New England Nostalgia

It's nice time with Dan Ray. I'm tell you easy, Boston.

We're going to stick with the Louis Tian story for at least one caller here. Uh, and then we're probably gonna switch topic. So let me go to Dave in North Carolina. Dave, you think Louis Tiant belongs in the Hall of Fame?

You're damn right, sir.

I like that. Are you a Bostonian originally or no?

Abrol mass sir?

All right, all right, you must have been in the military with this, sir stuff. I like that.

Yes, sir, A good friend of mine lives right next door to me.

His name is Grady Little. You remember him as a manager?

Yeah, ye, absolutely, a real gentleman. Does he literally live next door to you?

Well, not next door, but in the same retirement community here in Charlotte.

Oh, Grady very well, sir.

Will do me a favor tell him, I said, hello, I think he will remember me. I was not a sports reporter up there, but that's you know, I thought he was not treated well. To be honest with you.

I know he's doing well. He's seventy five, is a year younger than me.

Yeah, and he just.

Gave me over five thousand between eighty and ninety and seventy baseball cards.

Really.

Oh yeah, And I haven't found any Louis t Us yet, but it takes a while to go through that many cards.

So were you just listening tonight or you're a regular listener here?

Oh I'm a regular listener, sir. I've been around for thirty years. Forty years.

Wow, boy, we're And when did you move out of You said you grew up in Haveril.

Yes, and I moved down here about a year and a half ago in Charlotte.

Wow. And so all of a sudden you're living in the same neighborhood as Grady Little.

Click him up. He's a good guy. No, I.

Didn't know him well, but I was working as a TV reporter in those days and beyond. And yeah, I certainly know the legend of Grady and the criticism of him keeping Martinez in and I, you know, I thought that was in two thousand and three. I thought that was still the right decision. You know, you go with your horse, and it didn't quite work out. But he's an old baseball guy. He's a baseball lifer. But he's in good shape and he's enjoying himself.

Oh, yes, sir, and I'll mention it to him. Yeah, it's gotta make it well.

I'll tell you here's what I'd love you to do for me, Okay, if you would be, if you'd be, I want Rob will give you my number, okay, And I'd love to get Grady on the show some night, uh and just talk about a little baseball with him. Uh. And he should remember me because I was on TV up here for many years when he was not only uh, the manager, but a coach. And I'd love to, you know, bring him back over the radio waves and and and just talk baseball with him on a on a cold

Hey, Dan, I love your show. I've been listening again and we have no stoves down here.

No, I know, but I hope you guys are not in the hurricane area that was impacted in October. Hopefully you're you're in the eastern part of the state.

Yes, sir, Hey, it's wonderful talking with you.

David, it is as well. Have you called before? Is this your first time?

No, I think i'd called before.

Will do me a favorite Keep in contact, Say hello to Grady for us either way, no hard feelings. If he wants to maintain his lower profile, that's okay. We'd love to have him join us somenight, just for old times sake. I think that a lot of the Red Sox fans up. You're you know, a viewer, your age, my age, all of us are on the other side of fifty. Remember Grady really well, and maybe there's some fans that want to want to tell him we miss him.

Okay, a lot of Jim Rice cards, that's good.

Well Rice is still around broadcasting for the Red Sox and Hall of Famer as well, so keep those as well. Really enjoyed Dave talking to you. I'm so glad that you that we hung over here and we uh we got you on. This was this was fun. This was fun, Dave, and I'll look forward to you to your next call.

Okay, thank you, Sarah.

Thanks Dave, appreciate it. Uh. I could talk to Dave all night, that's for sure. I'd love to know you know well, he said he went down there and he obviously loves loves his location. Boy for baseball fan, all of a sudden he moved into a neighborhood. One of your neighbors is grady. Little. That's not bad. That's not bad. Little That'll get you through the winter with some baseball stories. You have to be a baseball fan to understand why

Just wait till you hear what shoppers are saying about Bradley's.

I like the prices.

I'm the sales.

The sale items are very well stocked and the comparative shopper.

And that's why I come back here.

When you walk into the store, the merchandise hits you right in the eye.

It's so beautiful.

It's a nice place to shop. I really like it. It's great.

Now back to Dan Ray Live from the Window World to Night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.

So we can't give away everyone would have known those are Bradley commercial sounds very different, doesn't it. I mean when you look at the commercials, play one more roub just to get some people into the mood. Here go ahead, start of another cheap day at Building nineteen.

Are you working towards your BA, MBA, DF, PhD or m O.

U S Are you just paying for it?

Then?

Building nineteen wants to speak to you. We believe in education, but at our guaranteed lowest prices on school supplies like no books, pens, pencils and mind us.

We can't guarantee a degree, but we.

Guarantee the lowest prices in New England.

Thanks for shopping Building nineteen and.

A you day. See that's really not a lot of production value there when you think about it. That's what we listen to back in the day. Okay, let's go. Let's listen to Joel. Who's calling it from Natick? Joe, what do you miss about New England institution? Give us one that you mut you miss?

My wife and I Melbot I gave have a little sort list. Let me give it to you and now set up. Okay, I'll be quiet. Cola Doors came on Building nineteens as Bradley Bradley's basement, Christmas Tree shop, ann and holped Gordan launched Brigham's aims, Bradley's spags and the combat zone.

I don't know how many of us missed the combat zone. Maybe that was thrown in there as a smile. Yeah, that's you. You covered the waterfront at this point there. I think you left nothing else. I'll tell you one thing. There's a there's a lot of things obviously that that that we miss, but Building nineteen certainly is one of them. We've already mentioned that. You know which which which place? I miss a lot. I miss Anthony's Peer four.

All of them.

Well, the one that I think I was Per four is the one down on Northern Avenue that was.

The main ship.

There was more. There was more than just one mong He had one up in the swampscot too.

Oh no, they had one down the gate to come Aquided down to the Cape General Lover up in swamps. Got just remember that those pop overs that uh it was. And I gotta tell you Anthony's And you kin't mentioned Anthony's without mentioning Jimmy's. Which one Jimmy's Harboside, Yeah, but no one called it Harborside. It was always Jimmy's. If you're gonna go to Jimmy's, you know what, you would talk,

And how about Durgon Park.

You know, Durgon Park was great, but but it was down in Fiennel Hall and it's it to me was always like kind of a tourist trap, you know what I'm saying. I mean, I hate to put it like that, but uh that was what was Durgon Park one of your favorites.

We went there a.

Few times, but remember going up the stairs.

Oh yeah, no, no, no, it was it was I mean, the the really old Durgon Park which predated you with me. I think was really was really classic. That was that was kind of a nod nod to historic Boston. But yeah, it's yeah, it's it's it's amazing. It always seems the good restaurants are the ones that go away, Joel. Great to hear your voice. Everyone everything well in Natick, I hope yes?

Everything go help all right.

We'll say hi to Roberta for us.

Okay, certainly, well the evening thank you, uh.

YouTube, Joe, let me ask you. I think what we gotta do is I gotta send a busy tope bag so you can give that to Roberta as a present.

But what.

Okay, but I hope she's not listening. Okay, so you can die, you can lie to me, no problem. Stay there, get your address and we'll we'll get a tote bag for ROBERTI. I know you've got a coffee mug, so hopefully that's still that's you're still using that every day?

Right?

Oh, definitely with the sweatshirt.

Okay, you've hit the mothership here, all right, Joel, hang on there, okay, don't hang out. I will get you the address to get your tote bag. Okay, good night, let me go next to Maureen in Brockton. Hi, Maureen, how are you tonight?

Hi? Great, and I hope you are too.

I'm doing just great. Give us something some institution that you miss?

Can I just backtrack your previous hour? And I just wanted I googled the Detroit Tiger picture was Vern Rule, who ended up hitting Jim Rice.

Thank you very much. I couldn't pull Rule's name out of out of that my hat, but yeah, I remember him right handed, kind of tall, lanky, right hander. Probably the biggest pitch of his career was when he took Rice out of the seventy five World Series.

There you go, Well it's great to have, you know. Google it and pulled it up. So I was talking to Marita earlier this afternoon and I told her that my favorite place growing up in Brighton, in Brighton Center was Brigham's. And I know Joel mentioned Brighams, but I remember my father.

If Joel mentioned everything Joel mentioned, I mean he.

Said Brigands and I thought, oh shoot, oh well there goes my clo I I I can remember the memories of my father if we had My father was born in Ireland and my mother had family from England. So if we ever had relatives, that was the highlight, you know, we would, you know, my father would take you know, our guests and we would go up to Brigham's up in Brighton Center, right on Washington Street. And Marita was

So Brighams was a great institution, was around everywhere, and I don't know why it went away because maybe there must have been bad management or something like that. I'll tell you a story about Brighams. They used to be a Brighams downtown, if I'm not mistaken. It was either on Tremont Street or Boylston Street. And Dave Powers, who was President Kennedy's in this day and age, they called him the body man. That person was always with the President.

So that.

Always remember you know, Dave Power was talking about about that, and Dave had the quintessential Kennedy accident and say, Dan Jack love Brighams, a Breghams. We got to get to a Bregham ice cream Dave, let's go. They tell that story with a great deal of enthusiasm. A great guy.

Well, thank you for taking my call, and I wish you and your family and all the Night Side listeners merry Christmas. But it's great to talk to you again, Maureen.

I need to get you a tote bag. Okay, if i'd like to send you as a Christmas president a tote bag, saw stay on the line. And uh, you know, I also I want you to check out nightside gear dot com. Uh maybe there's a president or two for some one of your friends or relatives that's nights I related, or just go to mycitygear dot com. I think that originally you were a Bostonian. If you have friends who

Yeah.

Yeah, you know, I live in Brighton, but I mean I grew up Righton, So I mean I'm a Boston girl. So did you grow up in the city or no, I grew up in Brighton.

Oh, that's as you can. You can get Brighton gear there. That's I should have because you talked about the Brighamps in Brighton. Okay, Oak Square, right, Oak Square?

It was.

It was Brighton Center, right in Washington Washington Streets, right in Brighton Center.

Sure. I used to stop. They have a great fruits and vegetable place there, Johnny.

Yes, yes, yeah, yeah, And.

It's funny I drove by the other day. I haven't stopped there in a while because, frankly, you know, WBZ is we're no longer on Soldier's Field Road and I'm broadcasting remotely. Is that still Well, you wouldn't know if you live in Brockton unless you go back and visit the old neighborhood.

Well, there's a group. I know, there's a Facebook group for everywhere, and I want part of the originally from Brighton. So occasionally I have seen, you know, notifications about Johnny D's. I think it's still there in business.

I mean, he's a great guy and they had just great quality fruit at much better prices than Supermarcus. If you live in that neighborhood and if it's still open, that's a great place to be. Maureen hanging there. Okay, we're gonna get you that tote bag. You're going to be proud to carry it whenever you go shop it.

Okay, thanks, absolutely, thank you so much.

All Right, we've got to take a quick break. Here's the news at the bottom of the hour. We're basically trying to make some people happy as we start the run up towards the holiday. By the way, just as a couple of programming notes. On Tuesday night, New Hereshia Governor Kristinunu will join us for the full hour, and he's more than willing to take phone calls. We can

We're it in this source of value everything that's where everything, Where your candy, where your where yard.

It's night Side with Boston's news Radio.

Another great restaurant that is long gone, and I'm telling you it was a great restaurant, Frank Schifrida's Steakhouse. And in terms of stores, there was a store in Quincy. It was called the Bargain Center. My god, my dad used to take us there, I think every week.

It was. It was a trip.

It was a trip literally and figuratively. I have on the line a huge Louis Tion fan, someone who I think all of you very familiar with She is the Treasurer and Receiver General the Comwalth of Massachusetts. Treasurer deb Goldberg, treasure.

How are you, hey, Dan? We were riding home from dinner, and for those who don't know, my husband grew up with Dan Ray and we were listening to you talking about Louis, and I said I should call in, and Michael goes, oh, there's Danny Ray on the air. So here I am, And oh, you're talking about so many of the Red you know, a guy like Louis Tian what. I can't believe they skipped over him again. I mean, come on, you know my father, my father up in Heaven,

Yeah, yeah, no, a great guy. Now, Louis spent some years working for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts after his playing days. I'm sure you're aware of that.

Well.

I think it was a few years before I got there.

No, I know. He worked with one of one of your predecessors, Robert Q. Crane, one of the like yourself, one of the great treasurers and receiver generals of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Bob used to used to joke that when Louis first started with him, he had to explain to Louis that working for the Treasury was different. When you pitched, you came to you worked every fifth day, but with the treasurer you had to work five days a week.

Great line. I have never heard that line.

How about that? How about that matter? That is a true line that that Bob Crane used to invoke all the time. You'd say, Louis thought, oh, I go every fifth day as a starting pitcher. Oh no, this is a.

Different I have a question. Did Louis sing with the Treasury Notes?

I don't think Louis was was on that part of the team, to be honest with you.

So for those listening in, Bob Crane had a great voice, and several of the other people who work in the office also sang very very well, and they had a group called the Treasury Notes, and they really did perform in different places.

Well that that that sort of segues into the institutions that we are missing as New Englanders. I just mentioned zayres Uh and the Hilltop Steakhouse. I'll bet you this is I.

Heard you and I missed the Hilltop and my favorite thing there was the lobster casserole.

Oh yeah, that was fabulous, wasn't it?

And I loved you and stick the butter in it.

No no galories, you know, four for Kansas City or two for Des Moines or whatever it was. It was, it was it had character. We would talk about Anthony's and Jimmy's. Which was your favorite Anthony's or Jimmy's.

Every every one that was a tough one because Anthony was a good guy and the Doulases were great people, and you know, there was always a competition. So the way you sort of divided it up is the popovers and Anthony's where you couldn't beat them. And I got to tell you, I think that the big stuff that Jimmy's maybe a smidch better, and but the popovers and Anthony's style and and his demeanor was so welcoming and so terrific.

So what I loved that Anthony's My picture made the wall. That's all I cared about. As long as you got your picture up on the on Anthony's Wall of fame. He was a great guy. I mean Anthony, he was his son. Tony is is still a great h Bostonian, and but we missed I miss I missed the comic Quid down in the Cape. You missed Geral Glovers, you miss Anthony's. You know, don't do restaurants like that anymore for some reason.

Very different. It's very different. But you know, as you are aware, I get to work with a lot of the restaurant owners because the ABCC is under my office, and I will you there are some. There are some terrific guys, and for the most part, they survived through COVID, which was no easy task, and a lot of them kept plugging along just to make sure that their staff

I'll tell you one restaurant that I miss in the North End is Joe Tucci's restaurant.

I don't know, Oh well, yeah.

Do you remember Joe Touchi's IM sure you do.

But I mean, of course.

Has great restaurants now, but they're a little more expensive. It seems to me. The high end restaurants are a little more expensive than Anthony's. You could go and you you are Jimmy's, and I don't know, I guess we'll never get back to those type restaurants in our lifetimes unfortunately.

Man.

Well, you know, everything's more expensive today, as we all know. And that's why you know, you know that one of the things I focus on is how to tell people to get economic stability in their lives. And we work on a lot of those things through my office, sort of behind the scenes and under the radar. But that you know, you also know that's why I ran for treasurer. It's why I'm actually never left. Didn't see it as

The one thing I kind of forget is people should check out your Abadan property list because you never know when your name is going to pop up there and you're going to find that you left some money in a bank account or somewhere. That's something that you guys run.

Find mass money, Find mass money. And then there's a great speaking of Bob Crane. He's the one who started the Mass State lottery. But do you know why he did it. He did it because after Prop two and a half, he was worried that the local communities wouldn't have enough money to take care of people in their neighborhoods, and that's why the profits go to the local communities.

Well, I'm never going to correct you, but I'm going to tell you that Prop two and a half didn't happen until the early eight if I If I'm correct, and I do know that the lottery started seventy in nineteen seventy two with sweep steaks. Kelly, a former member.

Of the legend who's sitting near you, has a has a computer. It can google when Prop two and a half passed, because that means that Bob Crane told me a story that wasn't true, and Bob would never do that.

I'm going to do it right now. I'm going to look it up. And it was nineteen it was nineteen eighty one or eighty two, and because it was Barbara, I'm trying to remember Barbara.

Yeah, I'm Anderson.

Barbara Anderson Fiscal eighty two, nineteen, fiscal nineteen eighty two. So although the Treasurer probably just was mistaken, he never would have misled anyone, No, never, never was an honest, honest guy.

But nineteen eighty it enacted in nineteen eighty was there Let me ask you, since of course I was such a young thing in the seventies, I didn't.

Even think you were born by that time.

By the way, well that from you, thank you for the compliment. But I have a question. Was there conversation about Prop two and a half in the seventies before it actually passed?

No?

No, that was the brainchild of Barbara Anderson. Yeah, yeah, No, the lottery predated it by several years. So the Treasurer probably said it because of the great success of the lottery, and he was so proud of it and the money that has gone back to cities and towns, which you know, probably to the penny what that is. As his successor, it's been billions of dollars back to cities in towns over the years.

That's correct, a little over a billion annually.

Yeah.

Yeah, so we're talking more than fifty years now that the lottery's been around. Celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, you know, probably in the midst of of COVID. But it's been it's been great, and you've carried on that tradition as well, Madam Treasure. I didn't mean to correct you, but at the same time, if if Bob told you something that might have been a mistake, I felt compelled because I remembered it vividly. I didn't I pulled that out of my head.

Okay, So you know what I'm gonna Yeah, I'm going to have to you know that there's one person who works in the office.

Yes I do.

He's been there, yep, Jimmy A.

R exactly two years.

Yepely, I'm going to have to ask him where that story came from. And then I will contact you and I will let you know where that because he will you know, he will know yes, yes, and and I.

Know him well and he knows me well, and he will verify what I told you.

Okay, all right, then, Well I'm I'm ten years as your State treasure and I'm learning something dow.

How do you like that?

I hope it's going to be for at least another ten.

Okay, Oh, that's so nice to you. Well, you know I love what I do, and you know why I do it. It's because I just you know the way I was brought up, because you knew my family, and you know that I'm doing this because I really want to help people. That's what it's our first job.

My first job was as a stock boy or a bundle boy, whatever you want to call it. It stop and Shop. Your family's great stop and shop on Truman Highway in Hyde Park. So that's where my career started. God knows where it's going to end. Adam Treasurer. We know where it started.

Well, we know that was a good old stop and shop before we went through the hostel takeover working I still be working in the stores today.

Owned by the reb family, and my first general manager was a gentleman by the name Amari Cohen who treated me very very well. Back. I'm not going to tell you how long ago, but I'm much older than you are.

As you know, you know you're you're an You're certainly have lighter hair than I do.

That's Okay, it's still there. That's what's most important. Please say hi to everybody and we will talk soon.

Have a wonderful, wonderful holiday season, a healthy, healthy new Year, and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Right back at you. Hope you have a happy Honkah. I'll be celebrating Christmas, but I have a a Jewish daughter, Lass, who we're learning a lot about. Honker.

Well, I'm celebrating everything because I I have the Rangers and the Troopers into my office for Christmas lunch this week, and we'll be doing the menoral lighting next week. And it's about everybody's absol believing in everybody and loving everybody absolutely.

And if you if you celebrate kwansa, happy Kwansa or a happy Festivus, whatever you celebrate, I am exactly celebration absolutely. Thanks so much. Okay bye, say to my former that's made for me before you go to something. Well, okay, thanks, I get out, god bye. Thanks, We'll take a quick break. We'll come right back. I get everyone in. I know that Tim's been waiting. Glenn and Gail will get you all in. I promise coming right back on nightside.

Now back to Dan ray Line from the Window World night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.

Okay, with apologies to all, let me get to everybody quickly as I can. I got Glenn, I got Gail, and I got Tim, and I'm getting them all the way. Gonna start with Gail Gail next on nights. I appreciate your patience.

Go right ahead, Hey Dan, Hey boy, prop two and a half. I remember that one I was start prop to two and a half was around nineteen eighty one.

Well, you're right in the money. You're right, that's winner went into effect. Yeah, you're right in the money.

Oh okay, hey, you and I have one more thing in calm, and we're both chlcoholics. I've been eating chocolate in the past few minutes myself.

I just I just grabbed a little her she already keep the energy level going. A little one, not a big one, A little one.

Have you Yeah? Oh no, I hear you. Have you been to that Swiss chocolate shop at the Prudential Center called Lota Rock.

No, I haven't.

I have not.

Oh, if you love chocolate, you got to go there. But I got to warn you they're pricey. It is probably the best chocolate ever had in my life.

I've never had any bad chocolate. I gotta tell you, I'm I am not. I am not too picky when it comes to chocolate. Chocolate is fine. Hershey's chocolate is my favorite. And the other thing is for for a guy that's that no longer lives in the city. It's just so tough now with all the bike lanes to find a parking space get downtown.

I just you know, yeah, you know, so.

Yeah, so so give me something that you really miss Give me.

Some Woolworst, but wool Worst with the fountain. Remember woolworth This is the store, and the used to be one. About forty years ago there was a great Woolworths, a good size one here in the South Shore. It was in Cohassett and right next to it was a stop and shop and I bought my very first record. Because Woolworths had a music department, like a record department, you could buy albums, and I bought my very first record there. I think it was like twelve dollars. I was a kid,

I remember as a kid going there was a Woolworths in Hyde Park. I remember as a kid going to Woolworths, taking the bus and going to Woolworts and buying Christmas presents. I mean, obviously we weren't wealthy, but you know when you got to that age where you had to on your own go out and buy presents for your family, and yeah, you know what, I could buy woolworth So that's my that's my memory. Hey, I got two more.

Right?

I do not?

You do now?

And I want to, if you'd be so kind to accept when I want to send one to you, okay, and I want you to use it. And uh, it's a beautiful tote bag, comes from college hype.

Uh.

And I think you'll like it. Okay, So give an address and a phone number and all of that that ROB will need and we'll get that out to here before before the my pleasure, my pleasure. I think you'll like it. Thanks, Gail. We'll talk soon. Don't hang up. Rob's going to talk with you. Okay, We're going to go next to Who's next? Glenn and Brighton? Glenn, You're next, Don Brighton? What do you miss?

Glenn?

Well, there are two things I miss. I missed, uh Hayes Bickford and new Comb Farms.

New Coms doesn't does the new Comb Farms in in Milton? I had breakfast there the other day.

Oh they still got one. Well that must be the last one. I guess it is, Yeah, because that was a dying, slowly dying chain.

I never realized there was a chain, to be honest with you. And Route twenty eight in Milton, they.

Used to have one, and often they've had them. In Quincy they used to have quite a few of them because my dad was a traveling salesman, so we used to have breakfast there quite you know, depending on I.

Had breakfast there with with Jack Dougherty of College Hype the other day and it was great as always.

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm not trying to beg but if I went, I would prefer a mug that I don't like told begs.

I think they're kind of growish, have you beg.

No, okay, you got a mug, Glenn. You didn't have to beg. But I was going to give you something away, okay, Uh, I want you to share half that coffee every morning. Okay, all right, thanks man, hang in there, don't hang out, bro, I's gonna get the info. Coming up next to Tim and for Imingham. Tim, you're next on nightside. Tell me what you miss? Yeah, I miss Bailey's ice cream. Yeah, that's a good That was a good ice cream. That

Oh.

I used to bowl as a kid there on rivers on High Park Avenue.

On High Park.

I remember Ralph Ralph.

Yeah, I don't remember Ralphie, but okay.

Great guy.

I grew up in Rosendale, up by a pleasant cafe.

My wife. Uh, my wife grew up in Reidsville.

Come on what street? Chesterfield Street Street? Yeah? Yeah, I know, I know Chesterfield Street very well. Used to walk by the every day. As a result, you want a coffee mug, a nightside coffee mug, or a nightside tote bag.

Tote bag please.

Okay, we're gonna send you the tote bag and you can give that to your wife as a Christmas present. How's that? Okay?

Thank you, Dan, I appreciate it.

You have a wonderful hol of it.

Hey you too as well. Merry Christmas.

Hang in there.

When we come back, we're going to change topics, but we na have a few more prices to give out. I'm not sure we've gone through our list this hour. Everybody got a price. Everybody got a price. Never done that before. We'll continue with this theme and we're going to work into Friday. The thirteenth Superstition theme coming up as well.