As we’ve continued to explore some of the interesting people in South Portland’s past, we decided to take another look at a shopkeeper who is still mentioned frequently by South Portlanders who grew up here.

Harold “Harry” Bagley did not lead an easy life. Born in 1902, he was the third of 10 children of George and Mary Bagley. He grew up in Cape Elizabeth and when he was a teenager, his father died. At the age of 18, Harry was already working as a carpenter to help support the family. In the 1920s, he began working at Portland Stove Foundry as a molder.

One can only imagine the weight of responsibility that he carried. By 1930, at the age of 28, he was listed as head of household, living with and supporting his mother and six of his younger siblings, his youngest sister Frances still only 12 years old.

By 1940, Harry was still supporting his mother and several siblings. He remained working at Portland Stove Foundry and also worked as the caretaker for a private family farm in Cape Elizabeth.

In 1942, he married Elizabeth Orr and began his own family. It was on one night in 1945 that everything changed for Harry. After eating dinner with his wife, he sat down to read when everything went dark. He had a sudden and permanent loss of vision. Although he had worked at the stove foundry for 23 years, there was now no possibility of ever working there again.

Having supported others for so long, Harry was about to find that his family and friends were now rallying around to support him. One of his sisters gave him a lot of land on Ocean Street, across from South Portland High School (now Mahoney Middle School) and his friends at the stove foundry pitched in and built him a little building to house a store. His cousin shingled the roof.

As products were delivered to start his inventory, the delivery drivers would come in to stock the shelves and then show Harry where the items had been placed. Elizabeth would occasionally help in the store, but she was also caring for their young daughter, so it was Harry who was left to run it.

His friends at the stove foundry also put out a call to other union members across the state and country. In the spring of 1947, Harry was given a check for $1,100 that had been raised by members of the Portland Central Labor Union, as well as the International Molders and Foundry Workers Union. He was able to use it to expand his inventory and pay all of his bills. It gave him a great start to his business and he took it from there.

He successfully operated his variety store until his retirement in 1977.

I’ve never heard an unkind word said about Harry Bagley. With his store across from the (then) high school, he had a steady supply of customers for his candy. This was also a time when people loved their cigarettes and there was no Surgeon General’s warning on the packages. Cigarettes could be bought by the pack, but Harry also would open a pack and sell them by the cigarette.

We’ve had some great memories shared on Facebook. Here are a few of my favorites:

Deb Dagnan – “My neighborhood friends and I (Scamman Street kids) used to bring our returnable bottles down and exchange them for candy! He was a very nice man, and we were always amazed that he knew right where every kind of candy was in his display case despite being blind!”

Maureen Mehlhorn – “Mr. Bagley was a great guy. Went there all through high school. When we were kids he would show us how he could know a 10 from a 20, etc. Penny candy. Those were the days! I remember the mint julips and banana splits were two-for-a-penny and I loved the Squirrel nuts!”

Michael Killinger – “I used to skip school and hang out with Harry at the store. We would talk about everything, but while talking, Harry would get me to sweep his floor and take out his trash. He was a real great guy.”

Dan Clancy – “Harry’s was always packed. And the smoke could be too much. But in the end there was candy and that trumped everything. Well, that plus Harry was a good man.”

Pinky McArdle – “Harry would trust you on paper money, but if you knew him, as I did growing up next door, he would always put the 5’s, 10’s, etc., in his side pocket and ask someone he knew later. Amazingly he put a block foundation under the store himself.”

David Ivers – “Harry Bagley was an icon in the late-‘50s. A blind store keeper across from the high school, he was loved by South Portland High School. I remember once a Deering High student, at an SPHS home football game, shoplifted some minor thing from the store. Some large and angry SPHS guys tracked him down. It was the worst day of his life, and probably still is. I doubt he ever shoplifted again.”

Note: The South Portland Historical Society is seeking photographs of Bagley’s Variety Store. If you have any photos of the store, or any other piece of South Portland history to share, please contact the society by mail at 55 Bug Light Park, South Portland, ME 04106, by email at sphistory04106@gmail.com, by phone at 207-767-7299, or message us on Facebook.

Kathryn Onos DiPhilippo is executive director of the South Portland Historical Society. She can be reached at sphistory04106@gmail.com.

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