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 1975 groundbreaking ceremony for the former Dairy Mart headquarters on South Road.

The company's origins date back to 1949 in Springfield, Mass., when Charles Nirenberg began selling ice cream from the back of his truck in a gas station parking lot. He opened his first convenience store, Dairy Land, in 1957, and soon changed the name to Dairy Mart.

By 1974, Nirenberg was operating a chain of 37 stores, and in 1975, his company relocated its headquarters to 240 South Road in Enfield. In 1997, the company relocated again, this time to Ohio, where it remains a staple of middle America with over 650 stores.

Charles Nirenberg passed away in Nov. 2014 at age 90.

The property at 240 South Road was purchased in 1999 by Cuno Inc. for $737,500. In 2008, it was bought for $1.45 million by First Pioneer Farm Credit, which operates there today. Here is how the building currently appears.

(Photo courtesy of Enfield town assessor's office)

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's trivia question was, "Which original member of the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame's charter class is still actively, and successfully, coaching today?" The answer: Kathleen "Cookie" Bromage, an original Hall of Fame inductee in 1996 who started the Enfield High School field hockey program in 1967 and is still at the helm today. In fact, since merging with former crosstown rival Fermi High School in 2016 and moving up to Class L, the Eagles have posted a 49-5-2 record, with two state semifinal appearances and a quarterfinal showing.

(Photo credit: Tim Jensen)

This week's trivia question:
Enfield has not had a full-size bowling alley for several decades. Enfield Lanes was located for many years in the Enfield Plaza on Route 5, and the T'ville Bowl on Elm Street was knocked down in the early 1970s to make way for the Enfield Square shopping mall. Another bowling alley was located on Central Street in Thompsonville in the 1950s and 1960s; what was its name? Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.

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