Picture Enfield - Then And Now

ENFIELD, CT — Today's installment of this weekly Enfield history series, courtesy of the Facebook group Picture Enfield, features a 1970s view of a longtime staple of the North Thompsonville section of town: Dominick's Auto Parts.

Dominick Buoniconti, an Italian immigrant, founded the business in 1936 and operated it for 50 years. The majority of that time was spent in this building at 150 Enfield Street, and for many years, the shop was a National Auto Parts Association (NAPA) member.

Buoniconti passed away in 2002 at age 89. In 1995, Paul Oliver purchased the building, and for the past 25 years, Taylor Rental has operated from that site.

In the background of the old photo and the more contemporary view below is the Enfield Street Arco gas station and garage, owned for many years by Lt. Frank Lango of the North Thompsonville Fire Department, and aided in the office by his wife Rita. Their son Donald has owned the business since 1980, according to town records. Rita Lango passed away in 1995, and her husband died two years later.

Here is a modern-day look at 150 Enfield Street, courtesy of the Enfield Town Assessor's office.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's trivia question was, "Which former Enfield Press editor had a memorial tree planted in her honor on the grounds of the Enfield Senior Center on Elm Street?" The answer: Yvonne Delaney Prestwich, longtime managing editor of the community newspaper who later worked as a secretary at the senior center, retiring in 2001. She left us far too soon in 2006 at just 68 years of age. She was my mentor in this business back in the early 1980s, and I, along with everyone else, miss this lovely woman dearly.

This week's trivia question:
In the 1970s, what was the name of the Army-Navy store in the shopping plaza on South Road? Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.