Saturday, August 4, 2012

The Old Diner.

From time to time, I wax nostalgic. If you're a baby boomer (born between 1946 and 1964?), you probably remember your favorite diner, and it was probably one of those long, narrow, chrome-and-neon-decorated burger-and-fries joints with architecture inspired by railroad dining cars. There are lots of modern imitations recalling the Fifties, but chances are the diner you loved in high school now looks about like this:


My favorite is gone, torn down by progress, but here's an old photo of the Yankee Flyer on Main St. in Nashua NH:

The influence of railroad cars on the design is obvious, including the name "Flyer."  The name "Arrow" is another common name for these popular jukebox habitats. In fact, one of the town's railroad tracks crossed Main St. in Nashua about six feet away from the foundation of the diner, barely visible in the far side of the photo. This track carried the freight train my brothers and I used to hop almost daily, just for the fun of getting chased away by railroad workers. A few years after my freight car rides, the "Flyer" became the watering hole of choice for underclass malcontents like myself looking for--GIRLS! We met them there, piled into cars driven by good buddies and drove to dark lanes to "make out," paired off by.natural selection. The trysts never went beyond lip-locks and minor feelies, as far as I know. Girls got pregnant in other places, privately.
One of my best memories is of walking down the aisle at the Yankee Flyer toward a booth full of girls hearing Roy Orbison on the jukebox. The note Roy hit was the best note I heard on a jukebox until Whitney Houston sang  "And I...," many, many years later.
Sounded like this, on the word "all." We're talking Golden Throats!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcGzwyTvkIQ
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 6, 2012 at 10:54 AM

    Love diners Tom....and luckily there's still plenty of them. When I asked my 7 year old grandson where was his favorite place to eat, he immediately replied "The Diner." That's in East Hills, Long Isand. The diner is so terrific it even has a balcony with tables and chairs. Not exactly like the one in Nashua but still a magnet for the hungry.

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  2. AnonymousMarch 27, 2013 at 6:19 AM

    I was a frequent patron of the yankee Flyer as a kid. i miss that place . Nashua isn't the same without many of the Historic bussinesses that have left throughout the years like the yankee Flyer,berg's shoe store,Woolworth's ,5 & 10,Shackeys,and so many others.

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  3. UnknownJanuary 19, 2014 at 1:14 PM

    my dad,Bob Call was the cook at the Yankee flyer in the early 1960's.my mom,Shirley was a waitress,they both worked there untill it closed.

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