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. 

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

1976: ""Identification of the vandals is being witheld because of their age...."

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, 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

1902: THE BIDDLE TRACY GANG AT THE ANDERSON FARM

I have been on a dedicated search for information on the Anderson Farm for more than 20 years. An article I wrote for the Trenton Times back in the 1980's was found in an old news article in my newspaper collection. That article launched a search for additional information on a heretofore unknown historical treasure that was once a major part of the history of Hamilton Township. Note that I gave an approximate location of the farm as I understood it when I wrote the article, based upon the information in the old news article. I only recently found information that the farm was extensive; encompassing the entire Bromley area between Hamilton and Greenwood Avenues from the city line on South Logan Avenue all the way out to Greenwood Cemetery. The article above, telling of the Biddle Tracy terrorists and how they attacked the Anderson farm was the catalyst for my search; a search that will go on until I can find more definitive history.

NOTE: WHEN YOU CLICK ON THE GRAPHIC, YOU WILL GET THE FIRST ENLARGEMENT. A SECOND CLICK WILL ENLARGE IT FURTHER AND RENDER THE GRAPHIC LEGIBLE.

1937: EVEN THEN WE HAD THOSE ROWDIES

See? The present generation isn't unique in having certain members of the populace who don't know how to handle a simple thing like a sports victory. In many of today's news outlets there are stories of idiot rowdies who celebrate a sports victory by trashing and burning towns and villages. Above is a relatively tame example that indicates that the clueless rowdies were alive and well back in the 1930's.

1946: VANDALISM AT TRENTON'S FIRST METHODIST CHURCH

From the "CRIME-MORALS-SOCIAL VALUES" and "FIRST METHODIST CHURCH" folders in the Hamilton Library Local History Collection this article detailing the outrage perpetrated by an obviously deranged individual. There's a special place in Hades for creeps like the one above who desecreated and wantonly destroyed property at Trenton's Historic First Methodist Church on South Broad Street in center city Trenton.

1946: VANDALS AT THE HAMILTON SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT

Compassion for vandals as it occured before their very eyes!
"The boys threw stones at watchmen and attendants..." "He said he was not anxious to hail the youths into court...."

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!

1898: VANDALS STRIKE HUTCHINSON SCHOOL

TRANSCRIBED

FRIDAY, JULY 15, 1898
VANDALISM AT THE HUTCHINSON SCHOOL HOUSE IN HOMEDELL

When the janitress of the Hutchinson school, at Homedell entered the building on Wednesday, she found a side door unlocked and everything in the interior of the building in the utmost confusion. Paper, pencils, penholders, ink bottles and rubbish of all kinds littered the floor; blackboards were scribbled over, and the teacher's desk in the primary department broken open. The Webster's Unabridged Dictionary which had cost the county $12 a year or two ago, was completely destroyed, the leaves torn out and torn to pieces. The handsome new globe was also seriously damaged. Fortunately, the map which had been procured for the school through the kindness of ex-Judge James Buchanan was not destroyed, and the miscellaneous library was not molested.
Nothing definite is known as to the depredators, but the authorities are on the lookout, and if the miscreants are found they will he severely dealt with. Such conduct comes under the head of malicious mischief and is a State Prison offense.

*****************

Tom's note: Hutchinson School was on property owned by the Hutchinson family. Symmes Hutchinson was a veryrespected member of the Homedell community. As the years unfolded, a Homedell School would be built in the area we call Homedell.

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.

1898: Vandals Alive and Well at Homedell

The sad tale told in this "HOMEDELL" folder clipping reveals that there were animalistic vandals back in the 19th century as well as today. The difference was that they were FIRMLY disciplined and their parents were held responsible for the damage. More importantly, their names were not "withheld because of their age." Back then, if a juvenile was old enough to creat mayhem by vandalizing public property, he was old enough to face the music.