Swizzle Sticks
Two Polly’s Restaurant swizzle sticks from the 1950s. The blue plastic sticks are 6″ long, while the multicolored whistles measure at an inch. In black, it reads “Wet Your Whistle at Polly’s, Route 110 Westford, Mass.” Swizzle sticks, also known as stirring sticks, are normally used for mixing drinks at bars, restaurants, and coffee shops. The modern swizzle stick goes back to at least 1934, being patented that year as a cocktail accessory, according to punchdrink.com. The molded plastic sticks can come in a large variety of custom designs today, especially at Tiki Bars. They continue to be collectable items that help advertise their associated establishments.
(1908-1998) opened the restaurant in 1941 at Minot’s Corner, which is also known as Cornerstone Square today. It was the one with an airplane on the roof. Polly’s was closed by 1970, with a Mobil gas station now at the site.
The sticks were donated by Westford resident Sandra Bergeron in 2024.
W.2024.3.11