Picture Enfield - Then and Now

ENFIELD, CT — Today's installment of this weekly Enfield history series does not actually come from our usual source, the Facebook group Picture Enfield, but rather it was submitted by a former Thompsonville resident now living in Ellington, Don Tenerowicz.

Believe it or not, it is NOT Buddy Holly cruising through town with some male groupies. Don wrote, "On Sunday mornings, a group of friends met in front of Bernard's Market in Enfield at the corner of Highland Park and Enfield Street. It was the late 1950s to early 1960s."

He was able to identify seven of the 12 men depicted in the photograph:

• Ted Tenerowicz (third from left)
• Don Haber (next to Tenerowicz - "his father owned the Kaiser dealership in Thompsonville across from Highland Park" - site of the current Artioli Dodge)
• Ed Bajek
• Richard "Doc" Nowak (in back - "his father owned the pharmacy in or next to the Polish Home on Alden Avenue")
• Bob Turner (in front, turned to the right)
• Ed Prajzner (standing in back with hands in pockets)
• Frank Siana (leaning on car behind tall person in light suit)

The former Bernard's Market, not pictured here, stood on the southwest corner of Route 5 and Highland Park, at 530 Enfield Street. After the market closed, a number of businesses occupied that space; in the 1970s and 1980s, the Ragno & Sullivan Agency and Mr. Formal did business there, followed by First Choice Realty. Since 2008, the building has been home to the Peking Express restaurant.

Visible behind the men is 540 Enfield Street, which was constructed in 1948 as a private residence. Since the 1990s, it has housed a number of small businesses, including Marturano's Burner Service, Adspresso and Sweet Stuff. It is currently occupied by Artioli Realty.

Hard as I've tried, I can't let this one go without a few editorial comments. As sharp as these fellows look, I can't help but wonder if one of them secretly owned stock in Brylcreem - "a little dab'll do ya!" Can the ties be any narrower? The guy on the far left is wearing white bucks that haven't been seen in public since Pat Boone was on top of the charts. And finally, gotta love the cars with trunks big enough to hold batting practice on them.

Here is a photo of the area as it appears today, courtesy of Google Maps.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's trivia question was, "Of the nine public elementary, middle and high schools currently located in Enfield (not counting Head Start or the Stowe Early Learning Center), which one has been at its present site for the shortest period of time?" The answer: the CREC Civic Leadership High School, a public inter-district magnet high school which moved into its present site at 1617 King Street in 2014.

(Photo credit: Tim Jensen/Patch Media Corp.)

This week's trivia question:
Civic Leadership High School was formerly known as the CREC Public Safety Academy. In what Enfield building did the school originally operate when it opened in 2008? Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.