Picture Enfield - Then and Now

ENFIELD, CT — Today's installment of this Enfield history series, which normally contains photographs courtesy of the Facebook group Picture Enfield, instead goes back in time to a picture taken by the late Ed Malley, published by his son Jim in a marvelous photo book entitled Enfield: 1950-1980.

Most Americans are celebrating Thanksgiving today, but this date, Nov. 22, will always be associated with one of the worst episodes in our country's history. On Nov. 22, 1963 - 55 years ago - President John F. Kennedy was assassinated during a motorcade drive in Dallas, Texas.

Just days prior to the 1960 election, then-Sen. Kennedy made a campaign swing through northern Connecticut, stopping briefly in Enfield on the Hartford-Springfield Expressway (now known as Interstate 91). Malley, an Enfield resident and longtime photographer for the Springfield newspapers, snapped several pictures of Kennedy that day, two of which are published here.

Most Americans over age 60 remember exactly where they were when they received the news that the president had been murdered. Patch would like our readers to share their stories of where they were at the time and their recollections of that terrible day.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's Enfield trivia question was, "From 1971 to 1988, Enfield boasted three high schools. Name them." The answer: Enfield High School, Enrico Fermi High School and Our Lady of the Angels Academy. Enfield High opened in 1893; Fermi opened for the 1971-72 school year; and OLA, after briefly allowing boys to attend and changing its name to Longview Catholic High School, shut its doors in 1988.

This week's trivia question:
Enfield constructed John F. Kennedy Junior High School on Raffia Road in 1969, joining Thaddeus Kosciuszko Junior High School (my alma mater) on Elm Street as homes for the town's seventh through ninth graders. JFK teams were, and still are, nicknamed the Patriots. What was the nickname of the "Big K" teams? 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.

Photos by Edward Malley, published courtesy of Jim Malley

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