By 1931 Fred T. Goodwin and his wife Annimae had moved to Hudson; and by May of that year Fred , a well known amateur actor, opened a place of business on Derry Road. This was located at what was then the Abbott property and directly across from Saint Patrick’ s Cemetery. He specialized in Ipswich fried clams which he obtained fresh from the flats. Fred. and Annimae had the idea that if they served a good meal at a reasonable price, people would come. And they did! After the first week there were reports that business was so great, many were turned away, and more equipment was quickly added. By 1935 free entertainment to the clam emporium was added in order to attract even more people.
Thanks to the Goodwin/Marshall family we have these early photos of the stand. The first, C1938, shows the cars packed into the lot and along Derry Road. You see the band stand for entertainment on the left and the clam stand on the right. The cars to the right, opposite the stand, are backed up against the stone wall of Saint Patrick’s Cemetery in order to enjoy the entertainment. The second photo of about the same time shows a close-up of the front of the stand. Notice the prices!!
Fred was also very active in local theater and politics; serving as selectman and in the state legislature. His approach to the fried clam business gave him great notoriety as people came from all over to the stand. Over the years the front of the stand did not change except for addition of an ell on the right side which served as a soda and ice cream fountain. Also by the 1950’s traffic on Derry Road was such that parking was not allowed in front of the stand.
Fred, Annimae, and later their family operated the stand for over 20 years. After Fred passed in 1952 Annimae ran the stand with her family. Annimae (Grammy) worked the kitchen, Francis (Bud) worked the grill and fryers, Elsie Marshall was the cashier. Fred, Jr had his own business in Nashua and would come to the stand when he could. He routinely balanced the cash and made nightly deposits.
By the late 1950’s into the early 60’s Fred III (Butch) oversaw much of the operation of the stand. The stand employed about 15 people; some of these were high schoolers working a summer job to save for college expenses. In 1961 the stand had a bank of 11 fryers (perhaps the largest in New England), a long mixing bench where all fried foods were prepared, a chef table for preparing salads, lobster, chicken, coleslaw, and tartar sauce.
By the mid 1960’s business slowed and ownership passed from the Goodwin family and soon after closed. By 1969 this property and adjacent acreage was sold by the Abbott family to Phil Lamoy for the 20th Century Shopping Center.
Remember Hudson NH When... 