QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS: tglover320@optimum.net
Edna Kuser's father, former Pennington Mayor and very active Pennington citizen William Patton Howe opened a branch operation on Greenwood Avenue in the Bromley section, a mere 3 blocks from my Atlantic Avenue home. He also had a sizeable plot of land on Fritz and Edna's Kuser Farm property between the Kuser grape arbor and Edna Kuser's Raspberry patch. As I recall, "young Bill" Howe was in charge of the nursery during this time period. 
Here's a blast from the past: A centerfold was published in the Mercer Messenger heralding the annual Hamilton West homecoming game. The entire center fold was too large to include in a posts, so I segregated all the ads which bordered the two pages and condensed them into one graphic. There are many very interesting ads in the graphic. Del Rio, Patterson Chevrolet, TKR cable, the Hamilton Restaurant, and others are no longer in business.
Chris said...
Mack said... Sally Logan Gilman said...
Some of the most beautiful lithographic art work from the Victorian era has passed though my collection during these 50 plus years of collecting. I donated a number of them to the township for inclusion in the Kuser Farm collection of historic Victoriana. The above colored masterpiece is one that I just uncovered way down deep in one of the many boxes of yet-to-be posted items of historic interest.
We never thought about the hazards of smoking back in the 30's and 400's (and very probably much earlier). I remember a number of ads on the back of national magazines featuring Joe DiMaggio smoking a Chesterfield, Stan Musial, and a number of other major league ball players. Of course, today smoking is "taboo."
Remember when you could ride in a sitting up position on your bike, and not have to lean over and DOWN to reach the handle bars? Remember when the bicycle seat had soft springs that would soften the impact of bumps on the road and on your derriere? Remember when bikes had fenders that caught the water and mud on those rainy day outings? Remember when you could use a backward "crank" on your pedals and those old reliable "New Departure" brakes skidded you to an instant stop? Well I sure do. Not being a racing bike expert nor being interested in bicycle racing, I can't for the life of me understand why the modern, titanium, aluminum and other space age bikes are only manufactured for the guy or gal who is affluent enough to put mucho bucks down on the counter to buy a bone crunching "Raleigh" or "Schwinn." Fortunately, there is an oasis for those of us who recall those wonderful years of casual, comfortable, and easy-going bike rides. In fact, a few years ago my daughter and son in law bought me a bike much like the "Hawthorne" in the illustration above and I love it. It doesn't have all those gears and sprockets and other junk to break down. It's just a bare bones bike with reflectors and oversize balloon tires (instead of those tires that are the size of a garden hose,) and a very effective "New Departure" coaster brake. Add those "Texas Steer" handle bars we had on the bike of yesteryear instead of those "pretzel" type handle bars that you have to stretch forward and downward to reach, and you have a bike that fits the human body. Of course, this all assumes that you are a casual bike user.
Hey, if "Koney" drinks it, it must be good, right? Here's an interesting ad from the "ADVERTISING" folder in the Hamilton Library's Local Collection of digital files. I was particularly interested in the bottle. Those of us who are "Coke-Heads" (as in cola) are very familiar with the famous designs on the Coke bottles over the years. Somewhere in the distant past I recall reading about a soft drink by the name of "Coca Nola." I believe it was a beverage that contained an unacceptable amount of an addictive chemical. Could "Coca Nola" have morphed into "Coca Cola?"
"Son, when I was your age, we didn't have them there newfangled I-Pods or whatever they call them things that play MP3 music. We had this invention known as a transistor radio. It was just about an inch bigger than a pack of king size Pall Mall cigarettes. It had AM, FM, and we were really hot stuff if we were walking around the neighborhood listening to "Wibbage." Ask your grand mom or grandpop what "Wibbage" was. I Bet they remember!" 
"Salted in pure creamery butter..." The ethereal aroma eminating from the place we always called "The Nut House" was almost, but never quite equal to the tantalizing aroma coming from Prior's Donuts on Liberty St. and So. Clinton Avenue. You talk about "Aromatherapy!" If I could bottle the above-mentioned aromas I would bet that there are hundreds of my over 60 generation who would be repeat customers.
I really like these old ads that are specific to a neighborhood. In this case, Maggio's, right in the heart of the Burg! I will be publishing ads similar to this in future posts.
Thanks to Joe San Fillippo for this and other local graphics. I remember Fischer as being "Fischer's Buttercup Bread." The baking industry in Trenton has a fascinating heritage all to itself. We had Barber's Bread from Jesse Barber, a very popular baker in the early part of the 20th century as was Kolb's Bakery on Pennington Avenue, Rossi's, Tilton's, Mack, Prior (the donut bakery), and I'm sure there are others floating around my aging brain. No, I didn't forget the Italian Peoples' Bakery nor Barbero's; methinks they are from a later generation. 
Smoking is taboo in today's health-conscious society. Back in World War II, the smoking habit was rampant. The movies regularly showed severely wounded GI's being comforted from their pain by a fellow soldier who puts a lit cigarette to the lips of a wounded soldier on a stretcher. The ad above was one of hundreds that were part of the World War II saga.
"Son, when I was your age, we called it "New Blue Sunoco." We drove into a gas station, a uniformed gas station attendant came to our car, tipped his hat, cleaned our windshield, popped the hood, checked the fluids, and filled our tank at the astronomical price of 19.9 per gallon."
These two examples of 1950's advertising are treasures. Even though the Glover family wasn't affluent enough to buy clothes for the Glover boys at the Eton Mens' shop in downtown Trenton.
1954: I was a newly wed. I remember how we used to take these advertising gimmicks as a necessary evil when I worked in the dead end job of bearing salesman at the Trenton Bearing Company then the Brown Bearing and Supply Company. Each time the "Specialty Salesman" drove up to the door, we told him our purchasing person was not in. And now, 55 years later, as I hold that quality advertising piece in my hand, I realize that we were passing up the opportunity to buy quality advertising products. The above is a scan from a calendar framed with a gold plated frame and a glass overlay. Try buying one of these today that is the product of American craftsmen!
FROM THE "ADVERTISING, TRENTON" FOLDER COMES THIS OLD AD FROM THE TRENTON OF LONG AGO. IT WAS THE YEAR THAT AMERICAN CELEBRATED THE CENTENNIAL OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. THE ADS FROM MY OLD NEWSPAPER COLLECTION ARE EXTREMELY FASCINATING, AND I WILL BE POSTING MORE IN FUTURE POSTS.
I DON'T KNOW WHETHER I POSTED THIS NOT. HOWEVER, THE LAWN MOWING SEASON IS IN FULL SWING, AND IT'S NICE TO KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE LUXURY OF POWER MOWERS. THERE ARE SOME FOLKS WITH A SMALL YARD YOU STILL USE OLD FASHIONED MOWERS SIMILAR TO THE ONE IN THE GRAPHIC.
