MORE STORES: Remember the “fluoroscope” at Brown’s Boot Shop
that would be used to measure a youngster’s foot? One of our
readers had mentioned it as part of our continuing saga about
long-ago Bradford stores and, it turns out it wasn’t the smartest
thing ever tried in this country!

Max Birtcil of Glassboro, N.J., reports seeing this machine
featured on the History Channel’s program, “Engineering
Disasters.”

“In a reminder that sometimes the good ol’ days weren’t so good,
I was fascinated to learn that Brown’s had a ‘shoe-fitting’
fluoroscope at one point. Parents would have their kids try on a
pair of shoes, have them stick their foot under this fluoroscope,
and, using x-rays, see exactly how much room they had. Parents
could even see the kids toes wiggle!”

The History Channel program pointed out that the machine
subjected people to as much as 75 Rems of radiation exposure per
minute! “By comparison, the limit for nuclear plant workers in the
US is only 5 Rems per year!” Max writes.

Speaking of Brown’s, Margaret Foster Stephenson of Tucson,
Ariz., tells us she worked there for Mr. Henretty during her junior
and senior years of high school. She graduated in 1941.

Frank Milks of Ocracoke, N.C., writes, “My Dad bought the old
Swift and Company building 85 Elm St. which was torn down to build
the Holiday Inn. I remember Dad having his own gas pump there and
how mad he would get when I would fill my car up at least three
times a week. And gas was only about 30 cents a gallon then. I
imagine he would be really angry now with gas over three
dollars.”

Martha Gould McCabe of Reading adds to our growing list: “I
remember the Nu-Way Market at the head of Main Street. Mom shopped
there and would earn premiums for cookware etc. I still use one of
her favorite six-quart kettles. The hat shop was Rose Kreinson’s
and the Bradford Laundry was in the bus terminal building. My uncle
was a butcher at the National Meat Market on Mechanic Street and
the Como Grill was across the street.”

“What a great place Main Street used to be! Don’t forget
‘flaming the Main’ around the Square and ‘bum’s corner’ (was it
Herme’s gas station?) at Main and Congress.”