What makes the communities south of Boston so special? To the people who live there, it is the restaurants, parks, streets, and historic places. Take a look at some of the favorite destinations from notable residents and then try them out for yourself. You could end up running along a favored route in D.W. Fields Park in Brockton or eating Mickey Mouse pancakes at a diner in Stoughton.
SCITUATE
Mark Goddard, actor
Even when Goddard was portraying Major Don West in the TV show “Lost in Space” in the 1960s, he would return from California and make a stop at the Mill Wharf Restaurant near Scituate Harbor.
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“It has fantastic food and beautiful view of the harbor,” he said. “Some of the best seafood ever. I’m actually going there for Father’s Day this weekend. I always choose this restaurant for special occasions.”
BROCKTON
Michael Curry,president of the NAACP’s Boston chapter
Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of One Fund Boston
In his spare time, Curry likes to visit D.W. Fields Park to run and get some fresh air.
“There are so many great jogging paths, ducks, and folks everywhere enjoying the sunshine,” said Curry, a resident of Brockton since 2006.
Feinberg said that when he was growing up in Brockton in the 1950s and ’60s, he enjoyed “escaping the heat of the pavement in the city and urban hubbub and going no more than a mile or two into the park to escape it all. . . . We would frequently take bike trips and meander throughout the park. It hasn’t changed since then.”
Curry recently took his 6-year-old, Malcolm, and 11-year-old, Michael Jr., to the park to ride their new bikes as he jogged beside them.
“I enjoy the family time we share together,’’ Curry said. “We stopped and a gentleman gave us some bread to feed the ducks.”
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HANSON
Kristie Mewis, soccer player
The first childhood memory that pops into Mewis’s head is the Friday night pizza dinners with her family.
“It was the one big night that we would splurge and go to Damien’s Pub for pizza,” said Mewis, who plays for the Boston Breakers and the US women’s national soccer team. “It’s a family-run place, and the people that work there are so nice.”
“I would always get the buffalo chicken pizza while growing up,” she said. “That place is still my favorite.”
NORWELL
Susan Tedeschi, singer
Raised in Norwell, the Grammy-nominated blues and soul singer often performed at the North River Theatre and Community Club.
“I grew up doing theater with my mom and so naturally I would go to the North River Theatre,” she said. “We did things like a dinner theater, and I was in a few shows like ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ .”
Tedeschi is now on the road touring with the Tedeschi Trucks Band, but said she misses the quaint, intimate setting that helped her grow as a performer. “I really would like to go back and visit someday,” she said. “My mom is still involved there and I would like to see how it is now.”
MATTAPOISETT
State Representative William Straus
Straus does not like to play favorites when it comes to the towns in his 10th Bristol District, but Mattapoisett does have a special place in his heart.
“Shipyard Park has just a beautiful string of 19th-century houses facing the harbor, and it’s just a classic view that rivals anything,” said Straus, who has lived in Mattapoisett for 32 years. “There’s just something special about Mattapoisett, which caused my wife and I to fall in love with it.”
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Straus said he also enjoys historic buildings like The Inn at Shipyard Park. “I still always think of it as the Mattapoisett Inn, but it pretty much has stayed the same since I’ve been here,” he said. “The interior hasn’t changed and it’s a great gathering place for people to meet.”
WEYMOUTH
Mayor Susan Kay
Kay jokes that she does not have a lot of free time since being elected mayor in 2008, but that does not stop her from taking in the spectacular views the town has to offer.
“Great Esker Park, which is just a marvelous place, is right on the water and there’s a lot of fishing there,” she said. “Great Hill Park has a beautiful hilltop view, and there’s another overlook at the Emery Estate that is gorgeous.”
FOXBOROUGH
Matt Light, former New England Patriot
The Patriots’ former left tackle said that he and his wife, Susie, are “all about the hidden gems,” and that he loves going out and trying new restaurants in towns around Foxborough.
“The Eagle Brook Saloon in Norfolk is a great place to go if you want to get nostalgic with the Western theme,” he said. “They have good microbrews and phenomenal pizza. We always go there with the kids.”
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EASTON
The Rev. John Denning, president of Stonehill College
Since becoming Stonehill’s president last July, Denning has taken time to get to know Easton. Sometimes, the most obvious places are the ones worth discovering.
“I remember walking in one day to the Unity Church of North Easton and coming upon an organ recital they were having,” he said. “I looked around and saw the gorgeous stained-glass windows. The woodwork on the screen behind the sanctuaries is really beautiful.”
Now when he shows the town to someone, Denning said he makes it a point to stop by and show them the sanctuary.
STOUGHTON
Former US Senator William “Mo” Cowan
Cowan said his children’s happiness means everything to him, and if that means taking them out to breakfast once or twice a month, so be it, especially if it’s at Zachary’s Diner.
“It’s one of my favorite places in town, mostly because it’s one of my kids’ favorite places,” he said.
Kyle Plantz can be reached at kyle.plantz@globe.
com. Follow him on Twitter at @kylejplantz.