MORE: We have some more from Carole Longo’s memories of Bradford.
“On Main Street, popular musicians performed live on stage at the movie theaters. They included Louie Prima and Keely Smith, Cherokee Sweetheart, and Rosemary Clooney.
“‘Hey Mambo, Mambo Italiano.’ Every Christmas Santa came to Emery’s Hardware store and students lined up on the steps at Fifth Ward elementary school to sing Christmas songs.
“Aunt Mary worked at Olson’s Department Store so my mom, Parma Longo received early notices of sales. Friends met at the Downbeat Restaurant to eat the delicious square slices of tomato pie.”
A look through Bradford Volume II by Sally Ryan Costik of The Bradford Landmark Society served as a great refresher.
“Yes, I took dance lessons at Marie Krienson’s studio under the old bus station. What a thrill to go with godfather Dom Romano to the Christmas party at the K of C. Kids watched ‘The Night Before Christmas’ movie, received a gift and a chimney-shaped box of hard candies. My godfather Dom Romano was a member.”
We stopped by the Bradford Landmark Society’s webpage to get some more memories of Bradford, where there’s a 2007 post from East Bradford native Anthony Bottone, who passed away in 2011. In the post, he recalled living on South Kendall Avenue in the 1950s.
He mentioned a shoe repair business run by John Romano, Thessen’s meat market where card tables always came out around 4 p.m., a Sunoco gas station where Togi’s is now, Cropp’s variety store, Sweeley’s drug store — with the only post office in East Bradford.
A small mom & pop’s grocery store called Reading’s was at the corner of East Main and South Kendall, and he remembers them being very busy. “A small bottle of chocolate pop was 6 cents. We kids got these from an ice-filled Coca Cola chest located about halfway back in the store.”
