1975: JACK RAFFERTY HAD IT RIGHT!

Wherever one goes in any town in contemporary America, one finds ugly graffiti scrawled over any surface that these "artists" can "tag" without being caught. Last year, I posted photos of the work of someone who decided it would be fun to scrawl their garbage on buildings adjoining the Kuser Farm property at the Loomis Avenue border. They even succeeded in scribbling their garbage on the historic Kuser windmill. These n'er do well law breakers have no regard for personal property and when caught in the act should be given a brush and graffiti remover to clean it up.
(Note that I also highlighted the word payed in the article. As is the case with music when someone sings off key, an unusual occurrence of a word will sound an alarm in a proof reader. However, when I googled "past tense of the word 'pay,' both are apparently acceptable. Wayne Davis seldom made editorial mistakes!)

1968: THE END OF THE CITY OF TRENTON AS I KNEW IT

The venerable old Colonial town of Trenton was changed forever on that fateful April of 1968. Gone were honest, respected businesses that had survived in the downtown Trenton for decades. Convery's Dunham's Elsie Gallivan, and many other anchor stores fled the city to the more civilized suburbs as their stores were looted, burned and destroyed. Innocent business owners' buildings were decimated, valuables looted and Trenton was left in chaos. The carnage was ll done as vengeance for an unspeakable incident with which those downtown merchants had nothing to do with.  The scars remain after these 44 years as Trenton has morphed into an impersonal city whose anchor stores have been replaced with glass encrusted state office buildings. 

1911 TRENTON "GANGS" A CENTURY AGO

I smiled as I read this article that exudes innocence from a more innocent era. It goes back to a social era that was far different from this year of 2012 when vicious gangs proliferate and drive by shootings have turned Trenton into the OK Corral East. Each day brings another account of a shooting, or multiple shootings.

2011: VANDALISM IS A SOCIETAL CANCER

THIS IS A DUPLICATE POST. VANDALISM IS RAMPANT IN OUR AREA.

One Sunday last summer when I went to Kuser Farm Gazebo to set up for my afternoon sing along, I saw the "artistry" of whomever it was who brought chalk to the park and proceeded to scribble pink, white, and blue graffiti all over the concrete dance floor. It was only chalk, but there were no sources of water nearby to wash the stuff off. A harmless prank, right? WRONG! As I sat on the steps of the gazebo, I also noted that some little darling took a black marker and wrote on the newly painted, newly restored wooden post on the gazebo steps. The township spent many man hours bringing that beautiful structure back to its original state! Vandalizing teens who choose to deface public property should be held accountable and their parents held responsible for the financial damage they have caused. I took many photos which clearly showed what they did along the edge of Kuser Farm Park in the area of the windmill. Spray paint on Rusling Paving's relatively new concrete buildings is an outrageous insult to Hamiltonians as is the damage they did to a very large cinder block structure adjacent to Rusling Paving's facility along the Kuser property on Loomis Avenue. Were I a judge, they would be given a tooth brush to clean off their anti social graffiti, or their parents would be fined in the amount it would take to bring the buildings back to their original state. There needs to be vigilance on the part of the community to thwart these anti social acts of vandalism that are becoming all too common in "America's Favorite Home Town."
PUBLISH THE NAMES OF THE LITTLE DARLINGS AND WATCH THE VANDALISM DISAPPEAR!

Sally Logan Gilman said...

Tom: I'm sorry about the vandalism. Graffiti is vandalism and not some little darling's artistic freedom. Again, I'm sorry. Regards

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Tom Glover said...

Unfortunately Sally, there are a number of miscreants running rampant in today's society, and their apologists are just as guilty as are the perpetrators. Tom Glover

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

omad said...

This site, the Kuser Farm, and buildings on it, seem very important to you and I'm sure to many. How disappointing. Is nothing precious anymore?

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Tom Glover said...

KUSER FARM PARK IS NOT IMPORTANT TO JUST TO ME, ELEANOR, BUT TO THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY. IF THESE SENSELESS ANTI-SOCIAL ACTS OF VANDALISM ARE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE WITHOUT A CONCERTED EFFORT TO CATCH THESE BRATS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO COPE WITH BLACK SPRAY PAINTED TRAFFIC SIGNS, PRIVATE BUILDINGS, AND OTHER ACTS OF VANDALISM THAT JEOPARDIZE "AMERICA'S FAVORITE HOMETOWN."

Friday, June 10, 2011

1904: BOYS SHOOTING CRAPS CAUGHT IN THE ACT

Whoa there, boys! This is a house of worship and certainly not the place to "roll dem bones." Note the headline that indicates that the boys would be arraigned. Wayward youth were not coddled in those long ago years, and you may be assured that the punishment fit the crime.

Mack said...
Hi Tom:)
I love it. Our Burg, spunky from the start LOL:)

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

THANKS MACK: Perhaps we should explain to those of our visitors who are not into computer shorthand, "LOL" is laugh out loud.

Tom Glover

SJBill said...

Am I the only one to wonder if young Peter Lorenzo grew to start the fine restaurant at 66 S. Clinton Ave?

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

1976: NAME THE NAMES OF VIOLENT JUVENILES

AMEN!

1981: MAKE PARENTS PAY!

HERE, HERE, JACK RAFFERTY!
Our society is much too easy on those many little dears who go around defacing and destroying public property. The desecration of cemetery tombstones, and other anti-social outrages, should be dealt with in a much more firm way in this too liberal state of New Jersey. Were I a judge, which thankfully I am not, because the ACLU would most certainly scream in agony, those who decide to deface our neighborhoods with their spray paint and markers would be cleaning up their graffiti with a can of graffiti remover and a toothbrush, and if that doesn't remove their art work, they would spend the hours necessary to re-paint their illegal canvas....and yes, they would also pay for the paint!

1945: SCHOOL VANDALISM

The next time you drive past Kuser School, take a look at the windows. Back in the 1980's, Kuser was restored and all dressed up for the 75th anniversary celebration of the founding of the school. The great old building was refreshed with a newly re-pointed red brick surface, and new windows.
New windows? I can only speculate as to why the school system chose to go with replacement windows made of lexan, plexiglass, or whatever the plastic industry uses instead of plate glass. I assume it was due to the proliferation of those criminals in our society whom we call "vandals." Over the years since the installation of those new windows, ultra violet and other of Mother Nature's weapons have rendered those windows completely ugly and non-transparent.
As you can see by the 1945 article published above, school vandalism was alive and well back in 1945. Indeed, a few articles dating back to the 1800's are in those old newspaper clippings, where these anti social creatures decimated public taxpayers' property.
Were I the judge facing these CRIMINALS, they or their parents would repair or replace the damage. If they resorted to graffiti which we find all over the area, each "artist" would be given a toothbrush to erase their un-wanted "tags." Thankfully, I am not a judge. I'm sure the ACLU would have me removed from office for "cruel and unusual punishment" to the little darlings whose names may not be published because we wouldn't want to tarnish their future.

1946: "MISCHIEF NIGHT" 1946

It was also known as "Tick Tack" night. A night when many of our more disorderly youngsters set out to soap up car windows, throw toilet tissue into the branches of trees, and other very unpleasant acts. The aforementioned transgressions were minor. Some of the more violent of our teens set fires, threw stuffed dummies in front of autos, and other acts of violence which should have landed them in jail. Thanks to the close patrolling of the police in today's violence prone society, the incidents of serious pranks has decreased considerably.

1891: EVEN THEN WE HAD GANGS!

ALL WAS NOT SIMPLE AND BUCOLIC BACK IN VICTORIAN ERA TRENTON. THIS ARTICLE FROM THE "CRIME, MORALS, SOCIAL VALUES" FOLDER TAKES US BACK TO THE YEAR 1891 WHEN THE TRENTON POLICE WERE CRACKING DOWN ON ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOR.

1929: "PARENTS TAKE PART IN PENALIZING.."

What a refreshing concept! Imagine parents taking responsibility for the mis-deeds of their offspring. The last time I remember anything like that was way back in Kuser School in the 1940's when "Tommy" Glover was "busted" by Miss Anna Lacy for being "rude and impudent." When Mom Glover was apprised of my behavior by Kuser Principal, Miss Emily Reynolds, Mom gave her permission to mete out whatever disciplinary action she deemed appropriate. At the same time she assured Miss Reynolds that "Tommy" would be punished very severely...and he was. No 25 cent allowance and no radio programs for 2 weeks. Talk about capital punishment!