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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

1947: "THEY DO SELL NICE THINGS AT YARDS"

This and other State and Broad photos from the Duke University-R.C. Maxwell collection of photos is close to my heart. Back in 1950, I began dating the girl of my dreams and high school classmate, Judy Britton. Judy worked in "Infants Wear" at Yards, and often as a model for the Yard's Teen shop. Each Thursday night at 8:50 or 8:55 P.M., I would find a curb spot behind that Trenton Transit bus, or in some cases 3 or four lined up at the intersection, and wait for the stores to close. My favorite Trenton Police Officer at the time, Chet Hughes, got to know my car and my mission and he knew that it would only be there there for perhaps 5 minutes. I like to think he looked the other way when he saw that blue 1940 DeSoto, because I was never told to "move on;" which was a common warning to those of us who were "cruising" on a Thursday evening in bustling downtown Trenton.

2 comments:

RALPH LUCARELLA said...

HI TOM...MUCH LATER IN YEARS, I ALSO WAS A MEMBER OF THAT THURSDAY NIGHT GROUP. MY DAUTHER, BEVERLY, WORKED AT DUNHAM'S, ALONG WITH OUR DEAR FRIEND, SOPHIE DeANGELO, WHO WORKED FOR DUNHAM'S FOR ABOUT 50 YEARS. I OFTEN WONDERED WHY THE STORES WERE OPENED ON THURSDAY NIGHTS. REGARDS.

Sally Logan Gilman said...

Yes, they did, Tom. One of my grandmother's, mother's and finally my favorite place to shop. I too do not know why the town was a shopping mecca on Thursday nights. But, it worked. I caught the bus home in front of Yard's. Regards