2015: TOM GLOVER'S KUSER FARM:

I have established a sub-folder in my KUSER FARM master folder and named it

 "TOM GLOVER'S KUSER FARM." It will be a pictorial look back at the COUNTLESS places with which I have become so familiar over all these years. I mentioned to Ms. Patti Krzywulak ("Che-vo-lock") who is Curator of the mansion, that I would like to do a walking tour of the Kuser property, pointing out the many interesting stories that will be re-told in a number of stops on the tour. The scanned photo below was taken yesterday as my dear little dog "Daisy Mae" and I took one of my many walks in the place I love so much and the place where memories of the Kusers are alive and vivid in my memory.

2014: WHERE IS TOM GLOVER??

Prior to this year, I had been to each and every Kuser Park Winter Wonderland event until this year of 2014. Sadly, I was physically unable to attend the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Kuser Park on Friday evening. I spent a day in the emergency room at R.W. Johnson of Hamilton with an attack of kidney stones that hit me on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. NASTY! Just prior to that, I had an ear infection that I was planning to have taken care of with a call to Doctor Steve Levenberg, our family physician whom I trust unconditionally. After drinking two very large containers of the chemical that they use to give contrast to whatever little instrument Dr. Ricci used, it was determined that I had a kidney stone attack. Thankfully the stone passed and a trip later in the week to the Urologist confirmed that I had passed the stones. I am currently hoping the anti biotic I am taking for the ear infection will solve the problem. After taking the antibiotic the past 4 days with more to go, there has been a marked improvement. 
So, with the meds I am taking I am now back in the saddle again, with only a minor suggestion that the ear infection is still there but it seems to be getting better each day.

1982: EVEN AFTER 32 YEARS, KUSER FARM IS STILL HOME

Those who have been following my writings over the past 30 plus years will recall that I have COUNTLESS memories of growing up with the Kusers from the age of 12 right up to the sad day when Edna and Fritz Kuser could no longer handle the responsibilities of managing that wonderful old homestead. My family's encounter with the Kusers began way back in 1938 when my older brother Bud began working for the Kusers as a young boy doing chores such as raking leaves, cleaning up fallen branches, and as he matured, painting, repairing, and ultimately becoming an operator of Fritz Kuser's "Simplex-Acme" portable 35 millimeter motion picture projectors. I followed in my brother's footsteps when Bud entered the Navy in World War II. After all these  years, Fritz and Edna Kuser's "Kuser Farm" is now known as Hamilton Township's "Kuser Farm Park." For me it has become a spiritual  getaway for me where every nook and cranny holds a memory. I will be ever grateful to my dear friend, the late Maurice "Maury" Perilli for counseling fellow Democrat Edna Kuser as to the best way to leave their beloved home to the area citizens as a park, and to former Mayor John "Jack" Rafferty for making it happen. Psychologically, I would assume that my devotion to this place is why I have been bringing my nostalgic music program to Kuser Park Gazebo each summer for the past 8 or 9 years. These musical presentations certainly do not draw standing room only crowds; no high profile local celebrities, no high profile politicians, just common folks such as I who are devotees of music from an era when music was music. At age 80 approaching 81, I don't know how much longer I will be able to maintain my singing voice, but I will go on until my vocal chords are no longer at my command.  

2010: THIS SUNDAY, JUNE 27 IS THE BEGINNING OF MY SINGALONG PROGRAM

In those years before the modern distractions of computers, television and other diversions, families spent many hours of their leisure time in spiritually uplifting and inspiring family singalongs around the piano. Once again this year, I will be giving area residents the opportunity to partake in this long-forgotten custom, except I have replaced the piano with the computer, which has an unending repertoire. This year’s Kuser Park program is entitled,

“MUSIC FOR A SUMMER NIGHT.”

There will be songs for all ages, as I draw on the music of the 40’s 50’s, 60’s 70’s, hymns, and some easy listening from the 80’s. As in the past 5 years, the programs will be on Sunday afternoons at the Kuser Park Gazebo shown in the photo above. For those visitors who are not familiar with the location, Kuser Park is located on Newkirk Avenue at Cedar Lane in Hamilton, with an alternate entrance off of Kuser Road behind Trenton Catholic Academy. The programs will run from 6 to 8 PM. The first program will be on Sunday afternoon, June 27, skipping July 4^th weekend and resuming every Sunday thereafter from July 11, 18, 25, August 1, 8, 15, and 22.

As in years past, this program is completely free of charge, and at no expense to the taxpayers of Hamilton Township.

There will be no rain dates. Most of my “Sentimental Journey” readers and visitors to this blog love the music we grew up with. Mark you calendars and come on out. Please be sure to introduce yourself. Bring a blanket or folding chair and take a very nostalgic, heart-warming, and bittersweet trip back to the years when music was music.

KUSER FARM BECOMES KUSER FARM PARK

THIS EXCELLENT TWO PAGE SPREAD FROM THE TRENTONIAN IS FROM THE EARLY YEARS OF HAMILTON'S ACQUISITION OF THE KUSER FARM ESTATE FROM FREDERICK AND EDNA KUSER.

2007: KUSER FARM PARK SUNDAY CONCERTS

TWO DOWN, SIX MORE TO GO! MORE THAN 200 MUSIC LOVERS ATTENDED THE PAST TWO CONCERTS HELD THUS FAR AT KUSER PARK. WHAT MADE THE EVENTS SO SPECIAL WAS THE ENTHUSIASM SHOWN BY THOSE IN ATTENDANCE. FOR EACH EVENT, I PRINTED UP 125 SING ALONG PROGRAMS. IN WEEK ONE, 4 CAME BACK, AND IN WEEK 2, ONLY 2. ALL OF WHICH PROVES WHAT I HAVE SUSPECTED THROUGH ALL MY YEARS OF CONCERTS AT KUSER.
IF YOU PLAY "LISTENABLE" MUSIC, THEY WILL COME!"

ONE OF THE MORE INCREDIBLE OBSERVATIONS WAS MADE AFTER THE CROWD LEFT. THERE WAS NOT ONE, REPEAT, NOT ONE PIECE OF LITTER LEFT ON THE GROUND!

WEATHER PERMITTING, MY SON TOM WILL BE THERE WITH HIS GUITAR, AND I WILL BE BACK AT THE MIKE THIS COMING SUNDAY (JULY 22) FROM 6 TO 8. AS THAT GUY IN THE OLD FLORIDA COMMERCIAL USED TO SAY, "COME ON DOWN!" YOU WON'T BE SORRY. UMM....LET ME QUALIFY THAT. YOU WILL BE SORRY IF YOU EXPECT TO HEAR RAP, HIP HOP, OR OTHER ACIDIC MUSIC.

2007: KUSER FARM "MUSIC UNDER THE STARS"

THERE WILL ALWAYS BE AN AUDIENCE FOR "THE MUSIC WE GREW UP WITH!" EVEN THOUGH THE MEDIA IN GENERAL PREFERS TO CATER TO THE YOUNGER GENERATION, WE IN THE SENIOR CITIZEN COMMUNITY
STILL RECOGNIZE GOOD MUSIC WHEN WE HEAR IT....WE CAN ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND THE WORDS!

THIS GRAPHIC IS A VIGNETTE OF THE SUNDAY, JULY 15, 2007 KUSER FARM CONCERT WHERE MORE THAN 100 OF OUR CITIZENS CAME FOR AN EVENING OF LISTENABLE MUSIC. SON TOM JR. AND I WILL BE "BACK ON THE FARM" EACH SUNDAY AFTERNOON FROM 6 TO 8, WEATHER PERMITTING.

1999: WAITING FOR THE CONCERTS TO BEGIN

THIS 1999 PHOTO CAME TO ME COURTESY OF RETIRED HAMILTON POLICE OFFICER BILLY GRAY. SEATED ON THE LEFT IS THE LATE JIM SALT, ACROSS FROM HIM IS THE LATE LENWARD "LENNIE" BRANHAM, AND NEXT TO HIM, TOM GLOVER. OFFICER GRAY IS THE MAN IN BLUE.
NOTE THAT THE CAPTION IN THE GRAPHIC IDENTIFIES JIM SALT AS JIM PLANT. WHY? A SENIOR MOMENT!

1946: "TO EACH HIS OWN"

"A ROSE MUST REMAIN WITH THE SUN AND THE RAIN OR ITS LOVELY PROMISE WON'T COME TRUE..."

CHANCES ARE YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THIS SONG IN MORE THAN 60 YEARS. IT'S JUST ONE OF THE MANY WWII ERA SONGS YOU WILL BE HEARING AND HOPEFULLY SINGING WITH ME DURING OUR SUMMER CONCERT SERIES AT KUSER FARM.

2007: KUSER FARM GAZEBO SUMMER EVENING MUSIC PROGRAMS

2007: KUSER SUMMER SUNDAY PROGRAMS

I will be hosting the early Sunday evening music programs at the Kuser Farm Gazebo this summer from 6 to 7:30 or 8 PM. The success of my outreach programs to senior citizen groups throughout the area over the past 20-plus years led me to believe that I could bring the same musical program to the summer visitors that I have been performing over the years. Most of those who attend the summer Kuser concerts love and respond to the "easy listening" nostalgia type of music, as opposed to the contemporary music of the younger generation. Accordingly, I approached Mayor Glen Gilmore and volunteered my services. Mayor Gilmore and Kathleen Purdy from Hamilton Recreation and Kathleen Fitzgerald from the Senior Center, have given me much needed encouragement and moral support. I hope to see many of my senior citizen friends at the concerts, and I encourage them to bring members of the younger generation to listen to "The Music We Grew Up With."
OH YES, I FORGOT! THAT CONCRETE DANCE FLOOR IN FRONT OF THE GAZEBO WILL WELCOME ALL OF THE DANCERS IN OUR MIDST. WE'LL HAVE POLKAS, LINE DANCING, JITTERBUG, WALTZES, FOX TROTS, OLD FASHIONED "CHEEK TO CHEEK" DANCING AND MAYBE EVEN "THE STROLL!"
THERE WILL BE NO RAIN DATES.

1999: RELAXING AT KUSER FARM PARK

Now I ask you, would you buy a used car from any of these guys? Thanks to retired Hamilton police officer Billy Gray for this photo taken 8 years ago at Kuser Park. On the left is the late Jim Salt , Officer Bill Gray, the Late Lenny Branham, and on the right, Tom Glover.

SUNDAY EVENING KUSER GAZEBO CONCERTS

DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO THAT SIGN. THE RESTORATION IS COMPLETE. THE PHOTO WAS TAKEN IN THE FALL OF 2006 AT HAMILTON'S FALL HARVEST FEST.

Bing Crosby, Patti Page, Perry Como, Mario Lanza, Joni James, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Eddie Fisher, Glenn Miller,..........
I will be hosting the Sunday evening “gazebo concerts” at Kuser Farm Park throughout the summer of 2007. Each Sunday from July 8^th through August 26^th, from 6 to 7:30 or 8 P.M., we will bring a nostalgic evening of music under the stars. Each week will feature an hour and a half or two of classic love ballads, country music, Irving Berlin classics, “Tin Pan Alley” favorites, Broadway tunes, music of World War II, the 40’s, the 50’s, and even some of the smooth and understandable songs of the 60’s and 70's. Sing along or just listen and enjoy! For those dancers in our midst, that great little concrete dance floor in front of the gazebo welcomes you when we roll out the barrel with polkas, jitter bugs, line dancing, and good old fashioned cheek to cheek dancing. The media has decided that our music doesn’t fit their target audience. Viewers of this website and my "Sentimental Journey" columns in the Trenton TIMES ARE my target audience! The programs are free of charge. Bring a folding chair or a blanket and settle back and remember the music we grew up with.....indeed the era when music was music! I look forward to seeing many of you beginning on Sunday, July 8^th.

There will be no rain dates.

STAY TUNED...More information will be forthcoming.

SUMMER CONCERTS WILL INCLUDE WWII MUSIC!

Bing Crosby, Patti Page, Perry Como, Mario Lanza, Joni James, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Eddie Fisher, Glenn Miller,..........
I will be hosting the Sunday evening “gazebo concerts” at Kuser Farm Park throughout the summer of 2007. Each Sunday from July 8^th through August 26^th, from 6 to 7:30 or 8 P.M., we will bring a nostalgic evening of music under the stars. Each week will feature an hour and a half or two of classic love ballads, country music, Irving Berlin classics, “Tin Pan Alley” favorites, Broadway tunes, music of World War II, the 40’s, the 50’s, and even some of the smooth and understandable songs of the 60’s and 70's. Sing along or just listen and enjoy! For those dancers in our midst, that great little concrete dance floor in front of the gazebo welcomes you when we roll out the barrel with polkas, jitter bugs, line dancing, and good old fashioned cheek to cheek dancing. The media has decided that our music doesn’t fit their target audience. Viewers of this website and my "Sentimental Journey" columns in the Trenton TIMES ARE my target audience! The programs are free of charge. Bring a folding chair or a blanket and settle back and remember the music we grew up with.....indeed the era when music was music! I look forward to seeing many of you beginning on Sunday, July 8^th.

There will be no rain dates.

STAY TUNED...More information will be forthcoming.

IT'S A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING!

Bing Crosby, Patti Page, Perry Como, Mario Lanza, Joni James, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Eddie Fisher, Glenn Miller,..........
I will be hosting the Sunday evening “gazebo concerts” at Kuser Farm Park throughout the summer of 2007. Each Sunday from July 8^th through August 26^th, from 6 to 7:30 or 8 P.M., we will bring a nostalgic evening of music under the stars. Each week will feature an hour and a half or two of classic love ballads, country music, Irving Berlin classics, “Tin Pan Alley” favorites, Broadway tunes, music of World War II, the 40’s, the 50’s, and even some of the smooth and understandable songs of the 60’s and 70's. Sing along or just listen and enjoy! For those dancers in our midst, that great little concrete dance floor in front of the gazebo welcomes you when we roll out the barrel with polkas, jitter bugs, line dancing, and good old fashioned cheek to cheek dancing. The media has decided that our music doesn’t fit their target audience. Viewers of this website and my "Sentimental Journey" columns in the Trenton TIMES ARE my target audience! The programs are free of charge. Bring a folding chair or a blanket and settle back and remember the music we grew up with.....indeed the era when music was music! I look forward to seeing many of you beginning on Sunday, July 8^th.

There will be no rain dates.

STAY TUNED...More information will be forthcoming.

1982: MANSIONS IN MAY

IT WAS SUCH A NICE ANNUAL AFFAIR! THE KUSER HOME WAS THROWN OPEN AS A FUNDRAISER. THIS PHOTO FROM THE MAY 13, 1982 EDITION OF THE "MERCER MESSENGER."

1987: CHRISTMASTIME AT KUSER FARM

SURE IT'S "OUT OF SEASON," BUT IT STILL MAKES FOR INTERESTING VIEWING. THIS PHOTO IS FROM A COLUMN I DID BACK IN 1987, AND IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY YOU WILL SEE MANY FOLKS FROM HAMILTON'S ILLUSTRIOUS PAST.

1977: KUSER FARM PARK 30TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR

WOW, HOW QUICKLY TIME PASSES BY! THIS YEAR OF 2007 WILL MARK THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF KUSER FARM PARK. THANKS TO THE GENIUS OF THE RAFFERTY ADMINISTRATION, JACK RAFFERTY RESCUED THE PROPERTY FROM BUILDERS WHO MOST CERTAINLY WOULD HAVE FILLED UP THAT WONDERFUL AREA WITH STILL MORE HOUSING.

ON A SAD NOTE, I RECEIVED A CALL FROM CARETAKER LEN BRANHAM'S SON THAT LENNY PASSED AWAY ON THURSDAY EVENING. MY PRAYERS AND I'M SURE THE PRAYERS OF OTHERS ARE WITH HIM.

THANKS TO FREDDIE SCHULZ FOR
THIS DEDICATION DAY PROGRAM ACCOMPANYING THIS POST.

2006 Kuser Farm Sunday Concerts

Mayor Glen Gilmore had this beautiful sign erected on Leonard Avenue at the Kuser Farm property announcing the coming Sunday concerts to be held at Kuser Farm Park this year. Each of the programs promises to provide a very enjoyable evening. Bring a folding chair and a blanket and come spend a couple hours listening to quality "music for a summer night.!"

Yeah, that's me on the very end of the list. I will be doing my "Once Upon a Time There Was Music" program. My son, Ken is also performing his special brand of vocal and instrumentals.
I hope to see you there.