The venerable old Colonial town of Trenton was changed forever on that fateful April of 1968. Gone were honest, respected businesses that had survived in the downtown Trenton for decades. Convery's Dunham's Elsie Gallivan, and many other anchor stores fled the city to the more civilized suburbs as their stores were looted, burned and destroyed. Innocent business owners' buildings were decimated, valuables looted and Trenton was left in chaos. The carnage was ll done as vengeance for an unspeakable incident with which those downtown merchants had nothing to do with. The scars remain after these 44 years as Trenton has morphed into an impersonal city whose anchor stores have been replaced with glass encrusted state office buildings.
Tom, those were sad times. I was back in Trenton then with the military. When I left in 1969 to go to grad school, the guy that bought my house in Yardville, on Gropp's Lake, was leaving Trenton, saying it was too dangerous in his neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteI too have a heavy heart when reminded of these times. A wonderful home town deteriorated into an armed camp, unsafe, derelict empty buildings, blight. Worst of all, it became a National joke and embarrassing disgrace. Trenton was no more and will never likely to regain its splendor and grace she once had. May she rest in peace. We always have our memories and this marvelous web site.
ReplyDeleteEven the last of DeLorenzo's Tomato Pies is leaving the city and heading for Hamilton.
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