Brockton, Remember When?

I really miss this thread. Anyone interested in starting from scratch?

i remember when more people rode the bus than drove a car, all busses terminated in the center of Brockton so you could transfer on to other parts of the city and beyond. which is why the city was so busy back than. And when there were tall elm trees in Campello lining both sides of the street, When there were "beat" cop's WALKING the streets of Brockton and calling in to the station at little blue call boxes placed around the city, when he wold stop and sit on the "stoop" of the cook apartment house on main street, next to and south of Sammie"s Market. I also remember, from Campello, a Saint Bernard dog walking to the Campello News Stand and getting the newspaper for it's owner, and carrying it home in it's mouth. now that shows my age!

too depressing

oldschool, why??

I remember when Sears was on Belmont. You could just run in for whatever you needed.

I remember when BHS Football games were the Social Event of the week.

I remember when the Enterprise was somewhat relevant.

I remember when we had a local radio station.

Budd wrote: oldschool, why??

because with reminiscing comes yearning for a time about this city that will never, ever return

Talk about the change in people, (not just Brockton) time was when people were waiting for the bus at the now Keith Park, they would go to Steves store in Campelo before he opened and take one of the many morning papers that were left out side. The thing is, they just took the paper and left money right on top of the papers, and no one took the money, talk about trust! Do you think it could be done now?

Wow, Budd, I remember that. Such a pleasant memory!
Or remember when you invited strangers on your porch to get out of the rain?
Cooking for people when they were sick?

Capt, when we moved to NC in the late 70's, people still lived like that. We moved here into an old farm with no utilities working, within 48 hours the only neighbor around us, came to the farm and literly dragged us to their house for a " pig pickin" a barbaqueed whole pig! Sad to to things have also changed around here. But at our other home in south Alabama, it's just as you say, your invited to sit-a-spell and visit always ready to lend a helping hand. It seems to me the more that people move into your area from other places.the worse things get. Growing up in Campello in the 40's and 50's was whole different world than now, it's sad.

I remember a young man who used to hitchhike in the late 70s and 80s. I believe he had a physical ailment - a cane, I think. He was always traveling between Brockton and Stoughton, and though I, as a young female was taught never to pick up hitchhikers, he always made his way around. Nobody was afraid. I always wondered what his story was.

I remember a bagger-turned-checkout-clerk at the BPM who stayed with the company through all takeovers. He was hearing-impaired, and was always very well dressed with a fancy watch and gold jewelry. I do not want to mention his name here for his privacy, but I wonder if anyone knows what happened to him? Did he retire? Last time I talked to him must have been about a year or so ago.

I remember when Kmart Plaza contained a Piece Goods and a drug store, the name of which escapes me. Does anyone know what the name of it was? This would have also been in the 70s/80s.

To OS - the whole nature of reminiscing is about days gone by. Though Brockton will never be the same, when I realize so many others remember like I do, it gives me hope. Thinking about my parents, grandparents, and other people and things that brought me to this point in my life makes me sad and happy at the same time. If I did not have anyone to share the memories with, now that would really be really upsetting.

It's not that we're asking to return to the stone age; we just want that old fashioned decent and respectful way of living back.
It's a hard guess why things changed so drastically, but I'm going to say it has to do with drugs, then the influx of taking care of them to the point where the city is swamped with nothing but drug centers, prostitutes and homeless, etc.
This is everywhere, not just Brockton, but we do have a bigger problem than most because we cater to them and others send them here knowing this.

I remember a Brockton where a three decker house only had three family's living in it and not sub divided into six apartments. When one of the three apartment was the owner. When the city employed those who could find no work, and got paid a minimum wage, with no benies. That allowed many men to work at keeping the city clean and in good repair. The rubbish truck had 5 or 6 men that worked very hard lifting 30 gallon trash barrels full of coal ash up over there head and into an open truck where another man emptied it. Hard dirty work for little pay. Let's not forget the garbage men doing the same thing, also lifting 5 gallons of liquid garbage the same way. That's what helped keep the city clean, the parks kept in good order. What I see now is 6-8 cars in a driveway ment to hold 2 or3 cars. I see light pols that have been damaged being held up with another pole just tied together instead of replaced. All this makes the city look unkept and dirty.

Clifton -- Thanks for opening this up again --It was always was my favorite thread. Just curious -- which BPM ?

Bud -Used to go to Raleigh for work in the 80's and 90's. Generally 2-3 weeks at a time. On Wednesdays we'd always go to a local restaurant (I think it was called Neptune's) that would have a "pig pickin'". I thought it was great with hush puppies too! If I worked nights, on Wed the people would make catfish also with hush puppies. Then for dessert, they had an manual ice cream making machine. They would really make you feel welcome!! I thought the people in the area were much more friendly then what I was used to. Every so often, out in the town, I would run into a Boston area transplant who would recognize my accent and tell me how much they loved it there.

bc27204 wrote:
Bud -Used to go to Raleigh for work in the 80's and 90's. Generally 2-3 weeks at a time. On Wednesdays we'd always go to a local restaurant (I think it was called Neptune's) that would have a "pig pickin'". I thought it was great with hush puppies too! If I worked nights, on Wed the people would make catfish also with hush puppies. Then for dessert, they had an manual ice cream making machine. They would really make you feel welcome!! I thought the people in the area were much more friendly then what I was used to. Every so often, out in the town, I would run into a Boston area transplant who would recognize my accent and tell me how much they loved it there.

I looked up Neptune's but it appears to be a night club now (if it is indeed the same place). I went into CVS here and I picked up on the accent of the cashier, she said she was from Braintree so I told her I was from Brockton. She said "Oh you mean Vietnam". This is the reason I just tell everyone I'm from Boston and let it fly unless they press for an actual city.

Unfortunately the great way of life here has been discovered and you're more likely to run into someone from Massachusetts or New York as your neighbors than someone actually from NC. Now we have a DD in our town, drugstores on many corners....Why do people move here to get away from the garbage, then bring it with them. I bought a house in the country to get away from this crap!

Dennis, your right, sometimes I wonder if I ought to tell people how nice it is down here. We really want people to advance the state and them selfs. I do think that a person that wants a better life should consider a move south, I just don't want them to try to change the southern's way of life, just go with the flow and allow them selfs to change. Another thing I notice people from the north east seem to think its wall to wall people, they don't realize to amount of open land here. The pay is less but not much, but taxes are more reasonable.

Dennis -- I used to go to the Nortel Networks center between 54 and Trinity. This was before the PNC center so It was a while ago. I think the restaurant was off of 54 -- maybe towards Cary -wasn't too far from the Nortel building -- I think the Nortel building is some sort of courthouse now. The restaurant was cafeteria style with the pig on the counter behind glass toward the customer.

bc27204 wrote: Clifton -- Thanks for opening this up again --It was always was my favorite thread. Just curious -- which BPM ?

Bud -Used to go to Raleigh for work in the 80's and 90's. Generally 2-3 weeks at a time. On Wednesdays we'd always go to a local restaurant (I think it was called Neptune's) that would have a "pig pickin'". I thought it was great with hush puppies too! If I worked nights, on Wed the people would make catfish also with hush puppies. Then for dessert, they had an manual ice cream making machine. They would really make you feel welcome!! I thought the people in the area were much more friendly then what I was used to. Every so often, out in the town, I would run into a Boston area transplant who would recognize my accent and tell me how much they loved it there.

You're welcome - it was my favorite, too! The BPM was the one next to Sears on the West side. This employee started right out of high school and, the last time I saw him he told me he was there for about 45 years. That's dedication.

Charm and kindness - that is what is missing today. Not just in Brockton, but in many places. That is a great comment about the three-deckers. Not only were they owner-occupied and limited to one family per floor, they were carefully tended and maintained. My parents owned a two-family, charging something crazy like $25 per month for a whole second story with garage parking.

I do not remember many snow days as a child. Since neighborhood schools allowed us all to walk reasonable distances, there was not mass panic when bad weather arrived. We girls wore dresses, with snow pants underneath. We were told to slip them off outside the classroom before hanging them on pegs in the hall. Wet mittens and hats were lined up on radiators lining the back of the classroom. Even teachers were known to walk to school since only a few spaces for cars existed in the rear of the building.

That St. Bernard was not the only one walking free. Today a dog gets loose and there are posters all over the city. When I was a kid we opened the door, Spot went out for the morning, came home when he was hungry. That is, if the neighbors did not feed him first. We were also allowed to feed ducks. I seem to remember the geese still living in Canada, however.

Thinking about times gone by, in the early 1950's. 1953 i think, hurricane Carol or Edna came to Brockton for a short visit, That was the storms that took most of the trees on South st. and Bouvae (sp). ave. those and a lot of others were tree lined and looked so nice back then, as kids we had a ball wondering around Campello in the storm. I was carrying papers out of the Campello News Stand at that time. The Enterprise was printed and delivered to the news stand before the storm really started to hit us, being young know-it-all kids we got our papers and delivered them. Dangerous, yes, but what did we care we were the smart ones, nothings going to happen to us! and it didn't, i climbed over fallen trees, stepped over downed power lines and carried on, i had a job to do, and people were waiting for their paper. We were out of power for over a week as i recall, which meant Steve's store had ice cream melting, so he gave all the kids free ice cream, not just a scoop, but one of those large tubs they scoop from, talk about over eating! Just some things I remember, but breakfast, i don't remember! just kidding i do pretty good i guess.

I remember when my mother, a stay-at-home-mom by day, wanted an evening escape. She was hired at Friendly's on the East Side. She did not have a license, so Dad would pack us into the car, drop her off, bring us home, and bundled us back into the car in our PJs and blankets to pick her up at 11 pm. This happened three times per week, year-round. We were so lucky to have Dad all to ourselves, a bit unusual during the late 1960s. We ate dinner very early, but Dad helped us bathe, sewed our stuffed animals, played, watched TV, and read to us. It was great! When Westgate Mall opened, she transferred to that Friendly's as it was closer to home. I remember she worked with many kids, perhaps 10-years younger, who grew up to be prominent citizens of Brockton. We always had a freezer full of ice cream, very popular with our neighborhood friends. I remember her grey dress (uniform) with a white-starched apron. Back in those days, pantyhose did not exist, so Mom was forced to wear a girdle with garters to hold up her stockings. On her feet for 6 hour shifts, she was always uncomfortable, but how she loved that job!.

clifton
the drugstore was dunningtons
cvs bought them out and move to the present location

mars was over were biglots now closed was
and next to dunningtons then cvs then autoplace was a grocery store i believe

or the a and w that was were the mechmeanmys was is now was the town line and now this other bar room establishment