Every once in a while I’ll drive through South Side Easton—not because I have to, but because part of me still lives there.
The houses seem a little smaller now. The streets don’t feel quite as long as they did when I was seven years old. Some of the places I loved are gone entirely, replaced by empty lots, new construction, or businesses with names I don’t recognize.
But if I close my eyes for a moment, I can still hear the sounds of summer, smell fresh pizza and cheesesteaks drifting through the neighborhood from as faraway as St John and Nesquehoning Streets, and remember what it was like to grow up in a place where every corner held another adventure.
When people ask me what it was like growing up on South Side, the easiest answer I give them is this: it wasn’t the buildings that made it special. It was the memories we made inside them.
So, in no particular order (well… maybe a little), here are ten places that helped shape my childhood.
10. Lachenour Heights Park
To us, it wasn’t just a park—it was our stadium. We played softball until the sun went down, battled through neighborhood football games, shot baskets for hours, and spent countless afternoons on the swings. Looking back, I don’t remember who won many of those games. I just remember never wanting to go home.
9. The Laundromat
Long before dryers became a household luxury, my mom and grandmother would haul baskets of wet clothes here whenever rain threatened the clothesline.
Most kids probably dreaded laundry day.
I loved it.
It meant feeding dimes into the dryers, twisting the big chrome knobs, sneaking over to the arcade machines, and wandering through Food Lane’s toy aisle while dreaming about toys I knew weren’t coming home with me.
Sometimes imagination was enough.
8. St. Mary’s Carnival
Every summer, it returned like clockwork.
There were games, bingo, rides, and prizes, but let’s be honest… the fried dough was the real attraction. Only a bunch of eighty year old church ladies could make something so good.
Even today, one bite of fresh fried dough instantly transports me back to those warm summer evenings under carnival lights.
7. Porter Elementary School
For five years, this was my world.
I can still picture the large “1876” displayed proudly on the building, reminding us how much history those old brick walls had witnessed before we ever walked through the doors.
The school disappeared a half century ago. The memories never did.
6. Food Lane
Some people remember grocery stores.
I remember discovering Count Chocula and Lucky Charms.
Food Lane was much more than groceries. It had the magical toy aisle every kid immediately sprinted toward while pretending their parents weren’t looking.
I usually never left with the toy, but I always left with hope.
5. Huck’s
If you grew up on South Side, you probably remember Huck’s.
Great cheesesteaks.
Fantastic homemade fries.
A giant German Shepherd standing guard outside.
There was always neighborhood gossip floating around—including rumors Huck had Mob connections—but as a kid, none of that mattered.
I was there for the fries.
Although I still laugh remembering that his fry scoop looked suspiciously like it had once been part of a bleach bottle.
Different times.
4. Pino’s Pizza
Some places survive because they’re simply that good. Pino’s is one of them.
Ownership may have changed over the years, but every time I see that familiar name, it reminds me of Friday nights, slices with friends, and conversations that seemed like they’d last forever.
3. Brother Bright’s Soul Food Store
Just two blocks from the house I grew up in stood one of the friendliest little stores in town. Brother Bright and his wife treated everyone like family.
When I was riding the bus to Palmer or Easton Middle School, stopping there became part of the routine.
Some businesses sell products. Others become part of a neighborhood.
2. Lucey’s Store
This may have been my favorite stop as a kid.
Penny candy.
Brown paper bags.
Mr. Lucey somehow always seemed to know exactly what I’d want.
Extra Swedish Fish.
Purple raspberry candies.
Fewer Tootsie Rolls.
Looking back now, what I miss most isn’t the candy.
It’s people like Mr. Lucey.
The kind of neighborhood shop owners who knew your name before you even walked through the door.
1. Barney’s Lunch
No contest. For me, Barney’s was the heart of South Side.
The glowing red neon sign promised the best steak sandwiches in town, and as far as I was concerned, it never lied.
You’d order a cheesesteak and a bottle of Pepsi, maybe play a few rounds of Space Invaders or Vanguard while you waited, and dropping a quarter or two in the jukebox.
I can’t remember what I just had for breakfast, but I can still remember what Barney would say to me every time I walked through the door: “What say there, young fella?”
Life didn’t get much better than that.
Back then, we weren’t thinking about nostalgia.
We were simply living it.
These photos were taken 15 years ago, and many of these places are gone now.
Buildings disappear.
Businesses close.
Neighborhoods evolve.
But every time I drive through South Side, I realize those places never really vanished. They’re still there.
Not in a brick and concrete sense, but in the memories of everyone lucky enough to have grown up there.
go.Jimmy.go 
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