1976: HAMILTON'S BICENTENNIAL PARADE

Another local custom became a victim what that old,  tiresome malady known as "White Flight." Before my Atlantic Avenue neighborhood became the victim of that dreaded malady, the various parades held in Hamilton Township were centered around the Municipal Building at 2090 Greenwood Avenue, and the Mercerville - Hamilton Square area. But one of the other venues was to change. One by one, families living too close to the city of Trenton joined the white flight community, moving to the east and south where the malady hadn't yet evolved. As a result, the parade that once followed the route described above was moved to the more affluent Hamilton Square area where the Nottingham Volunteer Fire Company has been parading for years. The trend continues. Plans are underway to move  Trenton's annual St. Patrick's Day parade off the streets of Trenton to the more affluent suburbs; in my opinion another case of white flight trumping tradition.