Guest post from Stacy Juba!

I miss playing my Atari games. They were simple, fun, exciting and frustrating all at the same time. I don't know how many hours I spent playing Pac-Man as a child, determined to gobble up all the pellets and avoid those annoying ghosts, monsters, or whatever the heck those things were that used to chase my guy around the path.
And don't even get me started on Space Invaders -- I spent countless hours firing off desperate shots to blast the bad guys into oblivion, and once I got annihilated, I'd restart the game resolving that THIS time I'd make it further. My other favorite cartridges were Circus Atari, Bowling, and Donkey Kong, though I was terrible at Donkey Kong.
I know the graphics and special effects of Atari games pale in comparison to today's high tech video games, and that you can even play some of these old favorites in various updated ways, but to me there's nothing like an actual Atari system. I wish I'd kept my Atari game console and cartridges rather than giving the whole set to my grandmother years ago to sell at a flea market after I got hooked on Nintendo and Super Mario. I didn't realize how much I'd miss it. They don't make Atari sets anymore, but they will always be a big part of my childhood. I hope the person who was smart enough to grab mine is still enjoying it.

Stacy Juba is the author of the mystery novels Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and Sink or Swim (Mainly Murder Press), as well as the patriotic children’s picture book The Flag Keeper and the children’s e-book Victoria Rose and the Big Bad Noise. Her young adult paranormal thriller Dark Before Dawn will be released by Mainly Murder Press in January 2012. Her young adult hockey novels Face-Off and Offsides will be released in 2011 and 2012. You can read more about her books on her web site http://stacyjuba.com/blog/ and blog http://stacyjuba.com/blog/blog/ .

Green Ridge Turkey Farm

Next up on my list of things that aren’t around anymore is the Green Ridge Turkey Farm Restaurant. The Green Ridge was on the corner of the Daniel Webster Highway and Spit Brook Road in Nashua, NH. Have you seen the McDonald’s commercial about the coffee where the two guys are asking each other New England related questions? Left on Spit Brook and right on Daniel Webster would bring you right past the Green Ridge Turkey Farm. (Although it was on the left corner, where the Barnes and Noble is now.) I’m not sure there ever was a turkey farm there. I never saw one. But through the sixties and seventies, our family ate at that restaurant for special occasions. It doesn’t look like much, but it was a cool place. Old-fashioned décor, dark paneling, booth seating, and as I recall, a pheasant under glass in the entryway. Literally, a stuffed pheasant under what looked like an upside-down fish tank. The food was good, not just turkey and all the fixings, but that was the thing to have. Anybody else remember the Green Ridge? Was there ever a turkey farm there?

related links:

postcard

Memories of closed New England Restaurants

Crazy Teepee

Welcome back! This week I’m reminiscing about The Crazy Teepee, formerly of Milford, NH. This place was sort of an indoor flea market, a giant second-hand store that sold almost anything. It was a house, with attached outbuildings, and it went on forever. Stuff was stacked floor to ceiling, and some of it was downright odd. Ancient electronic appliances filled one room. Another room was loaded with glass. I remember trunks and toyboxes in the cellar (I still have a tack trunk made from an old toybox I bought there.) One room was filled with ski boots. Old ski boots. There were several rooms of clothing, maybe sorted by size. My favorite section, and I call it a section because I’m pretty sure there was more than one room, was the books. If I recall, there were possibly three rooms of books, one leading off the other in a rabbit warren of paperbacks and old hardcovers. Shelves and shelves of books. I bought paperback Mad Magazine collections, old detective novels, old horse books, anything I could afford. I can still smell those rooms of books, that old sort of musty papery scent. I was never that fond of being dragged off to flea markets, and this happened a lot when I was a kid, but I remember enjoying the Crazy Teepee. I actually liked going there. I heard it burned to the ground, no big surprise. Still, it’s one of those places I wish I could take my kids to. I can imagine my son poring over the Mad collections with the same delight I felt. Anybody else ever visit the Crazy Teepee?

Picture from MilfordPictures.com

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog. As the title suggests, I’m interested in exploring things that used to be, but aren’t around anymore. These things can be places, like Benson’s Animal Farm, or things, like 8-Track players. I’m open to guest posts, contact me if you want to tell us about something you like that isn’t there anymore. Thanks for noticing me!

To kick off, here's a picture from Whalom Park:



This is my daughter, Annie, age two. This photo was taken in 1995. Whalom Park was an amusement park on the shores of Lake Whalom in Lunenburg, Massachusetts. According to Wikipedia, it was in existence from 1893 to 2000. When I was a kid, growing up in Hollis, New Hampshire, we went to Whalom Park all the time. My father worked for Sanders, another something that isn't there anymore, and the company outings were often held at Whalom Park. This picture was actually taken on a Sanders outing. Whalom Park had the usual assortment of rides, including a fabulous wooden rollercoaster called the Flyer Comet that probably started my own love for wooden coasters. There was a great Merry-Go-Round, a Tilt-A-Whirl, a fabulous Funhouse, mini golf, a small gauge railroad, all the usual stuff. The Cars filmed the video for Touch and Go at Whalom Park. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX890A_AYqk

Here's a link to the start of a history site for Whalom Park:

http://whalompark.com/

That's it for my first post. Please add comments if you remember Whalom Park, and remember, I'm looking for guest bloggers to talk about things that aren't there anymore.