Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

A couple of years ago, we had to retrieve one of my favorite scarves that I left at Burton’s Grill in Burlington. I decided since it was right there, I’d do a little shopping at the Market Basket in the same complex.

As soon as I walked in the door of MB, the smell of newly popped popcorn hit me right in the face. I think many of us would agree that freshly popped popcorn is one of our favorite aromas. For me it reminded me of the old department stores that used to offer the warm, yummy treat.

Zayre and JM Fields in Medford immediately came to mind. There was a store in Fresh Pond also. You would get that tall paper bag, or sleeve as some called it, full of popcorn and boy was it tasty! My mother would buy a bag when we first went in the store and my brother and sister and I would share it as we followed her around.

Of course, after about 15 minutes the butter would stain the bottom of the bag, but by that time all that was left were a few un-popped kernels. Sometimes when I get an idea for a story, I “pop” it onto Facebook to get other people’s thoughts on the subject. I can’t believe how many folks shared their memories about popcorn.

Back in the day almost all of the Zayre, Fields, Bradlees and Kresges type stores had a big old popcorn machine. In Davis Square we had both a Woolworths and WT Grant store. This lady shared a popcorn story:

“I remember going to the Saturday matinee, usually lots of great old horror films, at the Somerville Theater for 50 cents. My mother would tell us to go to Grant’s department store to get our popcorn because it was 5 cents, while the theater’s was 10 cents!”

When I was 16, I was hired as a stock boy at Woolworths and worked my way up to an occasional shift on the lunch counter. I didn’t make popcorn but the whole store always smelled like it … except when you walked down the pet aisle.

Many stores now offer fresh popcorn the way Market Basket does. Tags Hardware in Porter Square has it (I think it’s free) and also Home Depot in Somerville. Well, they did back in the good old days of two years ago before we all went into solitary.

It’s funny how a smell can jump start your memory. When I took my boys to the movies on Sundays when they were little, we would get theginormous size of popcorn. The aroma brought me back. The same thing happens whenever I walk into The Somerville Theatre. I look around the lobby, grab a whiff of popcorn, and I start thinking back to all the Saturdays we spent at that very theatre when we were kids. There used to be a lot of theatres in Somerville but I only remember the ones in Davis and The Broadway theatre in East Somerville.

You could also get warm peanuts, cashews, and even chestnuts at some of those stores years ago. If you lived near the Davis Square area, you may recall Louds Candy store at Powder House Park. That place smelled so sweet. When you entered you were like a kid in a candy store! By the way, fresh ground coffee always reminds me of the A&P formerly on Summer St. near The Rosebud.

We all have a memento of some sort around our house from the old days. I still have a Kiwi Shoe Polish can that has a Bradlees price tag on it. I also have a coat check tag from The Jumbo Lounge, formerly in Teele Square. These items from the past help us recall days gone by, but isn’t it cool the way the smell of something as simple as popcorn can also get the mind thinking of happy times? Flashlights still remind me of the usher shining it on us when we were in the balcony … acting up.