The basic concept of
this site is to explore
the changes that have
taken place over the
last 50 years along a one-mile stretch
of Chicopee Street in
Willimansett,
Massachusetts. This
small business microcosm
connects my childhood
home and the elementary
school that I attended
from 1958 through 1967. At the
time, Chicopee Street
was the main route
connecting the city
centers of Chicopee and
Holyoke. The
walk to and from school
presented me with a wide
variety of businesses,
each of which fascinated
me, even at a very young
age, and had a story to
tell. During the
years between
kindergarten and 8th
grade, things were
rapidly changing, and
businesses that had
thrived for years were
already closing. Most
importantly, the changes
that took place in my
microcosm were taking
place - or were soon to
take place - throughout
America.
Was the neighborhood
movie theater a victim
of television or the
mobility that made it
easy to drive across the
Connecticut River to the new
multi-screen cinemas in
West Springfield? Or did
the owner simply decide
to throw in the towel
after he realized that
there was no money to be
made with 25¢ Saturday
double-feature matinees
and the candy
concession? Consumption
patterns changed
dramatically in my
microcosm in the 1960’s,
and this was still years
before the development
of shopping malls, the
cancerous growth of
Wal-Mart, the dawn of
the Internet, the influx
of cheap goods from
China, or the
“maturation” of the baby
boom generation which
would bring new meaning
to the concept of
obsessive
overconsumption. As
neighborhood businesses
have fallen by the
wayside against the
backdrop of these new
market forces, it is
truly surprising that
any could survive. Not
simply a walk down
Memory Lane, let’s walk
my “mile” to see if
there are any lessons to
be learned.
If you would like to
contribute any “missing
pieces” to my story,
particularly if you have
period photographs of
the neighborhood and any
of the businesses which
I have cited (both
“before” or “after”), .
