During the 1930’s, an enterprising young woman named Cora Mason opened a bakery on Main Street. Folks in Broadway loved her fresh bread and rolls so much that she started a local bread delivery service. A brand new 1939 Chevy panel truck took the baked goods as far north as Woodstock and south to Bridgewater.
Some time later, Reuben Dove bought the bakery and turned it into a candy and frozen custard store. Buying penny candy and feasting on cool frozen treats are memories many Broadway folk will carry with them the rest of their lives.
Kids growing up in the early 1950’s talk of taking glass soda bottles to Dove’s store for a cash refund. The money was usually “recycled” right back into the store though, since most of the young entrepreneurs used their profit to buy candy and ice cream.
I have heard countless tales of the idyllic joys of growing up in Broadway in the ‘50’s. Children roamed all over town playing pick up baseball games, swimming in the Linville Creek or just dreaming the day away. Parents never had to worry about the whereabouts of their youngsters.
Perhaps these memories grow fonder with the telling, but there seems to be a lot of truth in this pleasant reminiscing. The world has changed drastically in the past 60 years, and that change has inevitably affected even small towns such as Broadway. But the memories linger, and who knows, maybe on a particularly lazy summer day when the traffic slows and the sun hangs low in the sky, one can hear faint echoes of laughter as those long-ago children discover the latest flavor of frozen custard at Dove’s candy store!
Some time later, Reuben Dove bought the bakery and turned it into a candy and frozen custard store. Buying penny candy and feasting on cool frozen treats are memories many Broadway folk will carry with them the rest of their lives.
Kids growing up in the early 1950’s talk of taking glass soda bottles to Dove’s store for a cash refund. The money was usually “recycled” right back into the store though, since most of the young entrepreneurs used their profit to buy candy and ice cream.
I have heard countless tales of the idyllic joys of growing up in Broadway in the ‘50’s. Children roamed all over town playing pick up baseball games, swimming in the Linville Creek or just dreaming the day away. Parents never had to worry about the whereabouts of their youngsters.
Perhaps these memories grow fonder with the telling, but there seems to be a lot of truth in this pleasant reminiscing. The world has changed drastically in the past 60 years, and that change has inevitably affected even small towns such as Broadway. But the memories linger, and who knows, maybe on a particularly lazy summer day when the traffic slows and the sun hangs low in the sky, one can hear faint echoes of laughter as those long-ago children discover the latest flavor of frozen custard at Dove’s candy store!
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