Remembering Spag's
Single in the Suburbs
Melissa Tula

When I drive through Shrewsbury lately, I am struck by how much the town has grown since I was a little girl. So many people and places have come and gone.

Edgemere Drive-In, White City Theatre, Frosty's Ice Cream have all been gone for years now, while other town icons (Dean Park Pizza, Putnam Veterinary Clinic and Shrewsbury Nurseries) have managed to hang in there and are the basis for the smalltown atmosphere residents of Shrewsbury enjoy today.

So when I heard a local radio station reporting that Spag's would soon be torn down, I felt a mixture of emotions: relief, disappointment and, finally, resignation. Although the store has been owned by Building 19 for a while now, and the name "Spag's" was taken off the roof some time ago, the site will always be known to me (and I'm sure many other Shrewsbury natives) as Spag's.

As I look around town, I wonder how many residents remember "Spagtacular Values," "No bags at Spag's," "Door Ten," "Free tomato plants," "The Tent" and the man in khaki shirt and pants wearing the infamous cowboy hat.

Before Wal-Mart and Walgreens, before CVS and Target, before Border's and Blockbuster, there was only Spag's. As a kid, I remember people coming from all over to shop at Spag's. I had cousins who lived on the Cape who drove all the way to shop at Spag's. Relatives from other countries couldn't wait to see the infamous Spag's! All directions given in town revolved around the store. "The bank? Oh, sure. Next to Spag's," or "If you drive past Spag's, you've gone too far," or "Cut through Spag's parking lot and take a left." Everyone knew where Spag's was and everyone knew someone who worked at Spag's. It was something I looked forward to when I turned 16.

I was hired to work in the toy department. During the holidays, there was no crazier place than the toy department at Spag's. Toys R Us didn't exist then and Child World was new to the area, so for Cabbage Patch dolls, Slinkys and everything Crayola, Spag's was the place to shop. I remember people lining up outside the doors waiting for the store to open. There were no shopping carts and no bags at Spag's. If you could find a box somewhere in the aisles, you were lucky. Otherwise, you carried what you wanted to the register and out the door. Can you imagine shopping today without a basket, cart or bag?

I mostly remember rainy Saturdays. Everyone, and I mean everyone, went to Spag's on rainy Saturdays. Stores were not allowed to open on Sundays then. There were no malls, no Internet, no cable television. On rainy Saturdays, the aisles were literally packed. I used to pride myself in my ability to weave through the crowds. People shoved and bumped and didn't care who they pushed aside. It's just how it was done.

Years later, after I'd forgotten about the family atmosphere at Spag's, forgotten about the Garden Shop and prices marked with Sharpie markers, I walked through the store and thought I'd stepped into a ghost town. The place was called "Spag's 19" and the parking lot was empty. As is the way, bigger and better beat out friendly and fair. Spag's couldn't compete.

In the end, I'm glad the building will be torn down. It is a shell of what once used to be and I'd rather have bustling memories than empty aisles any day.