I know it's been a common trend as of late to read articles about your hometown, but I figured Pembroke deserved one too. After going away to college and living in Western Massachusetts for the past year and a half, I've realized that Pembroke isn't as much of a prison as it felt like senior year of high school. Quite frankly, it's in a fantastic location being so close to the ocean and less than an hour away from both the Cape and Boston. I feel lucky to come home to Pembroke and even find myself describing it to my college friends like it's some kind of magical place. We all know it's really not. It may be a small town, but there are plenty of memorable places that mean something to those who were born and raised there. Here are a few of the spots that come to mind when I think about "The Broke."
1. Dairy Twist
Is there anything better than heading to Dairy Twist on a hot summer night spur the moment? Waiting in line for 45 minutes and getting attacked by mosquitoes is totally worth it when your giant ice cream cone is handed to you. Every kid definitely has their own hidden stash of old plastic baseball hats that their ice cream came in. Everyone also remembers when there was a water bubbler out back and wondering if cows really lived behind the huge fence.
2. Willow Brook Farm
If you didn't go on a nature walk in Willow Brook Farm on an elementary school field trip, did you actually grow up in Pembroke? Climbing to the top of the overlook — a.k.a., "Blunt Tower" — and looking out at a great view of wetlands and grass is always the peak of the journey through the preservation.
3. Learning Lane
Anyone I've ever told that my high school is located on Learning Lane has laughed hysterically. After hearing the name of the street thousands of times over the years, I guess it's lost its irony or humor for the school's students.
4. The Herring Run
If you didn't take your senior pictures at the beach, you most likely took them here. If not, there's no way you avoided, at least, one Fish Fry or climbing to the top of the giant boulder out back. To this day, that rock is still nerve racking to climb down from.
5. Pembroke House of Pizza (PHOP)
The people who work at PHOP are the absolute friendliest people in the world. The owner treats you like you're his number one customer and always asks about your life. Plus the pizza is the best.
6. Marylou's
Half of Pembroke High School would be in the drive thru at seven a.m. before class started every morning, trying to wake up. No better way to wake up than ordering a large Caramel Lou or Minty Lou, which, let's face it, is the same as eating ice cream for breakfast. Is that going to stop me or anyone else? No.
7. Mattakeetsett Fields
Even if you didn't play baseball, odds are, you still hung out in the Mattakeesett fields. I'm not sure about the current middle school class, but mine certainly roamed the land of dirt and playground between the six separate games going on at once during the summer. If you were a family member of a baseball player, you probably worked at the snack bar at least once a month.
8. Edgewater and Queens Brook
The two biggest neighborhoods in the town by far. If you don't live in them, you probably still get lost every time you try to navigate your way through them. Trick or treating was at its prime in these neighborhoods, although it was impossible to find your way out in the dark.
9. "That new restaurant that used to be Bobby Hackett's"
Although Bobby Hackett's has been gone for a million years, the building it used to be in has been up and running ever since. Nothing really seems to stay there, no matter how packed it seems to be every single night. From the Winery to Turner's Yard and now Disch's Tavern, that location will never be abandoned. Luckily, Disch's Tavern seems to be a pretty great place with yummy food!
10. Where You Live is Based on Elementary School
When asked what part of Pembroke you live in, there's no messing around with actual location. You either live in North Pembroke, Hobomock or Bryantville depending on which school you went to.
