The Old Farm - A Memoir

What follows is my mother's recollection of her summer days at The Old Farm, her family's first summer home near Blairstown, New Jersey. Although her family sold the property when she was nine years old, she fondly recalled those days until the end of her life at age 84. 

She presented her story on 31 handwritten pages, which my uncle recently shared with me. I am guessing that she wrote this sometime in the early to mid-1990s, as she mentions it had been 50 years since she summered at the Old Farm. I feel fortunate that she left these memories, and I enjoyed preserving her story. 

I added the headings. They were not part of the original story.

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The A-List Eats - Soft Serve Ice Cream

As a child in the 1970s and 1980s, my family maintained healthy eating habits. Vegetables from our vast garden, home-cooked meals, school lunch sandwiches made with whole wheat bread, and other wholesome foods were staples of our diet. TV dinners were out and an occasional glass of Coke with pizza or, my favorite, a soft serve ice cream cone, were rare treats.

Where Are They Now? New Haven Establishments 2021

Several years ago, a series of “Do you remember when…” conversations piqued my curiosity about my college stomping ground, New Haven. Web searches followed and the original New Haven Establishments list was created. A few years later the list expanded to include more locations. Be sure to check out both of them as you’ll find my commentary and some cool links including one to a video of the Nirvana concert at The Moon in 1991. 

A recent visit to New Haven, several web searches, and the New Haven Independent allowed me to bring you the third edition of the list. Send updates my way and please share your thoughts in the comments section of this post. (You can post anonymously.)

Update 8.22.2025 - Yale maintains this building archive and there's a tab that says Past Tenants. I took a quick look at a few locations and some entries have more thorough information than others.

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Where are They Now? An Update on New Haven Establishments

My most recent post lead to lots of conversation and many questions about New Haven with "I wonder what happened to....?" and "I remember when..." being the two most common responses. 

UPDATE - Since this was originally posted, I have added to the list -

• The most recent list from 2021 is here: http://annvinciguerra.blogspot.com/2021/06/new-haven-establishments-2021.html.  

• Where are they Now? 2019 can be found here: http://annvinciguerra.blogspot.com/2019/05/where-are-they-now-2019-update-on-new.html.  

Both are worth checking out as they each have different links and stories.

Broadway, Gateway to New Haven

Below is an update on some New Haven establishments that were popular in my day. I copied the list from my original post and added a few others based on what people have been talking about. There are a few times when I couldn't find the full story or my memory fails me, so I'll need your  help to fill in the gaps. Feel free to leave your stories in the comments section of this post. I am sure there are a ton of great places I am missing.

Rambling Reflections on New Haven

Lately, I've had New Haven on my mind. Discovery of the Elm City Diary Facebook page coupled with a slow and boring week at work was all it took to set me off on a Google search. When I stumbled upon Eva Geertz's blog post in New Haven Review, my curiosity about New Haven turned into full-fledged nostalgia. As I read the post, the names of local institutions, the sights and sounds of the Elm City, its people, its vibe, and whole slew of thoughts, feelings and images came flooding into my mind.

New Haven Green

The (Not-So) Great American Train Ride

At the train depot in Laramie

When I was younger, a growing sense of wanderlust found me longing to embark on a long distance train ride. Whether it was traveling from country to country in Europe or getting "a chance to see the real America" (as the cliche goes), it seemed like a good way to go.

If the band played on, they were probably at a great venue

Over beers the other night, friends and I were discussing great live music. In the spirit of the film High Fidelity, we began listing our all-time, top five concerts. I couldn’t possibly limit my list to just five shows so Instead, I tried to come up with my all-time, top five venues, which soon became the nine top venues. In an effort to revisit some of my fondest musical memories and make good on my promise to do more writing, I decided to put the list down on paper. Feel free to include your favorite concert venues in the comments section of this blog.