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.