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- Below and highlighted in green is a comment left on this website by loyal visitor Ralph Lucarella along with my response. It has been a very hot and steamy summer of 2013 up to this point in mid July. Visitors to this website have naturally fallen off from the normal 350 plus visitors per day to 220 and sometimes less. Couple that with the fact that many visitors are only interested in pictures and not what I call "hard core history," any you have an explanation as to why there are few or no comments on recent posts. This website is intended to be a scholarly endeavor as well as nostalgia, and will stay with that concept with my view to bringing future generations articles, photos and stories that give a comprehensive look at the splendid historical heritage of Trenton, Hamilton Ewing, Pennington and ideed, all of Mercer County.
- RALPH LUCARELLA said...
- HI TOM....WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE COMMENTS? I LOOKED FORWARD TO
LEARN HOW ALL THESE OLD TRENTONIONS FEEL ABOUT THE CITY THEY SPENT A
GREAT DEALOF THEIR LIFE IN. HAVING WORKED AS A LETTER CARRIER FOR 14
YEARS AND PLAYING WITH THE SCHROTHS IN 1936 AND WITH MY BROTHER LOU
BUILDING THE HAMILTON BOWLING LANEWS ON ROUTE 33 IN 1954, I'LL ALWAYS
RECALL MANY EVENTS THAT OCCURED IN THE EARLY YEARS. YOUR EFFORTS ON THIS
SITE BRING BACK MANY FOND MEMORIES. THANK YOU AND BEST WISHES.
Tom Glover said...- HI RALPH:
There are relatively few who are interested in many of the historically significant posts that appear on this website. However IT IS A HISTORY site, and the lack of comments reflects a statement I made a few weeks ago. Many visitors are not interested in "hard core history: as I am inclined to call it. Their interest is mostly centered on the many photos like the R.C. Maxwell photos which I am posting. This site will continue to publish historical articles and photos that are being posted for future generations to read and absorb. Be assured that I am fully aware that the R.C. Maxwell posts I have been enhancing and enlarging are extremely popular with many visitors. However, there is other historically pertinent material that will always be a hallmark of this site. For those who choose "hard core nostalgia' I suggest Facebook where they have 2 Trenton related categories, where viewers can comment on their personal experiences. As for this site, I will continue to post articles that can be read, and photos that are not limited in size.
Tom Glover
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
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Omad said...
- Good Morning Tom and Ralph. You are right, have not been posting
much lately, but am reading everything first thing most mornings.
Dealing with some health issues that are taking precedent. Been away
from the Trenton/Hamilton area a long time but feel in touch with what
you post. Ralph, I especially enjoy your comments.
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Anonymous said...
- Tom:
As verbose as I am, I am only 79 years, and 7 months old. That being the case, am not familiar with articles of the mid to late 1800's. Hence no comment from the kid from South Trenton.
This is not meant to be critical, but responsive to your question.
Sweltering in the pool, but send my best wishes.
Mike Kuzma
Tom Responds:
Thanks Mike. As I have stated countless times over the years, your comments are always welcome. I hope you didn't misinterpret my comments. They were meant to reaffirm the goals and aims of this website, to post "hard core" historical articles and photos to those who are interested in the mid to late 19th century and earlier, along with more contemporary material from my (and your) era. In no way did I intend to place less emphasis on more recent news and photos relating to South Trenton, Chambersburg, Ewing and other areas of the county. views on more recent 20th century material. Be assured that you will see many more posts from that segment. As I have stated numerous times, your insight, knowledge, and memories of your experiences in Trenton in general have added immensely to the viability of this site.
I recently posted a photo and article on a Trenton Civil War veteran whose story was told in the Trenton Times. Below is a copy of an email I received from a Kuser School Classmate of mine, "Alice," who unknown to me is directly related to the Civil War hero. Ergo, the reason I delve deeply into the past and will continue to do so. Indeed, that is what this website is all about; "hard core" history and more contemporary history and nostalgia.
Tom
"ALICE WROTE:
I have to tell you how happy you've made my children. It takes a lot to excite my 56 year old son, but his wife said that when he got the article that you published........he was so happy that he hurried up to show it to his wife and son.
My daughter, Tracy, was so happy to show her kids and to read the article that she asked me if it was okay if she posted it on her Facebook page. My mother was so dear to my kids. They all adored her, and to see her grandfather's photo and to read what he had to say about the Civil War was very overwhelming to them..........just as it is to me.
I know that you didn't know that he was my great-grandfather.........but I'm so glad that you did publish it on your website. It just goes to show that you never know how many people you touch on your blog. My family amounts to 19 people who were very much delighted to read the article.
Alice
From Mr. Bob Chianese:
I comment occasionally on your fine document- and photo-posts, but can I say they are not "history" until some one contextualizes them, places them in a narrative with a thesis to propound? Your posts are the raw materials out of which any history could be crafted--more like retrieved artifacts from a rich storehouse or vault that are fascinating in themselves but which need an overarching "story," ie. history, to tell us the meaning of it all.
I sense that there is an underlying thesis to many of the posted artifacts and comments -- the decline of Trenton from former community, social and economic glory. This is pretty general and any historian would want to sharpen it. For example, can we explain the decline of Trenton as a shift in global economic reality--away from industry to something that has yet to replace it in Trenton as an economic engine? (My dad worked at GM all his life and that topic is a big one for me.) Is the state government there no longer a source of employment for high school grads that enables them to join the middle class? Has immigrant life become a source of friction rather than ethnic pride and diversity? As an Italian-American this topic interests me, with a cousin still living in the much transformed "Burg."
Many of your posts speak to a revived though changed Trenton area, and that may reflect your own underlying historical thesis, which I would like to hear more about from you in explicit comments.
Final point-- many of your readers are probably like me, retired and 65+ and love to reflect on our childhoods in the Trenton area. That means materials from the 40's and 50's are the most relevant to our experience and then from the 10's and 20's and 30's to our parents' era. There are fine histories of those eras in our American experience that can be glosses on your posts. However, I mainly access your posts as valued reminiscences and leave the more heady and contentious issues of history for a different time and place.
An active and appreciative reader of your blog,
Bob Chianese
My reply:
I vehemently disagree with Bob is in his first paragraph wherein he opines that the posts herein are not history until the subject is expanded upon, or as Bob says, "contextualized." Personally, I would love to take the time to research and add context to each and every one of the 7,000+ pages in this site which contains HISTORIC photos and articles, but alas, at age 80, time does not permit. However, I have found that many visitors have indeed added context on certain subjects for their genealogical projects, or for use in a community presentation, or other endeavor. As a personal example, my recent on screen presentations on "White City," "The Interstate Fair," along with at least 10 other presentations which I will be doing for the Historical Society of Hamilton Township in 2014,; all use material gleaned from this site. When I started this site back in 2005, it was my goal to bring history as chronicled by the local press and bring it into the light of the 21st century. Any historian will tell you that one of the best sources of local history is to be found in the daily newspaper. I agree. I have a 100 year collection of Trenton newspapers dating from the late 1860's through the early 1940's and believe me, history abounds in almost every one of the millions of pages. Granted, a few articles on a given subject does not a complete history make, but it certainly does give the person researching a specific subject a golden opportunity to "contextualize" or expand on the raw material which is indeed "history." As to the more recent "history," I provide for that with the slogan of this website, "Local History With A Personal Touch." Bottom line: www.glover320.blogspot.com is a history site.
Tom
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QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS: tglover320@optimum.net
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Good Morning Tom and Ralph. You are right, have not been posting much lately, but am reading everything first thing most mornings. Dealing with some health issues that are taking precedent. Been away from the Trenton/Hamilton area a long time but feel in touch with what you post. Ralph, I especially enjoy your comments.
ReplyDeleteTom:
ReplyDeleteAs verbose as I am, I am only 79 years, and 7 months old. That being the case, am not familiar with articles of the mid to late 1800's. Hence no comment from the kid from South Trenton.
This is not meant to be critical, but responsive to your question.
Sweltering in the pool, but send my best wishes.
Mike Kuzma
Born in Trenton and having lived in Hamilton from 1973-1984 (attending Kuser School), I look at this site every weekday. But I have only made one or two comments.
ReplyDeleteSo please know comments are not a measure of interest. They are a way to add or disagree with the point or post.
HI TO ALL...MY COMMENT WAS NOT MEANT TO BE CRITICAL BUT SEEMED STRANGE THAT NO ONE HAD ANYTHING TO SAY. TOMS EFFORTS ON THIS SITE ARE BEYOUND GREAT AND BRING BACK MANY MEMORIES OF THE PAST THAT SHALL REMAIN SACRED. BEST REGARDS TO THE MANY FRIENDS AND PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN PART OF MY EARLY YEARS.
ReplyDeleteI check this site at least 3-4x per week. It's my GO-TO source for real history. I won't rip and repost elsewhere either...I don't like when I see that...unless its with permission! Your blog is the real deal re: history. I'll make a point of commenting more often. Your hard work and expertise are highly valued here! THANKS Tom!
ReplyDeleteDear Tom - I, too, as you know, love the articles concerning the past rich history of our township and do also enjoy the more recent local blogs. However, the old information would be lost and forgotten without your concise research and postings. Keep up just exactly what you are doing! There are those of us who enjoy both sides of this issue!
ReplyDeleteLakeside Girl
Hi Tom: I too noticed that the comments have fallen off. I read your website three or four times a day -- but very often your wonderful postings are in your neck of the woods and I am not familiar with much of what you and your loyal followers have to say. But when you post about West Trenton, downtown and the stores I am very happy indeed. I love all you write about but sometimes I cannot comment because I don't know enough to do so. Keep on doing what you do and I will continue to check and see what you have for me today. Regards
ReplyDeleteHi Tom, I only post when I have something to contribute. That doesn't mean that I think that what I have to offer is scholarly or knowledgeable, just nostalgic, from my point of view. I agree with Mike; we all postulate on our experiences during the period of time we personally experienced, growing up in and around our home town. For most of us, that period is from the the 1940s on. Except for our senior member, Ralph. Although I read your postings, I really can't comment on earlier history from my perspective. Still enjoy this site more than any other I visit. Your efforts are appreciated. Much thanks! rayfromvillapark
ReplyDeleteHi Tom,
ReplyDeleteI love your website. It's really a "blast from the past". I also grew up in the 40's, but i LOVED hearing the stories my parents told me about their lives. My dad was born in 1905, my mother in 1907. They had stories about picking coal in near the railroad tracks because money was tight. They met in the Silk Mill that was located on Grand Street in Trenton. My dad was a foreman and it was love at first sight! My mother loved dancing, there was a dance parlor on Warren Street and there were big dances at the Armory. At least on Halloween..,
they got married and spent their lives in Trenton. My dad was a street sweeper for many years, then went on to John A Roebling's. We took him lunch there on Jersey Street at the guard shack. I was amazed at some of the jobs back then. Like the ones that had to clean out the outhouses in the back yard! They were one of the first to have an electric refrigerator and an indoor bathroom. My father was an air raid warden in the 40's and I remember drills when all the lights over the city would go out. It was scary to me then. I loved the annual fair at the Fairground. You could see the bigh spotlights all over town. When we got to the actual light, it just looked like a big kettle to me.
While looking at some of the pictures you posted from the newspapers, I've found friends of my parents (before my time) and I save all of them. In fact, I have most of the old pictures that you post saved in a folder on my desktop. I print some out and show them to my daughters, they love them! I really appreciate all you do, and many times these days, the past is truly comforting. I'm fortunate to be healthy and work a full time job, so I'm busy. But memories are the best. Thank you for all you do.
Tom:
ReplyDeleteI comment occasionally on your fine document- and photo-posts, but can I say they are not "history" until some one contextualizes them, places them in a narrative with a thesis to propound? Your posts are the raw materials out of which any history could be crafted--more like retrieved artifacts from a rich storehouse or vault that are fascinating in themselves but which need an overarching "story," ie. history, to tell us the meaning of it all.
I sense that there is an underlying thesis to many of the posted artifacts and comments -- the decline of Trenton from former community, social and economic glory. This is pretty general and any historian would want to sharpen it. For example, can we explain the decline of Trenton as a shift in global economic reality--away from industry to something that has yet to replace it in Trenton as an economic engine? (My dad worked at GM all his life and that topic is a big one for me.) Is the state government there no longer a source of employment for high school grads that enables them to join the middle class? Has immigrant life become a source of friction rather than ethnic pride and diversity? As an Italian-American this topic interests me, with a cousin still living in the much transformed "Burg."
Many of your posts speak to a revived though changed Trenton area, and that may reflect your own underlying historical thesis, which I would like to hear more about from you in explicit comments.
Final point-- many of your readers are probably like me, retired and 65+ and love to reflect on our childhoods in the Trenton area. That means materials from the 40's and 50's are the most relevant to our experience and then from the 10's and 20's and 30's to our parents' era. There are fine histories of those eras in our American experience that can be glosses on your posts. However, I mainly access your posts as valued reminiscences and leave the more heady and contentious issues of history for a different time and place.
An active and appreciative reader of your blog,
Bob Chianese
Tom:
ReplyDeleteI believe the reason for the drop off is that many of the old timers are dropping off. It is like you have said many times the Old Timers that are left do not use the Computer it is a shame. It would be great if they had there Grand Children help, they can pass the infor to the kids and the kids can post for them. Info like when I was 13 Thirteen, 1943 I would stand on the corner of S Broad and Cedar Lane and watch the Army Trucks taking the German war prisons to the Stokley Van Camp Factory on Lalor St. to work in the factory. As thing happen my Wife went to Germany in 1953. While there she was asked by a German Bus Driver where she came from because he knew she was an American. He told her that he was a prisoner that worked in Stokley. He was happy to have worked and when he was sent home he had money in his pocket. Stories like this are not known And a lot more could be given if some how we can get the OLD Timers to talk.
Tom, All of what you put up here is very interesting and valuable to many of us. I like that you let us know on the other sites about certain things that might interest us. Whenever I am stumped for an answer about a certain place, many will say to check out Tom Glover's history pages. Please know that you are so appreciated. I still think you could teach a class in all of this. You are so full of knowledge. THANK YOU! God bless you!
ReplyDelete