1925: WOODLAWN PARK GRAND OPENING

Along with Camp Olden, I consider Woodlawn Park to be one of the more elusive Hamilton Historic sites. Advertising for Woodlawn Park is plentiful; but over the years, I have failed to find anyone except Mr. Frank Yeager, who loaned me the originals for the photo article I wrote a number of years ago. If you use the "SEARCH BLOG" spot on the top left of my home page an type in Woodlawn Park, you will find a number of other graphics relating to that very popular amusement park.

Ralph Lucarella said...

HI TOM...HERE AGAIN I'M GOING BACK TO THE 20'S WHEN I RECALL TED LEWIS AND HIS ORCHESTRA PLAYING AT THE PARK. AND I REMEMBER MY SISTER ROSE ENTERING A CONTEST FOR BLACK BOTTOM DANCERS. IT WAS A VERY POPULAR PLACE IN THOSE DAYS, ESPECIALLY THE ROLLER COASTER AND THE SWIMMING POOL REMAINED OPEN AFTER THE PARK CLOSED DOWN, REGARDS.

Friday, February 04, 2011

1935: THE 20th ANNUAL TRENTON AUTOMOBILE SHOW

Were I able to climb into a time machine and journey back to the auto show illustrated above, I would take a couple thousand dollars cash and buy two or maybe three of those great old autos you see on the show room floor. "Streamline" and various forms of that word was added to the vocabulary of auto dealers back in the mid 1930's as cars began the transformation from those square autos to slanted grills, windshields, front ends and other body modifications that cut down considerably on wind resistance.

Ralph Lucarella said...

HI TOM...IN 1940, MY WIFE WON $25 AT A BINGO AND WE BOUGHT A 1933 CHEVY WITH THE MONEY SHE WON. IT WAS THE FIRST CAR WE OWNED AND IT NEEDED SOME WORK. I PAINTED THE CAR GREEN WITH A BRUSH AND MY FRIEND AND I OVERHAULED THE ENGINE. IT RAN VERY WELL AND AS I RECALL WE WERE VERY HAPPY WITH IT. BEST REGARDS.

Friday, February 04, 2011

1987: REMEMBERING THE HOKEY POKEY AND OTHER CHILDHOOD GOODIES OF YESTERYEAR

Remember the penny and nickel "Chance Board?" Come on back with me to the 1940's and early 1950's when gas was 19.9 a gallon, candy bars were a nickel, Coke (the beverage!), Pepsi, and Kerns, Twin Cola were a nickel a bottle and a large bottle of was 15 cents. A cup of coffee was a nickel, donuts were 30 cents a dozen, But best of all, those great goodies described in my 1987 column "Goodies From the Past" were within the reach of some, but not all of us. Today, a quart of ice cream has been quietly reduced in quantity with a package just a bit smaller than the original package. The nickel candy bar has morphed into a smaller package with a price of around 80 cents.

Mack said...

Hi Tom:) I remember saving popsickle sticks until I had enough to make something out of them with glue for art class in school back in the day:)

Friday, February 04, 2011

Ralph Lucarella said...

HI TOM....I'M GONNA A LITTLE FURTHER BACK TO THE 1920'S. WE HAD THE OLD MAN IN THE PUSH CART ON MOTT ST. WE CALLED HIM ADI ALP, WHICH MEANS HURRY UP IN NEOPOLITAN. HE HAD ALL THE HOOKEY POOKIES IN HIS LITTLE CART AND CHARGED TWO CENTS. LATTER ON IN THE 1940'S, LIVING ON EMORY AVE. MY WIFE WOULD BUY 15 CENTS WORTH OF GRAVY MEAT FOR PASTA AT NARDI'S STORE. THAT'S THE THE WAY THINGS WERE WHEN PEOPLE WORKED FOR AS LITTLE AS 25 CENTS AN HOUR AND EVERYONE SEEMED TO GET ALONG. BEST REGARDS.

Friday, February 04, 2011

1987: THE ELI MOUNT BROAD STREET PARK DIARIES

Broad Street Park has always been a place of interest to me. As neighbors who were just across the old St. Mary's Pond back in the 1940's, and the very familiar Rusling Hose fire alarm that rang out at all hours, my interest was increased as I learned about the splendid historical heritage of the area. My friend and colleague Jim Collelo has a site devoted to Broad Street Park. Click on the link on my home page.

1986: CHRIST P.E. CHURCH - HAMILTON AND WHITTAKER AVENUES CHAMBERSBURG

Alice Mount and Thomas E. Glover were married in Christ Protestant Episcopal Church back in 1923. They were not as active as they should have been, but in later life both returned to the church. My father came from to Trenton with his brother and 3 sisters from Longton in the Stoke On Trent area of Great Britain back in the teens. The church was built along the lines of a typical British small town church. The grand old edifice survived the years until the mid 1960's when a drop in attendance along with an unfortunate schism between progressive liberal Protestant Episcopal members and those who leaned toward the Conservative Anglican persuasion brought the church down. My family was conservative Anglicans and left the church.

1986: BROAD STREET PARK DIARY WEEK 1 MESSENGER

Earlier today, I posted Part 2 of a multi-week column I wrote which brings persons and events in Broad Street Park into focus, as we look back on life as it was lived there during the very early years of this vintage Hamilton Township neighborhood. Ladies and gentlemen, the Harry Martin family of Broad Street Park!

1986: BROAD STREET PARK DIARY

Anyone experienced in history knows that there has to be a certain "hook" when writing about things historic. There is nothing more boring than reading a small and insignificant community article in the daily paper. However, when these community articles are arranged in chronological order, and given a fictional person to relate to those articles, the end result is an interesting chronology. Such is the case with numerous columns I have written over the years. The above Broad Street Park retrospective kept by the fictional Harry Martin family is one. The actual dates and events in the diary re-edited into diary form and accurate as published..

1988:DO YOU REMEMBER THESE?

Over these many years, my columns in the local press have featured both historic and nostalgic subjects. The 1988 column "Do You Remember These" was calculated to stir the gray matter in those of us who are card-carrying members of what I jokingly call "WRINKLE CITY." See how many of these long lost vestiges of the past you recall. (Assuming you are old enough, of course!)

  Sally Logan Gilman said...

Hi Tom: I remember many of your wonderful "memories,'' especially the movies on Saturday and the toaster in which my mother would burn one side of the bread and either flip it over on the plate or scrape the burned stuff off. She did not like black on a young lady and made we wear brown and white saddle shoes when all my friends wore the more popular black and white version. It was a great childhood and there is nothing "corny'' about recalling such great times. Beat wishes.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Tom Glover said...

HI AGAIN, SALLY:

"CORNY" IS NOT PART OF MY VOCABULARY, SALLY. I HAVE REPLACED IT WITH THE LITTLE-USED WORD, "WHOLESOME!"

XO

TOM GLOVER

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Sally Logan Gilman said...

Right you are,Tom. "Wholesome'' is a much better word than "corny.'' Either way, it was a great time to be growing up. Regards.

Thursday, February 03, 2011

2011: TRENTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY 2011 CALENDAR: MAGNIFICO!

It's one of the most pleasant $15 investments I (or you) will ever make! I received the 2011 calendar from the Trenton Historical Society via PayPal yesterday. It is an incredible collection of the most beautiful and interesting views of downtown Trenton that you can imagine. I was especially interested in the views of the downtown Trenton of my youth. Strange, but the last time I set foot in that Trenton was when I was on furlough from the Army back in 1956. I remember parking in the "Maiden Lane" parking lot on Hanover Street and visiting my dear wife Judy in the Infants' Wear department of that wonderful old Trenton landmark. Many of the visitors to this blog will be very interested in acquiring a copy of this wonderful keepsake.
Details are in the graphic above.

Credit for this beautiful folio of Trenton photos goes to:
The Trentoniana Collection at the Trenton Public Library
Ms. Carolyn Stetson for the front cover
Mr. Karl Flesch for Design/Photography
Mr. Damon Tvaryanas written text
Calendar Committee: Mr. Karl Flesch, Ms. Sally Lane, Ms. Wendy Nardi, and Mr. Gary Nigh

WELL DONE!

Sally Logan Gilman said...

Hi Tom: Thanks to you, I just ordered my calendar. I was going to do it months ago, but you just sold me. Hooray. I have an orginal etching by George Bradshaw who was my mother's art teacher. She passed it along to me and it's displayed on our wall here in NH. Best wishes and again, thanks Tom.

Tuesday, February 01, 2011   Aprilicity said...

Thanks for the reminder Tom! I too meant to order this a while ago.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011 Hi Tom: Got my calendar yesterday and I just hung it up in the messy room I call "my office.'' I love it. It brings back so many wonderful memories, esp. State and Broad where I would take the bus home from THS and Rider. I loved seeing those shots from  the '50s. Thanks for the reminder about this great collection of wonderful photographs. We are buried in the white stuff up here and we're running out of places to put it. Stay well, Tom. "West End Sal.''

1983: EWING SAYS GOODBYE TO FISK AND REED GRAMMAR SCHOOLS

How I dislike seeing the demise of neighborhood schools! Reed and Fisk were two of Ewing Township's leading grammar schools back in the early to mid 20th century. Today, only the buildings remain.

1983: TOM GLOVER, MEET CHANNEL 6's 'S LARRY FERRARI

As holder of FCC amateur radio license WA2RVU, I have spent many hours contacting fellow amateurs all over the U.S.A., and many countries of the world. My fellow "ham" and friend Gerry Jurrens (N2GJ) has compiled a comprehensive list of celebrity amateurs on his web site. (http://users.tellurian.com/gjurrens/famous_hams.html). As for me, the only celebrities I have had conversations with beside the above Larry Ferrari, was back in the 1970's when I spent a few minutes talking to my favorite radio satirist, Jean Shepherd. I hope to once again get back on the air with a future purchase of a vertical antenna in limited size of my property, which will give me at least a bit of coverage of the amateur bands. I have more or less given up on what we hams know as the 2 meter band, due to the lack of activity with the advent of the cell phone.

2011: SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH

1902: TRENTON'S NEW SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH

Events surrounding the dedication of the legendary Shiloh Baptist Church of Trenton is described in detail in the article. Unfortunately, there is no indication of the source of the article, but it is believed to be from Trenton's Daily True American.

1902: GENESIS OF SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH

DID YOU KNOW THAT SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH WAS ORIGINALLY LOCATED ON TRENTON'S BELVIDERE STREET? SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH IS STEEPED IN HISTORIC TRADITION. THERE ARE NUMEROUS SHILOH ARTICLES IN MY "AFRICAN-AMERICAN" FOLDER.....THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF THEM

MORE ON SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH

Years ago, one of my columns involved the fictional newspaper reporter "Lawson Tattler." Lawson's assignment was to interview the movers and shakers from the Mercer County area in the long ago. Here, he sat down with Rev. J.B. Randolph, the founder of Trenton's historic Shiloh Baptist Church.

1898: Shiloh Baptist Church

Once again in recognition of Black History Month, this early article from from the "AFRICAN-AMERICAN" folder in the Local History Collection of the Hamilton Township Public Library. Here is an early article relating to Trenton's historic Shiloh Baptist Church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 1918: Shiloh Baptist Fund Raiser

 

With February being Black History Month, I dug into my "AFRICAN-AMERICAN" folder and came up with this, and other interesting memorabilia relating to the Trenton area's African-American community. There will be more posted during the remainder of the month.

 1902: Groundbreaking for the Legendary Shiloh Baptist Church

With February celebrating Black History Month, it is appropriate that my site bring you some of the files in the AFRICAN AMERICAN folder at the Hamilton Library's Local History Collection. As all local citizens recall it was the home church of S. Howard Woodson, one Trenton's most beloved men of God.

1992: FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Racism was alive in well back in19th and early 20th century Trenton as the above article I wrote back in 1992 will attest. The idea that a black Union soldier not be allowed to be interred in a white cemetery is an incredible example of rampant racism that was once practiced not only in Trenton, but all over America.

1898: YARDVILLE, 1898

Hamilton Square, Mercerville, and Yardville were basically farming towns back during Hamilton's 19th and early 20th centuries. The above graphic combines two different community related articles which highlight just how rural Sand Hills was as it changed its name to Yardville. The little photo at the top of the graphic is a photo of Mount's General Store one of Yardville's pioneer families. The store also served as the post office.

1983: REMEMBERING "ST. ANTHONY'S" TRENTON

Were it not for an unpleasant occurrence in the past, St. Anthony's would be my current parish. I have many fond memories of my years at that great old church on South Olden Avenue. I grew up as a sometimes go to church Protestant Episcopal, only occasionally attending St. James P.E. Church on Greenwood Avenue. When I married into the Irish Catholic Britton family back in 1954, I was still "un-churched." When I married in April, 1954,. Father Thomas Coffee was the Priest who presided at our wedding ceremony. We had to stand in front of the altar rail, and the marriage knot was tied in front of the bronze gate that was once a part of the altar. Judy's steadfast loyalty to the faith led me to convert.  I took "Instructions" under the tutelageof the late Msgr. Leonard Toomey and Msgr. Michael P. McCorristin, It was the best move I ever made in my life. My life at St. Anthony was interesting, to say the very least. When Vatican II brought change to the church in the early 1960's, the music liturgy was a mess. Roman Catholics never heard of old time hymns like "Faith of our Fathers," "We Gather Together," "Abide With Me," and other classic and timeless Protestant hymns. As a new Catholic with a working knowledge of those melodies, I was one of the parishioners who assisted with the new music. I worked many hours with no musical accompaniment going over many of those old hymns. Msgr. McCorristin told me that "Faith of our Fathers" was one of his very favorite hymns. As the years piled on in my St. Anthony years, I became a Lector, Eucharistic Minister, president of the Holy Name Society, and during our childrens' years at St. Anthony Grammar School, my wife Judy and I became President and Vice President of that august organization. The graphic above is part five of a five week series I wrote on the history of St. Anthony from the time Fr.Bernadine Ludwig sent out mission Priests to start what would become St. Anthony of Padua parish in Trenton. One day, when the infirmities of old age prevent the weekly journey to Sacred Heart Parish in Trenton, I will probably once again renew old acquaintances with St. Anthony, the parish of my youth.

1982 (PEN AND INK) 1983 "THE WAY WE WERE:" I REMEMBER TRENTON TRANSIT-I REMEMBER TRENTON

The above article was written back in 1983 when Trenton Transit was celebrating an anniversary. As I once again look at my pen and ink drawing of Trenton Transit "L-9," when my eyes were those of a 50 year old! Hopefully when I get my next eye exam, I will once again be able to etch in those very fine pen and ink lines with my Staedtler pen. All of my old time Trenton natives each has his or her memories of the Trenton Transit bus that covered their neighborhood. I hope this post will spur a few visitors to remember their experiences with this vintage transportation company. Trenton was a real treat to those of us "hicks" from rural Hamilton who took a memorable ride to downtown Trenton before the advent of malls.

Speaking of memorable downtowns: At the advancing age of 77, I still harbor incredibly clear memories of the Trenton of my youth. Recent news of the Roman Catholic Diocesan Bishop leaving the city of Trenton for the suburbs has caused quite a controversy in some quarters. To me, it is quite understandable that His Excellency moves to the suburban Lawrenceville. My understanding of that decision lies in the fact that I Live within 2 blocks of the city of Trenton, Numerous people comment that the area of Bromley which has been our home for 50 years, like the Western section and nuerouse areas of Trenton, is no longer the area it was when we purchased our Atlantic Avenue home back in the early 1960's. On the other hand, when I received the news that the immensely popular annual St. Patrick's Day parade was being moved to Hamilton Township, I looked at it as another nail in the coffin of a grand old town that is trying so valiantly to move up to its former glory. Politics aside, Judy and I will be active supporters of that group of loyal Trentonians who will continue the custom of a Trenton St. Patrick's Day parade, even though it may not be as huge as the original parade. Additionally, it will be a pleasure to once again greet one of my favorite Priests, Father Danny Cahill, a dear friend of the Glover family when he was an Associate at St. Anthony's parish.

The above are my personal opinions, and mine alone.

DON'T FORGET MY HAMILTON HIGH AND KUSER SCHOOL BLOGS

1954: MARION GOLDENBERG SCHWARTZ'S TRIBUTE TO A FRIEND

When we were young, we looked in the Society page to see who was getting married to whom. As we age, we now look in the Obituary section of the daily paper to see if one of our relatives, friends, or treasured classmates have gone to be with the Lord. Marion Schwartz's moving tribute to her friend late Marilyn Lister hearkens back to those carefree high school years.

1964: TRENTON'S GOLDEN ERA COMES TO AN END

I am a hopeless romantic when it comes to remembering the Trenton of my younger years. Memories of those many Saturdays that I went "up town" with my mother as she paid our electric bill, to the many happy visits to Goldberg's incredible "Toyland".........those delicious hot dogs as we dined at Woolworth's or Kresge's lunch counter.........those countless Thursday nights when I went to pick up my my dear wife Judy as she finished her day in Yard's Infants' Wear Department, have giving me memories of Trenton that will be with me forever. History will show that the 1960's marked the beginning of the end of the Trenton we all knew and loved. One by one, merchants moved out as racial turmoil from the slaying of Dr. Martin Luther King resulted in a complete breakdown of law and order as stores were burned, looted and decimated. Old stores that had been in the city for over 100 years were systematically burned and looted. One of the last old line stores to give up and move to safer and more accessible locations was S.P. Dunham. I miss that old store to this day. The best in shoes and mens' wear.....even as good as the Eton mens' shop, F.W. Donnelly, Bond, R.A. Donnelly, and Lord knows how many others.

From my Hamilton High class of '51 classmate, Lee Belardino:

Tom
What happened to Trenton is what happened to almost every major city. Flite to the suburbs and the malls. I remember taking the bus near Holy Angels church to go uptown. In the winter the bus was warm. I remember the hot dog smell out of the 5 AND 10 and no money to buy one.Xmas time shopping with all the crowd and the brisk air. Xmas songs coming from the stores. You don't get that atmosphere from the malls. Dunham's was my mothers favorite store. Lee

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Ralph Lucarella said...

HI TOM....MY DEAR FRIEND, SOPHIE DeANGELO, WORKED AT DUNHAM'S FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS. SHE WAS IN THE COSMETIC DEPT AND KEPT ME IN GOOD SUPPLY OF VARIOUS SAMPLES ALL THE WHILE. SHE WORKED WITH THEM IN BROAD STREET PARK AND ALSO, I BELIEVE, IN LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP. SHE DEVOTED HER ENTIRE LIFE TO THE STORE, MAY GOD BLESS HER AND MAY SHE REST IN PEACE. REGARDS.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Stephen Doyle said...

Great writing- its a shame that people did not take your very good advice to restore what was in Trenton rather than building anonymous, characterless, monstrosities of the 1980's and 1990's. BUT, even if its coming 30 years later, there is a slow shift to recognize the value of the historic buildings. They help make Trenton unique, and the younger generation would much rather live in a historic, unique, older building than a cookie cutter development. I still hold out hope that someday a new version of a Dunham's will return- who knows how long it will take though!!!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Sally Logan Gilman said...

Tom: Your wonderful writing sure struck a chord with a lot of people. I fondly remember the downtown Trenton of my youth. I loved to shop Yard's and Dunham's and Stacy Sport Shop. Later, Arnold Constable where my friend and I bought matching yellow, oilskin slickers with corduroy on the collar. I rode the bus in and out and could ride everywhere on a transfer. I'm so sorry for what happened to our city but many of the large cities here in New England have suffered the same fate. Thanks again Tom for all you do.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Michael said...

Tom: I'm compelled to inject my 2 cents worth on the demise of "Uptown" Trenton. Growing up in "Jewtown" as we goyum, and our Jewish brethren referred to our hallowed neighborhood, ( This will be elaborated on in another item herein published) "Uptown" began in the same block as my Parish Church; Sacred Heart on South Broad St. The Baby Carriage Factory was the first significant store, than crossing Market St. began the Court House Complex. (The old Court House, the Annex, and the jail) Than we got into the Palace Theatre,with Mama Manukas's Washington Restaurant, Maury Robinson's, Harold's (Zelt) Mens' fashions, Eton ( the original) Mens'& boys Factory St. and Georges Men Shop, Kahn's "Treadeasy" shoes, which were across from O'Neill's shoe repair, and the magnificent "Van Sciver's Furniture Store (Castle like) facade, Bea Greenberg's NJ Plumbing Supply, ( before she became "Mrs. G", Wolf's floor covering, Hamilton Jewelers ( Both lost in a terrible fire and relocated We now approach the holy Trinity, Goldberg's, Swern's, and Gimbels etc. etc. I have photographs of downtown Trenton from the 50's when I was a State and Broad Cowboy in front of Yard's swooning to the aroma of the goodies from the Federal Bake shop across the street, next to Kresge, where you walked in on State St. and came out on Broad passing Mrs. Fisher as she made those wonderful hot dogs. If I can get my aged mind to figuring out how to scan those photos, I will send them along to you. Now about the demise. I went to work for the City of Trenton in 1959 as a Housing Inspector. At that time the Urban Renewal was all about buy 'em up, knock 'em down and wait for some good luck. Chirp Holland fell for it, hook line and sinker. A scammer by the name of Graham promised all sorts of things if Holland would give him downtown Trenton land cheap, and level it all for his design team to show up and go at it. Well Holland gave orders to his political cohort; Hy Urken to get those businesses out of there. Hy did a bang up job, with the City's money, he relocated 90% of them to the townships. When all that Graham produced, was vacant weed and garbage strewn lots, I stood in front of a bulldozer to protest any further destruction of my town. My option was to do restoration. Holland became enraged at me, and stopped speaking to me. He got defeated by Carmen Armenti, and Carmen allowed me to do my restoration bit adjacent to my old neighborhood. I put together the first application for historic restoration in NJ and it was designated NJ1 by HUD, and became the highly successful "Mercer Jackson", now known as Mill Hill. BTW those "Barber poles" were known as "Bollards" and cost thousands of dollars each. When they were removed, and sold at auction, they commanded the heady price of $10.00 for scrap value. I left the City as Chief Real Estate Officer in 1971, after Holland threatened the Director with firing if he didn't get rid of me. I went with the State, and finished my career in 1989. Embarking on a highly successful career in Real Estate valuation, and land use. But the real love was the 90 or so properties I restored. Thanks again for stirring the memories. Cordially Mike Kuzma Now raising hell in Virginia It may be gone, but

Thursday, January 27, 2011

JoeZ said...

Tom: Great post about a great town. I also remember growing up with all the stores, the buses, the smell of peanuts and hot dogs, the rush of the Christmas crowds along with the cold of the night and the holiday music. Fond memories that will always be with me and I'm sure many others.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Mack said...

Hi Tom:) Just my 2 cents on the subject. The Automobile killed downtown and all attempts to stop it would only have slowed down the pace. Look at the people in this picture walking. Downtown Trenton TODAY still has many people walking aka state workers and they help keep downtown going at a reduced level but they go home at 5pm and on their days off go to malls. My generation drove to malls where there was PARKING and you could go in and out fast and drive home with the item in your car. Big department stores in central cities without parking?? Why go there??? Trying to prevent this process would be like a candle maker trying to prevent the sale of light bulbs. Only genuine customer loyalty kept places like Dunham's downtown going for as long as they did but the older generation with its shopping habits faded. Many of the older generation were a family where the man worked and had no car or used the 1 car to go to work and the wife stayed home and thus had the time and reason to take a bus downtown. That's gone too. Now most families are 2 car and 2 jobs. Obviously these folks now go to malls. Wait, did I hear someone say but New York City has successful urban big retailers.YES because its so big and its people have less cars and malls are too far away so it does'nt apply as an example. Trenton is not New York City. But the glass remains half full due to the state workers and thus we still do have a downtown. Its busy every workday from 8 to 5 and you can go there and see all the cool buildings and people going from place to place. While downtown Trenton can never be what it once was, it reamins something special and interesting and ALIVE in 2011.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Anonymous said...

Thanks, "Mike" -- so it was Kresge's where you went in from State Street and came out on Broad. I could not remember the name of that wonderful store.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Stephen Doyle said...

Mike- if you ever pass by, check out Mill Hill next time you are in town- your work paid big dividends! I've lived there now for almost 12 years with my family, and its an incredible gem in the City. here's a link to the neighborhood's website:

Friday, January 28, 2011

TO ALL WHO COMMENTED ON THIS AND OTHER POSTS:

First off, Mike, thanks so much for a very interesting insight into the beginnings of the crumble. I had no idea of all that chicanery going on. Steve, as a knowledgeable Mill Hill citizen, your input is also extremely valuable. My goal when I instituted this site was to have folks like those who have added their comments add to the historic significance of a specific post. Thanks to all.

Tom Glover

.I did go back to Mill Hill last September, when we buried my brother in law John Zuccarelli from our family parish; Sacred Heart. I still stay in touch with Larry Reilly, and took a moment to check out 408 Market St., a property I bought and personally restored after Holland had me done in in 1971. I went on to do several historically significant farm houses in Hunterdon County.
Still working as a restoration consultant here in the Williamsburg area, and serving as a Commissioner on the Housing and Redevelopment Authority, and pushing the restoration agenda.
Regards to Joe LaPlaca for his recent loss.

Thanks

Mike Kuzma

Friday, January 28, 2011

1916:CLAIRE DWIER ZARR COMMENTS ON THE TRAGIC FIRE OF 1916

I had posted graphics on the tragic Chandler-Palruba fire in Yardville back in August. A recent guest book comment by Ms. Claire Dwier Zarr adds an historic comment to supplement the graphics and gives a personal flavor to the disaster. Claire wrote:

Hi Tom--Just catching up on some of your posts and read the post re: the Chandler Oilcloth Company explosion in Yardville, May 1916. My grandfather, Nimrod Dwier, was one of the injured that day. Growing up I had always heard about the explosion and that he had been seriously burned, but I didn't know all the details. It was very interesting to read the accounting of the explosion and to learn of the others who were injured or, sadly, succumbed to their injuries that day. After reading about it, one can just imagine how strongly the incident affected the residents in the Yardville/Groveville communities. I'm very grateful my grandfather made it through that terrible ordeal and lived long enough for me to get to know him!