Picture Enfield - Then And Now

ENFIELD, CT — Today we return to the pages of John Zirolli's delightful book of Enfield photos and stories, entitled I Took a Little Trip to My Hometown, and find a mainstay of the town for over 50 years, including many in downtown Thompsonville.

Vincent's Men's and Boys' Apparel was a fixture at 120 Main Street for many years. Vincent Sferrazza immigrated to the United States from his native Italy as a toddler in 1924. He graduated from Enfield High School in 1942, and began working with his father, Joseph, who was a tailor.

The family tailoring business eventually expanded into shoes, and Vincent's became a staple of the Thompsonville business district. Sferrazza and his sister Margaret prospered in that location until the urban renewal project of the 1970s led them to relocate the store in 1978 to a small three-business building on Enfield Street, which formerly housed Mercik Rug & Carpet Co.

Located diagonally across from the North Thompsonville Fire Department, Vincent's Family Shoes operated in the center store, and Sferrazza added on the north side to cater to children. In 1993, he sold the adult shoe store to Sam Fiore, but continued to run the children's business until selling it in 1995. Margaret passed away in May 1996, and Vincent died in 2012.

The Main Street building was among 200 razed for the ill-conceived urban renewal project, shown below. The site where Vincent's had stood is now a small park-like area containing community flower gardens, as seen in the lower photo, taken this morning by yours truly.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's trivia question was, "The three "houses" at John F. Kennedy Middle School are Red, White and Blue. What were the names of the three houses at Kosciuszko Junior High School?" The answer: Abbe, Morgan and Thompson. A number of folks guessed correctly, with Sharon Mucci being first.

This week's trivia question:
Who was the first sports personality from Enfield to receive the prestigious Gold Key Award from the Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance? Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page, or on the You're Probably From Enfield If Facebook page, or by emailing me directly at tim.jensen@patch.com, or by smoke signal or carrier pigeon. The first person with the correct answer - that is, the first one who answers without blatantly Googling, copying and pasting the answer - will be acknowledged the following week.

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