As always, Dave gives us the view as a Scranton Insider:
Hi, folks. Last night’s episode, “Take Your Daughter to Work Day” was just bursting with Scranton fun. Let’s get right to it.
Early in the episode, Stanley mentions Jitterz at the Steamtown Mall. There is so much in that tiny sentence that I get giddy just typing the words. Jitterz (formerly The Beanery) is on the 2nd floor of the Steamtown Mall, just outside the food court, across from what used to be The Great Train Store. Many of the Mall employees spend their work breaks slurping down a coffee or two at Jitterz (I know, as I used to know a couple of long-time mall employees). Stanley’s daughter Melissa would certainly hang out at Jitterz as well, since it’s in the mall and she’s, well, a teenage girl. Teenage girls tend to like malls. Speaking of the mall…
It’s called The Steamtown Mall because of the Steamtown National Historic Site that is literally in the mall’s backyard. It’s a terrific collection of steam locomotives (including the enormous “Big Boy,”), dining cars to passenger cars and everything else you could think of. The city of Scranton purchased the collection from its former home in Vermont many years ago in an effort to revitalize the city’s economy and boost tourism. It was rough going at first (the initial excursion took you past one of the nation’s largest junk yards), but the National Park Service has really whipped things into shape as of late. Trains played a big role in the early history of Scranton and Lakawanna County (where Scranton is located). In fact, the huge train station in town was converted into a big hotel many years ago (Incidentally, it was in front of the then empty train station that I met Martin Sheen when he was filming the movie That Championship Season in Scranton as a lad). Also, Michael probably purchased his wooden “train whistle” at the mall or the Steamtown gift shop.
As I mentioned, the Steamtown Train collection had some serious financial troubles when it was first introduced to the city many years ago. Noticing this, DJ’s Daniels and Webster from local radio station Rock 107 (Dwight’s favorite rock station) recorded a parody song that poked fun at the situation called “Chapter 11 Choo Choo.” I thought it was pretty funny back then, and I’m glad to be able to share it with you here.
Note that, at one point, he says, “…let’s hope we don’t lose the mall.” When this was recorded, the deal to construct the downtown mall (which would become the Steamtown Mall) was very much up in the air.
Ok, enough about Steamtown and the Mall. We found out later on that Michael’s mom lives in Dickson City, which is approximately a fifteen minute drive from downtown Scranton. Their mall is the Viewmont Mall. But I digress.
Towards the end of the episode, Ryan mentions to Michael that he had ordered pizza from Brunetti’s. This is a real place, and it’s on Sanderson Avenue in Scranton, certainly within driving distance from Dunder-Mifflin. There’s also a Brunetti’s Super Market (no relation, as far as I know), which is right on the corner of North Main and Lakawanna Avenue. Their slogan is “The Meat People.” When I was a kid, there was a 2nd, smaller Brunetti’s market on the other side of town. I was friendly with the owner’s kids, and we used to run around the inside of the delivery truck. Nice, huh?
Finally, let’s talk about Fundle Bundle. No, it wasn’t a real show (at least that I remember, and Michael and I would have been little kids in Scranton at approximately the same time). There was, however, a real local kids’ show called Hatchy Milatchy that was the greatest thing to ever leak from a boob tube. The host was Miss Judy (as opposed to the “Miss Trudy” of Fundle Bundle) who, along with the fez-wearing magician Uncle Ted, showed cartoons, did little skits and otherwise enchanted us kids. If it was your birthday, Miss Judy would say something like, “David in west Scranton is having is fifth birthday today. David, if you look behind the blue chair in the living room, I think you’ll find a surprise.” You’d run to the chair, stunned, and find a present waiting for you. To a five year old, that was legitimate, voodoo-style magic. I still remember the creepy thrill of it. My sister actually appeared on the show once. As one final treat for you this week, here is the theme song from Hatchy Milatchy. (link to mp3)
Thanks for reading, folks. I’m already looking forward to next week.
