Picture Enfield - Then and Now

ENFIELD, CT — Today's installment of this Enfield history series, courtesy of the Facebook group Picture Enfield, features an early 1970s photo of 530 Enfield Street, on the corner of Highland Park, which at the time contained two businesses: the Ragno & Sullivan Agency, an insurance and real estate firm, and Mr. Formal, a tuxedo and formal wear shop.

A licensed realtor at the age of 18, Thomas Ragno signed up with a builder out of the gate and started his business career. Incorporating insurance sales with real estate, he opened Ragno & Sullivan Agency in the late 1960s. He also was the business owner of Donut Factory, World Wide Firearms and First Choice Realty.

Mr. Formal operated at the location for several years in the 1970s and early 1980s. At the time, it was one of two formal shops on Route 5, the other being College Formals.

The site is currently home to the Peking Express restaurant, which moved from its former location in the Enfield Plaza in 2008.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's Enfield trivia question was, "What Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame honoree is the only high school athlete in Connecticut history to win a state tournament Most Valuable Player award without attending the school for which he/she played?" The answer: Craig Janney, a charter member of the Enfield hall and a U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame inductee. As a freshman, he was most valuable player of the Division II ice hockey tournament in 1982, when Enfield defeated East Haven 5-4 in the finals at Wesleyan University. At that time, ninth graders attended either John F. Kennedy or Kosciuszko junior high school, but since neither school had ice hockey programs, freshmen were allowed to play for the high school teams.

This week's trivia question:
In 1741, preacher Jonathan Edwards delivered his famous sermon, "Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God," right here in Enfield. 230 years later, a totally different Jonathan Edwards reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with what folk-rock classic? Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.

Do you have an old photo of Enfield you would like featured in this column? Email it, with a description, to tim.jensen@patch.com.

Historic photo courtesy of Picture Enfield
Current photo courtesy of Enfield Assessor's Office

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