Beyond the South End

Happy Days at

(All of the pictures you see here came courtesy of Andrew of the Rockland Historical Society. He also supplied much of the historical information for the place. I therefore consider him to be co-author of this story. Thanks, Andrew.)

Richie and the gang on the T.V. show, “Happy Days” had their Arnold’s, but we teens of the 40s-60s had Humpty-Dumpty in Rockland, Maine. It was the place we all ended up at after a basketball game at the Community Building (now Recreation Center). We all have our special memories of the place and some of us still miss it, including me.

 

This picture of Humptys on the corner of Park and Broadway is the original building. Notice there is just a small sign up over the Drive-In window with Humpty-Dumpty on it. When asking for memories of being at Humptys I got a response from Sandy Delano who wants to know “What happened to the large sign on the right side of the building of Humpty Dumpty sitting on a wall?” Does anyone else remember that sign and maybe what happened to it?

Notice also that there was a very small parking area. We teens who had cars were always jockeying for a spot when we all landing there at the same time after a game. Many of the boys used to show their cars off here. The old DeSoto I piled full of teenage girls would usually be among the cars showing up after a game.

 

See that house behind Humptys up on the hill? I remember that the Grispi family, of who Joan was in my class of 1959, lived right behind Humptys on Broadway. I don’t know if this is their house or if their house was behind this one, but I do remember how jealous I was that they got to live so close to Humptys.

History from the Rockland Historical Society

According to Andrew at the Society, “Ray Cross and Percy Blaisdell opened the restaurant about 1946. Clarence Coffin, who was a cook there took over ownership about 1964-65. The restaurant remained open under his ownership to at least 1971. In 1973 a business called the Lions Den was at that location.”

 

Both Andrew and I have been in contact with Susan Allen Thomas, who claims that her father Bob Allen named the place. Several family members over the years have said that he came up with the name/logo. Andrew says he probably did but it’s in conjecture. Why or how or if he was friends with the owners we don’t know.

 

Susan says he was a very funny man and had a dry sense of humor. Maybe that humor helped him in naming the restaurant. By the way, Bob married a South End Snow, Ginny Snow, who I think I remember.

 

 

 

This picture from Andrew shows the restaurant in the late 1950s or very early 1960s when it was completely remodeled. I don’t see any sign at all on the front of this building showing that it is actually Humptys, but we all knew the place and where it was for sure.

 

 

 

This picture shows the interior I remember, especially the order window. The menu on the wall shows 50s prices for sure. From what I could see in the picture, here’s what it says:

Fountain Service

Sundaes

Floats

Frappes

Home Made Pastry

Coffee  Tea  Milk

O.K. pop quiz: Who knows the difference between a float and a frappe? We all know what a sundae is.

The Sandwich Menu with most likely 50s prices include:

 

BLT….40

Chicken Salad….40

Ham….30

Ham & Cheese….40

Western….35

Fried Egg….20

Eastern….35

Lobster de luxe….75

Another pop quiz: What’s the difference between a Western and an Eastern and what was included in Lobster de luxe which had the highest price on the menu at a whopping 75 cents?

Also available according to the menu sign were: Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Grilled Cheese, Hot Dog, Clam Roll, Lobster Roll, and Tuna Salad.

Who can remember what we usually ordered after a game? It was the best French fries ever sprinkled with white vinegar (a bottle with a hole in the cap always stood on the counter where you ordered), plus the salt we added and a Coke. Today you can actually buy salt and vinegar potato chips which I have indulged in when I’m missing my Humptys fries.

 

When I started working at Newberry’s as a teenager, a good amount of my pay went to clam baskets from the take-out window. The best ever!

Who can also remember what some nasty boys sometimes did with the salt and sugar containers? Yep, they poured each into each other. I think it got to the point where the staff removed both when they knew a bunch of teenagers were about to show up. I know we always shook a little salt into our hands and tasted it before putting it on our fries to make sure it was actually salt and not sugar.

 

Look at this ad from the Rockland Historical Society files:

 

 

I see they emphasized that they did indeed serve “Complete Meals.” In the days before there were many take out windows in town (I don’t think we even had a MacDonalds then) I suppose they also needed to emphazise the line “Orders Put Up to Take Out.”

A Humptys Waitress

 

I came across the obituary of a former waitress at Humptys, Elizabeth Hammond Sprowl. She was known as “Libby.” Do you remember her? She was a career waitress and worked at Humptys as well as Sims, Newberts, Friendly CafA, Lobster Land, and Dorman’s Ice Cream. She also worked the Windsor and Union Fairs. We remember some of these bygone restaurants don’t we? At least we still have Dorman’s (but who knows for how long).

Memories

Here are some memories of Humptys some of my Facebook friends (and some from the Historical Society Facebook page) shared with me:

Jean Rowling Monroe: I think 1956 is about the time Fred’s mother worked there, waitressing. (Rockland Historical Society Facebook Page…RHSF)

Larry Hedea: Great fried clams and purple cows. That was our version of Arnold’s from Happy Days. (RHSF)

Hey Larry, what’s a “purple cow?”

Beverly Fowles: I still call that intersection Humpty Dumpty Hill. (RHSF)

Kathie Bowden Gregg: I remember meeting there for Girl Scouts and having supper. (RHSF)

Verna Bramhall: I would go there and have a lobster roll and chocolate milk. My date at that time ended up being my husband for 52 years. (FB)

Algie Mazzeo: I still miss it. (FB)

Me too, Algie, me too.

My own memories are of the noise and revelry we all shared as teenagers the minute we all blew through the door of Humptys, especially after a basketball game. We’d come through the door in loud groups and belly up to the ordering counter to put in our orders for fries and coke. The juke box would be wound up and running continuously all the time we were there. It didn’t matter if we won the game or not, we still laughed and ate and enjoyed a good time with our friends.

Today on the Hill on the Corner of Park and Broadway

Today on the corner of Park and Broadway sits Stella Maris House, a senior living building of 48 assisted living units. The Grispi house is gone too. I believe the new Catholic Church sits on that property too.

We who were fortunate to spend some time at Humptys when we were kids will always remember it. If we close our eyes we can still smell those fried clams and fries we loved so much. We won’t see such a place again.

Thanks for listening.