If you are one of the many people who like reading about the history of Willimantic, Windham or the surrounding area, you may enjoy surfing through the threadcity.us site. It is loaded with vintage photos and historical articles. Another excellent resource is the “You Know You Are from Willimantic If” page on Facebook. There are about 6,700 members and while many have moved away, about half still live nearby. A lot of great topics for reminiscing are brought up and people enjoy sharing their old photos. When the threadcity site first started in 1997, there was a Discussion Forum that dealt with hundreds of local topics and it is interesting to note that many of the same topics are still discussed today on the Facebook site. One popular subject for almost 25 years has to deal with eateries of the past. Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a look back at some of them. One recurring question deals with pizza. What was the first pizza joint in Willimantic? The answer is elusive. According to Joseph “Al” Beaulieu, pizzas were available at the Santa Lucia grinder shop where, “from 1935-1940, Mrs. Santa Lucia made pizza in a regular oven in back of the store”.Pizza was also served at the Italian Garden on Main Street. Begun in the late 1930s by Salvatore and Angelina Todaro, it quickly became a local favorite. By 1960, Mrs. Todaro was known to all as “Mama”, and was famous for her delicious pizzas. Although she and Salvatore retired from the business in 1979 the Italian Garden continued to be a popular eating spot into the 70s and 80s. John Monaghan mentioned that, “Claire Meikle, a beloved Willimantic fixture, was a waitress there and took photos of many of the patrons.” John added hundreds of her photos onto his blogspot. If you’d like to see them, the link is www.flickr.com/photos/windhamhs1957yahoocom /. A big thank you to John for sharing. One other place noted for its pizzas, especially in the 50s and 60s, was the Park Central Hotel on Valley Street. The Park Central, run by sisters Philomena Mastrangelo and Mary Menditto, had a bar and a dining area. Although known mainly for their sensational spaghetti sauce, they are said to have made pizza as well. Probably because of good prices and large servings, the Park Central was a favorite eating place for students from UConn at a time when Mansfield was still a small town and students came to Willimantic for entertainment. Now, as far as the first actual pizza restaurant, Don’s Pizza Shoppe at 25 Jackson Street is the winner. It opened in the early 50s and was run by Don Bellucci from East Hartford. His family had another Don’s Pizza Shoppe in Manchester. One contributor mentioned, “"Don actually spun the dough over his head, before he put it in the oven. It was a sight I will never forget. At that time  (1953) I was just a kid.” Don’s lasted only a few years but by then, other pizza places were starting up. The Pizza House on West Main Street seems to be the first place in town to really catch on. It opened in the early 60s and even today generates rave reviews from those who remember it. It was managed by Bill Menas who was remembered as, “always there working, no matter what time”. Apparently, many local families made almost weekly stops there for pizza. Pizza House grinders were also very highly rated by those who shared their memories.  Other pizza places that opened in the 60s include Papa’s Pizza on West Main Street and the short-lived Tastee Tower of Pizza which opened in January, 1965 and was gutted by fire in June, 1965. Nicholas and Bessie Liapes opened Mama’s Pizza in 1970 in the store previously occupied by Lariviere’s Market, after moving to Willimantic from Glens Falls, NY. In the early 70s, Bernie Allains’ Pizza Ranch in Sodom, Bob Falcone’s Village Pizza on High Street and Savas Triantafilou’s Giant  Pizza on Main Street were also in business. There were probably other early pizza places that haven’t been mentioned but these were the most remembered. One other food subject that contributors to the Forum and the Facebook site talk about more than any is grinders and so next week we’ll visit some early grinder shops and share memories. In future weeks we’ll also take a look at drive-ins, small restaurants and a few “fancy places” that people remember.