1903: NO UNIONS BACK IN THE DAY!

Over the years, I have re-told the stories of the terrible conditions which were faced by 19th and early 20th century immigrants. The Italians were all too often victims of outrageous living conditions. However, their zeal to become productive citizens gave them the strength and courage to endure, knowing that better years were ahead. Above is an incredible and little known story of just a isolated incident where workers at Deutzville were forced to resort to oversized military trench type fox holes.

1935: MEMBERS OF THE ITALIAN AMERICAN SPORTSMEN CLUB DEER HUNT

It took a bit of cutting, pasting, enhancing and focusing, but we finally have an interesting photo of some of the area's more prominent members of the Italian American society. There will doubtless be visitors who are related or acquainted with one or more of these members of the IASC.

TO THE VERY FEW "VINTAGE" SENIOR CITIZENS WHO ARE INTO COMPUTING

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF SENIOR CITIZENS WHO FREQUENT THIS SITE WHO TELL ME THEY ARE EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH THEIR AGING AND SLOW COMPUTERS.

As a fellow senior with limited gray matter when it comes to the high tech aspect of computing, I find that the suggestions below should help to speed up a clogged up computer. My old Dell laptop is heading into its 4th year with my old reliable Windows XP Professional as the software I use. I have an unused Windows 7 laptop that gets very little use. Most of us old folks resist change and in this case, it is very true. Windows 98 was very good for a number of years, and since then, XP has been my friend and I only use the "unused" laptop as my music computer.
For those who are not fully into computer maintenance, here's a bit of help that I find very effective for me. Perhaps it will for you also.
*************

Download the FREE CCleaner software program that will get rid of a lot of junk on your computer, including junk register entries. Click on http://www.piriform.com/. I have been using this program for years. When you open the program, download CCLEANER. When you do, you will be shown the screen. On the lower left you will see "ANALYZE." Click on it, and CCleaner will find all the files that are worthless and taking up much of your computer space. Let it list all the unnecessary files and when it reaches 100% you will move over to the bottom right and click on the RUN CLEANER button. It will ask if you are sure. I have been using this program for years and I always let CCleaner clean my computer. It makes a difference.

ALSO:
Assuming you are using Windows XP, when your computer starts, go to the lower left and
click on START, when you do you will see ALL PROGRAMS. Click on it and look up on the left down a few lines and you will see ACCESSORIES. Click on it and see the little arrow > click on it and a drop down menu will appear. Click on SYSTEM TOOLS and again> follow that arrow and click on DISK DEFRAGMENTER. WHEN YOU GET TO THE DISK DEFRAGMENTER, CLICK ON ANALYZE, THE COMPUTER WILL DECIDE IF YOU NEED TO "DEFRAG" YOUR COMPUTER. YOURS PROBABLY WILL SO GO AHEAD AND CLICK THE DEFRAGMENT BUTTON.
THIS PROCESS TAKES A VERY LONG TIME, SO LEAVE YOUR COMPUTER ON AND LET IT DEFRAGMENT THE FILES.

ALSO: Get a virus and adware program. Download  one of these free software programs:MALWAREBYTES OR KASPERSKY or SPYBOT.programs. 

Unfortunately, in order to get the best protection from computer viruses, one must purchase one of the many programs available.

VIVINT: DARK ORANGE AGAINST WHITE? SORRY, NOT FOR MY EYES ONLY!!

I have been a satisfied VIVINT security subscriber for months. I suggested that they change the color scheme on their signs, wondering if  the artist was optically challenged in choosing a color scheme which lacks very necessary necessary contrast. One representative told me that orange and white was the trademark color they chose, but they were working on a modification. My suggestion that there are varying and darker shades of orange that would render the sign legible from the walkway in front of my home. Their orange against white reflective text is ineffective. I expect high visibility like ADT, the old APX, Slomins, and others who want a distant warning to passersby that the house is protected. As you will see above, I have designed my own legible Vivint sign using PhotoShop and planted my own sign with logical contrasting features on my front lawn. My sign clearly reads "VIVINT" 25 or 30 away from my front lawn. The old faded orange sign looks like an orange lollipop.

2013 A WARM WELCOME TO NEWCOMERS TO THIS SITE!

NEWCOMERS: A number of my FACEBOOK friends have migrated over to this website. Welcome to the Hamilton Township Public Library and our Local History Site! Here are a few short cuts to help you maneuver around the site.
1)   Over on the far right and DOWN a few inches you will find an alphabetical index. Next to each item in the index you will see the number of files in parentheses. Clicking on the item will bring you to the home page BUT this time when you arrow down you will see a 1 to 8 listing of material sought.

2) Another method is using the "SEARCH" function, DIRECTLY UNDER THE HOME PAGE you will see a white space with a "SEARCH" LABEL.. Type in a key word, ie: YARDVILLE, GROVEVILLE, etc. You will be taken to any and all posts within the 8,000 plus pages that contain the key words.

3) Through a technical glitch in 2010, Google removed a number of graphics and you will see a triangle with an exclamation (!) inside the triangle. This graphic will ultimately be re-posted.

4) When you get to a specific photo or article, RIGHT click on your mouse and choose open in a new window. You will be presented with an enlarged graphic. In some cases you will see a "+" which will allow you to enlarge it even more. Using the aforementioned right click function, you can also save the graphic to your computer. BE SURE TO CREDIT THE HAMILTON LIBRARY AND ANY OTHER ENTITIES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SOURCE MATERIAL. ENJOY!

ANY QUESTIONS email me at tglover320@optimum.net

1928: APPROACHING STATE AND BROAD STREET FROM NORTH BROAD

Some of these R.C. Maxwell posts may be seen in former posts. For copyright reasons, I am including the source of the photograph along with my identifying text. A reminder that these photos are being presented as "Fair Use" for research and historical exhibition.  U.S. Copyright laws state that they may not be used for commercial purposes (e.g.: selling on Ebay or other outlets)

CIRCA 1920'S "NORTH WILLOW NEAR SPRING STREET"

THANKS TO BILL KLEK FOR THE MAP SHOWING THE LOCATION OF TONY'S PLACE, AND ALSO TO SJBILL WHOSE EMAIL WAS SENT ALMOST THE SAME TIME AS BILL KLEK'S MAP.
 THIS IS NO LONGER A "MYSTERY PHOTO;" THANKS TO THESE GENTLEMEN.
MORE TO COME.
 
This is a mystery photo. Going via Google Earth to this area identified as "Willow Street Near Spring Street" proved to be a fruitless search. However, in looking over the area via Google, one realizes the incredible changes that have been made in the Trenton of old. Even though it is un-dated and the location not exactly confirmed, it is fascinating to see this old structure which was once located in today's Spring-Church-Passaic Street area.

1949: COLONIAL LAKELANDS TRENTON TRANSIT BUS AT THE POST OFFICE

In order to satisfy U.S. Copyright laws, I am crediting the Duke University Library R.C. Maxwell collection. This pristine view of E. State Street and the fabled "DeLuxe Diner" across the street shows the area as it was 64 years ago. Note: These photos are the property of Duke University and MAY NOT be used for commercial purposes on Ebay or any other commercial venue. FAIR USE only!

1915 (Circa 1915) TOM GLOVER'S "MOUNT FAMILY" GENEALOGY

I could never be bright enough to trace my family's ancestry, but a fellow web friend, Warren Rue was kind enough to tell me that he too was a Mount descendant and had our family history traced back as far as the 14th century. My mom was Alice Naomi Mount from the little town of Locust in the Middletown area of Monmouth County. George Mount was among the earliest settlers in the Middletown area, and his roots trace back to the Salem witch era, and includes ties to John Adams, John Quincy Adams, the Borden family of Bordentown and Lizzie who did those "40 whacks" and on and on. There is even a connection to Lord Cornwallis of Revolutionary war fame. The above photo is among one of only a few I have from my side of the family. It shows my Aunt Ruth Mount Williamson who passed away at a much too young age leaving my Uncle John a widower with 3 children; my cousin John "Goog" and Ruth and June. Those Mount genes resulted in beautiful female descendants.  June and Ruth were Hollywood pretty, and Goog a very handsome specimen. I am posting this photo showing my Aunt Ruth and am amazed at the resemblance she had to my cousin June. In her younger years, my mom was said to have resembled then Movie star Jane Harlow.

2013: BE PATIENT, WE'LL BE BACK!

This website has grown to an incredible size since I started it back in 2006. As you can see by the hit counter, it is 300,000 shy of the million mark. A blog of this size has a number of adjustments that are long over due. Add that to the fact that even as the website grew in popularity,so did the toll it took on my computer which is where I am currently concentrating. I have also instituted a FACEBOOK page, "TOM GLOVER'S HAMILTON LIBRARY LOCAL HISTORY SCRAPBOOK."

2013: VETERANS' DAY

On this Veterans' Day I remember all those who served, especially those who were close to me: My brothers Len and Bud who passed away in 2012, and my neighbor and boyhood friend Ray Sypniewski MSMC, who was the first Mercer County military man killed in Korea.

1885: EWING TOWNSHIP AND OUR FIRST MILK BOTTLES

What a fascinating story! I had never heard of the Mourne Dairy nor the McEvoy connection. However, this article tells of the revolutionary new invention of the glass bottle to deliver to local customers. Heretofore, the dairy delivered the milk in those huge aluminum type cans, and carefully ladled out the appropriate measure to a specific household. The article above has me wondering if the Mourne Dairy Farm was located at or in the area of the Johnson Farm on Bear Tavern Road. Perhaps a local Ewing historian can enlighten us. The bottle on the right is a typical glass bottle from the mid to late 1880's and was downloaded from a bottle information post via a Google search.

1950: THE TRENTON WE REMEMBER

I will never forget the thrill of a trip "downtown" from our rural Hamilton home. Catch the L-Liberty Street bus at Cedar Lane and South Olden Avenue, wait on the porch of "Bee Bee's Tavern" in wet or cold weather, waiting for th Trenton Transit bust of reach what was then the end of the line. Then mom pays the driver a dime, he deposits it in a coin type receiver on his hip and we're on our way. Up South Olden to Liberty Street, Liberty Street to South Broad Street and all the way into town. What memorable trips they were!

2013: NOVEMBER 1. WE ARE NOW ON FACEBOOK!

 

  With over 8,000 pages in my Google website, I have instituted a Facebook site. It provides and excellent web place where history of the Hamilton-Trenton-Mercer County area can be found.

 Above is the home page. It is entitled "TOM GLOVER'S HAMILTON LIBRARY LOCAL HISTORY SCRAPBOOK". To access it,  Click on the link below. When you get the gist of how the site operates you will find it very convenient to enter your comments in the very easy to use "comments" part of the menu. I hope to see my Glover320 website over there!

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tom-Glovers-Hamilton-Library-Local-History-Scrapbook/529296263810111https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tom-Glovers-Hamilton-Library-Local-History-Scrapbook/529296263810111

BROMLEY FROM THE AIR

My classmate Bob Shinkle,Hamilton High 1951 was kind enough to point out the friends and neighbors he know from Bromley during his years in that neighborhood. This view will be part of the on screen program I will be presenting this Monday, November 4 at 7 PM at the Hamilton Library lower level meeting room number 3. Hope to see some of my "Locals" there. refreshments will be served.

1934: THE YARDVILLE NATIONAL BANK

Are you old enough to remember when the banks closed at 3 P.M.? I am. The above interesting photo of the legendary Yardville National Bank is shown in the photo taken during the Great Depression year of 1934. Like the friendly druggist, and the grocery store, The order changeth and are replaced with large national entities on all too many corners. The old independent banks have been closed and replaced with unfamiliar bank names, once again on countless corners throughout the area .

THINGS THAT AREN'T THERE ANY MORE.

One of my more popular "The Way We Were" columns and my current Times column, "Sentmiental Journey" deal with things that are now considered "old fashioned" and out of date. Below is a column remembering things that aren't there any more. I miss most of them.

1950: BEFORE THERE WAS A K-MART THERE WAS AN S.S. KRESGE "FIVE AND DIME"

What a great photo of Kresge's "five and ten" on East State Street. Many of our more veteran Trenton area citizens will remember when Trenton was a brisk, lively, and clean center city capital. The whte "CO." seen in the far left of the photo is part of the W.T. Grant department store. Woolworth's was also in that row, as well as F.W. Grand.

1920 TO THE 1940'S: CATHEDRAL HIGH SCHOOL

Would you believe a World War II Grumman Avenger? What an incredible accompishment! However, considering the generation in which these members of "the greatest generation" were born into, one can see the incredible patriotic gift they gave to Uncle Sam for our U.S. Navy to help defeat Japan. There a numerous files in the "CATHEDRAL HIGH SCHOOL" folder and these are a few from the WWII era.

1979: A REPEAT OF AN ERINIE KOVACS POST

Ernie Kovacs was a very popular national figure back in the 1960's. Naturally, Trentonians were very proud of his national status as a one of the great comedians of all time. This excellent piece by Mr. Izzard from the Trentonian of 1979 is well worth preserving for future generations.

1895: TRENTON PORK ROLL HISTORY

George W. Price's sausage factory as it is today.
Take it from me, visitors, it took a respectable amount of time to round up the Trenton pork roll graphic at the top of this page. However, we Trenton and area residents have always been loyal consumers of this relatively unique Trenton delicacy. As can be seen in that graphic, the early years of pork roll date back to the latter part of the 19th century when it was sold at the old City Market which was once located on the corner of North Broad (then North Greene St.) and Academy Street. Thus far my research has found that Samuel S. Hill was a sausage maker who sold a variation of the product before Mr. Price set up shop and continued the sale of what they called "Trenton Sausage." It is sheer speculation on my part that Mr. Price replaced Mr. Hill in the sausage making business and it ultimately evolved into Case's Pork Roll.

2013: Kuser Mansion built in 1896 NOT 1892

Some months ago, I sent this information to the powers that be in Hamilton Township, noting that the wonderful sign created by the Boys Scouts had the erroneous date of 1892 as the year the beautiful Kuser Mansion was built. When I approached the folks at the mansion, and apprised them of the error,  they referred to the diary entry from Fred Kuser telling of the family traveling from their New York home to their "country home" in Hamilton Township. Above you will find conclusive proof that the current Kuser Mansion was completed in the year 1896. The visit to Trenton referred to in Fred Kuser's diary referred to was obviously the Goldy farm house which was there when Kuser purchased the property from Goldy. Note that the structure was to cost about $15,000!

This email received from my friend Ms. Eleanor Goldy Guear, local Lakeside Park/Gropp's Lake area historian:

Tom - Thanks for this informative news article. The Goldy homestead we were sure was still existing somewhere on the 80 acres that were purchased by the Kusers, but now we know that the "old farmhouse" was torn down and the Kuser home erected. Thanks once again for clearing up a detail of our own family heritage. Lakeside Girl on  

1896: KUSER MANSION WAS BUILT IN 1896, NOT 1892

1949: JIM STANTON'S HARDWARE, TRACY'S ETC.

That area of Trenton bounded by Villa Park on the southeast at Liberty and So. Olden, Hamilton and Olden Avenues and North Olden Avenue to State Street was our neighborhood's alternative to downtown Trenton. It was a 15 minute walk from my home on Hartley Avenue and there were more than enough businesses in that area to satisfy our needs:

Stanton Hardware, Hamilton avenue

Tracy's "five and dime"

Carty's Luncheonette Liberty and Olden

Steve's Barber Shop Liberty and Olden

Tony's Barber Shop Park Avenue

Margerum's Delicatessen, Park and Hamilton

Long's Drug Store (Later Steinel) Hamilton and Olden

Schnur's Department Store, Hamilton and Olden

Townsend's Bakery Olden near Walnut

Gaiety Theater Olden and Walnut

Kushner's Men's Shop State and Olden

Marucca's Tomato Pies Olden near the Gaiety

Riker's Bakery Hamilton Avenue

Bond's Electric

Rittman's Bar and Liquor Hamilton and Olden

George Giberson's Deli and Magazines in the Rittman building

There are undoubtedly more, but come one, I'm going back 70 years!
And oh yes, also within a few blocks walking distance was the A & P supermarket on Hamilton near South Logan Avenue. 

COMMENTS:

Tom, there was Louie's Tomato Pie almost across from Maruca's and Rhode's Drugs for a double dip bing cherry cone. Later I remember Rittmans as having the last cheap short glass of beer in town and the pigs feet and pickled pigs feet. I could never summon the courage to order one of those feet. There was also a Tony's Barber shop next to Louie's. Lord, I screamed to high heaven, poor Tony. Once I saw the chair I thought he was going to strap me down like Doctor Lavine did to all kids.

Ed Millerick

Friday, October 25, 2013

Anonymous said...

Ed:

Are you referring to "Lou's" tomatoe pies" that was on North Olden Ave. just past Ward Ave. beyond State St? Any time I was in Wilbur, I preferred them instead of Maruca's who used an unmusual type of Cheese: Pat Maruca explained to me years later, that they used this cheese since it secreted oil, and saved them money rather than used olive oil on the pies.

Regards

Mike Kuzma

Friday, October 25, 2013

1933: VILLA PARK'S "CLOVERDELL" PORK ROLL

At one time or another, I have tried them both, but we always seemed to lean toward "Case's." My aging memory seems to recall it as "Case's Pork Pak." Never the less, pork roll, like tomato pie seem to be a somewhat unique Trenton thing.

COMMENTS:

My all time favorite is "fresh pork roll" and it's not as heavily smoked and salty as the "regular" fare.
Perhaps one of the things that will be of benefit with the changes in Trenton and the dispersal of the inhabitants; pork roll is becoming more popular down south according to some of the Facebook folks.
Ed Millerick

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Ed: You betcha, but down here, they call it "Baloney in bag" could not locate it here when I first moved down 11 years ago. Believe it or not, it showed up in the dollar tree store, and it was "Case's" at that. I lived "high on the hog" (couldn't resist that) for 7 years, than it stopped. Another brand was brought in last year from Altoona PA, but that only lasted a few montns. One Super Mkt. chain carries "Taylor" and charges the same price per pound as filet migon.
Just visited AC two weeks ago, brought my cooler and loaded up at Shop Rite in West Wildwood before catching the Ferry Boat across the Bay.
Each time I visit Mercer County I make a stop at the Farmer's market to get the "Fresh Porkroll" which will always be my Filet Migon!
Regards
Mike Kuzma

Thursday, October 24, 2013

 

When I first moved south, I was desperate for my pork roll ( AKA) "prepared ham" Finally after searching all the stores, I met a clerk at a super market who luckily was from Central Jersey.
She sent me to of all places Dollar tree who had "Case's 4 slice" packs. I thought I was in Heaven, than they stopped carrying it. After a few years, they brought in a product from Altoona PA. No bad, but not like ours.
They stopped that too. I have my shakes occasionaly, and find a need to make a sortie to NJ to get my fix of pork roll, which incendtilly they call "Balony in Bag" down. There is one store that Carries Taylors, and have it priced at $10.49 per pound. That's higher than filet mignon.
2 Weeks ago after a visit to AC, I stopped at Shop Rite in West Wildwood and loaded my cooler with Pork roll and Scrapple, which they call that "Pon Hous" below the Mason Dixon line.
Now Fresh Pork roll is without a doubt my favorite, and whenever I can, I get to the Farmer's market and bring home a cooler full.
Do you remember eating the remenant pieces that stuck to the bagging when you finished frying it?

Regards
Mike Kuzma

Friday, October 25, 2013

Anonymous said...

You also had Farm Crest Porkroll which was on Dickinson St. right off of Greenwood Ave.

Friday, October 25, 2013

2013: WELCOME NEW-COMERS!

NEWCOMERS: A number of my FACEBOOK friends have migrated over to this website. Welcome to the Hamilton Township Public Library and our Local History Site! Here are a few short cuts to help you maneuver around the site.
1)   Over on the far right and DOWN a few inches you will find an alphabetical index. Next to each item in the index you will see the number of files in parentheses. Clicking on the item will bring you to the home page BUT this time when you arrow down you will see a 1 to 8 listing of material sought.

2) Another method is using the "SEARCH" function, DIRECTLY UNDER THE HOME PAGE you will see a white space with a "SEARCH" LABEL.. Type in a key word, ie: YARDVILLE, GROVEVILLE, etc. You will be taken to any and all posts within the 8,000 plus pages that contain the key words.

3) Through a technical glitch in 2010, Google removed a number of graphics and you will see a triangle with an exclamation (!) inside the triangle. This graphic will ultimately be re-posted.

4) When you get to a specific photo or article, RIGHT click on your mouse and choose open in a new window. You will be presented with an enlarged graphic. In some cases you will see a "+" which will allow you to enlarge it even more. Using the aforementioned right click function, you can also save the graphic to your computer. BE SURE TO CREDIT THE HAMILTON LIBRARY AND ANY OTHER ENTITIES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SOURCE MATERIAL. ENJOY!

ANY QUESTIONS email me at tglover320@optimum.net

2013: GOOGLE VIEW MULBERRY ST. AT KLAGG AVENUE

1939: MULBERRY ST. AT KLAGG AVENUE

Here's an exquisite example of "Then and Now." The above photo is a Google view of today's Mulberry Street at Klagg Avenue. Below is R.C. Maxwell Duke University 1939 photo from approximately the same vantage point. East Trenton in the 1930's was a very lively community with many industrial sites. Remember Baldwin Hill? Wenczel Tile? Panelyte? All gone.