Attention Chili-heads or people who enjoy watching their friends and family who are chili-heads, suffer immensely: here are five dishes within a short drive to put a hurting on you from lips to er…exit. Some even have challenges attached to them, for those who want a few minutes of local fame.

So what is the point of eating something so hot? This is an often asked question and one I’d like to reply with by borrowing George Mallory’s iconic response: “Because it’s there.”

There is a common misconception that chili-heads simply go for the hottest thing possible at every meal. Truth is we like heat, but the painful experiences are reserved for special occasions. There is a rather large variety flavor recipes to many of the bottled sauces on the market. Peppers can roasted, an assortment of citrus flavor from lime, orange, mango, pineapple, papaya, and even chocolate and cinnamon.

So whether you are looking for a challenge or have a bad case of Schadenfreude and want to watch your “stupid” friends suffer, here are five dishes you can find within an hour’s drive that will force you to ask the question “What did I get myself into?” and cry out “I WANT MY MOMMY!” Click on the title of each and it’ll lead you to their prospective website. Check out my previous article on Rose Alley’s San Juan Challenge. Here is #2 …

Wicked Good Chicken’s Ghost of the Crazy Chicken

New arrival on the scene is Wicked Chicken located at 804 Belleville Avenue, right near Top Music and the old Titleist building. While they specialize in rotisserie chicken, and a pretty darn inexpensive menu (and a legit Cuban sandwich BTW), they make this list because they have an epic challenge that will remove your face and place a few feet away: eat one of their Espiritu Del Pollo Loco (Ghost of the Crazy Chicken) sandwiches and you get to be the laughing stock of all your friends.

The sandwich consists of their juicy rotisserie chicken, grilled onions, red peppers, ghost peppers – yes, you read that right, the world’s 2nd hottest pepper- smothered in their wicked good spicy sauce, served on a Ciabatta roll. Accomplish this and get a t-shirt and your name on the hall of fame. Fail and enter the hall of shame. Win or lose, your friends are taking great delight in your suffering.

Next up … East Coast Grill’s Pasta From Hell.

Attention Chili-heads or people who enjoy watching their friends and family who are chili-heads, suffer immensely: here are five dishes within a short drive to put a hurting on you from lips to er…exit. Some even have challenges attached to them, for those who want a few minutes of local fame.

So what is the point of eating something so hot? This is an often asked question and one I’d like to reply with by borrowing George Mallory’s iconic response: “Because it’s there.”

There is a common misconception that chili-heads simply go for the hottest thing possible at every meal. Truth is we like heat, but the painful experiences are reserved for special occasions. There is a rather large variety flavor recipes to many of the bottled sauces on the market. Peppers can roasted, an assortment of citrus flavor from lime, orange, mango, pineapple, papaya, and even chocolate and cinnamon.

So whether you are looking for a challenge or have a bad case of Schadenfreude and want to watch your “stupid” friends suffer, I present five dishes you can find within an hour’s drive that will force you to ask the question “What did I get myself into?” and cry out “I WANT MY MOMMY!” Click on the title of each and it’ll lead you to their prospective website. Here is #1 …

Rose Alley’s San Juan Challenge
You are really missing out if you’ve never had Rose’s Alley’s wings or don’t experience them on a regular basis. Some would call you a communist. They offer bone-in, boneless, traditional Buffalo, Buffaque (Barbecue & Buffalo), BBQ, Gold Digger, “Rose”-ambique (Mozambique), or Tennessee Bourbon. There is also a variety of dry rubs like Chipotle BBQ, Jamaican Jerk, Lemon Pepper Garlic and Herb, Ranch, and Butter Garlic Spicy Habanero. You can get servings from 1/2 lb. up to 3 lbs for boneless and 10-50 for bone-in.

On Sundays during Football season from 1:00-11:00 pm, it’s all you can eat wings for $8- with a purchase of a beverage. Combine all this and you get an experience that is so good that you’ll feel like you’re doing something wrong.

But this is a crappy article about destroying your lower intestines and colon with food that resembles napalm, so let’s get to the goods – the Buffalo and Buffaque can be ordered in four levels of heat: mild, medium, hotness & lava. Mild and medium are for mortals and pretenders. The hotness pushes the envelope – for wimps, kids, and girly-men. Real men and women go directly to the “lava” and subsequent hiccups, sweating, and ice cube chewing. I call this a Tuesday night.

As with many places that offer above-average hot dishes, Rose Alley has a challenge for the truly brave: The San Juan Challenge. The heat level with the San Juan Challenge is called “suicidal” and you need cajones grandes to take it on. Some would say it requires a you to be a real stupido too. They’re obviously wrong.

The $20 challenge dictates that you have 20 minutes to eat as many hot wings as you possibly can. If you beat the challenge – which Urban Legend has it at 21 by Nick Dompierre – they won’t charge you for your suffering! It’s free! C’mon Gringos, get down there and take the challenge and send us pictures of you weeping!

Next up … East Coast Grill’s Pasta From Hell.

Fire crew cleaning a steam engine (Spinner Publications)

Welcome to the fifth installment of the series “Historical Personages of New Bedford.” The first being pharmacist Robert H. Carter III, the second being photographer James E. Reed, the third was businessman and contractor Dudley Davenport and the fourth was blacksmith extraordinaire, and innovator Lewis Temple.

My intention with this series is to shine some light on the lesser known names and figures of New Bedford’s past. I won’t focus on the more popular and well-known figures since they have not only been covered in substantial depth, but information about these figures is something most people already have a cursory knowledge of. Though redundant to say, if any more information is desired, it is readily available and easily accessible.

Some of these great and popular figures got to be well known, wealthy, or famous on the shoulders of names vaguely recalled or ne’er heard. I don’t want to swing all the way to the other side and overcompensate by saying that these great figures would be no one without those you haven’t heard of. Perhaps they would have, but I think since history has traditionally ignored the lesser known figures, let’s give them their due!

Edward Dahill (1862-1950) was one of those guys who no one has heard of, but has left an indelible mark on the city itself, and even the nation as a whole. He has saved many lives and in an indirect way, continued to save countless lives after his passing.

Mr. Dahill, was born here in New Bedford and spent his childhood growing up at 772 County Street. His first job in the city was as the owner of a modest Boot and Shoe dealership at 667 Purchase Street just few blocks down the street. Selling shoes, however, is not what Edward Dahill was known for. He certainly saved no lives selling shoes. At least there is no historical mention of a miracle of this sort.

What made Edward Dahill important enough to be discussed a century later, is his service as a fireman for the city and as an innovator. The first semblance of firefighting in New Bedford was a citizen’s brigade of bucket passers, that was finally assisted by the purchase of the city’s first fire engine in 1772. It wouldn’t be until circa 1832 that a “Protecting Society” – the precursor to a genuine fire department – was founded to officially handle the breakout of fire in the city. It consisted of seven fire engines, and a sole hook and ladder company, all manned by volunteers.

Of course, at this point in time, all the engines were horse drawn. Slowly but surely motorized engines began to replace the horse-drawn engines. By 1850 a value was seen in a highly trained, motivated force to battle outbreaks and the volunteers became regular city employees by 1850. Mr. Dahill climbed through the ranks of the Fire Department at a rapid pace and by 1901 he was the 1st assistant engineer with an annual salary of $649.26. By 1904 he was Chief Engineer with a substantial raise to $1500.00. Within a year after that he would be Fire Chief until retirement.

Where Dahill enters the history books in general, and specifically New Bedford, is his contribution to firefighting technology. Up until the turn of the 20th century spring mechanisms were used to extend the engine ladders. In 1902, Dahill invented an air-hoist aerial ladder to be used on the fire trucks. Instead of manually turning a crank, compressed air would do the work easier and faster. Within 7 seconds a 70 foot ladder could be extended. So ahead of it’s time was the air-hoist that it would not find something more efficient with hydraulics, until more than 30 years later.

Edward F. Dahill gave New Bedford over 50 years of service in the Fire Department and his innovation not only saved lives in the city, but countless lives all over he world.

Halloween is probably my favorite holiday. Nights and mornings are cooler making it easier to slumber. Light winds blow colorful leaves across the ground making a distinct, rustling sound. Kids get to dress up and act like their favorite character, hero, monster, or princess. Candy, candy, candy. Haunted houses. Pumpkin latte, muffin, and donuts. Yeah, I like Halloween.

It’s also one of the easiest times of the year to get involved in activities with our children. They are eager to do things with their parents. In a world, where kids would rather be on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, watching cartoons, texting, etc. it’s getting increasingly difficult to get them participating in family time, for long periods of time.

One of the easiest activities to pull everyone together is pumpkin carving. The wrong way to go about it is to cut two holes for eyes, a triangle for a nose, and a jagged opening for a mouth! That’s so unhip! Uncool! Unrad! Who can update their status with a plain pumpkin? When your kids see these pumpkins, they will WANT to update their statuses with the whole family creating them.

So here are some creative ideas on how to think outside the box. None are incredibly difficult, and while they may not come out exactly like the images, they can come very close! None require you to print out a template, a template which never seems to look remotely the same. You don’t have to be a Da Vinci.

Some are creepy, some are funny, some are gross. Some are mature and NOT for kids. All are fun to make! Some I have done over the years, others I have come across from friends, family and strangers on the internet. At a bare minimum they will get the creative juices flowing and anyone who visits your house Trick or Treating will be in for an extra treat! If you have done some of these, please share your tips. If you have an idea that is not here, please share those too! These images are not the property of by NBG unless noted otherwise.

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Bullying Pumpkins
These pumpkins are cruel, ill-mannered bullies. Simply carve a pumpkin-like normal, but make the mouth lopsided and larger on one size. Now you have something to do with all those little pumpkins that accumulate besides making them a holiday knick-knack!

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Zombie Pumkins
Who doesn’t love Zombies!? Simply take an old pair of pants and socks, and borrow a show. Voila! Zombie attack pumpkin.

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Princess Carriage Pumpkin
Not all pumpkins have to be creepy! This one makes use of all those gourds that seem to gather. You can use the windows and door from a doll house or toys, or simply carve them out.

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Zombie Snowman
This one combines Christmas with Halloween. People will really get a kick out of this one!

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Witch Pumpkin
This one is fast and easy to make. Instead of the traditional way of carving the face on an upright pumpkin, turn it on its side and use the stem as a nasty nose like this one from ExtremePumpkins.com!

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Blown Out Brains Pumpkin
This pumpkin was brutally murdered or committed suicide. This is also one of the quicker, faster pumpkins.

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Preggers Pumpkin
This one will require a bit of work, but will certainly delight many.

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Honey Bear Pumpkin
This is another that will require some work, but will pay dividends in smiles!

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Hungover Pumpkins
Too much candy or too much booze? These guys are lightweights and have puked everywhere!

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Flashing Couple
This rude and lewd couple is flashing everyone. Pervs!

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Full Moon Flasher
Who knew there was more than one moon out on Halloween?!

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Decorated With Candy
This one takes advantage of all that extra candy or let the kids have the fun of eating their pumpkins when Hallow’s Eve ends!

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Miner Pumpkin
Don’t have a heck of a lot of time? Carve the pumpkin or use a magic marker. Slap a hardhat and some boots and you’re done. Want to make him less friendly? Combine him with one of the above pumpkins. Make him vomit or put an ax in his head.

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Atari Game Console Debuted in 1978 (Wikipedia)

I felt like subtitling this installment of “Who Remembers…?” as “Geez. I’m getting old.” For those of us who grew up in the 70s, the Atari 2600 was simply a must have. While it wasn’t the first video game console – that was the Fairchild Channel F released a year earlier in 1977- it was the console that is responsible for kickstarting an entire industry worth billions of dollars today. If you were to plug in an Atari and pop in Pong or Combat today, your son and daughter would laugh at you and ask you why you went through all the trouble to make something that looks so real, but is clearly a fake. Who the heck would play these games with these graphics!?!

Of course, relatively speaking it was state-of-the-art. Hard to believe how far Moore’s law has brought us! Because of the nostalgic value, and in spite of the fact that I have an XBox, I would still play the old Atari games for hours if I have the opportunity. I have placed within each title a link that will open up a new tab with some video footage for those who are interested. If you want to have a laugh, call your kids in and play one of the videos for them and ask their thoughts.

These are five of my personal favorite old fashioned Atari games. Picking 5 was like picking five of your favorite children, but an article called 215 favorite Atari games wouldn’t be practical. I felt like a traitor for leaving out such great games like Galaxian, Tempest, Pole Position, Indiana Jones, Missile Command, and Breakout. These were the ones I spent the most time on, and to which I still think I have a blister on my thumb from. Which were yours?

1. Centipede
Basically a re-hash of the popular Space Invaders. The arcade version had a rollerball. You are a humanoid head capable of shooting lasers from the top of it. Showing advanced technology superior to Space Invaders: added to the options of moving left and right, you could move up and down. Technology at light speed! A multi-sectioned Centipede is trying to bring you death and you wouldn’t be so nervous if friendlier music was playing. Why does it have to be so tense and why for the love of all things holy does there have to be mushrooms in the damn way?! To make things even more tense you have to worry about the periodic Spider and Scorpion. Sure it’s not Al-Qaeda armed to the teeth with AK-47s and RPGs in a Call Of Duty campaign, but it’s real to me dammit.

2. Dig Dug
Dig Dug had a very complicated premise: dig tunnels, kill, don’t die. The enemies were Pookas – round tomato looking monsters with yellow goggles or Pygars – green dragons who breathed flames. You are Dig Dug, a miner who curiously looks like an astronaut. You have two tools – a shovel for digging and what is the best tool to fight monsters and dragons? An air pump of course! You could tunnel under boulders to free them so they would crush any jerks on your tail.

3. Pitfall
You know that at the mention of the words “Atari Pitfall” you can hear that weird sound clip when you are travailing over the alligators. Unlike Combat or Pong, these were serious graphics man! Gators always grouped in ponds three at a time, and some unknown person kept rolling logs through the jungle. Good for us, they conveniently left swinging vines! If you could avoid the campfires, scorpions, pits, and rattlesnakes your reward was either a money bag, silver/gold bar or diamond ring. A damn brick wall meant you had to retrace your steps and take an alternate route. Take a picture proving that you reached 20,000 points and you would get a Pitfall Harry Explorer Club patch from Activision!

4. Frogger
Perhaps one of the greatest games of all time with another super complicated premise: cross the road, cross the swamp, win. Crossing the road and dodging cars was pretty easy, except for that one Masshole that would zip across the screen at 200 mph and nail you. After the cars, you had a moment to breathe in the median. The real difficult part was crossing the swamp without being brought past the edge of the game screen and into the Nth dimension. How many of you can recall your shoulders rise in tension, and you move the joystick through the air like it would make a difference? This game was so popular that it spawned no less than 25 sequels, animated TV show, music and pop culture.

5. QBert
I think whomever came up with the concept for this game has to owe it’s inception to extra-curricular activities. LSD, and magic mushrooms perhaps? Imagine pitching the game idea to corporate: “Well you are this round thing with a hose for a nose. You are on this pyramid made of cubes of many colors. You jump from one cube face to another to change its color. A purple snake named Coily, two purple creatures Ugg and Wrong-Way, and two green Gremlins named Slick and Sam are always trying to get you. Also randomly colored balls drop from the heavens and bounce around trying to kill. But don’t be concerned because you can dodge them all by hopping onto a multi-colored UFO.”

Well, the person who bought that speech must have been a prophet, because the game was critically acclaimed by both critics and game players. It sold like hot cakes and merchandise couldn’t be made fast enough. Like Frogger, sequels have been made and it has seeped into popular culture.

What were YOUR favorite games?

* All images are owned by Atari unless noted otherwise

For this installment of “Who Remembers?” let’s take a stroll down the automobile memory lane. We’ll only go back a few decades since we have to “remember” and that means we have to be alive! 😉 We’ve revisited past buildings, structures, and businesses, so I though it time to cover something different. I know there are many automobile buffs, but you certainly don’t have to be an auto geek to enjoy this walk into the past. I have linked videos of the commercials for each automobile for those who want more visuals.

Do you recall these cars or one that is not on the list? Did you own one? Have any anecdotes to share? Please do!

If you want to take any other strolls down memory lane, to the right you will find a categories widget with a drop-down menu. There is a historical category. You’ve been warned though! You will look up at the clock after a few “minutes” and find hours have passed. Like a certain brand of chips, you can’t just “eat” one. A lot of fun, without being boring.

So, let’s see who remembers these vintage autos…

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1. Pontiac Fiero
‘Fess up. You know you owned one. Debuting in 1984, the Lamborgh…I, mean the 2 seat, 4-cylinder Pontiac Fiero had a whopping 92 horsepower and could race any moped in the city and crush it. If you were cruising the “Ave” and some hot chics, you could pretend to hit the headlight switch by accident and reveal the hidden headlights. The girls would see this, flag you down and give you their phone numbers. Easy kills. Right? Guys…hello?! Why’s there an echo in here?

“Fiero” means “proud” in Italian or “ferocious” in Spanish. The only thing ferocious about the Fiero was its attack on your wallet due to repair bills from shoddy engineering. Engine fires abounded, cooling system issues, oil leaks and more seemed to be common anecdotes. It didn’t matter. You had a Rolodex of girls’ phone numbers.

2. Ford Pinto
This subcompact car made by Ford was common throughout the 70s in your choice of a variety of hideous colors. In concept, the Pinto was intended to be direct competition with the growing popularity of imports, particularly the Volkswagen Beetle.

Concerns about the safety of the gas tank design led to a recall in 1978. It turned out that the concerns were unwarranted as the car was shown to be as safe as any other car on the road. Regardless, the damage was done and the recall seemed to be the death knoll as the car was taken from production in less than 2 years. The car cost less than $2,000 when it was debuted in 1971. In 2004, the big meanies at Forbes “awarded” the Ford Pinto with the dubious honor of being one of the Worst Cars of All Time and if that didn’t hurt, in 2009 Business Week named it one of the Fifty Worst Cars of All Time. Ouch.

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3. Chevrolet El Camino
To compete against the Ford Ranchero, Chevrolet rolled out another chic magnet, the El Camino. The coupe utility vehicle debuted in 1959, ran for another year before going on hiatus. After a hugely successful debut year – beating the Ford Ranchero – its second year was a dismal loss causing it to be discontinued. It returned in 1964 and had a successful run until 1987. However, the Chevrolet Lumina Ute is clearly the modern equivalent of the El Camino. Just take my money Chevrolet, just take my money. Right guys? Guys?!

4. AMC Gremlin
Sticking with the theme of chic magnets, no girl could resist a guy in a Gremlin! Debuting in 1970 it was a competitor of the Ford Pinto and Volkswagon Beetle, but FASTER. It was a downright hot rod. Performance AND beauty!

The dictionary definition of a “Gremlin” is ‘a small gnome held to be responsible for malfunction of equipment.’ Clearly, not a well-thought out model name. AMC execs were unconcerned and began to market the Gremlin as ‘a pal to its friends and an ogre to its enemies.’ Tremble all you foes of the Gremlin, the Ogre on wheels is coming for your soul. In spite of its reputation as a fast car and its use on the auto racing circuit, an attempt by the Houston Police Department to consider the Gremlin as the official car of the force resulted in zero follow up orders. Bewildering. The Gremlin died out in 1978.

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5. Yugo GV (Zastava Koral)

Making many “Worst Car Ever” lists, the Zastava Koral or Yugo as it was called colloquially since it originated from Yugoslavia, debuted in 1987. GV meant Great Value. There were such high expectations for the vehicle to take off in the states that full-page ads were taken out in the New York and Los Angeles Times and the prestigious National Enquirer.

The first three Yugos were red, white and blue. Yeah, America was going to love the car that only cost $3,900 came with FREE maintenance and a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty, right? There’s that echo again, this time a 30-year-old echo.

Even when it was unveiled, it was a car that was hazed, picked on and ridiculed for its tiny size, appearance and top speed of 86 mph. Another problem was that no one read the owner’s manual. ‘Murica! The manual recommended that the owner the engine’s timing belt every 40,000 miles or you’d get a blown engine. It’s free maintenance, not free parts/engines.

Adding to the poorly structured and marketed automobile, was the tragic story of Yugo owner Leslie Ann Pluhar, who was blown off the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan by a 55 mph wind gust. Audits, failed tests, re-engineering, restructuring certainly weren’t helpful, nor were United Nations sanctions on Yugoslavia. That’s not even the end of it!

The coup de grace blow that helped kill the little car that couldn’t was NATO’s 1999 accidental bombing of the company’s automotive division, instead of their arms manufacturing division. Oopsies.

Who remembers the catchy jingles from those 70s and 80s Public Service Announcements played on Saturday mornings? One needed only to hear it once or twice before catching yourself humming, singling or whistling the melody or chorus.

Often, simply saying a sole line from the chorus is enough to evoke the images and lyrics and start the commercial up in your head so vividly that it’s like it’s playing right before you. The genius behind these little PSAs was that you sort of “tricked” the kids into learning something valuable by making it fun. The alternative was to present it with dry, boring facts which was a sure-fire way to get a kid to change the channel, or race to the kitchen to get a Fruit Roll-Up. Over the coming weeks will revisit a number of these PSAs, because we all love a stroll down memory lane!

Time for Timer: “Hanker for a Hunk o’ Cheese”

One of the PSAs I remember the fondest was the Tea for Timer commercials, and the best was the Hanker for a Hunk o’ Cheese. Timer was some microscopic fellow who carried a pocket watch and cared about whether we kids were eating healthy and had good hygiene. He represented the timer within your body and his stopwatch would alert him, so he could alert you when it was time for something important, but we never knew what he actually was. He could teleport at will and dance a killer jig. All I knew is that at the conclusion of the spot, I had to find CHEESE. He had to say that word didn’t he?

Other commercials were “Sunshine on a Stick”, “You Are What You Eat” and “Quickie Breakfast.”

Time for another stroll down memory lane. If you enjoy this article and wish to take more of these strolls, to your right you will find the both a search box and a category sorter. In previous articles we’ve discussed The Peanut Shop, Mars Bargainland, Mitchell’s Fish & Chips, Bob & Eileen’s, etc., as well as ten of Fairhaven’s Forgotten Landmarks like the Drive-Thru, Water Tower, A&W, Barbero’s, etc.

As always, we encourage correction, discussion, and anecdotes. Memory isn’t always reliable when it comes to specific details.

Throughout New Bedford’s History there have been a few Woolworth’s Five & Dime Stores. At least three – one on South Water Street, one on Purchase Street and one on Fish Island. I vaguely recall a few visits when I was a child to the Purchase Street store. The genius of Woolworth is that my mom could leave me at the counter with a grilled cheese and something from the soda fountain while she shopped unmolested. What’s a soda fountain, you say? If you don’t know you’ll have to ask mom or dad!

I remember the toaster machine, the hair nets, and the malted milk. Woolworth’s back then was known colloquially as the “Five & Dime”, which was a clever way of saying a store where you could buy things very inexpensively. The term “Five & Dime”, believe it or not was coined – pardon the pun – to describe a store-wide policy to charge only a nickel or a dime for all products within the store. Of course, inflation had other plans.

The younger generation thinks that K-Mart and Wal-Mart had an original idea, but Woolworth’s was a department store far before either existed. Thread, clothes, drugs (no-not those kind), sport’s goods, silverware, shovels, etc. You name it. You could buy a variety of goods and take a break for a meal at the eatery. Nowadays, the soda fountain has been replaced by a Little Caeser’s or Starbucks, but the concept is the same.

40 cents for a ham and cheese (“You will like it!”), 20 cents for an orange juice, and 25 cents for a Banana Split. You could buy a “Hamburger Sandwich” and have it with some “French Fried Potatoes”!

Frank Winfield Woolworth opened his first “Woolworth’s Great Five Cent Store” in Utica, New York, on February 22, 1878. By 1904 there were 6 stores from New York to Canada and 8 short years later in 1912, there were almost 600 stores! By 1997, the chain went out of business, but kept it’s sporting goods or shoe-ware division going. What is the name of the division today? Foot Locker!

What are your fondest memories of Woolworth’s?

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Growing up, I recall only one important thought when I woke up on the morning of a school day: a bowl of cereal and sitting before the television. It was ritual. Hey, first world kids need to destress before the “stress” of a school day. The best method is a bowl of Cookie Crisp and some TV therapy. The best school days ever, were those when it was snowing. One eye and ear on the television and the other ear on the radio. “C’mon snow! Keep coming. We need a blizzard!” That would mean my brother and I could stay in our underoos and watch TV all day. Epic.

In case you were wondering, Mike’s were Spiderman and mine were Superman. Mike is probably still under the illusion that Spiderman would win in a fight, but that’s just crazy talk. Duh.

The other prime times to watch TV? After getting dropped off from school, which meant racing through the door, grabbing my mom’s homemade cucumber, tomato, onion insalata and plopping down in front of the TV. Saturday morning was perhaps the single best time all week. Mom would have to muscle us to get outdoors. Who doesn’t remember the classic mom line “You have to go outside and get some fresh air.”? How come mom’s didn’t understand that fresh air wasn’t a priority?! TV was!

Lastly, Saturday night was a GREAT time to watch.

Anyhow, here are ten television shows I recall and have fond memories of growing up. I have to stop at ten for practical reason, so this list by no stretch of the imagination is exhaustive. For your enjoyment, I have placed a video link within each header.

01. Bozo’s Circus/Bozo’s Big Top/Bozo the Clown
This franchised show was different depending upon where you grew up. Being franchised as opposed to syndicated meant that each regional market would have their own version. I don’t particularly recall whether “our” Bozo the Clown was franchised here in New Bedford, from Boston or elsewhere. Was it WLNE? Perhaps the re-runs were from other markets? I do remember how much I loved the show. Looking back, he was kind of creepy, but I didn’t think so when I as a kid.

02. Kung-Fu Theater
I wonder how many vases and televisions were smashed and how many fat lips were generated from this great show. Nowhere else on TV would you get a 10 minute long fight scene of epic proportions for something as simple as “Father sent me to get rice cakes.” You want rice cakes? Here, have a quivering palm and a tornado kick!

Men with long white hair in ponytails hiding edged weapons, running across water and leaping over 20′ walls seemed so normal. The classic dubbing of voices that never matched, and moving lips before and after the audio always led to a chuckle and had to be mimicked in fight scenes amongst brothers and friends in living rooms across the country.

03. Creature Double Feature
I don’t recall whether Creature Double Feature came before or after Kung-Fu Theater, but I think it was on the same channel WLVE-56 on Saturday afternoons. After building up a sweat kung-fuing it was time to settle down, grab some Ramen Noodles and a PBJ. We wanted to see how poor Japan would fare against some gargantuan monstrosity.

The Japanese must have been exhausted physically and economically having to constantly rebuild their cities every weekend after Mothra, Godzilla, Rodan or their ilk destroyed it. I was just overjoyed that they did rebuild it, so it could be destroyed again. We were so lucky that civilians in Japan had readily available cameras so that we American kids could enjoy the documentaries.

04. Hogan’s Heroes
Ah, stupid German soldiers getting outwitted by imprisoned Americans. Doesn’t sound like a good premise for a kid’s show, but we loved it. The over-the-top acting and general ineptitude from Sergeant Schultz made for great laughs. Bob Crane’s Colonel Hogan would make impossible to succeed solutions to the crew’s problems work, but just could never seem to succeed in escape. Thanks goodness, because the show would have ended! The bumbling, non-threatening Germans made it seem like it wouldn’t be so bad to be kept at a Luftwaffe stalag. Ah, to be a kid again.

05. Three Stooges
Perhaps my favorite show of all time. Maybe even the greatest show of all time period. I have tried unsuccessfully, time and again to get my daughter hooked. Fans love to discuss the best third stooge to circulate. Was it Shemp, Curly or Shemp II?

Their brand of physical humor and their potato like brains always led to stomach busting laughter. Schadenfroh never felt so good. Just saying the Three Stooges evokes the memorable lullaby sounding theme. In addition to the series, they made numerous movies, and many of the WWII themed films were particular treats. My personal favorite was “The Three Stooges Meet the Monsters.” There will never be a comic trio like the Three Stooges.

06. Courtship of Eddie’s Father
I just love this series theme, both the visual and aural aspects. I can vividly recall Eddie and his Father along the beach and the great soundtrack. “Don’t you know, you’re my best friend!” The father played by Bill Bixby, and son (Brandon Cruz) lived together because mom and wife, Helen had passed away. Little Eddie really wanted a mom, and made many attempts at trying to get his father to fall in love with any lady that entered the picture.

Mrs. Livingston played by Miyoshi Umeki, was the Japanese housekeeper and Nanny that would always clean up the mess, both literally and figuratively. Just a well written show.

07. Rhonda “Up All Night”
Rhonda Shear, hostess of “Up All Night” was probably my first crush. Or was it Heather Thomas in ‘The Fall Guy’? While actress and comedienne Caroline Schlitt originally hosted the Friday night show, Rhonda Shear and her…ahem…talents were all that mattered.

Comic Gilbert Gottfried would host the Saturday evening shows and was perfectly zany for tweens and teens. The show would centralize on some horrendous B Movie, sexploitation film or Cult Classic. Before or after commercial breaks the hostess would have some funny, sardonic, or witty commentary or even a skit.

08. Gilligan’s Island
Listen. Either you are a “Ginger” guy or a “Mary Anne” guy. I was (and still am) a Mary Anne guy. I was going to share my Fruit-Roll Up with you, but being a Ginger guy, you get NOTHING. This show started out in black & white before evolving into color.

The premise was that a group of people chartered a boat for a “three hour tour” somewhere off the Hawaiian islands. A tropical storm shipwrecks them on an unknown island and voila – we now have a hit TV show. There was a perfect blend of characters with opposing personalities to generate comedic conflict. The chemistry between Alan Hale’s “Skipper” and his “little buddy”, Bob Denver’s Gilligan provided most of the laughs. We also had millionaires Thurston Howell and his wife, the Professor, and the unheralded radio narrator. Who here doesn’t have the them song “The Ballad of Gilligan’s Isle” playing in their head?

09. 6 Million Dollar Man
That slo-mo. The sound of bionic muscles contracting and expanding. “gggnn gnnnn gnnn” or something like that. If only I could get in an industrial accident or run over by a car and have my missing limbs replaced with bionic ones! I’d throw the football 90 yards, whip 200 mph fastballs, and toss bullies around like legos. I’d be the most popular kid in school. Every kid dreamed that he could be astronaut Steve Austin played by Lee Majors. Two bionic legs, a bionic arm and eye made one of TVs most memorable characters for me. “We can rebuild him…we have the technology.”

10. The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk series starring Bill Bixby (again) as Bruce Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk, left an indelible mark on me. For one, Banner was an intelligent, affable, fellow with a secret. He was admired for his smarts and geniality, which I was picked on or taken advantage of – people would ask me to help them or allow them to copy my work. His secret was a monster inside. As a teen I was angry about a lot of things and wanted to rail out. Smashing people would be a good start!

I also felt that my nerdiness could be disguised or protected if I lifted weights and played sports. I felt a real affinity with both characters, “ego and id” if you will. The series was well acted, had a fantastic original story and the icing was the fair amount of suspense and concern that Bixby would get caught by Mr. McGee who suspected that Banner and the Hulk were the same. Remember, Banner could simply walk into any town and have jobs thrown at him? Sigh.

Do you remember these? Which others do you recall?

In this series, I’d like to take a lighter approach to the history of the Whaling City. I come across a lot of really interesting historical facts and the vast majority of them do not merit an entire article. The problem is that they are just too interesting to not share. At least from the point of view of an historical nerd like myself. Or nerds like us, right? Guys? Hello? Why is there an echo in here? Is that a snore that I hear?

Well, I hope I’m not alone. I’m a hopeless optimist, so am going to chug ahead with my nerd train. I am going forward with the thought that there are people genuinely interested in the region’s history. Enthusiastic for it. Famished for it. I’ve had to be creative to come up with ways to compile the information that doesn’t seem forced or artificial. With that having been said, I offer you the first installment in a series that centers on firsts of New Bedford.

1. The First Ship Built: the “Dartmouth.” (1767)
The Dartmouth was the very first ship to be built in New Bedford in 1767 on a piece of land near where Hazard’s Wharf is today. This land was originally owned by Francis Rotch and he would use the property – which coincidentally had many Buttonwood trees – to start a small shipyard. This 80′ long vessel’s purpose was to transport whale oil to London. Up to this point the largest sea vessels to be built were whaleboats.

Does the name Francis Rotch and the vessel Dartmouth sound familiar? Well, they should. The Dartmouth was one of a trio of sea vessels involved in the Boston Tea Party that pre-empted the Revolutionary War, and was actually the first to arrive on the scene.

2. The First Library (1853)
The First Library was not where City Hall is today, but at the Perkin’s Building at 139 Union Street where Berk’s Militaria is today. This library was first opened on March 3, 1853. Up to this point there were only private libraries or collections. Interestingly, one of the first private libraries as called the “Old Encyclopedia Society” since the 18 volume Dobson’s Encyclopedia (1789) was the base of the collection. Another private library of 5,500 books called the “Social Library” was the largest contributor the Free Public Library when it opened.

3. The First Residence (1760)
When the region was sparsely populated with homesteads and farms – some running 800 acres in size – a fellow you may have heard of who went by the name Joseph Russell, sold part of his expansive farm property to a Caulker, one John “Jack” Loudon from Pembroke. He was the first person to build a residence within the planned Bedford Village limits. Loudon purchased a modest 1 acre tract of land, just south of what would be Union and Water Street, or the “Four Corners.” At this time in New Bedford’s History, the tide came up to South Water Street and this particular acre was chosen because Loudon had ambitions to start a shipyard. Within a year he would be followed by Carpenter John Allen and Blacksmith Elnathan Sampson.

4. The First Escalator (1898)
This first was also the nation’s first. America and the nation’s first escalator was built within the Star Store (aka New Bedford Dry Goods Co.) at Union and Purchase Streets. Of course, today the Star Store Building is UMass Dartmouth’s College of Visual and Performing Arts.

5. The First Post Office (1792)
New Bedford’s first Post Office was opened on the corner of Purchase and Union Streets on June 12, 1792. The building was eventually named after its first postmaster William Tobey and called simply “the Old Tobey House” before becoming Lawton’s Drug Store.