1974: CARL MOLDOVAN: HE TOLD IT LIKE IT WAS

You either agreed or disagreed with the views of Mr. Moldovan, but even the most staunch teachers' union advocates had to reluctantly agree that he did have some valid complaints about budgetary excesses in the township's annual tax increases. I inserted "LIGHTNING STRIKES THE HAMILTON B.O.E." into this graphic. I have a history of being a fierce supporter of Hamilton's schools and teachers, but as a senior citizen I find myself wondering why I don't get just a bit of a tax break from the large amount of my income that goes to the schools. Most of monthly social security check goes to Hamilton Township for my quarterly tax payment. The last time I looked which was a few years ago, I found that more tax dollars went to the school system than to the township. Most of us in the senior citizen community have been paying those exorbitant taxes many years after our children graduated from grammar and high school.  It is long past the time that the powers that be in the state, county and local municipalities look into what is an unfair senior citizen tax burden and at least consider some relief.

2013: GRADUATION TIME. PERHAPS YOU KNOW ONE OF THESE GRADS FROM THE PAST!

ST. FRANCIS SCHOOL CLASS OF 1937

ST. JOSEPH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1937

ST. HEDWIGS' CLASS OF 1938

ST. HEDWIGS' CLASS OF 1956

JUNIOR 3 SAFETY PATROL

MINUTE MEN (AND WOMEN) JR. 3 1943

 WILBUR'S COOK SCHOOL

 

HOLY CROSS SCHOOL CLASS OF 1937

1965: LOCAL NOTABLES CONGRATULATIONS TO GRADUATES

"Congratulations" to the class of 1965 at area high schools. This vignette has photos of the high profile area educators and political persons of nearly 50 years ago.

1902: TRENTON CREDITED WITH FIRST SCHOOL IN NEW JERSEY

I found this to be a fascinating article relating to the early years of the local educational system. There is a large and growing collection of schools in the Hamilton Library's Local History Collection.

1938: JUNIOR 3's "RIDING CLUB"

A riding club?"This was the era when it didn't cost $10,000 or more per year to educate a child. One of my favorite subjects over these many years has been the evolution of the school system in the local area. One glaring feature that stands out that is no longer in the 2012 educational lexicon are clubs that are aimed at cultural and societal student development. Hamilton High school, and I assume other schools of the earlier years had clubs with such quaint titles as "Etiquette," "Model Building," "Radio," "Music Appreciation," "Dance," and the list goes on. A "Riding" club was not in our directory of clubs at Hamilton High, but it sure would have been nice!

1871 AND 1922: ANNA NORTH'S PRIVATE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

The concept of the old one room school house from the 1800's has always held a certain fascination for me. The concept of a single room with a teacher teaching multiple classes in the same room is absolutely fascinating. On the other hand, back in those one room school years, private schools flourished. As can be seen in the photo above and the descriptive caption to the right of the photo Anna North held forth in a multi room school house located smack dab in the middle of downtown Trenton.

1938: MCCLELLAN SCHOOL'S "LEADER" STAFF

Here's a news photo of the McClellan School's "McClellan Leader;" the school newspaper whose staff shown above toured the Trenton Times facility to learn more about journalism and the newpaper publishing industry. I see an Anna Annacarato in there!

1935: COOK SCHOOL SAFETY PATROL

Many familiar family names in this photo of the boys on William G. Cook School in the Wilbur section of Trenton.

1926:" SPARE THE ROD AND SPOIL THE CHILD"

This very interesting article has been languishing in my "SCHOOLS-MISCELLANEOUS" folder for many years. As I go through some of these little known articles, I realize how much our society has changed over the years. I wonder if those who approved of the "capital punishment" via a rubber hose found a change in behavior of the student who was disciplined with that hose.

1945: THE AFRICAN SCHOOL HOUSE

Over the past few years I have been encapsulating and digitizing the John Cleary/Harry Podmore "Trenton in Bygone Days" articles. Many years ago I checked the Trenton Library's collection of these articles and found that they were pasted into scrapbooks where over the years the paste that was used wrinkled the pages into a "corrugated" state. I wouldn't be surprised if my collection is unique in that the originals lend themselves to pristine digital copies as seen above. Microfilm was not the answer. In all my years working with Fred
Kuser's "Simplex Acme" 35 millimeter movie projectors, I learned that constant passage of the film through the sprockets, and past the lamp house on those projectors, caused the very fragile film to develop irritating scratches when projected on the screen. It is the same with microfilm. Constant motions going forward and rewinding of the film reels take an unfortunate toll on the article or image, resulting in unsightly vertical lines and scratches.

2011: READING OUTSIDE OUR CLASS ROOM

I am an obsessive reader. If I don't have my Trenton Times, Trentonian, or New York Post at my breakfast table, you will probably find me reading the back of my "Wheaties" box. Reading, writing and penmanship were very important parts of our Kuser grammar school education. Even though the Bobbsey Twins" were more or less favored by the girls, we boys found very interesting reading as we read of the exploits of Bert, Nan, Freddie and Flossie Bobbsey. The bad boy Danny Rugby appealed to boys as we saw him get his just desserts in each volume. Long before I could read, my sister Dorothy read the Bobbsey Twins books to me at bed time. When I developed that still treasured ability to read on my own, I read each and every Bobbsey Twins book I could find. Naturally, my reading tastes were enhanced by my Kuser School teachers who subjected us to "Uncle Tom's Cabin," "Little Men," "Robin Hood," and countless other volumes that appealed to the younger generation. I have a bookcase full of vintage children's books from the "Buddy" series to the "Tom Swift" series, and the more advanced volumes by Naturalist author Ernest Thompson Seton and countless others who have made reading a necessary and joyful experience all my life. The generation who followed me found a similar source in the "Nancy Drew" and "Hardy Boys" series. I have just started re-reading some of those old volumes. The "Bobbsey Twins in the Country" is a bittersweet and nostalgic trip back to my childhood, which gives me a strange, almost spiritual experience.

1906: CARROLL ROBBINS SCHOOL-IN THE BEGINNING

Just now I am going through my growing "SCHOOLS, TRENTON" folder in the Local History Digital database. I had wanted so much to be a teacher when I was a boy, but Mom and Pop Glover couldn't affore the $900 tuition at Ewing's Trenton State Teachers College. Even though I never made the grade, historical information on our early schools holds a special fascination for me. From the quaint one room school houses of the 19th century, to the evolution of the larger "neighborhood schools" in the early 20th century, one will find many school references on this website.
(Of course, My Kuser School, and Hamilton High School web sites reflect my personal affection for both of those local institutions of learning. (www.hhs51.blogspot.com and www.kuser-school.blogspot.com )
The beautiful old building still stands on Tyler Street in the city of Trenton. Its neighbor, the old Trenton High School was located diagonally across the "lots" on Greenwood and Chestnut Avenue. This article gives a detailed description of the building as it was proposed in the 1906 article above. It would be interesting to learn how many changes have taken place over the past century.

An interesting history of Carroll Robbins, for whom the school was named, can be found at

http://www.trenton.k12.nj.us/Robbins/THE%20HISTORY%20OF%20CARROLL%20ROBBINS.pdf

1914: SCHOOL BOOKS WE WERE READING

"Old timers" will be quite familiar with the Traver name. In years past, Traver's Book Store was THE source for books. Mr. Traver was a kindly gentleman who was always willing to lend his assistance to booklovers. One of the saddest days in Trenton history was when Traver's closed their door and left Trenton without a book dealer. I remember the clearance sale they had back in the 1960's. It started out the one could by a bag of books for $3.00, and as the closing day arrived, all you could carry for a few dollars. I was there on the last day of the clearance sale. Mr. Jim Brimmer from the Trenton Rescue Mission was there. I had bags of books that were true rarities and as I was leaving, I asked Mr. Brimmer what was going to happen to the remaining books. They were going to be recycled! Trashed! Thrown away and crushed in a paper shredder! To a book lover such as I, the pain was awful! He and I were standing near the Rescue Mission truck which was being loaded for the trip to the paper recycling facility. I asked him if he would sell me a truck load. "Sure, $35.00 and you tell me where to deliver them." I was working in New Brunswick at the time, and at about 11:30 A.M. the next morning, Judy called me and said......"Tom, 5 men from the Rescue Mission were here at 8:30 this morning. They just left. I went out in the garage. There are books from the floor to the ceiling."I spent hours, days, weeks, going through those books. Mr. Don Sinclair was the archivist at the Rutgers "New Jersey Room." I called him and asked him if he was interested in any of the many rare volumes that were destined for destruction. I sent many rare New Jersey books up to him for inclusion in the New Jersey history collection.
I could write a book about my many years of collecting and seeking out historical material which would otherwise end up being destroyed. I also say with all the humility I can muster, that I had the foresight to procure the 100 year collection of local Trenton newspapers which were also going to the recycler. Somehow, I knew that microfilm preservation was not going to be the end of the preservation story. I was right! Along came the personal computer, and here we are, ready for the next 100 years of digitizing local history, "one page at a time." When the time comes that I am unable to function at this project, there will most certainly be a continuation of recording local history as it is found in the millions of pages in my Trenton newspaper collection.

1902: GROWTH OF THE TRENTON SCHOOL SYSTEM

The above article gives a closeup look at the public school system in the city of Trenton. Many schools which are no longer in existence are listed. (Peabody, Hamilton, etc.)

1893: FIRE AT TRENTON'S UNION STREET SCHOOL

At some point, I hope to retrieve the news account of the fire at Trenton's old Union Street School back in 1893. Apparently, the Principal and the teacher led the students out of the building in a very orderly way, and the certificate above recognizes their heroic efforts. For those who are not familiar with Union Street, it, along with Cooper Street ran off of Market Street between Lamberton and South Broad Streets in South Trenton.

2010: THE RETURN OF "DICK AND JANE"

I am. I was, and I always will be an avid reader. Whether it's reading my morning newspapers, or even a cereal box, my eyes are automatically focused on the printed page. The graphic above will be familiar to my contemporaries who were students grammar school during the 1940's and early 50's. Dick and Jane and their family were instrumental in teaching us the incredibly important subject of reading. How simple and quaint it was: Mother and Father (in love and married) "Puff," and their oh so simple daily adventures: "See 'Spot' run!' "Funny, funny "Spot!"

An emotional bubble rose up within me as I read this incredibly fascinating book which tells the story of the world of Dick and Jane as seen through the eyes of those of us who are now Senior Citizens. This childhood treasure became obsolete as the century developed. The book was too "sappy" for the more sophisticated teachers and parents. In the new generations, mothers and fathers had to work, mothers and fathers divorced and re-married, and society in general rendered the sweet and innocence of the Dick and Jane books of my youth. If you want a thrilling visit back to your youth, check out "The World of Dick and Jane and Friends," (ISBN 0-448-43646-9), or "Growing up With Dick and Jane" by Carole Kismaric and Marvin Heiferman (ISBN 0-06-076681-6). I'm sure you will find them at a local book store, Amazon.com. or Ebay. These volumes are nostalgic historic treasures!

1891: Trenton's Bellevue Avenue Schoolhouse

This graphic is the cover of a teacher's "roll" book, wherein she entered the daily attendance of her students, recorded marks, and other minutia in order for her to keep a close record of each class. The Bellevue Avenue school was constructed around 1857. Looking closely at the graphic and your can just see the faded ink inscription, "First Class," First Grade," "Primary Department'" an "Bellevue Avenue Public School." The teacher who kept this book was Clara Briscoe, a great aunt of former Hamilton High teacher, Carl "Ace" Abbott. A note accompanying the book indicated that Ms. Briscoe was a teacher during the time of Grace Dunn.

1855: DR. CHARLES SKELTON HISTORY OF TRENTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The early years of public education constitute an interesting study. Where was that "Jefferson Street Public School" which was located somewhere on today's Liberty street located? The 1855 article is accompanied by a portrait of Dr. Skelton from my "NOTABLE PERSONS" and "SCHOOLS, MISCELLANEOUS" folders.

My apologies for the blurry text in the article;
it was a black and white scan rather than grayscale.

1913: Columbus School Under Construction

This photo accompanied the recent photo which I posted showing the Franklin School under construction. Both of the schools were to open for the 1913-1914 season. Columbus School was and is on the corner of Brunswick Avenue and Mulberry Street in North Trenton.

1982: A TEACHER'S PRAYER - Tom Glover Graphic

The above graphic, minus "A Teacher's Prayer," was published to accompany a column I did on little Tommy Glover's experiences in Miss Mary Kelley's "Reception Grade;" known today as Kindergarten. We laughed, we cried, we pasted, we cut out pictures from magazines, and a number of us hadn't quite learned to control certain bodily functions, but we were always patiently cared for and understood by Miss Mary Kelley; the epitome of a love and kindness toward very innocent children. It takes a special person with a special personality to be a "Reception Grade" teacher. She is a temporary "mommy" as well as a
teacher molding innocent minds. That beautiful poem, "A Teacher's Prayer," most certainly ascends directly to the intended source.