BLOCK PARTIES TO BE REMEMBERED
BY DON DOUCETTE
News from the upper Ten Mile River Watershed this week indicating the planned 2nd Annual North Attleborough Block Party, Wednesday, September 21 at 5PM.
This is good.
Brings to mind a much different unintended block party atmosphere in North Attleborough some decades ago following the Blizzard of 78.
Our area communities were paralyzed by this storm and for a number of days area roads were restricted only for emergency calls and for firms providing essential goods and services – in my case providing heating oil to local homes and businesses.
At the outset, large machines provided single lane passage in the centers of local towns – personally, driving a large truck was difficult at best and in many instances required backing great distances to complete my rounds.
For many days, the center of North Attleboro slowly dug out as essential retail businesses began to gradually open. The center of North Attleborough remained a strategic hub void for the most part of vehicular traffic.
The spontaneous block party atmosphere developed in surrounding snowbound neighborhoods where trapped neighbors helped neighbors to cope and as the sunshine warmed and brightened, out came grills and lawn chairs propped in front of open-door garages with enough snow cleared on blacktop drives to provide cozy and safe gathering spaces for the huddled masses.
Upper High Street remained snowbound for days and neighbors with snowmobiles towing toboggans hauled loads of drug store items, groceries and heaps of adult beverages to the many marooned neighborhood block party groups.
So... have your downtown block party on September 21st.
Have fun, stay safe and be neighborly.
And best of all, leave your snow shovels at home.
Don Doucette
“Ten Mile River Rambles”
Friends of the Ten Mile and Bucklin Brook