Tears Came to Fritz and Edna Kuser's Eyes

When I got the devastating news that the Kusers were no longer able to manage the wonderful place where I spent my youth, I immediately took to the yellow lined pad and pencil and began writing a little booklet of memories that I held for the place I hold so dear. I called it "Kuser Farm: A Joy Forever" after the Keats quotation, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Its loveliness increases. It will never pass into nothingness." My little booklet touched Fritz and Edna very emotionally. I cried too as I was writing it.

1920's AND 30's: THE HOWE FAMILY OF PENNINGTON

At the ripe old age of 78 going on 79 and on the very threshold of becoming an octogenarian, I find that after all these many years, I have a special place in my heart for the neighborhood in which I grew up, which just happens to be at 131 Hartley Avenue, across the street from the Kuser Farm. The Glover involvement with the Kusers dates back to 1939 when brother Bill "Buddy" as he was called by Fritz and Edna Kuser, began working for them. Bud became Fritz's right hand man operating those 35 millimeter projectors when they were showing movies in the upscale hotels in the Jackson, New Hampshire area, when they spent each summer. When Bud went into the Navy in 1945, I replaced my brother and asked if my best buddy Don Slabicki could also work with us. Fritz and Edna agreed, and as it turned out, "Tommy" Glover didn't have the same 35 millimeter movie projector operators skills as brother Bud. However, Donald did, and was a reliable replacement for my brother. I could go on forever, but space is at a minimum, and I don't want to bore my visitors with the hundreds of stories I could and have told over the years in my columns about my wonderful Kuser Farm. I met each and everyone of the wonderful folks on this page during my years working odd jobs for Fritz and Edna Kuser back in the 1940's and early 1950's. These graphics are stored for posterity in my "KUSER FAMILY" folder in the Hamilton Township Public Library's Local History Collection. Both of these families will go down in history as being a significant role in the history of Pennington, Trenton, and Hamilton township during the late 19th and into the 20th century. For years I have been accumulating any and all graphics and news articles on these two families who made their mark as the Howe family of Pennington and the Kuser family of Trenton and Hamilton.

A NOTE FROM TOM: REMEMBER TO RIGHT CLICK ON THE GRAPHICS, CLICK ON "OPEN LINK IN A NEW WINDOW"AND ENLARGE IT WITH THE + FEATURE.

1921 and 1926: HAMILTON TOWNSHIP'S WOODLAWN PARK

Welcome to Hamilton History 101! Back during colonial times, the Anderson Farm occupied much of the land from South Logan Avenue on the Hamilton side, all the way out to the area of today's Greenwood Cemetery. In these graphics we are going to deal with a long forgotten "roaring 20's" amusement park that was all the rage for a decade and a half in Hamilton township. Woodlawn Park was began operations on Memorial Day, 1921. Each year, thousands of area residents attended the very popular amusement park. There was a huge amphitheater where music was provided by some of the most popular bands of the era, including the Ozzie Nelson orchestra with vocalist Harriet Hilliard. It is said but not verified that Red Skelton got his start at Woodlawn Park. The graphic below shows a few of the participants in the very popular "marathon" dances that were a regular feature of the park. Many of those dancers danced for hours on end in order to win the longevity prize.....indeed, it is said that quite a few danced and slept at the same time! Woodlawn Park, like Camp Olden here in Hamilton, has proven to be a very elusive subject insofar as actual memorabilia and ephemera. My source material is basically from our huge Trenton newspaper collection.

WTTM: GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Tom and Billie Durand, Wes Hopkins, and I really forget many of the other personalities who staffed this old Trenton radio station. My friend, the late Mike Fondi gave me this photo many years ago. He dated it for me. I will leave it to more radio experts to determine whether the 1948 era date is accurate. Were you to look inside of those "boat anchors" as we in the amateur radio community refer to old pre transistor equipment, you would see huge vacuum tubes, heavy transformers, and other vestiges of radio technology of yesteryear.

Michael said...

Tom:

I remember listening to Ernie Kovacs who had the "night owl" show which was the grave yard shift in radio. One night He said enough of this noise, and walked out leaving a dead mike as he sat at the counter of the Towne Restaurant next door having coffee. The engineers across the river in Bucks County were going ballistic. There were located on West State St, between The Hildebrect and Stacy Trent Hotels.

Regards

Mike Kuzma

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

(HEY MIKE, A NOTE FROM TOM GLOVER:

WTTM'S "NIGHT OWL" NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH 1946 ERA WBUD 1490 MORRISVILLE, "BOB KENT NIGHT OWL SHOW.")

Ralph Lucarella said...

HI TOM....I RECALL WTTM BEING ON EAST STATE ST. AND REMEMBER THE DURANDS AND WES HOPKINS. ERNIE KOVACS WAS INVOLVED IN SO MANY PROJECTS IT'S HARD TO PLACE HIM IN RADIO. I RECALL HIM WORKING IN THE DRUG STORE AND OF COURSE MY SISTER LAW BABY SITTING HIM ON GENESEE STREET MANY MOONS AGO. REGARDS.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

1981: EWING TOWNSHIP IN THE EARLY 1950'S

THIS IS A RE-RUN OF AN EARLIER POST THAT BEARS REPEATING. EWING, LIKE HAMILTON HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY OVER THE PAST 50 YEARS. ONLY A FEW OF US REMEMBER "UNION OP," WHICH WAS LOCATED ON NORTH OLDEN AVENUE IN EWING'S CAPITAL PLAZA. IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE "BIG BOX" STORES ALONG WITH "TWO GUYS," AKA "TWO GUYS FROM HARRISON." AND DON'T FORGET THE ORIGINAL PARKSIDE DINER LOCATED IN THE SAME LOCATION AS THE BEAUTIFUL NEW PARKSIDE DINER. THE ORIGINAL PARKSIDE WAS YOUR TYPICAL SHINY ALUMINUM DINER.

These two names were very familiar to me back in the 1950's when I made my daily commute to 1812 North Olden Avenue in Ewing to what would ultimately be a dead end job at the old Trenton Bearings Company where I worked for over 40 years and didn't even get a thank you Timex watch. I remember patrolman Bellando of the Ewing police force, and after more then 60 years memories of Ewing will be with me always. Speaking of Ewing, do you remember Bill Blackwell's? The Pioneer? Jack and Bob's? The Glendale? Frank Ayre's Esso Station? Cook's Luncheonette on Parkway Avenue? Trenton Axle, Wheel and Brake? Lee's Pharmacy? Vernam's Dairy? Ryan's Dairy, The Ewing Drive In? Marty's Frozen Custard Stand? Moffatt Bearing Co.? Lanning School? Fisk School? Union Op? Breihler's? Biter's Transfer? The first MacDonald's in the area, on North Olden Avenue with burgers for 15 cents each? Mrs. G's? Electrolux? The Garden Supply Co. on Pennington Road, Wow! I'm impressed at how many I remember. Any other Ewing persons, places, and things, are very welcome for inclusion in this post.

TOM:

Congrats on your well-deserved commendation from Hamilton Township!
I have to ask: I remember the name "Union Op," but have no recollection of what it was? Can you fill us in?
Many thanks.

Here's another memory relating to that particular part of the world: remember the House of Hi-Fi?

Love your blog.

Bill Smith

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Mack said...

I worked at Wendy's on North Olden.remember Seafood Shanty and Korvettes. My Dad had an office on Parkway near the High School (Appraisal
Exchange)..Lenny's Gas Station near that as was a Chinese Restaurant and the Pizza place across the street. Cousins lived on Heath Street I remember that hill and Deli Delite. I remember the bug spraying truck coming by in summer. As a kid from the Burg I never saw a bug truck before. I also remember the Halo Farms. I remember Dales on the circle too:)

From Noel Goeke
Tom,

Just a few memories of Ewing I'd like to share.We bought our first living room set from Korvettes, 1 sofa, 2 chairs, 2 end tables and 2 lamps for $199. Breihlers had the best ice cream sundaes on earth and Lee's Pharmacy also had a lunch counter where we ate many suppers. I could go on about places in Ewing that we went to.

Noel

Anonymous said...

Sally, there was a small Tomato Pie place called Whitey's wedged into that slice of land on Olden just past Arctic Parkway and the pie was exceptional. In the early 60's across from Korvette's was the Blue Moon Diner and they built a hot dog eatery like McDonalds next to it called Franksville, that became Special Pizza City which is still there. Whitey had the best pie in that corner of Ewing

Ed Millerick

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

TO ALL MY EWING "COMMENTORS:" ("COMMENTERS?")

AND PEOPLE ALWAYS COMMENT ON MY MEMORY! YOU TOO, MY FRIENDS!

TOM GLOVER

1912: Pennington New Jersey Begins to Grow

THIS IS A "RE-RUN" OF A 2009 PENNINGTON GRAPHIC. I AM POSTING IT AGAIN SO THAT VISITORS TO THIS SITE CAN NARROW DOWN THEIR SPECIFIC SEARCHES ON A SPECIFIC SUBJECT. HERE'S HOW: WHEN YOU LOG ON TO MY BLOG, YOU WILL SEE A WHITE SPACE UNDER THE HOME PAGE GRAPHIC WITH THE WORD "SEARCH." IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR "PENNINGTON" AS IN THIS CASE, TYPE IN PENNINGTON (UPPER OR LOWER CASE, NO QUOTATION MARKS.) CLICK ON SEARCH. WAIT A FEW MILI-SECONDS AND WHILE STILL ON THE PAGE, ARROW DOWN TO THE FILES FOUND. REMEMBER TO RIGHT CLICK ON THE GRAPHIC AND CHOOSE "OPEN LINK IN A NEW WINDOW" WHERE YOU CAN SAVE IT TO YOUR COMPUTER. PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO CREDIT THE TRENTON TIMES, GAZETTE, OR TRUE AMERICAN, AND ALSO THE HAMILTON TOWNSHIP PUBLIC LIBRARY LOCAL HISTORY COLLECTION. HAPPY HUNTING AND ENJOY!

From my "HOPEWELL-PENNINGTON" folder, this interesting article detailing the real estate development of the town of Pennington. Did you know that Mayor William Howe purchased and planted trees from Pennington to Ewing, all along today's Pennington Road? He did!

1909 AND 1940: PENNINGTON TOWN NEWS

As I have stated in previous posts, Pennington has always been one of those towns in which I would have been very happy had fate placed me in that bucolic little village. On my numerous trips to the Howe home during my years with the Kusers, I found the nursery to be a place where I would really like to work. As one of the more prominent Penningtonians, Mayor William Howe is mentioned in these community news articles, there are many others where his presence was noted. He was a very important part of Pennington history. I consider his legacy on a plane with Mr. Kunkle. I do note Mr. and Mrs. Yates Corey in a news snippet. Martha and Yates were frequent visitors to Kuser Farm and the Kuser Sunday night movies.

1927: MARTIN DEVLIN; JACK AND MASTER OF ALL TRADES

"LOCAL HISTORY WITH A PERSONAL TOUCH" is not just a catchy slogan for this blog, it is a real attempt to bring little known historical material relating to persons, places, and things in our local Mercer County area. On a personal note, my love and respect for the Kuser family is reflected in the countless columns I have written over the past 30 years, dealing with the Kuser family. The family has a rich historical heritage. The graphic shows one of Trenton's foremost locally prominent gentlemen whose family left an indelible footprint in Trenton area history. I associate the Devlin name with Marty Devlin, who along with Eddie Moylan was an ace tennis player on the local tennis scene. The Devlin family is linked to the Kuser family, the Corey family and many other family names which I recall during my younger years at Fritz and Edna's Kuser Farm.

Ralph Lucarella said...HI TOM...MARTY DEVLIN AND MY BROTHER "CHUCK" LUCARELLA WERE CLOSE FRIENDS AND TEAM MATES ON THE SCHROTHS AND TRENTON HIGH TEAMS IN THE LATE 40'S. MARTY TOOK UP TENNIS LATTER ON AND BECAME QUITE GOOD AT IT. CHUCK WENT ON TO BECOME A HEART DOCTOR BUT ONLY LIVED A SHORT LIFE TO SHOW FOR HIS EFFORTS. MAY GOD BLESS THEM BOTH AND THEY'LL ALWAYS BE IN OUR THOUGHTS. BEST REGARDS.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

1897: PRIDE IN THE TRENTON POLICE DEPARTMENT

While searching for material for a future post on Trenton Patrolman John Zenker, I came across this interesting article that is an eye opener in this year of 2010 as our local men in blue are victims of budget cuts resulting in many layoffs. With all the bad guys roaming the streets, we all pray that some sanity will come back to the powers that be and money be found to fund a department that should NEVER be defunded.

1893: THE NEW AND IMPROVED "P-2" TRENTON POLICE STATION

That old building served the citizens of Chambersburg very well during its heyday. The building is still on South Broad Street near Cass Street. It was the headquarters of some of Trenton's Finest over all those years until the early 1960's (?) when the building was evacuated by the Trenton P.D.

1940 AND 1981: GILBERT & MOTT-END OF AN ERA

Back when quality was a "given" in the auto industry, the venerable Chevy along with the Ford was king of the road. The two gentlemen in the graphic on the left made an indelible mark in the annals of Trenton automobilia. The firm was taken over and run for a very short time as Cahill Chevrolet.

Anonymous said...

I remember sitting with the salesman when my parents ordered a 1965 Corvair in Desert Sand, it was a Monza with bucket seats. Back when when you could order only what you wanted or could afford and it did not add nearly as much expense to the car as the packages they sell today. Each item was carefully selected the box checked on the order form and the jump from a 3 speed transmission to a 4 speed was only perhaps $25. A push button radio was a real convenience but the practicality of the upgrade to FM was questionable since the popular shows were all on WBUD or "TTM". Do you remember the anticipation waiting for your car to be built exactly as you ordered it and you were finally walking up that slight incline into the Princeton Avenue lot where it was awaiting delivery? Or how about in October watching the truck pull into the lots with tarps to conceal the new offerings? We would sneak around the back of Cathcart Pontiac, Capitol Plymouth, Colonial Cadillac and of course Gilbert & Mott in hopes of getting a sneak preview; feeling like VIP's when one salesman took us to the doors of the service building to look into the shadows that concealed the new 1967 Impala SS.

Ed Millerick

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

2011: THOSE RADIO DAYS OF MY YOUTH

We are entering into the time of year when my still remarkably

efficient memory brings back vivid mental vignettes of growing up during the 40's and 50's. As I probe my memory, I recall steamy kitchen windows on a crisp fall afternoon as Mom Glover tends to a pot of chicken soup with a delightful aroma steaming temptingly though the kitchen. Next to that steaming delight is a skillet with 6 slices of Case's Pork Roll ready to be sandwiched in a Bond Bread hamburger roll. Out in the "dining room" (where we seldom dined) young Tommy Glover has just finished his homework and takes his "secret place" under the spindly legs of the Glover family's console radio, getting ready to listen to another nightly episode of the daring exploits of his radio hero, "Hop Harrigan, America's Ace of the Airways." Memories are indeed made of this!

*************

Tom, these Hop Flying Club wings are available on e-bay for $29.95, 1940 vintage in brass. Quite handsome. The coffee table with a blanket became my shelter where Sgt. Preston and I weathered the blizzard. Then it was out under the forsythia where the lawn bench was flipped and a wide plank was drawn across it. Sky King and I would then search the mesa in the Cessna Bamboo Bomber, the trusty Songbird for Penny and the rustlers. The steam, the smell of the woolen mitts drying over the heat "grate" and sometimes just the right "cast of light" will bring the memories back.

Ed Millerick

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

MY CLASSMATE LEE BELARDINO WROTE:

Tommy:

Hop Harrigan to control tower"Coming in for a landing,"Control tower to Hop Harrigan" "All clear". One of the reasons I joined the Air force.Hop and Steve Canyon. Followed by CAPAAAATAIN MIDNIGHT.ALL AMERICAN. I lost my ring. Followed at night by Suspens, Inner sanctum, Murder at midnight. Who needed T.V.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

AHH, KINDRED SPIRITS! Those old radio programs played a major part in our character development. STEVE CANYON! I FORGOT ALL ABOUT HIM. HE WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE MILTON CANIFF COMIC CHARACTERS.

TOM

1889: DEUTZVILLE: A FORGOTTEN TOWN?

I always considered Deutzville to be similar to my Bromley neighborhood; both border Trenton, and are far removed from the more affluent Hamilton areas of Hamilton Square, Yardville and other areas with their well maintained streets, litter free sidewalks and generally more "suburban" in character. Deutzville has a very interesting history. I'm sure a search of this blog will turn up information on the Deutz jewelry manfuacturing company and other interesting looks at the area that once was a part of the "Lalor Tract."

1951: VERY EARLY TELEVISION

I was one of the early fans of television back when there was very limited programming. In 1946 or perhaps 1947, "Mac" McEwan from the "corner store" about which I have written numerous columns, set up a television room in the back of his store and opened it to us kids. It was a perfect combination: We would sit and watch what was the first or nearly first TV set in the area, and Mac sold a lot of Kern's soda, Coke, Pepsi, potato chips, etc. I remember watching "Frontier Playhouse" on channel 3, WPTZ. Every afternoon at 5 we would watch Ken or Kermit Maynard, Bob Steel, the "Three Mesquiteers" and other class "B" westerns followed by "Burn 'em up Barnes, a 12 chapter serial. It was here that we watched the news casts of John Cameron Swayze or Douglas Edwards. The scan above shows a very early "TV DIGEST." In the very early years of commercial television, the programming started around 2 in the afternoon, and shut down around 10 or 11 PM, the rest of the hours we watched what was known as a "test pattern" which was transmitted for station identification, and so that television installers and service people could adjust sets and antennas. Our very first television set was an ADMIRAL with a 10 inch screen. Try as we might, we could only get channels 3, 6 and 10, while Art Sneath our next door neighbor got the same channels plus New York channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 11, and a less clear WATV channel 13. We called Bond's Electric on Hamilton Avenue where we purchased the set, and they called Pierce Phelps in Philadelphia to rectify the problem. Bottom line: Art Sneath's Philco was a more sensitive set, costing about 100 dollars more.

Ralph Lucarella said...

HI TOM....THOSE EARLY TV SHOWS FROM PHILLY AND THE TEST PATTERNS WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR 7 INCH TV SET IN 1946. I REMEMBER ED McMAHAN SELLING KITCHEN APPLIANCES IN FRONT OF THE 5 AND 10 CENT STORE ON THE BOARDWALK IN ATLANTIC CITY. ERNIE KOVACS HAD A COOKING SHOW AND THE OTHER BIG ATTRACTION WERE THE FIGHTS. I RECALL THE MAGNIFIERS THEY SOLD TO ENLARGEN THE SCREEN. YOU COULD NOT WATCH AT AN ANGLE WITH THEM. IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE HOW FAR TV HAS COME THRU THE YEARS. REGARDS.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Michael said...

Hey Ralph:

You forgot the everpresent multi color plastic sheet you put over the TV screen; gave you instant color tv.

We got our first 11 inch tv in 1946
when dad had his first stroke, and lost his legs. When the championship fights came on we had standing room only not only in the house but looking through the door,and front window.

Ike Williams in laws were neighbors, and had easy access to our living room each time Ike fought.
I luagh today at the 52" behemoths they are selling as home tvs today.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Jersey friends and family

Mike Kuzma

Monday, November 21, 2011

Tom Glover said...

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS AND ALSO FRIDAY NIGHT MIDGET CAR RACING FROM FREEPORT RACEWAY IN LONG ISLAND NEW YORK ON WPIX CHANNEL 11.I REMEMBER GILLETTE "BLUE BLADES" AS THE SPONSOR. REMEMBER THIS JINGLE: "TO LOOK SHARP EVERY TIME YOU SHAVE,
TO BE SHARP AND BE ON THE GO,
JUST BE SHARP, USE GILLETTE BLUE BLADES FOR THE QUICKEST SLICKEST SHAVE OF ALL." WOW, WHAT MEMORIES.

TOM GLOVER

Monday, November 21, 2011

2011: MY AMATEUR RADIO - BROADCAST RADIO BLOG

I have opted to import my www.gloveradio.com blog into this blog and make it an important part of local history. Few people realize that in this age of unbridled terrorism, weather-related, and other disasters, amateur radio, from its earliest years and up to the present day, has played and will always play a vital part in emergency communications when cell phones are disabled and other modes of communication are wiped out. The one ace in the hole that many but not all amateur radio operators have is their ability to send and receive morse code; an invaluable radio resource when all conventional communication systems fail.

I have also included another of my favorite subjects, broadcast radio, which played such an important part in our lives during the World War II era. Over the years I have accumulated a huge collection of old time radio programs in MP3 format. With the old amplitude modulated ("AM") radio descending into mostly sports and political "talk radio," old radio dramas have vanished from the American broadcast scene. Enter CD's and MP3 players: Now, those of us who are interested in broadcast radio from the 20's through the 50's, can own a library of classic radio broadcasts. My collection is centered around WWII newscasts (Edward R. Murrow, Frank Singizer, Gabriel Heatter, Etc.) and my boyhood radio heroes Superman, Captain Midnight, Terry and the Pirates, Hop Harrigan, and countless other 15 minute serials.
As to amateur radio on the local level, the cell phone has largely replaced the great on the air conversations we had back in the pre-cell phone years with our "2 meter " transcievers. The W2ZQ Delaware Valley Radio Association's radio repeater was alive with local amateurs from dawn to midnight with lively conversation. It is currently a mere shadow of its glory years before cell phones. However, amateurs have other reserved radio frequencies in the radio spectrum. These "high band" frequencies give amateur operators the ability to communicate all over the world with their larger and more sophisticated radio transceivers. (a transceiver is a truncated radio term: TRANsmits, and reCEIVEs) When I finally retire for good and have more leisure time for this fascinating venture, I hope to put a vertical antenna in my back yard and talk to the world with my transceiver which was a much appreciated gift from an old ham radio buddy of mine, Paul W2AEI.

REMEMBER TO RIGHT CLICK ON THE IMAGE AND CLICK ON
"OPEN LINK IN A NEW WINDOW" TO ENLARGE THE GRAPHIC.

1888: WHEN CHAMBERSBURG WAS "OUT IN THE BOONDOCKS"

It is nearly impossible to visualize the crowded area we know of as Chambersburg being open fields, apple orchards, corn fields, and as the article suggests, goats, chickens and geese wandered around the rural area.

1919: HONORING LOCAL WW I ITALIAN AMERICAN CITIZENS

We had our patriots in all the wars in which the U.S. was involved. These local gentlemen were honored for their service to our country in a special ceremony at Rev. Vito Cordo's St. John's Italian Baptist Church in Chambersburg.

This graphic has been modified to fit within the area of the average monitor. The original was much longer that it was wide, and required much cutting, copying, and pasting.

2011: HAMILTON HIGH CLASS OF 1951; OUR 60TH REUNION!

ABOVE IS THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE 60TH REUNION OF THE HAMILTON HIGH SCHOOL'S CLASS OF 1951.SENSIBLY, IT WILL BE A LUNCHEON AT BEAUTIFUL MERCER OAKS OVER ON VILLAGE ROAD WEST IN PRINCETON JUNCTION.
SPEAKING OF HIGH SCHOOL REUNIONS, THE POEM BELOW IS A CLASSIC AND UNCANNILY TRUE REPRESENTATION OF REUNIONS FROM THE FIRST 5 WHEN WE ARE ALL YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL TO THE LAST WHEN WE ARE SADLY CLOSING IN ON ETERNITY. AS A MEMBER OF THE CLASS OF 1951 AT HAMILTON, "THE CLASS WITH CLASS," I PROUDLY AFFIRM THAT I AM A CARD-CARRYING MEMBER OF THE RESIDENTS OF WHAT I LOVINGLY REFER TO AS "WRINKLE CITY." WE EARNED EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE WRINKLES! I GOTTA GO NOW ....Uhhhh. I FORGET WHY......WAIT, IT WILL COME TO ME.....Hmmmm.....MUST BE THAT DAMN SENILITY THING I HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT OVER THE YEARS.

This poem is a classic! It should be read aloud at every high school reunion:

Every ten years as summertime nears,
An announcement arrives in the mail,
A reunion is planned; it'll be really grand;
Make plans to attend without fail.

I'll never forget the first time we met;
We tried so hard to impress.
We drove fancy cars, smoked big cigars,
And wore our most elegant dress.

It was quite an affair; the whole class was there.
It was held at a fancy hotel.
We wined, and we dined, and we acted refined,
And everyone thought it was swell.

The men all conversed about who had been first
To achieve great fortune and fame.
Meanwhile, their spouses described their fine houses
And how beautiful their children became.

The homecoming queen, who once had been lean,
Now weighed in at one-ninety-six.
The jocks who were there had all lost their hair,
And the cheerleaders could no longer do kicks.

No one had heard about the class nerd
Who'd guided a spacecraft to the moon;
Or poor little Jane, who's always been plain;
She married a shipping tycoon.

The boy we'd decreed 'most apt to succeed'
Was serving ten years in the pen,
While the one voted 'least' now was a priest;
Just shows you can be wrong now and then.

They awarded a prize to one of the guys
Who seemed to have aged the least.
Another was given to the grad who had driven
The farthest to attend the feast.

They took a class picture, a curious mixture
Of beehives, crew cuts and wide ties.
Tall, short, or skinny, the style was the mini;
You never saw so many thighs..

At our next get-together, no one cared whether
They impressed their classmates or not.
The mood was informal, a whole lot more normal;
By this time we'd all gone to pot.

It was held out-of-doors, at the lake shores;
We ate hamburgers, coleslaw, and beans..
Then most of us lay around in the shade,
In our comfortable T-shirts and jeans.

By the fiftieth year, it was abundantly clear,
We were definitely over the hill.
Those who weren't dead had to crawl out of bed,
And be home in time for their pill.

And now I can't wait; they've set the date;
Our 55th is coming, I'm told.
It should be a ball, they've rented a hall
At the Shady Rest Home for the old.

Repairs have been made on my hearing aid;
My pacemaker's been turned up on high.
My wheelchair is oiled, and my teeth have been boiled;
And I've bought a new wig and glass eye.

I'm feeling quite hearty, and I'm ready to party
I'm gonna dance 'til dawn's early light.
It'll be lots of fun; But I just hope that there's one
Other person who can make it that night.

Author Unknown

************

FROM ED MILLERICK:

Well Tom, the first comment about "closing on eternity", brought a bit of a tear since I am not that far behind. But, the tear was quickly replaced with a smile when I read that delightful poem. And the author was?

Ed Millerick

Saturday, November 19, 2011

***********

SORRY I NEGLECTED TO LIST THE AUTHOR AS ANONYMOUS, ED. HE OR SHE SURE IS A SPECIAL TALENTED POET.

TOM GLOVER

Lee said...

Tom
That poem rings true. 60 years.Lots of water under the bridge. Never made any of the reunions. either was overseas or out of state like I am now. Love to see the the old "wrinkled crowd.By the way I see that one of the commitee members is named Mueller. does she have a sister named Edith?
Just wondering.

Lee

hat