THE BROMLEY I HAVE GROWN TO KNOW AND LOVE AND WORRY ABOUT

 

REMEMBER:  TO ENLARGE THESE GRAPHICS,

RIGHT CLICK AND CLICK ON

"OPEN LINK IN A NEW WINDOW!"

I have been a Bromley resident for more than  55 of my 80 years. As Judy and I celebrate 59 years of marriage, I look back on our years as a residents at 212 Norman Court in Greenwood Village, and the Atlantic Avenue home we have lived in since 1963. I have seen drastic changes over these many years. Most of the changes were the unfortunate malady that has left the city of Trenton a mere shadow of its former self: "White Flight." Most of my neighbors have moved to the more affluent areas of Hamilton Square, Yardville, Mercerville, and other areas that have not yet, but soon will experience neighborhood changes. 

I have beautiful memories of this neighborhood that was once one of the most beautiful in the area, and find that the new neighbors who have moved into the area are not all "lily white," nor fluent in English,  but they are still good neighbors. Indeed, many of the newcomers keep their property better maintained than those who chose to leave. Unfortunately the only negative aspect is that there are far too many people who were never trained in the art of neighborhood cleanliness and have littered the streets unmercifully, and the "NO LITTERING" signs are never ever enforced and should be taken down. There is another age old malady we all know as an "Eye Sore;" (rickety sagging un-painted fences, etc.),  which will never be found in Briar Wood, the Sawmill area, and other more affluent neighborhoods. Additionally, a local convenience store has no idea of what a clean, and well maintained establishment is. On the other side of the cleanliness coin, the EXPRESS MARKET in the little strip market over behind the Municipal Building is a model of good housekeeping with a clean environment and an even cleaner interior. Township inspectors should come down on those establishments that are unsightly but it will never happen. It is an unfortunate fact that the closer one gets to the Trenton city line, the un-enforced litter problem is out of control; very unfortunate. 

Note from Tom: The graphics in this new endeavor of exhibiting multiple graphics and articles will continue as I add more as time goes by. I will be including Greenwood School on this page. Greenwood was established in the teens. 

LOCAL SCHOOLS IN THE 19TH CENTURY

 This is another in a series of subjects of great interest to many visitors to this website, incorporating many of the files to be found in the "SCHOOLS-MISCELLANEOUS" folder in the Hamilton Library Local History Collection. As time permits, I will be editing the posts to remove duplications, and adding commentary to each post.

Many, including I, consider Dr. Skelton the father of Trenton education

Unfortunately, there are no engravings or photos of these early South Trenton 

schools to be found. It would really be interesting to find one or two.It would appear

that the Principal resided on the top floor of the building.

 

1873: Trying to solve the problem of the lack of space for those wishing to attend school in Trenton.

Centennial School on Whittaker Avenue in Chambersburg

As can be seen by the test questions which appeared

on the Principal qualification test, one had to be well versed in 

geography and history. Arithmetic would probably be 

an impossible challenge!

The embryonic origin of today's Rider Universty,

 

Students were to be promoted based the rewarding of  "special merit." The

terms were really detailed. Things have changed drastically over the intervening years.

The above "Class Record" was given to me by Mrs. Carl Abbott, wife of Hamilton

Township retired teacher and friend of the Hamilton Library, the late Carl Abbott.

Whittaker Avenue in Trenton 

A fascinating look at Trenton school operations during the Victorian era when a single
"mechanic" oversaw the schools in the city..

Centennial School

 

  

Once located in Villa Park on Park Avenue near Hamilton Avenue

 

The original Trenton High School was located on Mercer Street in Mill Hill. When the Chestnut Avenue high school was constructed, it was converted to the McKinley School.

Fascinating look at Trenton schools during the 19th century.