RAVIOLI: Andy Heffner of Ormsby called us with another business that used to be in Bradford that no one’s mentioned yet. “I wonder how many people can remember there was a ravioli factory?” he asked.

The factory was on Congress Street, and Andy’s mother worked there in the early 1950s, when he was probably around 8 or 9 years old.

“It wasn’t open very long,” he recalled. He said their products were shipped to stores and restaurants, and “People walked in off the street and bought them.”

Andy also wondered if people remembered the Imperial Hotel that used to sit on Main Street.

“It burnt to the ground,” he said, around the mid-1960s he thinks. He believes the spot is now a parking lot.

Andy remembers renting a room at the Imperial Hotel — a three story building — for $6 while working at the Davis Bakery. “A lot of people used to call it the ‘Cockroach Hotel.’” He said they would spray for cockroaches once in awhile, and they wouldn’t come around for a bit, but they always came back.

Six dollars may not sound like much, but he was only bringing home $20 at the time.

He still has letterhead and an oval platter from the hotel.

Here’s a question for our readers: Does anyone remember the store that was at street level of the Imperial Hotel? We’ll have the answer in Monday’s column.

SOLSTICE: We’re sure you’ve all noticed that it’s been getting dark about noon lately.

Well, the days will soon start getting longer now that the December solstice is upon us. In our time zone, the December solstice will happen at 6:03 p.m. Sunday, according to EarthSky.org. Sunday will have less daylight than any other day of the year.

We’re trying to focus less on the fact that it’s the shortest day and more on the fact the days will get longer each day after that, at least until June. Sunday is also the first official day of winter.

According to the National Weather Service, sunrise will be at 7:38 a.m. Sunday in Bradford, and sunset will be at 4:46 p.m.