tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post7019508802193675541..comments2024-03-26T14:29:35.380-07:00Comments on RETRO Rhode Island: HIGHLAND ORCHARDSJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16781609044584693783noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-45025149968417607032023-01-13T16:56:22.936-08:002023-01-13T16:56:22.936-08:00I use to fish in the lake and walk the tracks prob...I use to fish in the lake and walk the tracks probably 1988ish. We also played on the river boat which was back in a field for a bit. Honestly seems like a dream looking back on it but the pictures of the place fully operational confirms I was not dreaming.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-71026021294157981182022-10-02T14:59:49.698-07:002022-10-02T14:59:49.698-07:00Use to pick apples there with John Assalone and Bo...Use to pick apples there with John Assalone and Bobby Kirkland for $.25 cents per bushel and sometimes Han an apple fight tree to tree if z Layton wasant aroundAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-70544125841279542712021-10-15T07:16:45.701-07:002021-10-15T07:16:45.701-07:00Hi Ray, not sure how active this thread is anymore...Hi Ray, not sure how active this thread is anymore but I bought the Clayton Browns old homestead that was on the Orchard. Luckily a handful of trees are still thriving and I'm planting a LOT more fruit and veggies and making sure this beautiful place doesn't die a slow death. Anyways if you see this I would love some more stories and information/pictures of Highland. Its a wonderful place with some wonderful history. Thanks! -RoryAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00752629351630511790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-1921226237762516632021-03-02T11:20:18.029-08:002021-03-02T11:20:18.029-08:00Sorry previous comment about train was from me Don...Sorry previous comment about train was from me Donald KnoxAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01407941733652677893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-54242628409457189902021-03-02T11:18:07.513-08:002021-03-02T11:18:07.513-08:00I ran the steam train from 1963 to 1968 when I wen...I ran the steam train from 1963 to 1968 when I went into the service and then again when I got out. I worked with Bob when he came down from Canada before he went back to bring Joyce here. My wife also worked with both of them at Sumset Orchards. The train was rebuilt by Peter Kilham andafter his death sold out of state. My picture is on the front light of the train. I have several pictures and postcards from there. One was given to me by Stuart Letts who ran the merry go round and model T cars. If the train is in Utah I would love to take a trip there to see it in operationAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01407941733652677893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-15417032335092787422020-06-23T20:47:17.368-07:002020-06-23T20:47:17.368-07:00Pictures?? PLEASE post! Such amazing childhood m...Pictures?? PLEASE post! Such amazing childhood memories!!!Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01531969462484425385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-1223784121479768812020-04-19T16:21:25.286-07:002020-04-19T16:21:25.286-07:00Hi Alan
Larry said he remembers showing you things...Hi Alan<br />Larry said he remembers showing you things about hockey<br />He said he has very fond memories of your father.Julie Nogler -Larry Nogler's wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02591949090538318093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-12146111395752914692020-04-19T16:17:40.126-07:002020-04-19T16:17:40.126-07:00Hi does anyone remember Bob and Joyce Nogler who b...Hi does anyone remember Bob and Joyce Nogler who both worked there?<br />Julie Nogler -Larry Nogler's wifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02591949090538318093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-78057600996463215742020-04-14T17:53:38.703-07:002020-04-14T17:53:38.703-07:00Does anyone have any photos or history of the plac...Does anyone have any photos or history of the place. My family just bought part of the property and we would LOVE to know more about it! Thanks so much!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02994570941667808221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-68168842572939182032020-04-14T17:51:19.157-07:002020-04-14T17:51:19.157-07:00My family just bought part of the property. Would ...My family just bought part of the property. Would love to get some history or photos from anyone that can help. Thanks!!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02994570941667808221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-24201859634572417892019-09-14T12:26:42.670-07:002019-09-14T12:26:42.670-07:00I remember the free cidar. You poured your own. Gr...I remember the free cidar. You poured your own. Great memories from the early sixtiesAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15882061573938070788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-14457713445623120692019-08-01T18:16:33.058-07:002019-08-01T18:16:33.058-07:00 Does anyone have the caramel corn recipe Does anyone have the caramel corn recipeAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13035804228680050391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-77126340900251511592019-07-10T18:36:49.188-07:002019-07-10T18:36:49.188-07:00Yah. Great. Thanks for the detailed info.Yah. Great. Thanks for the detailed info.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01531969462484425385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-73868307450886713272019-02-11T10:09:50.881-08:002019-02-11T10:09:50.881-08:00Wenangel@yahooWenangel@yahooAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16842549078652613049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-66411194418626021152019-02-11T10:09:25.676-08:002019-02-11T10:09:25.676-08:00Loved Highland Orchards...
It was my favorite plac...Loved Highland Orchards...<br />It was my favorite place to go with my parents on a Sunday afternoon. Loved ringing the bell in the little boats that went round.<br />I drive by it often and just wish it never went away...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16842549078652613049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-51900956993959591282018-07-17T10:29:19.703-07:002018-07-17T10:29:19.703-07:00So where is the train now in 2018?So where is the train now in 2018?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15627797208853026064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-18193076628596750942018-05-20T15:32:21.825-07:002018-05-20T15:32:21.825-07:00talked to a man in his eighties at the clamcake an...talked to a man in his eighties at the clamcake and chowder stand may 13 2018 he was from the next town over Smithfield and he told me his older brother late eighties has the train from highland orchards on his farm, not doing anything with it but he didn't think he would be interested to sell it would still be cool just to see itBigBOB lisbon ctnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-68329794309004294722017-02-06T16:38:04.477-08:002017-02-06T16:38:04.477-08:00can you make any copies of the train film? I own i...can you make any copies of the train film? I own it now....portersplace@rocketmail.comRobert Trepaniernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-52680076373376761022017-02-06T16:18:36.565-08:002017-02-06T16:18:36.565-08:00Its in Utah I bought it years ago......Its in Utah I bought it years ago......Robert Trepaniernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-73044565101541104212016-12-21T18:37:49.103-08:002016-12-21T18:37:49.103-08:00Right on, Fred... the new owners were Thomas Dilu...Right on, Fred... the new owners were Thomas Diluglio, aka. former Lt. Governor of RI and close and quiet counsel to Joe Molecone (king of the RI Saving & Loan banking crisis... they were school kids together)<br /><br />Funny how 1 year after the Highland's restaurant suspiciously burned, RT 101 (Hartford Pike) was paved east to west from Johnston, but not much farther west than Highland Orchards.Alan Wildnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-70496089844986085102016-12-21T10:59:56.644-08:002016-12-21T10:59:56.644-08:00I saw an entry on another forum by one of the 2nd ...I saw an entry on another forum by one of the 2nd owner's sons. He blamed the fall of the place on the price of gas increasing and people not wanting to drive all the way out into the country. Someone tracked him down to interview people about the history of the place, but he and his kind came well after the heyday of the place when we were directly involved. His assertion was absurd. <br /><br />The FACT is they failed to continue to invest in the place in a way that Brown did. And so the whole thing went the way all things go when they are not properly maintained, back to the earth! The spirit that once drove the place to be great changed and then vanished. <br /><br />We knew things were changing for the worse when the Mitson boy came down to talk to us while we were playing hockey on the pond as we had done for years and told us we were trespassing and needed to get off. That was not Clayt Brown’s way … it was however the way of these new owners who were also lawyers, and thought like lawyers. <br /><br />As is typical the new owners were looking to turn a quick buck on their investment and ended up "cost-cutting" the place into a state where no one would want to visit it any longer. Get rid of the train, the boats, etc and just sell apples. It was no longer Highland Orchards the mini amusement park; it was just another farm stand. It was no longer worthy of a family destination day trip. That’s the reason business declined. By comparison it went from the experience of relaxing to music over a fine roast at a Star Bucks to getting a coffee in a styrofoam cup at a gas station. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03505547205374030192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-78471449705016514442016-12-21T09:18:10.366-08:002016-12-21T09:18:10.366-08:00Hi Ray! Your dad was "Stewy" Letts, as ...Hi Ray! Your dad was "Stewy" Letts, as my father, Hadley Wild, used to call him. Hadley ran the Sugar Shack there at Highland Orchards, and I just made some peanut brittle for the holidays with his old recipe. I recall your mother, a pretty lady, used to make cotton candy in a small room off of the building where your dad kept all of his toys and equipment.<br /><br />Old "Papa Clayt" Clayton Brown ran that place immaculately. He'd ride around on his Gravely tractor and pay special care to the whole place. Tom Mallon used to run that old steam engine train - he knew all about it. When in Winter the ponds froze he'd let us into the train station where there was a wood stove, and we'd put our skates on in there where it was warm. Larry Nogler, an immigrant Canadian farmer who worked for Brown, taught me the finer points of hockey and stick-handling.<br /><br />The stories that I could tell... Maybe I'll write more sometime.<br /><br />'AlanAlan Wildnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-63304661888976718352015-08-28T17:09:15.863-07:002015-08-28T17:09:15.863-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02180142052969931061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-34509100095250177702015-08-28T17:07:07.893-07:002015-08-28T17:07:07.893-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02180142052969931061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32099633145095864.post-39121326817612379312015-05-03T15:44:44.824-07:002015-05-03T15:44:44.824-07:00I was awe- struck by the paddle wheelers in the la...I was awe- struck by the paddle wheelers in the late '60's . I had spent summers at Sand dam reservoir , and , me being just a kid , I had never seen one . Shame they're not there anymore.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com