1981: THIRTY YEARS AGO!

Dear Lord, how time has flown! As I age and approach the golden age of 78 in September 2011, I find that the time that went so slowly back during my school years has changed dramatically. Now the days, weeks, months and years are flying by at a rate that brings eternity ever closer. The above graphic is an enhanced copy of my very first professional freelance column. Thanks to my friend Wayne Davis, I was placed on the road to freelance journalism. What a journey it has been! In all those 30 years of writing a weekly column, I only missed one weekly deadline and that was due to emergency gall bladder surgery. My stint with the Messenger ended in the early 1990's when the paper ceased publication. At that point, the Princeton Packet's "Hamilton Observer" took me to continue the column and at the same time I was writing a weekly column for the Trenton Times under the byline, "A Look Back." After only a year or so, I left the Times when the editor at that time, Ms. Singer said she asked me what the purpose of my column was. If she didn't understand the public love of things nostalgic, I wasn't about to continue the column. In 2001 Mr. Brian Malone gave me the bi-weekly column I write to this day, "Sentimental Journey."

All the freelance articles I have written over these 30 year started out as a personal journal recalling life as I had lived it. It was to have been something that I could leave to my children and grandchildren after I went gone to my reward. Were it not for the aforementioned Wayne Davis, those hundreds of columns would have been in a stack of 8-1/ x 11 journal pages somewhere in the Glover bureau drawer. To all of you folks out there who are interested in writing about your past open that word processor and get going! Start your own personal journal to leave to your children and grandchildren. How often I wished that my mother had logged all the many years she was with us. You will find that once you start shaking the "memory tree" in your brain, you will begin to recall with amazement the most miniscule memories of persons, places and things from your past.

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Mack said...

You are a local treasure Tom. Thanks for sharing your memories and observations with us all:)

Monday, July 18, 2011

Sally Logan Gilman said...

I second that, Tom. You are a true treasure. You're right. I can think of so many questions I should have asked my grandmother, Emilie Gibney Hutchinson but I was so busy with my life that I never did it. To some extent, I did the same with my mother, Sarah Hutchinson Logan. But, bless her heart, she wrote down a lot of the Hutchinson history so I have that. Happy September Birthday. My husband George turns 78 on Sept. 11. Regards

Monday, July 18, 2011

Thanks Mack and thanks Sally. Your positive comments are much appreciated as are your regular visits to this blog.

Tom

Omad said...

I sure agree that you are a real "gem". For over 40 years I put Trenton out of my mind, due to some bad memories. Looking at all the positive and great memories you bring to us all, I make sure I check in with your site every day. Thanx for constantly reminding me of all the good things about Trenton/Hamilton.

Monday, July 18, 2011

2011: ONLY THREE MORE KUSER PARK GAZEBO CONCERTS

Time has really flown by at an incredibly rapid rate! This afternoon's music concert at Kuser Park will mark the 6th out of the 8 planned for June and July. It will be a warm day, but under those sheltering trees in front of the gazebo, you will find a very comfortable venue! I hope to see many of my visitors there this afternoon.

For those of you who are not particularly interested in my musical offerings, my good friend and very talented vocalist Bob Orlowski will be serenading you on the first Sunday in August, bringing the song stylings of Michael Buble, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and other easy listening crooners from "OUR" generation. I am working on a glover320.blogspot.com post for Bob's gig which will give all the details. Stay tuned.

1946: Joe Szekeres' Amoc o Station Cedar Lane and Chambers St. Hamilton

Joe Szekeres Jr. sent me this beautiful 300 dots per inch photo of his dad's Amoco station. Today it is a vacant lot directly across Chambers Street from Kisthardt Body Works. Old timers will recall those familiar black and white street signs that were found all over the area in the 30's and 40's. The detail on this photo, like many original photos is remarkably clear when reproduced in high definition. It is interesting to note that Chambers Street at the time was concrete rather than today's macadam. This vantage point would find you standing on the corner on Cedar Lane, looking toward the the intersection of Chambers and South Broad Streets.

1909: WHAT A JOY IT MUST HAVE BEEN!

My son Ken lives in Medford Lakes in Burlington County. He tells of the "on the lake" festivals they have every year which is an extremely popular community event. I told him that we once had a lake that was just as beautiful and probably much more beautiful than Medford Lake and that once upon a time, we capitalized on that natural treasure down in Lakeside Park. Past graphics on this blog have depicted news photos of the carnival that was an annual affair back in the early part of the 20th century. With that natural spring fed lake still providing a beautiful setting for we Hamiltonians, I would love to see the place turned once again into a beach and boating getaway. Our choir in my Hamilton High class of 1951 had a beach party there back in 1951. It was a scene right out of a Norman Rockwell painting!

1909: "JOLLY FARMERS" TO BE PRESENTED BY TRENTON'S FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

The Mill Hill section of Trenton holds a special interest in my history project. Every Sunday morning I travel down Centre Street to the South Village apartments as a Eucharistic Minister. Passing by that legendary Baptist Church, the Exton Cracker factory historic Ferry Street always sets my imagination in an historic journey to the past. The above graphic is from a very very faded and detached page in my collection. With a bit of cutting, copying, and pasting, I have managed to restore the "BAPTISTS TO GIVE "JOLLY FARMERS" headline to its original pristine condition. Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended is an archivist's dream!

1909: TRENTON'S WILKINSON PLACE STREET CARNIVAL

During Trenton's "Golden Years," neighborhoods were much different from what we see in cities all over the country. Back then, as seen by the photo illustrating Wilkinson Place's "Street Carnival," friends and neighbors worked together to maintain a clean and orderly community. The Bing photo I borrowed from the Bing website shows that Wilkinson Place still maintains the strip of land which at one time was occupied by many row homes. The homes in the 1909 news photo can still be seen in the upper right of the Bing photo.

1912: ANTIQUATED COBBLESTONES ON LIVINGSTON STREET, TRENTON

The Fascinating Mill area of Trenton harkens back to the cobblestone streets of the Philadelphia "Olde Towne" era. There are many, many very interesting stories of old Mill Hill in the Hamilton Township Public Library's Local History "MILL HILL" folder. The above shows the area as it was 99 years ago; a truly fascinating press photo..

1912: HAUNTED HOUSE AT 728 CASS STREET

The street numbers may have been changed. As you can see, the photo of the current structure at 728 Cass Street is different from the news photo. However, there is no doubt that ghosts resided in one of those residences in the 700 block! (colored photo from Google Earth)

1875: W.H. HOWELL'S "CROSS KEYS" RACE TRACK (EWINGVILLE)

Ewingville: In earlier years it was known as "Cross Keys." It was located off Pennington Road just north of the College of New Jersey's sprawling real estate and in the area of Carlton Avenue. To paraphrase a 1947 article in the Trenton Sunday Times Advertiser, "Ewingville, at the crossroads just above State Teachers College at Hillwood Lakes was quite a center for sports enthusiasts around 1830..."

The last I heard of this structure was 50 years ago when one of the Tilton family hired on as a delivery driver for the now defunct Trenton Bearings Company a1 1812 North Olden Avenue. At the time, Don Tilton's family was living in the building. Can any knowledgeable Ewing visitor update us on the current Ewingville Hotel? If so, please send your comments for publication.

Note: These exquisite engravings are from an 1875 Ewart and Stewart Mercer County Atlas in my collection.

OCTOBER 30, 1927: TRENTON SUNDAY TIMES LISTS LOCAL WWI KILLED IN ACTION

Above is a list of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in World War I, "the war to end all wars." This list will be of interest not only to those of us who love and respect our military, but also to local historians and genealogists who are searching for local veterans who were killed in action, or died during their tour of duty with the military.

1884: THE TOLL GATE AT THE CALHOUN STREET BRIDGE

The Calhoun Street toll gate at the bridge entrance in an 1884 photo.

1916: HAMILTON SCHOOL: HAMILTON AVENUE AND ANDERSON STREET, TRENTON

One of the very rewarding results I am experiencing as the Hamilton Township Public Library's Local History Collection grows lies in the fact that individual articles and photos accumulate in the digital folder and unlike the human memory, the computer never forgets. Over these many years I have been adding many articles and photos to the "SCHOOLS, MISCELLANEOUS" folder, all of which will produce a fairly complete look at a given subject when they are combined into a single graphic as this project continues. Such is the case with the above graphics. The article, "HAMILTON SCHOOL WELL SITUATED" was filed way back in 1995 in the "SCHOOLS, MISCELLANEOUS" folder. Today's discovery of the very nice news photo of the Hamilton School combines these two graphics into a compact look at the school as it was many years ago.
This beautiful old edifice at the intersection of Hamilton Avenue and Anderson Street in the Chambersburg area was an educational landmark for many years. The site is presently occupied by the Roma Bank. This is a relatively rare photo of the building as it looked in its glory years when it educated hundreds of neighborhood boys and girls.

Ralph Lucarella said...

HI TOM....WELL! I'M SO GLAD TO SEE AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE SCHOOL I SPENT 6 YEARS AT LEARNING THE ART OF GROWING UP. MANY KIDS FROM THE BURG AND VILLA PARK GOT THEIR START AT THIS SCHOOL AND BECAME VERY SUCCESSFUL. THEY BECAME LAWYERS, DOCTORS AND BUSINESSMEN. JOE BRENNA, SCRAPPY MIGLIORI AND LARRY LAURENTI ARE JUST A FEW WHO GOT THEIR START AT HAMILTON. THE TEACHERS AT THE TIME WERE WOMEN WHO DEDICATED THEIR WORK IN PREPARING THESE KIDS FOR THE TOUGH TIMES AHEAD. I DID SO WELL THERE THAT THEY ASSIGNED ME TO A LATIN CLASS AT JUNIOR 4 IN SEVENTH GRADE. SO THANKS TOM FOR YOUR INTEREST IN ONE OF THE BETTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS WE HAD AVAILABLE FOR THE KIDS IN CHAMBERSBURG AND VILLA PARK.

BEST REGARDS

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

1909: MERCER MOTOR CO. TO BUILD PLANCHE ENGINES FOR DIRIGIBLES

I learn something new every day, and this is a fact that I found buried deep in an old 1909 newspaper. It gives an insight to the early years of the Mercer Automobile Company and the involvement of the Roebling family.

1934: SANDTOWN'S WHIPPING POST

That image of a public whipping at an old fashioned whipping post was borrowed from an old image I found in one of my tattered news clippings. It's difficult to imagine a public whipping, however back in the 19th century, public whipping was a common event as was public execution by hanging. Note the reference to the Sandtown school house. This would be the original one room school and was located on Quaker Bridge Road where the Methodist Church which was demolished in a gas explosion in the 1970's was located.

1886: GUNS PROHIBITED FOR ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 15!

"...under the age of fifteen years..?"

An interesting comment from Skipper, telling of our innocent years. He wrote:

I am not sure how long that legislation was in effect but I remember shooting at a very young age. In my mid teens my pal and I would walk down the streets of Trenton on our way to the "wood lots" across the border in Ewing where we hunted. Never a complaint from a neighbor, the breech being open and chamber empty and never being stopped by an officer.Tom, it is not imagination when we discuss how much things were better or the world more trusting then. It was.Can you remotely think of any car dealer leaving the keys in the cars at night and over the weekends? Well, McCafferty and the other dealers along South Broad Street sure did. Cold winter evenings would find us warming up a car to sit in while we munched those treats from that newly opened McDonald's place on Broad. Listen to the radio and don't leave a mess but pretending we were cool "driving" and who would ever dare do that today?At 12 I begged for my first gun but Mom would not hear of it. Dad was on the fence but in order to keep some sense of balance and harmony, Christmas morning found me taking the bow off my first genuine shotgun. A late 1800's flintlock "fowling piece" and she is a real beauty. I imagine in her day she did real well too. The following year I got a spiffy (but used), J.C. Higgins pump, not the Ithaca Featherweight that I used to visit at Lombardo's Capital Sporting Goods.Skipper

Sunday, July 10, 2011

1910 AND 1937: TRENTON'S JEFFERSON SCHOOL

Somewhere out there, as that old song goes, someone, somewhere and sometime will be looking for information the grammar school that their grandparents or great grandparents attended. It is always interesting to me to post graphics such as the above. With more and more of the younger set getting an interest in genealogy and the accompanying interest in learning more about their ancestors. posts such as the above will be of great interest.

1935: DON LUSCOMBE'S WEST TRENTON BUILT AIRCRAFT

When I was a boy building "stick" model airplanes, one of my favorite models and as it turned out, one of my best was my model of the Luscombe "Silvaire." While most boy model builders focused on the very popular Piper "Cub," my fascination was with the locally built "Silvaire." How I wish I had kept that model that I worked on so hard back in the 1940's! It was one of the few that I built that actually flew true blue when I wound up that rubber band and lofted it into the air. Little has been written about Don Luscombe's aircraft plant over in West Trenton. This Trenton Sunday Times Advertiser feature with the page 2 continuation added to the right, will prove to be a "bear" in order to read the huge graphic, will undoubtedly be of interest to future aircraft historians, and others such as I who was completely absorbed with my devotion to my model "Silvaire."

1939: GILBERT AND MOTT REPLACES BALDERSTON CHEVROLET

THESE LEGENDARY TRENTON AUTO DEALERS JOINED THE RANKS OF MANY OTHER AUTO DEALERS WHO ARE NO MORE.

1943: THE VERY SCARY FIRST YEARS OF WWII ON THE HOME FRONT

I have written many columns dealing with life in Hamilton Township (and all of America) recalling sugar rationing, coffee rationing, rationing in general, Nazi submarines off the Jersey Coast, Japanese shelling Pacific Coast refineries, Japanese floating huge gas balloons armed with explosives and sent aloft to reach the west coast of the U.S., and as above, the AIR RAID! What a scary event that was to me as a young boy of 10! In my over indulgence of my comic book heroes Captain America, Captain Marvel, The Human Torch, and other comic characters who were also fighting the Axis powers during that era, my imagination ran amok. I was sure there were Nazi spies over at Kuser Farm.....and what about Vosseler's Grove over on Watson Avenue? The advent of that dreaded "AIR RAID!" signal from both Colonial and Rusling Volunteer fire companies added to that fear.

1926: THE NEW JUNIOR 4: A TRIBUTE TO TRENTON'S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

The  Kuser School post below this graphic deals with a comment I posted when I heard of the shenanigans allegedly going on in the Atlanta Public School system, where certain teachers and certain Principals are suspected of "cooking the books" to give a false report on student grades in order to pass the stringent requirements of the "No Child Left Behind" government program. Over the many years since I left high school, I have noticed a trend that I feel has deteriorated the possibility of a student gaining the full benefits of a complete education. Before we donned the caps and gowns to graduate, we were expected to be proficient in American and world History, Geography, Spelling, English, Arithmetic, Science, and other non-elective courses like common courtesy, music, the arts, manual training for boys, and cooking and home economics for girls. History has morphed into "Social Studies." I don't know what happened to the current subject we all called "Geography," but I still remember that HUGE "Stull and Hatch" geography book I carried home nightly with homework from Miss Julia McClain. There is much negativity in the education climate in this year of 2011, where reports of students not getting a full education, students lacking the very basics of world geography, lack of knowledge of our American historic heritage, and unfortunate reports that some text book publishers are revising American history to be more in line with those on the left side of the political spectrum. Another very noticeable vestige of my educational past is the removal of the familiar portraits of George Washington on the upper left wall in our school room, Abraham Lincoln on the right. Have they both have been relegated to the storage bin?  

Anonymous said...

And I still wonder if the Russian march through Afghanistan was the old notion of the quest for an ice free port? Geography was perhaps my favorite. Skipper

Friday, July 08, 2011

2011: THE ATLANTA TEACHER-PRINCIPAL SCANDAL

Today the outrageous news that certain teachers and Principals in the Atlanta school system are being charged with allegedly "cooking the books" by changing and correcting wrong answers in student test pages in order to give the school an acceptable student performance record. When I saw this on TV this morning and read about it in today's newspapers, it occurred to me that the idea of the above ladies ever even considering such gross dishonesty would never be considered. We had to earn each and every A, B, C, D, and yes E and F!

Anonymous said...

I seem to remember a scheme in Georgia that would reward each student who maintained a "B" average with free tuition and open admission to any of Georgia's public colleges or universities. You just knew that suddenly every student in Georgia would become an overnight scholar. Skip

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Randolph said...

I think we might be fooling ourselves if we think this type of thing doesn't go on more frequently than is even reported, and probably by local teachers we've all had and loved. Some (college or high school) schools, teachers, administrators have been known to give fake good grades to athletes or to kids they just don't want to deal with. I'm sure the vast majority of educators don't participate in such foolishness, but there's bound to be a healthy handful who are up to no good.

Thursday, July 07, 2011

Anonymous said...

There was a occasional "Gentleman's C" that I am sure was handed out when deserved but even the athletes were expected to study unlike today. To attest to the hard attitude back in the 50's and 1960's we had two young men driving to grammar school. It took them a few extra years but they made it. They were allowed to drive but had to park a few blocks from the school. I met one of them a few years ago and he retired from the Army having done quite well for himself. Skip

Thursday, July 07, 2011

1944: AIR FORCE WWII SHOULDER PATCHES

1985: HAMILTON SQUARE'S LIZZIE MCCABE'S DIARY

Lizzie was a fictional character whose last name was borrowed from one of Hamilton Square's more notable and historic family surnames. I created Lizzie to bring life to the sometimes droll and boring bits and pieced of local history. The concept of creating fictional characters and placing them into actual historic events proved to be successful. During my many years of writing local history, I have created Lawson Tattle, a Trenton newspaper "stringer," Phoebe Howe, an old time resident of Pennington, the Martin family, and others whose names elude me. I drew the pen and ink rendering of the Hooper-Chamberlin-McCabe general store back in the early 1980's when I had younger eyes. It was here where Lizzie waited on her mostly rural Hamilton Square neighbors. I will once again return to the fascinating concept of fictional characters in upcoming Trenton Times "Sentimental Journey" columns, and will post some of my past "Mercer Messenger" fictional character-true incidents articles. Stay tuned; in the meantime, journey back to the Hamilton Square of yesteryear.

Mack said...

Hi Tom:)There was a McCabe Alley across from us on Liberty Street in the Burg between Liberty Deli and Dinger Brothers Iron Works. I wonder if its name is connected to this Hamilton family:)

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Tom Glover said...

HI MACK:I REALLY CAN'T SAY WHETHER THERE IS A HAMILTON SQUARE CONNECTION. THERE ARE STILL MCCABES IN THE AREA AND IT IS POSSIBLE.TOM

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

1909: DECORATION DAY OUTING AT LAKESIDE PARK

What a precious jewel we have right here in Hamilton Township! I'm sure there are environmental or perhaps social reasons why "Lakeside," which was so very popular with my generation of the 30's and 40's is not opened to the public for swimming once again. The lake is spring-fed, and I'm sure there is very little pollution. Our 12th grade Hamilton High School choir evening beach party there will be ever in my memory. Who could ever forget a moonlit night over Gropp's Lake, or as we called it, "Lakeside?" Dreams and memories are made of this!

Ralph Lucarella said...

HI TOM....LAKESIDE IS ONE OF THE PLACES WHERE I LEARNED HOW TO SWIM IN THE 20'S. THE CORNER STORE AND THE DIVING BOARD PLATFORM WERE TWO OF THE MANY ENJOYABLE THINGS THAT ATTRACTED MOST OF US. IT WAS NEARBY AND THE FACT THAT THERE WERE NO CHARGES DURING A TIME OF DEPRESSION ALSO WAS A BIG FACTOR. THE GROPP FAMILY SHOULD TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN PROVIDING SUCH AN OUTSTANDING AREA FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE TRENTON AREA. REGARDS.

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

1934: Maple Shade School's Class of 1934

There's a McClain, Sharp, Grice, Pullen, and other old White Horse family names in the class photo above, all preserved for posterity in the "MAPLE SHADE SCHOOL" folder in the Hamilton Township Public Library Local History Digital Database.

2011: HERE'S WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

Let's remember who preserved, and still preserves the independence of our wonderful America!

"...one nation UNDER GOD with liberty and justice for ALL."

Anonymous said...

Well, thank you Tom! I had been trying to recall the name of an uncle. John Cleary from Bellevue Avenue was a fairly regular contributor to the Saturday Evening Post back in the 1950's. I think as kids, we cut our "reading teeth" on the Digest and The Post. Skipper

Hi Skipper: Every journalist has a hero. Mine was and is John Cleary. He was before Harry Podmore and Bil Dwyer. His knowledge of the history of the Trenton area was supreme. Not only that, he was a real gentleman and knew most of the old time old timers in Trenton back in the day.

Tom Glover

Mack said... One nation UNDER GOD. Amen :)

Tuesday, July 05, 2011