MOLLY'S

I have some pretty distinct memories about Molly's, on Mill Road. (in the photo, I think it was where the Pizza place is now - the third store from the right.) I used to go there as a kid to get the Sunday paper for my Dad, and would drool over the baseball cards, Frisbees, toy pocket knives, key-chain rabbits feet, balsa wood gliders, water-pump rockets, and the other items that hung on the rack behind the register.

When we got into high school, we'd get sodas there after school, especially after Cross Country practice. We'd go with Gordon Kaye, Dave Melnick, Ralph Manna, and Joe Vissichelli and get Egg Creams, Vanilla Cokes, and Tony Poteete's favorite, the "Lime Ricky" (a cherry soda with the juice from a lime, freshly squeezed and stirred-in at the last minute). Molly's husband (whose name I can't recall) used to make sandwiches for lunch and used to yell out "10 minutes before 5th period begins" to give us just enough time to get back to school. The place had a distinct smell that was just like all the other candy store/soda fountains of that era... the same way dry cleaners or hardware stores tend to smell the same. I hate to sound like an old fart -- but candy bars were a nickle and chocolate "Ice Cubes" were two cents. sigh.

I remember somehow feeling like I was an interloper there... like the place really belonged to the "older kids" that came before us -- Betsy Fels, Chuck Drimal, Barbara Greenberg, Peter Blumenthal, Carolann Rohsiepe, Mark Silver, Gene Barkin, Bernie Portnoy, Sherry Gordon, Fred Cagan, Josh Tolkoff and so many more... Maybe it was because they were so much older and seemed so cool. I was often intimidated by the upper classmen at South. When you think about it... having ages 12 through 18 in one school is really quite a spread -- and at that age, every year is a big deal.

Does anyone have "Molly's stories" to tell? Click on the word "comments" in the white bar below, and type in your remarks. When you're done, click on "other", type in your name in the yellow box, and click "Publish Your Comment."