Picture Enfield - Then and Now

ENFIELD, CT — Today's installment of this weekly Enfield history series, courtesy of the Facebook group Picture Enfield, features three of the businesses which used to inhabit King's Korner, a small plaza on Route 5 at the junction of Depot Hill Road.

In the 1960s, this building at 1658 King Street included King's Korner Service Station, King's Korner Package Store, King's Korner Barber Shop, Sue's Luncheonette and the King Street Market. By the time this photo was taken, undoubtedly in 1976 or 1977, the package store remained and the luncheonette had been renamed King's Korner Restaurant.

The reason I say the photo had to have been taken during that time frame is the business on the left. The Heat Box Shop (which I admittedly have never heard of) has a large sign above its window promoting "Ram Electronics CB Radios," and a sign in the window is hawking CB radio antennas. CB radios were the craze of all America during that era, particularly after the huge success of the Burt Reynolds movie "Smokey and the Bandit." However, no one has actually uttered the words "CB radio" since about 1980.

Eventually, the building was extensively remodeled and became the Windrose Restaurant, operated by Bob Caplette and Bob Caravello, in 1992. Around the turn of the century, it became Samantha's Restaurant, and since 2009, it has been the highly-successful Yarde Tavern. Here is a current view of the property.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's (actually, it was the week before, as this column did not run on Thanksgiving Day) trivia question was, "Who was the first woman to serve as mayor of Enfield?" The answer: Ann Marie Petronella, a 1979 Fermi High School graduate who was elected mayor by her Town Council peers in 1993. She served one term, then opted to not run for re-election in 1995. She was succeeded as mayor by Mary Lou Strom, who served three terms in that post until 2001; she passed away in Dec. 2006.

This week's trivia question:
The CB radio fad mentioned earlier was so huge across the country in the mid-1970s that a novelty song based on its premise hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart in Jan. 1976 (Good God, what were we thinking?). Name the song and artist. Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.