Picture Enfield - Then and Now

ENFIELD, CT — Today's installment of this weekly Enfield history series, courtesy of the Facebook group Picture Enfield, shows a longtime business owned and operated by one of the friendliest, most generous men the town has ever known: Vincent Sferrazza.

Vincent's Men's Wear and Family Shoes grew from the tailoring business run by Sferrazza's father, Joseph, for whom Vincent began working after graduating from Enfield High School in 1942. Vincent's became a staple of the Thompsonville business district on North Main Street, next to the Thompsonville Drug Store.

Sferrazza and his sister Margaret prospered in that location until the urban renewal project of the 1970s led them to relocate the store to a small three-business building at 420 Enfield Street, diagonally across from the North Thompsonville Fire Department. The duo operated Vincent's Family Shoes in the center store, and added on the north side to cater to children.

In 1993, Sferrazza 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 building currently houses another shoe store, Footbeats, as well as an Allstate insurance agency. Here is how it appears today.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's trivia question was, "A popular police drama which aired on CBS from 1968 to 1980 referenced Enfield in a 1970s episode, when the lead detective traced explosives back to "The Hazard Gunpowder Company - Enfield, CT." Name that TV show. The answer: the original Hawaii Five-O, starring Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett, solver of every crime on the island despite that one lock of hair that kept falling onto his forehead.

This week's trivia question:
What was the original site of Asnuntuck Community College? Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.

Photo credits: Vincent's courtesy of Picture Enfield; Allstate/Footbeats courtesy of Google Maps

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