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The rise of Mrs. A and Mrs. B

50 years ago this month, Noreen Abati became team leader at Marshall Simonds Middle School. If you were a good kid, you had nothing to worry about. If you were a bad kid, Abati’s office joined Rikers Island and Alcatraz on the list of places you didn’t want to visit often.

 

But enough about Mrs. A, because here comes Mrs. B.

Missus B

Bradlees (1958-2001) was named after a what?

  1. Dog
  2. Person
  3. City
  4. Airport

It was named after Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, because that’s where the founders held their seminal business meetings in the late 1950s.

Stop & Shop bought Bradlees in 1961, leading to a frequent  pairing of Bradlees and Stop & Shop stores.

Bradlees/Stop&Shop storefront

Burlington was no exception. Right across the street from Bradlees (now Kohl’s), the Burlington Mall had a Stop & Shop.

Burlington Mall montage


Also 50 years ago this month, the mall had two movie theaters. But watch out, because just up the highway . . .

Showcase Cinemas grand opening Woburn MA 1973

Here’s a local military tie-in to promote the movie “Midway” in 1976.Showcase Cinemas 1-2-3-4 Woburn, MA with enlistees during premier of "Midway" in 1976


Bandstand on Common gets underwayBandstand under construction 1973 Burlington MAMurray



 


That article has a name and address wrong. The Burlington business was actually Skandia Sauna Senter at 175 Bedford Street. It was one of two, um, very thorough massage parlors that were later shut down. Full story here.


Family Affair restaurant Burlington MA


Denise Boudrot Burlington jockey

Tragic update — Female riding pioneer Boudrot dies at 57 




 







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3 thoughts on “The rise of Mrs. A and Mrs. B Leave a comment

  1. Strikes agai with memories. Although I was a kid when major town events occurred…the memories when I got older: cutting through Bradlee’s parking lot from Lexington Street to avoid traffic lights on Mall road. A cinema near our Winn Street neighborhood. Going to the ‘Drille for business lunches.

  2. A cinema near the Winn St neighborhood? For the life of me I cannot picture this cinema. Oh, I know….you’re probably referring to the one off 128…in Woburn, down by where ZAYRE (a very HIGH END shopping experience) used to be?

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