On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

If you pass by the offices of Wedgwood- Crane & Connolly at 19 College Ave and glance into the window, you will see part of my Somerville artifacts collection.

Jack Connolly has been entertaining us for years by always having an interesting window display for all to enjoy. I have been collecting things from Somerville for about 10 years now. I think it started when I noticed that a tin of Kiwi shoe polish that we still have had a Bradlees price sticker on it. Bradlees was a department store where Target is now.

I began searching eBay for all things Somerville.  I went through some of my stuff that would be good for a display and carefully put them in two boxes to bring down to Jack’s window.

Here are some of the things that will be on display: I have several old and very thick milk bottles from various dairies that used to be in Somerville. They are embossed with raised lettering and quite heavy. They come from Seven Oaks Dairy, Acton Dairy, Francis S. Cummings Dairy, and National Creamery Company of Boston and Somerville. I have a matchbook cover from Broadway Chevrolet that used to be at 139 Broadway. The phone number is Somerset 6- 3700.  There is a full page advertisement for McLean’s Asylum from a Boston newspaper dated 1853. I have a large wine bottle with the label still on it. It is from the Goduti Wineries of Somerville Mass. Also in the collection is a book of S&H Green Stamps which many old Somerville stores gave out. One very cool item is a song book from a Somerville High School performance in 1924. You will love the “Greetings from Somerville” postcard with the one cent stamp dated 1907.  I also have a very old graduation announcement from the old Morse Grammar School. Included is an invoice from the White and Leahy Company. They specialized in “sawdust and baled shavings” used in meat smoking and fur preservation. They were located at 51 Allen Street and the slip is dated 1916. Be sure to check out a small glass bottle with the inscription, French Imperial Bluing, Terrio Brothers, Somerville Mass. I also have a small jar from First National Stores also in Somerville. I bet a lot of you know someone who worked at the old First National plant.

I am sure a lot of you have artifacts from Somerville around your house. I was amazed at how many things from Somerville are out there. One personal item that I have kept is my family’s old private phonebook. This will not be on display but every page is historic. There are many, many old family friends’ numbers who are now departed. Just looking at the names brings back so many memories. It is also very nostalgic to see the handwriting of each of my family members as they jotted a number down. There are also a lot of stores and businesses in that book that are things of the past. One is the phone number of  BoBo’s Chinese Restaurant and Surabian Drug Store, both formerly in Ball Square. You can see a lot of the old Somerville phone exchanges in the family phonebook like MO6-( Monument), SO6- (Somerset) PR6-(Prospect). I remember when we moved into our new house in 1961 and we got one of the new exchanges….623 ! I love collecting these old relics from the city I grew up in and love.

My friend Jeanette from Ciampa Manor lent me a scrapbook full of newspaper clippings from the glory days of Somerville High School sports, Ronnie and Walter Perry etc. I will do a separate article on that collection.

I will leave you with two that are particularly special to me. One is a plastic coat check from “The New Jumbo Lounge” in Teele Square, and the other is and old Massachusetts license plate from 1953.  Imagine that plate attached to a big old 1950 Mercury driven by dad, tooling around the streets of old Somerville.

I hope you enjoy looking at the artifacts that will be on display in the window of Wedgwood-Crane & Connolly at 19 College Ave. If you would like to start your own Somerville artifacts collection go to eBay and put “Somerville Mass” in the search window. You can get a head start by looking in your cellar, attic, old drawers, and closets for anything from Somerville’s “olden days!”