Your Memories of Paragon Park & Nantasket Beach

SEND YOUR MEMORIES AND PHOTOS!

**We are looking for any Paragon Park photos and especially photos of "The Surf."**

The Surf Nightclub: Circa 1970's

Dave Stevens
January 2010
I echo all that was said by the other guys lucky enought to have played at The Surf and lived in that era. They were years that created life time memories for us and those we entertained. Thanks to Bill and Jay Spence for giving us the platform to perform and Mrs. Brown for promoting us. We had the time of our lives.
Dave Stevens " Second Society"

The Surf Nightclub: Circa 1970's

Barry Pelaggi
November 2009
The Surf Nightclub always had two bands on the "stage bill" and I can remember working many nights with the Techniques (lead sing and drummer Tommy Lombardo, Minus One (lead singer Steve Esdale) and Second Society (lead singer Dave Stevens). Somewhere I have a file of promo ads from the Surf Music Company with all of the bands that I mentioned including "Horse". They had a booking office on the second floor. A lot of us in Horse payed our way through college working the "gigs" we got from Surf Music Company. I can't tell you how many times we climbed those stairs with all that equipment especially in the cold months with that bitter cold chill off the water just a couple of hundred feet away!

Nantasket Roller Way

Peter Zwerlein
Sept 2009
Nantasket Roller Way
This photo was sent by Peter Zwerlein. It belonged to his father and the photo was identified as Nantasket Roller Way. "I would guess that it was taken in the late 1930s. He was an avid roller skater and belonged to a roller skating club at the Mineola Skating Rink on Long Island, N.Y. That's where he and my mother met. The club would take trips to rinks in nearby states, the Nantasket Roller Way being one of them."

MY Childhood Home

Annee Shore
August 2009
I would like to share some of my fond memories of living in Nantasket Beach in the summertime. I lived in a great house at the beach on 100 Revere St. I had a wonderful time as a kid and teenager right there. I remember Paragon Park, frozen custard, fried clams and going to "Huskins," for playing pinball machines and hanging out with friends. For ice cream at it's best was "Helen and Harrier" on Nantasket Ave. This was back in the 1950's. I had so much fun, always laughing. My parents did our family best gift of growing up in Hull. There will always be a special place in my heart for that time in my life. If anyone wants to reach me, I would be happy to answer and write to them. I often wonder where those kids are that I used to hang with."

(Photo from Public Record, Assessor's Office)

My Memories of Nantasket Beach and the Park

Carol Aronofsky Goodwin
August 2009
My name is Carol Aronofsky Goodwin and I have so many great memories of Nantasket Beach. Our family spent many, many summers there. We always went down and spent the month of August at a cottage. The address was 4 Hillside Ave., and it was my mother and father and my brothers, Richard and Scott along with our grandmother, Mary Cooke, Bill Warkwick, my Aunt Pat Foran, her husband Jack and there three children: Terry, John and Christopher along with my Aunt Peggy Cooke and my Uncle Bobby Cooke as well. We would all go down and spend the month of August in that cottage and it was always such a blast. The first time i remember going down, I was only 8 years old. My brother Ricky was 7 and our youngest brother, Scott was just a new born baby when we started going down there. My cousin John was just a new born as well. His sister Terry was about 5 if I remember right. But anyway's we always had such a good time.

We would get up in the morning and have breakfast and as long as it was a sunny morning we would pack up and hit the beach first thing in the morning and we would stay there until 5 pm and then go back to the cottage and have supper and then we would play out side until it was dark out. On the weekends we would go to Paragon Park and ride the rides. I remember they had these cars that you could drive but you had to be a certain height to ride on them and i tried every year to get on them. My brother Ricky got to the right height before I did, which was not fair because he was younger than I was! The year that I was tall enough to go on them, they had stopped running them! I was so upset but there was so many other fun rides that it was okay.

I will be going back there this summer for a Cooke family reunion and i am so looking forward to it. I have not been able to get back to the beach since my oldest child was 2 years old and he is now 35 years old and I have 7 children of my own now and 5 of them will be with me when we go along with their families as well and the rest of the Cooke family who will be there. We will be a large crowd on the beach of Nantasket in August. My family only will have 16 of us and we are all looking forward to being there. i have attached a picture of some of us that will be there in this picture. My mother and father who will also be there as well. They have not been back to the beach in 25 years and it has been 32 or 33 years since i have been there.

(Photo by Larry Corcoran)

Summers at Nantasket Beach

Jeff Bloom
July 2009
Coming around the curve on the way to Nantasket and seeing and hearing the sights and sounds of Paragon Park and especially that incredible wooden coaster, my heart always skipped a beat. I only spent one summer there but my best friend lived in Hull so I was there for lots of weekends in the summer. The Surf, Paragon, Huskins, Kenberma and Coburn St beach. Cohen's Deli..The nights walking up and down Nantasket Avenue, the Bay. These are memories I will never forget. For a kid, teenager, it was pure heaven. I lived in Scituate in later years and always went to Nantasket to reminisce. I live in Ft .Lauderdale now, close to the beach. Nantasket put sand and surf in my blood.

Giant Coaster

Paneeks, Quincy
July 2009
Sept 2009
This may sound a bit strange but I can still remember that distinctive aroma that the park let off and especially around the Giant Coaster. The memories of climbing the lift hill and anticipating that first drop was breathtaking, especially at night. Also the way the Coaster would be lit up with the while light bulbs on the trim and view from the top of the lift hill from the beach to the left and hull to the right was just amazing. I really miss Paragon Park and I just can't catch the same vibe (or that distinctive smell) anymore when I hit the beach. Of well, I guess nothing lasts forever....

The Surf Roller Way

Karen LeRoy
May 2009
I remember the tunnel of love.....and of course, the Surf! Drinking age in 1974 was 18.

My Favorite Place to Be

Lisa Berenson May 2009
As a kid I spent my summers on Nantasket Beach. My grandparents owned a house on G Street and Beach Ave and my Mom would pack up our stuff and would move there for the whole summer, leaving behind the heat of the city. I remember my mom blowing a whistle from the porch to tell me to come back to the house for lunch. Me and my friends would spend all day at the beach, swimming and playing and then we'd ride our bikes down to the L Street playground, go to the Penny Candy Store, Kenberma Street, Weinberg's Bakery, and Paragon Park. My favorite ride was the "Turnpike" and the "Scrambler." I was too scared to ride the roller coaster! We'd go to Kohr Bros. for ice cream and eat salt water taffy. My summers in Hull were the best times in my life. Every year my mom would take me to the South Shore Music Tent to see musicals and plays, then I'd come back and recreate them in my grandparents backyard with my friends. Nantasket Beach is one of my favorite places to be no matter what time of the year. I still visit there almost every weekend in the summer, and look forward to long walks on the beach, collecting sea glass. Seems that as soon as I enter Hull and see the ocean, all my troubles just melt away with the sound of the surf and the smell of that salty air! I always make it a point to walk past my grandparents house, now owned by others but who probably can't help but feel the same way--that Nantasket Beach is just the best place to be!

Opened for Steppenwolf at The Surf

Tom Gelfuso
April 2009
Tom Gelfuso - from a band called Chapter Five, late 60's. We opened for Steppenwolf at The Surf. They were late and our set up guys had to go get them at the airport and they got lost. No cells in those days. This is not a false memory because we had to keep playing on and on folks were getting upset. They did finally arrive.

The Little Boat Ride at Paragon Park

Cindy St. Amand
Nov 2008
I still remember... how happy I was on the little "boat" ride for toddlers at Paragon Park. It would just go around in circles, but I couldn't wait to hear the water lapping against the boat and occasional bell ringing. Never thought I would grow up and move here. Living here now, I still enjoy seeing all the boats. I guess I am a boat lover at heart! I love it here!

Nantasket Beach: Early 60's

Mike Carpenter
Nov 2008
My dad was captain of the MDC Police in Nantasket at the time. Our family summered there in the early 60's. One summer was spent living on the upper floor of Lahages' (The Clock tower house at the rotary.) The other summers were spent at the Totem pole house to the right of the old police station. It was the best time of my life. Paragon Park, the beach, the times... It was all so magical to be a young kid in that atmosphere. I remember Miles McDonough, who rented umbrellas and beach chairs at the pavilion on the beach, and Michael MacNamara, Tommy Furzz, and all the cool wise cracking teens who ran some of the rides at the Park. The Wild Mouse, roller coaster, Congo Cruise, and The Rotor were my favorites. Thanks for the memories!

Earl & Paul Cohen - Apollo Theatre

Earl Cohen
Sept 2008
This photo of Paul and Earl Cohen was taken around 1952. The ride was called the Kiddy Coaster and the building in the background was the old roller skating rink. Going to this old theatre kept us out of trouble on rainy summer days during the mid fifties.

Paragon Park

Errol Stevens(Tabasky)
July 2008
I grew up in Hull and graduated from Hull High in 1959. In my junior and senior year during the summers I worked at Paragon Park. What an enjoyable time working at the hoop-la, bear pitch,and making cotton candy. I left in 1973 and have a home in Florida and Tennessee. My wife and I visit Hull every year with our motor home. My favorite ride was the Tunnel of Love and the Bullet.

Paragon Park

Scott Aronofsky
July 2008
The memories I have from Paragon Park are still etched in my mind. I spent the summers there from 1964-1984. My Grandmother started the tradition by renting a cottage on Hillside Rd. We had so much fun, walking to the beach every day, and going to the park at night. I miss the park alot, and it seems that there are many more who do as well. I created a website dedicated to these memories and its become quite popular. This August, my family and I will be having a beach day re-union and I can't wait. The lights, the sounds and the smells of Paragon Park are long gone, but the memories will live on forever.

Hillside Rd Memories

My grandmother used to rent a cottage on Hillside Rd for the month of August throughout my childhood. She rented 4 Hillside from Aug 1964 up to around 1980, then she rented another on Porazzo Rd. Our entire family would come stay at the cottage and we spent so many summer days on Nantasket beach. Nana passed away about 13 years ago, and one of my Aunts thought a beach re-union would be a nice idea, to remember her and for all of us to get together again. That was three years ago. This coming August 29, we will be hitting the beach again for our third re-union, the first one had 22 of us there, last year we were up to 28, this year it looks as if there will be over 40 of us!

Nana used to stay on the beach all day, she'd be sitting there in her chair with a dab of coppertone on her nose, or she'd be out in the water floating on her back. She taught all of us kids how to dig for quahogs in the water, something I have since shared with my younger second cousins. She would have us kids dig out a full sized boat in the sand, where we would play for hours. It kept us all in one place, and made it easier for my Mom and my aunts to keep track of us, there were usually up to 15 kids there at a time. I remember the ice cream man walking the beach with his cooler on his back, and the lifeguard chairs that were so much fun for us kids to play on after the guards left for the day. On cloudy days we'd just take a long walk on the beach, collecting shells and beach glass. Or we would walk down to the old Penny Candy store. We'd eat pink popcorn that we got at Carl's stand, or fly a kite way up high all day. I'm looking forward to August 29, when we all take the beach one more time!

Paragon Park

Scott Aronofsky
July 2008
The memories I have from Paragon Park are still etched in my mind. I spent the summers there from 1964-1984. My Grandmother started the tradition by renting a cottage on Hillside Rd. We had so much fun, walking to the beach every day, and going to the park at night. I miss the park alot, and it seems that there are many more who do as well. I created a website dedicated to these memories and its become quite popular. This August, my family and I will be having a beach day re-union and I can't wait. The lights, the sounds and the smells of Paragon Park are long gone, but the memories will live on forever.

Growing Up in Hull

Randy Sorenson
July 2008
Having grown up and gone to school in town, I enjoy the stories from everyone and their experiences. For me, I was lucky enough to be in the music business at the height of the Paragon Park era, having played at The Surf, The Blue Bunny and The Cove. Every day at the beach! What a great place to call home no matter where you may now live.

See the list Randy started of "Bands that Played The Surf Nightclub."

Joe & Nemo's (.25) Dogs and Burgers

Al Citro
July 2008
When I finally got my driver's license it meant no more trips to the beach with my family. My buddies and I high tailed it to Nantasket Beach and Paragon Park. Lunch at Joe & Nemo's (.25) dogs and burgers) and cold orangeade. My fondest memory though is seeing Fats Domino at the Blue Bunny nightclub in Paragon Park. My buddy Steve and I were barely old enough to drive, let alone drink. A sport coat and tie got us into most any club in those days. Fats put on a great show and we proceeded to get blitzed on long necks. On the way home to Belmont on Rte 128 I was crushing along at 80 mph when a trooper pulled me over. Steve was passed out on the front seat and was not waking up for anything. I'll never forget, the cop's name was Chase. He asked me where we got the alcohol and he let us go. The Lord was watching over us that night.

I went on the Roller-coaster Over 1000 Times!

Art Milmore
June 2008
I worked 2 summers at Nantasket at age 14 and 17. The first at the old Tivoli Gardens restaurant right on the beach and at 17 for Paragon Park. With all the beautiful young ladies cruising by all day and night, it was like I died and went to heaven --- and I got paid for this --- wow!! I went on the roller coaster over 1000 times and got to walk it for 3 hours in 1985 photographing it for the builder that moved it to Largo, Maryland. I walked it there too and have the before and after photos. I went on it 40 times over 2 days with the builder, Charlie Dinn and it is now higher, longer and 8 mph faster than it was here.

Fun Times in the 60's

Bob Ganno
May 2008
I grew up in Hyde Park, but on the weekends in the summer we use to thumb to Nantasket Beach. i use to go with Mark Goodless, Al Feinberg and Mike Fuller. We use to go to the Surf or a Dance near Kenburma Street. The Park was great, lots of rides and food. Now I still go back to the Beach with my Grand-kids and enjoy the beach. I have a lot of great memories there.

Longing for Nantasket Beach

Carol Harris
Oct 2007
I am 73 and the best times of my life are when our family spent time at Nantasket Beach when I was very young. The sky was so blue over the Atlantic and how I loved the wonderful smell of salt air. Nothing in the world is quite like it. You who are so fotunate to live near by, enjoy it. I have lived all over the world and I still long for those times.

Paragon Park Memories

Rose McHugh
As a child it was a big thrill to come down (from Quincy) to Nantasket for a day at the beach & an evening on the rides at Paragon - I can remember the thrill of being in the station wagon on George Washington Blvd. & the first sight of the roller coaster as we came around the corner - everyone in the car would want to be the first to yell out "there's the roller coaster!"

As a teenager in high school we would come down on the weekend to go to the beach & hang around the park at night, I was too "chicken" to ride the roller coaster but loved the "Mighty Mouse", "Tiltawhirl" & of course the "Red Mill" (I think that was the name of the ride like a "Tunnel of Love" with a splash down a slide at the end) & also as a teenager loved the Surf on Saturday night to dance & listen to live local bands.

Friday nights we would go to Broad Cove in Hingham to dance, (where auction hall is now on 3A) A big date would be a day at the beach, then supper (pizza) at Al's Spaghetti House (I think that was the name - where Mezza Mare is now.)

When my children were small & we were living in Abington - Nantasket was the beach to go - first I would go to Quincy to pick up my mother who would have packed lunches then to Nantasket where we would drag the playpen & all the beach toys over to the beach from the parking lot near the "comfort station". I do know as a child & even as a young mother I never dreamed of living here - but I'm so glad I do!