Saturday, January 12, 2013
A look at Lynnfield's interesting past using items up for sale on eBay.com.
From time to time, this website takes a look at the items up for sale on eBay.com that are connected to the past and character of Lynnfield. This week, somebody is selling a bunch of press photos that were taken in the 1920s. So this particular column will focus on some of those. Kimball’s Starlight Ballroom: Here’s a very cool old press photo of a long-ago Lynnfield landmark. Back in the day, people would go dance the night away at Kimball’s Starlight Ballroom, an open-air pavilion that attracted some very popular big band and other acts in its day. I had always heard that the place was huge, and it definitely that was the case. Today, the Sunrise Senior Living facility stands on the site of the former Starlight Ballroom and a historical …
Monday, December 24, 2012
From time to time, Lynnfield Patch takes a look at items up for sale on eBay.com that are connected to the town's past.
Here are some of the latest items to come up for sale on eBay that have a connection to Lynnfield's past: 1919 Diary: This is one of those unique items of local historical significance that I always wish would end up in the hands of historical societies instead of casual collectors. It’s the 1919 diary of Victor Bartlett Newhall, who served in the Navy during World War I and who died in 1977. It sounds like a pretty colorful life he led in the Navy based on the excerpt provided from the diary. For local historical purposes, I’ll quote the paragraph provided here by the seller: “Up early 7:00, around ship, busy all a.m. getting ready to sail. Cleared up, lifted arrials and dinner. Hung around and up to Hudson Terminals in noon. No mail. …
Saturday, December 15, 2012
From time to time, Lynnfield Patch takes a look at items currently up for sale on eBay connected to the town's past.
It was the Summer of 1969 – and Joe Dombrowski was on the town common calling out square dancing routines. This press photo shows a long-ago image where a bunch of locals in full western attire descended on the common and do-si-doh’d their ways into the archive books. Some seven years before “Star Wars” would change American culture forever, Mr. Dombrowski also appears to have been something of a pioneer with the “Han Solo” look. The Lynnfield Hotel: Long ago, the Lynnfield Hotel stood near Salem Street and Route 1. This item is quite interesting from a local history perspective – it’s a glass negative of a lithograph showing the former hotel – as it would have looked long before the first car ever traveled down the old Newburyport …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
This week we received a question about a "Tonetwill By Lynnfield" jacket a man purchased at an area yard sale. Does anybody remember a Boston-based "Lynnfield Fabrics" company?
Earlier this fall, a reader wrote to Lynnfield Patch asking about a movie that he vaguely remembered being shot in town a couple of decades ago. We actually had pretty good luck with that one, and within a day or two, locals had told us about the night a crew was in town around 1989 shooting scenes for the motorcycle movie "Race For Glory." This week, we got another question about something very, very obscure with a possible Lynnfield connection. A man named Ben reports that he just picked up a "Tonetwill By Lynnfield" jacket. The clothing appears to be from around the "mod" phase of the '60s and according to Ben, the only mention of this brand of jacket anywhere online is an old Lynnfield Patch "eBay Report" column where I quipped that it…
Friday, October 19, 2012
From time to time, Lynnfield Patch takes a look at items up for sale online that are connected to the town's past.
"Won't You Take Me To..." In 1977, the disco era had come full swing to Lynnfield. Even the guy on the LHS year book cover was sporting a blue jump-suit thing. I think I’ve seen some of my favorite musicians wearing similar get-ups in videos from that era. The jumpsuit even sports a big Pioneer Pride-style “L” on the front. I wonder what that would get online. The whole image feels like Elvis in Vegas, Jesus Christ Superstar, Dan Tanna, Frampton Comes Alive, and the Carter Administration all rolled into one product of a very specific and unique era. It’s so perfectly illustrated for the benefit of future decades that it wouldn’t surprise me if alien time travelers were behind the whole thing. So, in the space of just a year the LHS …
Monday, October 8, 2012
Part humor, part local history, the eBay Report takes a light-hearted look at objects up for auction connected to the town's past.
From time to time, this website takes a look at the various items on eBay that are connected to Lynnfield and its past. Here are some of the latest examples: A Snapshot Into The Past: Thanks to this little magnifying glass feature on eBay, you can zoom in on this picture and see some fairly good detail of one long-ago day in Lynnfield early in the 20th Century. This shot shows a house on Suntaug Lake, presumably during the peak summer months. A few canoes or other small watercraft are out on the waterfront and several people can be barely made out in front of the building. It’s pretty interesting actually. Lynnfield Pickle Crock: So have you ever wanted to give somebody a gift that sounds a little dirty but really isn’t? Just kidding. I …
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
From time to time, Lynnfield Patch takes a light-hearted look at the town's past using items currently trading on eBay.
Here is a look at some of the latest items with a connection to Lynnfield that can be found on eBay: Pocahontas: Ok, from a local historical standpoint, this is simply awesome. Pardon my overwhelming history geekery. If I had a spare $100 I would seriously just pick this up and donate it to the town historical society. It’s a crate from 1922 used by the Pocahontas Spring Water company, with a female Indian logo that looks like somebody put a headdress on a beautiful but non-Indian silent movie actress. The box also says “Property of J.F. Smith, Lynnfield Centre, Mass.” This is also cool to me because I remember well my story early this year where I actually met the 86-year old son of the company founder, who has lived in town his entire …
Thursday, July 5, 2012
From time to time, Lynnfield Patch takes a light-hearted look at items from the town's past that can be found for sale on eBay.
Here is a look at some of the Lynnfield-related items recently spotted for sale on eBay: Decades Of Traffic: In these parts, people will often default back to the Blizzard of ’78 when thinking of snowstorms that halted traffic. However, this past press photo from 1969 depicts a blizzard that year that managed to bring a much smaller Route 128 to a standstill. That long boat-ish car in the middle even reminds me a bit of my own first car, which was a 1977 AMC Matador. The traffic only appears to be headed in one direction for some reason. Either way, it looks like hellish traffic but it still might beat driving in New Jersey on any given day. The Moulton Shoe Factory: Someday historians could use this picture as proof that during some long…
Sunday, April 8, 2012
A light hearted look at the town's past using items spotted on eBay.
Road To Somewhere: Somebody has this old postcard back up for sale on eBay. Personally, I still suspect it's not really an image from Lynnfield, but more of a generic image that was also being sold down the highway claiming to be "an old road in Hyannis" or "an old road in Altoona." But with that said – Does anybody have any thoughts on whether this might perhaps be a really, really old shot of Walnut Street with the present day Colonial/Market Street property to the left? That's the one spot in Lynnfield that comes to mind with this image, notwithstanding all the years of change. Hell's Dolls: So I've got a friend who is afraid of clowns. And I've heard it's actually quite a common fear. But, after seeing this picture I might almost have …
Sunday, April 1, 2012
A light-hearted look at Lynnfield's past using items spotted for sale on eBay.
Most weekends, Lynnfield Patch runs a look at the latest items connected to the town that can be found on eBay. Here are the latest examples: Mysterious Country Road With Super Foliage: This reminds me of a very, very hard version of my weekly “Where Is This?” feature, which also runs on Sundays on Lynnfield Patch. The back of the postcard says “Greetings from Lynnfield Centre.” The thing is – where the heck is this scene, even when you factor in for decades of change and development? Granted, much of Lynnfield used to look like this, and many longtime residents regret the day it stopped looking this way. That said, I’m stumped. One random guess that comes to mind is Main Street near the Sagamore Golf Course - or perhaps some early …
Steven
1:00 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013
The picture labeled "Lynnfield Trading Center" shows the view from the intersection of Main St. & South Common looking towards Wakefield. Most of the old buildings are still there. The large part on the end of the "stores" was moved back and is where the Wakefield Savings bank is now. The middle of the building which housed Roundy's Store is still there and is where the Village Pharmacy is now. … more ›