Something positive, for a change

Perusing the City Council agenda further, I see that Judy Lacroix, that whirlwind of community service, is proposing to donate a granite bench in the memory of Shirley Lattime. The bench will hopefully be placed on Inn St. near where Mrs. Lattime had her hotdog cart for so many years.

(In fact, it's still there, being run by other family members.)

The cost of the bench, its delivery to the city and installation would be paid for by Mrs. Lattime's brother, Harold Gadsby, who has been very generous keeping his sister's memory alive also by sponsoring "Shirley's General Store" at Yankee Homecoming.

As most of us know, Shirley Lattime was much more than just a vendor of hotdogs. I wrote this story for the Current, just a little more than 3 years ago. Since then, Linda Fonseca, Lattime's daughter who inherited the cart, has also passed away.

An attached photo of the proposed "Shirley's Place" bench looks to be a fitting tribute. Perhaps if/when the senior center is every built, the powers that be might consider naming it in her honor.

I never met Mrs. Lattime - many times I walked by her cart, saw the line, and thought "someday I'll have to write a story about her" - but I left it too late. I was and still am very sorry I never took the time.