Mark your calendar for Tuesday, August 26th from 1-4 PM at the Hamilton Township Public Library. Ms. Eleanor Goldy Guear and Ms. Nancy Johnes Fell are two historians whose families were pioneer settlers in Lakeside Park. These two talented ladies will be presenting an incredibly interesting program inviting residents of Lakeside Park along with those of us who have an abiding interest in this incredible neighborhood which is nestled along Gropp's Lake, or as we called it, "Lakeside." My last "Sentimental Journey" column in the Times recalled our Hamilton High choir beach party as we said our sad goodbyes and headed out on our respective careers. I am still getting comments on that column, most of them fondly recalling the wonderful years they (and I) spent on the sandy beach of spring fed Lakeside.

2014: Lucia Spera DiPolvere and husband Ed Mercer County Park

Still cutting the rug at 80! What a very refreshing and inspirational photo as Ed and Lucy perform their impressive dancing skills at still another local community venue; this one at the West Windsor Freedom Festival in Mercer County Park. Ed and Lucy are an inspiration to me, and I am sure to many of us who are in our in our eighth decade.

1889-1910: WEST STATE ST., TRENTON

Many thanks to Mr.Tom Tighue, for this photo from the TRENTONIANA collection at the Trenton Free Public Library.
Tom's Facebook comments:

• Most of the home on the right in this picture were demolished to make room for a park. The State House is to the right of the homes in this picture.

  22 hours ago · Like
• 

  Thomas Tighue "Progress through demolition"!

2014: TOM'S SUMMER VOLUNTEER SUNDAY CONCERT SERIES

Did you ever sing around the piano at home when you were young? Did you ever sing around a camp fire on a lovely summer evening when it felt good to be alive? I can't furnish the piano, nor the camp fire, but I can take you back to those years when you sang along with the songs that were made to sing along. I hope to see some of my computer using friends tomorrow afternoon at the Hamilton Library. It is important to note that the library will be closed and there will be NO RESTROOM facilities available, so
go before you go!

1936: THE DAYTON HOUSE, 1237 SOUTH BROAD STREET

This was part of an overall view of South Broad Street approaching Liberty Street. I searched in vain for additional advertisements relating to the Dayton House, but there were not dating back to the 1930's that I could find. However, as seen in the photo, it was alive and well in 1936.

1936: SOUTH BROAD APPROACHING LIBERTY STREET

The original R.C. Maxwell photo from which this graphic has been extracted and enhanced, gives a splendid, detailed view of the part of town so familiar to all. The locally famous "widow's watch" can be seen in the far right. One can almost feel like they are back in 1936 with those great old cars and the South Broad Street as it was 77 years ago.

1936: 2090 GREENWOOD AVENUE THEN AND NOW

I was 3 years old when this airplane photo of the Bromley section of Hamilton was taken with the Municipal Building as the point of interest. Notice the greenhouses and also the open fields around the building and Hollywood Drive in the upper left.Below is a 2014 Google Earth view of the 

same area as it is today.

BROMLEY 27 YEARS AGO. HOW THE TIME HAS FLOWN!

I remember the day I walked the neighborhood looking for vestiges of the Bromley of yesteryear and here we are 27 years later, and these photos taken with one of those antique 35 mm cameras once again come alive with photos of vintage Bromley structures. Few people realize this historic area of Hamilton which dates back to the colonial era when the Anderson Farm, which was once located on the city line in the area of today's North Logan Avenue, extended all the way out to the Greenwood Cemetery area. During the first decade of the 20th century, the area began to develop with the neighborhoods of Bromley Place and Bromley Manor bringing many residents to what was then rural Bromley. Further down Nottingham Way the historic Bromley Inn is slowly deteriorating and with the financial crunch we have in this year of 2014, chances are nearly nil that anyone with financial means will come along and restore that local treasure that dates back to Charles Fulkert's Bromley Inn, 1897.

1923: A CLOSEUP VIEW OF STATE AT BROAD STREET

This is a closeup view of the city of Trenton that was taken long before most of today's generation were alive. I was particularly intrigued with Mr. Sultanof's pickup truck and the view into the interior of that old car behind it. The clarity on the R.C. Maxwell photos, like most of them is superb.

2014: TOM KICKS OFF THE SUMMER 2014 SUNDAY CONCERTS

 Tomorrow afternoon I will set up my computer and speakers and start the summer Sunday music presentations, "THE MUSIC WE GREW UP WITH;" also known as "WHEN MUSIC WAS MUSIC."

We'll be listening and singing along to the great songs of the 40's, 50's, 60's and even some listenable and singable songs from the 70's. The schedule this year is for the kickoff songfest to be on the lawn at the Hamilton Library tomorrow and again next Sunday from 3 to 5 P.M., after which the program will move to gazebo at Kuser Park for the months of July and August with programs being presented from 6 to 8 P.M.. Bring a folding chair or blanket and come spend a pleasant 2 hour interlude of 
music that I hope will never die!

1989: TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO IN HAMILTON

Here's an interesting look back to the Hamilton of 1989. Twenty five years ago! Seems like only yesterday.

1923: THE DONNELLY COMFORT STATION

Back in 2011 when I posted the graphic on the left, I began to realize that a number of my Hamilton Township Public Library Local History Collection output that I post on the web are often posted without crediting the library for finding the graphics. As my www.glover320.blogspot.com web blog grew to nearly 800,000 hits, I began to use "watermarks" with identifying legends on them, usually hidden in obscure places on the photo. I have a number of these watermarks and one can be seen in the lower right of each photo. Others are hidden in a light gray area where I type "LHC" as in Local History Collection, or "TGLHC" as in "tgloverlocal history collection."

One might ask why this is important: It should be obvious to most that there is quite a bit of intricate PhotoShop procedures that are quite time consuming in order to bring a graphic to its best enhanced condition. The photo on the left in the graphic is a good example of a "before" PhotoShop tweak, and that on the right is the result of some time consuming graphic tricks. Back in 2005 when this blog was created, it never entered my mind that these graphics would be picked up by another and posted without crediting the source.

1930: LONG BEFORE RE-CYCLING!

I remember when the "garbage man" made his curb pickup followed by the "ash man." Back in the day, most homes were heated by a coal and wood burning furnace. Ours was a HUGE circular affair with oven like cast iron doors which opened to reveal the fuel oven. Ours was mainly coal, but in the deep dark days of the depression, it was over to Kuser's Woods for a few wild cherry or oak mini logs to heat the house. We had a steel grate planted firmly between the dining room and what we called our "parlor" but today they call a living room. By the way, when you are passing down Sylvan Avenue and heading toward the Hamilton Township Public Works complex, you will see a huge hill on your left as you pass by the cross streets in the Patterson Avenue area. That was the location of the Hamilton Township incinerator with its huge tall chimney that belched out all kinds of bad stuff. Inside the incinerator building was a huge garage large enough to allow the garbage man's dump truck to back in and dump his load of garbage. A chain pulled block and tackle device hooked on to a very large manhole and lifted the cast iron cover from the burning ovens below the garage. At that point, all the garbage was dumped into the flaming inferno and consumed. Don Slabicki and I often drove there when we worked for the Kusers and took their trash to the incinerator. An indelible memory for me was the day that Don's dog "Rex" died. He brought Rex to the incinerator and he was cremated in the Hamilton incinerator. How in the world do I remember all thes 70 and more year old memories?

1979: HAMILTON TOWNSHIP'S MASTER PLAN

Thirty five years ago! How the time has flown. I recall how excited we all were when Hamilton unveiled what could really be called a "wish list" for the future, and in this case many of those wished came true. We have come a long way since my 80 years as a Hamilton resident. From the Glover small neighborhood garden with chickens and geese and flower and vegetable gardens, from huge sprawling farms surrounded by the villages of Mercerville, Hamilton Square, White Horse, Yardville, Groveville, Deutzville, and Bromley, there have been incredible changes as Hamilton turned from a rural farming community to the megalopolis it is and is evolving every year. How I wish I could be here in another 50 years, but alas, life is too short.

1946: BELLEVUE AVENUE BUS AT STATE & BROAD

I may have posted this earlier, but this time I zeroed in on Woolworth's, Grant's and Kresge's "five and dime stores."that were once a very familiar part of the downtown Trenton scene. Lunch at Woolworth's was a real treat.

1946: STATE AND BROAD ST.

Here's "Closeup" and touched up R.C. Maxwell photo of the J.B. Wilson Store at the corner of State and Broad Street back when Trenton was a viable center city shopping venue. How many of us strolled by that news stand that was there all during my years of going "up town?" Notice how the crowd is dressed! Ladies in beautiful "on the town" skirts and dresses, and gentlemen in sport shirts, slacks and other casual wear. HOW WE HAVE CHANGED!

1951: THE GREAT ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC TEA COMPANY

The "Supermarket!" In our neighborhood it was on Hamilton Avenue between South Olden and South Logan Avenue. Red Circle, Bokar and 8 O'Clock coffee was ground while we waited. Let's see, there was "Sylvan Seal" milk, Jane Parker baked goods....and uhhh, any others I forgot? Oh, by the way, this one is a closeup view of the Prospect Street A&P.

1951: Marsh's Sewing Center and Hobby Shop

Marsh's: Something for the boys, something for the girls. Stores like this were literal magnets for those of us who caught the model building fever back in my young years. We had McEwen's Deli as a dealer for those ten cent (yes, 10 cent!) "Comet" model airplanes. But when we wanted to move up to the big leagues, it was off to Marsh's for those Guillow's models and other "upscale" balsa wood "stick" models as we called them. Here is a closeup view of that late, great model airplane shop where we bought "Testor's" or "Le Page's" glue and we also purchased our share of "dope;" and I don't mean drugs.Ask any veteran model builder what we were "using" as they say in this year of 2014!

1911 and 1923: RIKER'S DOWNTOWN DRUG STORE AND SODA FOUNTAIN

 

What charming old fashioned nostalgia comes upon us when we gaze upon an old fashioned drug store soda fountains. You remember drug stores, don't you? They sold drugs.....not be confused with the definition of the word today. I can imagine a Saturday night date with that lovely girl or one of them that I dreamed of back in my now ancient teen years, taking in a movie at the RKO Capitol, Trent, Lincoln and stopping in for an old fashioned ice cream soda! (Remember them?) Riker's was replaced by the Liggett chain of drug stores. On another note, the Kuser family sold the City Hall building which I added to the article above to the Lissner family back in the 1920's. (Little known historical fact)

1946: I WAS 13 AND JUST STARTING TO KNOW "DOWNTOWN" TRENTON

These incredibly fascinating photos are from the newly created "TRENTON-CLOSEUP VIEWS" folder in the Hamilton Township Public Library Local History Collection. They are copyright photos from the Duke University R.C. Maxwell collection, and the copyright information on each photo as required under the "Fair Use" portion of the U.S. Copyright act.  

Even though the Glover and other neighborhood families in the Liberty Street area didn't enter "downtown" Trenton via E. State Street, these views bring back a very sentimental journey into my 80 year old past. As can be seen in this incredibly detailed photo, Trenton was alive with local area residents long before there were those things we know of today as "Malls." With the rioting in the 1960's and the resulting white flight and commercial flight out of the city, Trenton lost a charm that those of us who remember that wonderful era will never forget. As we of the older generation move on, younger generations must be aware that there was a time when Trenton was a viable and clean capital city with shoppers dressed casually, modestly, and in good taste.

1937: W. STATE ST AND HILDEBRECHT AND STACY TRENT

I am in the process of re-formatting those R.C. Maxwell Trenton photos from the Duke University Library's collection. My early posts were erroneously made without using the proper copyright "Fair Use" rules as expected by the Duke Library. The above photo is the way these copyright photos should be displayed: With the credit going to the Duke Library along with the "XX" catalog number of the specific photo. These photos are historical treasurers and I want to be sure any of those that I post are within the U.S. copyright laws. Additionally, I have reproduced them in original grayscale and at a high resolution rates so they can be enlarged without losing focus. Thank you PhotoShop!

1912: TOM GLOVER'S AND BILL KLEK'S SEARCH FOR CAMP OLDEN

Even though my name nor the Hamilton Township Public Library's name does not appear on the
Camp Olden Civil War Roundtable website as the source that resulted in the early evolution of the Camp Olden Civil War Roundtable at its formal organization in September, 1992, along with the resulting establishment of the Civil War Camp Olden Park at the intersection of Hamilton and Liberty street, I still have the greatest respect and admiration for President Bruce Sirak, and that incredible Civil War historical research group. My "CAMP OLDEN" column, the original of which is reproduced above, told of my 1980's and 1990's research into the location of that very elusive Hamilton Township's historic Civil War camp. Over the years, my friend Bruce Sirak and his avid club members have kept the flame of historical research burning brightly. 

Some years ago I spoke with a member of the club who disagreed with me when I said that the article above was the catalyst that was a very important factor in the establishment of the park that now reposes at the intersection of Hamilton and Liberty Streets, and also in no small way a contributing factor in the establishment of the Camp Olden Civil War Roundtable which has developed into a very necessary vehicle for local and national Civil War history. Going back To the founding of the club, I was in error when I asserted that local history buffs Vince Mercandetti and Bob Butera were instrumental in forming the Roundtable. I have since learned as stated above, that it was formally organized in September, 1992, two months after my "CAMP OLDEN" column appeared. 

 

 

 

  The search is ongoing and with the absence of any graphical engravings of the Camp which was located on part of the Skirm Farm, I am now working with Mr. Bill Klek, another very talented historic researcher, who is digging very deeply into the elusive Camp Olden mystery. Indeed, Bill and I have been excited with the engraving that Bill found from Harpers Weekly of June 1861, which shows the encampment of the N.J. 7th regiment. I have since removed the speculative entry I made earlier in the day as to the location of the camp the artist pictured below. The sailboat in the left portion of the engraving and the little and apparently miniscule stream only add to the mystery. In the engraving what appears to be body of water in the left behind the treeline suggests that the regiment encampment engraving was done at Washington D.C. encampment with the Potomac River in the background.

I hope to try to get access to the back yards of some of the homes between Liberty Street, Leonard Avenue, Kuser Road and Newkirk Avenue, over the next few months, I believe my metal detecting equipment would find some historic relics from the land on which at least a part of Camp Olden was located. Locating the actual boundaries of this elusive Civil War camp ground has proven fruitless. As a historian, I rely on what I have thus far learned from my own research. Fact: There was indeed a Camp Olden situated somewhere along the "Pond Run" area of Hamilton township. Conflicting accounts: Over the years I have discovered many puzzling articles relating to the camp. For instance, the articles above refer to the Whittaker Farm. Months of research has failed to find any information on Hamilton Township's George R. Whittaker Farm, nor the Whittaker Farm. There is however countless Yardley Pennsylvania references to a Whittaker Farm in Yardley. Two different articles at different times list the residence of George R. Whittaker as living at 234 in one article, and 324 in another; both address in the city of Trenton in the area of Chestnut and Hamilton Avenues. Other research closer to the Camp Olden era involves "Skirm," "Scatterfgood," and other area land holders from the 1860 - 1870 era; apparently before the establishment of the Whittaker Farm. There was once a hand drawn map of the layout of the land, but according to an article in one of my archives, the newspaper didn't have the technical ability to duplicate graphics! I originally suspected that New Street (Newkirk Avenue) at the intersection of Camp Avenue was the main entrance to the camp but now I am beginning to wonder. Compounding the confusing search, is the fact that along with the older (Skirm and Scattergood farms), on the other side of New Street (Newkirk Avenue), the Goldy Farm was occupying all the land from Cedar Street (Cedar Lane) back to today's Kuser Farm. I also speculate that the boundaries extend beyond Hamilton Avenue and beyond Kuser Road.

The search goes on!

2014: SUMMER TIME, SUMMER TIME, SUM SUM SUMMER TIME!

 

Here's my summer 2014 schedule of volunteer community music programs. Mark your calendars and come out for some great music on a great summer afternoon or evening!. We'll be singing the songs of Patti Page, Perry Como, Andy Williams, Joni James, Rosemary Clooney, and other vocalists who brought us music with an uplifting message and you can even understand the lyrics! Hope to see many of my "SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY" readers and my web followers from here on glover320.blogspot.com and my Facebook posts!

See you there!

1944: CHARLES HUTTON AND ANGELO SALERNO MILITARY IN THE LOCAL NEWS

 

Unfortunately, my Trenton newspaper collection was sadly lacking in the Trenton newspapers from the World War II era. I would assume that someone got to that collection before I acquired the 100 year hard copies of the papers, now reposing comfortably in the Hamilton Library History Workshop. As I find local persons who made the newspaper, I will add them as the time and opportunity permit. Here are two that will be of interest to any survivors of the Salerno and Hutton families, as well as visitors who knew these WWII military men.

1944: JUNE 6 AND JULY 6, 1944: D-DAY AS IN "DOOMS DAY"

 

The graphic above is the mast head for the Trenton Times as it appeared on D-Day, the 6th of June, 1944. I was only 11 years old but clearly recall the excitement and at the same time fear, that the adults who had boys in the fight experienced. Prayer is schools was a given back then, and I clearly recall a school auditorium assembly and Miss Emily Reynolds, Principal of Kuser School, leading us in prayer for the safety of our boys. This morning when I awoke I said a prayer for them, and this evening when I go to bed, there will be a prayer for those brave fighting men who gave their all on Normandy beach. The graphic below the Times header is an ad 1 month later on July 6, 1944 when Americans everywhere flocked to the movies to see the latest Movietone, Pathe' or Universal Newsreel for graphic movies of the conflict. The featured movie at the RKO Capitol on July 6, 1944 featured an incredible cast of Hollywood stars in the movie, 

"Follow the Boys."

1945: YARDVILLE DISPLAYS THEIR WWII VETERANS

Well fellow viewers, after all these years, there has finally been someone who preserved the heritage of those men and women who served our country during World War II. Very sincere thanks to Ms. Veronica Meszaros for sending me a high definition (600 DPI!) scan of just one (and so far only) LEGIBLE and clear photos of the many WWII boards that were posted in various neighborhoods after WWII. My thanks go to Ms.Meszaros and as a "thank you" I have researched the Meszaros WWII records and look what we find:

4 Meszaros brothers from the Greatest Generation. As followers of this website and those who follow my "Sentimental Journey" column in the Times of Trenton are aware, WWII is one of the subjects that is dear to my heart and a high priority in my local history research. Veronica, you have added a gem to that research!

2014: MISSING GRAPHICS

During 2009 and up to around 2010, Google and I had a problem. Many of the graphics that I posted on my website were removed and replaced with the above screen. Over the months and recently, a few visitors have asked about retrieving these graphics which is a time consuming process. The process can be speeded up by emailing me with the EXACT text found in the specific post. 

"1899; TRENTON'S OTHER, EARLIER "BIJOU" THEATER." 

As time permits, I will re post the defective ones.

2014: JUNE 2: RALPH LUCARELLA HAS PASSED ON

I just received the above email from Ralph's son Ralph Jr. telling me of the passing of one of the major contributors to this website. Ralph will be sorely missed, and as I close down the computer for tonight (10 PM) a prayer will wing its way to Heaven for a gentleman whom I never personally met, but through the Glover320 Hamilton Library website, was privileged to have made his acquaintance. We'll miss you, Ralph Lucarella, you were a gentleman and an historic treasure for MANY of us on this website.