Newtown and Main

  I grew up in what was a small rural town on Long Island. Well, that is what it was most of the time, between Memorial day and Labor that changed somewhat. The population increased significantly and became crowded. But that was the tourist dollars arriving for the summer, the dollars that would help get the natives through the winter months. My home wasn't in town, in fact it was about three miles to town. I say town but town is the village. You see in New York State we have cities, towns, villages and hamlets. That isn't true in every state, the nomenclature differs. I was surprised to learn that in Louisiana they don't have counties, they have parishes. My home wasn't in any of those places, my home was at the edge of Northwest Woods. Other than the corner Deli, a garage (service station) and a couple of bars. the businesses where uptown. Well, you didn't have to go all the way uptown, there were stores in an area known as the Hook. The Hook was just below the railroad bridge. That bridge was the dividing line between those that lived uptown (the upstreeters we called them) and the rest of the town. Uptown was defined by two streets, Newtown and Main. That is where all the action was for a teenager. 

 After joining the Navy and leaving that I did live in other places, like Louisiana. I lived in Slidell, a big city as far as I was concerned. There were stores and businesses everywhere not just on two streets. Norwich Ct. and Norfolk, Va. were the same way. Eventually I settled here in Greensboro, Md. We have two main streets. Main Street and Sunset Avenue. Those streets are the heart of Greensboro. Sadly the heyday of the town has long since passed. Where those streets intersect was once called Four Corners by the natives and by all accounts quite the hub of activity on a Friday night. I have only read about that and listened to the old timers recollections of their youth. Today there are few businesses left on main and just two on Sunset. The funeral home and a real estate appraisal service. There is nothing happening at four corners on a Friday night anymore, or any night for that matter. 

 When I was growing up I used to think about what it would be like to live in town. Having everything right there had to be nice. That's where the playground was, the big one with swings, a slide, a wall for playing handball, tennis courts, basketball court and at one point a jungle gym. Yes, it was quite the recreational center. And you had the record store, the toy store, the sporting goods store and the candy shop. There were restaurants, you could get fries and a coke for a dollar. And all that was right outside your door! But then those upstreeters where a bit different than the rest of us, probably from living with all that luxury, spoiled I guess. Kids from below the bridge were foreigners uptown and viewed with suspicion. Still two of my closest friends lived uptown so there was a contradiction. Now I'm the one living in town. Of course no one comes to Sunset and Main looking for adventure. The most activity taking place around here are Funerals. 

 I guess what I'm seeing and thinking about is the death of small town America. We have all heard that before, there have been documentaries about it, a concept relegated to nostalgia. The only "small" town America left are those created by tourists. They have become like amusement parks in a fashion. A place to go to be amused. Shopping is usually the main attraction, whether for those farm fresh vegetables or the fashions only found in those quaint little boutiques. The Bed and Breakfast will provide you with the rustic way of living and perhaps you can ride on a tractor! You and about fifty others can go fishing on the same boat. Just come on down, have a great time, spend your money and leave. When enough tourists decide to hang around longer, malls, shopping centers, theaters and fancy restaurants will appear, not in town though, somewhere outside of that. 

 Well for me Newtown and Main will always be uptown in my thoughts. It was a magical place when I was a child. At Christmas the streets were lined with lighted trees and the toy store window was brightly lighted, bursting with all sorts of toys. The candy store was amazing. There was so much activity with folks coming and going. I could go in the front door of the 5&10 and go out the back. In the back door of Marley's, who I thought may have been related to Jacob Marley from the Scrooge story, and out the front. Could do that most of the way down Main street. My Aunt worked on Main and she would give me money to but those fries and a coke or a milk shake at the Marmador, a soda fountain just like in the movies. I had a cousin that looked a lot like Fonzi in his dress and hair style, long before there was Fonzi. We went uptown, never downtown. Downtown was in the city. And yes I was warned about those Uptown girls. That was part of the allure. 

  Two street towns are a thing of the past I suppose. You would think that Main Street is the most popular name but it isn't. Second street is the most frequently found name, it occurs about 10,866 times in the United States according to the census bureau. First street is second to that with 9,898. Main street? 7,644 main streets in America. I believe my main street, the one of my youth, is the only Main Street in America that can boast having two windmills on it! Main Street Greensboro, Md. has none. It does have a stop light though. And main street does have the Pharmacy. A real old fashioned type of drug store. That's what I call it and always will. Only thing missing in that drugstore is a soda fountain. I do enjoy going there. It has the wooden floor that you would expect and that small town charm. It's about all that is left of Four Corners I guess. It was on Sunset when I first moved here, the drug store was the hardware store. When the hardware store closed, can't compete with Lowes and Home Depot you know, the drug store moved in there. The old drug store building is now a Bodega, I believe that is the proper term, a sign of the times. Not sure how they stay in business as seldom do I see anyone come and go from that store. No one says Four Corners anymore. But Greensboro is reaching that nostalgic phase in development. The attempt is to somehow profit from that, to create an attraction. That's the struggle every small town in America faces. I was fortunate to live in one, experience all of that, even if only during the winter months. Newtown and Main. 

 The picture below is the corner of Newtown and Main sometimes in the 1950's. Uptown baby.