Woodman’s Customer Stories – Art

At Woodman’s, our customers are everything to us. And in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Fried Clam in 2016, we interviewed a few of our customers to learn about their memories of coming to Woodman’s. In this video, we spoke with Art Wonson of Saugus.

My name is Art Wonson, I’m from Saugus. I’ve summered here all my life. I was born in Ipswich. My grandparents lived on Walnut Park. We had a camp here on the hill just up here over the Marina. My brother still lives here in town. I’m with a couple of friends today. We’ve been coming to Woodman’s for 60 years or more. I even worked here at one time back when I was in school, 15, out in the shuck-house shucking clams. Cynthia has always been a good friend and I know a lot the families that have been involved here. The food here is excellent. One of the best restaurants in town. Been enjoying it all my life.

I come down as often as I can, a few times a year anyway. I still have a boat here in the Essex River. Woodman’s has been part of our boating, living experience for all these years. I’m with two good friends today. One of them has lived here all his life and knows the causeway very well, as he will tell you. We’ve been friends with the Woodman’s and their families for a great many years. Chubby who was the original owner of the place, he and his wife, I remember he kept his boat right up just opposite from where we’re sitting, in the river. He would go out tuna fishing and right at the mouth of the river he’d catch half a dozen and then come home. No such thing is done anymore but I remember chubby being around here a lot.

And then I remember Leonard Woodman. He lived in a home up here just below Walnut Park. I could almost see it from my grandparents’ house and that’s where I met Cynthia and her brothers and sisters and just have kind of really known the family forever. It’s been a nice experience. They’re wonderful people, they have a great restaurant. There very well known here in town. They now have a book that they’ve written which is really interesting if you’d like to get some really good facts about all of the stuff that they’ve been involved with, and that’s about it.