JAY SCHERBIK REMEMBERS

I received this interesting email from Jay Scherbik, recalling his years of growing up in the area. Thanks for the interesting retrospectives, Jay.

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JAY WROTE:

Hi Tom,

Thanks for posting the Hamilton Scrapbook blog!

I was looking at gun clubs online (I am a trap shooter), and I thought it would be interesting to see if the Italian American Sportsman Club was still there on Kuser Road.

I am 48 and live in Middletown DE, but I was born at St Francis Hospital and grew up in Sunset Manor, Hamilton Twp. Many nights were spent leaning against the firehouse wall, listening to the bigband dance music (Benny ?) at Nottingham Fire Company!

In the late 70's / early 80's, I was a volunteer firefighter at Nottingham, and then at Groveville when newly married and living at Eagle Rock Apartments.

I went to the Hamilton Square School, and then Reynolds Jr High. After Reynolds, I went to Hun in Princeton ('78).

My father would take me to the Italian American Sportsman Club when I was 14 or so. Back then, they not only had the restaurant, but they also had a trap range where I could shoot with the old Italian guys! My father was Slovak, but my mother is Italian.

I remember that statue at the entrance of the IASC. As I recall, it was at the split in the road leading into and out of the property. There was as tone gate and iron fencing around the front of the IASC. That statue caught my eye because of the deer draped over the hunter's shoulders. Later in life, at 6'2" and 230lbs, I tried draping a deer over my shoulders to carry it out of the woods. I found it was a lot easier just to rope it around the antlers and drag it out!

I saw your 1910 photo of Beatty Street. My grandparents had a bar at Beatty and Deklyn. It was Mike's Bar, and the neighborhood was staunchly Eastern European. At any given time, you would hear Russian, Slovak, Hungarian or Ukrainian being spoken. My father would work the bar on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. My grandparents gave him a small hourly wage, but he could keep anything he made from the grill! The shrimp nights were a big deal for Dad in the 1960's. The whole bar would smell of boiled shrimp during the day.

I also remember many Thanksgiving Dinners laid out on the shuffleboard or pool table! My grandparents lived in the quarters over the bar itself. If I visited my grandmother on a weekend, we would be sure to go to Atlantic Mills and buy a Matchbox car. I had one of the finest Matchbox Car collections going!

I distinctly remember being able to carry my shotgun through the streets (Century Way, Miry Brook Road, Sun Valley Road) on my way back to the farmers' fields behind the development. Today, if you see a 14 year old kid with a shotgun, you call the police!

Sorry to go on and on about my experiences growing up, but your blog really touched a sentimental nerve this morning.

Thanks Tom, and STAY WARM TODAY!

Jay Scherbik