BSO: The Blakes

The first Friendly Restaurant, located in the Pine Point section of Springfield, in 1963.

photo by mildred dunbar

On the death of the last Friendly founder last year:

Many many years ago, I worked for a company in Springfield Ma. hauling bricks. When there were no bricks, drivers were leased out to Cook's Building Supply in West Springfield.

One time I had to deliver flagstones to one of the Blake's homes in Longmeadow. I got a tour of the 6 or 8 car garage which was on two different levels. You entered the lower lever from one side, the upper level from the other side. The building was on a slope making this possible.

It was gorgeous inside, lavishly furnished with expensive furniture. It housed very beautiful antique automobiles of which kind I can not remember. Which ever one of them that owned this, it was great. I was happy for them because they were very nice men and earned every penny that they had. They never acted like they were millionaires. Never acted better than you. Just nice people.

The only reason I remember any of this is because of my Mother. She went to school with them and always remarked at how nice they were, and how hard they worked to succeed in life. She kept me informed on what they were doing and how well they were doing because she knew them.

I do remember when the Blake's bought Friendly's back from Hershey's, the first thing to go was the corporate jet. Hershey's had all but destroyed the business the brothers had worked so hard to build. So they bought it back from Hershey's and re-built the business. I do know that Friendly's Ice Cream is available in Arizona at Albertson's grocery store outside Sun City West! The restaurants only went as far West as Ohio, and South to Florida and North to Maine. They left quite a Legacy. I am sure they are both missed very much.

- Larry Rose

My father in 1950 with the first Friendly in the background. Notice there is some sort of stripes painted on the front, which I have never seen on any other photos of the first Friendly.