2015: COMING SUNDAY, JUNE 7th TO KUSER PARK!

The year 2015 will mark the 9th annual Tom Glover summer concert season at Kuser Park in Hamilton. All local residents and those within traveling distance are welcome to this free volunteer community outreach program. This year, my 1950 Hamilton High classmate John "Jack" Pyrah will lend his booming baritone voice to this popular weekly program which is FREE and open to all. Mark your calendars and be sure to come out to listen to the songs we loved....indeed, the songs we grew up with!

1937: WAS THIS THE BIRTH OF THE LEGENDARY TOMATO PIE?

I extracted other things on sale at "Maggio's Specials" in the newspaper ad above in order to show this very interesting listing of tomato pie places in the city of Trenton in 1937. Not listed is the original site of Rick and Pat DeLorenzo who had a tomato pie restaurant on South Broad and Ferry Street in Trenton in the late 1930's.

 

OF PORK ROLL, PREPARED HAM, PORK SAUSAGE ALL THANKS TO MR. TAYLOR

 

 With the upcoming Trenton "Pork Roll Festival" which has morphed into a legal brouhaha with two festivals I understand are to be held simultaneously, I dug into my comprehensive database which includes Trenton's famous "TOMATO PIES" and began researching the Taylor connection to this delightful locally famous delicacy.I found that the Taylor family has an historical genealogy in Burlington County that dates back to the pre-Revolutionary War years. My "PORK ROLL" folder has a number of interesting articles, some of which involved legal battles over the years as can be seen in this collection of Pork Roll articles and  ads. Case was a "Johnny-come-lately"  entry into the industry, but still is my personal favorite. 

Hmmm....how about a new slogan on the free Trenton-Morrisville bridge: 

"TRENTON BASTES, THE WORLD TASTES" 

with a large image of a pork roll as part of the new slogan.

1937: NORTH BROAD STREET FROM DUNHAM'S SIDWALK AT STATE AND BROAD, LOOKING NORTH

I am editing many of my past R.C. Maxwell photos with the proper copyright information as requested by the Librarian at the Duke University Library R. C. Maxwell collection. I am also enhancing the photographs with a change from the Maxwell sepia tone to common "gray scale,"and including the copyright and photo identification information as seen in the red insert below the photo.

1937: IS THAT LITTLE CAR A "BABY AUSTIN" OR A "BANTAM?"

This R.C. Maxwell photo caught my eye when I saw that little car parked at the curb on Trenton's North Broad Street. When I was a boy, I remember we often saw a car that was a sub compact and we identified it as a "Baby Austin" which was a British Marque. I will call on our resident auto expert Ray Paskiewicz to identify that little gem for us. The photo is taken from the are of Dunham's at State and Broad, looking North. Splendid detail as usual.

1869: ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL AN ASTOUNDING PROPHESY

 

I was overseas in the U.S. Army when that tragic fire occurred in March, 1956. I have a growing file of articles and news photos relating that beautiful North Warren Street house of worship. One of the articles tells the story of the steeple which pierced the Trenton Skies and was a familiar landmark to those of my generation. It tells of the labor intensive effort it took to hoist those huge oak girders in place and and even more intensive effort to put the bells in place. Each huge bell that chimed a specific musical key had a name assigned to it. The article above refers to the construction during the early years of St. Mary's. I have highlighted the IRONIC specter of a fire at the beautiful edifice.

1946: AN INCREDIBLY HISTORIC HAMILTON LANDMARK

We in the realm of historical interest intensely dislike the word "progress" when it is used in relation to irreplaceable historic buildings. Unfortunately. this wonderful relic of the 16th century is long gone. Here is a splendid R.C. Maxwell photo of the building as it looked when I was a lad of 13. I probably passed by it countless times on my way to Lakeside in Yardville, but had no idea of the incredible history that resided within its walls.

2015: REMEMBERING MY BUDDY JESS ANDERSON

ABOUT THE GRAPHIC. I couldn't find a photo of the Colonial Diamond T that I loved as my favorite fire truck of the era, so I borrowed one from the web and Photo Shopped the name "Colonial VFD" on the side. The lower center photo is of Jess and me at Kuser Mansion where we hosted a number of evening programs relating to the Hamilton of yesteryear. That particular evening Jess and I and my brother Bud recalled our years at Kuser Elementary School to a very receptive audience of local citizens.

Losing my dear wife Judy triggered a very sensitive part of my being as I recalled all the wonderful people I have loved and known all during 81 years of life the Lord has given to me thus far. Beside my best buddy Don Slabicki about whom I have written countless columns recalling our childhood in the Hartley Avenue neighborhood, countless persons from the past pass before me in an endless parade. My first true love, Shirley Whitebread, Madeline Bencivengo, Shirley and Dave Sneath, the Dilts family,   Donnie Cook, Bobby and Dick Soffel, Beb and Brut Peters, Louise Baird and all the wonderful teachers I had at Kuser School and Hamilton High, and countless acquaintances whose influence on me has made me the person that I am: a melancholy "nostalgiac" who loves "living in the past;" a really wonderful place to live. All of which brings me to this post. Jess Anderson was one of those buddies of mine. He and I and Don Slabicki were very close in our later teen years. In fact, as you will read in a column I wrote many years ago, it was Jess who suggested that I join his as a fellow volunteer at Hamilton's Colonial Volunteer Co. As it turned out, I was not a qualified smoke eater as Jess.

1982: REMEMBERING A LANDMARK THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN DESTROYED

When one gets involved with tedious art work such as the pen and ink sketch I made way back in 1982, memories of working on that historic "White Horse Inn" had my mind flashing back to the years when that historic old building was in full operation. As I laid in the details of the dirt road, I imagined a group Civil War Yanks coming to the watering hole from nearby Camp Perrine or Camp Olden. In passing the abandoned Bromley Inn on Nottingham Way, I fear we will soon hear news that historic old 1890's Charles Fulkert historic landmark will be relegated to the wrecker's ball. Were I to be lucky enough to win one of those massive lottery playouts, there would be MANY local venues that would be preserved. Dream on, Glover!

Needless to say, today (Mothers Day) is an emotional roller coaster for me as I continue to work through the "acceptance" stage of the loss of Judy, my dear wife of 61 years. Almighty God has prepared victims of mourning the loss of a loved one by having a loving family at one's beck and call. An example is found in the graphic shown here. A few days ago, I posted the landscaped terracing (top photo) that my son Ken set up for me using his incredible horticultural skill. He remembered his grandmother's (my mom's) warning that Mothers Day was the earliest time to plant spring and summer flowers. I love Gerber Daisies, and picked out the most spectacularly beautiful specimens as seen in the photo below. Ken used his exceptional floral knowledge to fill in the rest of this beautiful flower bed.

1913: TRENTON STREET NAMES

I spent the better part of this morning looking for the establishment of Arena Drive in Hamilton. I have concluded that when they cut the new street through from "Old Olden Avenue" to White Horse and ultimately to Yardville, in the summer of 1958, that it was named for Al Arena's nightspot on Arena Drive where Central Avenue intersects. Unfortunately, the above fascinating articles from 1913 show the genesis of many of Trenton's streets but unfortunately rural Hamilton was not included.

2015; EXCITING NEWS FOR LOCAL HISTORY BUFFS

Above is a graphic I put together announcing the reprinting of Elma Borden's history of Groveville. This volume has been out of print and copies of the original as seen in the graphic are very scarce. The note from Dr. James Federici, President of the Historical Society of Hamilton Township has details on how to reserve a paperback copy of the book. Call Ms. Shirley DiGenova at 609-585-6019 to order your copy.

1946:STATE AND BROAD IN THE LOVELY MONTH OF JUNE

You will note that there are duplications of many of these R.C. Maxwell photos being previously posted. I am reviewing and somtomes altering a collection of these photos that are being legally posted as per U.S. Copyright laws. This photo is one that provides a closer look in more detail thus achieving a close up view which is not as detailed as in the  original view. This photo will also be posted on various Facebook pages, but "Facebookers" will not be able to fill their screen completely as they can here at www.glover320.blogspot.com, due to graphic size limits on the Facebook pages. To me, this is an exquisite example of Trenton's then busiest intersection as it was in the 1950's and 1950's