In an era before supermarkets, Portsmouth was dotted with small family grocery stores. The Puddle Dock neighborhood alone could boast a number of mom-and-pop shops, including Gould’s Market at 16 Charles Street.
Georgie Gould (seen here) became the sole proprietor of her family store when her husband died in 1916. Georgie’s half-sister, Bertha Abbott, ran another store two blocks north.
Gould’s is long gone, but the Abbott Store has been preserved among the exhibits at Strawbery Banke Museum. The two boys standing outside Gould’s are identified as Rollie and Eddie Brooks. An incredibly detailed study of grocery stores in Portsmouth during World War II can be found in the book Produce & Conserve, Share & Play Square, edited by Barbara McLean Ward. (Strawbery Banke Collection)
View from the North Mill Pond Bridge