Hanging out at the counter at Lange’s Sweet Shop, ca. 1958. The photograph shows, left to right, sitting: Marianne Marinello (later Marra), Savo Tseros (later Fries), and Margy Jenkins (later Fisher); standing: Kevin Grauer, Lee Manning, Janet Aluisio (later D’Alio), and in the very back you can see the top of Henry ‘Skip’ Lange’s head.
The lead story in this issue is Bob Russell’s article on 583 Warburton Avenue, which for so many years was Hastings’ prime snacking destination. From the 1920s to the 1950s it was Bruning’s Ice Cream Parlor, in the late ’50s and early ’60s it was Lange’s Sweet Shop, from the ’60s through the ’70s it was the Cup ‘N’ Saucer, in the ’80s and ’90s it was Pino Gareri’s electronic repair and magic shops, and now it is Comfort Lounge. When she heard that Bob Russell was working on this article, Janet Aluisio D’Alio e-mailed us the first two pictures you see here, showing Janet with her friends in Lange’s. Thanks for the photos, Janet, and don’t miss this great article!
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The juke box at Lange’s. Left to right are Janet Kupcok (later Costa), Margy Jenkins (later Fisher), Skip Lange, Savo Tseros (later Fries), and Phil Thompson.
From all the Christmas decorations in the photographs, you can tell what time of year Janet’s photos were taken. And, sure enough, when we looked in the December 24th, 1958, edition of the Hastings News (which we just happen to have in our small but fascinating collection of local newspapers), we find the following ad for Lange’s.
Between the articles about the Cornell and Sweet Briar co-eds home for the holidays, the weddings and engagements, arguments over industry tax assessments and whether Nodine Avenue should finally be paved, we find a host of seasonal salutations from other local businesses. And just because it’s April Fool’s Day (and because we can’t resist), here are a few of these Christmas ads:
Postlogue: Regarding the Cup and Saucer
For those of you who were either too old, not yet in town or too young to have experienced the Cup N’ Saucer in the early Sixties, you will never know how it really was. In it’s un-edited form the CN’S segment of the Genealogy of a Building article in the new Winter 2010 Historian was originally quite long. The current segment only glosses over the unvarnished story. But for those of you who remember those days I’m sure that you’ve noticed that I left many things out, such as how some gals would hang at the fountain and ogle over Sam. Perhaps you no doubt remember that fellow teens would sneak-in flat pints of rum and pass it around to friends on the sly. Rum and coke – the perfect marriage, this done completely unbeknown to the Caruso‘s. There were some real “characters” back then such as one girl, a Prima Dona, thinking that she was very cool, would feed the jukebox and begin to perform to David Rose’s “Theme From The Stripper“. She’d play it, and then dance to it over and over. We all thought that she was quite hilarious, and that she probably missed her calling in life – very entertaining.
Mostly, we all had fun at the Cup N‘ Saucer, especially practicing our street corner serenading via a capella doo wop to the jukebox. However, there were also a few unsavory random incidents during those few years. Once a mis-guided young man having a grudge against Sam for some unknown reason, entered the shop after hours and tore the various green booth seats with a knife. Upon seeing this at opening, Sam quickly went to work with a roll of very strong tape and repaired the seats in time for opening for business. He didn’t mention this spiteful act to anyone but instead accepted an apology and forgave the individual. That was Sam, a solid guy. Stuff happened in the store, particularly in the back room. Usually, the Caruso’s didn’t know about these things and would have gotten involved if they did.
As such, a pretty rough crowd hung out there until the days of the British Invasion (‘63/’64) when music began to change attitudes, clothing styles, and various perceived class differences. This new trend helped to bring all of the kids in town under the same roof, and the teen population mellowed and meshed. Then, the Cup N’Saucer was really cool. You who do remember those days have your own stories, and I have mine. “Remember when, when, when, when, when….remember then, oop-shoop.”
Bob Russell