Remembering Pediatrician Dr. Perry in Lexington MA

Dr. Mary Perry lived in a modest old gray-blue home near Lexington (MA) center in which she held her business as a pediatrician. The waiting area had toys and books all over the place and the small doctor's office -- it probably would have been a den in a residential home -- was made special by a warm and friendly doctor that totally dedicated her life to taking care of kids. If, in fact, we were too sick to make the trek from Arlington to Lexington, Dr. Perry would bring herself with little doctor's bag to our home -- even in the dead of a snowy winter -- and come upstairs to our bedroom to provide medical support.

What seems like a scene from the 19th century actually happened only 43 years ago-- you know, the time of watching Gilligan's Island on television, listening to the top 40 WRKO on the radio, playing a game of street hockey in the neighborhood (translated: getting fresh air), and almost always being respectful of our parents.

I know it seems like another place and time that a doctor would include a house visit as part of her practice, but quite fascinating considering this falls into a time of contemporary history, just a few generations ago.

While we have some amazing doctors out there today -- and tremendous advances in the field of medicine and emergency care, to name a few -- doesn't it seem incredible and wonderful that a doctor like Dr. Mary Perry would come to one's home as part of her medical practice? That personal touch is long-gone, but the specific memory is part of the fabric that made our childhoods special -- just another memorable facet of the neighborhood feeling of our communities where people came together to help each other out.

Did you have a childhood pediatrician like Mary Perry back in the day? Please feel free to share your story!

Bates Farm Ice Cream Stand in Carlisle

Who remembers Bates Farm ice cream stand in Carlisle, Mass.? Located at where Kimball Farm ice cream stand is now, Bates Farm served some delicious farm fresh ice cream in an idyllic bucolic setting. I set the unofficial Bates Farm world record for ordering black raspberry ice cream for several years in a row, without trying another flavor. What a nice tradition on Sunday night -- before going back to the junior daily grind known as school -- by driving from the densely populated Arlington to "the sticks." The air was fresh and so were we occasionally -- but not too much or are parents wouldn't take us to Bates.  We had the mini, battery-operated Hitachi television in the back, watching baseball games in our phony wood-paneled station wagon

When Kimball Farm took over Bates many years ago, nothing really changed in the quality of the ice cream flavor -- well, at least, in the black raspberry ice cream because that's all I knew about Bates. I know that's a bold statement as many people feel that Kimball Farm reigns as the local ice cream king, but Bates was every bit as good. I know this because others that ventured beyond black raspberry ice cream at Bates said this was the best ice cream they ever tasted.

Other than getting the occasional creeps wondering if the owner's name was Norman, Bates was a true joy when growing up in the Boston area!

Boston Area Steak Houses of Yesteryear

Valle's Steak House. Photo credit: Pat Boni - http://saxtonsign.com/, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24950959

The trend today is the upscale steak house, but back in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the family-friendly steak house reigned in our Boston area neighborhoods.

Most were chains, but were so integrated with the feel of our towns and cities that people didn't put on their snob hats and put down the corporate presence. Heck, we just wanted a good steak!

Some of those steak houses were:
Newbury Steak House, Boston, Mass.
Rib Room, Hotel Sonesta, Cambridge, Mass.
Valle's Steak House in Chestnut Hill and Saugus, Mass.
JBs Steak House, Newton, Mass.
Colorado Public Library, Brookline, Mass.
Buddy's Sirloin Pit, Harvard Square, Cambridge

Hilltop Steak House, Saugus, Mass.
Bonanza Steak House, Burlington, Mass.

Vincent's Steak House, West Springfield, Mass.
Green Ridge Steak House, Nashua, N.H. (right next to the landmark Green Ridge Turkey Farm, this expansion didn't last too long at all!)
York Steak House, various mall locations

By the way, nice to see locally-owned steak houses like Frank's Steak House in Cambridge, Jimmy's Steer House in Arlington and the Wildwood Steakhouse in Marlboro still thriving!

The Wonderful Aroma of Brewers Yeast at Arlington Health Foods

You have to wonder if the original Arlington Health Foods on Mass Ave. in Arlington Mass., was the basis for comedian Jackie Mason's famous quote: "Have you ever seen the people that work in health food stores who load themselves up with alfalfa sprouts and carrot juice? They all look sick and emaciated. None of them look healthy. In fact, the only healthy person in the entire health food store is the owner sitting in the back stuffing his face with a pastrami on rye."

I honestly don't know if the owner of Arlington Health Foods liked pastrami sandwiches, but I remember the hired help not looking healthy at all, and being occasionally snippy and quite preachy about what was  best to eat.  With the putrid aroma of Brewers Yeast and other cardboard-tasting delicacies, stopping by Arlington Health Foods was never pleasant to me. After buying a multivitamin with dessicated liver, I had then decided that going cross town to the Dairy Queen for a  Dilly Bar would be a far happier option!

Remembering Don Gillis, of WCVB Channel 5 Boston

Don Gillis had that sort of personal touch that made his Channel 5 Boston sports reports sound like he was having a conversation with you in your living room.  From 1962 to 1983 as sports reporter, anchor and director, Gillis came across as a kind person, a true broadcasting professional who read with the best of them, and one that loved sports of all kinds. Whether it was Boston Red Sox baseball or local high school football, you could tell Gillis enjoyed reporting the sports of the day. He also had wonderful interaction with all on-air staff and never had to resort to low-brow humor or excessive ego to make a name for himself. He died a few years ago, leaving behind some wonderful memories for those of us that had the honor of watching him on television.

Editor's note: Mike Lynch has been a terrific successor -- following the tenets of what made Gillis special -- and Channel 5 is to be commended for letting him grow into the position to become one of the best.

Zayre, a Former New England-Based Department Store

Does anyone remember the New England-based department store chain, Zayre? Sort of like an earlier-day Walmart, Zayre sold virtually everything under one roof. Local comedian Norm Crosby was a Zayre spokesperson (his beloved schtick was using big words incorrectly) on local radio and television commercials. I always loved riding the motorized horse in front of the store at Fresh Pond in Cambridge (for the record, I was a kid then, not an adult). "Sports Huddle" Boston radio legend Eddie Andelman had a great spoof in the 70s on Zayre called Zaire ( a region in Africa!).  Great memories of this place, would love to hear your experiences at Zayre!

The First Shattuck's Hardware Store in Downtown Arlington, Mass.

Shattuck's Hardware in Arlington, Mass., remains a thriving local hardware store to this very day, but does anyone remember the original location in downtown Arlington?  The first store was a trip back in time with old wooden floors sprinkled with sawdust, a big head counter, lousy fans, heavy smoking employees and the wonderful smell of poisonous chemicals within what seemed like 15 square feet. One of its employees, Ed, knew everything about hardware supplies and beyond, and would frequently make free house calls to help "the neighbor." Ed's voice was lower than Lou Rawl's resonant tones and his likability in Arlington was about as high as could be -- a beloved local who everyone knew.