Friday, February 18, 2011

Auf Wiedersehen!

Well, the end of the road officially came today for the laundromat existing in the plaza in Sharon. A crew of three men came and started "gutting out" what last was the Laundry Lounge. The interior is to be cleaned out completely, the machines are all gone with the exception of maybe one or two as of today. The jackhammers will soon be hammering out the concrete pedestals which held the machines. The plan is to turn it into a storefront of some kind I am told. What type of business might our town support do you think? It will be interesting to see.


A number of parties have taken ownership of the business in the last fifty years, starting with the landlords thru the last family. The family which owned it the longest to my memory was The Johnson's, Norm and Barbara, who purchased it I believe when they were getting ready and did retire from dairy farming. They had numerous children, who all gave a hand, so there was always a Johnson on duty, from 7am till 9pm, seven days a week. A major part of their success I would imagine was that fact. Family on duty. Actually, my mom worked there for a few years a couple of mornings a week, from 7 till 9am, receiving clothes from those who needed service. It was a "out" for her from the house, to see a few folks and make a little gas money. Her commute was pretty long though. She walked across the street. :)


A part of me is sad to see that a laundromat will no longer be in the plaza. When I was but about six or seven (very early sixties), the first laundromat was over in part of what is now the pharmacy. There was a front door and a back as well, it was a narrow storefront, much like my current store. As you went in from the front, the driers were on the right, and the washing machines on the left. There was a coin machine up front that gave out quarters for a dollar bill, and was way cool in its day and age. With some prompting from Mr. Bartram or a few others, I am sure some good tales could come out. I do remember one incident with a cat in a dryer though......and of course there was the very famous police case, involving Mike Murtagh and his stolen Final Touch...... Ahh well, that my friends, is history. 






~So long old friend. Thank You.You served a lot of people for a long, long time.~

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