Nostalgia: Do You Remember the Funny Bones Store in North Adams?

Author: Jesse Stewart

Growing up in North Adams, my friends and I used to walk to middle school. It was about a mile walk to the Silvio O. Conte building which I did every weekday to and from when I was in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. In the mornings, we would pretty much walk right to school since it was somewhat a bit of a trek and we didn't want to be late. However, sometimes on the way home from school it could be a different story.

Walking home, my friends and I would pass by Eagle Street which over the years had some fun stores. From music stores to pizza places to comic stores and of course Jack's Hot Dogs Stand (which is still in business to this day) there was always something fun and interesting to explore on Eagle Street in North Adams.

One particular store I was really fascinated by was Funny Bones. This store was geared toward youth particularly those that were my age. It's a little difficult for me to remember everything about the store since the last time I was there was somewhere between 25 and 30 years ago but I do remember the store was a hoot. They had items that many pre-teen boys loved including rubber chickens, fake vomit, whoopi cushions, fake dog dung, and many cool gadgets. I also vividly remember that they had costumes that you could buy and I believe there were some costume rental options as well.

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The reason why I remember the costume offerings so well is because this was around the time that I was really getting into horror movies, particularly Halloween (1978). I remember seeing the Michael Myers mask at Funny Bones and dreaming of owning it. If memory serves correctly, that mask at the time cost about $50...a bit rich for my young blood. Eventually, I did get the mask but not at that time and not from Funnybones.

North Adams certainly had many gems on Eagle Street and Funnybones was one of my top favorites. The business is long gone but what are your memories of Funny Bones? Did you ever visit the North Adams shop?

While we're talking about nostalgia and businesses back in the day, let's dive into this fun list.