Dear Voices for Thompsonville,
This note is to commend you for all your group is doing to help revitalize downtown Thompsonville and to restore it’s vibrant history. For the past three years, I’ve been living in Tucson, Arizona, but my brother Ron and I were born and raised in Enfield. A good portion of our lives were spent in downtown Thompsonville. I would love to share some early recollections from our childhood with you.
Since 1911, our family has had a deep rooted history in Thompsonville and the Bigelow Sanford Carpet Mill. As Italian Immigrants, several of my relatives found employment at Bigelow upon their arrival from Italy. My great-grandmother, Maria Basile Cannella lived on Tariff Street and worked at the mill; my grandparents, Angelo and Jennie (Cannella) Noto also worked at Bigelow, as did my parents, aunts and uncles.
During my childhood in the late 1950’s and 1960’s I often heard my mother and aunt conversing about their jobs at the mill, with its colorful cast of characters. I vividly remember hearing stories about the Tap, the Axminster, the weaver’s who operated the looms, the noise in the factory, the sweltering heat in summer, as well as my mother’s fear of climbing the ladders to fix broken pieces of wool on the looms. The lives of my relatives centered around three predominant areas: family, St. Patrick’s Church and Bigelow. I will never forget the shock and devastation when Bigelow announced that the Mill would close in the early 1970’s and “move down South.”
As children, my brother and I enjoyed visiting our grandfather and aunt’s on Cottage Green and Windsor Street. Every Sunday after 11:00 Mass at St. Pat’s, my mom, dad and brother would head to our grandfather’s house on Cottage Green for a large spaghetti dinner. The comforting aroma of that simmering pot of spaghetti sauce which greeted us upon entering will be forever etched in my memory. The sauce was always made with fresh tomatoes from grandpa’s garden and had an almost spiritual quality! Family members and friends would stop to visit throughout the day and there was always a warm welcome in addition to plenty of food for everyone. We especially enjoyed helping out at our grandfather’s perfectly organized garden on Asnuntuck Street, walking to “Mid-Town” for ice-cream, fetching our Grandfather at the Son’s of Italy Club or shopping at Thompsonville Drug. Saturday or Sunday afternoons were often spent at The Strand Theater watching Disney movies, or skating on the Freshwater pond in winter. I can remember Browne’s Furniture Store, The Western Auto (where my parents bought my brother’s first bike), Hydacks Hardware, W.T. Grant, Tat’s and especially, our Aunt Sadie’s cleaning store, the M&M Cleaners. My Mother bought our clothing at Marnell’s or Craig’s Kiddie Shop on Main Street in Thompsonville. I can still remember the smell of the shops and the sound of the creaking wide-panel floor boards under my feet, not to mention their large selection of beautiful dresses and children’s clothing. Other memories of downtown Thompsonville include the sound of the fire station siren, Christmas decorations on Main Street and many charming old buildings which have since been demolished.
Thompsonville has been such an important part of our lives. Again, thank you for helping to keep its memory alive.
Sincerely,
Ann Marie Michaud Sullivan
