The Owner's Box, Ep. 50.

Getting my first haircut at Claude "Butch" Picciandra's Sunrise Barber Shop.

Well, we've finally made it through 50 episodes of "The Owner's Box." which debuted before anyone knew what COVID-19 was, and also which survived three computer meltdowns -- the last of which have still kept the video version off YouTube for the time being. We're still working on that.

But because 50 is a nice, round number, I wanted to do something special for it. So we've taken a turn away from sports for the time being, and we're trying something else. I hope in the future to take occasional strolls down Memory Lane here in my hometown of Mansfield, Mass., and recall some of what made growing up in this formerly small and close-knit town somewhat unique. 

For this episode, I contacted my long-time friend, Alex Salachi, for help in putting this idea into motion. Alex, of course, was formerly the basketball and volleyball coach at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, and he and I are broadcast partners for high school basketball on North TV and Mansfield Cable Access. We first met as fifth-graders at Dominican Academy in Plainville, we transferred into Mansfield public schools together for seventh grade, and we remained classmates, teammates and confidants for our whole lives -- and now we're just shy of 70 years old, Alex getting there next month and me following in January.

I jokingly said that one of our reasons for doing this deep dive into our memories was because at some point, they may start to disappear from our minds. At that point, I hope someone will play this podcast for both of us and we can kick our faltering hard drives back into action.

Norman Vickery, owner of Vickery Motoes, sold me
six cars -- but not this 1970 Plymouth Duster.

We chose to take virtual trips around the town of the 1960s and concentrate two areas in which Mansfield stood out in our memories. For Alex, it was the cluster of eight downtown barbershops that left indelible memories, especially the family-based influences that dictated where he got his hair cut in those formative years.

And for me? I became a car nut at an early age. I wasn't into racing or souped-up jalopies (although I did have a brief fascination with NASCAR), I liked my cars new. And when I was 9 years old and I could ride my bike all over town without supervision (try that these days!), I'd hit all eight of the town's new-car dealers in the early fall, trying my best to get peeks at the closely guarded secrets of the new models before they were officially revealed to the public. My segment talks about all eight of those dealers, what they sold as Mansfield became a transportation hub, and how they eventually disappeared.

It's a fun cruise into the past, and Alex and I will probably find new topics in the months to come to keep those old memories in the forefront. We both hope you enjoy this episode, and let us know with an email to theownersbox2020@gmail.com if you can.