One of the many ads Blake's ice cream shop and restaurant ran in the Nashua Telegraph appeared during Thanksgiving week 1967.

A photo of a woman building an ice cream sundae caught my eye the other day.

It appeared on the front page of a newspaper that I peruse now and then as it sits on the wire rack at a favorite corner store I frequent.

The accompanying story announced that the lone remaining Blake’s Ice Cream restaurant would be closing this weekend, which, of course, immediately turned the key that unlocks my memory bank, the one where such nostalgic-Nashua things are stored.

So I took a look back in time to the Blake’s era here in Nashua, which I always imagined covered at least a decade, or maybe a bit longer. While I can’t say I remember “our Blake’s” grand opening, I wasn’t surprised to learn that it occurred in spring 1965, when I was of an age that it was nearly impossible to eat too much ice cream.

And with nice, tall chocolate cones going for a dime and a nickel and hot fudge sundaes for two bits, it wasn’t very difficult to support my habit.

The first indication that Blake’s was coming to Nashua was a relatively brief story that appeared in The Nashua Telegraph – our predecessor-in-name – in November 1964.

“Ground breaking ceremonies will be held Friday for the new Blake’s restaurant-dairy bar on Factory Street,” the story began.

Planned as a “brick colonial structure,” the future Blake’s was to be built by Tamposi Associates, according to the story. For some reason, the Nashua Housing Authority, which typically oversees the acquision and operation of housing for seniors, low-income and disabled folks, was involved in the planning and approval of the project.

Then-Blake’s president Leon Blake told the Telegraph that the new building would be “very similar to the Blake’s on Main Street in Manchester,” the small chain’s flagship location that, nearly 60 years later, is the one that’s closing its doors this weekend.

There was no mention of an existing building being razed to make room for the new Blake’s, but there’s no doubt that happened at some point. That’s because in the 1940s up to around 1960, the address 47 Factory St. was that of another establishment frequented by local baby boomers: the New Mode Barber School.

Apparently, after New Mode moved – first to Chestnut Street, then to West Pearl Street – 47 Factory St. was taken down, paving the way for a new Blake’s on the site.

I must say I was surprised to find that the Nashua Blake’s was only in operation for about three and a half years. I guess it’s because time passed quite a bit slower back then, remember?

Come mid-1969, Blake’s had become Fowler’s restaurant, which, I seem to remember, featured similar fare as did its predecessor, and (smartly) continued its focus on ice cream.

Less than four years later, Fowler’s went the way of Blake’s, and up went a sign for the “Maverick Steak House,” a restaurant and lounge that apparently attempted to introduce a Western flair where ice cream, milk shakes and tuna melts dominated the menu.

But within a year, in April 1973, the name became “Nashua Steak House” for one of two reasons: Either the owners thought “Nashua” in the name would appeal to Nashuans more than “Maverick” did, or they sold it to someone who decided to change the name.

Whatever the reason, the Nashua Steak House went the way of its predecessors after barely a year of operation.

Then along came the next set of owners of 47 Factory St. – the Smith, Welts & Currier law firm (later, Smith Weiss Shepard) – announced in a Telegraph ad that on Aug. 12, 1974, they would be relocating its offices to 47 Factory St.

And in stark contrast to its predecessors, the firm still occupies the colonial-style former eatery some 48-plus years later.

Dean Shalhoup’s column appears weekly in The Sunday Telegraph. He may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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