Before and Afters
While I have waxed nostalgic on the what was before's of Whitman, it's not to say that there is a lack of things here now to keep people from visiting, and/or staying.
Whitman still sports a vibrant downtown area, with enough choices to satisfy various shopping tastes. For a quick coffee for the road, or one to linger over while enjoying good conversation or reading, there are three, no less, places downtown to choose from in the form of Dunkin Donuts, Center Ice and MaryLou's News. I have to say that I haven't been to MaryLou's yet, but this particular Dunkins has the BEST service , and makes the best coffee! I have yet to walk away from their dissatisfied with my large iced whatever flavour. And Center Ice offers an excellent, affordable array of sandwiches and soups to enjoy while sitting at an eclectic array of tables and chairs where you can watch the town go by through the large, unobstructed window. Supreme( I believe where the former Sally's Dress Shop once was) seems to be THE choice for subs and pizza( it's a definite fave with my two sons) among the young crowd, though I am informed by son #1 that it is popular with ALL ages. Duval's has been the cornerstone(literally, as it sits on the corner of South Ave and Washington) of Whitman Center for as long as I can remember. I recommend it highly; extremely friendly service, and good selection without the small store prices. And, they made the unprecedented and very cool decision a few years back to stop selling cigarettes; hallelujah! I guess they figured that it was a bit hypocritical for a pharmacy to be selling something that will most likely kill you. Good for them, and it hasn't seemed to hurt business at all. Need to stock up on makeup or perfume but don't want to have to trek to the mall for it, and pay(through inflated prices) for the 'service' of having someone with way to much makeup on available to help you put on yours? Go to Carroll Cut Rate, right across from Sovereign(formerly Abington Savings) Bank. No pressure, and a great place for dads to take kiddies when it's time to buy mom's birthday or Christmas gift. Dad gets to save some cash, and the kids have fun in the small, but well stocked store. As a kid, I was fascinated by the humongous perfume bottles they would have on display in the front window, and I still remember a very cool Evening in Paris poster that was tacked onto the side wall.
For banking, their is the aforementioned Sovereign Bank and Mutual Federal Savings( my personal favourite), and hey, I can't forget Millie's Lunch! Another 'been there forever' place that serves one of the best breakfasts you can ask for, and it provides a real homey feel . Going there is a tradition of sorts with the Brewer kids.
There was a bit of a shake up in town recently when Joubert's Clothing made the announcement that they would close after 5o+ years, and Family Dollar decided to set up shop in it's place. There were people who thought that a place such as Family Dollar would bring an unwelcome 'element' to Whitman, or that it's presence would somehow detract from Whitman's charm ; at the time, I found this opinion to be a bit snobbish(and still do), and I was afraid that the new business wouldn't be given a fair chance to succeed. I am glad to report that Family Dollar is doing just fine, thank you, and provides a much needed convenience to the residents of Whitman, without taking anything away from it.
The whole downtown area is fairly small, so that means it is a great walk, and a venture up South Ave to go to either the post office, town hall( one of the prettiest I have seen), or Venus Cafe will afford you a tree lined, easy on the legs way to get your errands done, and a shortcut through the Town Hall grounds will take you to the park and town pool, if a swim or leisurely stroll is in order.
Though the town is more congested, and I have been known to whine about how long it takes me to get through the center, I really wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Except for three years in New Hampshire, Whitman is where I have my roots; and it's not a fear of change that keeps me here, I just sincerely love the place. It is a neat middle class suburb made up of commuters, long timers, and young families that reside in a crazy mix of McMansions , modest single family homes and mutli- families,and that helps to make it the great place that it is. And as my kids are coming up to be proud townies as well, that just makes Whitman seem even better.
Whitman still sports a vibrant downtown area, with enough choices to satisfy various shopping tastes. For a quick coffee for the road, or one to linger over while enjoying good conversation or reading, there are three, no less, places downtown to choose from in the form of Dunkin Donuts, Center Ice and MaryLou's News. I have to say that I haven't been to MaryLou's yet, but this particular Dunkins has the BEST service , and makes the best coffee! I have yet to walk away from their dissatisfied with my large iced whatever flavour. And Center Ice offers an excellent, affordable array of sandwiches and soups to enjoy while sitting at an eclectic array of tables and chairs where you can watch the town go by through the large, unobstructed window. Supreme( I believe where the former Sally's Dress Shop once was) seems to be THE choice for subs and pizza( it's a definite fave with my two sons) among the young crowd, though I am informed by son #1 that it is popular with ALL ages. Duval's has been the cornerstone(literally, as it sits on the corner of South Ave and Washington) of Whitman Center for as long as I can remember. I recommend it highly; extremely friendly service, and good selection without the small store prices. And, they made the unprecedented and very cool decision a few years back to stop selling cigarettes; hallelujah! I guess they figured that it was a bit hypocritical for a pharmacy to be selling something that will most likely kill you. Good for them, and it hasn't seemed to hurt business at all. Need to stock up on makeup or perfume but don't want to have to trek to the mall for it, and pay(through inflated prices) for the 'service' of having someone with way to much makeup on available to help you put on yours? Go to Carroll Cut Rate, right across from Sovereign(formerly Abington Savings) Bank. No pressure, and a great place for dads to take kiddies when it's time to buy mom's birthday or Christmas gift. Dad gets to save some cash, and the kids have fun in the small, but well stocked store. As a kid, I was fascinated by the humongous perfume bottles they would have on display in the front window, and I still remember a very cool Evening in Paris poster that was tacked onto the side wall.
For banking, their is the aforementioned Sovereign Bank and Mutual Federal Savings( my personal favourite), and hey, I can't forget Millie's Lunch! Another 'been there forever' place that serves one of the best breakfasts you can ask for, and it provides a real homey feel . Going there is a tradition of sorts with the Brewer kids.
There was a bit of a shake up in town recently when Joubert's Clothing made the announcement that they would close after 5o+ years, and Family Dollar decided to set up shop in it's place. There were people who thought that a place such as Family Dollar would bring an unwelcome 'element' to Whitman, or that it's presence would somehow detract from Whitman's charm ; at the time, I found this opinion to be a bit snobbish(and still do), and I was afraid that the new business wouldn't be given a fair chance to succeed. I am glad to report that Family Dollar is doing just fine, thank you, and provides a much needed convenience to the residents of Whitman, without taking anything away from it.
The whole downtown area is fairly small, so that means it is a great walk, and a venture up South Ave to go to either the post office, town hall( one of the prettiest I have seen), or Venus Cafe will afford you a tree lined, easy on the legs way to get your errands done, and a shortcut through the Town Hall grounds will take you to the park and town pool, if a swim or leisurely stroll is in order.
Though the town is more congested, and I have been known to whine about how long it takes me to get through the center, I really wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Except for three years in New Hampshire, Whitman is where I have my roots; and it's not a fear of change that keeps me here, I just sincerely love the place. It is a neat middle class suburb made up of commuters, long timers, and young families that reside in a crazy mix of McMansions , modest single family homes and mutli- families,and that helps to make it the great place that it is. And as my kids are coming up to be proud townies as well, that just makes Whitman seem even better.
posted by Christine at 9:37 PM
4 Comments:
Well written with some good visuals.
You are fortunate to be living in and have grown up in a town with some history. My town is nice enough but being a relatively new suburb, it only had a few grocery stores and a bunch of residential areas when we moved here. Since it was so new, there are few memories to wax nostalgic about or observe the changes over the years. Count yourself lucky.
Peggy
I was waiting for you to mention Millies Lunch. Linda and Dawn used to work there on weekends. Once in while I would get up early and walk there with them (at 6am,what a friend!). Did you know that Millie's used to be next to Brown's until the fire then they took over where Park Jewelers used to be. Park Jewelers was owned by Mr Stone whose wife was the principal of the middle school.
She now lives in New London NH, I only know this because I was working in a store there and she came in to pick up a cake and I recognized her, small world!
I love Whitman too but I wouldn't want to move away from Halifax after 23 yrs and all the great people I've met. But definitly if Halifax kicked me out Whitman would be where I would go.
I almost forgot, you can't talk about Whitman without mentioning the Toll House or Kings Castle! How about the Spinning Wheel? The Toll House and Spinning Wheel were victims of fire as was the Dyer School. It's really too bad that those landmarks are gone.
OK enough!
The Spinning Wheel!! Remember the Rumble Seat jeans that they sold there? I can still picture the tag- sort of a half circle, with a Betty Boop looking gal on it.
Dyer School- I was there, crying my eyes out when it burned. Wish I still had the t-shirt commemorating the school.
And I was wondering what was next to Browne's!!Haven't thought of Park Jeweler's in forever!
Remember the paddle boats at King's Castle? Then they filled it in to make the parking lot bigger.
I do my food shopping there now, since its now a Stoppie.
I too worked at Millies for a short time. I also had stints at Venus and Joubert's! I would get a ride from mom on the school bus and she would drop me in front of Jouberts, stopping traffic and everything!
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