easy for CF however- though not necessarily impossible. The transition from hamlets and tiny towns in RI to a county system would help, but it would probably take a mafia boss or dictator (ha ha!!) to pull it off because of political entrenchment.
RI has long traditions which means the ship of state turns very slowly.
Sometimes that's a good thing, like during urban renewal (when the lack of it ultimately saved the city of Providence and the presence of it destroyed Pawtucket- once a beautiful city), and sometimes it's a bad thing.
It's just that there are no simple fixes- a small grant is a drop in the bucket. One only has to look at generational poverty in the south or in Maine to see parallels.
Off topic, I suppose, but could someone explain social clubs like the Frontenac? Somebody implied they tend to be ethnic -- are they all? Does the Frontenac cater to people of French descent? How much do they cost? What are the benefits? Why do people join?
Their origins are ethnic. Frontenac and Club Joques were French, there were other clubs that were Portuguese, Italian, Polish or Irish. Even into the 80s, you had to be French to be a full member at Club Joques but that's long changed. I think back at the start it was a place to escape anti immigrant hysteria, and be comfortable speaking your own language and within your own culture. And the local country club or the Masons probably weren't admitting you, so you started your own club. For succeeding generations, it was a way to honor their roots, but those ties lessen.
I guess people join for the social camaraderie. The bar is usually really cheap, lower prices than a public bar. Usually the clubs have card leagues, pool, bocce or horseshoe tournaments, softball teams, things like that. Most are involved with charities and civic improvement. Members typically get discounts on function room rentals.
It's s little bit of a relic these days when entertainment is so much easier to find and people tend to be less invested in community. I honestly don't know what they charge for memberships anymore but I know it can't be that much: I've known people who were members at times when they weren't so flush.
I paid $40/year for my Club Frontenac membership. I had to be sponsored by a member. Although it initially was for those of French descent, well, mostly French Canadian, it is West Warwick, it is open to all men. I'm Irish/German. The drinks are much cheaper than a regular bar. There is a pool table, juke box, horseshoes, card games, etc. For me, it was a place to unwind after work, or to go and watch a football game. There were often charity golf events, group trips to Gillette, etc. Many of the members are retirees, and it's a place for them to "hang out". Nice group of guys. A bit archaic tradition, though, that allows membership to men only. There are women there any given night, but they must be hosted by a male.
A bit archaic tradition, though, that allows membership to men only. There are women there any given night, but they must be hosted by a male.
I don't know about Frontenac, but I know a few other clubs in the area that have changed to allowing women as full members (instead of auxiliary) in the past few years.
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