DEAR SUN SPOTS: I am so enjoying the Wasson Grove responses that came in after the letter in the July 14 Sun Spots.
My sweet memory is that my boyfriend (husband-to-be) and I spent Sundays at Old Orchard Beach, and being poor college students, we took the toll-free back way home. We would stop at Wasson’s Grove to get burgers and share an order of fries and sit on the swings, swinging away until our order was ready.
Additionally, on special occasions, we stopped at Hodgman Frozen Custard in New Gloucester. It seems like yesterday.
Thank you for this true blast from the past, when life was simple.—No name, Lewiston
ANSWER: All of us “of a certain age” miss these times and want them back now and again. You are fortunate to have these sweet memories—thank you for sharing!
DEAR SUN SPOTS: Regarding the July 14 Sun Spots: You could get smothered onions on your hamburgers, which was unique to Wasson’s in the 1950s and 1960s. Also, they served red hot dogs (probably Jordan’s), which were not available at all take-outs places. There was also a mini playground for children.
I also remember a small takeout restaurant on the Route 1 southbound side in the South Portland/Scarborough area (near the drive-in theater) that served hamburgers similar tasting to Wasson’s including the smothered onions. I always wondered if there was a connection between the two. As I recall, this would have been in the 1970s and 1980s.—George, no town
ANSWER: If anyone has more information on the take-out in the other location that George mentions here, please write in.
DEAR SUN SPOTS: I really enjoyed readers reminiscing about Wasson’s Grove. Our parents would drive us there all the way from Lewiston for their delicious burgers, and I loved their swings, especially the unconventionally constructed ones.–Giggie, Jr., New Gloucester
ANSWER: I want to hear more about the swings. That little playground sounds interesting!
DEAR SUN SPOTS: The person who wrote in regarding the actual location of Wasson’s Grove, (from “No name, No town in the July 14 Sun Spots) is correct. That famous hamburger stand was located on Route 100 in Falmouth, and as others have stated, a portion of the building still stands today at 333 Gray Road, and now houses a dog grooming business.
Back in the 1950s, my parents would stop there on the way home from the beach at Old Orchard, and, oh boy, what a treat that was. What made Wasson’s hamburgers so special was that unforgettable taste of their sweet, smothered onions, which back then was pretty much nonexistent anywhere else.
The swings next to their burger stand were always filled with kids waiting for their lunch, and some of the big pine trees that were in the back then are still standing there today. Maybe it is more memory than taste buds, but as far as I am concerned, no one yet has duplicated those wonderful hamburgers covered with smothered onions.–Roland, Auburn
ANSWER: You all sure have given me a craving for a hamburger covered in onions. I am also wishing someone would bring back a take-out business like this to the area. I think it would be extremely popular.
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