Don Canney

I could never quite figure out what those summertime blues were all about. The rock tune has some kid whining about not having money cause he “didn’t work a lick.” But that same kid called in and told the boss he was sick! Must be during the pre-fringe benefits era.

How can anyone be blue in the summertime? I can understand how in the dead of winter, staring out at two feet of Mother Nature’s white dust covering your driveway might cause some blues. Or sliding down that same driveway, unable to stop no matter how much force you apply to those brakes, might cause a bout with the blues.

But summertime? Gazing out at sunshine, birds singing, the same Mother Nature embracing you with her warmth and solace (heat waves not withstanding). Early morning walks or bike rides, welcoming Mr. Sunshine and enjoying the much longer, brighter days. There is nothing like it.

This calls to mind some of the things we did as kids in the summer, some things that were fun, some not so fun, and some downright crazy.

Remember going to summer concerts at the Hampton Beach Casino? One of my first concerts was Steppenwolf, of Born to be Wild fame, the tune that was the anthem of the iconic summer movie Easy Rider. We would brave ungodly crowds, sit on the floor of the casino in 90 plus degree heat (and whatever else was floating around in the air) with no A/C, just to see our favorite bands live. I was also a fan of the Beach Boys, a frequent Casino attraction, even when they weren’t cool for a short stretch.

But one lone Jethro Tull concert seemed to put a temporary end to it all in the late sixties, when more fans showed up than there were tickets available to accommodate. Kids were climbing the pillars to get to the balcony when it partially collapsed, putting an end to concerts for a while.

How many of us would pile into a six-passenger car (they were common back then) and head to the Nashua Drive-In? It was, oddly enough, located in Merrimack at the site of the current BAE just over the Nashua-Merrimack border. Oftentimes, if you were borrowing Dad’s family behemoth, a couple more “fares” would hide in the trunk, all for something like $5 a carload. A May 1967 edition of the Nashua Telegraph touts the feature length film of the day, “Riot on Sunset Strip” documenting the “Mod, mad world of the Hippies, teenyboppers and pot party goers, out for a new kick!” At the time, perhaps scary to some, but now, borderline comical! The Tyngsboro Drive-in, another popular outdoor movie house, was just over the southern border, where the Pheasant Lane Mall now sits.

There were several other drive-ins in the area. The Bedford Grove, Milford Twin Drive-in, which still stands, the old Pine Island drive-in at Pine Island Park in Manchester, as well as the Manchester Drive-in. There was also one in Litchfield, but we won’t go there.

How many times have you driven away at the end of a flick and taken that old window-attached speaker with you? Or worse, left your window at the drive-in? The few drive-ins remaining have now gone high tech. Not only digital movies, but wireless speakers!

The same edition of the aforeqmentioned Nashua Telegraph plugs the old Commodore Ballroom in Lowell, MA, featuring The Pandoras, an “all-girl” group. Admission was $2.00.

After a summer night out, we might head to Tony and Ann’s pizza in Chelmsford, or Al’s Pizza, Espresso Pizza or Santoro’s, all Nashua staples at the time, for a stomach busting feed. And of course, there was Howdy Beef Burgers at Temple and East Hollis or Kemps at Simoneau Plaza if you wanted to save a few pennies.

And the next day, we’d be outside shooting hoops, no matter what the temperature, or playing baseball, softball, or street hockey. We just don’t seem to see much of that anymore.

Yup, we did some crazy things, but looking back, it sure seems to beat sitting inside playing video games or having our noses buried in phones.

Don Canney is a freelance writer and professional voice artist. He was born and raised in downtown Nashua with great interest in Nashua history circa 1950-1970. He now resides in Litchfield.