A blast from Ridgefield HamletHub past - in 2011, Terri Garlick published a historical piece about our local office supply store, better known as "Squash's". The article was titled "Have You Ever Wondered Why Our Local Office Supply Store is Called Squash's?".
We are digging it out of our local story archives to remind you to SHOP LOCAL for all of your school supply needs! Squash's truly has it all (and at competitive prices). Not sure what you need? The store conveniently keeps the supply lists provided by Ridgefield schools on hand to help you purchase all the correct items. The local shop is stocked with all items requested by teachers, which includes binders, notebooks, folders, pens, pencils, and more
Now, here's the story behind the name "Squash's".
In the early to mid 1900's, a large number of families in Ridgefield were of Italian descent. Many of these families had come to Ridgefield as laborers and domestics, and because Ridgefield -- a rural community nestled among ridges of land -- reminded them of their home-county, they decided to stay, build homes, get married, and raise their families.
Like all Italian families of that era, they had well-tended, and over-producing vegetable gardens, and enjoyed garden-fresh produce during most of the year. And as a gardener know, if you plant squash in the summer, you get enough to feed your family, your friends and most of your church, too! A boy named Aldo was born into one of these families, and as he grew, he worked at a local pharmacy and soda fountain known as H.P. Bissell's Pharmacy.