Then& Now

BY CINDY PAPISH GERBER

For those who came of age in Milford between the 1950s and 1970s, summertime seemed much simpler. “I miss the quaintness,” says Tony Assunto of his childhood in the 1960s. He recalls “playing games, walking or biking to the Mall with my friends to buy the latest 45 record for 79 cents, going to the Capitol Theatre or the drive-in, hanging out at the hamburger joints, drinking out of a garden hose after a game of baseball at the school. 1960’s summers were the best!”

Long-gone from the scene are days swimming in the lake by Camp Clark or in the reservoir (aka resi/ressie/rezy) near Jonathan Law High School, riding horses through Eisenhower Park and Platt Orchards, the Walnut Beach Amusement Park, Milford Jai Alai, Milford Amusements, Casey’s Golf Range, the Surf Club, Bill’s Cabin Ice Cream Bar, Wanda’s Sugar Shack…the list goes on and on.

Susan Hertzog Cugini is the administrator of the Facebook groups “You Know You Are from Milford” (which she also created) and “Milford, CT History & Vintage Images”. After reading through comments and photos from the 24,000 members (and growing), Cugini observed that those who post “are most nostalgic about people we will never forget and landmarks special to us that open up the ‘I remember when’ floodgates.” Yet, she also notes that there are many comments about Milford “thriving…and growing forward.”

Which begs the question: Was the good ole’ summertime really much better?

Then: We used to go to the Drive-In.

In the film musical Grease, Danny may have crooned, “Stranded at the drive-in, branded a fool. What will they say Monday at school?”, but the summer scene at the Milford Drive-In was anything but lonely. With room for 500 cars, Connecticut’s first drive-in theater was the place for friends, families, first-daters, and goin’-steady couples to catch a double-feature. From 1939 until it was torn down in 1988 to make way for the Showcase Cinemas multiplex, the drive-in had an adjacent playground and a Sunday morning flea market.

“My dad had a contraption he could put over the windshield to prevent rain from getting on it, so we could see the movie without turning the wipers on,” recalls Sandy Ryan. Tony Assunto, who worked there one summer, fondly recalls the car speakers, overhead view, marquee, and refreshment stand. “Hey, sometimes we even watched the movie!” he quips. Janice Cummings worked at the box office throughout high school and college (‘77-’82). “Vans with REALLY cool fantasy sci-fi paintings on the side made it impossible to tell how many people might be in there,” she says. “And passengers hid under blankets or in the back seat or car trunks. I would give the guy working the lot a heads up. He would watch the car and wait until they opened the trunk and piled out.”

Now:

We see movies with our family and friends at Lisman Landing.

“There’s nothing like a classic blockbuster under the stars on a summer evening,” says Tracy Bonosconi, president of the Downtown Milford Business Association (DMBA). “We started Movie Nights in 2017 because it hadn’t been done before in downtown Milford. We have had families

Left: Family Movie Night at Fowler Field tell us that they moved back to Milford when they had children so that they could grow up like they did.” This year, Movie Nights will take place under the new pavilion at Lisman Landing (directly across from Fowler Field) on Wednesdays in July. For details, check the DMBA’s Facebook page or Events page on their website: DowntownMilfordCT.com.

Below: Vintage ticket from the Drive-In.

Then: We used to go to the roller rink at Walnut Beach. Located on Nettleton Avenue, Smith’s Wonderland Roller Rink was filled with people skating around oak floors to the popular hits of the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s. A few decades later, skaters would spin around to disco music on Rollerland’s blue painted floor or at Skateworld on the Milford-Orange border.

Now: We escape the summer heat and ice skate at the Milford Ice Arena.

This 1,000-seat skating rink opened in 1975 and was renovated in 1985. They offer public skating, figure skating, hockey, lessons, clinics, camps, and birthday parties and is home to local school and club level teams.

Then: We used to go to Paul’s for burgers.

“I personally miss Paul’s more than anything,” laments Ellen Ball

Richetelli. Her sentiments are shared by generations of Milford fans who frequented this iconic spot on the Post Road. From 1946-2008, Paul’s served up their “famous hamburgs”, fries, shakes, and more. “It was mostly a high school hangout,” says Richetelli. “We gathered there all weekend and were never told to leave!”

Now: We go to Goodies.

Cravings for burgers, dogs, and baskets of fried food can be satisfied year-round at the Goodies’ location on Cherry Street. Stop by on Thursday evening during one of their Cruise Nights and you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time. If you’d rather eat your meal with a side of ice cream and a view of Charles Island, then head to Goodies’ Gulf Beach, open from mid-May through mid-September.

Then:

We used to go

to The Sundae House...and still do.

Family owned and operated since 1963, customers line up to order their favorite ice cream, soft-serve, slush floats, shakes, Italian lemon ice, dairy-free and even vegan ice cream.

Now: There is an abundance of places to enjoy ice cream.

It’s easy (maybe too easy?) to indulge at one or more of these Milford locations: Pralines, The Cone Zone, Buck’s, Carvel, Cone Zone, Dairy Queen, Micalizzi, Dairy Queen, Ice and Fire, Frosty Twist, Scoopy Doos, and the newly expanded Walnut Beach Creamery.

Then: We used to go to summer concerts on the Green.

During the 1970s, “The concert series under the Milford Chamber of Commerce executive director Robert Gregory were held at the Gazebo on the Green,” says Nell Moll, the former membership director. “People brought chairs and blankets and picnic-style food. In 1996, we relocated the concerts to Fowler Field.”

Now: We can go to concerts at Fowler Field and Walnut Beach.

Fowler Field’s “Fridays after Five!” concert series officially kicked off summer in May and runs through June 30th. “These concerts are a tradition,” notes Simon McDonald, current director of membership and marketing for the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce. “We restarted them in 2022 and they are very popular.”

The Walnut Beach Association presents their 12th annual free concert series on Sundays, July 30 - September 3, from 4-7 p.m. At- tendees gather under the Rotary Pavilion to hear a variety of music from rock, to country, jazz, R&B, oldies, and everything in-between. “Walnut Beach is a perfect Milford evening out with friends,” says Andrea Benjamin, who faithfully attends with her husband Cary. “It has easy parking which helps when we scout out a place to listen to music. The concert organizers do a great job of bringing people together.”

Then: We used to look for music at Merles Record Rack at the mall.

Michael Papa, Merle’s longtime owner, says, “We opened the Milford franchise in 1971 in the enclosed section of the minimall. We were there all through construction of the permanent Post Mall, until 1994. It was a real gathering place for fans of ‘new’ albums by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and the Beatles.”

Merles left the mall eventually. You can still flip through LPs at their Orange location.

Now: We go downtown to get our vinyl fix at Static Era Records.

At Static Era’s award-winning location on River Street you can trade old records, buy t-shirts and music merch, tapes, and CDs. “It’s great to see parents coming in with their kids,” says Static owner Jay Reason. “Vin and Vinny (father & son) drop in frequently and banter about Kiss vs. Rush. Penny and her daughter Carol are more old school vs. the latest album release.”

Then: We used to go to the Oyster Festival.

The first Milford Oyster Festival was held on August 23, 1975. Diana Nytko, the first chairperson of the Milford Chamber, describes how she organized it with the late Robert N. Cooke with three purposes in mind: “To be a fundraiser for all non-profit and civic organizations, to showcase the local businesses and beautiful downtown Milford, and to create an event celebrating the history of our oyster industry. I was really surprised that first year, as we were expecting less than 5,000 to attend and police estimates were closer to 15,000!”

Now: We still do!

It’s bigger and better than ever.

Voted Best of Milford Region Outdoor Event & Festival, Best Food Festival in CT, and the 5th Best Oyster Festival nationwide, this year’s 49th annual celebration will take place on August 19th from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., throughout various downtown locations. “I’m so glad that it was, and still is, so successful!” says Nytko.

Then:

We used to walk the sandbar to Charles Island and still do.

In the summer of ‘55 when Robert Gregory was a lifeguard at Silver Sands, he had to be on high alert. “Silver Sands presented a big problem with the tombolo,” he recalls. “There was no ban on going out to Charles Island so people went out there all the time. Sometimes they wouldn’t time the tide right and we would have to go out and rescue them.”

Now: We leave the place to the birds between May and September.

Humans don’t enter the interior of Charles Island via tombolo or any other method between May 1st and September 9th so birds can thrive during migration and nesting season. This rule was put into effect in 1960, when Silver Sands officially became a state park. Gregory adds, “That makes it easier for the lifeguards and better for the birds.”

Then: We used to go to the beaches.

“Gulf Beach was ‘the beach’,” says Susan Hertzog Cugini, “your final destination to hangout after cruising along the coastline roads.” Lauren LeVasseur spent her summer days during the ‘60s at Stowe’s beach.

“Friends would meet and the entire day would be spent in the water and under the sun. Lunch was hotdogs and sodas from the Helm.” LeVasseur recalls “stargazing at the celebrities that joined us during their stay at Stowe’s cottages. I still remember seeing [actor] Hal Holbrook.”

“My grandparents’ house in Bayview was at the end of Oakland Avenue,” recalls Bartan Kennedy. “I remember bonfires and fireworks on the beach on the Fourth of July and cracking mussels and using them as bait.” Claudia Wolf recalls a particularly funny event one summer. “I can’t be positive of the year: 1974, ’75, ‘76? But Bob Long and friends, we took his living room furniture down to Anchor beach to spend the summer day on his easy chairs.”

“In ‘69-’70, I would walk the mile down Anderson Avenue,” says Art Castricone. “From there, you could look left and see West Haven.” For Holly Tur-Mo, “Riding our bikes to Anchor Beach in Woodmont in the ‘80s to jump off Signal Rock at high tide was a rite of passage.”

“Those crazy floating stairs at Fort Trumbull, climbing out on the rocks that jet out from Milford Harbor, fishing, and watching boats go in and out,” filled Diane Bowman Prete’s summer days. “Who needed to go to the Cape when we had Milford beaches in the summer?” she says.

Now: “Our beaches are better than ever.”

So says Daniel Worroll, Jr. commissioner of Milford Parks, Beach & Recreation. “Over the past decades sand has been replenished, pavillions have been built at Walnut Beach, memorial benches placed at Walnut and Gulf Beaches.” There has also been “expanded parking lots at Eisenhower Park, a splash pad for kids, improvements at the tennis and pickleball courts, and new flag pole on the Milford Green—the tallest in Connecticut.”

Susan Herzog Cugini agrees. “Even though things evolve and change with time, one that will remain a constant is our beautiful beaches. Whether it be the playground at Woodmont, fishing pier and food stand at Gulf, entertainment pavilion at Walnut, or boardwalk and concession stand at Silver Sands, every day and evening there is something new for all to enjoy; nature’s entertainment right here in Milford.”

Milford’s many beaches have been drawing crowds since the turn of the last century and show no signs of stopping.