Lynnfield-Related Items Up For Auction

Here are some of the latest Lynnfield-related items up for auction on eBay:

Dancing At Old Town Hall: I'm assuming that back in the day, they used to hold dances at the old Lynnfield Town Hall – at least judging from the "I wish we were in here dancing now, don't you?" message that a woman named Bea sent to her friend or relative Alice in Malden back in what appears to be either 1908 or 1918 (The post mark is too faded to tell the exact year).  At least it's not the sort of dancing that occurs at lots of other legislative settings - the variety that occurs on the back of the taxpayers. I might be mistaken but it actually looks like old town hall was somewhat bigger than its more contemporary counterpart.

The Zoom-In Feature: This is a shot taken in 1910 of Lynnfield's Old Meeting House. I know I have run a photo very similar to this on the site in the past, but in this case, eBay now has a new feature where you can zoom in and check out some of the details of the photo. It almost makes you feel like you're walking down South Common Street one fine day circa 1910. (Fortunately when you come back you only keep that "Pepperidge Farm Remembers" accent for maybe 5 or 10 minutes.) At the time this photo was taken, there were apparently bands either painted or stuck on the trees on Lynnfield Common. A barely-visible note on this card cites the 1714 construction date of the Old Meeting House, although the seller calls it a residential home.

Vintage Fire Trucks: Each summer, Lynnfield holds a vintage fire truck parade, and it appears that this slide may be connected to that event. Anyone who's a fan of vintage fire trucks can pick up this Ektachrome slide of a 1932 Seagrave pumper truck for $7. I have to wonder how many people out there still have a working slide projector and actually bring it out once in a while. Those things are almost due to make some sort of nostalgically ironic comeback among big-city hipster types with too much time on their hands (and not much  more than that). Whoever this seller is, he's also getting rid of a couple of other old fire truck slides that were taken in Lynnfield. Here's another one.

A Cross-Border Raid: OK, nobody panic, I'm about to mention a listing from another town. ("Just kidding. No I'm not. Yes I am…" to quote the wacky Filipino karaoke host who was on a cruise I once took.) As I've noted before, it's tough to keep stocked week to week with vintage eBay items exclusively from Lynnfield, so from time to time, I'll meander across the town line and poach a quick piece of content, not unlike some rebel soldier hiding out in the bush. It's also a little bit like that with our outdoor photography galleries here. That said, I'm not sure if many of you would remember a restaurant in North Reading called Levaggi's that existed in the 1950s. I actually find these much older menus rather interesting, although the dishes tend to be quite basic and a bit more maybe on the blander side. That said, I'm a big cooking (and even bigger eating) enthusiast, and that combined with my love for history makes me inclined to check out these items when they come up. However, unless this place was a storied piece of local history, I'm not sure if I'd part with $25 just to own a menu showing that chicken parm once cost $1.25.