Greetings from Chartley Island

I have a map of Norton from 1895. The road now known as Route 123 didn't exist in our end of town back then. The road just ended. Apparently if you wanted to go to Attleboro from Norton Center you ran into Chartley Pond where North and South Worcester Streets meet. It looks like the best thing to do was take a right on North Worcester and a left on Pleasant Street and then right again back on to present day Rt. 123 near Bedrock Granite. I'm not completely sure, the map sort of just ends.

As far as the “new” part of Route 123, I consider this to be “Chartley Island." It’s called Old Colony Road (Shouldn’t it be called New Colony Road?). The Island starts where West Main Street ends at the flashing light near Tedeschi’s and extends up to the Dunkin Donuts at the Attleboro line.

For the purists, Chartley Island is not to be confused with the real Chartley. Let’s face it, it seems as though Old Colony Road didn’t even exist when Chartley was Chartley.

For those of us who live on the Island, we are essentially cut off from "Mainland Norton" unless we are travelling within the safety of a car or truck. Walking or biking on the section of road between Chartley Plaza and McMahon’s (formerly Bristol Farms) is reserved only for those with the reflexes of a circus acrobat and/or a very good insurance plan. It is narrow, windy, hilly, and has no sidewalks. To make things worse, the sun is blinding heading into Norton in the morning and out of Norton at night. Because there is some water on both sides, I call this short guardrailed stretch of road the "Chartley Island Bridge".

On Chartley Island itself, we just had sidewalks put in when they repaved Route 123 a year or two ago. Walking anywhere wasn't an option before then. Now with the sidewalks the area has taken on a little of a village feel.

I have always loved the village model, a place where you didn't need a car for everyday necessities. In my opinion, a suitable village needs to have at least the following:

• Grocery Store
• Butcher
• Green grocer
• Post Office
• Church
• Pharmacy
• Hardware Store
• Barber / Hair Salon
• Bakery
• Restaurant
• And of course, A Public House or Pub for short

Chartley Island comes reasonably close to meeting my village standard. We lack a few things. We still have to drive to the mainland for fresh meat, fish and produce. On Sundays, Islanders need to cross the bridge to worship regardless of denomination. For prescriptions, we are fortunate that Norton has its very own "Pharmacy District" down by the center of town. While off-island, we can get our hardware at Aubuchon.

On our little island, we have five restaurants and we dominate in the ice cream category (islands always have great ice cream). We have a cozy little convenience store, a great gift store, novelty shops, a spa and other neat stores.

We might not have a barber shop but I suppose I could get a buzz cut at the salon my wife goes to. We can buy a car, get it insured, repaired, and washed all before breakfast. Last but not least, our post office is an All-American classic. All of these places are located within five minutes on foot. To our merchant neighbors on the Island, forgive me if I missed anyone.

Dunkin Donuts is the closest thing we have to a bakery (sure we can get a donut, but how about some fresh baked bread?). The Oasis isn't exactly a traditional pub but it would do just fine in a pinch on a snowy night in January. There are some retail vacancies, so if there any aspiring bakers or publicans out there you are welcome on the Island.

The bottom line is that Chartley Island is a pretty neat walking village and we are on the rise. One word of caution, if you are coming to visit from the Norton mainland and you are on foot or on a bike, please use extra caution on the Chartley Island Bridge.