A Sign Of Better Times
Back in 1935, brothers Priestley and Curtis Blake borrowed $547 from their mother to open a little ice cream shop in Springfield. Because of the Depression, they called it Friendly—to be upbeat and welcoming. Once they got it rolling, they moved to Wilbraham, down the street from another New England favorite, State Line Potato Chips.
Anyway, we all know the Friendly’s story. Boom to bust. Sold numerous times. Selling to the big boys always kills the soul of a business. They’re now down to about a hundred stores. But one thing that holds on is the Friendly’s topiary sign on a hill between the Palmer and Ludlow exits on the Mass Pike. Been there for 50 years.
For Priestley Blake, it was a strategic way to pop up a Friendly’s billboard back when they were banned on the Pike. Sweet move. One frequent passerby is James Taylor. He splits his time between Brookline and Lenox, and he sang about those Mass Pike trips in his tune “Sweet Baby James.”
A lot of us have memories of hanging out in Friendly’s parking lots on Friday and Saturday nights. And what’s better than a Big Beef burger and a mambo Fribble? My favorite ice cream was Butter Crunch. Still is. Teddy Kennedy used to buy it by the tub.
Hey, Friendly’s may be fading, but the turnpike hedges go on. It was always great to see that sign after picking up my son Jake at MassArt in Boston. It meant we were almost home. Happy Thanksgiving. Keep your dukes up.
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