Picture Enfield - Then And Now

ENFIELD, CT — Today's look back into Enfield history takes us to the World War II era, and one of the longest-tenured businesses in Enfield history: Bridge's lumber yard. A great book entitled Images of America: Enfield Connecticut, produced by the Enfield Historical Society, gives a great accounting of founder Amos D. Bridge's impact on the Hazardville section of town.

Bridge began working shortly after the Civil War by running the Hazardville Bonnet Co., a wooden box manufacturing company and a large dairy farm. He was also a building contractor. In 1899, Bridge chartered the Hazardville Water Co., and following his death in 1906, his five sons and nephew incorporated his company as Amos D. Bridge's Sons Inc.

The business continued expanding, selling appliances and producing cable reels. The lumber yard, shown in the 1940s, continues to operate today, though it was sold long ago to the Kelly-Fradet lumber chain.

The small white building on the left edge of the photo, which is actually 2 Mill Street, currently houses My Pellet Store and Creative Image Products.

Here is a contemporary look at the property from a different angle, taken Thursday by yours truly.

In case you missed it:
Last week's column on Eugene's Restaurant generated a ton of memories from readers, as well as a photo of the building under construction in 1978, submitted by longtime local photographer John Zirolli. It was added to the column, which may be seen here.

Last week's trivia answer:
Last week's somewhat lengthy trivia question was, "Construction of a new bank in the Brookside Plaza has led to the inevitable social media postings along the lines of, "Why does Enfield need another bank, we already have too many, blah blah blah." In fact, the town has always had a proliferation of financial institutions; at one point in the 1950s, there were two such businesses next to each other in downtown Thompsonville, separated only by Freshwater Brook. Name them." The answer: the First National Bank of Thompsonville and the Thompsonville Trust Company. Both sustained damage during the 1955 flood, and both eventually became part of Connecticut Bank & Trust Co., which is now Bank of America.

This week's trivia question:
I guarantee this week's question can't be Googled, copied and pasted. Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Ben Aleks was the first person to take the mat at the initial wrestling meet of Cathedral High School in 1961 (he won his match, by the way). How much did he weigh that day? Post the answer in the comments section below, or on the Enfield Patch Facebook page.