Dari Joy, Bellows Falls, Vermont

This is another post in my series of stories about 20th Century Americana, which I use as story starters and for helping with oral histories.  Most of these subjects bring back great memories to the people who lived through the 20th century, maybe even YOU!

The Dari-Joy is a small ice cream restaurant at 140 Rockingham Road in Bellows Falls, Vermont, across the street from the Connecticut River.  This is another installment of the 20th Century Americana series at this blog, where I feature unique places and things across New England that were established or made in the 20th century. Maybe you, your parents, your grandparents, or even your great-grandparents remember visiting a place like this for snacks and ice cream. 

The Dari-Joy restaurant was established in 1953 by the DeMuzio family.  For decades we had driven by this little ice cream stand on our way to the Vermont Country Store in Rockingham, Vermont.  Recently we finally decided to stop by and have lunch.  We each had a fine plate of fish and chips, and were tempted by the ice cream menu.  The interior of the restaurant was decorated with photos from the last 50 years of the restaurant, which started as a walk up window and now has expanded to indoor dining.  It was so cute that I decided to include Dari-Joy in my 20th Century Americana series.

There is a statue of "Big Boy" on the roof, and lots of colorful booths and juke boxes inside. Dining here is like stepping back into the 1950s.  They serve burgers, fried seafood, sandwiches, hot dogs, and of course ice cream both hard and soft serve. Wednesdays are prime rib specials.  It's cash only, with and ATM in the dining room. 

The Dari-Joy is open seasonally April to October.  I hope you can visit soon!  

1953 newsclipping about Dari-Joy opening

For the truly curious: 

Dari-Joy at Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/Darijoyrestaurant  

The Rutland Herald, "50 Years of (Dari) Joy", 17 October 2018   https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/50-years-of-dari-joy/article_76f9a927-738a-5c5f-891f-e40d463fc5b5.html   

Click here to see more 20th Century Americana at the Nutfield Genealogy blog:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/20th%20Century%20Americana  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Dari Joy, Bellows Falls, Vermont", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 16, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/09/dari-joy-bellows-falls-vermont.html:  accessed [access date]). 

A Gilded Sailing Ship, Veere, The Netherlands, for Weathervane Wednesday

 This ship weathervane was photographed in Veere, The Netherlands. 

This past spring we enjoyed a river cruise to see the tulips and windmills in my ancestral country of The Netherlands.  One day our river boat moored at the small village (population 1,500) of Veere, which means "ferry" in Dutch.  It is located in the province of Zeeland, on the body of water known as the Veerse Meer. We could see this building with a spire from a long distance, but the beautiful weathervane was indistiguishable until we were very close. 

This weathervane is on the bell tower above the town hall, built between 1474 and 1517.  The golden weathervane has a ship with five flags and a banner, and it dates from 1598, but was restored in 1933.  This is a terrific weathervane with lots of details to admire. 

For the truly curious:

The Veere website:    https://www.zeeland.com/en/visit/islands/walcheren/towns-and-villages/veere 

Click here to see over 550 more Weathervane Wednesday blog posts: 

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday    

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Gilded Sailing Ship, Veere, The Netherlands, for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 10, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/09/a-gilded-sailing-ship-veere-netherlands.html: accessed [access date]). 

B for Bruges, Belgium for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed during a canal boat ride in Bruges, Belgium.

The weathevane can barely be seen above this

very, very tall steeple! 

This gilded banner has a letter B cut out in the center.  It was installed very high above a building in Bruges, barely visible from street level.  Thank goodness for zoom lenses on cameras!  If you look very carefully on the photo you can see two other gilded banners and two golden crowns on the other turrets of this building. 

For the truly curious:

Click here to see over 550 other Weathervane Wednesday posts from this blog:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday   

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "B for Bruges, Belgium for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 3, 2025, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/09/b-for-bruges-belgium-for-weathervane.html: accessed [access date]). 

A Lion Banner in Bruges, Belgium for Weathervane Wednesday

 Today's weathervane was photographed in Bruges, Belgium.

If you look close you can see the lion banner above the church steeple.

Thank goodness for zoom lenses on cameras! 

This lion banner weathervane was spotted above a very tall steeple on a very narrow street in Bruges, Belgium.  There are traces of gilding on the banner.  The lion is a symbol of strength, valor, and nobility when used in heraldry, and in Christian symbolism the Lion of Judah is on the coat of arms for Jerusalem.  The Leo Belgicus ("Belgian Lion" in latin) is on the Belgian national coat of arms and is the national animal for Belgium.  

For the truly curious:

Click on this link to see over 550 other weathervane posts: 

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday   

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Lion Banner in Bruges, Belgium for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 27, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/08/a-lion-banner-in-bruges-belgium-for.html: accessed [access date]). 

A Mystery Weathervane in Antwerp for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed in Antwerp, Belgium.  Does it look familiar to anyone?

My husband took a walking tour of Antwerp and photographed this weathervane near the Plantin Moretus Museum.  We don't know the building or the history of this weathervane.  It's a complete mystery. 

This hand is very mysterious. 

This shape looked like a possible boat or ship.  It was also very mysterious. 

Online I saw a reference to a V-1 Flying Bomb weathervane in Antwerp, installed above a private house.  When I Googled the V-1 flying bomb I saw this photo below.  It was a match. 

The V-1 Flying Bomb was the famous "buzz bomb" or "doodlebug" during the Blitz in England during World War II.  It was an unmanned German missile.  It also terrorized civilians in Antwerp.  This was the precursor to today's cruise missile.  Antwerp, Belgium was hit by 2,448 V-1s from October 1944 to March 1945. It remains a mystery as to why this destructive missile was commemorated by a weathervane.  Perhaps it is symbolic of the resilience of the Antwerp citizens during World War II.  

The hand silhouette  on the finial above the vane remains a mystery!  If you know any details on this weathervane in Antwerp, please leave a comment below or email me at vrojomit@gmail.com  

For the truly curious:

V-1 Flying Bomb at Wikipedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-1_flying_bomb

Click here to see over 550 other weathervanes worldwide:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday    

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Mystery Weathervane in Antwerp for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy,  posted August 20, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/08/a-mystery-weathervane-in-antwerp-for.html: accessed [access date]). 

If This Isn't Real, There must be a Real One Out There Somewhere!

 Another historical Friday Funny...

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "If This Isn't Real, There must be a Real One Out There Somewhere!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 15, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/08/if-this-isnt-real-there-must-be-real.html: accessed [access date]). 

Two Bangs Babies, died in Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday

 This tombstone was photographed at the Ancient Burial Gound in Brewster, Massachusetts.

In Memory of                               In Memory of

    Isaac Sparrow Bangs                           Sukey Bangs       

                    who died april 12 1795                   who died octr 20th 1794     

            Aged one year                             Aged 2 Months     

    11 Months & 3 Days                        &12 Days         

Children of Mr Dean and Mrs Eunice Bangs

Happy the babes who privileged by fate

To shorter labor and a lighter wight

Received but yesterday the gift of breath

Ordered tomorrow to return to death. 

This sad, broken, and reset tombstone was dedicated to two children of Captain Dean Bangs (1756 - 1845)  and his wife Eunice Sparrow (1756 - 1818).  The carvings show a winged soul and also a fallen dove/bird.  Eunice was the daughter of Isaac Sparrow and Mary Hopkins (a Mayflower descendant).  They had two sons named Isaac Sparrow Bangs (1793 - 1795 and 1798 - 1874).  Captain Dean Bangs was a descendant of Edward Bangs of Chichester, England who came to the Plymouth Colony in 1623 on board the ship Anne.  

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Two Bangs Babies, died in Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, July 15, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/07/two-bangs-babies-died-in-brewster.html: accessed [access date]). 

Thomas Bangs, age 12, of Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday

 This tombstone was photographed at Brewster, Massachusetts.

THOMAS BANGS

SON OF JOSHUA &

MEHETIBEL BANGS

AGED 12 YEARS

AND 8 DAYS DECd

DECEMBER YE 8th

1728

Thomas Bangs was born on 28 November 1716 in Harwich, Massachusetts and died on 8 December 1728.  He was the son of Captain Joshua Bangs and Mehitable Clark.  He was one of nine children (Nathan 1714 -1749, Thomas 1716 - 1728, Thankful 1720- 1749, Joshua 1723 - 1755, Mary 1724 - 1784, Mehitable 1728 - 1805, Thomas b. 1729, Susanna b. 1731, and Mary b. 1734). 

Captain Joshua Bangs was the son of Edward Bangs and Ruth Allen, and the grandson of  Jonathan Bangs and Mary Mayo, and the great grandson of Edward Bangs and Rebecca Hobart (immigrant ancestors) of Chichester, England, who came to the Plymouth Colony on board the ship Anne in 1623. According to the book The Great Migration Begins 1620 - 1633, Volume 1, page 86, Edward Bangs was an inkeeper at Eastham on Cape Cod.  

To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Thomas Bangs, age 12, of Brewster, Massachusetts for Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 8, 2025, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2025/07/thomas-bangs-age-12-of-brewster.html: accessed [access date]).