1941: The Hunt House, Hopewell

Sorry "Hopewellians," I am not up on your local history. I will happily post any and all historic material I uncover. This is one. Is there still a Hunt House, or has it fallen into the hands of a developer? Tell us more about it so it can be included in this post.

I have since received further information from Noel Goeke with the following information:

Hunt House, Joseph Stout House, or House of Decision is still there. It is a private residence on Province Line Rd. in Hopewell Township. Thank you, Noel!

1935: Mercerville "Glee Club"

You're over 50 if you remember when we who loved to sing belonged to a "Glee Club." What fond memories I have of being a soloist, and siging a duet with classmate and "girlfriend" Shirley Whitebread in Miss Ruth Margerum's Kuser School Glee Club. Here from the Local History 'MERCERVILLE SCHOOL" files at the Hamilton Library, we have a neat photo of the singers.

1868: Hamilton Square Presbyterian Church

Over the past ten or twelve years, this venerable and beautiful house of God has become a familiar location to me as I have brought my "The Music We Grew Up With" sing-along program to the "Happy Hearts" and the "Air Force Association;" both of whom meet there monthly. The church is a jewel in the crown of Hamilton Square. This interesting clipping from the "HAMILTON SQUARE PRESBYTERIAN" file at the Hamilton Library Local History Collection is one of many I have found and will find in the future.

1930's: "Lakeside"

NOTE: THIS GRAPHIC CAN NOT BE ENLARGED

Today it's known as Gropp's Lake. Back in the distant past it was known only as "Lakeside." There was a store on the corner of the property at South Broad St. and Lakeside Boulevard. There were bathhouses lined up all along the Lakeside Boulevard boundary of the lake. In earlier years, it was known as Lowrie's Mill, Kirby's Mill, and the lake was known as "Hutchinson's Pond." Many "old timers" have fond memories of lying on the beach and swimming at "Lakeside."

1881: The Whipping Post Dismantled

Back in the mid 1850's when the perpetrator was caught, he was sentenced by a firm judge and jury. Particularly egregious offenses resulted in the sentence of twenty lashes at the town whipping post. Hmmm......not a bad idea....but no, that would be cruel and unusual punishment. I always wonder why they don't consider the cruel and unusual punishment which is experienced by the victims......Hmmm.... 'tis a puzzlement!

1888: The Homedell Land Association

Under the "NEIGHBORHOODS" file, we find the genesis of the Hutchinson family's Homedell Land Association. This area of Hamilton is bordered by Liberty Street, So. Olden Avenue, E. Franklin, Woolsey, and adjacent streets.

1896: Rothschild Factory to Open

First it was Rothschild as a manufacturer of textiles. Following that it became the Strauss Woolen Mills. Following that it was the home of Atlantic Products for many years. In the BUSINESSES, HAMILTON files at the Hamilton Library, there is a photo of the plant as it looked when it opened. For those unfamiliar with the location, it is on Roberts Avenue and Nottingham Way, just the other side of the mainload railroad, adjacent to the former DeLaval complex.

1882: Sociable at Everett's Corner, Hamilton

This is a scan of the original invitation which is in the HAMILON SQUARE file in the Hamilton Library's Local History Collection. It is assumed that the Jacob Hughes is the Hughes of today's Hughes Drive area.

1883: Thre Prestigious "Lawrenceville Academy"

1911: Trenton's Contemporary Club Honors Outstanding Women

These photos are of some of the prominent women of Trenton during the first two decades of the 20th century.

Broad Street Park: A Hamilton Treasure

One of my favorite pastimes has been gathering interesting historic material on the various neighborhoods of Hamilton Township. Broad Street Park goes way back to the 1880's when James Rusling laid out a plot of land for development. Future posts will illustrate some of the material from his real estate venture.

1915: A Park for Chambersburg

Thanks to the efforts of Mr. Lew Lawton, the city of Trenton laid out an attactive mini park for the residents of the Burg. Anyone familiar with that charming neighborhood knows that in the middle of summer, a park with green grass and an abundance of shade trees provided a welcome respite from the urban concrete and bricks of the area.

Farewell to my childhood "shortstop," Alex Bencivengo

Back in my teens, our neighborhood hosted a group of boys who regularly played baseball over in Plaag's Grove. Don Cook, Don Slabicki, Ernie Plaag, Don Dilts, Don Glover, Tom Glover, and our star shortstop, fellow Yankee fan Alex Bencivengo. Alex could have gone on to be a professional ball player. He was an extremely talented infielder. Alex and I were avid Yankee fans; in fact, the only two fans in the neighborhood. Alex passed away this week, and he has been in my prayers. So long Alex; save me a place up there in the dugout.

And thank you, Tony Tozzi, for the photo.

1945: Trenton City Bocce League

Here they are, the local Bocce champs of 1945! Anybody there look familiar to you?

1891: How I love these old street scenes!

She must have been a beautiful city back when the more affluent Trentonians lived in the area illustrated here, along Greenwood Avenue, Hamilton Avenue, and the eastern section of the city. Many of the mansions still exist, but unfortunately, a number of them are boarded up, and still another number of them are housing numerous families. The homes illustrated here were relatively new, and there were no fire escapes to mar their beauty.
THIS, AND THE FOLLOWING TWO POSTS CAME FROM "TRENTON ILLUSTRATED;" A PICTORIAL ALBUM FROM 1891.

1891: The Grandstand at the Interstate Fair

I indicated in an earlier post on Trenton's N.J. State Fair that it was a great loss to Hamilton when the property was sold and developed. This beautiful old photo of the first turn of the track was taken from the Nottingham Way side of the track. I and many others spent hours along the fence watching the midgit races back in the 1940's.

1891 Trenton City Hall

This exquisite photo of the old Trenton City Hall was taken back when the Mayor of Trenton held sway in the building. He sentenced many a n'er do well "over-embiber" to a cell which was also in the building. An interesting and very little known fact about the City Hall: It was owned by a member of the Kuser family back in the early 20th century. As I recall, it was sold by the Kusers to a man named Lissner. During my youth, the old building was occupied by Yard's Department Store. The old mansard roof and the beautiful old clock gave the old city hall a majestic appearance. The building still stands, and was brought back to a beautiful condition back in the 60's or 70's.

Hamilton's "Dogtown"

Dogtown was located on Kuser Road near the intersection of Whitehorse-Mercerville Road. In fact, the Hamilton Library and Hamilton Police Headquarters are located on part of the land. Years ago, I wrote a column on the fabled "clay pits" and "Dogtown." Mr. Earl Williams read it, and added his reminiscences of the area. Fascinating reading....thanks, Earl!

This is the John Abbott II House

Oh yeah! There wasn't enough space in previous Historical Society posts to include this photo of the BEAUTIFUL John Abbott II house. If you visit, and I hope you will, you will be taken on a tour of the grand old home which exudes an incredible sense of antiquity. Wait 'till you hear the story of the broken crockery and the hidden rebel money they stashed there!

2003: Hamilton Historical Society

Here's a digital photo of our display at the 2003 Hamilton Septemberfest. Those are laminated newspaper pages from the Hamilton Library's "Oversize" file on display, showing various headlines from years gone by. Dr. Jim Federici succeed me as President of that august society, assuring the community that we will remain a viable asset to the community. Have you visited the John Abbott II House on Kuser Road? It is located at the Kuser Road entrance to Veterans' Park. Hostess Lillian Tindall Smith and her cadre of doscents will welcome you any Saturday or Sunday from noon until 4 PM. Be sure you check out our recent Hamilton Township History book, on sale at the Abbott House, or at my office in the Hamilton Library.

Colonial: The Fire Company of My Youth

I did this column back in the 1980's, recalling the legendary "Big John" Lenhardt and the Lenhardt boys, all of whom became legends in their own right. Colonial was located on Liberty Street at the corner of Newkirk Avenue back then, and I can remember the thrill we Kuser School kids had when the familiar Colonial siren blew and we flocked over to the second floor windows to watch the beautiful Diamond T and Peter Pirsch fire trucks head out to fight another fire. I also remember the plaintive sound of the fire whistle on a dark winter night during World War II, when the siren sounded for an air raid drill. Colonial is now in very sumptuous quarters on Kuser Road, right next to one of Hamilton Township's ultimate fire fighters: "Big John" Lenhardt. John would be proud.

The Early Years of Lakeside Park

Charles Teunon began laying out plots of land in the Lakeside Park area back in 1912. This real estate ad offers lots in that beautiful neighborhood at prices ranging from 100 to 500 dollars. One would assume that a lakefront property would command the princely price of $500. Back in the 1920's when this sale was on, a Ford could be had for $495. Tempus does indeed fugit!

1915: BRING BACK THE DRESS CODE!

One of society's large mistakes was allowing the lapse of the school dress code. Private schools held on to the idea, and the public schools seemed to give in to the misguided theory that we are violating a student's civil rights if we insist on a dress code. Do you remember when teachers wore dresses and skirts, boys wore neckties, and girls wore dresses? I have a really difficult time envisioning my Kuser School Principal, Miss Emily Reynolds, or my 3th grade teacher Ruth Margerum, wearing slacks to class. An even more difficult time imagining my mom allowing me to go to school wearing a tee shirt.

St. Anthony Grammar School Class of 1938

One of the really great features of the Hamilton Township Public Library Local History project is finding articles which contain names of people whom I knew or know. As I perused the accompanying article, I found my Sister in Law, the late Sister Kathleen Britton, Tony Stirpe, a fellow parishioner at my former parish, neighbor Virginia Kuklinski, and numerous other families with whom I am familiar. I suspect that many viewers of "Tom Glover's Hamilton" also enjoy that same experience. I dare say that a number of viewers will know at least one, and probably more of the 8th grade graduating class of St. Anthony's Grammar School.

Circa 1910: How I love those old Trenton views!

Thanks to the ability to repair and enhance these fascinating old postcards via the computer, a pretty view of North Broad Street looking north becomes an interesting look into Trenton's illustrious past. The upper right corner of this old postcard has been given a minor patch by moving a few bricks to cover up a damaged and torn corner.
Computer technology, 2006: "Who'd 'a thunk it?"

Check out Rich Kitchin's Mercer County Baseball Site!

Thanks Rich Kitchin for signing my guest book and telling me about your wonderful and very attractive local baseball website. I hope some of my viewers will visit and enjoy it as much as I did. A great site, and I love the fact that another facet of our area history will join the Mill Hill Society's site, and the Trenton Historical Society website.

www.mercerbaseball.com

1926: St. Joseph's School Graduating Class

For nearly 100 years, St. Joseph Parish on North Olden Avenue has played a very important part in many families in the Trenton area. Here's an interesting photo of the class of '26 from the St. Joseph Grammar School. Any familiar faces in there? Yes! There's the late Joe Warfel, a dear friend of mine from my St. Anthony Holy Name Society years. Joe is in the back row, far to the right.

1950'S: Parkway and Parkside Avenue

Hey Ewing! How you have grown. The old Parkway School is seen in this photo from the 1950's

1931: The Ladies From The Contemporary Club

These gals are performing in one of the presentations of Trenton's venerable Contemporary Club. The Contemporary has its home on West State Street in Trenton in a beautiful town house.

HOW TO ENLARGE AND SAVE

Attn: John Van Wagoner and others who are asking about reading the "small print:"

Since my Trenton Times "Sentimental Journey" column of yesterday, many visitors to "Tom Glover's Hamilton" missed my messages on how to enlarge a graphic that can be enlarged. (Not all graphics can be, but most can.) I am scanning in higher dots per inch so that the captions can be read.

LOOK FOR THAT ELUSIVE ORANGE AND BLUE ICON ON THE LOWER RIGHT CORNER OF THE GRAPHIC. PUT YOU CURSOR ARROW THERE AND SEE IF IT COME ON. IF IT DOES, CLICK ON IT FOR MAXIMUM ENLARGEMENT. SOME COMPUTERS ARE SLOWER IN REVEALING THE ORANGE & BLUE ICON, SO WAIT A FEW SECONDS FOR IT TO APPEAR.

HEREWITH A REPEAT OF A MESSAGE WHICH IS STILL ON THIS SITE:

Just a reminder to let you know that most of the graphics on this site can be enlarged by LEFT clicking on them. Depending on the size of the graphic, there may be only one enlargement. If there is still a larger view, an orange and blue square with arrows will appear at the lower right. Click on it and it will enlarge to the max. Files can be saved by RIGHT clicking on your mouse, click on "Save Target As" and choose the folder destination on your computer.

1938: Adath Israel Synagogue Confirmations

These winsome and lovely ladies will be confirmed by Rabbi Liebreich at Trenton's Adath Israel Synagogue on Bellevue Avenue in Trenton.

1938: Princetonians Annoyed by Skaters

Hey! Get rubber wheels on those roller skates; you're keeping everybody on Leigh avenue up past midnight with all the noise!

1938: Pennington Epworth League Players

Here they are! The cast of
"Girl Shy," a play to be presented in the Pennington Grammar School auditorium. 'know anybody here?

1938 Trenton Catholic Boys' High School

These folks are planning for a "testimonial dance" to be held at the Greenacres Country Club. The fella on the far right in the photo is the late Art Holland, former Mayor of the city of Trenton.

1946 Trenton High School Canteen Night

I'm told they don't hold many of those Saturday night dances at many high schools today, due to the expense of hiring a security person to protect those who are out for good clean and wholesome fun. Unfortunately the rabble often disrupt and ruin a fun evening. How well I remember those Saturday night canteens at Hamilton High during the 1940's and 50's.

Hey guys, did you wear "hightops?"

I drew this pen and ink back in 1984. Nearly every boy who grew up in the 20's and 30's and early 40's had a pair of high tops with a black handled penknife snugly fitted into a pocket on the side. I can still remember the delightful aroma of a new pair of high tops. The freshly tanned leather provided a very clean and pleasant aroma. High tops worn with knickers were a common site.

Parkway School, Ewing Township

Here they are viewers, the safety patrol of Parkway School. Anybody there you know?

1938: The Bromley Civic Association

The Hamilton Fire Company hosted this tapdancing competition for the Bromley Civic Association.

1915: Trenton's State-of-the-art Traffic signal

A Trenton police officer mans the new traffic signals which were put into use by the Trenton Police Department 91 years ago. Talk about "Hi-Tech!"

1938: St. Joachim's School Program

"...can it be that it was all so simple then, or has time

re-written every line? If we had the chance to do it all again, tell me, would we? Could we?"

Most of those players who participated in "Mary of Magdala" back then are in their mid 80's today. It would be nice if a viewer recognized one or two of these St. Joachim students.

BARBARA CICHETTI PROCELL'S MOTHER WAS IN THE PHOTO, AND HER DAUGHTER, BARBARA WAS KIND ENOUGH TO SEND THIS EMAIL. I REALLY APPRECIATE THE ADDED INFORMATION WHICH OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE GONE UNKNOWN TO MANY VIEWERS. THANKS, BARB! And by the way Barb, tell your mom that I don't thing any of those young ladies look "bad." Like the Blessed Mother, Mrs. Cicchetti is pretty, and so are the other beautiful young ladies in the photo.

=====================================================

Hi Tom,

As I was going through your February blog, I was pleasantly surprised to see my mother in the St. Joachim's picture of the Mary Magdeline play.My mom is Antonette Cicchetti Sesini, and she will be celebrating her 86th birthday this month. She played Mary Magdeline in Italian, and the girl seated next to her played the role in English. She really got a kick out of seeing the picture. She said she looks so bad because they had just finished rehearsing, and the part called for her to cry.I know some of the other ladies pictured. Rose Petrolini (deceased) was my godmother. Fannie (Fay) Bucchi is living in Italy. Mary Procaccino (deceased) was a good friend of my aunt. Thanks so much for the memory. Just finished reading this week's column. I too have fond memories of Kuser School. I taught 2nd grade there from Sept. 1968 to June 1992. I then transferred to Yardville Heights, and retired in December 2002.Keep up the great work. We really appreciate it.

Sincerely,Barbara Procell

Trenton High SPORTS NIGHT

It was a HUGE annual affair. It was a HUGE competitive affair. It was a HUGELY successful affair as the "Red" team competed against the "Black" team.

1937 Dr. Bernard Schnur

From the Hamilton Library's "NOTABLE PERSONS" file comes this photo of student Bernard Schnur. Dr. Schnur went on to be a prominent Trenton area physician. Dr. Schnur's parents were the owners of Schnur's Five and Ten Cent Store on Hamilton and Olden Avenues.

1869: The Shutter-Blind Fastener

I love those old ads from the 19th century! Peiodically, there will be additional treasures posted on "Tom Glover's Hamilton." This file is the the Hamilton Library Local History "ADVERTISING, LOCAL" file.

1937: Lawrence's New Diamond T

She's a beauty, isn't she? I went out on a limb and identified this as a Diamond T. It is the same beautiful engine the Colonial Fire Company had when I was a boy.

1916: Farmingdale School

Today it's a park. The Farmingdale School was one of Hamilton Township's oldest schools, dating back to the early 1800's. In the early years, the school hosted numerous religious gatherings on Sundays. If you are an alumnus of that venerable old school of learning, your memories of your years there will be welcome.

1929: The Interstate Fair

One of the very unfortunate losses Hamilton Township experienced was the loss of the N.J. State Fair. Many of us have fond memories of that old institution. Over the years, the "Fair" was the venue of Stock car racing, midgit racing, horse racing, "Lucky Teter," "Joie Chitwood's Hell Drivers." The "Fair" was an annual fall event which was attended by thousands of citizens from all over the area. The Hamilton Library's "STATE FAIR" folder includes material dated back to the establishment of the organization in 1888.

1897: Another "Spider" Kelly Item Found

I recently posted a photo of a notable Featherweight boxer from Trenton's past. A family member wrote in my guestbook that Mr. Kelly passed away in 1937. I found this article from 1897 referring to the Eureka Boxing Club of Bordentown. At this stage of his career, he was apparently retired as a boxer, and was the trainer of boxer Jimmy Casey and "Patsy" Corrigan,

1936: Lawrenceville Grammar School Class of '36

It is January 31, 2006 as I enter this photo. This is one of a few selected graduation photos I am adding to the "SCHOOLS, MISC." folder in the Hamilton Township Public Library's Local History Collection.

1936: New Postmaster, New Post Office

1936 David Blackwell, Centennarian

There are certain names that one automatically associates with a geographical area. One of those names is Blackwell. It seems that the Blackwell family proliferated in the Pennington-Hopewell area for many generations.

There is a legend about the town of Hopewell. I don't know whether it is true or not, but it is an interesting story. It seems that way back in the early years of our area as families settled in the area, they had a greeting when they met for a family get together. Legend has it that one relative would say, "Hope you are well." The relative would answer, "Am-well." Truth or a legend?

1936 Delaware River at the Foot of Cliff Street

When I was a boy in the 1940's, the Delaware River was a very popular swimming spot. Here are lifeguards practicing their craft and keeping up with the latest in lifesaving apparatus.