In light of the recent
tragedy during which the
shopping plaza located at
901 Shaker Road in town was
destroyed by a fire
(November 23, 2021), the
Longmeadow Historical
Society wanted to take a
look back at how there even
came to be a shopping plaza
in that location. The story
of what would become known
as the Trading Post of
Longmeadow Shopping Plaza
began in 1960 when a group
of Longmeadow residents
sought to create a shopping
center to serve the
residents of Longmeadow and
neighboring Enfield, CT.
Their planned development
was just part of many real
estate ventures that were
being planned in Longmeadow
at the time that were
looking to take advantage of
the rapid growth the town
was experiencing in the
post-war era.
The group consisted of:
-
Bruno M. Gallerini, the
president of the Trading
Post Inc., who was a
WWII combat veteran and
served on the Park
Commission.
-
Robert A. Thomas, the
treasurer of Trading
Post Inc., also a WWII
vet and was a self
employed criminal
defense attorney who
would go on to found the
Bottle Shop and serve on
the Select Board in
town.
-
Frank C Knight, a real
estate developer who
rounded out the group.
The group began their
endeavor by purchasing a gas
station from Janice Scheller
and George Zunner III, both
of West Hartford, CT.
Scheller worked with her
husband Oswald in the real
estate business after he
retired from the Connecticut
Life Insurance Company.
George Zunner III was a
general contractor who was
notably responsible for
building the Popular Market
building - which now houses
the Big Y in town. Scheller
and Zunner had originally
purchased the gas station in
1955 and signed a 5 year
lease on the gas station
with ESSO Standard Oil
Corporation. As their lease
was ending, they decided to
sell to the Trading Post
group.

In its original iteration,
the group decided to build a
plaza with 5 storefronts
with parking in front of and
behind the plaza and keep
the gas station in its
current location. Since the
property was already zoned
for business, the group only
needed to win approval for
their parking plan from the
Zoning Board of Appeals as
was required at the time.
While it did face some
opposition from the general
public, the ZBA unanimously
ruled that the parking plan
should be approved and the
Trading Post Inc. could
begin construction at once.

When it opened its doors in
February of 1961, the
Trading Post Plaza featured
four tenants with a fifth in
the works. The anchor of the
plaza was a Geissler’s
Supermarket, which was owned
and operated by Connecticut
grocer Adolph Geissler,
which would quickly become
Armata’s in 1963.
Next was the Trading Post
Pharmacy run by Nathan A.
Davis.
After the pharmacy was
Hairstyles by Harvey owned
by Southwick hairstylist
Harvey Isabelle, who was
known for his demonstration
of beauty products and new
hairstyles to the women’s
groups of Western
Massachusetts.

The final business that
opened in February of that
year was Jiffy Cleaners and
Laundrette run by Silvio
Mendill and Norman Dallaire.
It is noteworthy that
Mendill was charged with
operating the business on
the Sabbath in April of
1961, was found guilty, and
fined $50 (about $465 in
October 2021 dollars
according to the CPI
inflation calculator).

The final business
to go into the
original plaza was
the Bottle Shop,
which required a
liquor license. This
was no small detail
since the Longmeadow
Select Board had not
issued a liquor
license for a
package store in 14
years. Thankfully
for the Trading Post
group, the liquor
license was granted
and the Bottle Shop
opened in September
of 1961 filling out
the plaza.
For over 60 years this plaza
has served the Longmeadow
community and it is the hope
of the author that for the
sake of the employees,
owners, and customers of the
various businesses affected
by the fire that they are
able to rebuild.
Images credit:
GenealogyBank.com and
The
Springfield Union