Archival Vault: The Lost 824 Comments… Found!
824 Responses to “ABOUT the Site… WELCOME… General Discussions/Comments”
Ken Brown Says:
December 24, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Happy Holidays to everyone who has found this site this year and has posted comments. This site was
launched in February of this year and as we close out the year I can report the amazing accomplishment
of over 51,000 hits on this site, and approximately two thousand comments posted. Great job everyone…
keep spreading the word about this place.
Welcome also to Bill Clark and Dan Wine who recently visited the site and left comments. We are glad
you found us.
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
December 25, 2008 at 8:34 am
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Most of my fondest memories are from my old neighborhood (Rosedale Ave.) And when I think of the
holiday season,I still get visions of Dudley Grange Park covered in a fresh clean white blanket of
snow,of sledding down that hill in front of the Library.
I also smile when I remember shopping along Federal St, & Westfield Ave., & the Christmas music playing
over the speakers.
Whole families would be out shopping there & stopping to chat with friends & neighbors they met along
the way.
What a wonderful time,what a wonderful town,Camden.
Merry Christmas .
Nick Rapanotti Says:
December 25, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas to everyone who has come to this site.
Glenn Cavallo:
A Blessed and Happy Birthday (belated) to you!!!!! (If I remember right, yesterday!!)
Ken Brown Says:
December 30, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Hey Everyone, I hope the Holidays are being enjoyed by all!
There have been a lot of new comments in recent days so be sure to check the ” ZZZ List of Recent
Comments” page to see where they are and who has posted.
Welcome to Beverly Doone…. I’m guessing you are Christina’s sister, we are glad you’ve stopped in.
Welcome to Debbie Clark and JoAnn Clark Peters… Debbie I think I remember you from Davis and maybe 9th
Grade Wilson, and my wife Lorrie Matchner said she does remember you from 3rd Grade at Dudley… she is
around her someplace I told her about your post on the Dudley page.
And also Welcome to our old Explorer’s Club cohort Barb Maslanik… we almost have enough of us here for
a reunion camping trip to the Pines! I’m sure by now the State Park Rangers have forgotten about us
hooligans. Great to see you here Barb, it’s been a long time. I recall you worked with my Mom at NT
Gates back in the few years after Wilson. Hope you are doing well. How is your sister Ruthie doing?
Ken Brown Says:
December 30, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Me Again… I just moved nearly 300 comments from this front page to a new “Archival Vault” page found on
the menu to the right. That is the SEVENTH Archival Vault page I have opened, most contain 200-plus
comments each, and those are only the comments from this front page. All other pages on this site
continue to retain all comments posted to those pages. I just like keeping this opening page clutter
free… now that it is, feel free to fill it up again, I really do not mind moving them to the vault now
and then!
Barbara (Maslanik) Thurber Says:
December 31, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Hey Ken, it was great getting your email. I sent you a reply back to fill in the last 30 years.
Definitely should get a reunion going for those Explorers. Although, I don’t know about you but
sleeping out on the ground will be a little rough on this older body!
My sister Ruthie is married and living in National Park. Works for Walgreens in Bellmawr. Any locals
should stop in to see her. Location is Black Horse Pike and Browning Road.
I want to wish everyone a Safe and Happy New Year for 2009!
Ken Brown Says:
December 31, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Nice hearing from you too Barb! I’m not so sure any of us former Explorer’s (we’re all over fifty now)
could rough it like we use to. The camping we did back then was always quite primative, well with the
exception of that January trip to the old golf course in Burlington County that had been turned into a
park, when everyone but Tony Lope, Russ McDaniel, and I “camped” in a nice heated cabin with indoor
plumbing while us three crazy loons thought it was a great idea to pitch our tents on an old green…. in
heavy wind… and bone numbing temperatures.
I hope everyone has a great New Year… nice to see the activity picking up again on the site… I got a
new scanner with my new computer for Christmas…. so if there are more pictures from the Davis/Wilson
yearbooks anyone wants scanned (I have WWHS’s from 73-76; Davis’s from 70-71) let me know and I’ll add
more pictures.
So who is going to be banging pots and pans at midnight tonight? My kids can’t believe that is how we
cheered in the New Year in Camden back in the day…. hahaha. And to think our mother’s never complained
about having to cook with dented pots
Ken Brown Says:
December 31, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Welcome to the site John Blourne, thanks for posting! I hope you visit and post often. Your Cherry Hill
Mall comments were great – I had completely forgotten about the amusement rides until your mention of
them… thanks!
John Blourne Says:
January 1, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Thanks Ken, this is really a great site.
I moved in to 3283 Saunders St. in 1970. I could see Bob’s Market out my kitchen window. My Father
bought the house so his parents could live with us. We previously were at 916 N. 33rd in Cramer Hill.
My first year in Davis was 4th, Mr. Cohen 70-71. 5th was Mr. Horsley and 6th, the much feared, Mr.
Mohrfeld. Everyone thought he was really tough, but he turned out to be my favorite teacher, ever!
I played trombone in the school band. I hardly remember Mr. Shaw, but I remember his replacement, Mr.
Schwenk(?). I still have a program from the “H.H. Davis School Annual Spring Concert & Art Exhibit”
dated Friday, May 18, 1973!
I also have ALL my report cards from 1st through HS, lol! My grades were poor and my conduct bad, but
somehow I managed to graduate every year.
Ken Brown Says:
January 2, 2009 at 12:57 am
Hey John, you must have been in the Davis Band some of the same years as my sister Laurie, she checks
into the site often. She left Davis in 76.
I had Mr. Horsley in 5th also, the year I had him (68-69), he left school for a month or so to sing
Opera in Italy. Dave Nevius or anyone else from that class, do you remember that?
Thanks to Fred Kalt for forwarding a link to the Class of 1957’s Reunion website, it can be found on
the Blogroll on the menu to the right.
jim lang Says:
January 8, 2009 at 7:40 am
charlie moy, do you have any other memories of dudley grange park. especialy in the fifties. thanks.
jim.
Ken Brown Says:
January 8, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Welcome Don Phillips, thanks for posting some history on the Westfield Acres page. A lot of visitors to
the site have a connection to the Acres and surrounding neighborhood.
Hope Benson Malin Says:
January 9, 2009 at 8:59 am
Hey Happy New Year to all!
Brrr………I hate the cold! We’re back on the Florida track, looking at houses again. What’s new with
everyone?
Harry M. Loeffler Says:
January 9, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Happy New Year everyone….clocks have been set ahead 1 solar second due to the loss of a second by the
planetary alignment….you will not be compensated at work any more or less because of this event…lol
Hope, good time to buy real estate, buyer’s market….say hi to my sister Anna in Ormond Beach if you’re
in the area….I think you mentioned a move to the western part of Fla. though…..I like the cold, it
keeps some of the riff/raff off the streets, and the snow is cleansing, but dangerous as a
commuter….they’re calling for snow tomorrow, lots of wrong forecasts lately, how does 1 become a
weatherman? see ya, hl
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
January 9, 2009 at 9:16 pm
jim lang,
Sorry Jim,but I think I posted everything I know about the park. We all seemed to go on a posting spree
in the start up of this site..lol
If I think of anything else ,I will certainly post it. I loved the park & that Rosedale Ave. area.
Ken Brown Says:
January 13, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Frank Garrett, welcome to the site! Don’t worry about moving to Pennsauken after 4th Grade, once from
East Camden, always from East Camden Thanks for sharing some great memories on the various pages. If
you were in classes at Davis with Freddy Vesper, you may also have known my sister Karen Brown (same
years). We lived on 32nd Street (#222) at the very top of the hill, directly across from the big lot
where Westfield Towers was later built.
Hey Harry Loeffler, have you jumped on the Green Eagles bus yet or are you still feeling the pain of
the Cowboy’s loss? LOL. This is the year.
Ken Brown Says:
January 13, 2009 at 8:18 pm
I’ve added a Philadelphia EAGLES page to the menu… a place to support the team in their run to the
Super Bowl!
Harry M. Loeffler Says:
January 13, 2009 at 9:40 pm
i don’t believe this is the eagle’s year, the cardinals looked very impressive gonig down to carolina
and taming the jaguars……lol Cowboys have a full trophy case, eagles still collecting dust in theirs…lol
Fred LeDrew Says:
January 14, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Hey Jim Lang, Re the 50’s at Dudley Grange
How ’bout twilight baseball at Dudley Grange. One of the best teams to play regularly at the park was
an all black team named the Travlers. I remember some of the former WWHS players on various teams
including Sam Croge, Bill Davidson, Bill Shaw, Bill Wagner to name a few. As a little guy, I could
always count on selling out of my yum-yum on a hot and muggy South Jersey night at the ball game at
Dudley Grange.
Great days!
jim lang Says:
January 15, 2009 at 7:57 am
thanks, fred, i do recall those games, by the tennis courts.? i remember sam croge, bar tender at ivy
lanes, ‘ivy viking room’ i worked for bill wagner at wayne sporting goods on federal st. near cartun
hardware. a good man. jim.
Freddy Vesper Says:
January 15, 2009 at 9:40 am
The twilight games at Dudley Grange, what a great memory. When I moved to Merriel Ave in 1956 I was the
bat boy and chased the foul balls for a few of the teams. I did this for a few years and was paid 10
cents for chasing fouls and 25 cents for bat boy, and sometimes the coach treated me to a yum yum or
snowball. Some of the of the teams were, St. Joseph AA, Ackerles Bakery, just to name a few. I met a
lot of nice people who became lasting friends. Many times my father and I would walk across the street
after dinner and watch a game.
Gene McCloskey Says:
January 15, 2009 at 11:01 pm
In the summer of 68 Sam Croge played for a team called Randolf Chevrolet.It was the entire WWHS
baseball team and he was our player /coach.It would have been illegal for Jerry Gold to coach us.We
played against older competition in the Hot Stover league.I am sure all that time together was the
reason we were State Champions the following season in 69.Instead of going our separate ways for the
summer we played together.
I can also relate to Freddie’s comments watching the games as a youngster.We used to take any of the
cracked bats from the Hot Stover games add a couple of screws and some electrical tape and those were
the bats we used for our pickup games.
Another pastime were the basketball games behind the library.I used to play with the older guys when
the evenings began when they were a man or two short.Of course I got the boot when their full teams
would arrive.I credit that experience for making me a better player when I returned to my own age
group.We also took snow shovels to the court after a snow and cleared the entire court just to play.
jim lang Says:
January 16, 2009 at 8:24 am
a word about the tennis courts at the “grange” i once chatted with “sam jones”. the boston celtic
great, who for some reason that day was playing tennis there. he was very friendly and took time out to
talk to me, bieng a student of the great game of basketball, that was a wonderfull exp. sam had the
best bank shot in pro ball, a lost art these days. jim.
Sandy(Orme) Says:
January 16, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Hi to the WW Class of ‘76!
What a year, hope everyone is doing well in 2009.
Thank you Ken Brown for the website, I found it through an email I rec’d from my son, who is stationed
in Iraq, talk about the “long way ’round” to find a website about my classmate’s website. Hope you
rememeber me, I not only graduated with you and Lori but I was also in your wedding. I have to dig up
the picture and post them! LOL
Take care, Go Wilson Tigers!!! (still a cheerleader) LOL
Ken Brown Says:
January 16, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Hey Sandy, What a great surprise! Welcome to the site. We certainly remember you, how could we forget
someone who was in our wedding? I’ve been meaning to put up a picture of our wedding party, as there
were six from the Class of ‘76 in our wedding – Lorrie and I, you, Marge, Karles, and Paul. Paul posts
here. Quite a few from the Great Class of ‘76 have found the site. Lorrie is around here someplace I’m
trying to recall the last time we saw you, I guess it was the 10th Reunion in ‘86. Are you still in
Jersey? We moved back here in 97, we are down near the shore – we have three daughters, our oldest just
turned 17!
Hope to see you posting. There is a lot of stuff here! I think we need to post a picture of the ‘76
Cheerleaders!
Sandy(Orme) Says:
January 16, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Still in NJ, but on our way to Naples FL! As soon as our son returns from Iraq and gets his VA mortgage
we are GONE!!! We’ve had enough of this cold weather! Our son, Adam, will be 26 this year. John and I
will celebrate 28 ys! When Johanna saw me all those years ago, it was when the first space shuttle
exploded. I was there visiting my grandmother and enjoying the warm weather,38 degrees that night! We
will retire to my house in Naples and hopfully enjoy a looooong retirement. We need it, having taken
care of my grandmother,father and mother unitl they passed, 15 years in all. It’s so good to read about
the good times, it’s funny how every generation says their childhood memories were the good times, at
the time I just want to “grow up” and be my own person. You guys got to run and bike etc… “If I didn’t
tow the line I would have had to go to the “convent” school in Cherry Hill. Does anyone know of such a
school? LOL Childhood, wish I could do it all over, and really enjoy it.
WW was such fun and cheerleading was t he best time of all! I was so shocked to read tha Karlas passed
in “93! She was so young.
Its fun reading eveyones comments and sharing memories. Like I said in my post found this site thanks
to my son, who would have thunk it! Our kids are our blessings and our greatest legacy. Say “HI” to
Lori.
The picture of the ‘76 cheerleaders is a good idea, try to post the one with me and Karlas carry ing WW
banner to honor her, we use to call ourselves “salt and pepper”. I first met Karlas at Veterans
Memorial JHS, she had just moved here, I can’t remeber from where. I went to HC Sharp School on 32nd
st, then Vets, then WW. It seems like it was only yesterday and then I look in the mirror! LOL
All my BEST to Everyone!
Paul Skeens Says:
January 16, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Hey SANDY!!!
Great to hear from you! It’s great that you and John are doing so well. So sorry to hear of your mom
and dads’ passing. They were wonderful people. I remember seeing you guys all the time when I worked at
Leonards.
It has been a number of years since I “bumped” into you. Or was it you bumping into me. LOL! 28 years
of marriage, tremendous. How much longer is your son in Iraq?
Do you keep in touch with the best man in your wedding? I remember him and his wife….can’t recall their
names though. They were very nice people.
Hope to hear more from you guys!
Sandy(Orme) Says:
January 16, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Hey Cus! How are you and your family? We hoping and praying for Adam’s safe return sometime this
summer. We lost Dad in ‘93, Grandmom in ‘03,age 95 and my Mom in’06 age 85. That “bump” cost me a years
worth of paychecks plus interest! I thought I would be paying it off til I was a grandmother! AND I WAS
SOBER!!! We try to keep in touch with Bob(best man) and Pam, but they have moved out of state, they had
a son in ‘82, was a Marine, did 2 tours in Iraq, home and healing. Readjusting problem. Yes they are a
great family.
So what where when??? Children? What’s the scoop?… Great to hear from you!
Ken, I had 3, ’76s in my wedding, me, Paul Skeens, Peggy Norris. Johanna Fanelle was also in the
wedding.
I can’t believe we graduated 33 years ago! It was only YESTERDAY!!! lol
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
January 17, 2009 at 11:16 am
FLY EAGLES FLY !!!!!
Paul Skeens Says:
January 17, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Hey Sandy,
We too will be praying for Adam’s quick and safe return home.
Yes, Pam & Bob, that was them. Very, very nice people!
I am married to a wonderful girl…we have three fantastic children….Boy and 2 girls. E-mail me at:
wildwoodaze@gmail.com and I can give you all the details. We would love to hear more from you guys!
Talk to you soon.
Ken Brown Says:
January 17, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Hey Everyone… it is cold outside!
Hey Sandy, us guys were never threatened with convent school when we were young, it was always military
school out in the boonies.
It was truly tragic about Karles Jones passing in 93. She had been to visit Lorrie and I in Maryland in
the year prior to her death, when our oldest Olivia was just a baby, Her passing was so unexpected.
I remember Peggy Norris, her dad worked at Hollingshed’s where my Dad, and George Gumbrell’s dad
worked.
Hey Paul, what were you, some kind of wedding usher for hire back in the day? LOL
Harry Loeffler, were you at work in NYC when the US Air flight went into the Hudson? From the reports
on TV it sounds like it might have come in around the same area of Manahattan where you work.
Skeeter, for some reason the link on your Eagles post was not working, so I removed the link. You could
try linking it again. Also check out the Eagles Page I added.
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
January 17, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Ken Brown,
I know you said you got a new computer,did you also change your email address?
I emailed last week you about Joe McCool Jr.,my old friends Son,but did not get a reply.
It did not bounce back,so maybe its sitting at the old address.
Mine is still the same.
Contact me if you get a chance.
Skeeter
Harry M. Loeffler Says:
January 17, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Ken, I was driving up 11th ave. @ 3:30 pm, the jet had just gone into the drink @ 3:26 pm. there were
many emergency vehicles, ambulances, etc. buzzing around…..i wondered what now, didn’t find out what
happened until i arrived @ work…..made for a traffic nightmare for those who had to travel from
downtown to the north…..i missed the mess by minutes.
Paul Skeens Says:
January 17, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Yes Kenny, pity me…..back in the day I was always a groomsman, never a groom!
I went to many, many great weddings though. Happy to report most of them are still together with few
exceptions.
Has George sufaced yet, Ken?
George! if you’re out there let us know.
Hey to Barb Maslanik (Thurber) Great to hear you are doing well Barb! Ken did a wonderful job with this
site, didn’t he? The explorers were really a blast. Remember “Piccolo Pete” on the trip to Stover State
Park?……. When he was lurking around Russ said “Paul, get your gun!?……from inside a small pup-tent we
heard Labs saying “Skeens, put the gun away!” LOL….for the record I had no gun….but it was funny that
he thought that at 17yrs old, I MIGHT just have one….AHHHH…the labels us Camden kids had even then!
Haven’t heard from Johanna Lately…..Johanna, you aren’t missing with George, are you?
Sandy(Orme) Says:
January 17, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Sketter
Does Joe McCool have a sister named Nancy? I was best friends Nancy McCool, she lived on the corner of
35th & Pierce. They moved and I never heard from her again. Just wondering how she is doing. If she is
one and the same, please pass my “hello” on to her. Thanks!
EVERONE:
Wheres Russ McDaniel hiding? In a pup tent? Or stuck in a parachute?
Just wondering???
I find this website and now everyone is missing! I took a shower! LOL
Later…
Sandy(Orme) Says:
January 17, 2009 at 11:13 pm
SORRY! for the sp of ur name Skeeter! LOOOOOONG day
Sandy(Orme) Says:
January 17, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Ken, lost the email you sent, tried to email throught this website and it wants tooooo much info,
HELP!!!
Ken Brown Says:
January 18, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Hey Everyone,
Harry, I thought you might have been in the vicinity of the plane crash. Remarkable landing by the
pilot. When I was in the Coast Guard flying on C-130’s we would do drills for ditching at sea, as we
mostly flew over water, and the thinking was, if you ditched in the water, it was survivable but likely
the plane would break apart on impact. Shows remarkable skill that the pilot landed that plane and it
stayed intact.
Paul, Johanna is not missing, she’s hanging on the St. Joe’s page of this site. She’s keeping the
conversation going there! George… yes he is missing. Perhaps we should launch a ski patrol rescue to
Vermont to find him.
Sandy, you can email Lorrie at BrownMK@aol.com. She’d love to hear from you. She reads the posts here
now and then, but does not get time to post much. She mostly relies on me to keep her up on the site.
Ken Brown Says:
January 18, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Paul, Piccolo Pete was indeed a strange denizen of Stover State Park. I’ve often wondered what became
of him, whether he’s maybe moved up from playing his piccolo in parks to playing on street corners or
subways. Or maybe he was discovered and now plays first chair piccolo in some symphony someplace. I
think he actually lived in the woods at Stover, perhaps one of the last remaining back to nature
piccolo players in all of Eastern Pennsylvania. That was at the tail end of the Hippie era… LOL I
remember we thought we found his crop of Cannabis growing along the river. That night he was wandering
along the road, I think he was probably rooting around for some of Dominic Lope’s leftover spaghetti
dinner. We were probably the only Explorer’s post who brought along our own professional chef! Thanks
to Dominic for some great camping meals… fond memories of Jimmy Dean sausage cooking over an open fire
in the middle of the night!
Maybe Barb or Johanna can refresh our memories, but was there a night time hike through the woods to an
empty swimming pool on that trip to Stover? It was in early Spring, and cold, but I remember we were
diappointed after finding the pool in the dark, and it was empty! LOL
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
January 18, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Sandy(Orme),
I know Joe McCool Sr.,one of my best friends has a daughter named Janet,but I do not know if there is a
Nancy.
I lost track of my buddy in the early 70’s & and did not know he had passed away in the 80’s.
Wish I could have seen him just one more time.
Anyway…I did get an email from his daughter Janet,and I emailed her a few times.
Just the other day,I received an email from Joe Jr. & reponded,but haven’t heard anything back yet.
When he does get back to me I will ask him about Nancy.
I never give out email addresses without getting permission from the person first,so if there is a
Nancy,it may take a little time to get that permission. OK?
I never met any of Joe Srs. children. Last I knew Joe Sr. was living on Princeton Ave. in Cherry
Hill,then I lost contact.
His wifes name was Darlene,does that ring a bell
Darlene is deceased too.
Skeeter
Sandy(Orme) Says:
January 18, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Skeeter, Thanks for getting back to me. I think Joe Jr. is a brother to Nancy, I don’t really remember
the parents names. I was at their house just before they moved one of the older kids just got married
they were hanging out at the house between wed and recept. They moved shorthly after that and I lost
all contact. Gee, CH is only a couple miles away and yet it seem thousands. Thanks again.
Paul Skeens Says:
January 18, 2009 at 7:10 pm
I don’t know if there was a swimming pool there Ken, but there WERE a number of late night hikes Russ
would remember them
Again, don’t know about the pool but wasn’t there a mental intitution or something like that not far
from the campground.
Piccolo Pete probably got pushed out by several new condo developements in the area. Or, perhaps he has
relented, hung up his piccolo, joined mainstream society, and is now the president of one of those
condo assosciations in that area.
Ken Brown Says:
January 18, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Paul, you mean they now have condos overlooking those cliffs you threw Russ off of? LOL. I have not
been up that way in years, will have to take a ride up there this Spring and check the area out again.
The park rangers probably still have a picture of us all posted on their bulletin board.
For all we know Piccolo Pete may have been a figment of our collective imaginations, though I know we
heard him play songs and non of us were prone to auditory hallucinations back then. Maybe Pete was the
ghost of Ralph Stover…. hahaha!
Johanna (Fanelle) Shirk Says:
January 18, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Hey I thought we actually saw Piccolo Pete when Russ and Paul where playing throw me off the cliff
games. All I know is that was the first and last camping trip for me. I thought we were going to freeze
to death out there. It was march and it was very cold. I do remember Dominic and spaghetti for dinner
one night. I also remember driving up to the ledge where I thought we saw PP or at least heard him.
Sandy, Hello how are you? So you are heading back to Naples, Fl beautiful area. you are so right it was
the time of the challenger explosion. My husband still talks about running into you and that being my
first time to Florida. I wish we hadn’t moved there as early as we did. Some day I plan on going back
to live also. waiting for my children to go off to college. What part of Naples is your house in? I
have a brother in law who lives off of Immacailli Road (sorry about spelling) He is an attorney there.
Ken your doing a great job thanks again.
Barbara (Maslanik) Thurber Says:
January 19, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Hello Sandy, great to hear from you. I guess the last time I actually saw you was at the 10th reunion
too.
I remember you and I shared a room on our class trip to New Hampshire. Lots of fun trying to learn how
to ski for the first time. I think I spent most of the time on my rear end. Nice looking instructor.
And then trying to get into the club at night. Who had ID and who didn’t. I think everyone was
borrowing each others ID. LOL
Sandy, I would love to see you before you head down to Naples. As one of the Best Clases of WW we need
to push to get some kind of reunion soon before everyone takes off to warmer weather for retirement.
Paul, great to hear from you too! Oh those Explorer days and nights, what a great time for all.
Dominic’s meals were the best.
Nice talking with all of you again.
Take care and Ken keep up the good work with the site.
Johanna (Fanelle) Shirk Says:
January 19, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Hey I know I did not graduate from WWHS but can I come to your reunion? LOL If you dont have a reunion
everyone could all just meet one night out at rexy’s in Haddon Twp (just for example) they can put us
in the side room where we could all just sit and catch up for old time sake. I will bring the tweety
bird pin and maybe surrender it to Russ McDaniel if he shows up. LOL
Paul Skeens Says:
January 19, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Johanna,
You would certainly be welcomed at ANY of our re-unions. I think somewhere along the line you were
adopted as an official Wilsonian, right? If not you were always one at heart! You were firendly with
more Wilson grads than many wilson grads were. AND Rexy’s sounds great! Is that place still there? Have
not been up that way in a while. How about Kaminski’s or “The Shepards INN?”
Barbara (Maslanik) Thurber Says:
January 20, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Johanna,
I am definitely up for this get together. Just tell me when and where. Who knows, maybe I’ll bring my
twirling baton! LOL
Yes, you have always been part of the Wilson ‘76 group.
Ken, what do you think? Can you and Lorrie make it?
Frank Garrett Says:
January 20, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Ken Brown,
I found out from Freddie Vesper’s reply that I was a year ahead of him in school. I was in his brother
Donnie’s class with Mrs. Cathell. I can’t seem to remember your sister, but then again, it’s been sooo
long ago. In the 8 years or so that I lived in Camden, I lived at Garfield Apartments (Camden ?), 444
Marlton Pike, 241 S. 33rd st., 245 S. 33rd st. (big move!), 200 block of Marlton Ave., 237 Wilmont st.,
3210 Saunders st.. I guess you now know why it’s pretty hard to remember everything. I think my parents
were gypsie’s!!! If anyone is familiar with these addresses from about 1950 to 1958, and has a comment
to share, let me know! I’m still trying to find out who my 1st and 2nd grade teachers were at McGraw
school. I think my 2nd grade teacher was Mrs. Collinswood or something like that name, but I must have
repressed my 1st grade teacher’s name…………….she probably hit me in the head or something! Also, did
anyone out there take music lessons at the Music Corner on Marlton Pike?
Johanna (Fanelle) Shirk Says:
January 22, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Paul and Ken,
We need to find a way to get Russ and wife up here. It would not be the same without him, besides who
would I return the tweety bird pin to if he is not here. I used to run into his brother Michael once in
a blue moon but that was so long ago. I think he joined the service also. The twins I will never forget
them. I wanted to take them home with me, they were so adorable. I wonder where and how they are now? I
still have a picture of them when they were maybe 4 or 5 years old.
Would Rexy’s survive us? it would be cool to do. Russ are you out there lets hear your comments. Would
you come?
Ken Brown Says:
January 22, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Welcome to the site Dyane Porterfield. We are glad you found us, and hope you will keep on visiting the
site.
Frank Garrett, sounds like you moved around quite a bit. I do believe the Garfield Apartments were in
Camden, if my memory is right, I think they were over in the area behind WWHS, off Highland Ave. Wasn’t
there a Garfield Avenue in that area? Anyone remember?
Barb and Johanna, let us know what plans “youse guys” make. We do not get up that way much, and our
weekends are pretty much dictated by the kid’s plans and activities (it’s tough during the school
year), but maybe we can make it.
Paul Skeens Says:
January 23, 2009 at 8:23 am
Johanna,
I have not spoken to Russ or his lovely wife in many, many moons. Ken may hear from him more often,
maybe he could coax them up here. I never met Russ’ wife in person but (saw pictures of her…she is
GORGEOUS!!!) spoke to her via e-mail many times. Again that was quite a while ago.
Rexy’s sounds great, Johanna, that is where he gave you the Tweedy pin right?
I can’t believe you still have that thing!
It would be great to all get together
Ken Brown Says:
January 23, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Paul, I have not heard from Russ in sometime. He posted quite a bit here when the site was new. I don’t
know if he still checks the site or not. A lot of people have passed through here in the year it has
been up and running. Some stop back now and then, others stop in and leave a few comments then
disappear, a few post regularly. And judging by the number of hits on the site, and daily visit counts,
there are probably many more reading the site than are posting or even stopping in to say hello. It’s
been an interesting exercise in reconnecting folks. It’s great to find out what people have been up to
after all these years, and to know that so many are doing well in their lives. We all shared that brief
period of time known as high school or elementary school, then went off and traveled our own life’s
journeys, with the occasional recrossing of paths after many years. And when you look back now, after
being thirty or forty years removed from Wilson, you realize, just how brief a time it truly was, and
how much each of us have lived and grown on so many levels since then.
Freddy Vesper Says:
January 23, 2009 at 2:12 pm
I am sort of resting my body today and have some spare time, I would like to hear from anybody who
remembers the yearly bazaar that was held on the school yard of H H Davis in the spring time. I think
it was sponsored by the PTA and the school. I used to go every year and it was quite a popular event
for chidren and adults. The time period I attended (2nd -6th grade ) was 1957-1961. Any memories?
Ken Brown Says:
January 23, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Freddy, I have many good memories of the Davis Spring Fair. It was quite an event each year. I recall
they had lots of tables set up for games, and they also sold stuff, used books, knick knacks etc also.
I think I may still have a book or two from one of the fairs. They always set some rides up in the
field on High Street, that later became the Davis parking lot. I remember Diane Palumbo and her dad
would bring their pony for pony rides… everyone thought it was very cool a girl from Camden had a pony!
The funniest memory I have of the Davis Fair was one year my Mom and Mrs. Ivory (mother of Charles,
Judy, and Katie) were selling hoagies in the cafeteria for the fair. Mr Motzer, who many probably had
for math (I think he taught that), was standing there talking to my mom and Mrs. Ivory and eating a
hotdog. The hotdog plopped out of the roll onto the floor, and Mr. Motzer, without missing a beat and
keeping the conversation going, picked up the hotdog, put it back in the roll and kept on eating it.
LOL I remember my mom and Mrs. Ivory looking at each other, and you could just tell by their face they
were thinking… “He didn’t just put that hotdog back in his roll did he???” Hahah.
Freddy Vesper Says:
January 23, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Mr. Motzer, now that brings back some memories, he took a liking to me and I could do no wrong in his
eyes ( did I have him fooled ? ). Based on what I was told, he lived in the YMCA ( the old one that was
on Market St. ),and he usually wore the same suit and tie every day. He dyed his hair with shoe polish
and during the change of classes he was in the hallways as an active monitor. I was familiar with him
during the junior high years of 7th-9th grades and that would have been 1961-1964. He was definately
unique and “old school” When I was in 7th grade I was elected to student council and he advised me I
can go as far in life as I desired. I never had him for a teacher so his words of guidance were
something special to me. The bottom line was his encouraging me to further my ambitions whatever they
may be. His reputation preceeded his introduction. He came from Cramer Jr High and the first year of
Davis as a Jr High was also my first year as a Jr High student ( 7th grade ).
Paul Skeens Says:
January 23, 2009 at 9:14 pm
WOW…..The Spring Fair. I had completely forgotten about that.
Your’re right too, Ken, they had rides in what was a dit lot across from Davis Auditorium entrance,
right next to Dave Nevius’ yard.
After they paved it, it served as our full-sized street-hockey rink. Dave Huntsinger was goalie, Robert
Schukay, Dave Cocaro (??) George, Ken, and I to name a few. Didn’t Dave use carpet padding or foam
taped to his legs for protection?……A LOT of fun!!!
I’m sure Russ will find his way back here at some point.
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
January 23, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Spring Fair,
I think I was gone before your spring fairs started.
I believe the schoolyard was dirt & grass when I attended H.H. Davis.
Was it paved when you were there?
The lot on High Street was semi wooded & we would park our bikes there while in school. High is the
street with the candy store on the corner right? Gumball machine winners,pretzel rods with
mustard,Cherrio & Duncan YO-YO people held demonstrations outside the store.
There was a lot on the other side of the school that was cleared & for gym we used to play touch
football. Was kind of a bad idea hygene wise,there were no showers…lol Mr. Greenwald taught health &
gym.
You mentioned a girl named Palumbo…I had a Mr. Palumbo at Davis or Cramer not sure what subject any
relation? My wife went to Camden Catholic with one of his daughters.
Also had Mr. Motzer for Business Administration at Cramer in Jr. High (9th grade). They seemed to
rotate teaching staff between the two schools. Just the opposite with me,he took a dislike to me .
Ken Brown Says:
January 23, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Paul, yeah I remember the hockey games on the parking lot. Also have a vague memory of the Ewings
building a go-cart that they would let kids ride around the lot after it was paved for .50cents for a
few laps. Can’t really recall what year they paved the lot, but I have memories of it being dirt and
with trees at somepoint in our youth. I know it was paved over by about 5th Grade.
Didn’t Richard Schukay (or was it Robert) get hit in the mouth with a hockey puck at a Jersey Devils
game at the Cherry Hill Arena? It wasn’t one of the nights we were there, though maybe George was, but
I remember him coming into school the next day, in 7th, with his lip swollen and stitched.
Skeeter, yes the candy store was on the corner of High and 36th… Jack’s it was called. I use to buy
frozen Milky Way bars there, and I remember they had quite a selection of candy.
And Skeeter, the school lots were paved over by time most of us were there in the mid 60’s, and the
school yards were fenced in also with basketball hoops. On the Cramer Street side of the school, where
the office entrance was, they built an apartment building across the street sometime in the 60’s, I
remember Bob Hirsch and Steven Matthews, I think it was him, lived there. The apartments backed up to
the Gulf station on Westfield. There was also a candy store on the corner of Cramer and 34th, for a
while.
Skeeter, Nick Rapanotti might be able to tell you if Mr. Palumbo, the teacher, was related to the other
Palumbos – he is distantly related to them.
Freddy, I remember my sisters talking about Mr. Motzer and the shoe polished hair… LOL. He was at Davis
while I was in the lower grades, but he had retired or been moved by time I got to middle school which
would have been the 69-70 school year. It’s a shame he had to live at the Y… teachers did not make much
back then, yet they were, with few exceptions, truly dedicated to educating us kids.
Ken Brown Says:
January 24, 2009 at 12:01 am
Hey Paul, do you remember hanging out on our bikes by the High Street entrance to Davis after school,
to annoy the teachers as they left? Bonus points if you can remember the last two cars always left in
the lot long after every other teacher had left… LOL. Don’t mention any names, it might start a teacher
scandal… hah!
Paul Skeens Says:
January 24, 2009 at 9:44 am
Kenny,
I CERTAINLY remember the two cars left well after the last bell was rung. Or, perhaps, there WAS
another bell being rung that we were un-aware of at the time! Even at that tender age we had our
suspicions. One car was a Mercedes, don’t know the other off hand. I know BOTH the names, but
withholding same to protect the guilty! LOL
Robert Schukay or Richard?
Freddy Vesper Says:
January 24, 2009 at 11:35 am
Skeeter,
The candy store you described was on the corner of 34th & Cramer, it was called George’s and was
operated by two old ladies. Their signature treat was the $.02 pretzel rods with mustard. Around 1962/3
they sold it to Mr. and Mrs. Lungano. They had a son named Roxy who went to school and hung around with
us. Talk about a yo yo do you remember the yo yo tournaments that were held on the corner of 34th and
Westfield near the luncheonette? They were sponsored by Duncan and Cheerio and the grand prizes were yo
yos.
Ken,
I do not think Mr Motzer lived at the Y because he was poor, I think he was extremely frugal. By the
way another thing I remember about him, he could have been the poster child for Listerene commercials.
Fred LeDrew Says:
January 24, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Freddy,
I remember yo yo contests at 34th and Westfield. The tricks that come to mind include; walk the dog,
sleep, baby in the cradle, around the world, three leaf clover, loop the loop.
How many can you recall?
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
January 24, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Freddy Vesper,
It was a long time ago…got my streets mixed up…lol
Directly across from the side entrance , right side looking at the front of the school,on the same side
as the candy store that sold the mustard pretzels there was a partially wooded lot.
We used to lock up our bikes in a clump of trees on that lot while attending classes.
Can’t say I remember competition (yo-yo) at a luncheonette on Westfield,but do remember demonstrations
outside that candy store.
Good old days of penny candy,bubble gum & pretzels.
Remember a bakery on the corner of 34th & Westfield ,was it Gardeners?
Then another between 36th & 37th ,Koeners?
The one on 34th & Westfield..you could go to in the early mornig,give the man a quarter & he would fill
a bag with donuts,cupcakes & tea bisquits,left over from the day before that he did not sell.
Got at least two dozen .
Back then (early – mid 50’s) a dozen donuts or rolls sold for about 30 cents…lol
Dave Nevius Says:
January 25, 2009 at 1:06 pm
The spring fairs were always fun. My Mother was president of the PTA for a couple of years and I
remember her saying that the man who owned the rides wanted to much money so the rides were
discontinued. I also remember the fair was held in the Davis School cafeteria one year because of bad
weather. The best year was when a lady gave me alot of tickets because she and her children were
leaving. I won enough tickets from the games to get a toy sailboat. Belated Happy New Year to all. Dave
N.
Dave Nevius Says:
January 25, 2009 at 1:08 pm
P. S. I had forgot all about the David School Fairs, Thanks for the memory jog. Dave N.
Bruce Scholz Says:
January 25, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Hello all! This is Bruce Scholz. I surfed in from Phil Cohens Camden site earlier this week and have
spent much of my free time since then reading everything on this site and letting FLOODS of memories
come back! First of all, Thanks to you Ken for putting this together! It’s been a true joy to catch up
on all of the Camden memories!
I spent a scant 3 years at H.H.Davis but the memories are vast. I was in Mr. Sussman’s 6-1 in 69-70.
Paul, you were my locker partner. I was in 7-2 (70-71) with Mr. Smith. And 8-4 (71-72) down in the
basement with Mr.Cloud. I went to F.X.McGraw from K thru 5. Hope (Benson), I also had Ms. Hunter for
Kindergarten. I also remember her being tall and she would spend a lot of time taking the wrappers off
of the straws at milk time! And Naps! Haha! Mr Fister was another tall teacher.
I lived in the 400 block of Boyd Street. Two blocks from The Panzarrotti Shop and Erlton Bakery. Didn’t
Florence DeSantis live above the Bakery? My Father was a Fireman in the Camden Fire Dept. I moved to
Maple Shade in April of ’72 when they lifted the residency restriction on the Fire Dept. I commuted
with my brother who went to C.C.V.T.S. until graduation. Sandy (Orme), wasn’t your Father or Uncle a
Fireman too?
I was an “Emilio Estevez” (Breakfast Club) wrestler at Maple Shade High School. I did some checking, I
wrestled M.Lawyer in ’76. Sorry Wilson guys, I won. I remember Dave Billig asking one of my teammates
to have me come out of the locker room before the meet. We all thought someone wanted to “threaten” me
(haha!) so a bunch of us went out and I was surprised to see him! Any news on him?
After High School I went to The University of Southern Mississippi. I got a BA in Biology and
Chemistry. I have been an Environmental Chemist for many years and recently began working at Campbell’s
Soup as a Food Chemist. I now work less than two miles from my old Camden Home. I live with my Wife of
23 years in Haddon Twp. Also less than 2 miles from my old Camden home! We have two Daughters. One is a
Freshman at The College of New Jersey and the other is a Junior at Haddon Twp. High School. Too many
memories to put here but I will try to add them in the appropriate pages. Panzarrottis, Arlo Movies,
Rosedale baseball, sneaking into Wilson Football games, Sledding in front of Dudley Grange, Santa at
Sears, Woolworth’s, Sally Star and much, much more. And GOD Bless Mr. Tweed!
PS. Ken, I have a scanned copy of Davis Graduation Program ’72 as well as an autographed picture of
Sally Star if you’re interested.
Ken Brown Says:
January 25, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Hey Dave Nevius, I’ve been wondering where you’ve been. Have you been deployed? Your house on Fairfax
was probably the best place to live of any of us Davis kids, close to all the action, and home in
thirty seconds, though if I recall they made you walk to the corner to cross with the crossing guard
Mabel.
And WOW, Bruce Scholz, it’s been a number of years. It’s great you found our site, WELCOME.
We were in that 8-4 class together back at Davis. It was a pretty cool homeroom with the best looking
girls and the most deliquent guys… LOL… and you could not ask for a better homeroom teacher than Mr.
Cloud.
I remember that you moved to Maple Shade after 8th… and also that you wrestled for them. We use to see
you at the District tournament at Pennsauken. I remember when Maple Shade came to Wilson to wrestle in
Senior year, I was wrestling 122 lbs, and you were at 129 lbs as I remember. I thought about bumping up
a weight to wrestle you that day. You wrestled Billy Lawyer, one of the Lawyer twins, and yeah you did
win! We had three Lawyers on the team, Billy (129), his twin Gary (129-135), and Wayne (158), and their
brother Charlie was the coach along with Mr. Billig.
Did you go to Maple Shade for all four years of high school, or did you go to Vo-Tech for a while? I
remember us talkin in 8th Grade, how you were going to wrestle at Vo-Tech and I was going to wrestle at
Wilson. I think our brothers were in the same year (72) and they both wrestled as I recall, my brother
at Wilson, yours at Vo-Tech.
There are a lot of names around here you probably remember from Davis. People pop in all the time. You
mentioned Hope Benson, her daughter is a freshman at TCNJ also.
Bruce if you have any pictures etc… scanned send them to me at Leppaluoto@aol.com and I will post them.
Mr. Billig has not yet found the site, but he’s no doubt still out there with his wife Ms. June. I
remember he had a big team party at his house after wrestling season our senior year… very cool place,
with a cool basement of cool stuff like you would imagine a shop teacher having… LOL.
Mr. Stevenson from Davis did find our site and posted a message, which can be found in the earlier
archives, from around March or April of 08.
Paul Skeens Says:
January 25, 2009 at 4:14 pm
HEY BRUCE!!!
Great to hear from you! I do remember we were locker partners back then.
One memory I have is you correcting people that would mistakenly call you “Schultz.” Whenever I hear
the name I check to see if it is spelled “OLZ.”
Bruce it sounds like you currently have, and have had a very interesting career. Would like to hear
more of your memories. I forgot about Mr. Cloud, the art teacher. We were always curious about
the….ah….choice of tobacco he used in his pipe. LOL!
I think mr. Billig lives down near the shore.
Talk to you soon
Freddy Vesper Says:
January 26, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Fred Ledrew,
Not to brag but I won many yo yo contests on that corner and currently I have a yo yo and can still do
those tricks you mentioned. I remember when I did not win the big prize the I/we were given a
certificate for a free Bonomo Turkish Taffy. Now that is a candy from the past.
Skeeter,
The bakery on 34th St was called the German Bakery by us and was operated by an old lady and her son (
actually her son looked old also) and if memory serves me correct I think his name was Junior. I
remember quite well the bag of cakes , we called them “day olds ” and if they were 1 day old it was 25
cents, 2 days old @ 15 cents, 3 days @ 10 cents and sometimes 5 cents. Here is a funny story, one day
we were hungry and had a nickle so we, my brother , I , and some friends stopped in and purchased 5
cents of “day olds “, well needless to say they were well past day old and so hard we could not eat
them so we split them up and had a fight, similiar to a rock/stone fight. My brother Donny hit Bert
Zimmerman ( he lived on 36th ST across from Davis) in the forehead and split his eyebrow open with a
doughnut, wow they were hard.
Yes I remember the wooded lot also, eventually they built apartments there.
Ken, Ken, & Paul,
Dave Billigs went to school with me, he was 1 year ahead of me but we were all friends. He lived in
Lower Twp, Cape May County and was a teacher at the Cape May County Vo Tech School. Sadly to say he
passed away a few years ago and at the time he was in his early 50’s.
Also just a side note, the Lawler boys had a brother Dave who I graduated with and we also worked on
building two prisons together, I as the builder and he as the construction manager, and sadly to say he
pssed away a few weeks ago. Some of the Cramer Hill people and classmates from WWHS-1967 may have known
him.
Ken Brown Says:
January 26, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Freddy, thanks for the updates on Dave Lawyer and also Dave Billig, it’s very sad to hear about both
their passings.
There were quite a few Lawyer kids, Charlie, who coached us wrestlers and was a Math teacher at Wilson,
I think graduated from WWHS in 65 with my sister Cheryl’s class. Dave was younger, graduating in 67
with you and my sister Karen.
Dave Billings was truly a great teacher and coach. He taught print shop at Davis when many of us were
there in the early 70’s, then he moved to Wilson where he was the department head for Industrial Arts.
He was married to Miss June, who many remember from Davis School’s office when she was Miss Edinger,
they married when I was in 7th Grade I believe. Dave never wrestled, but he came out to help coach the
team when Charlie Lawyer needed an assistant. He was an encouraging coach, very supportive of us rowdy
wrestlers. I remember we hung out at his house in Pennsauken after weighing in for the District
tournament, but before the matches got underway – we were amazed at his salt water fish tank, which was
a rare thing back then, and he even let us play George Carlin and Cheech and Chong records on his
stereo. After the season he and his wife threw a big party for the team. I remember we ate quite a bit
of food, as non of us had to cut weight anymore.
I’ve been adding new pages and pictures. Thanks to Bruce Scholz for the 72 Graduation Program. Check
out the new pages on the menu… added the 76 Cheerleaders, Majorettes, Football; 75 X-Country, Class 8-7
from 71-72 (only one that was missing from that year). I have lots more stuff I will be adding,
including obit articles for Coach Mac, Mr. Shaw, and Mike Williams (76)… I’m trying to get them
uploaded so the articles can be read. You may have to enlarge your pages on your computers to view some
of the text pages I will be adding. That is currently the case with the 72 Graduation Program, just
increase your page size to 150 or 200% after bringing up the thumbnail photos, and all the text is
readable. Much more stuff to come, I’m on a roll! There will also be an autographed pic of Our Gal Sal,
thanks again to Bruce Scholz for that.
Paul Skeens Says:
January 26, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Freddy Vesper,
I am shocked to hear about Mr. Billig! He seemed like a health conscious guy. Was it a sudden thing? I
heard he retired close to the shore area but did not know he passed. I remember a long time ago he was
involved in the Jewelry business that bore his last name…I think it was a family thing.
I remember that the print shop looked like a bomb hit it until he came to Davis. He organized all the
type, painted all the machines, even treated the floor to make the cement look new. Before he came we
wen’r even allowed to go into that shop.
It is saddening to hear he is gone.
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
January 26, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Ken,
I emailed you a picture of the H.H. Davis 7th grade 1952 along with names.
It was on Phil Cohens site.
Did you get it?
Lots of familiar E, Camden family names.
Ken Brown Says:
January 26, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Skeeter, yes I got the picture you sent. It was in bitmap format, which I could not post to the site. I
have it on my list of pics to go “borrow” from Phil’s site. I can cut and paste it in a format I can
upload here. Bitmaps don’t work for some reason. JPEG does. I tried to convert the pic you sent but it
would not work. I’ll try to get it uploaded soon.
Check out the “Surreal View of WWHS” I just put up, the back of Wilson before the football field was
built.
Bruce Scholz Says:
January 26, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Ken,
Wow you’ve got a great memory! You asked about me going to VoTech. My choice at the time was to go to
Camden High, lie about my address and use my Uncle’s address at the other end of Boyd Street so I could
go to Wilson, or go to VoTech. My sister and my Mother both went to Wilson, my Brother and my Father
both went to VoTech. I did take the test and was accepted to go to CCVTS. But when the City lifted the
residency restriction on Firefighters, my Dad came home one day and told us he put the house up for
sale. We sold it and found a place in Maple Shade very quickly. I Went to Maple Shade all 4 years.
Paul,
The spelling of my last name is a lifelong affliction! ROFLMAO! I have passed it on to my daughters.
Any program for an event they are involved in has a 50/50 chance of getting it right. We just open the
program and say “how do you suppose they mis-spelled it this time”.
Freddy Vesper,
Did I read that you lived on Morse street? You probably know my sister, Bev. I told her about this
site. Maybe she will stop by. There is a picture posted here of the 1969 cheerleading squad. I
recognize most of the girls there but can’t pick out Bev.
Dave Billig was one of the most inspirational teachers I ever had. I had a “permanent pass” to go down
to the Print Shop any time we had a substitute. I used it any chance I could. Dave was the coolest guy
I knew in 1969 to 1972. He had an Oldsmobile 442 and occasionally I would be walking by his house on
the way to school and he would give me a ride. His Mom’s house was near the corner of 31st and Stevens
by the football field. .I think he introduced me to FM radio. That stereo was sweet! All I knew before
that was WFIL and WIBG!! When I took the test to go to “VoKie”, I applied for Print Shop. I am deeply
saddened to hear of his passing.
Ken Brown Says:
January 26, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Skeeter, I posted the picture for the 1952 Davis class. The names for Row 4 are missing, I’ll get them
from Phil’s site later.
Bruce, I think at least a few kids from our 8th Grade class went to Vokie… Harry Anders, Mike Hale,
some others. What block of Boyd Street did you live on? Lorrie, my wife lived at 41 Boyd through most
of high school, that was a block in from Marlton Pike and Federal, just down from the Penn Jersey
store, and around the corner from Kennedy Towers. I know it ran pretty far down, almost to Wilson??? I
only recall WWHS wrestling Maple Shade our senior year. Weren’t you guys in a different District, but
came into the same District as us in 76? They were held at Pennsauken. I think I recall seeing you
there that year. Actually we had former Davis students spread all over South Jersey as wrestlers…
Richard Brady wrestled for Haddonfield, Nick Sodano wrestled first at WWHS then Pennsauken, Al Pierce
at Bishop Eustace, Jack Mangold wrestled at WWHS, then Camden Catholic, then Brick township I think. A
few always ended up on the Vokie team, as well as Camden Catholic.
Lot of nice memories being shared concerning Dave Billig. Quite apparent he was a special teacher to a
lot of us. I did a quick Google search, and June Billig is listed as the admissions administrator at
Cape May Vocational School.
WIBG and WFIL….. it got no better than AM radio. I talk about AM radio growing up and my kids look at
me like I’m from the stone age… then they put their iPod buds back in their ears… LOL
Hey Bruce I may need you to resend the Sally Starr picture, it downloaded okay, but for some reason
when I upload it to a page here, the picture does not show. I had no problem with the graduation
program. Is it possible to send it in JPEG form or embedded into an email?
Ken Brown Says:
January 26, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Welcome Ed Lemmerman. Thanks for posting on the Military Vets page, we hope you will visit often and
post more comments.
Hey everyone, I just put up a number of new pages… obituary articles for wrestler/musician Mike
Williams (’76), wrestling coach Frank McAleer, and band teacher George Shaw. I also posted the programs
for the Davis 1971 and 1972 Spring Concerts, as well as a cover for Wilson’s Fusion magazine, along
with all the pages mentioned in an above post that I put up earlier. Enjoy.
Pat Smarrito Says:
January 27, 2009 at 12:59 am
Every time I visit this site, more names from the past. Bruce, Sandy, Paul, the Ivory’s, Dave, Johanna,
Barbara, just to name a few. Hello to all and hope all is well.
Fred LeDrew Says:
January 27, 2009 at 1:58 am
Freddy V,
Bonomo Turkish Taffy…..man that’s a winning trivia answer somewhere!
I never came close in the Yo Yo contests, but did pretty well in the, nickle in and a dime or drop,
three card ante games on that corner.
Sheeter, As I recall, the original name of the bakery was The German Bakery. Sometime post WWII, the
word German was dropped, under the same ownership. It was a very good bakery, but my vote goes to
Kerners bakery, about a half block up from 36th, on Westfield.
Really was a great neighborhood.
Freddy Vesper Says:
January 27, 2009 at 9:22 am
Fred,
We played three card poker during the days hanging out in Dudley Grange and during basketball season we
would be playing round robin on the court in Dudley Grange and while awaiting the next game we would be
playing three card off to the side. Now the big money games ( big at that time) were $1 in and usually
$2 limit per bet but sometimes higher. These big money games were played during the daytime during the
week or two when final exams were held at WWHS. They were played at Dudley Grange on the picnic table
under the barn roof. I did not play i the big games, I could not afford it.
Ken,
No i did not live on Morse St, I lived no Merriel Ave between Rosedale and 32nd St
Ken Brown Says:
January 27, 2009 at 11:00 am
Hey Pat Smarrito, nice to see you visiting the site again. And yes, familiar names pop in all the time.
I hope you are doing well.
Freddy, that was Bruce Scholz that asked about Morse Street… remember I lived up the street from you on
32nd
I see that gambling was the vice of choice for those that graduated in the 60’s… LOL. I don’t think us
kids from the 70’s played much poker in the park. I do remember going over horse racing line-ups for
Garden State Park in the back of Ms. Gilde’s journalism class (she thought we were reading editorials)
with Ed Giberson… we kept a running tab of whose picks won and lost. Hey Ed if you are out there, I
think you still owe me money for that longshot in the 8th race on that day back in May of 76… LOL
Ken Brown Says:
January 27, 2009 at 11:26 am
Pat Smarrito, do you ever hear from Terry Woodrow? If so let her know about this site. As a former
Wilsonian staffer, she would no doubt enjoy checking it out. Lorrie and I were just talking the other
day, and realized Terry’s son must be nearly 30 years old now. She use to visit with my brother’s wife
and kids after my brother died in ‘78, and my nephew recently turned thirty, and he was around the same
age as Terry’s son Josh.
Freddy Vesper Says:
January 27, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Ken,
Oops….!
Bruce,
See my post today at 9:22 am.
Hope (Benson) Malin Says:
January 27, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Hi Bruce!! It’s so good to hear from you.
I, too, have a daughter that’s a freshman at TCNJ! Her major is Chemistry-so far, so good. It’s
interesting that you are working as a food chemist-that’s a field I contemplated a few years back but
never pursued. Do you make the soup taste soupier?
I saw Nick Sodano a few weeks ago – you probably remember him. He is also an environmental chemist and
I think he works for the state, maybe the DEP.
It’s been awhile since I’ve been on this site – I recentely changed jobs and have been “adjusting” to
my new surroundings, responsibilities, etc. Right now I’m in sunny (but cold, yes freezing) Wisconsin
and will be there until the end of the week.
Ken Brown Says:
January 27, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Hey Hope, a block of Wisconsin Cheddar would make a nice snack for our site…anyone got crackers and
grape juice? LOL
Bruce, who was Harry Scholz? I was just looking at Phil Cohen’s site, the section on Boyd Street, and
it lists that name for 43 Boyd, which was next door to where my wife Lorrie lived during high school –
41 Boyd. I need to look through some old boxes of photos, I probably have pictures of those homes.
Ken Brown Says:
January 27, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Correction to the above statement…
Bruce, my wife just got in from work, she said she lived at 31 Boyd, not 41, but knew the Scholz family
at #43, and their neighbors the Fredricksons at #41, in fact her brother is married to one of the
Fredricksons – Dora.
Russ “HALOMan” McDaniel Says:
January 27, 2009 at 7:12 pm
I have heard the plaintive cries of my adoring fans and I can no longer deny them. I am back from my
self-imposed exile.
First of all, Ken Brown; outstanding job keeping this site up and running.
Johanna, you’ll have to hold onto that Tweety Bird pin awhile longer. My lovely and beautiful young
bride, Roserita, has said that she would love to meet all of my high school friends, but since we pay
such an exorbatent amount of FLA taxes to keep the weather here nice, we’re not going to waste our tax
dollars on NJ winter weather. Maybe when the weather is nicer.
Sandy, my legs are not as pretty as they used to be. In fact, I’m often asked, when wearing running
shorts, if those are my legs or am I riding a chicken. I hope that doesn’t destroy any long held
memories too badly.
Paul, you are THE MAN. Yes, my lovely and beautiful young bride is in fact GORGEOUS, but it was great
to hear it from someone who doesn’t have to make those comments to ensure domestic tranquility. Thanks.
And lastly, to Ken Barr (K-Bar); I sincerely appreciate your comments about shameless self-promotion.
In fact, I appreciate them so much, I’m going to do it again. I’m including a link to a friends web-
page that has a video of our parachute team’s most recent photo mission (just so that you all know that
your tax-dollars are not being wasted). The guy swinging his arm is the JumpMaster, and yours truly. We
did this mission in one take; first jump of the day. BTW, I didn’t choose the music. Just copy and
paste to your browser and follow the instructions.
http://gallery.me.com/sam_brasfield/100070
I hope that all of you had a wonderful Rama-Hana-Kwanza-Mas (hope I didn’t exclude anyone) and that you
all have a Happy New Year.
HALOMan
Bill Coates Says:
January 27, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Don’t eat the brown acid!!!! I’m having flash backs looking at this site!! LOL
Ken Brown Says:
January 27, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Hey that is right Bill, you use to eat lunch at my house too. Seems like everybody ate lunch at my
house, or on the porch in 9th Grade. Paul, George, Russ, yourself. Probably why our cat was so fat, you
guys fed him your leftovers.
I remember Eric the barber on your side of 37th Bill, we use to hang out in there till a customer came
along then he would chase us out, ditto for Barron’s Rug Mart, but I don’t recall him ever having
customers, though Paul and I did go on a delivery with him once, it was like driving with Mr. Magoo,
his station wagon was all smoked up from his stoogie.
Rowe’s Stamp and Coin, yes he use to be between 36th and 37th, then he moved down between 36th and
34th. I spent most od my childhood allowance in his shop. I still have all those stamps and coins.
Ken Brown Says:
January 27, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Hey Bill Coates… and don’t smoke any of Mr. Barron’s stoogies… LOL. It’s great to see you Bill, and
WELCOME to the site!!! Now that you found us, visit often and share some of those memories from those
days of hanging out on 37th Street! Remember that time we went trick or treating at your neighbors
house (elderly lady across the street) on the day before Halloween and you, Paul, and I kept changing
hats and masks and going back to her house over and over? I don’t think I’ve seen you since you left
Wilson after 9th Grade for Vo-Tech. Hope you are doing well. How’s your brother Ron?
Bruce Scholz Says:
January 27, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Ken,
One funny memory I have of Harry Anders was He and I went to take the test for Vokie and afterwards he
asked what shop I signed up for? I said Print shop, he said he didn’t know what to put so he put
“Culinary Arts”…but he didn’t know what that was. I always wondered if he changed shops once he got
there.
Maple Shade went to District 27 tourney at Pennsauken the 4 years I was there. I really liked that huge
American Flag they would bring out for the anthem before the finals.
Harry Scholz is listed as the owner of 43 Boyd on Phil Cohen’s site. That was my grandfather. He died
before I was born. My Uncle Eddie and his wife Stevia lived there with my Grandmother until the early
‘80’s. I lived way down the other end. On the other side of Baird in the 400 block. The end of my block
was the Pennsauken border. One interesting thing is my Aunt Stevia was Susan Adams’ Aunt also. Stevia
passed away a few years ago and I saw Susan at the funeral. She was quick to remind me that we were
supposed to get married. That was decided when we were in kindergarten! HaHa! She lives with her
husband and beautiful daughter in Medford or Tabernacle.
Hope,
Is your Daughter staying on campus at TCNJ? Sarah is in Wolfe dormitory. Ken, you may appreciate this
as a former Wilsonian Staffer, she is a journalism major. Your Daughter must be very bright as I often
hear “TCNJ? You know it’s hard to get in there!” And a Chemistry Major! That’s great!
I guess you could say I do make the soup soupier. The less complicated answer to what I do at
Campbell’s is: I make the numbers that you read on the Nutrition Label. And Nick Sodano. I used to run
into him in the early ‘80’s when I kept lots of fish tanks. He was working at the Martins aquarium by
the Ellisburg circle in Cherry Hill. Wasn’t he in my weight class senior year?
Oh, and Freddy,
I have been doing a lot of catching up here. I just discovered Ken’s site on Tuesday. I basically read
everything on this site this week. I’m not sure where I mis-read that bit about Morse street. HaHa! My
Bad.
Bill Coates Says:
January 27, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Doing great!! Ronny is doing well too!!
Ken Brown Says:
January 27, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Russ, nice to have you back at the site, and your shameless self promotion videos are always welcomed
here. Sorry about your post getting hung up in the spam pipeline, shameless self promotions will do
that, my spam filter thinks all links in posts are from that car glass company in South Camden that
keeps spamming our site…. about thirty spams thus far… LOL
And Russ, we have rented a bus and we are all coming to Tampa… Sunday… for the Super Bowl. Do you have
room for us all? Do you have beer and peanuts? We will bring the cheesesteaks.
Bruce, Lorrie said she knew your aunt and uncle – Stevia and Eddie. And that the Fredrickson family
actually had two houses on each side of your uncles house, the grandmother lived in #45, and the rest
of the family lived in the other #41. And your uncle Eddie worked at Hollingshed’s at 17th and Mickel
didn’t he? It later became Classic Chemical. My dad worked there for 42 years and knew your uncle!
Bruce, you remember your foes well, Nick Sodano did wrestle 129 at Pennsauken our Senior year. Did you
wrestle him? Nick should find his way here. He was at Stockton the same time I was between 76-78, he
lived in an apartment one court over on campus, and we were both Marine Bio majors. He was still there
when I left for the Coast Guard, but had graduated by time I returned there in 82. The two of us, along
with other displaced wrestlers, tried to get a team/club going at Stockton, which was a relatively new
school back then, but it never got going.
I was going to be a journalist at one time. Claire – the middle child, wants to go to college for
English/Creative Writing/Journalism. I’ll have to pick your brain about TCNJ.
And Fred and Bruce, on Phil’s site, there is a Rocco Vesper listed for one of the Boyd Street houses
(near Morse) in the 1940’s. I think I recall you mentioning that name Freddy, is that your father or
grandfather?
Bill Coates Says:
January 27, 2009 at 8:46 pm
We both are living in shadeless maple or as others know it Maple Shade..LOL
Yea the last I seen you was when I use to go to your house for lunch during those exciting Wilson days…
Do you remember when the park was a wave of mud? Oh baby was that ever fun!!
Do your remember when they paved Westfield Ave? Or when they tore down Tony’s barber shop to build the
church? 37th and Westfield. I remember the old coin collector guy who used to chase us out of his shop.
Hey how about that nut that used to push a cart around selling cloths props, wash clothes, and stuff?
Ken Brown Says:
January 27, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Hey Bruce, one more wrestling note…did you ever wrestle Larry Bunch from Camden High? He wrestled 129
also. Us Wilson wrestlers always signed on as Larry’s surrogate fans and teammates at the District
tournament because he was usually the only Camden High wrestler to get anywheres at Districts. He was a
cool guy. Russ remembers Larry.
Bill great to hear Ron is doing well.
Bill Coates Says:
January 27, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Yea old man Barron was a trip..LOL Use to spend alot of time at Saggy’s. He had a pin ball machine in
the back. Nick was great about us hanging out there as long as we kept the noise down.. But still used
to catch hell from Mom with her broom.. but she made a great cheese steak!!!
Ken Brown Says:
January 27, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Yeah Saggy’s was great, there was much discussion about the name of that place when this site first
started, I think it was Paul who finally came up with the name non of us could remember… LOL
I have pictures of both Barron’s and Eric’s as they look today, I just recently swipped them from Phil
Cohen’s site. I’ll post them later.
Ken Brown Says:
January 27, 2009 at 11:03 pm
A few new pages with pictures… Corner of 37th and Westfield… N. 28th Street…. and Have A Cold One.
Jim Lang Says:
January 28, 2009 at 8:16 am
ken,do you remember carolina kitchen? we used to play basketball at a church ov 39th. st. it was right
across the street. on westfield ave. jim.
Ken Brown Says:
January 28, 2009 at 8:18 am
Bruce Scholz, the girl Susan Adams you were supposed to marry… is that her in the “Davis 65-66 Grade 2?
class picture, bottom row, second from the left? I know the name, I know she was in at least one or two
classes at Davis… and did she have a sister, possibly a twin?
Jim Lang, I remember the church on the corner of 39th and Westfield and it seemed there was always a
basketball game going on in the parking lot.
Paul Skeens may remember the Carolina Kitchen, he lived just a few houses down from the church. When we
were kids there was a store named Glades across from the church. Paul do you remember the place Jim
mentioned? Glades was a favorite place on our many stops, not just for the 16 oz. bottles of Pepsi we
were addicted to (before high fructose corn syrup) but we had a major crush on those older girls that
worked there, though looking back,we probably were a big annoyance to them.
Bill Coates you’ll have to bring us up to date on your family, kids etc… hey what was your CB handle?
Was it “Rambler Man”…. or was that your Dad’s? You don’t still have the Rambler do you? That’s a true
classic today and probably worth quite a bit. I wish I still had my dad’s 65 Falcon! LOL
Paul Skeens Says:
January 28, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Jim & Ken,
The church at 39th & Westfield was Bethel Methodist church. We had many, many, great B-ball games
there. We also rode our mini-bikes and go-carts there in the days before the proliferation of lawsuits.
They had the basketball nets set up full court style. The Pastor there when I was a kid was Howard
Gifford (2 sons, David & Stevie also went to Davis I think) He moved on and Rev. Austin took over. His
son Dave Austin posted here a while back.
I do not remember Carolina Kitchen though. There was a plumbing store on the NW corner called “Cal-
Bens” which later became A & R Plumbing supply. On the other corner was “Kings Confectioners” candy
suppliers (if my memory is correct.)
Ken,
The store “Glads” that you speak of was originally called Millies. She had hand-dipped Breyers. Mille
sold to Glad, then came the “Remember When” shop. If anyone remembers Koerners Bakery on Westfield
between 36th & 37th, there was a very old fashioned soda fountain there. The owner of the Remember When
Shop purchased it and put it in his store (what we knew as Glads all those years.) They also had a
Player piano playing all the time. & yes, I remember the “older” women. We were about 12 and they were
what…16? LOL!
Russ
I viewed your video link….When i saw all that red smoke comming out from behind you it reminded me of
one of our trips to Peppies, when we drank 17 pitchers of beer and ate all that rot-gut pizza.
Paul Skeens Says:
January 28, 2009 at 12:44 pm
PS Russ,
No problem…I am fully trained in the “Prevention of Domestic Violence Act”…..Domestic Tranquility is my
middle name. I was actually going to make a comment on not only how gorgeous she is but also how YOUNG
she looks. But I didn’t want you to think I was making any veiled reference to how you look. LOL!
leppaluoto Says:
January 28, 2009 at 12:44 pm
17 pitchers of beer??? Who rolled you two out in a wheel barrel and then drove you home… Johanna?
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
January 28, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Paul Skeens,
When we got married in 1968,we moved into a second floor apartment at 235 N. 40th,right around the
corner from Glads…ate a lot of that great ice cream…lol
I remember the Church & the plumbing company,I think it was American Plumbing Company back then.
Don’t recall any Carolina Kitchen when we were there,but it was a long time ago.
I remember the fountain at Keorners Bakery,my Dad worked at nights as a third class baker ,came in late
at night,baked a few of the easier products & set things up for the #1 guy who came in early mornings.
Used to get a lot of freebies from there.
I used to go to Koerners when I lived on Rosedale,whe I was about 12 or so. I never remember seeing
anyone use that soda fountain.
Now Kel’s in Cramer Hill,at 27th & River Rd,had a great fountain that was used & a row of telephone
booths,with doors,rotary dials & they had the old style hand sets. Listen only..you talked into a piece
on the body of the phone.
Also The Take-a- Boost shop across from Kel’s,next to the little 5 10..was it Binkley’s or something
like that? &
leppaluoto Says:
January 28, 2009 at 2:20 pm
A few new pages with pictures to check out… on the menu… Westfield Towers being built… ‘76 Graduation
Program… Halloween ‘64…. Monkey Bars in Dudley Grange… Donkey Basketball certificate… and the wedding
that included six Class of ‘76 alumni (Ken and Lorrie’s). More pages to come.
Bruce, did you get my note about the Sally Starr photo, can you resend it in jpeg, or withinin an email
without it being an attachment?
leppaluoto Says:
January 28, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I added more pages… check out “Cat Artist of 32nd Street” and “Brown Family 1962?
Freddy Vesper Says:
January 28, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Ken,
The Rocco Vesper on Boyd St was a cousin and I think his brother Billy lived down the street. I also
had an Uncle Rocco who lived on Browning Rd in Pennsauken. My great grandfather was Rocco, as you can
see Rocco was a common name in our family.
Pat Smarrito Says:
January 28, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Ken, I can’t believe how you keep up with all this history and communication. Hey to Lorrie by the way
-been many years. Yes, I do see Terry very often and her son Josh has two children now-he lives in
Paulsboro. I saw Charles Ivory last night-told him there was a story about his mom on this site-guess I
didn’t phrase that quite right. He also remembers you very well. Hello also to Russ. Pat
Sandy(Orme) Says:
January 28, 2009 at 5:39 pm
SORRY! Everyone, our son, Adam is home on R&R from Iraq. I’ll be back soon.
Thank you for all your good thoughts and prayers.
HI to Everyone!
Later… Sandy
Ken Brown Says:
January 28, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Freddy, at least Rocco is a prettuy cool name to keep passing around the family!
Sandy, I’m glad your son was able to get home on leave. Enjoy his visit.
Pat, WOW… great to hear that Terry is a grandmother of two! Tell her Lorrie and I said hello, the next
time you see her, and also to stop by the site if she can, it would be great to reconnect with her. The
Ivory’s lived across the street from us on 32nd Street… Charles graduated with my sister Cheryl, Judy
with my sister Karen, and Katie was between me and my brother Mike. I last saw Katie and her father in
‘97 when my mom passed.
There is a new Sally Starr page I just added, thanks to Bruce Scholz for contributing that…. though I’m
a little jealous he got her autograph! LOL
Ken Brown Says:
January 28, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Hope, are you still freezing out there in Wisconsin? Don’t let the Cheddar freeze, if it does you can
always melt it into fondue. I’m guessing you are out there for your new job, and not just for a Winter
vacation?
Ken Brown Says:
January 28, 2009 at 11:07 pm
A sad note, I read in the Courier-Post today that Mrs. Barbara Pierce, the wife of former Camden Mayor
Alfred Pierce, and mother of Barbara, Debbie, and Al Pierce, who many of us knew from Davis/Wilson and
East Camden in the 60’s and 70’s, passed away this week. Al Pierce graduated from Davis with those of
us in the Davis Class of ‘72, he went to Wilson for 9th Grade before transferring to Bishop Eustace.
Our thoughs go out to Al and his sisters.
Ken Brown Says:
January 29, 2009 at 10:11 am
WELCOME Merle Winepol Lundy from WWHS’s Class of 1964. Merle it sounds like your class is organizing
for a reunion. If you want, I can open a page here at the site for the Class of ‘64, where you can post
information, and others who may find this site from your class can leave contact info for you. There
are a few from your class, I believe, that have passed thru here. Check the email address page for
familiar names.
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
January 29, 2009 at 11:02 am
RE:
Author: Ken Brown
Comment:
WELCOME Merle Winepol Lundy from WWHS’s Class of 1964. Merle it sounds like your class is organizing
for a reunion. If you want, I can open a page here at the site for the Class of ‘64,
***********************************************
May I suggest that if it is not too much trouble that if you start pages for reunions that you include
a list of names from that graduating class?
That way it could aid those coming to the forum in reconnecting with old friends,by contacting the
organizers.
I personally would be interested in finding friends graduating WWHS from 1957 thru 1964.
Just a suggestion
Paul Skeens Says:
January 29, 2009 at 5:00 pm
Skeeter & Jim Lang
If you recall the church on one corner, diagonal to the church was King’s Confectioners. On the other
corner was the plumbing supply and diagonal to that, on the other side of Westfield, was a small white
building. THAT may have been Carolina Kitchen at one time. It later became Taylors Freezers. Skeeter,
do you remember the old shoemaker that was a door or two down from Glads?
I remember kids would come from all around to play basketball games at the church. One of Joe Winters
(he owned the gas station at 36th & Westfield) sons used to play there, and Jim or John Garwood, they
lived at 34th & Saunders (they were friends with my cousin who lived on Saunders, but were a few years
older than me.)
Pat Smarrito Says:
January 29, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Ken and Lorrie, I will pass along greetings to Terry. I am also glad to hear your son is back from Iraq
Sandy.
Ken Brown Says:
January 29, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Hey Everyone, I’ve revived the trivia games. I posted three South Jersey Landmark quizzes. For those
who are new, ignore the “automatically generated related posts” links on the quiz pages, that is
something WordPress automatically does when you post a quiz etc… they think they are linking people to
connected posts but they seldom do. It’s a real annoyance, but something we put up with with this free
site. At least there is no advertising or spam.
I’ve also added a few more pages of pictures today… one of the Wilson auditorium, random Wilson
pictures, and Maple Lanes Bowling. Lots of new pages in the last few days, so check them out.
Ken Brown Says:
January 29, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Paul, was there a small hair salon a few buildings in from 39th on your side of Westfield? My
grandmother us to walk down there from Pennsauken to get her hair done. It was an elderly lady she had
gone to for years.
Skeeter, I will open pages for any class that request so, to dispense reunion info etc… as for putting
up lists of class members, if those organizing the reunions and doing the searching for classmates have
a list they can cut and post it to the appropriate page for the class, in the response box.
We should encourage all those Wilsonites who have put their names at Classmates, to come post here
instead. Why should anyone have to pay a fee to reconnect, or even see who is searching for them. That
was the reason I started this site, to get around the fees and nonsense at Classmates.
Pat, thanks. It would be really great to reconnect with everyone. If anyone is ever down this way… down
the Shore, or making a day trip to Smithville Village, let us know, we are usually around, and within
walking distance of Smithville, and only minutes away across the bay from AC and Brigantine.
Hey Paul, we should set up a reunion picnic at Crowley’s Landing on the Mullica this summer. You
suggested that once. Or everyone could bring camping gear and we’ll get the group rate at Goshen Pond…
LOL
Hey Freddy, there are trivia questions… the first since July… LOL
jim lang Says:
January 30, 2009 at 7:09 am
hi, paul, and ken. i played at 39th. st. courts-approx. 66-69. some of the guys who played were- steve
corgon, star at penns, high school, mike richards, lenny adams,rich hurley, i heard that the rev. took
down the baskets when guys would play during services. the poles are still there. jim.
Ken Brown Says:
January 30, 2009 at 10:09 am
Jim the one name I remember that use to play basketball at the church was Dave Gouche, his sister
Theresa was in elementary school with some of us. They lived on Westfield in the block between 39th and
38th.
Don’t forget to check out the THREE new trivia games on the menu, they all deal with South Jersey
landmarks… Freddy Vesper and Paul Skeens have already been there, but there are still trivia questions
and soft pretzels up for grabs.
Ken Brown Says:
January 30, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Just added a few more “historical” pages… Glassboro Summit of 1967, Muhammad Ali in Cherry Hill, and
General Eisenhower campaigning in Camden.
Ken Barr Says:
January 30, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Ken my Grandmother and Mom had their hair done there also, they raved about the service, I was stuck at
Henry’s as you had mentioned before then the old German guy just north of Browning road on Westfield
can’t remember names. If I recall on the corner of 38/37 Westfield was my family Doctor Dr. Pounds. He
was the last known doctor to make house calls to our home, he left family practice for a specialized
field of sorts as I recall, we then went to the doctor on the corner of Lexington and Maple Ave(s) at
that big house with the pool on the second floor, don’t ask me the name many (Rx) ya know, LOL. Of
course here in the mid west I was forced to have a doctor make a house call for me but only one time,
he charged 300 for the visit, I am clearly in the wrong profession, I may deal in healing’s of a sort,
but much further on the other end of the pay scale, LOL. HALOman you keep on keeping on, I will check
out your site. regarding the Bethel Methodist Church our family was proud members and served until
Pastor Gifford and spent many hours playing with his boys Dave and Steve I believe he took a ministry
in Turnersville at the time and yes Pastor Austin took down the B-Ball rims cause the boy’s just
couldnt respect Sunday services but more so during the midweek service in the summer it got a bit much.
I don’t remember Carolina’s kitchen but I do recall the double dippers of “Bryers” vanilla fudge after
Wednesday service, me and my brother would dodge the cars on Westfield for a sweet treat. 50 cents went
a long way back then
Barbara (Maslanik) Thurber Says:
February 1, 2009 at 11:20 am
Hello everyone, stopped in to see what’s happening.r
Ken, great pictures!
Russ, you old dog, it’s about time you stopped in again. How are things with you and your new wife?
Sandy, glad to hear your son is stateside. Have a great time!
Pat, glad to hear you’re doing well. And Ken Barr, what, it’s been a couple of years since we last
talked. How have you been? Here is my new email bathurber@comcast.net so we can catch up. Anyone else
is welcome to reconnect with me.
Take care all!
Barbara (Maslanik) Thurber Says:
February 1, 2009 at 11:22 am
Super Bowl Day – Go Pittsburgh!!
Ken Brown Says:
February 1, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Ken Barr, I think a lot of elderly ladies frequented that little hair salon on Westfield, and I’m not
even sure it had a name or even regular hours, as the lady who did the hair was elderly herself. My
grandmother knew her for years, I think even before Westfield Avenue, from North Camden.
Speaking of Russ and old dogs, hey Russ do you still have your Basenji dog? I remember you talking
about him when we reconnected back in the late 90’s.
Barb, I put up a picture of the Majorettes also, don’t know if you saw that. And shouldn’t it be… Go
Cardinals???? LOL I’m going with Kurt Warner this year, as much as I like Rothlisberger and the
Steeler’s offense, the Cardinals need a title… finally.
All the trivia questions from the most recent three games have been answered… if you folks ever decide
to collect on the soft pretzels, I’m going to be buying them by the dozens
Ken Brown Says:
February 1, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Paul, your mention of Mr. LaBuda on the trivia page just brought back a memory… Russ didn’t you
challenge him, or he challenged you to a wrestling match back in 9th or 10th grade? As I recall you
won. What brought that all about?
Bob Thomas Says:
February 2, 2009 at 9:42 am
Hey Folks,
Been awhile since I checked in. Been reading all the memories, though. Thanks for keeping this up, Ken.
Remember Dr. Pounds quite well. Nice guy, and did make many house calls to our home. He left town with
his nurse (Miss Terry, I think), and left all his files locked in the office. Files were eventually
given (sold?) to Dr. Pindziak, on River Rd in Cramer Hill. We went to him until we left the area.
Don’t remember the name of the old gal hairdresser on Westfield Ave., but my grandmother also went to
her. She must’ve had the market for blue hair dye cornered.
Remember Koerners Bakery well. My mom would send me up to Small’s cleaners (next door) and I would
always stop at Koerner’s for a cream donut on the way home. Not sure what the donut cost but I always
had just enough. Sometimes a nickel, sometimes a dime. Nice people.
Thanks for clearing up the mystery of why the basketball net was taken down at the church. One day it
was there, and then gone.
Speaking of Pastor Gifford, I ran into him at the Wiley Church in Marlton a couple of years back. He
lives there in the retirement community (along with many other retired clergy). He had a very sharp
memory and could name names of many of the local parishoners. Said that was his favorite posting. I
tried to reconnect with him after the services but couldn’t find him. Would like to hear how the kids
made out.
Speaking of the Gulf gas station at the corner of 36th and Westfield, I remember that being owne by
Harry DeWalt. Last I saw him was when I was at Lake Garrison, where he was one of the managers. I think
he also lived onsite. He had many good memories of the area. Way back when he taught me how to change
my oil (in my 1964 1/2 Mustang – which then was just an old car, but would now be a classic). He also
pulled a trick on my mom. She had a 1965 Corvair Monza. Brand new. My dad sent her to Harry to get an
oil change. He opened up the front hood (which was actually the trunk, the engine being in the back)
and told her he couldn’t find the engine. He then “let” her show him where the engine was. On the bill
he charged for the oil change and then added a dollar for switching the air in the tires from winter
air to summer air. She then argued with him that for the price of the oil change he should throw in the
cost of switching the air in the tires. She was quite proud of herself for negotiating such a good
deal. I think, somewhere in the great beyond, my father is still laughing over that. We still ask her
periodically if she has had the air changed in her tires lately….
I read in the paper the other day that they are going to tear down Riverfront Prison and put in some
upscale developing. Never made sense why they used such a prime piece of Real Estate for a prison.
Also read that Petty’s Island is going to remain some kind of wildlife sanctuary. That is right at the
end of the street I lived on (36th). We used to walk up there and try to figure out how to get on the
island. It wasn’t until recently that I took a jet ski and actually landed and walked on the place.
Hard to believe such a rural outpost is so close to Camden. I haven’t seen any mention of it on these
pages (and if I did, I must’ve missed it). Apparently there used to be an amusement park over there,
but long before my time.
I’ve also seen mention of getting together at Crowley’s Landing. Count me in. That’s one of my favorite
places to dump the skis and spend a day on the river. Curious if anybody knows what it going to happen
with the Sweetwater Casino site. It remained a burned out ruin throughout this summer. Haven’t been
there since October. Any news on rebuilding?
The game last nite was pretty good. Though we were rooting for Arizona, the Steelers pulled it off.
Next year …. E A G L E S !!!
Ken Brown Says:
February 2, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Hey Bob, great to see you posting again.
Early on there had been some posts about Petty’s Island, they are probably in the earlier Archives. I
think I shared about my grandfather who actually lived on Petty’s Island until he was about six years
of age (1880’s), and the family moved to Camden. His father, a Finnish boat builder, worked for Doughty
and Kappella Boat Works which was located on the island, the business was owned partly by another
Finnish immigrant. And you are correct about the island at one time being an “amusement park” of sorts
– though not exactly one for kids. For a time John Betz, a Camden brewer owned land on the island, also
in the late 1800’s, which he turned it into somewhat of a “Club Med” on the Delaware, – he held dances,
served alcohol, and provided other vices (if you get my drift…LOL). He called his establishment Willow
Grove, after planting a bunch of willow and palm trees. The willows survived, the palms did not. Ben
Franklin also has a connection to the island, it is believed that on arrival from Boston, to relocate
to Philadelphia, the fog was so dense, the ship he was traveling on docked at Petty’s Island until the
following morning, then made its way to Philly. The island has had inhabitants, and various businesses
since the founding of both Camden and Philly, and at one time the entire island was owned by the Cooper
family of Camden. There were a number of boat builders who had facilities there in the late 1800’
s/early 1900’s, as well as along the Camden waterfront.
jim lang Says:
February 5, 2009 at 6:41 am
ken, do you remember cumberland farms at the corner of westfield and 32st.? jim.
Ken Brown Says:
February 5, 2009 at 7:15 am
Jim, I do remember the Cumberland Farms at 32nd, and I also remember when it was an Esso gas station
prior to the building being converted. When it was a gas station, we use to hang out there. One of the
attendants was named Ken also, he had a classic blue 58 Corvette. He never minded us hanging out there
and would let us sit in his car and even give us rides on the car lift. Cumberland Farms was a welcomed
addition to the neighborhood, but the Esso which did repairs was missed. I remember when the Cumberland
Farms clerk got stabbed and robbed, that was a rare thing to happen in East Camden in the late 60’
s/early 70’s. There was also a foot path that ran behind the store to the steps that took you down to
the garages of Westfield Gardens Apartments, and to the weeded hill that ran behind all of our houses
on 32nd – it was a great place to play as a kid, though there was a lot of poison ivy back there. I
once found twenty dollars in one of the gas station’s trash cans, went home told my brother and he went
back and found ten more…. LOL.
Ken Brown Says:
February 6, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Hey Everyone, I’ve added two new class photo pages, thanks to Frank Garrett who kindly forwarded them
to me.
They are of the 3rd and 4th Grade Classes from 1957-1958. Frank also forwarded a listing of some of the
students, which I will also post shortly, most likely tomorrow, as I am heading to bed
jim lang Says:
February 7, 2009 at 7:22 pm
ken, thanks for the history on the 32nd st. corner. i also used to wait at that corner for the #15 bus
to phila. and right across the st. for the same bus to the cherry hill mall. jim.
Ken Brown Says:
February 9, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I’ve added the names for the Davis class pictures from 1957-58, as they were provided by Frank Garrett.
The 1952 Davis Class picture also has all the provided names listed… it had been missing the bottom row
of names.
Jim, I caught many buses, going both directions, at the 32nd Street corner. I think I had the bus
schedule memorized, and knew exactly when to leave the house to catch the bus to the Mall of to
Camden/Philly. The #15, later became the “D” bus in the 70’s. I have a schedule for the route, I’ll
post it later.
jim lang Says:
February 10, 2009 at 6:52 am
thanks ken. jim.
Ken Barr Says:
February 12, 2009 at 10:36 am
Hey Ken Brown thanks for the updates and directions on your writings. I will share briefly my message
from last Sunday titled : “We All Have It.” The IT ? Potential. We all have potential. How often have
we heard and it is true that the cemetery is full of people that left this world never really achieving
the full potential God has given them. Many unwritten books, songs, poems, sermons even simple letters
to lift up a friend. According to the KJV Bible Jesus said on the cross IT is finished, not I am
finished but IT is finished, He completed the work set out for Him, He tapped into His true potential
and accomplished many miracles and wonders, while giving His life for us, lost sinners. As I encouraged
my congregants I encourage you, get the road blocks out of your way, pursue that writing passion you
have, tapping into your true potential and bring about “a work” that just might impact someone else’s
life in a positive way. I will keep you in my prayers. I do hope George does surface with the 1 year
anniversary of this web site you developed I believe the 1 year birthday is February 16th ? I think you
can come up with a special Trivia game for the occasion. I visualize the questions be along the lines
of things the site participants would have said or questioned over the year, allowing us to review the
archives to see who said what, but clearly you are the creative genius so I wont over step my grounds
here. Regarding our Roller Derby conversations, I brought it up to update some fans. As you may
remember Judy Arnold left the team to pursue her ministry as a born again Christian.
She settled in by joining another female evangelist and another female praise singer and the 3 have
been traveling the country doing revivals and Christian camp meetings for all ages. They are somewhat
retired now and stick to local ministry as they live in California (where Judy is originally from). I
have had the pleasure of exchanging emails with her for some time now and we most recently have been
talking on the phone the last several weeks. We are trying to work something out, nothing settled yet,
but our goal is to have Ms. Arnold come out and visit our church here in the Cincinnati area. Although
we are still balances schedules it looks like this will take place in March or April of 2009. She is a
joy to talk to and work with and really is the same old spirit filled gal you would see deliver a blow
to Judy Schawnski or body slam Lester Querrils. I of course will keep you posted on the event and send
you pictures for the site as it becomes available. Ok for now Ken, keep the faith and I know you do and
by all means, man tap into…. IT !!!
Ken Brown Says:
February 12, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Hey Ken Barr, nice post and thank you for your kind words. Thanks also for the update on Judy Arnold…
some here will remember her… those of us that got to experience Roller Derby at the Camden Convention
Hall back in the 60’s. You wonder what ever became of the names we associate with events in our youth.
It’s great to hear she moved on from being the queen of Warrior’s Roller Derby to ministering to
others. I believe it was Skeeter who mentioned Roller Derby and Judy Arnold and Buddy Atkinson in some
of the earlier posts I referenced that can be found in the Archives. And there is a picture of the
Warriors on one of the earlier trivia pages, and more comments from others about the team. And yes, if
you meet up with Judy Arnold, send us some pictures for the site.
And I like the idea of somehow celebrating the one year anniversary of this site. Trivia sounds good,
and I think I will post some statistics so everyone can see what has transpired on this site in the
last year…. total number of visits, most popular pages, person who has posted the most etc… I wish
George would resurface, he was, in fact, our very first poster on this site, and it was because of him,
in part, that this site was born.
Also, there have been a number of memories shared on here that mention Tony Lope, from our Explorer
trips and wrestling and football at Wilson. I spoke on the phone with Tony yesterday, he is doing well,
and sends his greetings to everyone. He jokingly told me not to tell any of his former girlfriends (you
all know who you are…LOL) who visit the site where he is Hopefully, he will come check out the site
one day.
Johanna (Fanelle) Shirk Says:
February 12, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Barb Wrestling season is almost over then we can get our heads together and plan a mini reunion. we can
post all the info on this site if Ken does not mind. talk to you soon.
leppaluoto Says:
February 12, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Hey Johanna, feel free to post info here, that is what this place is for, and I won’t charge you like
they do at Classmates…LOL
NEW TRIVIA is up…two new games on the menu at the right… February 12 Trivia, and Classic TV Trivia.
jim lang Says:
February 14, 2009 at 11:34 am
greetings, unfortunately, my nephew, sean lang, was a passenger on flight 3407, that crashed in
buffalo, he was on his way to see his girlfriend a college student, for valentine”s day. he was 19, and
also in college at penn state ogonst, please keep him, and our family in your thoughts and prayers.
thank you. jim.
Ken Brown Says:
February 14, 2009 at 11:47 am
Jim Lang, I am very sorry to hear about this tragic news of your family’s lost. I saw the news report
last night on Channel 6 about Sean Lang, and how he was on his way to visit his girlfriend. Your nephew
and family, and the victims and families of the other passengers on the flight are in our prayers.
Ken Barr Says:
February 14, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Hey Jim Lang, We are saddened for your loss. We will add you and your family to the prayer list this
Sunday. I am sure you and your family will go through a grieving period no one else can comprehend. It
is only natural to have the question of Why? Because of this tragedy in general my message Sunday will
be trying to bring hope during a trying time. It is naturally hard for one to understand why the people
on this flight would differ from those spared on the flight over the Hudson River. Truth is there
really is no difference between them, and God didn’t cause either situation. If you are a Bible
Believer take comfort in the scripture of Luke 13:1-5 Jesus is asked the WHY question and although he
addresses it he never answers it. the reason he didn’t answer it is because he couldn’t. No matter who
may try to explain it to you, NO ONE can answer why this tragedy happened, as allowing it to happen is
a mystery only God can answer, even Jesus didn’t have the answer in His capacity as the Son of God, God
didn’t share it with Him. At a time like this I offer people…. instead of asking why, take this time to
honor the young mans loss of life, by reflecting on how life is so precious and we are here for a short
time, with no control over when we came into the world and no control over when we will leave this
world. Honor this young man by living your life to the fullest and in some small way dedicate a part of
your living to His passing. You are in our prayers. If you want further information feel free to drop
me an email Note your name in the subject line. kenbarrbat@aol.com
Freddy Vesper Says:
February 14, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Jim,
I am sorry for your loss and my prayers are with you and your family. What brother was Sean’s father?
Johanna (Fanelle) Shirk Says:
February 14, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Jim, I am sorry for your families lose. All of your family and his girlfriend will be in my prayers.
May God Bless you all and help you all to understand and heal. Johanna
Ken Brown Says:
February 16, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Welcome to Gary Fioretti from the WWHS Class of ‘77. It’s great to reconnect Gary, thanks for stopping
by the site. There are lots of memories under the Davis and Wilson Memories pages that will take you
back a few years… LOL
Ken Brown Says:
February 16, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Today is a site milestone… it was one year ago today that this place went online. To celebrate this, I
will put up a new “Year In Review” page later today, with statistics and interesting facts about just
how much traffic this site has seen in the last year.
Thanks to everyone who has posted and stopped in, and for making this place a success. Don’t forget to
spread the word, as our goal is to displace Classmates and those other alumni sites as THE PLACE to
reconnect for those of us from East Camden and Wilson.
We have succeeded where the Rutger’s Stories of the Neighborhood site has not, that site no longer
exists due to it being taken over by spammers and a lack of monitoring by Rutger’s webmaster. It is
shame as there were many memories shared on that site at one time.
And Thanks to Phil Cohen and his great Camden site, and for posting links to our site. If anyone has
not yet checked out Phil’s site, please do (the link is listed on the blogroll at the right) as it
contains a phenomenal amount of information and thousands of historic pictures of Camden. Also check
out the site that has been put together by our friends from Cramer Hill , that link can also be found
on the blogroll.
Also let me know what you’d like to see in the coming year… such as improvements to the site, pictures
etc… and I’ll work on that.
Ken Brown Says:
February 16, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Hey Everyone, check out the “Year In Review” page I just added. It is full of interesting statistics
and tidbits about this site’s first year. Enjoy.
Dean Says:
February 16, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Just wanted to say I love the site. A little before my time I grew up in the acres in the 70’s and
earley 80’s 342 Dudley st apt.280 will never forget that address but lots of memories. We use to sled
down 32st hill by cumberland farms and if you could make it to Bob’ s store you were good! Inside of
the acres was a hill with a couple of twist and turns that we called snake hill that we rode our bike’s
and skateboarded down, still have a couple of stitch scars that wont let me forget it.lol. I didn’t go
to Davis or Wilson but I went to a school call Martin lutheren on 130 and terrace so I walked pass
Lynns bakery every day so that was a daily stop. Man Icould go on forever just from memories. Like I
said love the site keep up the good work.
Ken Brown Says:
February 16, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Hey Dean, Welcome to the site. It does not matter that you did not go to Davis or Wilson, you’re from
East Camden and that’s good enough to hang out here!
I remember the Martin Luther School on Rt. 130. We use to walk over that way on our way to Genos and
Discount Harry’s – the big toy store that was just down from Genos. There was also a moped store on the
other side of Rt. 130… we use to stop in there too, as mopeds were a new thing back then.
Stop in often, and share some more memories.
Joe Carpenter Says:
February 16, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Jim Lang, sorry for you and your family’s tragedy. I will be praying for you. I echo Ken Barr’s
comments. It’s been quite a long time since I’ve seen you or your brother. I will try to visit this
site more often in the future.
Sandy(Orme) Says:
February 17, 2009 at 12:11 am
Jim Lang, Our heartflet prayers and thoughts are with you and your family at this time of great loss.
Our Deepest Sympathies.
Barbara (Maslanik) Thurber Says:
February 17, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Jim Lang, sorry to hear of the loss of your nephew. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your
family. Remember all of the good times you shared with him.
Frank Garrett Says:
February 17, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Freddie Vesper,
I submitted classs photographs from 1957 & 1958. from Davis school. IYour brother Donny is sitting next
to me. The Chez brothers are also in this class picture…..just thought you might be interested. Maybe
you know some of the other students in these pictures. I know some of them played sports with me. From
some of the submissions in this website, I realized that you played sports as well. I moved to
Pennsauken at the conclusion of grade 4. Perhaps some of my classmates played sports with you and your
brother.
ed “rek” ricciardi Says:
February 17, 2009 at 7:24 pm
hey jim and freddie.do you guys remember me.dudley grange forever
Paul Skeens Says:
February 18, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Hey Ken,
Talk of Enrica Verrecchia (her being the most searched alum and all), I decided to look up some names
from way back. Names that I did not necessarily know that well personally, but that were pretty well
known.
Anyway…..I found SHARON GOTHARD. She is the CEO of a non-profit company that makes special pillows for
kids…..What a huge success in life, to be so giving and selfless. This is another former class mate
that we can be extremely proud of! It appears that she also has been featured in National health-
related magazine articles! What a great story. She looks terrific too….Has not aged one bit! God Bless
her!
Ken Brown Says:
February 18, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Ed Ricciardi… Welcome to the site. I think Freddy went skiing in Vermont, but he’ll be back. Did you
live in the neighborhood near Dudley Grange? I lived on 32nd, top of the Hill, you are probably in the
same age group as my two older sisters – Karen and Cheryl Brown.
Paul, you really have a knack for finding people online! Did you locate Enrica Verrecchia? Not a week
goes by without someone searching for her on the search engine on the WordPress main page (which is
connected to Google I believe). She would no doubt, be pleased about that. I remember Enrica and her
brother Nicky, they lived on 34th, she was in a couple of my elementary school classes.
And that is interesting about Sharon Gothard. I did not know her at Davis, but I remember her name.
It’s always nice when one hears about former East Camden students embarking on interesting and
meaningful endeavors in life.
Paul, you should try to locate George Gumbrell again… he’s partly the reason for this site, and he has
been MIA for months now, which is totally unlike George – just to disappear is not something the George
we knew so well would just do. I have his cell phone number, but it seems to be inactive.
We should open a “searching for” page, and people can leave names and YOU can search for them… LOL. You
seem to be able to find those still living. I tend to find only the deceased… which comes with the
skills one uses to do genealogy.
My middle daughter Claire spent the day in Camden today. She went with a bus load of her classmates
from Absegami to Rutgers for a poetry event. I told her the performing arts center where the event was
held was the one where her mom (Lorrie) and I went on our first date back in December of ‘76 to see
John Belushi! (we still have the ticket stubs)
ed “rek” ricciardi Says:
February 18, 2009 at 5:09 pm
YES KEN, I LIVED AT 35TH AND FREMONT.I HUNG OUT AT DUDLEY GRANGE.I USE TO PLAY BALL THERE WITH THE
LANGS,BILLY GRAY,TOM MCFALL,WALT UDINSKY AND MANY MANY MORE. MISS THOSE DAYS AND EAST CAMDEN.I LIVE IN
SURFSIDE BEACH SC.PRETTY MUCH A BEACH BUM.I GRADUATED FROM CCHS IN 71 AND ST JOES IN 67.EAST CAMDEN WAS
A GREAT PLACE TO GROW UP.ITS NICE TO SEE ALL THOSE OLD PICTURES OF CAMDEN.
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
February 18, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Ken,
I googled Enrica Verrecchia and came up with this at Classmates.
If you are a member,perhaps you could follow up on it.
Skeeter
Ken Brown Says:
February 18, 2009 at 7:49 pm
Thanks Skeeter,
I had to edit your post as it contained too much info from Classmates. But thanks for the tip.
In answer to you question, no I am not a member of Classmates, I have a real problem with a site that
charges a fee to reconnect with old classmates. Opening this site was in a small way a protest against
that site and others like it. It was my hope that people from Davis and Wilson would find this site
(and many have) and reconnect here… for free. It sucks that Classmates wants you to be a paying member
to even find out who looked at your name. Our site does show up on many search engines for key words…
Davis School, East Camden, WWHS, etc… and we continue to grow and attract people… even people who are
not alumni, such as the guy who found us searching for panzarottis.
Paul Skeens Says:
February 18, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Well,
That didn’t take long…..I found him up there Ken. The name of the town is like one very close to you!
Have hgis phone number too. Email me if you would like it
Paul Skeens Says:
February 18, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Kenny, It is no surprise that people would search for Enrica. She was a very warm and friendly person.
She sat next to me in 2nd grade. We were in a few other classes together also. I remember the teachers
always telling her what a pretty name she had, and that she was pretty too. My friend Anthony had a
crush on her. I think that was like 3rd or 4th grade.
See my earlier post about SHARON GOTHARD……I think she should be very proud of herself for being so
grounded, caring, and thoughtful of others. She created a non-profit to help children. Like I said, I
did not really know her personally back then, but she has turned out to be a real quality individual.
Ken Brown Says:
February 22, 2009 at 7:26 pm
A sad note with a WWHS connection… Stanley Labuda, Sr. who many will remember as the Wilson grounds
keeper for many years (including the football field), and the father of Social Studies and History
teacher Stan Labuda, passed away. His obituary was in yesterday’s Courier Post. Our thoughts and
prayers go out to the Labuda family.
Ken Barr Says:
February 23, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Sad loss, many memories. S.L Sr. would let us ride with him on the tractor and pull wagon during the
summer when we were using the track and field for summer work-outs for football. He always told us
stories back then as if he was around for decands and ” saw it all ” just one of his favorite lines.
Good man, hopefully our loss will be heavens gain. Indeed Ken, thoughts and prayers for family and
friends.
Russ “HALOMan” McDaniel Says:
February 25, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Hey all,
Just a note to let you Phillies fans know that our Parachute Demonstration Team, the Para-Commandos
(including yours truly) will be jumping into the Phillies Pre-Season opening game at Brighthouse field
tomorrow (26FEB09) against the Toronto Blue Jays.
We usually jump into the Yankees Pre-Season game, but we figured if the World Champions invite you to
their first home game, you “Come a runnin’”.
If you have any favorite players autographs you’d like to have, submit a list and I’ll tell you later
why they refused to sign anything (not too shabby for a pitiful East Camden fan, huh).
I hope it’s a good game, and I’ll tell you about it later.
Russ
leppaluoto Says:
February 25, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Safe jumping Russ, and be sure to forward us any new self promotional videos you might get of the jump.
Still freezing our butts off up here, hard to believe the baseball season is already getting underway.
Russ… a wrestling memory for you… I reconnected with Coach Lew Paynter last week on FaceBook, I sent
him a link to this site.
leppaluoto Says:
February 25, 2009 at 10:27 pm
And our old team mate Gary Fioretti has been here, and left his contact info on the address page.
Ken Brown Says:
February 26, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Mark Camardo, Welcome to the site. In reference to your post on the Westfield Acres page… if you know
what years your mother Dona Ogle went to Wilson, I may be able to scan some pictures for you from the
yearbooks I have access to, or someone here may have yearbooks/pictures from other years to scan for
you. The name sounds familiar, as does your father’s Mike Camardo. If you can give us some years to
work with, it would be a great help. Thanks.
Freddy Vesper Says:
February 28, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Mark,
I knew of your father, he was a few years older than me, but I remember he was the quarterback for WWHS
circa 1961 and also played baseball, 3rd base if I remember correctly. I now your uncle Nick, he is
also a few years older than me but he was a very close friend of my late cousin Joe Zuccarelli. I used
to see your Uncle Nick frequently when my cousin was alive. Sorry to say but I did not know your
Mother.
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
February 28, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Ken,
Dona Ogle was a classmate of mine at H.H. Davis.
She would have been at Woodrow Wilson 58-60 or 59-61.
Ken Brown Says:
February 28, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Two sad passings this week, both former 32nd Street residents… our thoughts and prayers to the families
and loved ones of…
Jeanne HAINES Modestowicz, formerly of 226 N. 32nd; Jeanne’s obituary was in the Courier Post on 2/26.
Charles Ivory, Sr., father of Charles, Judy and Katie Ivory. Mr. Ivory’s obituary was in today’s
Courier – 2/28.
Thank you Ella Marie Gilman for bringing this sad news to my attention.
Ken Brown Says:
March 1, 2009 at 2:20 pm
For those of you who are also FaceBook members, I’ve posted a link to a WWHS site on FaceBook that is
run by Linda Byrd. There are about a dozen former Wilsonites who are members of that group. I recently
joined and added a link to our site here. The link to the FaceBook site is on the Blogroll to the
right. You may need to be a FaceBook member to access the page.
Ken Brown Says:
March 1, 2009 at 2:54 pm
I’ve added a second link to another FaceBook site for “Former Camden People” that is run by Steve
Bellitz. The link is on the Blogroll to the right. If you are a FaceBook member, check out that site
also, as there may be people there you know. I think it is a good idea to link up all the various
Camden sites, as it better serves the purpose of reconnecting people. If anyone knows of other such
sites, let me know and I will link them to this site.
Steve Bellitz Says:
March 1, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Hi everybody!
I grew up on Baird Blvd between Boyd and Rand Streets. I went to Cramer School for elementary, Davis
for junior high, and then Camden High. The dividing line was Marlton Pike (I think), and that’s why I
went to Camden instead of Wilson.
Do any of you remember going to the fire house on 27th Street to get your polio vaccine that was on a
sugar cube? That just made me feel very old!
I will never forget how pissed my Dad was when I spent $7.99 on a pair of Chuck Taylor Converse at
Roseman’s Army-Navy Store. He reminded me that Keds were only $3.99. But, Dad! What great memories.
Thanks for letting me know about this site Ken!
Steve
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
March 1, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Steve Bellitz,
Seems that Cramer & Davis alternated between Elementary & Jr. High status.
In the mid 50’s I went to Davis for Elementary & Cramer for Jr. High.
I lived all over Camden,in E. Camden on Rosedale Ave.,E. State st., 29th E Westfield, Westminster
Ave….Cramer Hill too.
I knew a lot of people who lived near Baird Blvd.,but only one who lived on Baird,a very attractive
young lady named Karen Sandler…her Dad was a Doctor.
But I am a little older than you (67 now) so you may not have known her.
BRW in the 50’s those black Keds cost $1.99 & the higher priced PF Flyers were $3.99…lol Dress shoes
for school were about 5 bucks.
Ken Brown Says:
March 1, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Steve Bellitz WELCOME to the site! I’ve added a link to your FaceBook group, so you should see some
traffic flowing that way.
Roseman’s Army and Navy was a great place. I think every junior high guy and girl got their first gym
clothes there – and it was the place to go for Chucks (Amazing they were only $7.99 then, my daughter
pays $30 and up for hers now). If your parents balked about the high price, you settled for the Lou
Brocks… a better second alternative than Keds… or worse Buckey Kickers… LOL.
Freddy Vesper Says:
March 2, 2009 at 8:22 am
Chuck Taylor’s were the best. I usually purchased them from Danenhower’s (spelling) Sport Shop that was
located in his garage on the last street before you crossed the 27th St bridge going to Cramer Hill.
The two cross streets were 27th and 28th. Does anybody remember Danenhower’s? Also when money was tight
yould could buy a pair of converse that were marked irregular. Basically they had a minor blemish
somewhere but performed well. They were $1.00 cheaper.
Freddy Vesper Says:
March 2, 2009 at 8:35 am
Ken,
Was the Haines girl a twin sister and their father was a cop? If so I knew her but have not seen her
for many years.
ed ricciardi Says:
March 2, 2009 at 8:46 am
fred
do you remember me from dudley grange.are you around 54?i was good friend with tom mc faul,bill gray.we
use to always hang out at dudley grange.my nickname was rek or ricc.
Steve Bellitz Says:
March 2, 2009 at 9:52 am
These memories are great and some really make me laugh! OK……
I thought that the sledding hill at Dudley Grange was the greatest thing in the world…seemed like
hundreds of kids would be there.
Do you remember Mr. Walters from Davis, the gym and health teacher?
I remember one day at Davis at lunchtime, Mr. Showalter, the principal, would stand on a milk crate to
dismiss the students. One day he broke through the wooden crate and the students went crazy. Needless
to say, he used a metal one after that.
I knew the Mc Faul brothers, Donny and Tom really well..good athletes…went to school at Davis with Bill
Gray, Gene Krzyk, Lenny Sample, so many names come to mind. I was Davis’ shotputter.
Geez…could I enjoy a Mario’s Steak Sandwich right about now!
Steve
Ken Brown Says:
March 2, 2009 at 10:21 am
Freddy, yes Jeanne Haines has a twin Janice, also sister Jeanette, then brothers Billy, Bobby, and
Charlie who were all around my age, give or take a year or two. Jeanne was 58 at the time of her
passing, and yes her dad was a long time Camden cop. They lived two houses down from us on 32nd.
Steve, sledding was great at Dudley Grange, and on the 32nd Street hill also… we lived right at the top
of the Hill, kids would come from all over to sled it.
It’s been reported on this site that Mr. Walters lives in Washington Twp, and is occasionally seen
about by people who knew him at Davis.
And Mario’s is still in business, according to some who have been by that way in recent times. They had
the best steaks and Italian water ice.
Was Lenny Sample related to the Mr. Sample, the blind man who ran the news/snack stand in Westfield
acres? There have been many memories posted about him under the Acres page.
Freddy Vesper Says:
March 2, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Ed Ricciardi,
Sorry but I do not remember you but I do remember Tommy McFaw and Billy Gray. I am 59 years of age.
Ken,
I do not think Lenny Sample was related to Mr Sample at the acres. There is a difference in race. Lenny
played on our undefeated championship football team with me in 1963, the East Camden Marauders.
ed ricciardi Says:
March 2, 2009 at 4:27 pm
freddy
do you have a younger brother?around 54?i know i knew a vesper.i am bad with names.i am still good
friends with don mc faul.don lost his daughter and grandson in a car accident 4 yrs ago.she was 26 and
was like my niece.tom mc faul and his wife moved to surfside beach south carolina along with me and my
wife hayley.were still best friends since our days growing up in east camden.
i remember gene kryzk.he was my idol when i was a kid in little league.he played for the cardinals.i
played for the dodgers.remember coach mr bowden and roger(no fingers)when gene was 12 the dodgers beat
the cards for the championship.i was a 9 year old then.we had terrenova pat gaffney,lore,bowden and
mike silvia.cant remember others.gene was a great player and a good teamate.i played on rosedale when
gene was 16 and i was 13.i was a starting pitcher and gene always helped me and give me confidence.
we use to play ball all day long at dudley grange.both baseball and basketball.what a life we had as
kids,it was a wonderfull era.i will never forget those days growing up in camden.what a great city.
billy gray lives in canada.i have not heard from him in years.hope he is fine.
John Blourne Says:
March 2, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Mario’s is still there. However, it’s now Mario’s CHICKEN!
Steve Bellitz Says:
March 2, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Funny…Mario’s and chicken don’t seem to fit!!!!! LOLOL
Ed..all those guys you mentioned, I remember their names…all from Davis. It was a shame that after 9th
grade we all had to split up for high school depending on what side of Marlton Pike we lived on.
Some eating memories…….the Cozy Corner next to Cramer School….biggest dipper of ice cream you could get
for a dime..the owner was a nasty guy who the kids called “Bugfoot”…you bought candy by the penny and
for ten cents could feed all your friends. Also, would sometimes sneak down from Cramer to
“Brands”..home of the double-dog…I loved that sandwich..until I got caught, of course.
Downtown Camden……Horn n Hardarts……The China Clipper….both on Broadway…..
Every summer selling yum-yum…..the goal was to be making profit by noon time! The best part was being
able to take home the yum yum you couldn’t sell…
Damn, when we were kids in the summer, we didn’t need rides, fancy pools or expensive athletic
equipment…when Spring hit, noone’s mops or brooms were safe as they became stickball bats…and those
white “pimple” balls were the best….and wire ball….summer was beautiful in Camden!
Then Fall football at White Tower field….I remember getting those stickers in my socks and pants….life
was good!
jim lang Says:
March 3, 2009 at 3:16 am
would like to thank all who said a kind word about my nephew sean, those words meant a lot. ed
ricciardi i do remember you from the grange in fact i was the one who gave you the nickname “rek” i
also gave a nick name to a older gentleman who hung out at the grange in the late 60’s early 70’s.
“spa”. arthur ramagli. jim.
Ken Barr Says:
March 3, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Thanks Steve for the great memories and mentioning ” Wire Ball ” dag gone it those were the days, lots
of time spent playing that out in front of the house. We had a rule that if you caught the ball with
one hand it was auto 3 outs, did you play that way or was that a 35th street rule book? Kudo’s to the
shout out of Yum Yum and Mario’s, a Cheese Steak from there, man could it get any better, and Kenny B.
your right the water ice there out of this world, Cherry and Lemon my fav, with real lemons seeds and
all, they don’t make anything like that here in the midwest. Place in Maple Shade in NJ has the
equipment, I try and sneak over there and get some when I am in town. Jim Lang you are totally welcome
and anything I can do drop me an email.
jim lang Says:
March 4, 2009 at 6:52 am
when mario’s first open they were a 24 hour operation. i lived right behind on merriel. ave. when we
were walking to school at st. joe’s we used to see the guys who worked mario’s sleeping in thier cars
on the roesdale ave. side of mario’s. 24 hours did not last long. thanks ken for your kind offer. jim.
ed ricciardi Says:
March 4, 2009 at 9:01 am
jim, my original nicname was rico.from baseball home run hitter rico carty.you shortened it to rek,and
it stuck to this day.how have you been jim?how r ur brothers?so many memories of the grange and east
camden.jim ,i am not that good with names but i do remember some of our friends that hung at the
grange.maybe you can refresh my memory.tell your brother jack”rutgers forever” he will know what i
mean.
ed
Steve Bellitz Says:
March 4, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Hey Ken…we didn’t have any automatic 3-out plays, but I do remember one funny story.
We were playing team wireball at night…after we had convinced an older guy to get us some alcohol….a
case of Colt 45 in quart bottles…needless to say, as high school guys, we overdid it and were pretty
trashed. It was really dark and we finally stopped with the score tied in about the 16th inning. We all
went home. The next morning we came out to finish the game and realized there was NO wire, and we were
trying to hit a shadow! That’s why young people shouldn’t drink! lolol No wonder people looked at us so
strangely.
On weekends my family and I would either go to Horn n Hardarts on Broadway for dinner, or Bruno’s on
Mt. Ephraim, or Rosedale Inn, at 36th and Federal. All three were great and there was no chance of a
bad meal.
Things were so nice and easy….it was truly a great place to grow up.
Has this site ever sponsored a Camden reunion in the Spring or nice weather. That might be cool…bring
your yearbooks…etc.
Catch y’all later!
Steve
Emma King-Lecco Says:
March 4, 2009 at 8:43 pm
i just wanted to say “hi” to everyone, Barb, Russ, Kenny. how have you all been.i’ve just made up my
facebook page, it’s been so long since i’ve seen anyone. i still see terry once in awhile. i’m married
and living in Pa. i have 2 sons and a 5 year old grandson. would love to hear from all of you. you can
email me at emlecco@comcast.net, hope you all are well
Ken Brown Says:
March 4, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Hey Emma, it was great chatting with you on FaceBook and catching up on all these years. You’ll find a
bunch of people here you probably knew at Wilson, many from the great class of ‘76. Be sure to check
out the wrestling pictures, you are in one of them, also the 10th Reunion picture, which is the last
time Lorrie and I saw you. If you want any pictures from the Wilson yearbook scanned and posted let me
know, I have all of them from 73 -76. And… you still look much too young to be a grandmother
Steve we have never sponsored a reunion, but there has been a great deal of talk about perhaps getting
together one… maybe a picnic, where everyone can just show up, bring their families, their dogs, food
etc… and come and go as they please. Garrison Lake is still open, but they probably still have orders
not to let any kids from Camden back in… LOL
Ken Barr Says:
March 4, 2009 at 10:31 pm
Steve that has to be the funniest story I have ever heard. I believe it will be this coming Friday to
be the time I stop laughing. At this point I can’t begin to think of anything that could come close to
the “SHADOW” you my friend have made funny bone history.
jim lang Says:
March 5, 2009 at 7:15 am
hi, ed. it has been a long time but looking back on my camden days alwas gives me a warm and mellow
feeling. like looking at a courier and ives print. here are some names for you- tim higgins, bill
laverty, joe wilson, bob coyle,bob watson, sal ferrigno,mike gaffney, pat gaffney, i was wondering how
billy gray wound up in canada.? ed, i seem to remember you had a blue mustang. talk to you soon. jim.
Ken Brown Says:
March 5, 2009 at 7:21 am
I’ve added a new page of the World Series Champions – The Phillies and Russ McDaniel. Russ had just
“jumped” into the opening game at the Phils training camp in Clearwater, Florida. Great team picture,
and a great picture of Russ and his team of fellow retired Special Forces paratroopers.
Also Welcome to the site Linda Jones Byrd. Thanks for visiting and posting. I have posted a link to
your FaceBook WWHS group, so that those that visit this site and have FB can also check out your site.
Ken Barr, the Woolworth’s Menu you sent me, is already posted. You sent it to me a while back Shame
they don’t deliver at those 1950’s prices… LOL
ed ricciardi Says:
March 5, 2009 at 9:05 am
jim here is a name for you,john eakins,remember him?yes jim,my first car i owned was a 69 blue mustang
convertible.i bought that car in 71 for around $2000.wish i still had it.here is some other names,tom
troncone,carl hoffman,carl dintino,walt udinsky,little mikey rozier,teddy britt,tyrone medley.they all
played b ball at the grange.i do remember spa.he was a profesional b ball player for the original
philadelphia spa’s.we didnt believe him until he showed us newspaper articles of himself.he was around
65yrs old and still played.take care big jim
Ken Brown Says:
March 5, 2009 at 10:43 am
Ed Ricciardi, Carl Hoffman was the quarterback of the WWHS team in the early 70’s, he’s pictured in one
of the wrestling team photos on the right. He’s a NJ State Police lieutenant, last I heard, he was in
Atlantic County. A former neighbor of mine, also a trooper, knew him.
The Wilson football stadium is named after Mike Rozier, if you google his name, he shows up a lot for
various articles; he gives motivational talks to young people.
Steve Bellitz Says:
March 5, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Help me out here…do you remember the Turkey Football Game with Camden and Wilson when the two rival
motorcycle gangs were shooting at each other (I think they were the halftime entertainment)…I believe
it was 1979????
Ken Brown Says:
March 5, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Steve it was 1979 when The Wheels of Soul and Ghetto Riders started shooting at each other, during the
3rd Quarter actually, and Camden was winning 14-6 before the game was stopped.
Dean Says:
March 5, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Wow! I remember that like it was yesterday I was at that game. It was my freshman year at Camden High,
used my aunt’s address in parkside to go there! Mario’s steaks is nothing like it used to be, they
actually sell live chickens there to be killed and sold disgusting! I still frequent the area because
my mom still lives on Pleasant street between 32nd and 34th st. refuses to leave and will let the riff
raff know not to disrespect her property.
John “Cpt. Cranky” Blourne Says:
March 6, 2009 at 1:18 am
I THOUGHT that’s what they did at Mario’s now, but I didn’t mention it in case I was wrong.
jim lang Says:
March 6, 2009 at 6:57 am
ed, john eakins and i are still very good friends, we get together 3or four times a year, we have known
each other for 51 years, went to st. joe’s and wilson, ed do you have a sister lorraine.? she may have
gone to st. joe’s with us. the martins lived right beside the basketball court at the grange. they had
one of the hoops when for some reason it was dislodged from the backboard. circa- 1971.? jim.
Ken Brown Says:
March 6, 2009 at 7:12 am
Dean or John, is Mario’s still called Mario’s? Well at least you know the chicken is fresh, unlike the
mystery pieces you get at KFC…LOL. Anyone remember the butcher shop that use to be down on Federal
around 25th Street? They kept live poultry in the window, usually ducks, and around the holidays
turkeys. They would slaughter them too for you.
Ken Barr Says:
March 6, 2009 at 8:01 am
Oh my Ken do I remember… dad use to tell us slaughter house stories when we would drive by the place,
telling us what went on in there always freaked me out of course now I know he embellished a little for
the scare effect and it worked, LOL.
Johanna (Fanelle) Shirk Says:
March 6, 2009 at 11:29 am
Ed Ricciardi do you have a sister named JoAnn that went to St. Joseph’s in East Camden? She lived right
around the corner from the Rosedale I forget the name of the street maybe Merriel it was off of 36th
st. JoAnn was friends with Mary Ippalucci who lived to the same street.
ed ricciardi Says:
March 6, 2009 at 12:40 pm
johanna yes i do.we lived on 35th and fremont.joanne was good friends with mary ,also with peggy
forman(i think that was the last name).joanne lives in west palm.she moved to miami when she was
18,pursuing a modeling career.she married her photographer.still married ,2sons.
jim lang yes i had a sister lorraine,she lives in ft lauderdale.st josephs and cchs grad.
for some reason they both dont miss camden or new jersey.they tell me that all the time.but they do
miss the people and friends.
johanna did you live in back of st joes??
John “Cpt. Cranky” Blourne Says:
March 6, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Yes, it is still Mario’s, Mario’s Chicken or possibly Chickens.
And the one at 25th & Federal was still there last time I was down there.
Dean Says:
March 9, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Yes Ken it’s still called Mario’s but like I said nothing like it used to be, I can still taste lemon
water ice! Dudley Grange isn’t the same anymore, on the corner of Westfield and Dudley there was a
tennis court (I’m talking my years earley 70’s) and where the train used to go through by Rosedale ave.
there is a Boys&Girls club and elementary school (Catto) combined newly built. I remember I learned to
ride my bike in the Grange and going to the library but I was too young to remember any names of the
librarians, I used to put pennies on the R.R. tracks as the train passed to flatten them. Wasn’t life
so simple then!!
Ken Barr Says:
March 9, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Me too Dean guilty as charged putting a penny on the track just seemed to be the thing to do. As for
the Water Ice there is an ice cream shack on Maple Ave. just as you go into Maple Shade it’s on the
corner with a traffic light, they offer the same water ice as Mario’s did and beleive me the Lemon
still has the bits and chunks in it. I only get to that area 2 times a year at best but when I do it
gets a visit from us they are open year round.
Rich Schuaky Says:
March 9, 2009 at 10:30 pm
OK, this is truly an AMAZING site!!! I haven’t had a chance to go thru the entire site but will. I went
to Cramer and then Davis before moving out to Cherry Hill. I lived on Eutaw Ave and my grandfather ran
Dutches which was a penny candy story on 27th Street in Cramer Hill. He was an older man who smoked a
cigar and had a couple pinball machines. I played little league baseball for 5th Ward where my coach
was Mr. Coccaro. His son David was one of my best friends. My father worked for Acme Markets from the
day they opened until the day they closed. I recall selling yum-yum on my wagon outside Acme, the
clothes prop man coming around the neighborhood, J&L, Dudley Grange and so many other things. I also
noticed that there was a post in here about me getting hit with a hockey puck at a Jersey Devils game.
Yep, that was me! My older brother Bob took my younger brother Randy and I to see the Johnstown Jets
play. There was no protection along the side boards and I happend to look the the wrong way at the
wrong time and a defenseman name Ron McPherson shot the puck and hit me in the lip. A player name John
Brophy (those of you who are hockey fans will recognize him) tossed up a towel as I am told because it
knocked me out. Next thing I know, I wake up in the Devils locker room. They had no ambulance so some
guy had to drive me to the Cherry Hill Hospital to get 25+ stitches. I still have the puck that hit me
and then they gave me another puck as a souvenier. I used to go to numerous Devils games and if you
recall, Gene Hart used to broadcast their Friday night games starting at 9:30, regardless of what
period or how much time was left in the game. There was absolutely NO place better to grow up then
Camden NJ in the 1960’s!!!!!!
Ken Brown Says:
March 10, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Rich Schuaky it’s great you found our site… Welcome! I remember you from the 7-2 Class at Davis… that
was a GREAT class, and a few of those people have checked in here at the site. And yes, you were
mentioned previously on the site concerning the infamous hockey puck incident. While that must have
painful when it happened, you should know that “taking a puck” that night is legendary when it comes to
East Camden hockey memories, it’s right up there with the two Stanley Cup parades when most of Wilson
cut school to attend, street hockey games on the Davis parking lot, and getting Bobby Clarke’s
autograph as he sat in the stands at the Cherry Hill arena. Were you there that night too? George
Gumbrell and I were, we spied Bobby from across the arena and made our way up to his seat where he
kindly signed our programs. I still have mine… Devils versus Greensboro Generals! LOL. And you are
right about Gene Hart stepping in to do the broadcasting, I had forgotten about that. Sadly the old
Cherry Hill Arena is gone, some stores sit on the site now, and a rehab/nursing center.
Great to hear you are doing well. I hope you will share some more memories. Speaking of Dave Coccaro,
have you heard from him over the years? How about Wilbur Lew? A few others from 7-2 who have stopped by
here… Carl Orth, Bruce Scholz, Paul Skeens, Nick Rapanotti, and George Gumbrell.
Dean, thanks for the updates on Mario’s. There are some pictures of the Catto School on the page menu…
listed under New Westfield Avenue School. Also do you know what sits right across from Mario’s now? I
know they built housing where the Acres was, but I was looking at Google Earth, and it appears that
right across from Mario’s there is a newer larger building.
Dave Baker Says:
March 10, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Howdy Ken!
GR8 site, Talk about floodin’ a fellers mind with memories, I lived on
34th St. on the corner of Phelam Place both of which seemed so much wider then. Stumbled on your site,
don’t know why I was thinking about childhood but googled HH Davis and here I am. I kind of remember
you from the HILL, My cousin and I John Martin from 34th St. used to skateboard there, We also used to
skate at the Ink factory on the ramps
that led to the docks, there’s a place that hasn’t been mentioned it was at the far end of Campell Soup
if memory serves the back end of Stockton Station. There’s so much here to resond to, Skeeter! did you
know my sister Julie Baker? or “Dukie” Freehoff? don’t know his real first name, He lived in the Acres
when they used gather Xmas trees, stuff them in the monkey bars in the center playground and set them
on fire. (Some fun Eh!) For all you Bernie Fans! Yes Ken there was a farmer Brown at the Railroad
tracks! And those weren’t stories he was mean, protective of his crops and used ROCKSALT! In checking
the archives I recall that they built a new school at the site of the Acres, Odd it was named after
Catto, that was the name of a school across the same tracks where they sent kids that were suspended
Baddest of the Bad!
AH! Bob Thomas, had every Teacher you had, do you remember Cathy Clifford? she lived across those
tracks! How bout when the girls from our class used to pick a boy and chase him home from school? That
lucky Steven Allen, Man could Peggy Chalmers run! Here’s one for you Bob (can’t get used to that, what
happened to Robert?) Who was the girl in the class play who did the shaving cream parody “Take it off!
Take it all off!”
pretty risque’ for a bunch of grade school kids! Dave Nevis, Who didn’t cut through your place, Dave
Austin how’s it goin’ Fred Vesper I think I knew your brother Dennis from Nick Mancini, Played a lot of
Hockey with Nick at the School Parking lot, In an earlier story about Cumberland Farms on 32nd &
Westfield I worked with one of Nick’s sisters (I think they were twins) I managed the Gas Station and
we were robbed but it wasn’t at knife point it was with a 45! Needless to say that ended any career
thoughts in that field. Pat Histing why do I remember that name, Obviously cause I know you but how? I
remember buying Baggies at the Crummy Beard from “AL” the owner, wasn’t the “Beard” some sort of
Lunchenette at one time “NO STUDENTS ALLOWED”
Ken thanks again! I’ll have to dig out some of the pix I have from my Davis Days keep up the good work,
I’ll post more, It’s like coming home without the burned out buildings of the apocolypse.
Dave Baker
Debnbake@aol.com
Dave Baker Says:
March 10, 2009 at 8:02 pm
George Gumbrell, I was on the Yellow Bellies, do you remember a Ritchie Ladner or Latner? His dad
coached.
John “Cpt. Cranky” Blourne Says:
March 11, 2009 at 12:15 am
Another Senior building was built right across Beideman Ave. from Westfield Towers (which is in REALLY
bad shape). And if you drive down Beideman or 32nd, you won’t even recognize the area. Also, in
addition to the Acres, all the housing on 32nd from Westfield to Saunders have been replaced with new
housing. Bob’s Market is STILL there, and looks slightly better than the photos on this site.
Steve Bellitz Says:
March 11, 2009 at 1:53 pm
1-I can’t believe some of you remember putting pennies on the train tracks so the train would flatten
it; I remember one day the police caught us and made us empty our pockets of coins; they said we could
make the train derail by doing that!
2-How many of you went to the 27th Street firehouse to get your polio vaccine on a sugar cube? Talk
about technology! lol
3-When April hit, none of our neighbors’ mops or brooms were safe; we needed stickball bats! We would
go into people’s garages, get them and spend the morning cutting off the tops and taping the grips.
They had to have the black electric tape grips! Then we would pool our money and go to Binkley’s on
Marlton Pike and buy our “pimple balls” for the summer. Life was so sweet!
4-Playing touch football on any street where the “field” was from telephone pole to telephone pole. Run
a buttonhook pattern and throw a bullet pass in front of that Edsel! It’s no wonder the Camden guys
were always the best athletes..every place we played was an obstacle course. No one could touch us on a
“real” field! We were very edgy and just had an attitude that made us tough………even if we weren’t……must
have been a survival thing…..”you can take the kid out of Camden………” you know the rest!
5-Riding down either Thorndyke Street or Waldorf Avenue in Admiral Park (suicide hill) was the
greatest..we refused to believe that a car would actually have the nerve to hit us!
Enough for now…..I’m getting pissy-eyed! lol
Ken Brown Says:
March 11, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Wow the site has been busy the last two days…
First off, WELCOME Dave Baker. I do remember you from the 34th Street neighborhood, eventhough I lived
on the 32nd Street Hill, I hung around with a lot of the kids on 34th, 35th, 36th and all those cross
streets. Thanks for sharing so many wonderful memories. I told Bob Thomas you had posted, he said he’ll
stop around the site. As for George Gumbrell, he use to post here quite a bit, he is in fact, partly
responsible for the creation of this site, but we have not seen him around in some months. I do know he
was in the process of moving; he lives in Vermont. I’ll try to track him down again.
Refresh my memory Dave, you did not go to Wilson after Davis did you? I know your name, even have a
picture of your face in my mind, but no memory of you at Wilson.
John Blourne, thanks for the update on the new senior housing across from Mario’s. I was aware of the
new housing on 32nd and where the Acres stood, there are some pictures of those houses here at the
site. As for Westfield Towers, it’s a shame it is getting run down, but I guess it is nearly 40 years
old and showing its age. At the time that building went up, it actually set a record for something to
do with the stucture, some technique that had never been used on a building that tall. I’ll do a little
research and see if I can find exactly what it was. It’s worthy of a Camden trivia question. Priot to
the towers, there was a great lot on the site, us kids played in. Directly across from our house at 222
N32nd, was an old driveway and partial stone wall running up the hill in the lot. At one time, there
was an old private school building that stood on the spot, but it was long gone by time my parents
moved there around 1949.
Steve, some great memories, especially putting pennies on the tracks. I walked many miles on those
tracks, in all directions, along with friends such as George Gumbrell and Paul Skeens. Here is a track
memory for you… when regular trains were still running, kids from Cramer Hill use to sometimes hop a
train from Provonia Yard to Dudley Grange, or back if one was passing through near the end of the
school day.
And you forgot to mention pole vaulting over backyard fences with clothes props…Hahaha. Camden kids
were quite daring when it came to their street games.
Ken Brown Says:
March 11, 2009 at 3:36 pm
One more quick note… I saw Tony Lope today, he stopped in for a short visit on his way to a job site in
Ocean City. He looked good, like he could go six minutes on the wrestling mat still. Had not seen Tony
since 1977, it was good to see him.
Dave Baker Says:
March 11, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Howdy Ken!
No I didn’t attend Wilson (well briefly, 3 or 6 months) ran into some problems with MR. CHERRY! funny
how these memories come back never thought about him til now, WWHS made my freshman year way to easy
schedule wise, two study halls after homeroom was enough leadway to bag a whole morning and sometims
the whole day, Imagine my suprise to see him at the Moorestown Mall (No I didn’t take the bus, I’m from
East Camden, I hopped a train, they also have a schedule!) you can pretty much figure the out come of
that scenario, Anyway I opted to attend Vo-Tech, Yeah, I think that was one of my choices, Culinary
Arts (A guys gotta eat you know!) That kinda went South also, so the only recourse was Pennsauken Night
School which worked out well cause I usually like to sleep in. You probably saw me with the Hale’s from
34th St. or Gary Fioretti, or even the dirthills (were we the only ones to call them that) off of High
St. between 34th & 32nd. I knew most of the guys on the Hill, hung with the Janice’s after they moved
to 37th St. (Is that right?) used to hang out at Bob Hirsh’s garage right behind the 32nd St. houses at
the apartments (can’t remember the name of the apts.) jammin’ and singing the usual garage band havin’
fun. If memory serves me the whole Janice family was musically inclined. (They could have been the East
Camden Partridge Family) I’ll have to dig out some of my neighborhood photos and send them to you to
post, Also did you play hockey at St. John the Baptist with us? Does anybody remember setting the long
tables on their sides to make up the boards and stacking them behind the nets to keep the ball in play
if so tell us. Ken, How much are the Dart Boards? I’d like to get Bob’s kid’s a Christmas gift! LOL
Carol (Smarzynski) Says:
March 11, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Hello Everyone! I didn’t go to Davis Elementary…went to Cramer School and lived in East Camden. Went to
WWHS 1961-1964. Cheerleader type back then….probably still am.
Don’t recognize some of the names on this site, but wanted to clarify that Fred Vesper…is he also known
as Fran Vesper? Curious to know.
Anyway, I did hook up with a WWHS Alumni some 7 years ago, Gail
Shierloh of Eutaw Avenue and we have an ongoing friendship. You see, she introduced me to my husband,
Al, some 6 1/2 years ago.
Would like to hear from WWHS friends……
sincerely,
Carol
Dave Baker Says:
March 11, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Pat Histings,
If memory serves me you had a brother Ernie? If so do you remember a radio DJ Geoff Foxx who did the
joke of the day? Anybody? There was a
bit with a guy named Torval the Swede, Vell Hunga Dunga Der Joff!
Is this jogging any memories? Anyway I was Torval! I used to call in from the Cumberland Farms store at
work. (Yes this was approved by the Mgr, cause I never got into trouble, never , ever, ever) I was
invited to come to the Radio Station on a Saturday and hang out and answer calls and do some schtick
with Geoff, A call came in from a guy named Ernie who said he was from East Camden! (See where this is
going?) well if your from East Camden and you hear someone say East Camden your ears will perk up like
a Jack Russell Terrier. I jumped on the mic and asked his last name, he said Histings, I asked if he
had a sister named Pat, needless to say he was speachless we strung him along for awhile then let him
know how we knew so much, If anybody remembers this radio show let me know.
“Bake”
Ken Brown Says:
March 12, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Welcome to the site Carol Smarzynski… there are a few people who have visited the site who went to
Cramer and who were at Wilson during the years you attended.
Dave Baker, the Janice family lived a few houses down the hill from us on 32nd Street. And Mike Janice
played drums at Davis and I believe Richard was in the Jazz Band, and played guitar or bass. I
reconnected with Mike Janice on FaceBook and sent him a link to this site. He lives in Rhode Island.
The apartments behind the hill on 32nd Street were Westfield Gardens. Charlie’s Luncheonette was
located there on the corner of 33rd and Westfield. Those garages use to flood everytime there was any
amount of rain. And I think everyone from the neighborhood called the mound of dirt on high street the
“dirt hill” – it was a great place to ride your bike. In some of the old archival posts you will see
mention of that hill and the lot between High and Saunders.
Some Wilson related news for all you Eagle’s fans… the safety just signed to replace Sean Considine and
Brian Dawkins (though you can never replace B-Dawk) is WWHS graduate Rashad Baker… who was just
acquired from the Oakland Raiders. Rashad was a football and track star at Wilson in the late 90’s,
then played college ball at U of Tennessee; he has also played with the Minnesota Vikings and NE
Patriots. Last year with the Raiders he had 24 tackles and three interceptions.
Carol (Smarzynski) Says:
March 12, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Does anyone remember the nice restaurant that WWHS kids used to
go after dances, located on US 130S (now called SAGAMI’S)? What was that restaurant’s OLD name? Anyone
remember? Would like to know.
Sincerely,
Carol
Dean Says:
March 12, 2009 at 6:37 pm
yes across from mario’s there is a new senior care facility, it actually sits right about where the
office to the westfield acres sat. the board of ed. is in the process of rebuilding a lot of the older
schools hence the catto name for the new building sitting in dudley grange. if i get a chance i will
take some recent pics of the neighborhood, i will just need help on how to post them. I often go
because my mom still lives there so i check on her frequently, actually she is closer to you guys age
but she grew up on walnut st. i believe she called it foggy bottom. was meeks bike shop around during
the sixties?
Ken Brown Says:
March 12, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Dean thanks for the updates. If you get any recent pictures, just send them to me in an email and I can
put them up on the site for you. It would be appreciated. As for Meeks, yes it was still on Westfield
Ave when most of us were growing up in the 60’s and into the 70’s. Not sure when it closed, but I know
it was still open in ‘76 when I left Camden. Maybe Dave Nevius will know, he lived just two houses down
from Meeks. If you needed a bike part, Meeks had it, regardless of the brand or age of the bike. I
believe there is a picture of Meeks as it looks today on one of the earlier trivia pages. The building
actually looks nicer today than it did back in the 70’s.
Ken Brown Says:
March 12, 2009 at 6:48 pm
Carol, where on Rt 130 was the restaurant?
Dean Says:
March 12, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Thanks Ken I will do that. The building is actually a store now and I must say it does look pretty
good. I was always in Meek’s shop I had this bike called an Apollo 5 speed it was the only place where
I could get it fixed. Most of my friends Lived in Stockton Station, there was an Phila Eagle named
Charlie Young that lived in apt. U-17. I lived in the pool during the summer and I can remember a life
guard named Ron.
Dave Baker Says:
March 12, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Ken,
Was wondering if you or anyone else recalls these two memories;
Down beneath the Acres was a rail system, small cars not sure but i believe they were electric, anyway
they were used to haul the trash that was dummped in the doors outside apts in the stairways, it was
collected below in the basement and the cars would take it to the incinerator at the back end of the
Acres near the ballfields.
Secondly, They say if you remember the 60’s you were’nt really there, Does any body who was there
remember anything about one of the Teachers VW Bug being carried up the steps on Cramer St. entrance
and turned sideways at the flagpole? Or was this one of those “Foremans basement roundtable discussions
of “You know what would be really cool!”
Let me know if any of this jogs somebody’s remaining brain cells, Anybody? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?
“Bake”
jim lang Says:
March 13, 2009 at 5:59 am
joe carpenter: do you remember you and i had a contest. naming, where nba, basket ball players went to
college, this happend at shellows, aroumd 1970. shellows was on westfield ave, around 26th. st. well i
thought iwas good, but you were much better. i remember afterwards i was feeling the sting of defeat,
and you bought me a coke, and you told me “never beat and mistreat” “beat and treat” i alwas remembered
that. and have alwas tried to do the same when i have won any kind of event. do you happend to know
what happend to the shello family.? i spent a lot of time in that little luncheonette. jim
jim lang Says:
March 13, 2009 at 6:00 am
sorry joe stores location was federal st. jim.
Freddy Vesper Says:
March 13, 2009 at 8:19 am
Carol,
Fran Vesper is a cousin of mine. He lived on Boyd St and had a brother named Kenny. After graduating
Camden High School he became a Camden Cop for a few years.
Sandy (Orme) Says:
March 13, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Hi Everyone!
Hey Ken, do you have a pic of Sharp School in Cramer Hill? I went to Sharp K-6, Vets 7 & 8(that’s where
I first met Karlos and then Lori), then onto Wilson, 9-12. Those were the years!
Does anyone remember the big house on the corner of Wilson, it was a soda shop at one time, my cousin,
Thomas Schaffer, played BB for WW in the 60’s and the kids would go there after the games. Anyone
remember?
Thanks! Hope all is well with you and yours!
Paul Skeens Says:
March 13, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Sandy,
Do you mean that huge house on the corner? Wasn’t it pink or something?
Ken Brown Says:
March 13, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Paul and Sandy, there was a big pink house on one corner of the school, looked like the Addams Family
mansion, and was converted into several apartments, on the other corner of 32nd and Federal, same side
as Wilson there was a luncheonette/Wilson hang out at one time called either Campus Corner or Cozy
Corner???? Maybe Freddy Vesper can help us out here, as I know it was open and a hang out for kids who
graduated in the mid and late 60’s. My sister Karen use to hang out there. It was closed by time we
attended Wilson.
Dave Baker, I have no personal memory of the basement trains in the Acres, though I do remember the
garbage chutes and those steel doors on each floor landing that made a loud bang when you let them go.
I made my way to the roof of the Acres buildings many times, but never got to any of the basements.
Where is Skeeter??? He would know!
Also I have a vague memory of the story about a VW Bug being put on the steps of Davis, but I always
just assumed it was one of those East Camden myths, as I’ve never heard of anyone actually being an eye
witness to the event. And amongst my siblings we had a continuous presence at Davis from 1952 until
1976 when my sister Laurie graduated 8th Grade there.
Ken Brown Says:
March 13, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Sandy I added a page/picture for Sharp School on the menu.
Dave Baker Says:
March 13, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Ken, I remember the pink Wilson hangout, My sister used to work there, She was three years ahead of me,
Julie. Campus Corner rings a bell, I attended Davis til 69/70 do any of your sisters remember Julie?
She hung out with a girl named Sharky, I think her first name was Cathy? She lived in the Acres, Julie
also hung out with the Bowles, does this ring a bell to anyone? As far as getting into the basements a
special thanks to “Dukie Freehoff” one of my big sisters friends he sure was a character, He showed me
the roofs also, there were a few buildings so close to each other he would jump roof to roof, at the
time I thought he was really cool, looking back I realize he was just crazy!
Bake
Freddy Vesper Says:
March 13, 2009 at 8:30 pm
The corner store was Campus Corner.
Gene McCloskey Says:
March 13, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Ed,
I can’t believe I was anyone’s idol in the little league.And I can’t believe anyone would spell Krzyk
correctly.One of the things I learned very early was to be a good teammate.I have to correct one
statement,the Cardinals
beat the Dodgers when I was 12.Maybe you guys won the year I moved up!Do you remember the Cardinals
would play an AllStar team made up from the rest of the teams in our league on the 4th of July?The
first half leaders which was the Cardinals when I was 10,11,and 12 would play against the rest of the
league,a nine inning game.We won all three years
because the teams had a hard time hitting Franny James or myself when we were 12 and we had another
fast baller in Tom Wilson when I was younger.Our coach went for pitching and he was right,good pitching
usually beats good hitting.Billy Gray hit a homerun off me that I’ll never forget.He was on the
giants.Do you remember Mr. Lore?He coached the Dodgers while his son Gary was playing.He used to get on
me all the time as we had quite a battle with the Dodgers as they did beat us in a couple of games
during the year.Pat Gaffney was my best man.He lost out when we were 16 as there were four of us who
were 16 and Mr Lore made us pick straws instead of keeping the best talent.The winners were his son
Gary,Ron Sohacki,and me.We couldn’t pitch at 16 and by then I wanted to play short full time.I ended up
pitching two games in high school as we only had two pitchers and I was needed twice when they were
really tired.It was great to hear from you.Say hello to Tom McFaul,I remember
all those basketball games at the grange. By the way,I still play softball
traveling all over the country playing in tournaments.Gene
Ken Brown Says:
March 13, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Here is a link to an article about Wilson graudate Rashad Baker, who was just signed with the Eagles to
fill the Safety positions vacated by Dawkins and Considine. It’s an interesting article and talks about
his playing days at Wilson, and also how he is directly responsible for the Eagles getting into the
playoffs this season… he intercepted Jeff Garcia, allowing the Raiders to knock Tampa Bay out of the
playoffs, giving the Eagles the wildcard spot:
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=17530
Ken Brown Says:
March 13, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Dave, your sister Julie would have been closer in age to my brother Mike (Bill) Brown, he graduated
Davis in ‘68, and Wilson in ‘72. My sisters graduated Wilson in ‘65 and ‘67.
Knew of the Bowles family, they lived on 39th across the street from Paul Skeens. Jeannie Bowles was in
a few of my Davis classes. And I knew of Elaine and Jimmy.
Gene, there was a Dean Lore at Wilson in the early 70’s, he was a kicker on the football team, and I
believe a catcher on the baseball team.
Sandy (Orme) Says:
March 13, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Thank you! Dave, Freddy, Ken & Paul. Campus Corner, my cousins always said they would take me there
after my first week of 9th grade, but of course it was gone by then and so were my cousins, off living
life somewhere.
Ken, Thank you for the Sharp pics!
Cramer Hill was so much quieter than East Camden or I missed alot of fun!!!
Janice Ostroff Schwartz Says:
March 14, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Anyone remember me from Camden High School, the “class of 62?, or as the daughter of Moishe the butcher
– Ostroff’s Kosher Meats from Marlton Pike?
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
March 14, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Dave Baker ,
Baker is a very common name & it was a long time ago. I am probably from a different generation..I was
born in 1942 & just turned 67 in Feb..
Had I went to HS, I would have graduated in 1960 or 61.
I remember a Carol Baker from E.Camden near McGuire Gardens,off of Marlton Pike & a Leo Baker from N.
Camden. We attended Cooper School together.
“Dukie” sounds like it rings a bell,but not sure if it was North, Camden East Camden or Cramer Hill.
Its possible I knew a Julie Baker,but I need more info.
Dave Baker Says:
March 14, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Skeeter,
Thanks for the reply, Julie was born in 53′ The other Baker’s
you mentioned weren’t related, there were twins I graduated with Linda and Debbie Baker and as common
as that name is we weren’t related.
Dukie might have been slightly older than Julie looking back he was one of the last of the DA’s
(cookie, cookie lend me your comb) lol
Bake
Sue Quinn-Morris Says:
March 14, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Looking for Al Dobbins that was friends with quite a few Camden County NJ Vietnam Killed in Action.
Please contact me at squinn9807@aol.com . The email addresses for you that are listed on the websites
come back undeliverable
squinn9807@aol.com
sue quinn-morris
http://www.alch372.com/CCKIA/camdencountyindex.htm
Dave Baker Says:
March 14, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Janice,
Were you related to Len Ostroff, He was the Plant Mgr at Concord Chemicals 17th & Federal St.
Bake
Monica Rubin Land Says:
March 15, 2009 at 6:23 am
Janice,
I remember a Donna Ostroff from Beth Israel – any relation? I went to McGraw Elementary and Davis
Junior High then we moved and I graduated from Cherry Hill West in 1970.
Ken Brown Says:
March 15, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Hey Everyone,
Thanks to Dave Baker for sending me the new class photos… they can be found on the menu, they are from
the Davis Class of ‘70 and includes class photos from 1963 until 1969 for Grades 2 through 7. I will
also be adding a picture of the entire Davis ‘70 graduating class, as soon as I get it sized to fit.
There are also new pictures under N34th and Pelham Place, and Vintage Cowtown.
Thanks also to Harry Loeffler for sending me the photo of the Sharp School 1965-1966 2nd Grade, that
too has been posted.
I will also be adding a list of names of Camden Vietnam Vets who were killed in action. Sue-Quinn
Morris and the American Legion are seeking relatives or friends of those listed for an upcoming
memorial service in their honor. If anyone has any information on these Camden servicemen who paid the
ultimate sacrifice, please contact Sue at: squinn9807@aol.com. And check out the listing of names when
I get them posted shortly.
Ken Brown Says:
March 15, 2009 at 7:39 pm
I’ve posted the letter I received from Sue Quinn Morris along with the list of those Camden Vietnam
Vets who were killed in action, she is seeking to contact family and friends of… the letter, a link to
the American Legion site, and a list of the Veterans can be found on the Military Vets of East Camden
page; thanks for any info that can be gained from this.
Carol Smarzynski Says:
March 15, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Hi Fred Vesper! Your cousin was also friends with Howard Stone. Any word on what happened to him. Fran
& Howard used to ride bikes together over to my house. They were funny together. Wish I knew what
became of them. Thanks for telling me that Fran was a Camden cop for a time. I can’t picture him doing
that kind of work.
Anyway, I still would love to know the name of SAGAMI’s restaurant on Rt. 130S, before it was Sagami’s.
DOES ANYONE RECALL? Love to know.
Carol
Carol Smarzynski Says:
March 15, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Hi Ken,
Sounds like you run this blog!!! Obviously have a lot of connections.
My earlier posting named the NOW Sagami’s restaurant on Rt. 130S,
in Collingswood. No one can remember it’s former name, but the seven foot ceilings and wooden booths
are still the same.
It would be great if you could find out. It’s been a question unanswered for almost 25 years!
Thanks, Ken,
Carol
Ken Brown Says:
March 15, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Welcome to the site Carol Thomashefsky and Janice Ostroff Schwartz.
Carol Thomashefsky, I don’t think we were in any classes together at Davis, but I do remember who you
are, you were in 8-3, if my memory is right, with Paul Skeens, George Gumbrell and others I hung around
with. Great to see you have found our site, and I hope you’ll visit often and post more memories.
Janice Ostroff Schwartz are you Donna Ostroff’s sister? I have exchanged a few emails with Donna over
the years, and recently sent her a link to this site on FaceBook. I also remember the deli/butcher shop
your family owned on Marlton Pike.
And to Carol Smarzynski, the restaurant wasn’t Marbetts was it? Where abouts on Route 130 is Sagami’s
located? I also remember a steak house near Fairview, though I think it was actually in Oaklyn, that
was also popular in the 60’s.
Paul Skeens Says:
March 15, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Carol Smarzynski,
Was the name something like “Old Hearth Restaurant” or along those lines? Just taking a stab at it.
Paul Skeens Says:
March 15, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Kenny, I think the restaurant Carol is referring to is a sushi place now, Sagami. It is on Rt 130
South. South of the Airport Circle.
Marbetts was on Admiral Wilson Blvd, wasn’t it? It was like an old White Tower building?
The steakhouse your thinking of was probably “Chubby’s 1 1/2 Hearth”
Ken Brown Says:
March 15, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Hey Paul, yeah Marbetts was an old White Tower. And Chubby’s was the steakhouse I was trying to
remember! And now that you mention it, I seem to recall Old Hearth Restaurant too.
John Borges WWHS 1957 Says:
March 15, 2009 at 11:36 pm
I was a Guidance Counselor at Davis from2004 -08, but I knew a teacher at Davis from 1972 a Mr. Ernie
Casiolli, I remember him as a great teacher and co-worker. Can someone share a memory of my friend from
a students perspective. As a resident of Camden from 1945 till 1967, I recall the Victoria theatre at
26th and Federal st. Does anyone else? I recall every film I saw was made in the 1920s or 30s few were
new films if they were they were far from a major film more like a b film, closer to a, c or d film. I
saw the original Frankenstien, Dracula dozens of Abbott and Costello, Laural and Hardy films as well as
the original King Cong, and travel films from the 20s and 30s. The only up to date film was the
newsreel. But it was all great. Used to scour the neighborhood for two nickle soda bottles and one two
cent bottle and I got to go to the movies you just didn’t ask for movie money. Forget candy. How about
Garfield School any one remember it. I do
jim lang Says:
March 16, 2009 at 6:27 am
with the coming of spring one of the things i looked foward to was playing minature golf at “old pro”
in cherry hill on rt. 70. it had two course’s circus and western. but alas’ my last time by there it
was gone. does anyone remember playing there.? or how long it has been gone. king of pizza is still
next door. a great night was golf and then pizza at the “king” also it was a short distance from
camden. jim.
Charles “Skeeter” Moy Says:
March 16, 2009 at 8:17 am
John Borges,I attended Cramer Jr. High in 1958 & 1959,and your last names is familiar…I think I knew a
person (a girl possibly) with that name,either in Ms. Crudo’s class or Ms. Guthrie’s class.
Or it could have been from the neighborhood. I lived on East State St. at the time. Used to “hang out”
at the Sugar Bowl.
Also lived at 29th & Westfield.
Classmates would know me as Charles or Charlie Moy…those from the neighborhood as “Skeeter’
I spent a lot of Sataurdays at the Victoria..double feature ,couple of episodes of a seriel & 10
cartoons.
In my day ,I believe it cost about 15 cents…lol
People were up in arms when the Arlo opened…they had a nerve charging 20 cents,what,did they think we
were made of money ?
Ah…the good ole days. Coke at Woolworths..5 cents for a small & 10 cents for a large glass. I loved
those tiny icecubes.
A hoagie or a “SUB” as we called them in the 50’s cost what 60 cents for a whole & 35 cents for a half?
They charged the extra nickle for a half just in case they did not use the other half of the Sub roll.
Ken Brown Says:
March 16, 2009 at 8:22 am
Sue Quinn Morris, I moved your post and the lengthy list of Camden County Vietnam Veterans to the
“Military Vets of East Camden Page” as that is where I have been directing those who want to view the
list to find it. Check back at that page for any responses.
Ken Brown Says:
March 16, 2009 at 8:31 am
Welcome John Borges, it’s great to have a former Camden School District teacher/guidance counselor
visit and post at the site, you lend a new perspective to our memories!
As to Ernie Cascioli, I believe he was a newer teacher at Davis in ‘72, and taught an elementary school
grade. There are a few people who post here who were still students at Davis at that time. Also if you
check the page Davis Teachers 1972, you will see Mr. Cascioli pictured with the other elementary school
teachers. We have had one other Davis teacher visit the site – John Stevenson, his post and contact
info can be found in one of the earlier archives… around April of 2008.
Welcome also to Greg Hale… your brother Mike was in a few of my classes at Davis, as was his wife Pam
DiLoreto.
NOTE to all new visitors to the site, if you want your contact info to be available to others, on the
“email address page” or elsewhere, you must type your email address into the response box in addition
to the sign in box. Addresses that go into the sign in box, are not viewable to all, only those posted
in the response box.
Steve Bellitz Says:
March 16, 2009 at 8:49 am
Memories……of course miniature golf on Rt 70 followed by King of Pizza…great first date…….riding bikes
to Webers Root Beer on Rt. 38…wow, getting the quart container for the ride home….
Bob’s Luncheonette on Marlton Pike…35cent cheesesteaks…nickel soft pretzels….Superman comics for 10
cents……”imaginary” superman comics like when Luthor killed superman…and the “annual”…an extra large
Superman comic…..
Does anyone remember the “bandbox” that played along with the jukebox? That was strange.
Panzarottis….steak sandwiches…soft pretzels…damn, I am so hungry now!
Take care everybody.
Steve Bellitz
CHS class of ‘69
John Borges WWHS 1957 Says:
March 16, 2009 at 8:51 am
Skeeter, I had three brothers, two much older and one younger, Bob was about your age, then I had five
sisters Tiina, Marie, Dot, Elaine. Joyce all went to WWHS, I think Dot went to Davis for jr. high none
of the rest of us did. I’m glad someone else remembers the old Vic. I thought it all might have been a
dream. Not really,
Freddy Vesper Says:
March 16, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I remember Garfield School. It was located around 28th and Cramer Sts. I also remeber when it burned
down, around 1959 and after it burned most of the students were sent to Davis School. Garfield was an
elementary school.
Rich Schuaky Says:
March 16, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Ken, I am truly amazed at how you can remember everyone’s names. Do you recall going to the Jersey
Devil games and playing hockey with a crushed cup in the lobby or behind the goal at the end where the
Devils locker room was located? I spoke with Bobby Taylor who was one of the Flyers goalies and who
also played for the Devils ones year. We exchanged some stories about the rink and tossed names around
like Gilles Banville (short 5′4? goalie”), Jamie Kennedy and many others. Bobby said they used to hang
out at Kominskis’ right down the street from the Cherry Hill Arena.
If I recall, we used to call George Gumbrell, Gumby from the tv show. I remember Wilbur Lew who’s
family owned Lews Laundry. On Eutaw Ave does anyone recall the Gartland family or Bobby Coyle. We used
to all play baseball and basketball in the lot area directly behind Eutaw Ave. I remember when they
first put up the basketball courts, it was awesome. Everyone had to have their Chuck Taylors.
Does anyone from Cramer Hill remember Dutches candy store. It was located next to a barber shop. My
grandfather owned that and lived for the store. He was an older man who sat on a wooden chair smoking a
cigar the entire time. There were two glass counters with penny candy on one side and packaged candy on
the other. He had a soda machine in front and a pinball machine in the corner. I used to go over there
a couple times a week. I would walk there some times after playing baseball for 12th Ward. He finaaly
had to close the store back aound 1975 or so because heas being robbed constantly.
I saw a post that mentioned Pam DiLoreto. David Coccaro and I would follow Pat and Pam home many days
from Davis because we had crushes on them. We never told them but I’m sure they figured it out. I
remember they lived along the railroad tracks and we would then walk the tracks to the Grange.
If I recal, wasn’t Mike Roziers last game for Wilson played on Thanksgiving Day against Camden and the
game wall called because of a shooting at halftime? I thought I recalled my father telling me about it
since I was living in West Virginia at the time.
Keep up the great work with the site. You and everyone who contributes brings back awesome memories.
Freddy Vesper Says:
March 17, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Rich,
From 1964-1967 I use to “hang out” in Cramer Hill, My wife is from the Hill, 28th and Hayes St. We use
to hang at Well’s on 27th & Hayes and Mar’s at 24th or 25th & River Rd. We frequently patronized
Dutche’s on 27th St because he was the only one who sold cigarettes individually. Since money was
sometimes tight we would go to Dutche’s and buy smokes two for a nickel. He knew all of us very well.
He only sold Winston and Marlboro individually because at the time they were the most popular smokes
for teenagers.
Ken Brown Says:
March 17, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Rich Schuaky, George Gumbrell was indeed AKA Gumby, though I’m not so sure he ever liked that nickname
much, by high school no one was calling him that anymore. Many memories of the Cherry Hill Arena. I
mostly went with George, sometimes Paul Skeens would go, and others. The one guy who was in charge of
the ticket sales actually worked his real job at Hollingshed’s in Camden where both my dad and George’s
dad worked. WHen he was working and we showed up there for a game he always let us in for free, I
remember going with my dad to games too, and getting in for free. Did you ever go to any Philly Wings
lacrosse games Rich, or was that after you had moved?
And yes, it was during Mike Rozier’s last game for Wilson that the gun battle erupted (Thanksgiving
1979), during the 3rd Quarter. I was no longer living in Camden then either, in fact I was in Alaska,
but my parents were still on 32nd Street until ‘81. I remember they sent me the newspaper articles.
Dave Baker, I got the new batch of photos you sent and will post them tomorrow, along with the Davis
Class of ‘70 photo.
Ken Brown Says:
March 18, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Welcome Stephen Knooren, we’re glad you found the site and thanks for posting. Where in East Camden did
you live? Your name sounds familiar. My brother Mike (Bill) Brown graduated Davis, the year before you
did, in ‘68. Also very cool you got to see Mr. Tweed in his retirement. He was a great shop teacher.
Ken Brown Says:
March 18, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Dave the pictures are coming… been busy today (hey it’s like SPring out…LOL).
Dave Baker Says:
March 18, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Ken no rush, I appreciate all you do, I’m loving this weather were having here, Got the bike out today
68 degrees, Whats it like there? Brisk? lol Even though I ride in the winter these are the days it’s
hard not to bag a day at work and just cruise!
Ken Brown Says:
March 18, 2009 at 7:25 pm
There are two new pages of photos under “N. 34th St.” that Dave Baker contributed to the site, so be
sure to check them out. Dave, I leave you to comment on them. I will say, however, that is the most
unique East Camden snowman I’ve ever seen!
It hit the upper 60’s here at the Jersey Shore, with a slight breeze… great weather.
Dave Baker Says:
March 18, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Surf’s up Dude! Got your board waxed? lol
Thanks Ken!
Monica Rubin Land Says:
March 19, 2009 at 6:35 am
I remember a Joey Knooren from East Camden. We graduated from McGraw together in 1964. The family I’m
thinking of lived on or near Garden Avenue. Lots of police officers lived around there. Joey was a
great artist and he liked to draw with really small pencils! Any relation?
glenn john nasuti Says:
March 20, 2009 at 6:04 pm
That is my good friend Bill Skilskyj next to that masterpiece
glenn john nasuti Says:
March 20, 2009 at 6:06 pm
sorry, i thought i left that on the snowman site… thats. Bill,,, Skill…. He is my oldest and best
friend…
glenn john nasuti Says:
March 20, 2009 at 6:42 pm
We Went To Different Schools Toghether
Steve Bellitz Says:
March 21, 2009 at 5:43 pm
One of my greatest memories was when I was in my early 20s and about 50 of us were going to the Walt
Whitman Theater to see “Moe” of the Three Stooges. He was the only surviving Stooge, and we just had to
be there! We all met across the street at the Olde E (Old English Tavern) to get “primed” for Moe. I
think about two hours there did the job. LOL
When he came out on stage the audience (mostly in their 20s and 30s went insane, making all the Stooge
noises and mannerisms. Then, when he combed his white hair straight down like the Moe we remembered,
the audience just lost it. He spoke about how Shemp and Curly died, and a little history of the
Stooges. When the first Stooge movie started, I thought the roof was going to blow off. People just
lost their minds!
It was a great time had by all, and we showed Moe some serious love for the years of laughter and
happiness he brought to us.
Comedy just isn’t like that anymore.
Ken Brown Says:
March 22, 2009 at 10:20 am
Steve, thanks for the memories about Moe Howard’s visit to the Walt Whitman Theater. My Mom and Aunt
were on hand that night also to see Moe and the classic Stooges movies.
The Old English Tavern holds many memories for East Camden and Pennsauken people also. In the archival
posts there are some memories about the Old English, how they sold “bucket beer” to go on Sundays, and
also a more recent story from a fire that hit the tavern last Spring… though I think Skeeter Moy
confirmed for us that it was the apartment above the tavern, and so the tavern is still open I believe.
If Skeeter reads this post, maybe he can confirm the status of the Old English for us.
Ken Brown Says:
March 22, 2009 at 10:28 am
The site has had a busy weekend, one of the busiest few days on record, though a few days stretch last
March still holds the record for busiest days.
WELCOME to Donna Weir Bukowski, Dave Martin, John Martin, and Abe Stein, and thanks for visiting and
posting. We hope you will visit often.
Welcome back to Terry DeFrancisco and Pat Antonelli… your old neighborhood has enough representation
here to have a real reunion! I think the 34th Street area now has had more visitors to this site than
any other “neighborhood” in East Camden… though I think those that lived around 32nd and
Westfield/Rosedale Avenue/Dudley Grange…. and those from 28th Street/St Joe’s School area are close
behind. We have a lot of representation now from Sharp School in Cramer Hill too. Maybe it is time to
change the name of the site to include all of East Camden and Cramer Hill.
Dean Says:
March 22, 2009 at 3:46 pm
The Olde English Tavern is closed, it has changed hands several times and the most recent owner
couldn’t make it work either. Last spring I was in there talking to the new owner and he was telling me
how slow business was than a week later there is a fire to the apartment that was being redone
upstairs, sounds a little suspect to me, but thats just my opinion. Ken I’m working on the pictures I
have one of Meeks bike shop and actually a picture of the house on 34th and Pelham that was recently
posted that house was vacant for a long time until someone brought it and remodeled it, I also have a
picture of Walgreen’s which is where the Walt Whitman stood, any request? I will try to accomadate
anyone if I can.
Bobby Schukay Says:
March 22, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Is there anybody out there that lived on Eutaw Ave on the 100th block from 1957-1964. Football games on
back lot, basketball games on the bumpy court, baseball games on the sticker infested field…. stickball
at garage.. on rainy days catching water in milk bottles to see who would get the most… selling yum yum
in front of acme….stealing soda bottles with Tommy Kupakowski ..
Nick Rapanotti Says:
March 22, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Hello everyone. Just popping in to see what’s new. DAVE BAKER! The man who did handstands on his
skateboard at the skating rink!! What’s up?
Ken:
You are right about the 34th Street crew. Just a few more and we can play football again and “climb
telephone poles” (inside joke). Even though I was from 36th Street, I hung on 34th.
Well, will check back later! Stop and see me on myapace. My son got me hooked on the games.
(myspace.com/guido57).
Charles “Skeeter” Moy Says:
March 23, 2009 at 4:49 am
Ken,
I emailed two pics from a CP gallery to your aol address. Easter 1953 @ Dudley Grange & 1969 @ St.
Joes.
Maybe some one will see a friend,or relative.
Carol Smarzynski Says:
March 23, 2009 at 10:00 am
Hi Ken,
Thanks for trying to get the name of that restaurant for me. Chubby’s was a good place to eat in the
60’s, but it wasn’t that. The SAGAMI’s Japanese Restaurant is on Rt. 130 going South, just before what
used to be the Collingswood Circle, just before the Union Hall. It has 7′ ceilings and dark wood
booths, very small. I knew we used to go there after dances, etc. to get some light food, before it
became Japanese. Been trying to find out for over 20 years. Anyone remember the restaurant name? Thanks
for your tries!
No doubt, East Camden was a great place. My husband has met Al Smith, WWHS Class of 63 and Joel Corin
of the same year, in business dealings. I still keep in touch with Patricia Buren since we were 11 yrs.
old in Cramer School! A friendship over 52 years! However, it doesn’t appear that members of the class
of 1964 are one this site, you are much younger. When I remember East Camden and the childhood
experiences we had, it doesn’t seem like much now, but at the time it seemed really great. We had a lot
of friends, living in a row home neighborhood, and things to do all the time. We were perfectly safe
walking around town, and often took buses to Gloucester Pool and Philadelphia for the day…no big deal.
Things will never be that innocent again, I’m said to say. The biggest thing in summer was for your Mom
to make a tent on your porch and serve lunch to you and your friends! Isn’t that a hoot? Well, Happy
Spring to everyone and here’s hoping all of us can stay gainfully employed. Carol
Ken Brown Says:
March 23, 2009 at 11:17 am
Skeeter, I’ve posted the two pictures you have sent, they are listed under Easter 1953… Easter 1969… on
the menu. Thanks for forwarding them, maybe some of the people in the photos will be recognized.
Carol Smarzynski, I remember the Union Hall on Rt 130, I had an uncle, who was a Philadelphia
Teamster’s official, and he sometimes worked out of the Union Hall, which I believe at one time was a
supermarket. Also keep checking our site, now that we know the location of the restaurant, someone here
will remember it. There are actually a number of people from the mid-60’s Wilson classes that visit
this site and post here. Check out the email address thread, and archival posts for familiar names you
might remember.
Ken Brown Says:
March 23, 2009 at 11:22 am
Dean, thanks for the update on the Old English. Any recent pictures of the area you can send us would
be greatly appreciated. SO the Walt Whitman is now a Walgreens? That whole row of stores including the
theater were a unique architectual bit of history. I do remember hearing about it all being demolished
a number of years ago. My grandmother use to live in that neighborhood, end of the row houses at 44th
and High Street. Hey is the liquor store still on the corner at 46th? It use to be Mazzies.
Nick Rapanotti, nice to see you back visiting the site, don’t be so much of a stranger around these
parts. Is it Spring yet in NC?
Ken Brown Says:
March 23, 2009 at 11:24 am
Bobby Schukay, Welcome to the site! I’m guessing you are related to Rich?
Ken Brown Says:
March 23, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I’ve added the very large Davis Class of 1970 picture of students and teachers to the menu on the
right. The photo is in two parts (two thumbnails) and if you click on each thumbnail it will enlarge,
and then if you wish to enlarge it more, do so from your computers by increasing the screen size to
150% or more, to where it is viewable.
Thanks to Dave Baker for forwarding this great picture… I tried to splice it back into one photo, but
the format was too large for posting.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
March 23, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Ken: We already had summer weather!!! Now it is back to 50’s and rain.
dyane porterfield Says:
March 24, 2009 at 5:25 am
Steve Bellitz Do you keep in contact with your CHS 69 class? Last I heard about Dennis McConnville from
his brother was that he was living in North Carolina,Married with a daughter
Steve Bellitz Says:
March 24, 2009 at 5:56 am
Dyane:
How are you? I do manage to keep in touch with some classmates. I’ve gone to a few reunions. I haven’t
had any contact with the Mc Convilles for quite some time. I didn’t know that about Dennis.
I would really like to have more regular contact with some people from Davis and CHS…even get together.
Please keep in touch!
Steve
Ken Brown Says:
March 24, 2009 at 12:30 pm
I am saddened to report the passing of Mr. Michael Racobaldo, father of Kathy Racobaldo (who has posted
on this site) and the other Racobaldo children who attended WWHS in the 70’s (Mike, Tom, Rich, Dominic,
Dolores, Salvatore). Our thoughts and prayers are with the Racobaldo Family. Mr. Racobaldo’s obituary
was posted in yesterday’s and today’s Courier-Post.
Paul Skeens Says:
March 24, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Hey Nick Rapanotti,
How is everything going? Haven’t seen you on the site for quite a while. Hope all is well. We’ve had
the colder temps lately too. Hopefully that is outta here this week! Catch you soon, Nick
Dave Baker Says:
March 24, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Nick! How’s it goin’ I sent Ken a pic you should get a kick out of, I’m sure when he gets a chance he’
ll post it. Let me know if you were there or know where it was taken? How’s Barb? I remember stopping
by your house at times, As well as you hanging out on 34th St. Saw your Myspace photo, Ya big Hippie!
lol
Bake
Ken Brown Says:
March 24, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Carol Smarzynski, did you catch the earlier post about the Old Hearth Inn possibly being the restaurant
on Rt 130, near the Union Hall. Paul Skeens posted that last week.
Dave Baker, I thought Paul Skeens and I were the only guys who hung out in Nick’s driveway hoping to
see Barb. We use to just say we were there to visit with Nick. Bet you never got chased out of the
driveway by Nick’s step-dad like we did… LOL.
Dave, I will gladly post any humiliating pictures you have of Nick, but there was none attached to the
email you sent. Please resend it if you can.
Ken Brown Says:
March 24, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Nick, you’re still at MySpace???? You need to hang out at FaceBook, that’s were many others are hiding
from East Camden.
Ken Brown Says:
March 24, 2009 at 6:13 pm
I want to bring attention to Sue Quinn-Morris’s post again, on the East Camden Military Vets page. Take
a minute to check the list of names, and if anyone knows any of the Camden Vietnam Vets who were killed
in action, please contact Sue (her contact info is on that page also) as the American Legion is
planning a memorial service in April.
Dave Baker Says:
March 24, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Ken, We were clean cut straight “A” students from 34th St. Why wouldn’t we be allowed to hang out in
Nick’s driveway? Besides if we had a camera we wouldn’t waste film on Nick when Barb was around! lol
I re-sent (actually sent) the photo, I had one of my Sr moments, I think I need some Ginko! lol I think
I know where I was when the Soccer Team photo was taken, I was in the Guidance Counsler’s Office
planning my future as a Door to Door salesman! lol
Ken Brown Says:
March 24, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Dave is there money in selling Ginko door to door? LOL I posted the picture of the CH Roller Rink, so
go jog Nick’s memory.
And… we were banned from Nick’s driveway after we kidnapped him one day and took him to the Echelon
Mall. Nick in his excitement about riding the Patco high speed line, neglected to tell his Mom he’d be
gone all day. SO Paul and I got charged with Nicknapping! And to make matters worse, Nick in his
youthful wisdom tried to sneak contraband back into his house upon his return. Hey Nick do you remember
what the contraband was??? Hahahah!
Dave Baker Says:
March 24, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Ken, the first three signs of getting old are; ONE. Losing your memory.
And….. I forget the other three! lol
Bake
Paul Skeens Says:
March 24, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Dave, I love that joke…..Sorry but I’ve been using it a lot!
Yes Ken and I got yelled at BIG TIME from Nick’s step dad….
Remember Ken….He was yelling at us (or maybe it was just ME!) from down the block, hanging out of his
car window….He yelled and kept yelling until all the traffic was clear and he pulled into the
driveway….By that time we were like sleeves on a vest…..G O N E ! LOL!
Dave Baker Says:
March 24, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Paul, Did I tell that before? That’s number TWO! Repeating yourself! lol
Bake
Ken Brown Says:
March 24, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Paul do you remember what it was Nick got in trouble for purchasing at the Echelon Mall? We probably
encouraged him to buy it….hahahah! Knowing Nick he probably still has it stashed away.
Dave I don’t worry about aging or losing my memory… it’s why I studied gerontology, one less thing to
worry about and hopefully it’s added a few years to my life. Speaking of which, I just took one of
those “Real Age” tests over at FaceBook, and despite the gray hair, the result was I am only 33! LOL
Must have been that artesian well water we drank in Camden as kids.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
March 24, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Ken: I don’t even remember that!! I guess I forgot….MEMORY, RIGHT DAVE!!?? LOL!
Yeah guys, my stepdad was a hoot!
Nick Rapanotti Says:
March 24, 2009 at 11:45 pm
He still lives on 36th street in the same house. My mom passed a few years ago & he did not want to
move. He STILL YELLS at people that pass!
Paul Skeens Says:
March 25, 2009 at 6:15 am
Hey Nick,
Even though he yelled like mad at us, we still liked him! We were scared to death of him…..but still
liked him. He was a nice guy. Your mom was VERY VERY nice too! I remember when we were in 3rd grade,
going over to your house with my tape recorder then going to Acme Craftsman to buy batteries for it….I
think your mom actually bought the batteries.
Do you mean if I drive by now, he may start yelling at me? That would be the ultimate “childhood re-
visitation!!!” LOL!
Kenny, I remember Nick buying something from the East shop or Spencers. wasn’t it? I can’t remember
exactly what it was but it was borderline “edgey” for our age…..Am I on the right track?
Dave, Yes you did tell me that one and I used it (shamelessly) many times! Sorry, I SHOULD tell people
that it is your joke. When I experience my “senior moments” I just tell people that I have “Dad-
mentia”……. from dealing with my kids!
Ken Brown Says:
March 25, 2009 at 8:03 am
Yeah Nick, despite Bob always being out to get those of us who idled too long in your driveway, or
anyone else who drove by, he was decent guy. I remember the train set up he had down in your basement,
that was pretty cool.
Paul they complain about today’s kids hanging at the Wawa, but we started that trend… hanging in Nick’s
driveway, hanging at Barron’s Rug Mart, hanging at Eric’s Barber Shop. We were ahead of the times and
never knew it.
Okay to jog all these confused memories (I’ve said it before, to retain your memory eat flax seed and
drink tea)… Paul that was me and the “edgy” product from the East Shop’s back room…LOL What Nick bought
at the Echelon Mall was a book titled… Playboy Party Jokes… LOL I remember him laughing at them all the
way home on the speedline. Poor guy must have continued reading them at his dinner table and that is
how he got caught! LOL Geez, we at least knew enough to hide our copies of National Lampoon from our
Moms! Hahahah.
Charles “Skeeter” Moy Says:
March 25, 2009 at 8:22 am
Ken,
Sorry but the picture Easter 1969,St. Joes is the wrong pic from thr CP gallery.
That is pic # 1…I tried to send pic # 39.
I tried again,but it keeps giving me the wrong picture.
I just emailed you a link for the entire gallery,maybe you can figure it out.
I believe I did what I did with the Dudley Grange picture & that worked ok.
Dave Nevius Says:
March 25, 2009 at 11:17 am
Hi everyone, Hope all is well!
Dean, I think Meek’s bicycle shop closed in “75? or “76?. I remember that someone wanted to by the
building and convert it into a soul food place. I remember going to the zoning board hearing at City
Hall with my parents. The business plan was not accepted and the variance was denied. The building
stayed vacant for some time and I think someone changed the store front and made an apartment out of
it.
Dave Baker how are you. Glad to see another old friend from East Camden is doing well.
Glenn Nasuti, How are you, How is your Aunt Dale?
Take care everyone! Dave N.
Ken Brown Says:
March 25, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Another sad note to report, former WWHS Principal Robert Gottschall, who arrived at Wilson in 1975, and
served the Camden School District as an English teacher, principal, and director of staff development
for forty years, passed away this week. I have posted his obituary on a separate page on the menu, so
that those who knew Mr. Gottschall can post their memories.
Paul Skeens Says:
March 25, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Ken,
It is in the Courier Post today that former Principal Mr. Gotshall passed away. I think he was 72.
Interesting point, it said he was a profession vocalist and actor. He spent 40 years as English
teacher, principal and personnel developement.
Paul Skeens Says:
March 25, 2009 at 3:19 pm
OOOOOPPPPS> Sorry Ken, I started to write the entry, then got a phone call. then went back and
submitted the comment. Now I see that you also entered the info.
Ken Brown Says:
March 25, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Paul I just put up a page for Mr. Gottschall. Hopefully others will share their memories of him. He was
a pretty cool guy!
Terry Abraham Ridgway Says:
March 25, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I love this site. I can’t wait to visit all of the pages. I used to live at 3212 Saunders Street. I
went to Davis from Kindergarten to 7th grade. I saw
a post asking about Mr. Cascioli–he was my 3rd grade teacher–and I remember him well. East Camden has
so many wonderful memories for me and my family. I had older brothers-names are Buddy Woodfall, Chic
Woodfall, and a younger brother Larry Abraham, two sisters, Peggy Woodfall and Jackie Abraham. I
remember we referred to 32nd Street as the Hill,
and the Haines lived up there. I loved Bobs Market–going there and buying Jewish pickles. My older
brothers sold yum-yum, and my older sister worked at Marios. We played outside constantly–baseball,
football, wire ball etc..
It was a great place then.
Dave Baker Says:
March 25, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Paul, Can’t say that I’ve had many bouts of “Dad-mentia” I do however suffer from “Vu-Ja-Dave” The
feeling of having been me before! lol
Dave N. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about, From one Dave to another, Good to hear from you too.
Ken, I can’t believe you guys had to pay to ride the Go-Cart! Then again why did Nick have to buy
Playboy Party Jokes when you could have read them from the rack at Tippy’s? lol What was the older
Ewig’s name anyway? I remember Eddie, He didn’t charge us to ride. A while back I asked if anybody
remembered the Ink Factory? At the end of N 32nd St.,
That might have given our water it’s local flavor! lol Did you ever explore their back lot? Hazmat
would’ve had a field day back there, Can’t tell you how many pairs of Chuck’s I had with purple soles!
lol
Bake
glenn john nasuti Says:
March 25, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Dave Nevius, Aunt Dale is doing fine, she lost her husband though, my Uncle Harry, several years back
and also had to bury her son Kenny years before that. Her daughters Dawn and Denise both married with
children. Nice to hear from ya and all the East Camdeners.
Dave Baker Says:
March 25, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Terry, What years did you and your Brothers and Sisters attend Davis,
Larry and Jackie Abraham sounds familiar. I graduated Davis ‘69-’70
I think my older sister Julie used to hang out with a Peggy Woodfall.
Bake
Dave Baker Says:
March 25, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Hey Glenn! Did you get a chance to check out the ‘69-’70 Class photo?
That’s where I got the spelling of “Skilsky” Who did the proof reading on that Billig? lol Your sister
and I were going over some people last night and Ken (Our Gracious Host) Was able to help clarify our
missing pieces,
Or brain cells in my case. lol
Bake
Fred LeDrew Says:
March 25, 2009 at 6:29 pm
I just viewed the Easter 1953 – Dudly Grange page and much to my delight I recognized my wonderful wife
Elaine, right in the middle of all those kids.
Will the person with the original please e-mail this photo to me.
Thanks,
Fred
Ken Brown Says:
March 25, 2009 at 6:48 pm
Fred I just emailed you a copy of the photo, I got that from Skeeter Moy via email, and he in turn got
it off the Courier Post archives online. Here is the address for that:
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?
Avis=BZ&Dato=20090319&Kategori=HISTORIC&Lopenr=903040802&Ref=PH
If the photo I sent does not download, you may want to go right to the Courier site and copy it to your
computer.
Paul Skeens Says:
March 25, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Dave, That one is GREAT, I’ll probably use it too! LOL!
Dave Baker Says:
March 26, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Vu-Ja-Paul? I guess it’ll work! lol
Ken Brown Says:
March 27, 2009 at 8:26 am
Welcome to the site Terry Abraham Ridgway and Donna Ostroff.
Terry, what years did you live on Saunders Street? I lived on the 32nd Street Hill, two houses down
from the Haines. They moved around ‘74, so I’m guessing you lived on Saunders in the late 60’s/early
70’s? Your name is familiar.
Donna Ostroff, great to see you visiting the site; there are a number of people here from your old
neighborhood.
Terry Abraham Says:
March 27, 2009 at 10:07 am
Dave, I went to Davis ‘68-’76, my sister Jackie was ‘66-’75, Larry was ‘69-’76.
My older siblings were 10-12 years earlier than us. We moved away in 1976. But my older siblings stayed
in the area for awhile. My brother Buddy used to hang out with Jack Lang, and my brother Chic hung out
with Donald Long and Chic Burr. Peggy hung out with Janice, Jeannie, and Jeanette Haines, and Mary
Sabatini, that I remember. Chic married Janice Haines but they divorced.
I spent 3 hours reading posts and looking at pics–there a few names I recognize. The Mr Shaw page
brought back memories, he was the most memorable teacher I ever had, and all the posts from his
students just show the tremendous effect he had on them.
Ken–was your Mother a crossing guard? And did you have a sister named Gail? My sister Jackie was in the
same class as a Gail Brown.
Ken Brown Says:
March 27, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Terry, no, my Mom was not a crossing guard. My younger sister Laurie Brown was still at Davis during
the times you were there, she graduated 8th Grade in ‘76, and was in the band with Mr. Shaw, she played
the flute. She may remember you or one of your siblings. She does post here. There were a few other
Brown familes around East Camden, but non were related to us. I don’t know if you saw the posting from
about a month ago that Jeanne (Jeannie) Haines had passed away, she was Janice Haines’ twin, she was 58
years old. We lived at 222 N.32nd, the Haines were at 226, we were next door to the Kerns and the Hans…
I think Lenny Hans hung around with one of the Lang kids.
jim lang Says:
March 27, 2009 at 4:13 pm
skeeter, great dudley grange picture. but i was only two in 1953. sorry. but again thanks for a look
into the past. jim.
Terry Abraham Ridgway Says:
March 27, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Ken, Thank you but I did know about Jeannie, my sister Peg went to her funeral. After speaking with my
brother Larry, he reminded me that after our brother Chic married Janice Haines they lived in the
Haines home for about a year while they were selling the house, so my brother Chic must have known your
family. Chic passed away in 2006, heart disease.
I did read Laurie’s post about playing the minuet on the flute with 2 other flutists, I do remember
her. Laurie was alittle older than me, but unless Mr. Shaw had another trio playing the minuet
consecutive years, I was one of the other flutists, I believe along with Francine Scavetta.
My sister Jackie is looking for her Davis Yearbook–if I get a nice pic from there I would like to send
it to you and see if you would post it. I would like to find some classmates from Davis–they are not on
Classmates–maybe they will want to search East Camden like I did and find this site. Terry
Paul Skeens Says:
March 27, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Terry Abraham,
The Crossing Guard that you are thinking of was Mrs. Ella Brown. She was Gails’s mom. They lived at
39th & High Street near me. Gail had a couple of sisters….can’t recall their names off hand, maybe Rose
and Lolly?
Mrs Brown had the corner of 34th and High st.
Monica Rubin Land Says:
March 28, 2009 at 6:21 am
Terry,
I remember Peggy Woodfall from Ms. Rizen’s homeroom (7-1) in 1964-65 at Davis. Peggy and I were both
short and had dark hair.
Terry Abraham Ridgway Says:
March 28, 2009 at 8:21 am
Monica,
I’ll have to mention your name to her and see if I can’t get her on this site.
Paul,
I remember the name Gail Brown–she was in my sister Jackie’s class.
Mrs. Brown was such a nice lady. I also remember how sweet Evelyn the crossing guard was. I saw her
several times later on she happened to be the grandmother of one of my brother-in-laws. Pat Grogan. Do
you know a Lydia Webb, I think she had an older sister by the name of Stella.
laurie Says:
March 28, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Terry, Hi after all these years. Yes, I do believe you were part of the flute trio. I was a year ahead
of you at Davis. I remember both you and your sister Jackie. Do you remember being in girlscouts and
Jeanie and Janice were our troop leaders. We use to walk up to the church at 40th street to our
meetings. You probably don’t remember this but my mother and your grandmother were good friends from
grace luthern church. If my memory serves correctly you took your first communion at the same time as I
did.
The crossing guard was Mrs. Brown and Gail was her daughter, who I think was a year or maybe two ahead
of me at Davis. She must have had older children too, because her granddaughter Kim Thompson was in my
class I think in 5th and 6th grade.
You mentioned Lydia Webb, I was friends with her in highschool we both went to Camden Catholic. Do you
still hear from her? Her sister was probably 4 or 5 years older than her maybe even older than that.
They lived on 40th streeet. Laurie
Terry Abraham Ridgway Says:
March 29, 2009 at 8:57 am
Hello Laurie! How r u? OMG you have such a good memory. I do remember girl scouts w/Jeannie and Janice,
I remember going to a roller derby which was exciting. I don’t remember communion but I do remember the
Lutheran Church and the Sunday School classes, was it Pastor Piel or something like that? My
grandmother was the one who took us to Church most of the time, there was another lady who drove us
there but her name escapes me. Weber?
Lydia and I were good friends I believe in 6th and 7th grades. When I moved away in ‘76 I lost touch
with everyone except I reconnected briefly with Francine Scavetta in 12th grade. Lydia was so much fun
–we thought we were so cool–her parents let us smoke in the house–and her sister had a convertible and
would drive us around with the music turned up and she would pump her brakes to the beat. Ahh, what
memories! We went horseback riding frequently. Did she still ride horses in high school? I would love
to know how she is.
I don’t remember your brother Ken but I think its awesome that he created this site. Terry
Ken Brown Says:
March 29, 2009 at 10:28 am
Laurie and Terry, Wow we have two thirds of a Davis band flute trio here, our Mr. Shaw Tribute Band
reunion concert is really starting to shape up.
Okay Laurie, while I was the only one of Mom’s five kids who rebelled and refused to be confirmed in
the Lutheran chuch, I do at least remember the name of the church!!! It was Epiphany Lutheran, not
Grace! Geez, they must have washed your memory of that when you went to Camden Catholic, as they had
concerns about letting a follower of Martin Luther into CCHS in the first place… LOL
Some names are starting to come back to me now though, reading Laurie and Terry’s posts – Mrs Weber
lived on Pelham Place, she had a couple older sons – Pete, Billy, and another whose name I cannot
remember. She was the church organist I believe for many years, and also a Sunday school teacher. And
there was a Pastor Piel, I can’t recall if he is the one who came to visit the house one day in an
effort to get me to return to confirmation classes, but I remember I high tailed it out of there on my
bike… LOL. Whoever the pastor was then, he was the replacement for Pastor Bob Oberkehr, who was let go
for being too in tune with the times (late 60’s). Had he still been the pastor I might have stuck
around for those confirmation classes.
Dave Baker Says:
March 29, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Ken, Pete Weber, There’s a guy I’d like to see on your site, Pete hung with a lot of the 34th St crew.
He was always taking 8mm movies when we were growing up, It’d be great to see if he still has them. His
Mom was GR8, They had a place in Ship Bottom and we rode our bikes there one summer, I remember her
bringing us snacks and refreshments and checking on us along the way. That was one long journey, I
don’t think any of us had more than a five speed, Thank God Jersey’s flat! lol
Pete worked for Cambell’s downtown by the Armory in the mailroom, He joined the Navy back in the early
’70s and when he got back we all kinda lost touch. I remember the Weber’s used to recycle newspapers
back then, The garage was always full! lol
Dave Baker Says:
March 29, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Terry, Next time you talk to Peggy ask her if she remembers Julie Baker or Cathy Sharky. When you lived
on Saunders did you know Ron Grey?
He would’ve been older, More my age.
Bake
jim lang Says:
March 30, 2009 at 5:54 am
skeeter, thanks for the great dudley grange picture. dont remember anyone in picture, i was two in
1953. jim.
Terry Abraham Ridgway Says:
March 30, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Dave, I believe Peggy will be posting soon. I think she knows alot of the people on here.
The only Greys I remember from Saunders are Tommy and Michael–they were younger. Maybe Ron was a
relative.
Does anyone remember Mr Ed and Mr. Campbell? Terry
John “Cpt. Cranky” Blourne Says:
March 31, 2009 at 3:24 am
Jackie, Larry & Terry Abraham, my bestest friends in the world when I was growing up! Lived across the
street from me. Jackie’s 1 month older than me, and we were in the same class several years. It’s been
great to hear from you again, Terry!
I remember Mr. Ed…he was kind of peculiar. I remember driving around the Collingswood Circle one day
with my Dad, and we saw him walking in front of the Hot Dog House (remember that?). That’s a GOOD
walking distance from Saunders. We asked if he wanted a ride and he declined saying he loved to walk.
If I recall, Tommy and Michael moved in to the house on Saunders later, probably 73 or 74.
And Mrs. Brown the crossing guard…she saved me from an ass-kicking several times! She was a very
Motherly person, but don’t you DARE cross before she told you too!
I can’t recall Mr. Campbell. Maybe Terry will be able to jar this feeble mind! LOL!
I don’t check in this site for a week, and there’s about 100 messages I have to sift through! This is
NOT a complaint!
Ken Brown Says:
April 1, 2009 at 11:54 am
Welcome to the site Marie Donahue. In reference to your posting about class pictures, I do post all
class photos, as well as other photos, that are forwarded to me. I am sorry we have no photos for your
‘68-’69, 8-3 Class. I have posted all the 8th Grade Classes from ‘70 through ‘72, the years I have
yearbooks for, and photos of other classes that have been sent to me by people who visit the site. If
you are able to send me photos from your class I will gladly post them.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 1, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Well, THAT did not work!!! LOL!
leppaluoto Says:
April 1, 2009 at 2:35 pm
YO NICK, what are you doing posting those links on the site? Yeah it worked. And I removed it. Post
them on your MySpace, not here. Geez, what do I have to do, go block links totally?
Sandy (Orme) Says:
April 1, 2009 at 3:51 pm
I think I may have answered the question about Sagami’s. I talked to a “66 grad of Wilson, he said it
was called the “Open Hearth”, there was a very tall stone chimmney with neon flames that faced RT 130,
and inside was a very large fireplace. Hope this helps.
HI to everyone!!! Sandy
Dave Baker Says:
April 1, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Marie, Any relation to Mark Donahue?
Dave Baker Says:
April 1, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Nick! Didn’t you learn anything from childhood escapades? What exactly did you take up in College…
Space! lol You’re gonna make poor Ken pull his hair out… Ya big knuckle-head! lol
Russ “HALOMan” McDaniel Says:
April 1, 2009 at 9:23 pm
HEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYY everybody,
Just wanted to say that I appreciate all of the memories that all of you have provided of Camden. As
someone that only remembers “You are leaving Camden” in the rear-view mirror of the bus that took me to
Boot Camp, it’s always a walk (although a short, adle-minded trip) down memory lane. 30 years away from
my old stomping grounds has a diminishing effect on childhood memories, so some of the items that you
refer to jog my memory, for good or bad.
Sandy, I have some bad news for you. It turns out that your assessment of my “Pretty Legs” does not
transfer to the print media. I was recently awarded the United States Parachute Association’s annual
Safety Award, and the editor asked if my team wanted my “Chicken Legs” cropped out of the photo
submitted for the Parachutist magazine. I feel that this is a direct assault on your opinion of what
constitutes “Pretty Legs”. You should take up any issues you have with regards to your opinion/taste
with the USPA.
Anyway, I’m glad that this site exists, and I personally feel that Ken Brown should have started this
site sooner. Ken, why were you dragging this idea through the mud for so long????
Russ “HALOMan” McDaniel
PS: Paul Skeens, go to the “Phillis and Russ McDaniel” page. I need your Subject Matter Expert response
to my tandem theory. Russ
Sandy (Orme) Says:
April 2, 2009 at 8:18 am
Russ, I don’t CARE what anyone says you will ALWAYS be “pretty legs” to me 4EVER!!! LONG LIVE “PRETTY
LEGS McDANIEL!!! I’ll fight and argue with them til I’m blue in the face! (of course I haven’t seen
them since grad practice, so what the hell do I know) BUT I’m right! Take Care and land SOFTLY!
luv ya Sandy
Terry Abraham Ridgway Says:
April 2, 2009 at 3:53 pm
John,
Mr. Campbell lived in the row home on the corner of 32nd & Saunders,
his front door faced 32nd and his back door faced the alleyway next to us & the Rushworths. He was
heavyset with glasses and he took care of the fruit yard behind our house. Once in awhile he would open
the gate and let us pick some fruit. He also took us places–I remember him taking us to the Skydiving
place–and the Pennsauken Mart.
Ring any Bells.LOL
Terry
Paul Skesne Says:
April 2, 2009 at 9:26 pm
RussMac
The killing of witnesses…. nowadays…. is very much frowned upon. However, counter-accusations are not
only acceptable, they are ENCOURAGED. And, of course…remember, “if there is no video….it’s all ONLY
hearsay!”
Admitting nothing is always a great stand-by but don’t forget the very politically correct “Blame the
victim” (wasn’t he mumbling something about Lee Harvey and not missing the the rendezvous with the
“mother-ship” before he jumped, wink-wink!)
Sandy (Orme) Says:
April 2, 2009 at 9:38 pm
hear,speak,see, no evil… never saw anything…
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
Being aged is a wonderful thing,ear,eyes and memory go fast! lol
Ken Brown Says:
April 3, 2009 at 6:09 am
Paul SKESNE your name sounds very familiar, weren’t you that kid who embraced conspiracy theories and
had a cat named Spooky, or was it Spookie or Spookay?
Sandy Orme, as the humble moderator who drags this site through the mud, AND a trained gerontologist, I
want to assure you that I can help you with those aging issues, yes being aged is wonderful, but you
enjoy a much better quality of life if you retain your memory (drink tea, eat flax seed), get your eyes
examined, and if needed, a Miracle Ear hearing aid.
Ken Brown Says:
April 3, 2009 at 8:11 am
Welcome to the site Linda Britton, Thank-you for posting on the Memorial page for Neil Taylor. I left
you a post there with more info.
I hope you’ll post more on our site, if you lived in the 34th -36th Street neighborhood, there are
probably a few people around here who will remember you. Your name sounds a little familiar. When you
moved in ‘68 and left Davis, what grade were you in?
Sandy (Orme) Says:
April 3, 2009 at 8:17 am
Ken, it’s a “wink,wink” kinda thing, cathing my drift? I thought flax seed was for the birds. LOL
Where’s SPRING???
Happy Friday to all!!!
Ken Brown Says:
April 3, 2009 at 11:34 am
Flax seed will add years to your life
Bruce Scholz Says:
April 3, 2009 at 11:55 am
It’s true! Flax seed has awesome nutritional benefits. Antioxidants, Omega 3’s and fiber to name a few.
http://www.healthcastle.com/flax.shtml The best source is from fresh ground. Just put it in a pepper
mill and grind it on your favorite dish. Sprinkle some on your Campbells Soup!
Ken Brown Says:
April 3, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Hey Bruce, thanks for the endorsement of flax seed, and from a food chemist professional to boot. And
we do allow Campbell’s endorsement on this site, we only get upset at the kind of endorsements Nick
tries to post! LOL And in case you were wondering why your post did not post right away, it is because
I had temporarily suspend the “add links” function on comments until Nick learns to behave himself
again!
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 3, 2009 at 1:54 pm
What did I do now? Gee whiz Ken. My feeling are hurt now.
Bruce Scholz Says:
April 3, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Uh, Nick. I think Mr. Lyons wants to see you in his office.
Ken Brown Says:
April 3, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Hey Nick, you’ve been granted a pardon… no detention, no expulsion, and you can take those chains with
the attached bowling balls off now (Unless of course you intend to bowl this weekend. Oh wait,
nevermind, you work in a bowling alley). The jury has decided your are innocent by reason of being
clueless as to what you did! LOL
Ken Barr Says:
April 4, 2009 at 7:30 am
Poor Nick…. allow me to take this one Ken. Brother Nick paragraph 4 section 3 sub part 3 BC2 Adjunct 17
line 4 of the unwritten, un authorized and unsubstantiated version of the code of conduct for this Web
Site states…..no one shall post a link to a competing type site for pay or play unless it is expressly
and unequivocally approved by the host of this site. Copies available upon request and at a nominal
charge also approved by this site host. Hope that clears things up as always doing my part in trying to
help Mr. Brown. As always I waive all fee’s associated with this posting. Have a great weekend folks.
Russ “HALOMan” McDaniel Says:
April 4, 2009 at 7:35 am
Ken and Bruce,
While I can’t attest to the benefits of flax seed, whether ground or in oil form, I can say, without
fear of contradiction, that my regimen of “Cheap whiskey, hard drugs, and fast women” has allowed me to
remain “163#s of twisted steel and sex appeal”. I would love to entertain the thoughts of both a
gerontologist and a food chemist. I would first suggest though, that you experiment with this diet, say
over a long weekend, before you submit your opinions.
Paul,
While I value your informed legal opinion, I’m sticking with “destroy any evidence (if there’s no
evidence, it didn’t happen), admit nothing (I’ve been to SERE school and I am trained in resistance
techniques), deny everything (”I don’t recall” worked for Hillary, and she’s the smartest woman in the
world), make counter-accusations (although I don’t think “She was asking for it” would work these
days), and kill off key witnesses (again, if no one witnessed it, it didn’t happen). It’s worked for me
for over 30 years, and it’s always a good idea to stick with a winner.
Sandy,
I don’t know if you’ll ever get the chance to confirm or deny if I still hold the title of “Pretty Legs
McDaniel”, but if your eyesight is failing, that might work to my advantage. Plus the whole camera lens
filter and what not.
I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend. In sunny FLA, it’ll be 80 degrees, blue skies and gentle
breezes. Which is great, as a friend and I will be jumping into a fund raiser for the “Haley House”
which supports wounded and disabled veterans. The fund raiser is organized by a local Motorcycle club
whose membership consists of current and former military and Law Enforcement officers (Paul, I’ll get
their opinion of my defense theory). They’re all a great bunch of guys and their efforts couldn’t be
directed toward a better concern.
Again all, have a great weekend.
RussMac, the in-defensible
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 4, 2009 at 11:58 am
Ken:
Thank you for the pardon by means of not having a clue! LOL! It was actually an April Fools picture.
(jokes on me)
Brother Ken:
I am 51 now. Please retype your entry in English, at no fee to me please.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 4, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Bruce S.
No thank you on Mr. Lyons office. I heard funky things about him and his office.
Ken Brown Says:
April 4, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Russ, okay I can believe you may still drink cheap whiskey, and chase fast women, but at your age, IF
you’re not eating flax seed, the “hard drugs” (pun intended) reference coming from you no doubt means
Viagra… LOL
Nick, I figured the link was your attempt at an April Fool’s joke, but you know I had to harass you
about it… afterall you are the only person who has ever posted on this site that has had a post pulled…
not once, but twice!
And remember, for all your legal needs contact the law firm of – Ken, Ken, Barr, and Brown! We will not
only bail you out, we’ll feed you flax seed muffins with tea, AND save your Soul!
Russ “HALOMan” McDaniel Says:
April 4, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Ken,
While I do drink “Cheap whiskey”, the hard drugs are not “Viagra”. It’s mostly Motrin and FiberCon (a
regular guy has to stay regular).
WRT to chasing fast women; I have to stay in shape to run away from the fast women that are “chasing”
me!!!! The only fast woman I’ll let catch me is my lovely and beautiful young bride, Roserita.
Nick,
Ken must be singling you out, because every time that I post with a link, it goes right through. Of
course, I have much cooler links, so that might be the reason (hee, hee). I know, I’m a $hit-bird.
Have a great weekend all.
RussMac
PS: The Haley House demo was a huge success. They honored three IED survivors and raised a ton of
money. It was an honor for me and the rest of the team to be involved. BTW Paul, all of the LE members
of the MC said that my defense theory was “flawless” and they would hook me up with the right lawyers
if the need should arise.
Ken Brown Says:
April 4, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Russ, FiberCon???? LOL Geez. I just eat three prunes before bed with my SleepyTime tea…LOL
Glad to hear a lot of money was raised for Haley House, there is a real need not only to honor the
wounded vets coming home, but to make sure there is funding to meet their needs. Great job Russ!
Russ the difference, as far as I can tell, between your links going through and Nick’s getting flagged…
while the people pictured in your link may very well be wearing squirrel suits, they ARE clothed… I
can’t say the same for the people pictured in Nick’s links, though I suspect some of the activity
pictured may involve squirrels! LOL
Sandy (Orme) Says:
April 4, 2009 at 8:00 pm
AH? Ken? Squirrels? You still chasing them?LOL Bet, you and Lorrie are glad your not in Alaska, how
close were you to Mt. Redoubt?
Russ, I’ll say it again, I’M THE EXPERT, “Pretty Legs” 4ever. Don’t care what anyone says!!! Hope you
had a soft landing and raise mucho $$$ for the vets, wish I was there to see the jump, did anyone
video?
Nick, you still have a talent for being in the wrong place, time,situation etc…LOL Hope your doing
well. Bowling? Is it for real or is it a Wii? LOL
Ken Brown Says:
April 4, 2009 at 11:14 pm
Hey Sandy, I actually flew over Mt. Redoubt a number of times while on Coast Guard flights, it’s on the
mainland of Alaska, about 125 miles north of Kodiak Island where we were. Anchorage is to the north of
Redoubt about another 100 miles. I probably have a picture of it from the air, someplace in our photo
albums. There are quite a few volcanos in Alaska, that occasionally get active, the good news is, most
are in isolated areas. We were living in Alaska when Mt. St. Helens erupted in Washington in the early
80’s. We were in Seattle not long after that but the area near the volcano was still closed off to
visitors. The one to worry about is Mt. Rainier, south of Seattle, if that one ever awakens and erupts,
it’ll be catastrophic for the Seattle/Tacoma area.
Russ is the flying squirrel expert… in addition to being known as Pretty Legs McDaniel, I think he also
goes by Rocky whe he’s hanging with Bullwinkle.
Nick, lucked out, he manages a bowling alley – as he’ll tell you, his dream job.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 5, 2009 at 11:13 pm
Hey Sandy!!!
Not a Wii. (I have enough trouble programming my VCR) LOL!. I agree about the wrong place, time, etc.
Many things in High School I would have changed if I were not in the wrong place, etc. LOL!
I am doing okie dokie. I am doing my DREAM JOB (got it in there Ken). I was in banking for 29 years.
Now I am having fun. LOL! That theater stuff made me the outgoing person I am today. I am totally
different then in high school (boy, did I just leave myself wide open there). Well, I will sit back and
what comments come on this one!! LOL!
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 5, 2009 at 11:14 pm
SQUIRRELS!!!! Thanks Ken!! LOL!
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 5, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Hey Russ!
Yeah, Ken really hates me. He sabotages all my links and says I am a bad boy.
Glad to hear you raised tons of cash. If there is a LIKE you can post (we know will NOT block yours…
LOL), post it. It would be a great cause to make a donation.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 5, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Ken,
With your diet of flax seeds, prunes and sleepy time tea, I now know why my step-father always yelled
at YOU. Paul, he was never yelling at you, just Ken!!
Ken Brown Says:
April 6, 2009 at 8:08 am
Nick, I specifically remember Bob yelling…”Skeens get out of my driveway.” I was the good kid remember?
And I swear I never just hung in your driveway to block Bob from getting his car in as Paul did, my
ulterior motive for visiting your driveway was always in the hope that Barb would answer the door and
not you! Seriously Nick, I enjoyed hanging around with you, especially our many bike rides (even the
one’s through thunderstorms and floods). You were the only kid I knew who, regardless of our biking
destination, always seemed to have “cousins” who would take us in and feed us, or at least give us
water. And those “cousins” more often than not, were attractive teenaged girls, usually older than us.
I remember you had cousins in Collingswood or Oaklyn??? And another time we rode to Beverly or
Burlington City???? And you had cousins there too.
Ken Brown Says:
April 6, 2009 at 8:14 am
Welcome to the site Bill and Debbie Hans. Thanks for visiting and posting. We hope you will keep
visiting.
Bill are you related to the Hans family that lived on N.32nd, just up the hill from Westfield Avenue?
The family included Anna Mae – the Mom, Karl, Millie, Lenny, and two older girls, Lorraine and Mary.
Lenny was a year or two younger than me, so he would be about 48, Karl graduated WWHS in ‘67, and
Millie around ‘70. Lenny went to CCVTS, and probably graduated around ‘78 or ‘79.
Paul Skeens Says:
April 6, 2009 at 10:02 am
Come on Ken, Throwing ME under the bus! I had NO interest in blocking Bob’s access to the driveway. If
you recall…..the driveway was adjacent to Nicks pool area. The pool is where Barb would often take a
swim, so there was definately a reason I was hanging in the driveway. The problem was, Bob KNEW what we
were up to!!!!
I don’t think anyone would ever say you were the “good one.” LOL!
Nick, I don’t know who he was yelling at, but I just got the hell out of there as fast as I could! LOL!
I still shake when I recall that incident! Bob had a way with words, right? Glad your doing well. Just
remember Nick, anything wrong I did, Ken made me do it! He was a bad influence on me!
Ken Brown Says:
April 7, 2009 at 4:51 am
Paul, Bob Pepa probably wanted to throw us both under a train! And he probably did know what we were up
to. The question begs, however, did Nick? LOL
Nick you said Bob still lives in the 36th Street house, well speaking of trains, does he still have
that HO layout in the basement? I remember it was quite elaborate, or at least appeared so to us 7th
Graders.
Nick what was Bob’s mother’s name, I have a long ago memory of meeting her, a very sweet elderly
Italian woman. I can still picture her voice, didn’t she speak with an accent?
And on the subject of “Ken” making you guys do things… whenever we went out cruising on our bikes for
girls (as 7th Graders will do), I always thought we should stay loyal to our Camden roots and cruise
the streets of East Camden, but you two guys… Nick always wanted to cruise all the way down Camden
Avenue for Pennsauken girls, and you Paul, would drag me all the way to Westmont in the freezing cold
only to get stood up when our Haddon Township dates didn’t show up at the Hardees on Haddon Avenue.
Could it have had something to do with the fact that we had no school that day, but THEY DID??? Yeah
like they were really going to skip school to meet up with a couple of East Camden kids. NO WAY, those
surburban kids would never ditch school. Oh well the french fries were better than what we were use to
at Burger King.
Paul, by the way, do you recall why we had no school that day, and they did? They went to a Catholic
school didn’t they? Bonus points if you can remember their names… all of their names… there was a whole
gaggle of them, was there not? LOL Hey I’m willing to bet they are on FaceBook on some 70’s alumni
site. Wonder if they would agree to meet us at Hardees again.
Paul Skeens Says:
April 7, 2009 at 7:46 am
First off Kenny…….
Though my memory might be just a tad tarnished, there isn’t even a REMOTE thought that you ever
PROTESTED ONE BIT!!!! As for going to Had Twp. it was a gold mine, was it not? We played up the “Camden
guys” thing and were perceived by them to be “dangerous.” It added to our allure! LOL! But all joking
aside, it worked, right? The two main girls were of course Liz and Dot, and I DO remember their full
names but will with hold same. As for the other ones I can’t think of their names offhand, BUT I did
see some of them later when I was hanging around Westmont in 11th and 12th grade (and beyond) and they
sprouted up and developed quite nicely!
Nick Rap
I was looking at an archived post and came across a post from you talking about the night Janice and I
met you at Richies. I never saw it when you posted it originally, but yes I AM still married to that
WONDERFULLY GORGEOUS, and extremely young and beautiful woman! I tell her she robbed me of experiencing
my mid-life crisis!!! I can’t have one because guys at my age go out and get somebody that looks like
HER! LOL! So she has cheated me out of that experience, but I will live with it! She is a terrific
woman, and her outer beauty is just an extra plus!
And thank you for asking!.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 7, 2009 at 9:39 am
Paul,
You are welcome. You can still have your ‘mid-life crisis”. Just tell her you missed it like you missed
my post. Tell her it’s an “AGE” thing.
Ken:
I always liked “GH’in”. Dont know what I would have done if we got a little “G”. LOL! YEah, Bob still
has the train set. It has not been set up for years, but it is still there.. Now that I think about it,
he is 78 this year!!! WOW!
Ken Brown Says:
April 7, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Paul, yes Dot and Liz were two of the girls, I remember Dot was an inspiration for a Beatles song or
perhaps just one of your covers of a Beatles song… LOL As I recall you had the chords down pretty good
for that one, and while I’m not bragging here, we did harmonize the melody quite well from your roof
top! Hahahaha. Oh wait, nevermind, that was a different song we sang from your roof. We were ahead of
our time, when we use to sing Beatles covers, that was BEFORE the Beatles did their historic last
performance from the roof of Apple Records. Hey I bet they got the idea from our rendition of I Am The
Walrus… LOL
As for the other Haddon Twp. girl’s names… I remember a couple of them had really exotic sounding
names, or at least they were for the times, though probably quite common today. I do recall us
discussing why East Camden girls didn’t have such names. We were left out of the loop in so many ways,
and we never knew it. But yes, we were quite popular with the surburban girls, and us being from East
Camden certainly added to the James Dean bad boy image we took with us whenever we road our bikes
outside the city limits… LOL
Nick I had forgotten about GH’ing… and to think we combined Golf (G) and Hockey (H) long before Happy
Gilmore did. I think Adam Sandler owes us some royalties.
Ken Brown Says:
April 7, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Welcome to the site Michael Brand. Thanks for posting on the Cramer School thread. It’s always great
when former students visit and post, especially students who went on to teach in the Camden School
District! I hope you’ll visit often and share more memories.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 7, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Ken:
I would refer that issue to the Law Firm of Ken, Ken, Barr, and Brown.
Ruth Hoffman Says:
April 7, 2009 at 2:36 pm
From the time I was probably six until I was probably 18 or 19, the “Hoffman” family lived in the very
last building in Westfield Acres – my bedroom looked out to the ball field. I never knew I was poor
until I entered the work force. But without a doubt, my childhood in the Westfield Acres was truly the
happiest time of my life. I attended Davis and graduated from Wilson in 1962.
I see that someone commented on a name “Bumps” Mellon. He and I were the best of friends in our youth,
but I’ve lost contact with him. If anyone know how I could contact him, I’d sure be most appreciative.
There was another girl, Carolyn Otis, who lived NEAR Davis School – I’m not sure what street – but I
remember she had a brother named, Buddy. If anyone knows of them, could you also let me know?
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
April 7, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Ruth Hoffman,
I knew a Jimmy Mellon,but I thought he was from Ablett Village.I went to Davis & Cramer Jr. HS…would
have graduated WWHS in 60 or 61,but dropped out to go to work in 9th grade. Got my GED at Ft. Riley ,KS
in 1962.
People from the Acres that I knew were Genevieve Stinsman,Gloria Stinsman,Dona Ogle,Alan & Bobby
Bergman,Lenny Thompson and a few others. I played baseball with the E.Camden Marauders (Athletics)
behind the Acres when we lived on Rosedale Ave. A fireman,Phil Stinger was my coach.
Classmates knew me as Charles or Charlie Moy,but kids from the neighborhood called me Skeeter.
Ruth Hoffman Says:
April 7, 2009 at 6:35 pm
No, I was referring to a Bumps Mellon who also lived in the Acres.
Ken Barr Says:
April 7, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Hey Skeeter, did you remember my dad as he assisted Coach Stinger for the East Camden Marauders? George
Barr he coached several years, although he was “deaf” he read lips real well, not much got by him.
Ken Brown Says:
April 8, 2009 at 8:30 am
Welcome to the site Albert Bucher and Ruth Hoffman. Visit often, there are no doubt, people who visit
here who will remember you, or be able to answer your questions.
Ken Brown Says:
April 8, 2009 at 8:31 am
Ken Barr, I never knew your dad was deaf. Did he use sign language? I took sign language in college,
and actually used it daily for several years with some elderly persons I worked with who were deaf. I
was pretty proficient at it for a few years, and could even “sign sing” – do entire songs in sign. My
sister Laurie, who posts here, her one son has a hearing impairment and attends a school for the
hearing impaired where they live in Texas.
Ken Barr Says:
April 8, 2009 at 9:46 am
Ken my Dad never took to signing, he total was a lip reader and beleive me he could read lips, one of
the worse beatings of my life calling him a such and so from across the street and he read my lips from
50 yards away, LOL. Like I said he was good at it. He took to fever when he was 6 years old and it
settled in his ears causing his loss. God gave him 6 good years to learn to speak and understand the
english language as much as a 6 year old could, but he never attended special school in fact he
graduated lettering in track and weight lifting. I am so impressed with those that can sign, this is
not an easy task, and to sign songs, especially Hymns, it no doubt is an extra challenge. We are
blessed to have a signer in our congregation, praise God so far we have not a need for it, but we are
prepared when the need arises. Thanks for asking Ken. Did you ever sign for your church?
laurie Says:
April 8, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Ken Barr,
Hi, Yes my brother Ken is right my 16 year old son is profoundly deaf in one ear and moderately deaf in
the other. He had menegitis as a toddler and that is when he lost his hearing. It doesn’t actually go
to a deaf school he goes to Public School in the next town, that hosts the Regiional Deaf Ed Program in
the state of Texas. He has been mainstreamed since Kindergarten going out for Deaf Ed classes such as
English in the lower grades. He is now 10.th grade and has been totally mainstreamed since 6th grade.
The only time he has an interpeter with him is during football because he can not wear his aid. He does
not depend on signing but knows it very well, he does good with a hearing aid on the one ear and uses
it along with lip reading. It is hard for him in noisy group situations. I have great respect for the
hard of hearing and deaf, they overcome alot of obstacles that we take for granted. My son has great
speech thanks to years of speech lessons and alot of people do not realize how much hearing loss he has
as probably with your father.
Dave Baker Says:
April 8, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Ken, Paul and Nick.
Do you guys know what you could do for the World if you could harness and channel your Super Powers?
Well maybe Ken and Paul, Sorry Nick we already have one Hugh Heffner! lol (But I hear he’s not doing
well lately… Ever think of relocating?) lol
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 8, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Dave:
If I get to keep his wives, girlfriends and $$$, I think my wife would let me go!! Of course I would
only be going for the money!! LOL!
Ken Brown Says:
April 8, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Welcome to the site Debra Janess Briton, I hope you’ll visit often. Tell your sister Cara hello, she
was in a few of my classes at Davis, and many others here will remember both of you. Tell her to stop
in and visit the site!
Paul Skesne Says:
April 8, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Dave,
It’s just a little EAST Camden ingenuity, thats all!
Nick, You are a great man!!! Willing to make those sacrifices for your family!!! It may be a tough
assignment, but, hang in there!
Ken Barr,
I am friends with a retired Camden Fireman who lives near me, named Phil Stinger. I think the coach you
are talking about was his uncle
Dave Baker Says:
April 8, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Nick, Too bad a shop called East is closed… You could write your own party jokes (Now that you’ve
matured… as if) and they could sell them to adolescents looking to find their niche, You could spawn a
whole new generation Nick-a-lodians! LOL I’m sure your wife would allow you to relocate… Hef does have
a bowling alley doesn’t he? Would that be a latteral move or would he make you the pin-monkey? LOL
Bake
Dave Baker Says:
April 8, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Paul, It was our environment that made us all have that ingenuity trait
coming out of Camden, Even if you did waste it on girls from Westmont
and Haddon Heights, You should’ve took a ride to Cinnaminson my young
Camdenite, They really appreciated the “Camden Bad Boy” persona! lol
Bake
Dave Baker Says:
April 8, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Ken, The guy in the pic is Tom Toy, I think Jim was his older brother, Their father was a Camden Police
Officer They lived in North Camden according to my Cuz JD Martin, He said about where the Prison was.
Once you get the pic up I’ll fill in the names, I’m sure Gary sweated down to 158 lol (Sorry Gary I
couldn’t resist Bro!)
Bake
Ken Brown Says:
April 9, 2009 at 7:26 am
Dave, yes Tom Toy is the name I was thinking of, Jim graduated with our class in ‘76, and Tom was ‘77 I
think. Tom got around, he played hockey with you guys, he was on the wrestling team, he was in the
Explorer’s group, I have a picture of him, Tony Lope, and Karl Hans in upstate NY on one of the trips,
and I recall going fishing with him at least once, with Wayne Lawyer, Pete Patouhas, and a couple other
wrestlers down to Barnegat Light. And yes they did live in North Camden, not far from the Bridge and
river, I recall picking Tom up there for the fishing trip.
Ken Brown Says:
April 9, 2009 at 7:30 am
Nick, you better stay in NC… for two reasons, NJ is now putting a ban on bowling alley raffles, and the
other reason, I think one of those “wives of Hugh” is engaged to a Philly Eagle – Hank Baskett, and
surely you don’t want to tangle with him.
Ken Brown Says:
April 9, 2009 at 7:42 am
Welcome to the site Inez Reams Janess, thanks for visiting and posting. We hope you’ll visit often. Are
you Cara and Debra’s mother?
Ken Barr Says:
April 9, 2009 at 7:44 am
Laurie, That is terrific the way you handled your son with his education. As my wife is a school
teacher she see’s a lot of improper handling of children with certain challenges and it breaks her
heart. It appears the steps you took to keep him growing up as a normal student led to his high self
esteem and a desire to easily fit in. As you noted that if you didn’t know he suffered a loss you
couldn’t tell. I wish parents would take a more active role in directing their children’s lives with
their future in mind. It’s not easy I realize, but to shuttle the student off to a “specialized
education system” can have long term negative effects. I am a realist and know that there are
situations that the special training is the only option, but some exploration into what’s best for the
child and not the easy road seems to me to be in the child’s best interest. I am sure you had your
struggles but seeing the results of your efforts has to make it all worth while and an effort your son
will never forget that you took to prepare him for a normal life.
Paul, you could be right, it has been a few years as you have noted in many of your entries, and as sad
as I must report the memory isn’t the first thing to go, LOL.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 9, 2009 at 7:55 am
Paul:
Yes, the sacrifices I am willing to make. What a great man I must be? (hmmmm). It will be a tough and
hard assignment, but I think I can do it.
Bake:
A Shop Call East closed? Hmmm. Nick-a-ladians I think would be a better name!
Ken:
No problem with Hank. I will just send my wife to him when I leave!
Debra (Janess) Brinton Says:
April 9, 2009 at 12:21 pm
I found my mom’s photo in the 7th grade 1952 class. sooo cool! Thanks to you. I am now in contact with
Gary Fioretti..I would love to hear from Linda Melleby,Bonnie McGraw,Patty Melleby,Jody
Robinson,Leonard Antonelli,Patrica Antonelli,Greg Hale,Dave Baker,Albert Buckley,Maryanne and Terry
Defrancisco,Pat Histing,Jeff Long,John Ingram, Tim Appel,Frank Iannelli,Mark Neri.Larry Hough, Lorraine
Hough.
I am so sad to hear about Andrea Stinger passing away last year. She was one of my close childhood
friends. wished I would have kept in touch.
My email: neversayneveryacht@yahoo.com and I am on facebook…listed as Debra Brinton
THANKS AGAIN FOR PUTTING THIS SITE TOGETHER
Inez (Reams) Janess Says:
April 9, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Hi Ken,
Yes, I am Cara and Debra’s mother ….. (also Bob and Bill’s).
We all attended H H Davis. I was there from 1950-1952 (grades 5, 6, and 7). Then went to Cramer for 8th
grade and on to Woodrow Wilson for grades 9, 10, and 11. I moved to North Jersey in 1956 and attended
Hackensack High with my future husband. We eloped to Elkton, Md in June 1957 and within a few years
contributed 4 new students to attend H H Davis. (My husband Bob was hired by RCA in Camden when he
returned from Navy in 1960.) Who would have thought???
Dave Baker Says:
April 9, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Hey Debra Ann! GR8 to hear from you! Just my luck you find this site and your Mom is on it too, Hope
she doesn’t yell at me for talking to you. LOL
Hi Mrs. Janess! GR8 to hear everything is well. Debra, Sorry to hear about Andrea, She was a really
sweet person, Yet fiesty at times, Which is what made her pretty cool! How’s Cara Lynn? Hope she posts,
I think a lot of us in the neighborhood were sad when you guys moved to Georgia.
I’ve learned that goodbyes while sad at times … Really mean that your destined to meet again and thanks
to our gracious host Ken Brown, All of us are able to reconnect. Hope to hear more from you and your
family.
Bake
Ken Brown Says:
April 9, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Debra and Inez, you two are the first mother and daughter to post on our site, there are some siblings,
but this is a first. Inez, thank you for the many great memories you have posted on the various pages.
For all new members, remember to check the “ZZZZ Most Recent Posts” page, you can find a daily list
there of all new messages and where they are located.
Did Andrea Stinger live on Saunders, and her Mom’s name was Betty? If so, my Mom worked with Betty back
in the mid to late 70’s. I remember Andrea, and also an older sister, who also worked with my Mom and
Betty.
Also Debra, many of the names you have mentioned, have visited this site, and have left messages (in
the Archives) and contact info.
Ken Brown Says:
April 9, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Welcome to the site Harvey Kolosky, thank you for your post about Al Bass. I hope you’ll continue to
visit and post.
Dave Baker Says:
April 9, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Ken, Just came back from dinner at the local VFW and was talking to the Commander who believe it or not
is a Coastie (Take that Russ) BMC/QM now, He said you’d know since they’ve changed acronyms, He served
in FLA in ‘86 and said you might’ve bumped each other were you an Avie?
He dropped a name he said you might know, An AETC Jon Mainard, Ring a bell? Bake
Dave Baker Says:
April 9, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Ken, I believe Andrea Stinger lived on N 34th St. at the very end a few houses before Campbell Soup
Warehouse, I can’t remember her older sister’s name but I’m sure Debra would remember as she and Andrea
hung out together alot, As for her Mom’s name I wouldn’t know as we always used Mr. or Mrs. when
addressing elders. Funny how I remember the first time one of the elder neighbors told me I could call
him by his first name when I was about eighteen it was like a right of passage, His name to me growing
up was always Mr. Stussy and the day he told me I could call him Hank left a big impression on me. He
worked at the Morgue in Pennsauken I can’t remember what street though.
Bake
Ken Brown Says:
April 9, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Dave, yeah I was in CG aviation, an AE, which was an Aviation Electrician, which was combined after I
got out with the AT rating – Avionics Tech, for the AET rating. The Jon Mainard name is familiar. Do
you know if he was stationed in Alaska. I got out in 82, but knew a number of people who stayed in. If
the guy you met at the VFW was a BM/QM I doubt I would know him, as that is a rating that only serves
on ships or in some cases, a shore station. BM is a Boatswain Mate – general deck maintenance/duties on
a ship, and a QM is a Quartermaster – or a ship’s navigator.
Ken Brown Says:
April 9, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Dave, Your mention of the morgue in Pennsauken brought back a memory…Hey Paul, remember that time we
were riding our bikes around the morgue parking lot and we stopped to peer into that black station
wagon and we saw a pair of feet with a tag attached to the toes sticking out from under the blanket???
LOL
Dave Baker Says:
April 9, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Ken, The QM was Joe Colonna he said he was in FLA in the 80’s and was in on some major drug busts, I
remember an earlier post of yours about that? Were you in FLA? He also said he was in Cape May, Cape
Canaveral
and that the AETC was pretty much known up and down the East Coast,
Not sure if he was in Alaska? Joe did say that Alaska was one post he wished he would have served and
that you were fortunate to have that opportunity. Small world he’s from Philly around K&A and I knew
some of the people he grew up around, He actually picked up on my South Jersey accent lol (Hard to get
rid of once you have one) He’s a recruiter now in Harrisburg and one Hell of a guy (As all you Coaties
are… Take that Russ) lol
Dave Baker Says:
April 9, 2009 at 9:42 pm
That was you guys? My bike was broke and I didn’t feel like walking so I figured if I laid down in that
stationwagon , put a tag on my foot and covered myself with a blanket I could catch a ride… You guys
almost blew it for me poking me on the foot. LOL
Dave Baker Says:
April 9, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Ken, Do you recall the first time an elder allowed you to call him or her by their first name?
Dave Baker Says:
April 9, 2009 at 9:49 pm
PS sorry for the typo, that’s “COASTIES” I’m sure Russ will pick that apart! LOL Being all regimented
and such! HOORAH!
Ken Brown Says:
April 9, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Dave, I was on a Coast Guard ship, the CG Cutter Sherman out of Boston for three brief months between
boot camp in Cape May, and reporting to aviation school in NC. I spent most of those three months on a
Carribean deployment, to FLA, Haiti, Gitmo Bay, Cuba etc… mainly doing drug patrols. Colonna sounds
familiar also. The CG is very small in numbers, less Coasties than there are NYCity police officers, or
at least that is how it use to be. If you run into Joe Colonna again, ask him if he was in between ‘78
and ‘82. It is not unusual for ex Coasties to know of other ex Coasties who were in during the same
years.
I can’t really recall when I started calling my elders by their first name… probably after high school.
When I went off to college out of Wilson, I know most of the profs went by their first names. I’ve
never really thought about it Mr. Baker…LOL
Dave Baker Says:
April 9, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Last time someone called me Mr. Baker they wanted to date my daughter,
I told him he’d have to ask her Uncle’s… Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson. LOL
Ken Brown Says:
April 10, 2009 at 8:43 am
Dave, I’ve added your hockey team photos on the menu, under “Hockey” of course. I thought about naming
the page “Those 34th Street Puckers” – but then I would have to delete my own post like I did with
Nick’s… LOL
Remember to click on the photos, and most photos on this site, to enlarge them.
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
April 10, 2009 at 9:15 am
Dave Baker Says:
April 9, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Ken, Do you recall the first time an elder allowed you to call him or her by their first name?
******************************************
No but I certainly remember when my eldest daughter’s friend called me “Mr. Moy”…LOL
When the shock wore off ,I realized I was getting old. After all,up until then Mr. Moy was my Father !
Ranks right up there with while shaving one morning ,I looked into the mirror & said “Dad,is that you”?
Paul Skesne Says:
April 10, 2009 at 10:43 am
Kenny, I certainly remember our trips to 43rd and Camden Ave, particularly the one you are talking
about. It was a funny looking gray colored car, wasn’t it? and yes, there it was, a foot with a “toe-
tag” on it!
They were not expecting nosey Camden kids to be lurking around
Dave Bak,
You are right about our environment contributing to our resourcefulness! And I would not trade it for
the world!
I did not have the opportunity to drink from the Cinnaminson wells! Sounds like you had some experience
there!
Nick Rap
If you DO need help in your “Hef” endeavor, I, out of the kindness of my heart, and always willing to
be a great friend…….am willing to assist you there in any way I can!
Ken Barr
I HOPE and PRAY that it is ONLY my memory that goes! LOL! Yes Phil Stinger “the coach” was this Phil
Stingers uncle. I remember your Dad vividly, wasn’t he, and you and your brother Keith active in the
cub scouts when we were young?
What happened to Andrea Stinger? She DID live at the top of 34th st. She was younger than us and used
to hang around a lot in my area…..I think with Donna Hozalski (38th St) Andrea’s Dad was a Camden
Fireman too. I can picture her mom but forget her name (was it Olga?)
Inez (Reams) Janess Says:
April 10, 2009 at 11:08 am
Hi Debra,
The list of students you would like to hear from included Lorraine Hough, I believe you meant her
daughter Darlene.
Mom
Harry M. Loeffler Says:
April 10, 2009 at 11:19 am
these modern day sea pirates are causing quite a problem for vessels around the world….apparently,
Phillips (the hostage) jumped off the pirate vessel, but was recaptured last night….the debate going on
is whether the shipping lines should be responsible for their own safety, or the U.S. Naval depts.
should take responsibility. A lot of ransom has been shelled out over the years to the pirates….i heard
that some ships use high voltage lines to shock the pirates when they try to hook onto the ships when
trying to take over the vessels. anyone have an opinion or feedback to this situation? Happy Easter!
Ken Brown Says:
April 10, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Harry my opinion on the Somalia pirates taking merchant ships… I think the US Navy could put a stop to
this in short order, a few Navy ships placed in the shipping lanes off the Somalian coast with a few US
Navy SEAL teams, and after a few take downs of Somalia pirates, they would get the message to stop
messing with unarmed ships. The problem is, until recently, they were not taking American flagged
ships, and other nations/corporations were too willing to play the game as dictated by the pirates, and
pay the ransoms. They know they can continue to benefit from taking ships. The US should step up, this
is a situation that calls for military action, and one the US could easily accomplish. A group of ten
or twenty pirates would be no match for a SEAL team. I’m sure Russ would agree.
Debra (Janess) Brinton Says:
April 10, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Thanks Mom (Inez Janess)
I meant Darlene Hough. Was your nickname in school Nezzer?
If so, that is sooo cute.
Debra (Janess) Brinton Says:
April 10, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Ken,
Andrea lived on 34th street Her mom’s name was Olive. Andrea had an older sister Lisa.I still remember
andrea’s old home phone number after all these years.
Dave Baker Says:
April 10, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Ken, Right you are my friend, They (The Pirates) have been enboldened by by a lack of action on the
part of all countries, Paying a randsom only increases their cowardly ways. There’s a saying ” What’s
accepted today, Becomes common place tomorrow” It’s time for someone to step up and squash this rogue
band of lunatic fringe. Perhaps a little 21st century technoligy could send them back to the depths of
Davey Jones Locker!
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 10, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Paul Skesne:
I will place you in charge of ALL ENTRY APPLICATIONS/INTERVIEWS and TESTING. You make the
recommendations as to whom you think we shall admit to entry to the “Hef-a-notti” Club.
Inez (Reams) Janess Says:
April 10, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Does anyone out there remember the “Westfield Avenue Busnessmens Association” and the certificates we
received for “excellence” in subjects and awards for our holiday paintings on store windows?
I still have some of my certificates.
I also won first place for a Christmas painting on store window
just above 34th st on Westfield Ave. We worked in pairs, so whoever was with me on that one…. I
appologize (my 70 year old brain is doing the best it can).
Another first place award I received (along with Janet Parker) was for a Halloween painting on drug
store on Westfield Ave across from Dudley Grange. The store manager let me pick whatever I wanted at
the perfume counter in appreciation for the good advertisement. On the way home, I dropped it and I
arrived home in tears. My older sister told the manager about my accident…. and he gave me another
bottle of “Heaven Sent”.
Ken Brown Says:
April 10, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Debra, thanks for clearing up the confusion concerning Andrea Stinger. I just looked in one of the
Davis yearbooks and refreshed my memory putting the name to the person.
Does anyone remember the family that lived on Saunders, the mother’s name was Betty Green I believe,
and she had two daughters, one was in her late teens in the mid-70’s, the other was a little younger. I
had thought one of the girl’s names was Andrea also, but maybe not.
Interesting about remembering old phone numbers from the Camden days…I still recall the two we had on
32nd Street…WO6-0207, and later 966-0118, yet now I can barely keep the cell phone numbers for my wife
and kids straight…LOL
Dave Baker Says:
April 10, 2009 at 2:51 pm
NICK! NICK! NICK! I guess I should walk softly and not step on your dreams… NAHHHH! Make sure you stock
up on those blue pills, At your age, As Ken Barr has stated with regards to the first thing to go… In
your case though you’ll be using them as a sort of kickstand to keep you from rolling out of bed! LOL
Paul are you really sure you want to get into that venture with Nick? You could be setting yourself up
for a crisis and I don’t mean mid-life! lol Why am I telling you guys this? Where’s Ken? Oh No!
Don’t tell me you’re on board with this Ken! What have I created?
Ken Barr Says:
April 10, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Paul, yes thanks for remembering my Dad, me and my brother Keith were very active in the scouts. Den
troop 36 if I recall? Jack Mosser headed the cub scouts (he passed away a few years ago) and I believe
it was Mr. Winslow that headed the Boy Scouts. We held our meetings in the basement of The Asbury
Methodist Church I think, who could forget our Blue and Gold Dinner and my mom in charge of
entertainment having Frank McCall dress as Tiny Tim oh the humanity.
Harry, it would seem to me the simple approach kinda mentioned by Dave is squash em like a bug geeeez
how tuff is that. I think as also mentioned it would just take one example for ALL to get the message.
Of course you will have the world causing protest that the big bad Americans yadda yadda yadda, we
sometimes are danged if we do and danged if we don’t.
Nick, I am not sure putting Paul in charge of the interview process, I understand he is a solid ladies
man, the weeding out process may take years….. just a thought
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 10, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Ken B.
Well, I could always have Dave Baker run the process with Paul. Without the little blue pills, it may
go quicker!!
Dave Baker Says:
April 10, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Nick, Thanks for the invite , I’m flattered, I’m not so sure I’d be able to deal with the consiquences
of such an undertaking, That could be really
fatal given the rigors of the whole interview process… Oh what the Heck,
Count me in, If they become a fatality during the interview so be it. lol I mean after all that’s part
of the weeding out process, I’m willing to make that sacrifice to help you out, You must’ve caught me
on a good day! lol
“Everybody wants to ride the wagon… Nobody wants to hitch the horses”
Saddle up Paul! We’re on a mission! lol
leppaluoto Says:
April 10, 2009 at 5:35 pm
As a trained gerontologist I feel I must be responsible and conduct a little intervention here… GUYS
(Nick, Paul, Dave) it’s harmful to your mental health to attempt to recapture your teenage years at
your age! Just accept things will never, can never, be the way they were once perceived to be….
perceived being the key word here. Accept that you are getting older, accept that your hair is thinning
and probably starting to gray, accept that you probably nod off during the 10 o’clock news unless you’
ve had a nap earlier, accept that few guys over fifty retain the magic that Hugh at 85 does, and really
it’s not magic at all, it’s THE MONEY and EXPOSURE (and maybe the pet monkeys) those 20-somethings are
after and they believe Hugh still has the connections and clout to make things happen for them. Just
think how bizarre those pictures are of Hugh and his cohorts (old guys like James Caan, Soupy Sales,
and Paul Anka) hanging around the pool for photo ops with girls young enough to be their grandkids, and
great grandkids. Is that the image of youself you want others to remember? LOL…Right, I didn’t think
so. I suggest you shift those bikes down a few gears, and just glide through the next half of life,
stop chasing the unattainable… you’ll be happier if you do… LOL Nick keep on bowling, it’ll add more
years to your life than trying to recapture those teen years. And trade in those six packs (of beer,
not abs) for green tea, and that cheese whiz on crackers for some flax seed muffins.
Ken Brown Says:
April 10, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Inez, I do have a memory of store windows being painted for the holidays when I was a kid, also many
home windows were painted… my Mom use to paint our windows for Christmas and Halloween. I was never
aware that the Businessmen’s Association gave out awards though, they may have stopped by time many of
us were in school. It’s sad to think there is no longer such community involvement between businesses
and schools… nor do you see “painted” holiday themes on store windows. It’s a lost art and tradition.
I remember my Mom use to colorize black and white photos also, with special oil paints and Q-tips or
swabs.
Dave Baker Says:
April 10, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Ken, You never got back to me about the flaxen hair thing, Is it or is it not the same? lol That’s all
I was trying to do. (along with helping Paul) As far as the photo-ops… It would appear that I’ve missed
just about every opportunity to be in the camera’s eye. lol The only reason I have any photos to post
is credited to Mom, I could have her come along as a sort of chaperone if that would put your mind at
rest. Way to go with the Nick keep bowling thing, Real workout there! lol They still have those little
air blowers on the ball return? Let me see if I’ve got this right, You dry the sweat from your hand,
Trust me if your bowling and your hand breaks out in a sweat you’re working way to hard! LOL I think
I’ll stick to skating for my exercise and an occasional 650 mile trip to Dragon’s Tail in NC on the
motorcycle for any stamina verification, Maybe a little “T” for Texas…
“T” for Tennessee. lol
Ray Hale Says:
April 10, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Hi Dave , do i remember it ? we invented it lol remember the locker room for our team we had alot of
great games at the church and at Davis also in front of our house on N34th. you made a comment earlier
on the streets seem wider yes they did as we grew they shrunk lol. the games on pehlam Place on skates.
we where good. Greg told me about the sight Great site. I will talk to you later there is alot of
reading to do here take care.
Ken Brown Says:
April 10, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Welcome to the site Greg and Ray Hale, thanks for sharing some great memories, and we look forward to
more.
How’s your brother Mike and sister in law Pam doing? I was in their 8th Grade Class when they started
dating. Last saw them at the Class of ‘76 10 year reunion, but that was over twenty years ago.
Dave Baker Says:
April 10, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Ray “Jean-Ule”
Best wing I ever had the pleasure to be on a line with, Hard working bump and grind scrappy little guy
with one of the quickest wrist shots I’ve ever seen! GR8 to hear from you! Greg you get an assist for
passing the site to Ray! lol Hope to see more posts from you Ray, There’s a lot of things here to spark
your memories! Thanks again Ken! Does that ever get old? lol
Ken Brown Says:
April 10, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Kathleen Gottschall Taylor, thank you for visiting the site and posting about your father. Everyone
here who knew your father when he was the principal at Wilson, were saddened to learn of his passing.
He was truly a great teacher and administrator, respected and liked by all. We hope you will visit the
site and read many of the memories us former students have of going to the school your father guided
through the 70’s and 80’s.
Agnes (Aggie) Wilson Says:
April 10, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Hey Ken Barr,
Don’t know if you remember me. Tell your brother Keith the WWHS Class of “73? is having a class reunion
this Oct. If he is interested, ask him to e-mail me.
I remember you Dad and Mom. I could never tell he was deaf. I would never have know if Keith had not
told me.
Ken Brown Says:
April 10, 2009 at 11:58 pm
Welcome to the site Agnes Wilson – we look forward to your posts. If you want to post announcements for
the Class of ‘73 Reunion, please do. If you want I can open a page just for reunion info and contacts,
if that will help you in getting the message out.
I remember Aggie’s Variety Store, if you have any pictures of your family’s store, send them in and
we’ll post them also.
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
April 11, 2009 at 6:44 am
Ken Barr,
Sorry it took so long to get back to you.
I have to say I do not recall your Father…the only coach I remember was Phil Stinger,a Camden fire
fighter.
I played for the Athletics on the E. Camden Marauders…first right field,then as a pitcher,but that was
way back in 1953 or 54.
Ken Barr Says:
April 11, 2009 at 7:45 am
Hey Aggie, great to hear from you, just reading your name brought back some memories that’s for sure. I
will gladly pass that info on to my brother and when he gets time I am sure he will drop you an e-mail.
He doesn’t get to this site as often as he would like but he has an extreme schedule, but then again
who doesn’t. Non the less Ms. Aggie glad to see you here.
Skeeter, no problem on the delay. The dates you speak of were much earlier then when my Dad was
involved. As the Marauders faded we turned to The Rosedale Boy’s Club at least as I recall it to be, I
think Earl Adams Dad headed that up the year I pitched for the Braves.
Ken take care in the words you choose when pointing out reality to the fella’s. As you being the senior
partner in Ken, Ken Barr, and Brown you realize they are in the protected group and are covered by The
Age Discrimination Act. As though you only violated 12 different sections, the one that hurt the most
is Article 2, Section B, Sub Paragraph 9 part a specifically line 2 : No talking about thinning gray
hair. Aside from that, just shattering their already delusional minds just doesn’t seem right, after
all we are just over 50 we’re not dead yet…. not all the way anyway. I think we should encourage their
little dream club, did I say ” little ” opps sorry.
Ray Hale, pass on hey’s and hi’s to your brother Greg. He always took care of my dad and respected him
every time the ran into each other, it meant a lot to my Dad. Your brother Tommy worked with my dad for
years down at Cutler Metals in Camden, I hope your family as a whole is well.
Ken Brown Says:
April 11, 2009 at 10:53 am
Memo to my partner in Ken, Ken, Barr, and Brown… Ken no need to worry about any age discrimination
suits from our nearly over the hill cohorts from East Camden, as I have photograpic evidence that I
went gray before any of them… way back in my 20’s! LOL It’s about time some of them are finally
catching up. Word of advice to all the delusional friends the other Ken refers to… if you are starting
to go gray, forget spending your money on that Grecian Formula stuff, just accept that you ARE getting
old! Besides, naturally silver hair is the new cool and paired with a great pair of sun glasses (see
attached photo) you can continue to dream! Trust me on that one! LOL
Marguerite Marks (Peggy) DeBoard Says:
April 11, 2009 at 11:21 am
I attended Davis from 1945 to 1953. I have several pictures I would lilke to share…one the combined 7th
grades on the aud. steps and one of Miss McChestney’s 3rd grade class in May of 1949.
My brothers Austin and George Marks attended 1949-1957 and 1957-1964 respectivly
Freddy Vesper Says:
April 11, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Hello Peggy Marks De Board,
I remember you and your brothers and you were living on 34th or 35th St close to Davis School. I think
it was 34th St. My fondest memories of you were during the years you were a playground instructor at
Dudley Grange Park during the summer. You taught arts and crafts ( and sometimes discipline ) to my
brother Donnie and I.
Dave Baker Says:
April 11, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Ken, First and foremost if we had Hef’s job would we not have all the riches bestowed upon us also?
Secondly, What’s with the Soupy Sales bashing? Anybody who can fleece people into sending money for his
own personal use ought to have his own cabinet post especially by today’s standards. LOL You are right
with respect to the gray hair, In fact a FULL head of gray is better than NONE at all! lol Are those
prescription sunglasses? If so perhaps some beta-carotene would be in order! LOL
Bob Wirtz Says:
April 11, 2009 at 12:33 pm
I was given your web site by a friend and find it enlighting. I attended WWHS and graduated in 1957. I
have been retired from teaching since 1986 and live in Florida. If there is any one still alive who
remembers me, it would be great to hear from them. Thanks.
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
April 11, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Marguerite Marks (Peggy) DeBoard,
I had a very dear friend named Bruce Marks who lived in E.Camden,then N.Camden.
Bruce used his middle name ,his real first name was Walter.
He had an older brother Wayne Austin Marks.
They lived with his Mother,I never met his Father,but I know they had a step sister,named Jackie,I met
her a couple times in the 60’s. She & her husband lived in the Stockton Station Apts. Last name
Gregkowski (sp) I think.
Bruce passed away in the 70’s & Wayne last I heard was living in Florida.
My name is Charlie,but they called me Skeeter.
Are you related to Bruce & Wayne?
Fred Kalt Says:
April 11, 2009 at 1:19 pm
For Bob Wirtz – Bob, glad to hear you are OK. Email me at grandpakalt@gmail.com Fred Kalt
Ken Brown Says:
April 11, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Welcome to the site Peggy Marks DeBoard and Bob Wirtz we hope you’ll enjoy visiting often.
Peggy, if you have pictures to post that would be great, if you can email them to me at
Leppaluoto@aol.com I will post them for you.
Also Peggy there was a Marks family who had kids at Davis and Wilson in the late 60’s/early 70’s. I
remember a girl named Linda Marks, I think they lived over near Federal Street, maybe around 35th?
Bob Wirtz where did you teach? Was it in the Camden School District? And are you related to Kathy Wirtz
who graduated from Wilson in ‘76?
Ken Brown Says:
April 11, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Dave Baker, the sunglasses are not prescription, I still have perfect distance vision, however, I did
have to finally get glasses for reading a few years ago. Of course my kids are convinced I have eyes in
the back of my head as nothing gets by me. I tell them that is true of all people who grew up in
Camden…LOL
Dave Baker Says:
April 11, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Ken, I too just got a pair of reading glasses, It’s true about the Camdenites having eyes in the back
of our heads as well as the ability to hear our children mumble beneath their breaths, All Super Powers
inherited from our parents! lol There is one I haven’t mastered yet, The ability to reach the entire
length of a full size ’60s station wagon while driving to crack someone when they do mumble under their
breath, Must be some sort of Jedi- Master move I’ll have to work on! LOL
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 11, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Ken “OLD MAN” Brown:
Gee whiz. I thought you would be totally interested in out venture. Wheres, in Section5, Paragraph 7 of
sub-part 3a of the rules of engagement in the “Nick-a-Ladians” (soon to be called Nick, Paul & Bake,
Inc)..Grey hair, glasses, baldness (that means you) and young at heart, mind and soul, allows us to
perform at peak performance in our quests at 50+. Since you old, bald and need old in mind, you will
need to be approved for consideration to possible be considered for “light duty membership”. Once Paul,
Bake & I discuss your “old man mentality”, we shall inform you of our decision.
NEWS AT 11:00pm
Dave Baker Says:
April 11, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Nick, I make a motion that Ken be the Cabana Boy! Of course we’ll have to supply him with some water
wings (being an Avie and such) any ideas on how to mount flippers to a walker would be appreciated,
Paul? Do I hear a second?
Ken Brown Says:
April 11, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Nick I’m bald by choice…LOL When I was still chasing my then toddler kids in middle age, and they kept
stealing my comb, I figured it was time to start buzzing. Besides, buzz cutting your hair in mid life
stimulates those brain cells, it’s great for retaining your memory. You ought to try it.
Agnes (Aggie) Wilson Says:
April 11, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Thanks Ken,
I thought you might remember me. I hope all is well with you and your family. It’s been years since I
saw Keith, maybe 20. I last saw him at the Moorestown Mall with his wife and a little one. I don’t
remember his wifes name, but it was the second or third time I had met her, and we talked quite a
while. She was very nice, an understanding individual. I’m looking forward to hearing from Keith and
glad to get this message from you. Thanks again…Aggie
Ken Brown Says:
April 11, 2009 at 2:07 pm
And Dave, as the saying goes, put an old Coastie in water, and he’ll stay afloat forever. Geez it’s
time to call in my support Army of One…Russ where are you hiding, I need backup! LOL
Dave Baker Says:
April 11, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Ken, You did not just waste arthritic keystrokes asking the Army Sky-Cowboy for backup did you? lol
Does flax really float? I thought that was hops? You can’t just be a Coastie, You have to refer to
yourself as an OLD Coastie! Shame on you, Pull up your man panties or we’ll be forced to take away your
man-card! LOL Besides I know Sky-Cowboy is fearless as they come, Are you sure he’d want to drop into
the Babe infested waters of the Nick-A-Ladian Mansion? lol
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 11, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Bake:
I SECOND IT!!!
Ken “OLD BALD MAN BY CHOICE” Brown:
My hair loss is due to the massive quantities of knowledge I have amassed over 51 years. There is so
much knowledge there that it is pushing out the hair. This, I am proud of. By the way, what size
flippers do you need?
Ken Brown Says:
April 11, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Nick, you mean that is your naturally balding head? Maybe my distance vision is going. I could have
sworn that was a bowling ball on your shoulders in all those pictures.
I happen to know RussMac will want no part of Nick-A-Ladian (sounds like an attraction at Story Book
Land). For one thing, I know he’s got my back as we have that Warrior bond formed over four years in
the sweltering hell known as the Wilson lower gym… or on the Broad Street Subway when we pissed off an
angry train full of South Philly kids in ‘75… or in the Officer’s Club at Little Rock AFB when we were
both mere E-4’s back in ‘79 – we were not officers OR in the Air Force, but we had the bowling b***s to
infiltrate their club, eat their food, and drink their booze! Only a Coast Guard Dropmaster and an Army
Paratrooper from East Camden could ever pull that off! LOL
Besides all that, I know Russ has no interest in whatever it is you guys think awaits you at Hef’s,
because Russ already has a wife who is half his age, and is far prettier and smarter than anyone you
might find at the mansion
I think it’s time for Russ to chim in here…hahaha! HaloMan where are you?
Ken Brown Says:
April 11, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Bernard Gavin, WWHS Class of ‘76, welcome to the site. I hope you will visit often and post some
memories.
Ken Brown Says:
April 11, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Hello everyone, I just wanted to wish each of you, whether you follow a Christian, Jewish, or Gnostic
spiritual path, a spiritually enlightened Easter and Passover. Embrace the meaning and sacredness that
these days hold for you. God Bless each of you, your families, and loved ones.
Marguerite Marks (Peggy) DeBoard Says:
April 11, 2009 at 8:04 pm
wow! I can’t believe I got responses already!
I’m kinda new at the computer having just finished classes. I would like to respond to individual
messages, but, don’t know the procedure. Do I click on the person’s name, or just respond in the “Leave
a Reply” box?
Help!
Ken Brown Says:
April 11, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Hi Peggy, yes just put your replies in the “Leave A Reply” box. The messages posted on this site are
not in “real time” – meaning it is not like a chat room, where someone writes and you get an immediate
response – though we do have a lot of fast responders here Sometimes a response will come back quickly
from someone, but not everyone checks the boards hourly, some check daily, some every few days, some
weekly etc… so it may take some time for someone to get around to answering your post.
If you want more personal exchanges than the message boards and pages offer, feel free to leave your e
-mail address where people can email you directly, on the “Add Your E-Mail” page. If you elect to do
that, remember you must put your address not only in the window where it is required to post, but also
in the larger response box below it, as addresses that are put in the required box, are not published.
So add it where you would normally type a message.
Also, if you are visiting the site remember to always check the “ZZZZ… Most Recent Posts” page on the
menu to the right, I do update that about twice a day with a list of all new messages and the page they
can be found on.
Ken Brown Says:
April 11, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Ron Henry, Wilson Class of ‘77, Welcome to the site! Hope you will visit often. There are probably a
lot of people here you will remember from the old neighborhood.
Dave Baker Says:
April 11, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Ken! You! Growing up in East Camden! The place where dreams were made of! Have now laid down your sense
of adventure and gone to the Namby-Pamby Dark Side? Is this the man who made fearless treks from the
friendly confines of East Camden along railroad tracks to towns far from civilization with a sense of
adventure not seen since River Phoenix in Stand By Me? Say it ain’t so Ken! Say it ain’t so! LOL
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 12, 2009 at 1:41 am
Ken:
Speaking of 4 years of hell, I HAVE BEEN MARRIED FOR 18 YEARS… THat’s hell enough!!! LOL! Like Bake
said, “made fearless treks from the friendly confines of East Camden along railroad tracks to towns far
from civilization with a sense of adventure not seen since River Phoenix in Stand By Me?”…Say it ain’t
so Ken!!!! To boldly go where no man from East Camden has gone before!!! Where is your sense of
adventure. Wait….I know…Laurie will not let him play. Ken, can you come out and play? LOL! And besides,
my BOWLING BALL has more hair on it then yours!!! LOL!
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
April 12, 2009 at 5:30 am
Marguerite Marks (Peggy) DeBoard,
Correction…Bruce’s Step Sisters married name was Gregowich.(sp)
NOTE:
You can reply here on this thread,or email me at moy3rd@yahoo.com
There is a list of threads on the right hand side of the home page.
One near the top is “Add your email” you will find email addresses for many posters there & you can
leave yours there too.
I’ m not a computer person either…LOL
Ron Henry Says:
April 12, 2009 at 8:17 am
This is really a great site! Thank you for working so hard to make sure that all the Camden people
reconnect.
I have my year book from Wilson back from 1977. How would I get some of those picture to you to put on
this site? (if possible)
Hello to all my former classmates. I graduated Davis School in 1973.
Went to Wilson and graduated from there in 1977.
I lived at 3810 Westfield Ave all my life until I moved out of Camden in 1982.
Ken Barr remember Bob Agigian? Remember Jimmy Stuwart (Agigian)
Glen Cavallo, I remember when you lived on 40th street. (you are a little older than me) We would play
basketball at the church on the corner of 39th Street.
Terri Downs, we were classmates in Wilson. I also remember you.
Would love to hear from any classmates, email me at RHNA1997@COMCAST.NET.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 12, 2009 at 9:20 am
Wishing all a Blessed Easter Sunday.
Ken Brown Says:
April 12, 2009 at 9:47 am
Ron Henry, if you have any pictures you want to post, that would be great! If you can scan them and
forward them to me in an email at Leppaluoto@aol.com, embedded in the email, or in bitmap or jpeg
formate I can get them posted to the site for you.
Nick, Nick, Nick… I sure hope your wife does not read the postings here. Oh wait, that’s HER that has
asked me to forward all your postings, something about using them in her case against you. LOL
And for the record Nicholas, I’ve been married nearly 31 years, all BLISSFUL, to an EAST CAMDEN girl
whose name is, and you should know this as you graduated with us both – LORRIE, not Laurie (yes I know
a Laurie also, she’s my sister). And Lorrie does read these posts, so be prepared for her to knock that
bowling ball off your shoulders for mixing up her name once again. Hahahahah.
And Dave, I think it is time you abandoned Nick, like Paul and I wanted to do one day at the Echelon
Mall when Nick had no clue how to get home. Had we not relented and shown him the way home that day, he
would still be pacing the PATCO platform wondering which train to catch. Is it really worth continuing
to hang with Nick for a few free hours of bowling the next time you visit North Carolina? Yeah I didn’t
think so.
All joking aside, Nick and Dave, you are stand-up representatives of what was good about East Camden,
and I’m glad you two have put down roots here at this site (now don’t forget the money in the brown
paper bag behind the tree on the lot on High Street, and I’ll keep endorsing you both). LOL
Ken Brown Says:
April 12, 2009 at 9:55 am
Enjoy this beautiful day everyone, whether you are a Christian and celebrating Easter, Jewish and
celebrating Passover, Pagan and celebrating Spring, or Gnostic and celebrating… well you know how Jung
would be celebrating. Enjoy this day and embrace the special significance it holds for you.
Blessings to all of you, your families and loved ones.
And does anyone have any Peeps? There seems to be a run on them this year, especially the chicks.
Dave Baker Says:
April 12, 2009 at 10:51 am
Ken, You and Paul have a golden opportunity in the thread of time and space continueum yet fail to
capitalize and now expect me to throw Nick under the “D” bus? What am I, The clean up artist? FREE
BOWLING! HMMMMM! You have no idea how tempting that is! That has to be every germaphobics dream come
true! Rental shoes worn by thousands of unknown people, Bowling ball holes made for little bitty
fingers or gargantuan hands with sausauge fingers not to mention the fact that they rarely clean those
finger holes! YUMMY! lol
Hey Nick! It’s a red light! Run across! lol
Ken, Small denominations ok with you? Capitalism at it’s finest, You’re so Soupy Sales it’s
frightening! I’d send you some peeps but I like to let them sit out a week or two to get a little stale
first, How bout you? lol
Here’s hoping everyone has a Blessed Easter and say a special prayer for those who are serving our
Country here and abroad, As well as their families and their sacrifices.
leppaluoto Says:
April 12, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Thumbs up to the US Navy and Navy SEALS whose commando raid just successfully rescued the US Merchant
Marine Captain being held by the Somalia pirates. Military justice has been served. This is pretty much
how I thought this would be resolved. Proud day for the American military!
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 12, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Ken,
Can I place a post-dated check in the bag? LORRIE! Sorry about the misspelling……BUT CAN KEN COME OUT
AND PLAY!!! LOL! My wife is computer illiterate. (HAHA). I run my house and I am the boss (only when
she let’s me)
Bake,
I know you got my back…and WITHOUT BRIBING (bowling on me if you come to visit)……………………………..
Laurie Says:
April 12, 2009 at 4:58 pm
All the peeps have relocated to Texas, we had an abundance of all colors, yellow, green, blue, orange
(yes dream cicles flavor)! I’ll pack up all the half eaten ones and send all you Jerseyites the
leftovers. Hope you’all are having a blessed and lovely Easter. Laurie
Ken Barr Says:
April 12, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Hey Ron Henry, How could I or would I ever forget Jimmy or Bobby. Sadly the last time I recall seeing
Jim was at his wedding and for Bob, I lost touch with him when he and his wife Peggy moved out of the
39 th street area. Last I heard he was in ” Pest Control. ” Needless to say ” Stu ” and I shared some
incredible times hanging out and playing football at Wilson and driving over to the schools we were
playing against any given Saturday. We would drive over and harass the other team, once so bad at Paul
6 their school called our Principal Gottschall and complained, I am almost certain I heard something
from coach Sam about that. LOL. It wasn’t pretty. Bob had hired on at a couple of company’s I worked
for so we had time spent at work and on occasional weekends for cook outs and ” Reuneti Wine Parties ”
I think Bob and Peggy had 2 or 3 kids. Anyway thanks for drawing up some memories and checking out the
site here. Stop in often and bring on some memories, we all need a flash back from time to time.
Ken Barr Says:
April 12, 2009 at 5:44 pm
HAPPY EASTER !!!
jim lang Says:
April 13, 2009 at 5:54 am
ray hale, you were best man at my brothers wedding. jim.
Ron Henry Says:
April 13, 2009 at 8:57 am
Ken Barr,
Yeah, Bob & Peg are now living in Lindenwold were they have for the last 20 years I guess. They have 3
children and now have 7 grand children and all is good with them. Bob still is working in pest control.
I will tell him that you said Hello if that’s ok with you. I just saw Bobby last week, his uncle and
Jimmy’s father Sam passed away. They are doing fine.
I also remember you and Jimmy playing football for Wilson and some of the things you guys would do. All
in good fun of course.
Remember BIG LOUIE and his girlfriend then wife Nancy? I remember all this BIG talk about this kid
coming to Wilson to play football, then when Louie got there people we kind of disappointed. He really
was’nt that good. LOL
OK, I just wanted to say Hello and hope that all is well with you and I really like hearing “the good
old days stories”.
You have a great day.
Ron Henry
Ron Henry Says:
April 13, 2009 at 8:59 am
I don’t know why it put this on here 3 time.
Sorry!
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 13, 2009 at 9:08 am
Hey To Ray & Greg Hale! Welcome to the site guys.
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
April 13, 2009 at 9:18 am
Ron Henry .
I knew a guy named William (Bill) Henry…I either attended Davis with him in the mid 50’s or he hung
with us at the Sugar Bowl in the late 50’s.
Hard to remember,it was so long ago.
A relative perhaps?
Blonde haired kid,about 5?6? tall.
Liked to wear “Penny” loafers.
Skeeter
Ken Brown Says:
April 13, 2009 at 11:01 am
Ron Henry, don’t worry about the double and triple postings, it sometimes happens, I just delete the
extras…LOL
The “Big Louie” referenced, what was his last name? I think he came out for wrestling one year.
Ron Henry Says:
April 13, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Ken,
Thanks for deleting those for me.
Yes Louie did go out for wrestling also. I remember a lot of talk about this kid Louie and how good he
was at football, well when he got there he really wasn’t that good. He was ok, but not that good.
Anyway, he did try out for the wrestling team too. And from your email, you are very good at
remembering things. Terri and Dave Gouche lived on the corner of 39th & Westfield behind King’s Candy
Store. And Dave and Karen dated pretty much through high school.
Now, Bob Horner’s motorcycle yes I remember that too. He SOMETIMES would let me ride it to. He was 2or
3 years old than me. He was cool.
I’m having trouble remembering the name “Paul Skeens”.
Do you know the Diamond brothers? They lived on 37th & Camden Ave. but hung out at saggy’s deli on the
corner of 38th & Westfield Ave. There was Tommy, Mike, Steve Diamond and some others. We would play
football in the park off of 38th near the railroad tracks in Pennsauken. Remember Jed, his dad owned
Modern Carpets? All those guys hung out at 38th Street but lived in Pennsauken. Also, Johnny Edwards?
LOL
Wow, those were the days!
Ken Brown Says:
April 13, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Ron, yeah I remember the Diamonds and Jed (by the way, what was his last name?) Those guys spent about
three months back in middle school trying to track me down once for something I said to them…LOL My
sister Laurie Brown (Freeman), who posts here, knew the Diamond family quite well when she was in high
school after I had graduated. She and Theresa Diamond were good friends, they went toCamden Catholic
together. I think she said Theresa later became a teacher at St. Joe’s on Westfield Avenue. She’ll let
us know next time she checks in here.
Big Louie as I recall was from Florida I think. He only wrestled one season or part of a season. After
Daryl “Beanie” Williams graduated in ‘73, Wilson did not have a regular heavyweight for the next three
years. I remember the coaches were always enticing big guys to come out for wrestling so we’d have a
heavyweight. Our heavyweights were often much lighter than those at other schools. Ken Barr can tell
you, he wrestled heavyweight for us one year, and wrestled some pretty big guys. I think Mike Coneen
once wrestled heavyweight, as did Jerome Williams, and even a few times Ricardo Alvarado (’76) who
normally weighed about 158… I remember him complaining to Coach Lawyer about wrestling gorillas.
Okay, I just checked, look at the wrestling team photos on the menu, the fourth picture (need to
enlarge it) was the ‘75-’76 school year, Louie Costallanos is picture on the top row… so that was the
season he wrestled for some of the season, because to the right in the photo is Jerome Williams who
sometimes wrestled heavyweight, but was usually our 189 pounder, and to the left of Louie is Ricardo
Alvarado, who filled in at heavyweight at least a few matches after Louie left… check out the size
difference, and you’ll see why Ricardo thought he was being thrown to the gorillas…LOL Ricardo was a
tough kid, he could crank out a hundred pushups with no problem.
Hey Gary Fioretti did Coach Lawyer ever put you in at heavyweight?
Ken Barr Says:
April 13, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Hi Ron thanks for the comments and yes say Hi to Bob and Peggy for me that’s cool. Hard to believe 7
grand children. Sorry to hear about Jim’s Dad Sam. Yes Ken you are right Louie Castellanos, he and I
spent a lot of time together during our senior year. In fact Ron the girl Nancy you mentioned started
out we were dating for about a week then introduced her to Louie and oh well 3 years later they got
married and had 4 children. Turns out that change from me to him was a big favor, but we never know do
we. They since have divorced and Louie remarried and has 5 children from his 2nd wife. Louie works for
Aluminum Shapes as a foremen in the maintenance department. You guys are also right in that he was to
be a BIG influence on the team coming out of Florida. He wasn’t bad but I had to set the tone for
things in football camp when on the top of the hill were we practiced I had him block into me while I
held a pad, anyway when he did I stepped aside and he went rolling down the hill of sticker bushes, it
is too funny for words. Thanks for the memories. And don’t forget to send Ken Brown the photo’s you
have we are all looking forward to seeing them.
Harry L. I am sure you stand in applause with me over the handling of the pirates and Capt. Phillips.
How sweet to resolve the issue and send a message all in one event. I think it was just what you had in
mind. They are saying Obama had the final word in the action, so even though he is hunting down puppies
for his kids or trying to improve his bowling score, it appears he has his hands on the pulse of the
issues. This entire issue as it resolved has given our entire armed forces a boost, a boost in morale
we justly needed.
Nick, perhaps you might invite Obama to your lanes for some pointers, perhaps free coupons for midnight
bowling, I remember many of midnight bowling at Ivy Lanes, after a Saturday night run around town
that’s were we would end up, I remember trying to get a strike on the red or blue pin in the #1
position, sadly it was a blur to me, LOL.
Fred LeDrew Says:
April 13, 2009 at 6:45 pm
The voice of the Phillies, Harry Kalas died today. Dave Montgomery, President of the Phillies said “We
have lost our voice”. Harry began his career with the Phillies in 1971 and is a member of the Baseball
Hall of Fame.
All Phillie fans will miss Harry, God Bless him and may he rest in peace.
Dave Baker Says:
April 13, 2009 at 7:03 pm
OUTTTTA HERE! Harry Kalas was the voice of a generation! Guys like him are few and far between! You
didn’t have to be a Phillies fan to appreciate a true legend! Thank you Harry for the privilege of your
voice and true love of the game, You will be missed. God Bless him and his family
Dave Baker Says:
April 13, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Nick, “BAKE DON”T BOWL” But I still got your back!
Quick it’s a red light, Run across! lol
Dave Nevius Says:
April 13, 2009 at 7:17 pm
You are right Ken, outstanding job by the U. S. Navy and the Navy SEALS on their swift action to rescue
that Mechant Marine. I am leaving for Iraq on Thursday for a 90 day deployment. I don’t think I will
have to worry about pirates. I will be stationed at a hospital where I will be caring for our Nation’s
Heros. Dave N.
Dave Baker Says:
April 13, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Ken, HOORAH SEALS! Job well done! Best trained forces in the World!
Dave N. Thank you for your service! God-speed!
Russ “HALOMan” McDaniel Says:
April 13, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Alright,
Enough’s enough. I’ve heard a load of crap about “Coasties” ( I believe a “Coatie” is a reference to
Bill Coats, of Davis fame). For all of your information, (and especially you Dave) a Coastie is someone
who couldn’t hack it in the Navy; and when a young man joining the Navy was asked if he was going to
join the military, he said, “Hell no! I’m joining the Navy”. (sorry Ken, but you’ve got a lot of good
friends under the bus, and I thought you should all get together). If it hadn’t been for Kevin
“Waterworld” Costner, and Ashton “I’m Banging Demi Moore, really I am” Kutcher, most folks wouldn’t
have a clue about the Coast Guard. They have one of most $hitty jobs known to mankind, receive the
least recognition, and probably have the greatest of job satisfaction (with the possible exception of
the SEAL snipers of Somali sniper fame). Ken, I’ve got your back.
Nick,
I’d be careful about comparing youself to Hugh “Is it time for my nap” Hefner. At a recent birthday
party, he was seen SLEEPING (I mean asleep, really, asleep) with his bevy of beauties. With his money
and savvy, you’d think he would know to take some meth with his Viagra.
Yeah, there’s only one way to deal with punks… Bitch slappings. Those $hit-birds know that
international law prevents commercial vessels from steaming with weapons, so just as bullies used to
pick on the small kids and take their lunch money, these skinnies see their chance through pirating.
And let them talk big smack… we have more ships than they do, have SEALS, Rangers, and SF that can
shoot straighter than they do (and we won’t loose a single wink of sleep), and if this administration
can maintain it’s resolve, there won’t be a single pirate in that area that ventures out past their
bath tub.
BTW, if you ever do decide, as a collective group, to have some kind of Lady-Palooza and need someone
to jump in the Viagra, I’m just an e-mail away (not that I need that stuff, you know). And WRT bald
guys… GOD only made so many perfect heads; the rest he covered with hair (Ken, your sunglasses are
cool, but not as cool as my Gators… I’ll send pictures from the Haley House demo).
Take care, All.
HALOMan, the really cool, bald, sunglasses wearing guy
Dave Baker Says:
April 13, 2009 at 7:56 pm
SKY-COWBOY! Welcome back to Earth! Poor Ken was taking a beating! lol
There were even reportings in the Jersey Shore area of a “Giant Parachute Light” sending a becon over
the Atlantic! lol Not to mention all the signal flares! lol GR8 to hear from you, I knew the typo of
Coastie would get you to drop in! AFT Hair deal, I happen to have my Mother’s thick full hair… She
doesn’t need it much anymore but when she goes out I let her use it! lol Do you plan on smuggling the
Viagra in your jump suit? That should make for a real Kodak moment! lol On the serious side,
God bless our forces for all they do, There’s none finer in the World!
To the wanna be Pirates of the Cape! “Bring it on!” They haven’t seen bad yet… But it’s coming!
Bake
Ken Brown Says:
April 13, 2009 at 8:48 pm
First things first…Dave Nevius, let me be the first to commend for your continual service and duty in
the US Air Force (yes we salute you guys even if Russ and I did wrack havoc at the Officer’s Club in
Little Rock). If my math is correct you have been serving in the AF and AF Reserves for 33 YEARS. That
is an outstanding accomplishment!!! If you get a chance over there Dave, log on and let us know how you
are doing.
One of my nephews, two are on active duty in the US Army, is in Oklahoma now, preparing to go to Iraq
in the very near future, His brother has already been deployed twice to the region.
Secondly, an outstanding job by the entire US Military command from President Obama who did not
hesitate to give the order to do what needed to be done to free an American Merchant Marine Captain, to
the US Navy ships serving in the region, to the US Navy SEALS who showed once again the professionalism
of the US Military at it’s Best! This sends a clear message to the Somalia pirates, and you can bet a
US flagged ship will not be seized again in the waters off Somalia. I’m sure those three head shots are
the talk in all the coastal villages.
Thanks Russ, I’ve got your back too, just as the CG Dropmasters who strap themselves to the ramp so
they don’t free fall with you, do too. Buy those guys a beer some day, they will appreciate it!
Now about the 1/8 inch Military Approved Buzz Cuts… next time you come to Jersey (if you should ever
need to get out of sunny Florida), if you restrain these guys (Bake and Rap) I’ll do the honors with my
buzz cutters and we’ll show them what a real man’s haircut consists of. Did I mention Dave Baker
actually gave himself a perm back in the late 70’s??? Doesn’t that breach of “the code” deserve a
midlife buzz cutting? LOL
Dave Baker Says:
April 13, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Ken! FYI I already have a BUZZ cut! couldn’t you see that in all of my posts? (reading glasses?) AFT
perm my friend, This goes back to my still to be answered question of the flaxen haired maiden thing! I
consider myself very adept, However I’m not remotely capable of a self inflicted perm! She was a
gorgeous flaxen haired buxomed maiden… (give me a moment) GORGEOUS! anyway, she also happen to be a
hair stylist, What are the odds? I was captivated by her charm as she led me by the arm,
She led me to the chair, I went without a care, That’s how she permed my hair! lol
Ken Brown Says:
April 13, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Okay Dave, since you now sport a buzz cut, and have not been blinded by any flaxen haired hair stylists
since the Disco Era, you’ll get to pass GO this time. And if you hold Nick down while we buzz cut his
head, we’ll even forgive you for that attempt at a poetic memory….hahahah!
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 13, 2009 at 10:33 pm
Ken,
If you buzz cut this big noggin, the glare would be astronomical!
Bake,
SAY IT AIN’T so. You would not hold me down for a buzz cut, would you?
Ken Barr Says:
April 13, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Thank you Dave Nevius you will be in our prayers, just an awesome show of patriotism and dedication to
service.
Fred LeDrew thank you for the information as a big Philly fan this is a true sad time for this loss. He
made watching baseball on the tube just that much better, he was good for baseball. Harry L. I am sure
shares my thoughts on this we’ll share a moment of silence for it. Thanks again Fred.
Ken we will keep your nephews and their families in our prayers.
Ken Barr Says:
April 13, 2009 at 10:42 pm
Brother Nick perhaps a steel army helment strapped down real tight like Artie Johnson wore on ” Laugh-
in ” back in the day. This may be your only defense. Unless you look good with the Mr. Clean look?
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 13, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Brother Ken Barr.
I don’t think they make a helmet THAT BIG!! LOL. Think back. Do you recall all those time when we were
kids that they said we had a Solar Eclipse? It wasn’t a SOLAR ECLIPSE!!!
Harry M. Loeffler Says:
April 14, 2009 at 12:23 am
K.Barr, like John Facenda, the voice/personality will never be duplicated. was glad to hear his voice 1
last time on Easter Sunday from Colorado……Dave Nevius your assistance in Iraq will be much appreciated.
smack talkin pirates opened up ‘the wrong can of worms.’ moment of silence fro Harry K.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 14, 2009 at 1:19 am
David Nevius,
I, too, Salute you. I was a Navy man myself and my son was Army. Kudos to all who served this wonderful
country…Especially all those on THIS site.If you can of Whoopa$$, I gots friends down yonder ‘dat would
giv ‘ya a few cases!!!
Ken Barr Says:
April 14, 2009 at 6:56 am
Nick, now that you mentioned it I do remember groans from those that sat behind us at assemblies, and
how about our ears back then, I could have rented mine out to U.S. Air for commercial flights.
Harry, John Facenda, wow what a voice, I had not thought about him til you wrote his name. Not just the
local news but most of all the voice overs for the NFL you are right the 2 will never be replaced or
duplicated. Sometimes people just got it, that knack, ability, the edge they my friend had it, in fact
they were loaded with it they will be missed.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 14, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Ken Barr,
Maybe WE invented DUMBO? LOL!!!
Ken Brown Says:
April 14, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Ken and Nick, maybe you guys can get Summer gigs at Disney World… Nick you always had a stage presence!
WELCOME to the site Dawn Henry, thanks for visiting and posting.
WELCOME also to Michele Puente Sarlo, and thank-you for posting on the Hawaiian Cottage page about your
years as a dancer there!
I’ve been doing some house cleaning here, I need to move some of these front page messages to a new
archival vault, but will wait until the site is not busy… this is the most comments we have ever had on
this front page. Also, the 24 hour period over this past Saturday and Sunday, saw the greatest number
of hits on this site… 1073! The previous high number of hits for a 24 hour period was 805! That is
great!!! We average most days between 250 and 500 hits!
Also you may notice the trivia quizes are gone… they were slowing things up. I am rethinking a new
approach to posting some new games and features, and will get back to you on this soon. The problem
was, the trivia had been posted as a “post” not a separate “page” – which is probably how I will post
any future games. I’m open to suggestions as to trivia games, or other features.
I am also considering possibly adding a page where you can leave a link to your Facebook page if you
have one, like the page were you can currently add your email address. The reality is, there are
hundreds, probably thousands of people on FaceBook now who have a Camden connection, it is becoming
quite popular. Many who post on this site have FaceBook pages also. Chances are if you are searching
for someone online, you are going to find them eventually on FaceBook. They may end up putting
Classmates out of business before this site does…LOL
Ken Brown Says:
April 14, 2009 at 3:33 pm
I’ve added a new page titled “Inez Janess.” Thank you Debra for fowarding the photos of your lovely
mother for posting on our site. The many people who knew your family will enjoy seeing them.
Ken Barr Says:
April 14, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Nick you may be right, should we be talking “royalties ” LOL. Thanks for the idea Ken but I already
booked a summer job, cleaning the offices of Ken, Ken Barr and Brown, the pay isn’t good but the
status, you know.
Ken Brown Says:
April 14, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Mr. Barr, does this mean we are out of business as a law firm? We’re now cleaning our own offices???
Time to go to Plan B – we buy a truck and on the side we paint… “Got Junk? Call 1-800- Ken, Ken, Brown,
and Barr” We can then set up a junk yard, maybe in Nick’s old driveway on 36th Street, and sell stuff
like on Sanford and Son! LOL
Ken Barr Says:
April 14, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Oh My I can hear Nick’s Dad now…. What the %$^#%%^ Who the %^$%&^$& Where the ^&^%$% is Nick. No I
think I will pass on that idea Ken. Anyway no way has the law firm been defunked, I just need the extra
cash, I have a dog eating me out of house and home a 1 year old Lab/Golden Retreaver, she thinks she’s
a horse.
Dave Baker Says:
April 14, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Ken Barr, Don’t venture into the scrap business at this point in time given the prices being low (when
was the last time you heard of anybody stealing copper?) As for the Retriever, If you want to curb her
appetite they say you if you bob their tail it will stop them from eating as much.
Of course you have to bob it from the neck back! lol
What? C’mon settle down, I’m a dog lover, (my dogs hate when I tell that one too) But I can’t resist a
good line!
Dave Baker Says:
April 14, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Nick, I was just on Ebay and saw the Rick Moranis collection from Spaceballs is up for auction! Dude! I
found you a helmet! If I win the bid I’ll send you the bill (plus a slight finders fee) I got your back
bro! lol
Dave Baker Says:
April 14, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Ken, Do I get $200.00 when I pass go or do I have to help hold Nick down for that? lol Nick, I got your
back, Only three minutes left on that auction! Ken, Do you know of any 2:00 am gator feeding facilities
in the NC area? lol Nick, I still got your back! Two minutes and counting!
Ken, It just dawned on me, Can everybody see these posts? OOOPS!
I thought I was sending this to YOUR Email! My bad! lol
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 14, 2009 at 11:47 pm
HELMET!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Freddy Vesper Says:
April 15, 2009 at 11:50 am
A sad note of interest to all, Frank Wagner aka ” Troll “, a 1964 graduate of WWHS passed away last
week. Frank was from Cramer Hill and played ball for the Cramer Hill Boys Club and WWHS besides other
organizations. He was the brother of Bill Wagner, a teacher and head football coach at WWHS in the
1960’s.
Inez (Reams) Janess Says:
April 16, 2009 at 3:07 am
HI ken and everybody,
Do you remember the Rosier brothers? I beleive one was named Mike. Cara and Debra spoke of him often
when they went to Davis. Their mother, Bea, was in the Para-professional Teacher Program with me. She
was a good Christian woman. I believe she finally became a school librarian in Camden. One of the
Rosier brothers became a professional football star. He must have gotten good nutrition from his
mother’s soup. I remember her telling me how to save the water from cooked vegetables and use it to mix
with canned soup. It’s funny…. the things we remember…
Inez (Reams) Janess Says:
April 16, 2009 at 3:44 am
Hi again,
Sorry folks…. I spelled “Rozier” wrong in previous posting.
Please forgive me, Bea.
Ken Brown Says:
April 16, 2009 at 6:29 am
Inez, I think most anyone who went to Wilson in the 70’s knew one of the Rozier brothers, they all
played football and other sports – Tony, Joe, Billy, and Mike. Mike went on to play college ball at U
of Nebraska where he won the Heisman Trophy in ‘83 and was the top draft choice in the then new USFL –
he played a season or two with the Pittsburgh Maulers before that league folded and he then went to the
NFL where he played for both the Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons in the 80’s. I think he retired
around ‘90 or ‘91. He was later shot while standing on a street corner in Camden with some friends in
the mid 90’s, but recovered fully. The Wilson football stadium is named in his honor, and he now does
motivational speaking to urban and at risk kids I believe. Joe Rozier graduated in ‘76 from Wilson, and
‘72 from Davis, so he was in the same grade as Cara when she was at Davis. Tony was a year ahead, and
Billy a year behind, then Mike.
Ken Brown Says:
April 16, 2009 at 6:34 am
Freddy, thanks for posting on the sad news about Frank Wagner’s passing. I recall the name, especially
his brother Bill Wagner from when he coached at Wilson.
Ken Barr Says:
April 16, 2009 at 6:36 am
Hi Inze, Thanks for drawing up some memories of the Rozier Family. Yes Mike did play professional
football and made us all proud in his efforts. His older brothers Joe and Brian both played football
for Wilson and were extremely good at it in their own right. I remember when we played the conference
championship in Atlantic City at the convention center we were on a budget as a school and Joe and I
had to share a hotel room with one bed, chair and couch. Of course with Joe being a starter in the
morning game I yielded the bed to him so he could get a good night sleep. I surely don’t remember who
snored louder but we both managed to get to the field on time. Thanks for Jogging that memory loose. I
never got to know their Mom but raising those boy’s I am sure made her a very special person.
Ken Brown Says:
April 16, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Hey Everyone, I have added a few new pages with pictures, thanks to all who have been sending pictures
the last few days… Debra Janess, Terry Abraham, Ron Henry, and Ken Barr.
There are a few problems, however, pictures sent to be published, if they are from a Yearbook photo,
need to be scanned for them to be viewable on the site, otherwise they are not clear enough to view.
I’ve put up those pictures that were viewable, their location can be found on the recent posts page.
Ken Barr, I am not sure what happened with the photos you sent, but they arrived in a text format and
were not viewable, they downloaded as a series of letters and numbers… for a minute there I thought I
was in a Nicholas Cage film unraveling some prophecy… LOL
I need pictures that are submitted as an embedded photo in an email, or in jpeg or bitmat format that
can be downloaded.
Thanks everyone.
Ken Brown Says:
April 16, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Cara Janess, WELCOME to the site, it’s great to see you here along with your Mom and sister! And thank
-you for posting some wonderful memories. We hope you will stop in often and share some more.
Ken Brown Says:
April 16, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Welcome also to Sherry Cahilly Thomas, Davis Class of ‘74, and Wilson Class of ‘78. You snuck in the
other day and I missed your posting on the email page. I hope you will visit and post often.
Ken Brown Says:
April 16, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Just a reminder, I do have the following yearbooks… if anyone wants any pictures scanned and posted on
the site from them, let me know:
Davis 1970, 1971, 1972
Wilson 1973, ‘74, ‘75, and ‘76.
Also does anyone remember Crazy Ed? If you hung out at the Cherry Hill Mall, or wandered Westfield
Avenue into Pennsauken, or ventured to Merchantville, or rode the “D” bus, you probably crossed paths
with Ed. I’ve added a Crazy Ed page, complete with a rare photo of Ed. Check it out.
Inez (Reams) Janess Says:
April 16, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Hi Glenn Nasuti and all;
I did not know Glenn’s dad personally; but I did know him through observation: When Glenn was a little
boy, I remember seeing his dad walk down the other side of Remington St with a devining rod (a wishbone
shapped branch) searching for water, with all the kids in the neighborhood following him like the “Pied
Piper”. Just this scene told me all I had to know about Rocky Nasusti…. he was a truly good person!
My sadest memory about Rocky was when Larry Hough came to my house to tell me that Rocky had passed on.
My first thought was a silent prayer for Lil (Glenn’s mom) that God would give her strength to continue
on. Obviously, God did give Lil the strength to carry on…. she worked hard and raised a fine family.
peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
April 17, 2009 at 3:41 pm
to
Freddy Vesper…Yes, I was the playground instructor at Davis School after Bob Mohrfeld left. I started
when I was 16, then moved to Dudley Grange . The $300 I made for the summer paid for 2 semesters at
Glassboro State College. Mom and Dad only had to come up with the book money! So the playground job got
me through college!
To Charlie Moy…Yes, I am related to Bruce and Wayne Marks. Their Dad was married to Eleanor, then
divorced and married Grace who was the mother of Jackie and Dotty. They (Jackie and Dotty) were raised
on 35th St. in East Camden. Wayne lives in Tampa, FL
I still haven’t sent my pictures as my son is going to walk me through the process. Sometime soon I
hope.
glenn john nasuti Says:
April 17, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Thank You Inez for the story of my father and his divining rod. Needless to say I never heard of this
story and I really appreciate you sharing it with me and my younger sister Gail and older brother Gary.
Remington Street was a wonderful place to grow up and it was families like yours and the Houghs,
Skilskyj’s, Jones, Mame and Bill Kirby, that helped our Mom find the strength to continue on.
Ken Brown Says:
April 17, 2009 at 6:37 pm
SPECIAL TREAT for everyone, just in from the Russ “HALOman” McDaniel Self Promotional Department… a new
video from a news clip showing Russ and his Special Ops Jump Team members setting (shattering actually)
the world record for tandem jumps over a 24 hour period (April 14-15) in Tampa, Florida. The video clip
can be found on the page – “Russ McDaniel – Jump Team World Record” on the menu to the right. Check it
out! The link contains other news from the Tampa area, but the clip on Russ is the first one shown.
Ken Brown Says:
April 17, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Busy night for new pages… Ken Barr has sent the site pictures of Judy Arnold (Philadelphia Warriors
Roller Derby Queen, now involved in her own ministry) on a recent visit to the church that Ken
ministers at. There is also a page of “vintage” Judy Arnold pictures. They can be found on the menu
under “Judy Arnold Meets Ken Barr” and “Judy Arnold – Vintage Photos.”
Ken Barr Says:
April 17, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Thanks Mr. Brown for making those pages and getting the pictures loaded, and with such quality and
clarity. I recommend you check out both pages on Judy Arnold. I also visited the page for Russ, wow,
what great quality on the link to the video. I highly recommend you check out that page and enjoy the
video of the jump, Russ is the Man.
Ken Brown Says:
April 18, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Ron Henry, in answer to your question, I lived on 32nd Street, at the top of the hill between Westfield
and High Street. I hung out a lot on 39th Street and the surrounding neighborhood – with Paul Skeens
(39th), Alan Chien (40th), Bill Coates (37th), Nick Rapanotti (36th).
Ken Brown Says:
April 18, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Peggy Marks DeBoard, I received your pictures of the Davis classes and will get them posted soon. The
lists of names, however, may not post clearly, so we may have to add them after the pictures are posted
– those were clear and will post well.
Ron Henry Says:
April 18, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Ken,
Would it work if I went to Staples and scanned my yearbook pictures onto a disc. And then put them on
my Computer to email them to you, would that work? I know the one’s I sent you were blurry.
I have some good picture of 39th & Westfield Ave. in 1960 and good pictures on Westfield of our old
house and at Easter time 1964.
So, if I get them scanned on a disc and them put them on my computer and email them to you, do you
think that would be better and/or work?
Let me know, I will go to Staples tomorrow and get it done. LOL
Thanks again for everything,
Ron
Dave Baker Says:
April 18, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Ken, Did you ever go to (or crash) any Pennsaken Pool Parties? My Cuz and I were talking about this
tonight and I was curious if i was the only one from Camden who did this at the Pennsauken Pool on
River Road?
I’m not talkin’ bout going there with a friend who lived there, I’m talkin’ bout full fledged climbing
the fence commando style crashin’ lol
Ken Brown Says:
April 18, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Ron, yep that will work, scanned pictures transfer the best to be uploaded, so yes if you get them
scanned to a disc and then upload to your computer and email them, they should be clear and viewable.
Dave, I never snuck into the Pennsauken Pool, My grandmother lived in Pennsauken at 44th and High, and
I seem to recall my older sisters going there when they were teens. By time I was a teen, we always had
a pool in the yard. Also again, during the high school years, RussMac, Paul, myself, Tony Lope, Barb
Maslanic, the Lowe sisters, many others were going off on camping, hiking, canoeing trips which usually
ended up with us swimming someplace… whether it was upstate NY, down in the Pines, or the rapids of the
Upper Delaware. We preferred lakes, rivers, and streams to pools…. LOL I do remember our group renting
the Vo-tech pool one night for a swim. That was cool. I also recall one time, I think it was George
Gumbrell and I, we convinced someone that we knew the people who had the big above ground pool that
lived in that house next to the 36th Street overpass, on the Pennsauken side, and that kid showed up at
that house in swim trunks with a towel asking if he could swim in their pool. Hey Dave that was not you
was it? Maybe it was Nick! LOL
Dave Baker Says:
April 18, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Ken, I don’t think that was me (not my M.O.) we didn’t knock and ask! lol
There were more than a few times we were caught with our pants down, (literally) in someone’s pool in
Pennsauken. Honestly I don’t ever remember asking first, Then swimming! lol The only time we ever had a
towel was if there was one hanging on a line! (clothespoles!) lol
Ron Henry Says:
April 18, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Ken,
Ok then. Thanks I will do that tomorrow. And I am sorry fot being a pain with all the questions. As I
stated earlier, I’m still learning the picture copying stuff.
Thanks again and have a good night.
Ron
Dave Baker Says:
April 18, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Ken, As worldly as you are, And from all the posts you are well traveled, I’m still trying to figure
out why you paid for a go-cart ride! lol
Ken Brown Says:
April 19, 2009 at 1:11 am
I think that was a damage deposite Dave, the Ewings did not trust me behind the wheel after burning out
their clutch and hitting the wall (the curb) numerous times! I’ve only ever been involved in two
“crashes” in my life… on the Ewings go-cart, and on a Coast Guard plane (crash landing, as we had
already touched down, we just ran out of runway). Oh and that time I was stopped at a stop sign and a
NJ state vehicle ran into me.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 19, 2009 at 1:37 am
Ken:
Thant sounds like something I would do. LOL. Showing up with a towek and swim trunks!!
Remember all the Davis Fairs? I thought they were cool! I remember being grounded one year from going.
My mom found out I picked up the telephone and dialed all of those “AREA CODES” out of the phone book
and hearing all those cool tones!! LOL! What a phone bill she got! I was oblivious to what I was
actually doing!!
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 19, 2009 at 1:38 am
Ooopsie. TOWEL
jim lang Says:
April 20, 2009 at 6:26 am
i,wonder if any one remembers a gentleman named “lenoard hendrix” he used to frequent the gas station
next to marios steak house on westfield ave. i guess you could best describe len as eccentric. but like
crazy ed. he has a place in our memories. the time frame would be early to mid. 70’s. jim.
Ken Barr Says:
April 21, 2009 at 6:40 am
Sorry Jim the name doesn’t ring a bell to me, we all hung around there during that time period between
cheese steaks and water ice, I am sure I saw the gentlemen but not to recall. You have to hand it to
Stan (owner of Mario’s) he had the business didn’t he? They tell me the place is a chicken shack now,
some how that just doesn’t seem right, LOL.
Johanna (Fanelle) Shirk Says:
April 21, 2009 at 8:07 am
Ken an FYI I just read in the courierpostonline.com that Bill Shaw passed away he was a WWHS grad class
of 1956. He worked with the City of Camden for a long time I thought he was with the Police but all it
said was the mayors aid. Just thought you would like to know incase any other class of 56 people are
connected to this site.
HI Everybody!!! How are you all????
Barbara (Maslanik) Thurber Says:
April 21, 2009 at 11:43 am
Hello to everyone! Just got caught up on the reading here. It’s been a while since I checked in. Still
need to check out the added photo’s.
Can’t wait for the warmer weather to get here this week.
Russ, Ken, Ken B, Paul, Nick, Sandy, Greg – great to hear from you!
Paul Skeens Says:
April 21, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Barb
Great to hear from you, and its great to know that you are doing well…..it’s been a long, loooooonng,
time!
Sandy (Orme) Says:
April 21, 2009 at 3:15 pm
A BIG HELLO!!! to all. Hope all is well with everyone and your all enjoying the wonderful spring
weather.
george marks Says:
April 21, 2009 at 7:36 pm
HI PEG; DEBOARD…. IT’S YOUR LITTLE BROTHER…DOES ANYONE REMEMBER YUM-YUM? I USED TO SELL IT ON A WAGON
AT THE PENSAUKEN POOL IN THE SUMMERS. I CAN STILL HEAR MYSELF WALKING UP 36TH STREET YELLING YUM,YUM,
YUM,YUM. THAT WAS THE BEST STUFF. EVERYONE HUNG OUT AT THE POOL IN THE SUMMERS…
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 21, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Barb Maslanik,
Great to hear from you. Glad you found the site. It has been a long time! And to think we were almost
in=laws!! LOL! Barb & Ron!!
Ron Henry Says:
April 21, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Hey Barb Maslanik,
Do you live on Dewey Rd. in Bellmawr? I think we maybe neighbors.
I tried to look it up where you grew up in Camden but had a very hard time finding it. Where did you
grow up. I lived at 3810 Westfield Ave.
Graduated Wilson 1n 1977 and Davis School in 1973.
Just wondering
Ron
Freddy Vesper Says:
April 22, 2009 at 7:22 am
Ron Henry,
I see you lived at 3810 Westfield Ave, I went to school with a Ray and Bob Henry who lived on that
block. Are they your brothers?
Ron Henry Says:
April 22, 2009 at 7:36 am
Freddy,
Yes Ray and Bob Henry are my Brother’s. And my oldest brother Bill.
They are older than me. They are all in their 60’s. Ray did’nt graduate from high school, he wanted to
go into the Army back then and my dad let him. Bob are retired from Acme Markets, where he worked for
over 30 years.
I will mention to them that you have asked about them, where did you live? Or can you tell me something
that you think they will remember you by?
Also, I have a sister’s Barbara, Jeanne who are a little older than me. They are around Ray & Bob’s
age.
Let me know and thanks,
Ron Henry
Freddy Vesper Says:
April 23, 2009 at 8:46 am
Ron Henry,
I was closer in friendship to Ray, although he was a year ahead of me in school we were in the same
class in 3rd grade. It was a split class of 3rd and 4th grades, Ray was in 4th and me in 3rd. We
remained friends until he quit school. I also remember your brother Bill and sister Barbara. Was Bill’s
nickname Henny? Something like that is jogging my memory. I did not know your older siblings well due
to the age difference. I lived on Merriel Ave between Rosedale and 32nd Sts. Sometimes we would walk up
to your neighborhood and play or get into trouble. Besides Ray there was Dave Cuolliard, Mike Edwards,
Mike DeLuca, just to name a
few. We were frequently asked to leave Saggy’s.
Ken Brown Says:
April 23, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Hey everyone, there are several new pages with pictures posted… Davis 1949 Grade 3, Davis 1950 Grade 4,
Davis 1953 Grade 7, Davis First Day of School ’50’s, Sealtest Milk Truck, Bus Stop Sign, Penn Fruit
Ads, Fallout Shelter Sign, Vintage Mailbox.
Peggy Marks DeBoard, I was unable to upload the list of names for the class pictures you sent, but you
can add them in the response box on each respective page. Often text photos do not come out clearly.
Thanks again.
Barbara (Maslanik) Thurber Says:
April 24, 2009 at 10:26 am
Hey Nick, you’re right! I totally forgot about Barb and my brother. Boy, would that have been
something.
Ron Henry, as a matter of fact I did live on Dewey Road in Bellmawr. From 1986-1992. Actually that is a
renter house and my brother Ron and his wife have been living there since I moved out. Where are you
at?
I grew up on the corner of 28th and Westfield next to St. Joe’s. We were the ones who had the pool in
the backyard. Went to St. Joe’s and WWHS ‘76.
I don’t remember your name so I am going to have to look at some school photo’s to put your name with a
face. It’s terrible getting old isn’t it??? LOL
Paul, you old dog. Where you been hiding???
Ken, I have not forgotten about you. I promise that within a month or so I will make the trip to
Smithville and give you a call.
Great talking with everyone!
Take care,
Barbara
george marks Says:
April 24, 2009 at 10:32 am
I REMEMBER JOHNS BARGAIN STORE ON FEDERAL NEAR DR. SAULS (DENTIST) OFFICE. TOM MCCANES SHOES, NEAR THE
5-10 STORE. JOHNS IS WHERE I USED TO GO TO GET MY AIRPLANE MODELS. DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THE GERMAN
BAKERS ON THE CORNER OF 34TH AND WESTFIELD? THE STICKY BUNS WERE THE BEST EVER. ZANA ETTER, I REMEMBER
YOU, YOU LIVED NEXT TO GARY JOHNSON ON 35TH STREET. DO YOU REMEMBER MR VELLONIE, ON THE CONER OF
FAIRFAX AND 35TH? THOSE WERE GOOD OLD DAYS ………
Ken Brown Says:
April 24, 2009 at 10:42 am
Hey Everyone!
George Marks welcome to the site and thanks for posting! Are you or your sister Peggy related to Linda
Marks? Linda was in some of my classes at Davis (Class of ‘72, and Wilson ‘76),
Inez Janess, about the picture sizes, some pictures due to the size the are scanned to, or due to their
original size, cannot be enlarged beyond what appears on the page. You can enlarge some pictures
slightly from your own computer, though some of the clarity may be lost by clicking on the box that
usually has “100%” on it, on your computer’s tool bar, you can then increase your screen size to 125%,
150% or larger, however, often you do lose some of the clarity.
Ken Brown Says:
April 24, 2009 at 10:46 am
Hey Barb Maslanic, yeah just give a call if you guys are ever down this way. I think MayFest weekend is
coming up, not sure of the exact dates I will have to check on that.
And your brother dated Barb Rapanotti? Was that before or after I dated her? Oh wait, I never actually
dated Barb, always wanted to, but everytime we hung out in Nick’s driveway and I got up to nerve to ask
Barb out, we’d get chased from the premises by Nick and Barb’s step dad. LOL Barb Rapanotti, sorry,
but I’m no longer available to date
peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
April 24, 2009 at 11:19 am
Hi Ken,
The only Markses we were related to were Bruce and Wayne and Dotty and Jackie who lived on 35th St.
Jackie would have graduated with my brother Austin, in 1963, from Wilson, but her nick name was Lynn.
Any way of changing the caption on the Davis First Day of School date?
It was Sept, of 1946. Sorry, if I gave the wrong date when posting the picture.
Hi George,
The German bakery at the corner of Westfield and 34th St. did have great stuff. My favorites were the
choc. chip cookies and the torpedo and soft rolls.
We called it the German bakery because the people who owned it were of German descent, we never knew
their real names except the daughter’s name was Alice.
During WWII someone went in and grabbed the old mother by the throat because she was a German. Scared
the poor old woman to death! Emotions ran high during and after the war.
When I was a baby we had black-outs and Mom lit a candle on the floor because I was scared and cried.
The person who patrolled the neighborhood to be sure everyone obeyed the blackout rules, banged on the
door and said they would report Mom!
Barbara (Maslanik) Thurber Says:
April 24, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Ken, yes, let me know what those dates are for the MayFest. My luck it will be on one of the 2 weekends
I already have plans for. LOL
About Barb Rappanotti and my brother, I am going to have to talk with him to refresh my memory of when
this occurred. Obviously it was short lived. LOL
Inez (Reams) Janess Says:
April 24, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Hey Ya’ll,
My favorite treat from the German bakery was pineapple-cheese pie.
Thanks, Ken. I’ll use my magnifying glass when necessary.
Check out my posting on Davis Memories about Cara’s highheels in 2nd grade.
Sandy (Orme) Says:
April 24, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Hey Barb! How are you? I think we should try to go to MayFest, I think it’s on the 17th of May.
CALLING ALL CLASSMATES THAT CAN MAKE IT, WE SHOULD TRY TO MEET AT THE MAYFEST IN SMITHVILLE…
sort of a mini-reunion. If you can that would be a real BLAST!!!
Sandy (Orme) Says:
April 24, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Taking a break, be back soon.
Take care all of you!
later gators…
Ken Brown Says:
April 25, 2009 at 10:51 pm
It was brought to my attention that a person who has not posted on this site was upset because their
name was mentioned in two post. The post was benign, and the name was only mentioned in passing. I have
removed the posts.
I think the policy should be to use discretion when posting memories and when mentioning names. I don’t
believe it is necessary to not mention names, but be conscious of who you mention and what is said, and
certainly do not name any individuals in a post that could be viewed as negative.
Also I want to invite everyone who posts at this site to check out FaceBook. It is my opinion that
FaceBook will soon make this site obsolete. FaceBook allows each member to control what they post on
their own personal pages, what they edit, what pictures to upload etc… As a member YOU contol the
content of your own page. AND I believe that FaceBook now offers more opportunities to reconnect with
people than our site does. There are currently hundreds of former Wilson people on FaceBook, and even
more people who have a connection to Camden. In addition you can find people you served in the military
with, worked with, went to college with, even relatives, neighbors, and friends. I personally found two
cousins I have not seen in thirty years. FaceBook is the future for reconnecting, and the great thing
is that you decide who you wish to reconnect with, and you control the content of your postings and
page. It’s like having your own little corner of the Internet.
So think about it. I am not pulling the plug on this site, and even if at some future date it’s no
longer a site to post at, it will remain as a read only site. I do see the real potential for FaceBook
to do what this sites, and Classmates does, though more efficiently and with more contol by each
individual. The possibilities there are endless, you could set up a group just for your specific class,
or your neighborhood, or for the group you hung out with, or you could join one of the larger groups,
such as the one for former Camden people run by Steve Bellitz, or the Wilson Graduates group, or any
number of other related groups.
Anyway, if you are not a FaceBook member yet, I suggest you check it out. Many from this site are on
FaceBook already, and have connected there… you can even engage in real time chat if you choose.
Thanks for reading, I know this posting is quite long.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 26, 2009 at 2:24 am
Was it me, Ken?
Ken Brown Says:
April 26, 2009 at 9:08 am
No Nick, it was not you. It really does not matter who wrote the posts, the posts, as I said were very
positive, and only mentioned someone in passing, and that person did not appreciate having their name
on the Internet. So I honored the original poster’s request to remove the two posts.
Nick you’re on FaceBook (and MySpace also), do you agree with my view on that site? Do you think it is
the future for reconnecting? I also think it offers more meaningful connections than a bulletin board
such as this site. It is much more interactive, and you control the level of the interaction you wish
to participate in.
My sister Laurie has suggested I open a group at FaceBook with the same name as this group, and with
links to that group. Such a site will allow each member to edit their posts on their own, post pictures
on their own, and reconnect with others from FaceBook, both from this group, and the extended FaceBook
community. It’s actually easier to directly reconnect with people there, as you don’t have to leave an
email address, you merely have to send the person a “friend request” which they accept or ignore, and
then it is easy to email that person, leave them messages, chat with them, and also view who they have
reconnected with, which most often will include others you know.
Ken Barr Says:
April 26, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Ken Brown, from my side of the field you have put together a web site that can’t be matched to a lot of
those public sites. I guess I don’t see this site as a reconnect with old friends as much as a place to
share some fond memories of an awesome time in our lives. None of us can fully explain it I am sure,
but we lived in a special area, at a special time, with special people, doing special things, and when
the time was up we went our different ways, taking with us loads of memories and an honest belief that
we grew up in the best part of South Jersey. The teachers, fellow students, sports, even Ms. Ryan in
the Davis Library all impacted our lives in ways words can not express. Sharing parts of that with
those that visit this site bring us all joy but for you Mr. Brown our joy measures the success of this
site due totally to your drive, desire and intensity to provide us a cost free place to stop and share
the very joy I speak of. My hats off to you Ken for a job well done in setting it up, growing it, and
monitoring it to be all that it is today and will be in the future. YOU ARE THE MAN !!!
Steve Bellitz Says:
April 26, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Ken:
My Facebook group can never provide what your hours and hours of selfless time have accumulated on your
site. I still enjoy visiting your site often.
My Former Camden, NJ People group is very narrow in scope…it is social…current people focused….heavily
music oriented to the tunes we grew up with from the 50s to the 70s…and the hopes of planning some type
of get together.
I am in awe whenever I come to your site, and even though the Facebook-type groups have certain
flexibilities, yours does more justice to the great city we all grew up in than any smaller FB group
could ever hope to.
You need to realize what a service and what a resource your site is. I always leave with new
information. And thank goodness there was a Ruth Ryan, and a Mr. Shaw, and a Bill Smothers…we all
became better people just having them cross our life’s path.
You are an archivist where I am a social director.
We are all proud of where we come from, and I’m a better person from having “known” you.
Steve Bellitz
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 26, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Ken:
Where as I agree MySpace and Facebook are more flexible, it can not recreate the closeness of this
site. this site is “OUR SITE”, whereas Facebook is a site for many.
Ron Henry Says:
April 26, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Ken Brown,
I too strongly agree with Ken Barr, Steve Bellitz and Nick Rapanotti about the site. I can’t wait to
get online sometimes and see who from the old neighborhood is now posting.
And being new to FaceBook at your suggestion Ken Brown does not in anyway do it for me what this site
does. Facebook is not going to do it for me!
We are all “Camden People” and I know that we are all very proud of that fact.
Ken Barr said it best for all of us (I believe) and I quote: (If I may)
“From my side of the field you have put together a web site that can’t be matched to a lot of those
public sites. I guess I don’t see this site as a reconnect with old friends as much as a place to share
some fond memories of an awesome time in our lives. None of us can fully explain it I am sure, but we
lived in a special area, at a special time, with special people, doing special things, and when the
time was up we went our different ways, taking with us loads of memories and an honest belief that we
grew up in the best part of South Jersey. The teachers, fellow students, sports, even Ms. Ryan in the
Davis Library all impacted our lives in ways words can not express. Sharing parts of that with those
that visit this site bring us all joy but for you Mr. Brown our joy measures the success of this site
due totally to your drive, desire and intensity to provide us a cost free place to stop and share the
very joy” (Very well done Ken Barr)
This is the truth for all of us on this site. Does anyone disagree with this statement?
That is exactly how this site makes me feel as well. To be totally honest with all of you, I thought
that I was the only one who felt this way but was not to sure if I should have said it or not. But this
is the truth.
So Ken Brown, I hope (on behalf of all your Camden friends) you reconsider about this site. I will
offer my time to help in keeping it up and running. Honestly! This kind of site is what a lot of us
Camden People need! I know I do!
So Ken Brown, I too would like to really Thank You, you have brought back more memories for me than I
remembered! All funny and good ones too. I cannot say it enough!
God Bless you, (if I may say that)
Ron Henry
Ken Brown Says:
April 26, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Ken Barr, Nick, Steve Bellitz, and Ron, as well as my sister Laurie who gave me some much needed
insight into what this site means, I thank you all for your kind words and support for this site. Also
Ken Barr, thank you for the email explaining what this site means to you personally.
Ken you made me realize that this site is not so much about reconnecting, as it is about the sharing of
memories, from a time and a place, that all who visit this site have in common. And to Steve, I guess I
never realized until you so eloquently put it, that this site is an archive… of the memories that we
all left Camden with, and that bond us all to the journey that was, if not shared, did occasionally
overlap. And this does indeed, contribute to who we each have become because at some level we each
embrace, with much pride the Camden experience we all shared.
It was never my intent to shut down the site. I think I needed to step back for a few days and reassess
the importance of this site, it purpose for being, and the direction it needs to go in to remain that
archival vault of memories and history that it has become. When I started this site, I had no idea
where it would go, or how long it would last. I decided to just go with the flow, see who showed up,
and let the people who found and visit the site dictate what it became. And I now see, perhaps more
clearly than, oh two days ago that what it has become, in addition to a archive of memories and
history, an important place, a comfortable home on the Internet, for people to share their personal
memories in a friendly, positive atmosphere. And in that spirit, I agree with everyone, that this site
must continue.
I still believe FaceBook has much potential for making reconnections… here at this site, new visitors
trickle in now and then, perhaps a few a week, sometime weeks without anyone new finding it, whereas on
FaceBook you can see many new people arriving daily. Because of this, I think what I may do, while
continuing this site as it is, and adding to it to make it better, I may open a sister site on FaceBook
with the intent, of letting the many people who visit FaceBook know that this site exists for those who
wish to share their memories in a more in depth medium than is possible on FaceBook. I realize not
everyone wants to share their memories in a public forum, and also, not everyone desires to reconnect.
Some just want to reconnect, as Steve suggested, in the here and now, and yes FaceBook does seem to
address that efficiently.
Anyway, thanks again to all who commented and helped me sort this out. I have always said it is the
visitors to this site that have made it the wonderful place it has become. I now have a clearer picture
of why that is so. For the record, I checked how much of the space WordPress allows each site, we have
used, and we still have roughly 94% of our space available… that will literally take years to use up.
In over a year we have only used 6% of our space, and we have had a trememdous amount of material, text
and pictures, posted here. So rest assured, this free site will not run out of space anytime soon.
Thanks again to everyone who posts here, especially those who consider this site an important part of
who they are… because of where we all came from.
Ken
Ken Brown Says:
April 26, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Joann Hoffman, WELCOME to the site! I’m glad you reconnected with my sister Laurie, and she told you
about our site. I hope you’ll visit often. Thanks for posting!
peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
April 26, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Ken,
I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed this site! Sharing memories with people I never met or with whom
I would never have had contact, yet shared pictures, people, opinions, etc.
I can’t wait to log in each day to see what someone has to share about the city of my youth.
Many thanks for your hours of effort.
Peg
Freddy Vesper Says:
April 27, 2009 at 7:15 am
Ken,
This is a great site and I thank you for your all your effort to keep this site operating. I enjoy
reading the posts and connecting with past and new friends, such as you.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 27, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Ken,
Thank you again for keeping this site open. It really helps me reconnect and share memories. It helps
me especially since I went away for 4 years to Girard College. It is helping me see what went on during
those 4 years of being away.
Now, for your all your efforts, I am going to reward you. I just spoke to Bob. You have HIS permission
to go past his house, WITH PAUL, for 1 week starting today and he will NOT YELL!!!
Thanks again!
Nick
Lorrie Says:
April 27, 2009 at 2:02 pm
The Smithville MayFest is May 16th and 17th. Google “Smithville Historic Village” and you’ll find the
site with the schedule of events in the village.
Paul Skeens Says:
April 27, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Nick,
That is the KINDEST thing anyone could ever do for us!!!!! Except for us being able to go by and see
Barb is in the driveway! (would that be too much to ask?) LOL!
Ken will keep this site open for EVER now!
I have to say that Ken Barr, Nick, Steve and Ron were all right on regarding the site. It is very
special. We can all understand, when someone tells a story about almost anywhere in Camden,…..Dudley
grange, or the Davis School Fair, or Marios Steaks or even Mrs. Ryan (who, by the way, scolded me once,
when I put a pencil NEAR my ear in 3rd grade to “NEVER, EVER, put anything smaller than my elbow, into
my ear. To this day when I hear that saying I think of her.)
I think the Social Networking Sites cannot compare. I am continually prodded to join such sites by
friends, co-workers, and relatives……I say to them, everyone that I want to be ABLE to contact me knows
how to do so…..it’s easy to pick up the phone and call. Don’t get me wrong…these sites certainly have
their place in todays world, but not everyone finds them necessary.
Ken Brown, you have, and continue to put a great deal of time and effort into this site and it must be
a pain occaisonally, (although you have NEVER complained) but what you created, intentionally or
otherwise, is enjoyed by many, many people, and needs….for the time being….to stay the way it is.
Joann Hoffman Says:
April 27, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Hey Ken,
I agree with everyone when they say you created a wonderful site here.
The little time that i have been on, i have really enjoyed it!! And wanted
to say thank you for all your hard work, sweat and joy. Hopefully for
right now you can leave it the way it is. good luck and thank u.
joann
Ken Brown Says:
April 27, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Nick, can Paul and I pitch tents in Bob’s driveway? LOL Nick I’ve been meaning to ask you, since your
step dad does still live on 36th…what is where Jimmy Burgoes use to be? Is it still a pizza place or
restaurant?
Joann Hoffman and Paul Skeens, thanks for your kind words of support and encouragement concerning the
site. After much though, and Nick’s bribes to keep this, his second home, alive, I won’t be making any
changes. I realize the memories that get shared here, that cannot be duplicated on other sites, even
the various FaceBook groups devoted to Camden. As Steve Bellitz said, FaceBook is more geared towards
the here and now, after following some of the discussion boards on various sites, I see what Steve is
saying… there is not a lot of in depth posts being left, with the content that the post on this site
contain, and that is special and unique.
What I will do is open a site on FaceBook, that merely allows members from there to link to this site,
they can chat or whatever they want to do at the FaceBook site and see who else from Camden is there,
but mostly it will be a site to direct people here if they want to share their stories and memories.
Rutgers use to have a site somewhat like this one… Stories of the Neighborhood, which was left
unattended by the university, and in time it was taken over by spammers. Rutgers eventually shut the
site down, and all the memories that had been posted disappeared. That will not happen here. So rest
easy, and keep on posting and spreading the word about the site.
Ken Brown Says:
April 27, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Joann Hoffman, was your sister Liz Carpenter? She was in some of my classes at Davis…. maybe 6th and
8th.
Steve Bellitz Says:
April 27, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Hey Ken:
Can you keep a lid on your rowdy Woodrow Wilson guys? They are causing all kinds of controversy
here!!!!!
Just kidding……It doesn’t matter what school you attended…Marlton Pike decided that! If you are Camden,
you are familly!
Let’s all raise our panzarottis and toast the lifelong friends we have made, being lucky enough to have
grown up in Camden. People from the outside just would never understand. We are unique, and didn’t
always have it easy. But I would never doubt if I needed help, that there would be someone from Camden
having my back.
Steve Bellitz
Baird Blvd-East Camden
Camden High-class of 1969
Dave Baker Says:
April 27, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Ken! Two Hundred and five pounds, Give or take what I had for lunch! What does this mean you ask? I’m
just weighing in! LOL Yes, I’ve read enough to know that you’ve given reflection to your amazing
creation and decided to allow it to grow and become it’s own portal in the cybernet link to a
generation of kids parents and residents that have no equal to what we were blessed with growing up!
That being said, I will only say for myself that I’m not interested in the Myspace, Facebook, Look@me
sites, I’m sure when you created this site it was sparked by the values that were instilled in you
growing up in the area that we all grew up in too. We all have that bond as witnessed by those who
visit here, Pose the question how did you find us? And see the replies! I don’t have to ask you for
that answer you already know it! We all need that link to the past without it being over complicated, I
know you understand this as it has become the mantra of your brainchild here! If I may… It’s Cartun’s
Hardware Vs. WalMart! Who doesn’t like to save a buck? (Show of hands) How many of you grew up with
that personal touch? (Big show of hands) Given the choice of the two I’ll take mine with a large
helping of down home, Can I help you find something? How’ve you been? How’s the family? As opposed to,
This isn’t my Dept.! I’m sorry but that’s corporate’s policy! Etc… Ken run your search on two things
typed here most often, “I got your back!” and “LOL”
I’m sure you’ll find these two a lot within this place we call Home! This is who we are as a group of
people who grew up in one of the most wonderful places that ever existed bar none. The beauty of it is
we don’t have to explain it to anyone when we have each other to understand it! “We laugh out loud and
we mean it when we say, I got your back! ” How many would have traded it for anyplace else? Not I! I do
know for certain that it gives me a real sense of back in the neighborhood everytime I log on and read
“WELCOME to the site! I’m glad you reconnected” “YOU ARE THE MAN KENNY BROWN” Thank-You!
Nick, Thanks for asking bout me! I got your back! LOL
Bake
george marks Says:
April 27, 2009 at 8:12 pm
KEN, THIS IS A GRAET SITE. THANKS FOR GETTING US ALL TOGETHER. I HAVE ONE FOR YOU..DO YOU REMEMBER
WIBG, THE ROCK STATION FROM PHILLY? HOW ABOUT GERRY BLABBIT, THE GEETER WITH THE HEATER??????WIBBIG WAS
IT…..THANKS AGAIN
Paul Skesne Says:
April 27, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Okay Kenny?
I think its time for us all to ‘fess up. All of us, Dave, Nick, Ken Barr, Steve, Ron, Joann, Inez, your
sister Laurie and everyone else who has visited here….all of us have been e-mailing each other trying
to come up with touching tributes that will make you feel horribly guilty and remorseful about even
thinking about ending this site….Did it work? I think it did….
now….no more crazy talk about pulling the plug here or we will be forced to tie you (and Ray Walton) to
the basketball nets at 39th and Westfield Ave. and have Bob Horner run over your feet with his 90cc
Bridgestone Motorcycle, until you need a pair of those special shoes that were in the window of the
shoe repair shop at 34th and Westfield. And if that isn’t enough, we’ll have a certain math teacher,
INTIMATELY explain the complete idea of how a transcendental number, approx. 3.14159, expresses the
ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle…
and speaking of that….Remember looking out the window in Algebra class and seeing Russ’ face peering IN
the window……it wouldn’t have been a big deal except…… WE WERE ON THE SECOND FLOOR!!!!
Gail Nasuti Burke Says:
April 27, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Ken,
This site is like visiting the old neighborhood!
It is great to hear from old friends. Sometimes I just recognize the name. It seems somehow we are all
connected by growing up in the same great place.
And no one can send requests here like “help me save the rainforest.” like they do on facebook. (no
offense Barb) LOL
This site is a connection to a place that I miss very much that will never be the same. Thank you Ken
and family for all of your hard work on it.
Dave Baker Says:
April 27, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Paul! Ix-nay on the oke-jay! We were suppose to let him off the hook for Cinco De Mayo! Nick! reach
over and smack Paul for me, I can’t reach him from here! LOL Ken, And you were thinking of ending all
this!
Ya big lug! Guess your stuck with us Stooges!
“WHY SOITENLY! NYUK! NYUK! NYUK!”
La-Da-Da-Dee-Da!
It’s not a venacular! It’s a Derby!
Dave Baker Says:
April 27, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Hey Paul and Nick! Do they have a sweeps month on these kind of internet sites? LOL Ken that’s just
wrong of you to try and tug at our heart strings for a lousy ratings share! You “Wascally Wabbit”
You know you have to keep this up and running cause somewhere out there someone is making a 3-D
sculpture of Davis School out of mashed potatoes and he’ll need this site to get back to the “Mother
Ship” LOL
Bake
Ken Barr Says:
April 27, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Bake…. you are ate up…… I LIKE IT !!! Ken, last I heard some Religious group (and I use the term
loosely) took over Jimmy Burgoes and was holding church there. May-be Nick can get an update from his
Dad
Ron Henry Says:
April 27, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Hey Guys,
As you all know that I totally agree. But Poor Ken is taking one of those Camden style beatings.
LOL….All with love Ken….
We would all miss this site. I really don’t know what I’d do half the day now. LOL (really)
Hey Bake, where have you been the last few days? Everything OK?
Paul Skeens that second floor window you talked about was probably close to the window I got hung out
of by Mr. Glasso. He was so upset with me one day, he took me into the teachers lounge and hung me out
the 2 floor window saying he was going to drop me if I didn’t wise up. Well guess what? It worked. LOL
Never told anyone that till just now.
Also, Paul you remember all that in your post at 8:32pm ( 5 up from this one) too. Wow. Bob Horner’s
motorcycle and all. Everyone rode that thing!
See Ken Brown, you started something here that just cannot be let go. If there is anything at all I can
do to help you, let me know and we will get it all worked out!
I am truly “hooked” on this site!
Thanks again for everything you do for all of us. “The Camden Family Crew”
God Bless,
Ron Henry
Ken Brown Says:
April 28, 2009 at 5:23 am
Hey Guys, thanks again for all the support… and at this early hour when the only other person in South
Jersey up and posting here is Ron Henry, it’s as good as that cup of morning tea (yeah still pushing
the tea, a strong black tea will wake you as well as any cup of coffee)
I must admit, I finally get it… meaning I finally get what this site means to everyone. And Dave Baker
put it in terms that really hit home… this place is like Cartun’s Hardware, and those other sites, well
they really don’t compare, as Gail pointed out, you can Save the Rainforest, but you won’t find that
back in the neighborhood feel you do here. Cartun’s Hardware holds a special place in my heart. My
brother Mike worked there when he was in high school, I remember going in there once when he first
started working there, I rode my bike over, not to actually buy anything, but just to see how Mike was
doing on his new job. I remember he started showing me around the place from an employee’s view, all
the nook and crannies where things were stored and kept, the back rooms which had more merchandise than
the many overstuffed shelves and aisles. The place truly had everything one needed if you came from
East Camden (okay so they did not sell beer, but…) which really, as I look around this site, it’s much
the same, we have pretty much anything that is needed here for all of us who came out of East Camden….
and I think we do even have beer here, or at least a vintage Camden Beer sign!
Ken Barr, thanks for the info on what is now at Jimmy Burgoes, I was wondering what had happened to my
cult…errrr flock of followers Whatever the place is now, my memory of it will always be going in there
on Friday evening to pick up three pizzas (which I delivered home on my bike), and seeing Jimmy sitting
in a chair at one of the tables smoking and drinking coffee, with Sinatra on the stereo in the
background, and Dominic Lope back behind the counter doing everything else to keep the place running…
and Dominic was all of 12 then I think!
And Dave, while we have not done a “sweeps month” here, I have on occasion listed the most popular
search terms at this site, and for a good run, several months ago, before our one year anniversary, our
own RussMac, flying cowboy squirrel of East Camden, was as popular a search here as The Clothes’ Prop
Man and Miss Vicky! By the way speaking of Russ, he has not weighed in yet on all this but I could
never shut this place down as it not only serves as a memory archive for all of us, but for Russ
personally, it is the only theatre on the internet that will show all his self promotional videos!
Russ, I loved the new photos, and yes, I will get them posted!! You are not getting kickbacks for
advertising those sunglasses or socks are you? We are an ad free site you know!
And Paul, you had to bring up the Ray Walton incident, didn’t you? Poor guy gets a bump on the head
during our rough housing, and you call me up later that day and tell me I was wanted for questioning by
the police because Ray was in a coma or something. And really, Bob’s Bridgestone was only 90cc? It
looked so much bigger than your mini-bike (Ouch my ankle… LOL) but I guess it really wasn’t. Seriously,
the day when your ankle met the uncovered mini-bike chain is still etched in my memory, that was truly
horrific. But what I remember most was the calm your Dad showed, as he got you settled down and
administered first aid, and got you to the hospital. I don’t think anything ever rattled your Dad!
And Russ peering through Mrs. Wolfgang’s second floor class window was truly priceless, made even
moreso not because he had scaled the outside wall of Wilson years before his Special Forces training,
but because he did so carrying a pigeon! Oh wait… the pigeon, Russ, and Mrs Wolfgang’s class was
another day, another story.
Okay enough early morning reminiscing, gotta make sure the kids are getting ready for school.
And yes this site will always be here, and it’s got everyone’s back!
Ken
Ken Barr Says:
April 28, 2009 at 7:47 am
Mr. Brown, fond memories of Cartun’s Hardware, when ever our pimple ball busted out, we would gather
our change and I would walk, mind you walk to Cartun’s (we were too poor for bikes) (chances are we had
bikes but tore them up playing hill jumping behind the Cam-Soup Warehouse)anyway I would walk there and
get a new one. One day I recall all they had left was a pink one, ” I don’t think so ” so we tried
using one of my brothers tennis balls and we never went back to pimple ball again. So when the hardware
store’s revenue dropped by 29 cents that was us !!!
Paul Skeens Says:
April 28, 2009 at 9:03 am
Ron Henry,
The 2nd floor incident with Russ happened at Wilson in our Algebra class but I do remember Mr.
Galasso…he ended up being a Superintendant of Schools somewhere….maybe Washington Twp or there-a-bouts.
If you remember Bob’s cycle you should remember the go cart that he and I owned together…we chipped in
and bought it…..$6.00 apiece but the thing was great. We painted it all up and Bob’s dad , who was very
handy did some motor work on it. The only thing was, it did not have a centrifugal clutch so we had to
keep it running to switch riders.
Ron, I got one for you…I just remembered this while I was writing, we were all at “the courts” one
night riding my orange mini-bike, and you kept asking for a ride…I let you take it and then an
advertising blimp went over the church with flashing lights and you thought it was a UFO!!! you yelled
and jumped off the mini-bike while it was still moving.The minibike was fine but you were initially
scared to death.
Ken Brown, It was that same minibike that I took the clutch-guard off of while…I think…we were jumping
trashcans in my yard? It wasn’t the chain but the centrifigal clutch that turned my ankle into
hamburger. Yes my dad was a rock, he was not easily shaken. It’s one thing to handle emergencies for
others, but when it is your own flesh & blood it is quite different. I have handled countless
tradgedies over the last 28 years and was able to take care of the details that needed to be taken care
of, but when my daughter fell and was unconscious I was a total wreck. I was out the door with no shirt
& shoes in a half second…my wife still teases me about it!
Gail Nasuti Burke
You can certainly tout ’saving the rain forrests here!’ (as long as they are the CAMDEN Rain
Forrests!!!!!) LOL
Sorry for taking up so much space!
P.S. Kenny, what are you doing up at 5:00 AM!?!?! Are you that guilt- ridden about closing down the
site that you cannot sleep? (I was out at 2:30- 4:30 this morning, one of my guys hit a deer going to a
call and flipped the car over…you’ll see it in the Courier probably)
Barbara (Maslanik) Thurber Says:
April 28, 2009 at 10:31 am
Wow, go away for a couple of days and find everyone mentioning the close of this site. Ken, what were
you thinking man??? No way, absolutely not. I will haunt you for the rest of you life.
I am very glad you have changed your mind as this is the best site ever for all of the friends and
memories from the good ole days of growing up in Camden.
OK, Mayfest, I will definitely be available to stop down there on Saturday, May 16th. Anyone else game?
If so, post a timeframe and let’s get together. Sandy, think you can do this day?
Johanna, how about you? Where’ve you been girlfriend? LOL
Be back soon.
Terry Abraham Says:
April 28, 2009 at 12:29 pm
George Marks
I see from one of your posts your best friend was Steven Hoover.
My brother has been trying to reach Steven but has not heard back from him. My brother (Larry Abraham)
wants to find Steven’s younger brother Tommy Downs, they were best pals growing up. If you are still in
touch with Steven, would you please mention this to him. If you have any info you could give me, my e-
mail address is terber2@aol.com.
Thanks!
Ken Brown Says:
April 28, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Hey Barb, not to worry, I was not going to shut down the site… I merely put the idea out there that
perhaps this site was becoming obsolete with the popularity of FaceBook, but as I’ve certainly realized
from all the feedback, we’d never be able to recapture on FaceBook what we have here already. I guess
I’m a product of my own habit of navigating the Internet for the last nearly 18 years, finding
communities and forums, only to travel a few months more, and find something better. But yes, some
things are meant not to be changed, even in this constantly changing place.
Let Lorrie and I know if any of you guys are going to be at the Smithville MayFest the weekend of the
16th and 17th. We are literally minutes (by foot) away from it. We will certainly welcome meeting up
with whoever finds they way down here.
Paul Skense I am up at 5am every weekday! I’ve got two kids who have to be dropped off at school by 7
am. Another at 8:45. And yeah I am up late most evenings too, but hey who needs more than five hours of
sleep?
Those of us whose dads, like Paul’s and mine, were WWII vets (I think most of us had parents who were
of that generation) would agree that nothing rattled them. We were fortunate to be their kids! I really
don’t know how they stayed so calm and collective at times when others would fall to pieces. Before I
was born, my Dad got his hand caught in the printing press he ran at Hollingsheds, and it ripped half
his middle finger off and mangled his hand. So what did he do? After pulling his hand out of the press
himself, he wrapped it in a hankerchief, walked into the company office and said he had to go get a few
stitches. He was going to drive himself, till the boss realized, no… he’s missing his finger, someone
better drive him. He was back to work the next day, hand bandaged, minus half his middle finger,
running the same press that took his finger the day before. He always liked telling the story, and for
emphasis he would always proudly stick that stub of a middle finger up. And yes, people who didn’t know
him would often be taken aback if he held that middle finger up in front of their face before he told
them the story. LOL He also once broke his wrist at work, and continued working the rest of the work
week before going to get it x-rayed and learning it was broke. And he was back at work on Monday with
it in a cast.
laurie Says:
April 28, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Okay everyone, Now that we have beat Ken up, boosted his ego and reminded everyone just what this site
is about, It’s time the truth came out.
Ken was simply having a” Senior Moment” and did one of two things. He either 1) Forgot to wash down his
daily dose of flax seed with green tea, or 2) accidently did two days worth of flax seed and a gallon
of sweet tea! With the truth out in the open, we can now all rest at night that the site will stay as
it is.
And brother Ken, it is simply because of you, that for those of us that do not own a pair of ruby red
shoes to click together when we want to go home, we can simply click our fingers to eastcamden.
wordpress.com and do the same. We all thank you, and maybe Lorrie needs to be monitoring your daily
doses for you. Thank you and again with Love your sister Laurie.
Ken Brown Says:
April 28, 2009 at 12:42 pm
WOW, three post in five minutes on this front page. Laurie you must have been posting the same time as
me, Terry Abraham too.
Laurie, Senior moment my arse… hey who is 13 years younger than you according to that FaceBook “real
age” quiz??? Huh??? Yep me, I am only 33, remember?
Did you see I told the story of dad’s infamous middle finger…LOL I think he truly enjoyed showing that
stubby finger to anyone deserving.
Johanna (Fanelle) Shirk Says:
April 28, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Barb I am here hiding in the wings. Lots going on. Stephens job is on the line. Mine might be also will
know more by June. Feeling a little stressed, but I know we will be ok. I am interested in the Mayfest
I just have to see what is happening with schedules. I will let you know ok. I hope this shutting down
the site is just talk. Ken I know you invest a lot of time and work in this but it is a wonderful site
and you are a wonderful person for keeping up with it. Thank you Thank you Thank you. well I am going
to go back to hiding. Hello everyone.
Dave Baker Says:
April 28, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Terry, Are you looking for the Tommy Downs that used to live on Phelham Place? If so try Terry Downs,
Her Email is listed on this site, Her Father was a Camden Police Officer and I remember they had a
younger son named Tommy. Bake
Dave Baker Says:
April 28, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Paul, Can we like… Save the Whales and like… Dolphins as long as they’re in like… The Cooper River
Dude? Fur Shur! LOL Where was the Rain Forrest? Like 33rd and High St.? At the foot of the Dirthills?
LOL
Bake
Terry Abraham Says:
April 28, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Bake, yes that is the Tommy Downs, my brother had reached Terry Downs
and she gave him Steven’s # but there has been no response. Larry has been searching for Tommy for
awhile now and is having no luck at all. If anyone can help it sure would be appreciated. Thanks!
Dave Baker Says:
April 28, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Paul, Check with counsel (Ken, Ken, Barr & Brown) You might be better off stating that the said Deer
had a note attached to it’s neck saying it was ending it all… Couldn’t take it anymore etc… For
Insurance purposes only mind you! Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink!
Bake
Dave Baker Says:
April 28, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Terry, Try checking with Patty Antonelli as she is in touch with the Melleby’s who lived across the
street from Tommy, In the meantime I’ll check with my Cuz JD! Tommy was a pretty cool kid, He used to
follow us around on our skateboards, His Dad was a great guy, He always let Tommy hang with us even
though he was younger, I guess he knew we’d keep an eye on him!
Bake
Ken Brown Says:
April 28, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Dave, the East Camden Rain Forest was located on the hill behind the houses on the 32nd Street Hill
that overlooked Westfield Gardens. The hill was heavily forested and there were numerous poisonous
plants there. Some neighborhood kids went into the jungle never to emerge. Those who possessed survival
skills became feral children living on roots, wild mulberries, and the occasional hamburger stolen off
a backyard grill. Rumor has it that our own RussMac was once one of these feral children of the East
Camden Rain Forest, as no one has any recollection of him prior to 7th Grade, and when he first arrived
at Davis, it was not uncommon to see him carrying pigeons he had tamed and being followed by a pride of
painted stray cats. When the Spring rains came to East Camden, and the Westfield Garden’s alley and
garages would flood like Borneo during typhoon season, some of the feral children could be observed
building home-made rafts of scrap wood and floating back to civilization down High Street. Russ,
however, did not build a raft, rather he fashioned a parachute out of bedsheets stolen from another
yard, and jumped off the Hill when it became obvious to him there was an advanced civilization just a
block away.
Ken Brown Says:
April 28, 2009 at 6:13 pm
And Dave, yes we can have a “Save the Painted Cats of East Camden” group here; and Russ is collecting
donations (so they can enjoy retirement) for all former East Camden feral children. Send you checks and
money orders to Ken, Ken, Barr, and Brown. We can also rewrite your will so you can leave all your
worldly possessions to these two great causes… which you will only find on this site!
Dave Baker Says:
April 28, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Ken, Now I am confused, I thought “RussMac” aka “Sky Cowboy” Was accepting donations for “The Painted
Ladies Fund” With Chapters pretty much everywhere he was stationed? Please clarify this so I know who
to make my promissory note payable to! If I’m not mistaken didn’t I see his name as co-writer along
with Sir Elton John on the song titled “Sweet Painted Ladies” (why do I know you have that album and
are going to listen to the lyrics) Check into that and get back to me, Time is of the essence as I’ll
soon be making arrangements for my worldly possessions, Barring any unforeseen death, I should live to
be One Hundred! LOL
Joann Hoffman Says:
April 28, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Hey Ken, yes Liz Carpenter is my sister. she goes by Betty Ann now.
she married Jim Ervin was she was 18
Russ “HALOMan” McDaniel Says:
April 28, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Ken,
Sorry to jump in here so late, but the “Global War on Terrorism”… I mean “Overseas Contingency
Operations”… I mean “Right Wing Extremests”… I mean “Returning Veterans”… I mean “World Record
Attempts”… I mean… Oh the Hell with it… I’ve been lazy as Hell.
You’re right; if you had shut down this site, I’d have no venue for my personal “Shameless Self
Promotion”, and no reason for going on with life.
Seriously, this site has sparked so many memories of Camden that my decades of being away had dulled.
It also reminded me of so many friends whose names I had forgotten (not really forgotten, but had
fallen by the way-side). I won’t say who they are, but I hope I will be forgiven.
Paul, my two most favorite memories of Wilson where climbing down out of Ruby’s classroom, and hanging
out of the window of Mr Faust’s classroom, and him thinking I was committing suicide. And then visiting
Wilson years later, seeing him with another teacher that he told of that incident, and the new teacher
saying, “I bet he doesn’t do that anymore!” And Mr Faust, hanging his head, and saying, “NO, he jumps
out of airplanes now.” Of course, my saddest memory was coming home on leave to prove to Mr Arnade that
I had succeded in the Army after he said I’d never make it, and learning that he had passed. I wanted
him to be proud of me (that is as maudlin as I’m going to get on this site). Also, if you hadn’t
reminded me of Pepe’s, I would have completely forgotten the times many of us spent there.
Ken, if folks want to go to FaceBook or MySpace, they will. Personally, I don’t have the mental accumen
to do that stuff (I was amazed by LED watches in the 70s). So let them. This is a Camden site, for
people from Camden, that aren’t ashamed that they are from Camden, and don’t tell folks they are from
Pennsauken or Cherry Hill (not that’s a bad thing).
I know that you’ve already decided to keep the site alive (and that’s what it is, ALIVE), but I felt
that I needed to add my two-cents. Besides… WHAT THE HELL WHERE YOU THINKING? Do you have any idea what
a bunch of POd Camden kids would do if you shut us out. I tremble to think. Then, I’d plan, organize,
and execute. With Lorrie’s (I’m referring to the beautiful and lovely Mrs Ken Brown) permission, of
course.
Ken, also consider that without this site, we would not have the pleasure of “Bakes” note worthy and
informative postings. Sleep on that.
You made the right choice to keep the site alive.
Russ,
A kid from Camden, that ain’t ashamed to admit it
Ken Barr Says:
April 28, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Bake if I may field that question on behalf of Ken, Ken, Barr, and Brown, it wasn’t do to ” Sweet
Painted Lady ” it was totally based on ” The B-t-h Is Back ” as you may recall. Ken the last I heard a
landmark post has been installed in the ‘ Rain Forest ” on the cement wall bank noting the hang out
spot of our beloved Russ Mac. In fact legend has it that the very sheet he use for his first air bourne
flight was recovered by the family in apt B-3 of the Gardens and is still used today to wipe the cats
feet when the come in out of the rain. At this point it is only an unconfirmed legend, so more on that
when details come available. Paul, Bake is right it is a well known fact that more deer across the
country have been found with a suicide note then any other animal found dead on the by ways. An
unconfirmed rumor is that due to the hoof situation the deer are unable to tie the knot in the rope for
hanging, so thrusting themselves in front of moving vehicles, rifle shots and arrows seems to be the
desired choices.
Ron Henry Says:
April 28, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Paul Skeens,
Wow guy. You are 100% correct. I remember that as well. I really thought that the blimp was going to
hit the church. That is amazing that you remember that. I was gettin the heck out of there.
BUt, you’re right that is so funny! Darn you’re good! I think that was the first time you let me ride
it and that happens.
Do you remember that the blimp did that again and rode right over Westfield Ave. at pole level. That
was crazy!
Thank for making me remember that one. That was good! LOL
Thanks,
Ron
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 28, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Ken Barr:
I used to live in the house across the street from my Mom & Bob. I think it used to be owned by the
Henry’s. Any relation Ron???
Anyway, there was a “religious group” there for a while when I still lived there. I would ask Bob, but
since my mom passed, Bob is out sowing his oats…..At 78!! (Hey Ken & Paul, you guys might be able to
take him now!!) LOL!
Bake:
Good to hear back from you Man!! I got your back man!
TO ALL:
This site means so much to me as it brings back memories, as well as fills me in during the times I was
gone at Girard College. I seriously wish I could gain those 4 years back, but this site does the next
best thing. I am d&*$ed proud to be from Camden and to know everyone on this site.
Ken Barr Says:
April 29, 2009 at 6:23 am
Back at you Nick
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 29, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Ron Henry:
I used to live in the house across the street from my Mom & Bob on 36th Street. My address was 230 N.
36th Street. It was kinda a 2 family dwelling. I think it used to be owned by the Henry’s. Any relation
Ron???
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 29, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Off to work until later this evening. Everyone have a great day!
Ken Barr Says:
April 29, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Ron, have you heard anymore from Ms. Ross (Ramick) ? You didn’t post on the memory page responding to
my post so I was wondering about her. I got the picture you sent, wow I would know her anywhere, she
aged very nicely, I probably had a little crush on her at one time, but who didn’t. Anyway update me if
and when you can. Ron I thought you lived on 39th off High? I am not confusing you with another Ron
Henry ? say there isn’t 2 of you, LOL.
dyane porterfield Says:
April 29, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Ken and Steve could not have said it better!!! I am thankful to you for this great site Always been
proud to say I come from East Camden
Ron Henry Says:
April 29, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Nick,
My oldest brother Bill and his wife lived there on the first floor. And a lady named Jane. Then they
moved to 464 N34th Street. I don’t think either family owned the house. It was right behind Acme Craft
right?
Does anyone remember Craig Nash? He lived next to me on Westfield Ave. at 3812. I have not seen him
since I left Camden back in 1979. He was one of best friends back then. He had sister’s named Jean and
Sandy.
Ken Barr,
I lived at 3810 Westfield Ave. until I got married. I think you are thinking of 39th & High Street
because that is where Bobby & Peggy lived. 2nd house on the corner of 39th & High Street.
I purchased the house at 341 N40th Street in 1979 and sold it in 1982.
I have talked to Mrs. Ross and she said that she would look over the sight and get in touch with you
and some others when she got time. That was about 2 weeks ago now. She is of course getting ready for
our big spring concert here in Bellmawr. She still takes her music very serious. She works very hard to
make the music program here in Bellmawr one of the best; in fact the school has won many many awards
because of the students and her music program.
Hope everyone has a great night.
If anyone would like to talk, email me at rhna1997@comcast.net.
Ron
Nick Rapanotti Says:
April 29, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Ron Henry:
Yup. That’s the house. I totally remodeled the inside and make it a single family dwelling. That house
is HUGH!
Thanks!
Nick
Paul Skesne Says:
April 30, 2009 at 10:11 am
Russ
Mr. Arnade was quite a guy. I’m sure he always KNEW you would make it. I think he would say stuff to us
like that, in his slightly abrasive manner, just to challenge us.
Although a couple memories of visits to Pepe’s are fuzzy, there are many, many that clearly reflect
great times! And what about that guy with the “Italio-Gaelic” heritage….Shawn Gambini? He and his
brothers had quite an act! How about when we cut school to go to the “range” and ended up….ah……varmint
huntin’ instead?
Ron Henry,
I will say one thing for that night at the courts….that thing REALLY did look like a UFO!!! It scared
the crap out of us all at first! I remember Craig Nash….would he be 48 now? If so, I may have found him
for you.
Nick Rap
Even though Bob is 78 now, I’m not risking a meeting with someone who may have 40 years of pent-up rage
over 2 pre-pubescent punks making goo-goo eyes at at his step-daughter!!! (forgive us Barb)
Bake & Ken Barr
There was no note left this time…BUT…you can BET your a$$ that there will be one next time! (what a
great idea) I always thought the rain forrest was over near Parkside, by Lady of Lourdes……oh that’s
right, that was Walt Whitan’s graveyard.
Ken Brown
I vividly remember your dad telling me about the incident with his finger. We were riding in your brown
Falcon, either going to the Mall or the “Ice-House” to watch a Jersey Devils game, speaking of
which….do you remember Marcel Pelletier? Used to play for the Devils and I think had a scouting job
with the Flyers back then?
And, Bob’s cycle was only a 90cc but it was on a pretty big frame, so it WAS a lot larger than my
minibike. Weren’t we jumping trash cans when I “chewed-up” my ankle?
Johnny O Says:
April 30, 2009 at 10:46 am
Wow Pastor Bob Oberkehr…….Thats my Uncle. Left Camden and went up to Fort Lee.
Ken Brown Says:
April 30, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Johnny O welcome to the site. Rev. Bob Oberkehr was the pastor of the church I grew up in – Epiphany
Lutheran in Camden at 7th and Market. He was a great guy, well liked. I believe he officiated at one my
sister’s wedding, maybe two of them. I remember his kids too, the older ones… Elaine, and was his
oldest son’s name Bob also? Then I remember a couple of younger ones. The two older one’s went to
Wilson, before they moved.
Ken Brown Says:
April 30, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Paul, when my Dad told you the story of his middle finger, did he hold it up for emphasis? Just
wondering… LOL
Nick and Paul, I’ll take Bob on, even if he is 78! I think I could take him now in wrestling match
maybe! Bring it on Bob, winner gets a parking sticker for the driveway!
Marie Donahue Says:
April 30, 2009 at 1:21 pm
will you be able to hold of 7-3 & 8- 1967-1969?
Marie Donahue Says:
April 30, 2009 at 1:23 pm
The above comment was suppose to say can you get class pictures of 7/3 & 8/3 for 1967-1969? (new to
this)
Ken Brown Says:
April 30, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Marie Donahue, I only have access to the Davis yearbooks for ‘70, ‘71, and ‘72. Any class pictures you
see on the site that are not from those years (or the elementary classes I was personally in), have
been submitted to the site by individuals from the classes. I can only post those I receive scans of.
If you have class photos for those years noted or any others, and can scan them and forward them to me
in an email, they will get posted. Thanks.
That goes for anyone with class pictures (or any other relevant pictures), scan and forward, and I will
post them.
Ron Henry Says:
April 30, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Paul Skesne,
Yes, Craig Nash would be 48 or 49. I think his birthday is June 9th. I remember that because mine is
the 20th and when we were kids we had the parties and all. Anyway, if you did find him, give him the
site address. Also, please give him my email address and tell him I was asking for him. He went to
Davis with us, but then went on to Camden Catholic High School to play Basketball. He is a year or two
young than me I think too.
And that Blimp or UFO (whatever it was) LOL Did scared the crap out of me, I’ll admit it! LOL I really
thought that it was going to hit the church and crash! LOL
Hope everyone has or had a great day. Talk to you later,
Ron
Ken Brown Says:
April 30, 2009 at 7:35 pm
On the subject of UFO’s, does anyone remember the other UFO scare in East Camden? I think I was about
eight, it was before Mr Grocer’s was opened, when there was the gas station on the 34th and Westfield
corner, and a used car lot on the 33rd and Westfield corner, just across from Charlie’s Luncheonette.
Anyway, I forget who I was with, I think it was Lenny Hans, we were wandering around the car lot, it
was late on a Summer night, but the car dealer was still open, and yes we were wandering the streets at
that age, and that hour… LOL Up in the sky appeared a bunch of brightly colored formations – kind of
like swirling clouds, though they were orange, yellow and red. We ran into the car dealership and told
the guys working there to come look and they freaked out too. Lenny and I took off running through
Westfield Gardens, up the back stairs to the path behind the Esso gas station and back to 32nd Street.
Within minutes everyone on the block was out looking at the strange lights and formation. Everyone was
kind of freaked out about it, and then the formation just disappeared. We later heard on the news that
the strange formation was the result of a weather satelite being launched from the Eastern Shore of
Virginia. So much for the East Camden Roswell incident.
Nick Rapanotti, didn’t you have a close encounter with some alien substance one night when we were yard
and fence hopping in Paul’s neighborhood? You went over a fence and your hand came down into some
unknown alien ecto-matter? LOL
Dave Baker Says:
April 30, 2009 at 8:47 pm
To “Sky Cowboy” from 28, April, ‘09. Much obliged Bro! “Ken, also consider that without this site, we
would not have the pleasure of “Bakes” note worthy and informative postings. Sleep on that.” I’m all
Guphlemped
Talk amongst yourselves.” LOL Appreciate the recognition, Although I personally think your spot on
perspectives are less self promotional than you make them out to be, You are insightful from a
standpoint few may ever understand unless they walked (or in your case descended) a mile in your shoes.
(Chute) We may at times give you flak, Just remember Bro, If your not over the target you ain’t takin’
flak.
Bake
Dave Baker Says:
April 30, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Ken Barr, (Paul take note also) Most States post “Deer Crossing” signs next three, four, seven miles
ahead. Regardless of the distance, You can bet your $500.00 deductible that if the sign says “Deer
Crossing” next three miles and you’ve driven two without a Deer sighting, They’re all waiting in that
last mile to plunge their suicidal carcasses into your alluminum foil thin automobile! Been there, Felt
that!
Bake
Nick Rapanotti Says:
May 1, 2009 at 2:34 am
Ken,
Yes. It was a pungent form of ecktoplasmic residue that that was secreted from the end side of the
dorsal side. The quadraplamatic organism secreted this matter as a defensive mechanism to the human
touch.
Ken Brown Says:
May 1, 2009 at 4:45 am
Nick, I know it was dark that night (as on most nights) but do you mean to tell me you landed on the
entire dog… and not just that pile of ecto-residue he left behind? Oh the horror, the horror, of East
Camden commando raids in the dark. No wonder Russ joind the Army as soon as he could!
Bake… your mention of the effect of suicidal deer on aluminum foil cars is why I drive a Ford Truck!
Lots of deer around these parts, moreso than in the woodlands of East Camden – where ever that was.
Ken Barr Says:
May 1, 2009 at 5:37 am
LOL Bake you are right it’s always the last mile that’ll get you. Too with I always said that whether
the car hits the deer or the deer hits the car it’s gonna be bad for the deer.
Ron Henry Says:
May 1, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Hey Guys,
Ken Brown,
I will be taking a ride down Camden to take some pictures.
Is there any picture at you would like?
I will be going Saturday afternoon. If anyone whats to email me with a requested photo, email me at
RHNA1997@COMCAST.NET before Saturday morning 10:00am.
I will do the best I can in getting any requested photo’s.
(and with not getting shot!) LOL
Ron Henry
Ken Brown Says:
May 1, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Hey Ron, Any photos you take of the old neighborhood would be a great addition to the site! Any of the
store fronts on Westfield between 36th and 34th would be cool, to see what they are now… I imagine The
Choice is still there??? And Mario’s Steaks…we’ve heard it is a chicken emporium now…LOL. But really,
it’s your trip, so take the pictures you want… we’d love to see them all. I’d go with you, but it’s too
short notice…hahah. I was planning a trip up someday maybe in June… to visit a couple of cemeteries,
and get some photos of some places I remember. I have not yet convinced anyone to go with me…LOL.
Drive safe my friend, and let those old Camden street smarts determine your course
Ken Brown Says:
May 1, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Also Ron, I like your idea of a memorial page where we can leave memories of those people from East
Camden we knew, who have passed away. We do report on the site when we hear the sad news of someone
passing away, but the posts are usually just posted on this front page. I think a separate page for
such memorials and memories would be appropriate. I know many of us have lost siblings, friends,
neighbors, classmates, team mates etc… The only thing I would caution, is that if someone shares a
memory on such a page about someone who has passed, be absolutely sure the person has passed. It has
never occured on this site, but I know that over the years, in talking with people, there have been
stories that so and so had died, and then you find out that was not so.
If there is a general agreement for such a page, I will add it to the site. So let me know what you
think.
Ron Henry Says:
May 1, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Ken,
I would agree to that 100%. However, I was talking about people we knew from Davis, Wilson or the
neighborhood that have passed. People around our ages. I hope I’m saying this the right way.
A page like, with the person’s name and if we knew the year they passed and what school they attended.
Something like this is what I was talking about. But, whatever you think is best is good with me.
Thank you for even considering it.
Ron
Dave Baker Says:
May 1, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Ken and Ken of Barr and Brown! Hope you recieved the Venison photos, I looked for Paul’s Email to
forward them to him (not in depth, feeling lazy)
Could one of you kind Sirs see that he gets the Email with photos?
Much obliged! Bake
Ken Brown Says:
May 1, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Dave, I got the photos and forwarded them to Mr. Skeens. Are you sure that’s a deer and not a Barvarian
fox that climbed into the engine to keep warm? Amazing there was not more front end damage to the BMW –
maybe they are worth the money. LOL
Ron, that’s what I was getting at when I mentioned neighbors, family, friends, etc… people we knew
growing up who have passed. I think rather than a separate page for each, one page for all of the
memorials and memories. I have separate ones now for a few of the teachers we all remember who have
passed, and the ones for Neil Taylor and Mike Williams because they passed away when we were still in
school. I think if we did separate pages for everyone who has passed, we would quickly double the
number of pages on the site. I know of a dozen or so people I knew well from Davis/Wilson that have
passed since high school, and I am sure, as sad as that is, that most others know as many also.
Also I got an email a few days ago from Dave Nevius, he is “in country” – in Iraq, and doing his duty
at the base hospital at Balad. If anyone would like to write to him, email me and I will send you his
email, or wait till I hear back from him if it is okay to post his address here. I will be writing him
this weekend.
Dawn Henry Says:
May 1, 2009 at 9:55 pm
ummm excuse me “fav” uncle Ron – – – what’s this YOU are doing a “drive-by” without me????? — it was MY
idea…………..lol – too bad you cant do it on sunday when I’m available….would love to see the old stomping
grounds again — oh wellllll………you owe me another time……stilll my fav……love ya
Ken Brown Says:
May 1, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Dawn Henry, you mentioned Michele Puenta on the Westfield Acres page, she has posted on the site, you
can find her post on the Hawaiian Cottage page, and also on either the E-Mail or Where Are You Now
Page, and a few others.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
May 2, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Ron Henry:
Don’t know if you are still out & about, but if you could take a PIC of the house on 36th street and
the one across from it (where I grew up), I would appreciate it. I grew up in the house across from the
one I bought.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
May 2, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Ooops. Forgot. Directly across is NOT the house I grew up in. The house I grew up in is the one that is
directly behind the old Jimmy Burgos. It has a white addition.
Dave Baker Says:
May 2, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Nick! I can hear it now! (seriously all the way out here in PA) HEY YOU! WHAT THE @#!$% – @%^&% – *&%%$
ARE YOU DOING TAKING PICTURES OF MY HOUSE FOR YOU ^$#@^ – &^## – @##%!@ GET OUT OF MY @@#$%^ DRIVEWAY
YOU LITTLE $%#@&% DID THOSE ##@%%!
LITTLE $#@!&% KENNY AND PAUL SEND YOU OVER HERE @!#%%^&@ !!!
Or something like that! LOL
Bake
Nick Rapanotti Says:
May 4, 2009 at 6:51 am
Good one Bake. That’s a great caption. Now the picture:
Bob coming outside gumming his flax seed and his walker with his gray LONG hair flapping in the wind
saying, “WHAT THE @#!$% – @%^&% – *&%%$ ARE YOU DOING TAKING PICTURES OF MY HOUSE FOR YOU ^$#@^ – &^##
– @##%!@ GET OUT OF MY @@#$%^ DRIVEWAY YOU LITTLE $%#@&% DID THOSE ##@%%!
LITTLE $#@!&% KENNY AND PAUL SEND YOU OVER HERE @!#%%^&@ !!!”
Dave Baker Says:
May 4, 2009 at 11:13 am
A True Kodak Moment Nick! Ken, I’m suprised you didn’t learn a few choice Italian phrases while hanging
out in Nick’s driveway! LOL
Bake
Tony DeFrancisco Says:
May 4, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Nick, Just to let you know, I rode by your house about a month ago and your little address sign that
says ” Peppa” is still hanging. I was amazed! Tony
Nick Rapanotti Says:
May 4, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Hey Tony D. How are you and your family doing? The Pepa sign still there. WOW!
Dave Baker Says:
May 5, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Feliz Cinco De Mayo, Y’all!
Ken, The site’s been like a ghost town, Are Nick and I the only ones that have a server? LOL Has
anybody heard from Ron? Did he make through the “Old Hood” in search of his Urban Renewal Pix? Beuller?
Bueller? Anybody? Is this thing on? LOL
Ken Brown Says:
May 5, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Hey Everyone,
Yeah it is quiet around here lately, though we are still averaging over 300 hits a day… I guess people
are reading more than they are posting. There have been a few posts on some of the pages, check “ZZZZ
Recent Posts” page for updates.
Hopefully everyone is okay, and just busy with Spring chores etc… despite all the rain here in Jersey.
george marks Says:
May 5, 2009 at 8:43 pm
TERRY, I HAVE HAD NO LUCK FINDING STEVE HOOVER. IF YOU EVER FIND HIM GIVE HIM MY INFO. HEY, DO YOU ALL
REMEMBER THE SPRING CELEBRATION ON THE SCHOOL GROUNDS AT DAVIS? THEY HAD ALL KINDS OF TABLES SET UP ON
THE PLAY GROUND, WITH THINGS PEOPLE WANTED TO SELL. THEY HAD ALL KINDS OF FOOD AND IN THE AUDITORIUM WE
USE TO WATCH THE THREE STOOGES MEETS FRANKINSTEIN. IT WAS AN ALL DAY AFFAIR. I USE TO LOOK FOWARD TO
THAT, EVERY YEAR. AND PITCH BASEBALL CARDS UP AGAINST THE WALL, BUT YOU HAD TO WATCH OUT FOR THE
GRATES, OR YOU WOULD LOOSE THE CARDS. AND STICK BALL WITH THE PLATE ON THE WALL OF THE SCHOOL. ALL DAY
LONG IN THE SUMMER BOY…..
Ken Barr Says:
May 5, 2009 at 9:26 pm
George Marks, I recall it being held the first Saturday in May, but sure do remember the fun. I think
we just called it the Davis May Fair, someone might help us with what the name was. Anyway I had to
work the games most of the time. They were set up on the fence row, bean bag toss, knock bottles down
etc. The thing I remember most was people getting behind the plywood of Popeye and getting bomb barded
with wet sponges. That activity stayed with me so much I brought it out to the midwest. At a company
picnic I was the manager for I set one up and of course once I was behind the board the line to take a
shot at me was a block long. Let me tell you those sponges hurt. So in short I guess I learned
something to take to my adulthood during my Davis schooling, LOL.
Ken Barr Says:
May 5, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Hey George as a P.S. I remember the movies, but one year we had a live performance I think a magic act
I barely remember but I think he called himself DINO maybe Bake or Kenny knows, oh well thanks for the
memories.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
May 5, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Hey! Just in from work. Glad to see others have servers other them Bake and me! LOL! We are having
tornado watch and warnings down here. 2 touched down within10 miles from my house. I am getting off
here for now. Gonna watch the weather. TTYL!!!!
Ken Barr Says:
May 6, 2009 at 11:07 am
Hold on to your hats down there Nick, you are in our prayers.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
May 6, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Thanks Ken Barr!!! So far so good. No real damage in our area. Just a few houses. We are, according to
the local weather, in for more bad weather tonight. Just a wait and see game. The sun is shining!!!
Gee, I am supposed to play some golf tomorrow. With a good enough breeze, I might be able to drive the
par 4’s!! LOL
Sandy (Orme) Says:
May 6, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Ken, there must be something wrong with my eyes, I can’t find the East Camden section…Eagles, Easter…
did I miss it? Sometimes I have a hard time reading with a black background. Eyes seem older than me!
Nick, stay low…good luck…
Ken Brown Says:
May 6, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Welcome to the site Barbara Kuczykowski-Smith. Thanks for visiting and posting. You mentioned Inez
Janess, she visits here often, and I am sure she will be happy to reconnect with you.
Sandy, nothing is missing, every page is still on the menu, in alphabetical order. The only thing no
longer here are the trivia quiz pages, as they were slowing things down, as they were not uploaded as
pages, but rather posts. I am working on reintroducing trivia again in a different format.
Dave Baker Says:
May 6, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Nick, Two things to remember, It’s not that the wind is blowing! It’s what the wind is blowing! It
doesn’t matter how many miles you ran, Or how many sit-ups you’ve done, If you get hit in the spleen
with a flag stick or possibly even a ball wash, Your round of golf is pretty much over for the day my
friend! LOL However! IGYB!
Bake
Dave Baker Says:
May 6, 2009 at 3:49 pm
George Marks, I remember when the older guys pitched cards against the wall just to the right of the
kindergarten entrance, Some of the older guys would let you pick a few if you picked up for them after
they won. I also retrieved many a good card using a stickball bat and a wad of gum from those grates!
LOL Once in a whlie you could get them from the cafeteria windows if you could get them open without
gettig caught! LOL
Bake
Sandy (Orme) Says:
May 6, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I’m sorry Ken, I still can’t find it on my computer page, am I losing it or what? I have Eagles and
Easter (3) then fall out shelter…I don’t see Camden, East either. Am I looking in the wrong place? I
sorry to bother you but I’m lost…help:( Thank you Ken for all that you do.
Ken Brown Says:
May 6, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Sandy, the site has never had separate pages titled “Camden” or “East Camden” – as the entire site is
about East Camden though it is titled “Davis School and WWHS Students of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s.”
There were a few trivia post pages titled “Camden Trivia” – but those were not permanant pages.
Sandy (Orme) Says:
May 6, 2009 at 6:19 pm
***LOST IN SPACE***
What can I say, just dazed and confused…too much rain!
george marks Says:
May 6, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Man, I would love to see the old house once more. has anyone been around Davis recently? I lived on the
corner of 34th/faifax, 370 n. 34th. I remember my brother and I dug a deep hole, about 10ftx6ft in the
feild behind our house, and covered it up with a rug, so you couldn’t see it. my father made us fill it
in, thought someone would come along on the path from high st. to fairfax and fall in. does anyone
remember Mrs Ming on faifax, or the basket ball hoop on fairfax, almost to 36th st. It had a light on
it so we could play well into the night.And on 35th st. Zana Cathers, Gary Johson, or Mr vilonni, on
the corner of Fairfax/35th, he had a real big lot. mac mcmullin on 35th st. He was always working on
outboard motors in his back yard.Real great guy.
Ken Brown Says:
May 7, 2009 at 4:35 am
George, what years did you live at 370 N. 34th? If it is the house I am thinking it is, many of us knew
the family that lived there in the late 60’s onward – the Ewings. They also dug a big hole in their
yard, it became an in-ground pool, the first in the neighborhood. Also the big green house behind that
property, on Fairfax (the property on the other side of the lot people would cut through to get to
Davis) was once the home of Dave Nevius who posts here, though he is currently serving in Iraq.
Many of us knew Emile Cathers from 35th – he went to Wilson in the early 70’s, graduated in ‘74 I
believe.
george marks Says:
May 7, 2009 at 11:05 am
KEN, WE LEFT CAMDEN IN 1965, AND HEADED FOR HOLLYWOOD,FL. LIVED THERE FOR 21 YEARS, THEN WE MOVED TO
GREENSBORO,NC FOR 24 YEARS. NOW WE LIVE IN HAMPSTEAD,NC. IF YOU WERE STANDING ON 34TH ST, THERE WERE
ONLY TWO HOUSES BETWEEN FAIRFAX AND HIGH ST.. WE LIVED IN THE ONE ON THE CORNER OF FAIRFAX. ALBERT AND
HILDA BARKER LIVED IN THE OTHER HOUSE. AL BARKER WAS ALSO A FIREMAN, AS WAS MY DAD. THE HOLE WE DUG WAS
IN THE FIELD BEHIND THE HOUSE.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
May 7, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Thanks Sandy & Bake.
Sandy,
I stayed low, but only being 5′8?, I was already low!! LOL!
bake,
No golf today!! I would have felt like the priest on Caddy Shack!!
We only had some wind and much rain. Winds were only about 20-30 miles per hour on the good gusts. It
was kinda neat!!
Nick Rapanotti Says:
May 7, 2009 at 12:05 pm
This was the report in Raleigh this morning:
Severe weather repeat possible Thursday
A new shot at severe weather will come in the late afternoon and evening after temperatures heat up
into the low 80s. A frontal boundary will hang around for the next few days, creating conditions for
rain and storms.
Ken Brown Says:
May 7, 2009 at 12:44 pm
George Marks, yes that is the house that was occupied by the Ewing family after you moved. The Ewings
had a number of kids, and I think their father was a contractor or constructed in ground pools- and
they put one in the yard. It was the only built in pool I knew of in that area of East Camden. Most who
had pools, had above ground pools.
Did you know who lived in the big green house behind yours, the one with the huge yard that stretched
between Fairfax and High, and ran along the lot behind your house? Dave Nevius lived there, I think in
‘65, as he was in my Kindergarten class in the ‘63-’64 school year, and lived there then, and was still
there until around sixth grade.
george marks Says:
May 7, 2009 at 3:29 pm
KEN, ALL I CAN REMEMBER ABOUT THE HOUSE IS THAT AN ITALIAN COUPLE LIVED THERE,(OLDER), AND HE KEPT THE
HOUSE VERY NEAT AND THE YARD WAS ALWAYS CLEAN AND WELL GROOMED. I NEVER SPOKE TO HIM MUCH, BUT HE
SEEMED NICE..
george marks Says:
May 7, 2009 at 3:35 pm
THE EWING FAMILY MUST HAVE PUT THE POOL IN THE SIDE YARD AS THERE WAS NOT MUCH ROOM FOR A POOL IN THE
BACK YARD. MY MOTHER ALWAYS HAD HUGE ROSE BUSHES IN THE BACK YARD. YWO OF THE THEM ALMOST COVERED THE
GARAGE . ONE WAS A PEACE ROSE AND THE OTHER WAS A KNOCKOUT RED ROSE. THE STALKS WERE ABOUT 6 IN. IN
DIA.
Peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
May 8, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Hey George and Ken,
The Ewings did buy our house. They bought it furnished as Mom and Dad moved into the apt. on Cramer St.
until Dad was recovered enough to make the move to Florida.
The Ewings tore down the two car detached garage to put in the pool.
The green house behind us housed the Moores when I was little, then the McNellises and the sister of
Mrs. Verdi and her family lived there when we moved.
Mom and Dad bought the house in 1940 and stayed until 1965. They paid $4,000 for it!
Peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
May 8, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Was just reading about Al Bass and one of the comments was by Harvey Kolosky who lived on Carmen St.
Harvey is your sister Myra? She lived on Carmen St. and attended Wilson the same years I did. I
attended her sweet 16 birthday party and a bunch of us had a pajama party at her house.
Last I heard, she lived in Cherry Hill.
Peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
May 9, 2009 at 5:53 pm
Okay, who’s falling asleep at the key board and not updating the most recent postings?????
Truly, I’m only kidding, ’cause I know people have lives and jobs and I’m just an old retired fart with
nothing to do but race up and down the different postings.
I really do apppreciate all your efforts Ken, and thank you for keeping us all entertained.
Dave Baker Says:
May 9, 2009 at 10:36 pm
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! Huh! What? I’m up! OK! I’m Up! Hello Peg! Sorry
I must’ve dozed off! LOL I’m here! I’m listening! I’m…ZZZZZZZZ! I’m awake! It’s just you and me! LOL
I’m not retired yet but I’m probably the other (An old fart) I might have a life, LOL I feel you angst!
I’ve logged in to the site sometimes and wondered where everybody was myself! LOL
Pretty spooky Isn’t it! Hang in there, Someone will reply, Hey I just did! OMG that means I’m somebody!
LOL
Bake
Nick Rapanotti Says:
May 10, 2009 at 1:51 am
*YAWN* Uh. Good morning. Have I been asleep that long (water splash in face).Ah. Much better…………
(brushing teeth). I got your back Bake….*YAWN* Good night
Dave Baker Says:
May 10, 2009 at 2:18 am
Good Morning 08105! Nick have you been asleep since 1959? Or was it 2100hrs LOL
Dave Baker Says:
May 10, 2009 at 7:24 am
Happy Mother’s Day to all of the wonderful women of the site.
Bake
Ken Barr Says:
May 10, 2009 at 8:40 am
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY !!! My prayer and hope is that all Mothers enjoy their special day set aside to
honor them.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
May 10, 2009 at 9:58 am
Happy Mothers Day to all the women who visit this site. May you all experience the honor and gratitude
you deserve on this special day. Love to all…………………….
Nick Rapanotti Says:
May 10, 2009 at 9:59 am
Bake:
I think 1959 is about right. *YAWN*
Sandy (Orme) Says:
May 10, 2009 at 10:09 am
Happy Mother’s Day to ALL!!!
GOD BLESS US!
John “Cpt. Cranky” Blourne Says:
May 10, 2009 at 10:28 pm
The annual fair at the school was the “May Fair”. And I remember the sponge throwing!
It’s getting very difficult for me to read this site anymore as the information and popularity has
outgrown this format. There’s a lot of priceless stuff on here that can never be replaced, but it’s a
real headache to catch up even after a day or two. Checking the ZZZZ postings is a start, but it’s just
full of “comment” postings. It’s just brutal to navigate through.
I have a few people connected on Facebook, such as Leo & Terry, but I doubt if I’ll be returning to
this forum any time soon.
Sorry, guys.
John Blourne (cptcranky@gmail.com)
Peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
May 11, 2009 at 4:02 pm
The annual May Fair dates back into the 40’s. The PTA officers all had a booth. Elsie Brown made
organdie aprons for her booth. My Mom had the baked goods booth. There was a plant booth, etc. Back
then, the the Cramer St. and 34th St. sides of the school was lined with sycamore trees and there was
quite a bit of shade. The playground had not been paved and it was dirt and full of stones. There was
no fence.
Ken, would you like me to try again to scan that picture that appeared in the Courier Post when the
Davis PTA presented each classroom with a radio? The president was a Mrs. Schofield and she lived in
the Acres. It was probably taken in 1947 or 1948.
David Baker Says:
May 11, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Peggy Marks DeBoard, Was just curious if you knew Ruth Boyer from 34th St.?
Christina Marie Says:
May 11, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Hi Ken,
Great to see the site still ALIVE and well. I was worried after Facebook came into the picture. I’ve
been busy, heading to Jersey next weekend for college graduation party, (the kids will be running the
show soon). Say it ain’t so!
Take care – be back soon!
Dooney WWHS 1976
Inez Reams Janess Says:
May 11, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Hey Capt Cranky,
Just wait until you get to be 70 years old…. then you can be cranky!
There is a lot of stuff here that I don’t relate to…. but I still enjoy the comments between others.
I don’t know about you, but some of these comments have me falling to sleep at night laughing out load!
They’ll be taking me to the funny farm soon! And that’s OK!
glenn john nasuti Says:
May 11, 2009 at 7:59 pm
My grandmother Lillian Baker used to do jigsaw puzzles and she would donate them to the Davis Fair
after she had verified that all the pieces were there. She would donate so many that she wound up with
her own table. We still have the picture of her. next to Mr. Morfeld at the Book table. I see a lot of
action from 35th street. I remember Emelyn Cathers(number 12 gary dornhoffer), Richard Fuschia(number
19 Rick Macliesh), Mark Fuschia(number 3 Tom Bladon) and Tim Brill(Tiger Woods), and the Lady Shop.
John “Cpt. Cranky” Blourne Says:
May 12, 2009 at 12:12 am
Inez: Facebook is like an enhanced version of this site.
Christina Marie: Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! It’s a site for adults, not like MySpace which
is customized for teenagers. I ran into several of my childhood friends that I NEVER would have found
here.
Ken Brown Says:
May 12, 2009 at 4:49 am
Hey everyone, sorry I have only made periodic visits here lately to update the posts, I’ve been busy…
okay, really, it’s Spring and so I’m more likely to be outside most days, all day, than inside
As I’ve stated in previous posts, I do agree with John Blourne about FaceBook, and I still believe in
it’s potential to be a much better place to reconnect than this site. I will keep this site open so
people can continue to post memories and leave their contact info, however, I would urge anyone who has
not yet joined FaceBook to do so, as it will amaze you how many people are there already who you
probably knew in the past… not only from childhood and high school, but from other eras of your life
such as college, military, work, etc… not to mention the ability to have an extended “family network”
on there.
I think it says something that the majority of the people who post here, not all, but many, are already
on FaceBook. And the fact is, I have more interaction and communication with most of them on FaceBook,
than I do here. I think the great thing is, you can customize FaceBook to suit your own personal needs,
to the level that you desire. And you are in complete control of what you post and share. Why would
anyone not want that option?
Anyway, no need to convince me to keep this site running. It will remain open for the posting of
memories and as a place to reconnect. But do check out FaceBook if you have not already. You’ll wish
you had sooner, once you learn to navigate the site, see all it has to offer, and realize that is the
place to reconnect. And those connections are more direct, so you don’t pass people in the night and
miss posts as you do here.
John Blourne, I don’t think you have to convince Christine Marie about FaceBook, she is very active on
FaceBook and has been for some time.
Peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
May 12, 2009 at 3:35 pm
The mystery of the Peggy Grey and Orlo’s stores has been solved!!! Inez an I put our heads together and
came up with this conclusion…during the 40′, Greys ran the “Mom & Pop” store at Saunders and 32nd Sts.
The Orlo’s had a store on Rowe St. After the Greys gave up the store, the Orlo’s must have taken over
the site. The BIG CLUE was the angled door!
And people think we East Camden girls are just pretty faces! Ha! Bring on the next mystery the Janess
and DeBoard sleuths are on the job!
george marks Says:
May 12, 2009 at 8:41 pm
TERRY ABRAHAM; I FOUND STEPHEN HOOVER ON FACEBOOK, HE IS THE HOOVER FROM PHILLY. HE HAS GOT A PICTURE
NEXT TO HIS NAME. I JUST GOT DONE TALKING TO HIM ON THE INTERNET. IF YOU GO ON FACEBOOK YOU WILL FIND
HIM THERE…..GOOD LUCK TO YOUR BROTHER, FINDING HIS BROTHER…HA
jim lang Says:
May 13, 2009 at 6:28 am
ken, just wanted to tell you it is not often you can , for a little while take a step back to your past
and reflect on the wonderfull times we had in a great city, that had all that we needed. i commend you
for your efforts. and i will continue to visit, whether i am on facebook or not. jim lang
Peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
May 13, 2009 at 9:52 am
Dave Baker,
No, Dave, I didn’t know Ruth, sorry. I lived at 370 N. 34th St. from my birth in 1940 ’til 1964. The
wonderful thing about staying in one place is that you bond with kids in Kindergarten and remain
friends through high school. You REALLY get to know each other! My boys started school in PA, then NJ,
and finally, in Ohio. The place they really consider home is where we lived the longest.
Peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
May 13, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Just looking at the pics listed under: N. 34th St. More Pics, and wondered who the people are and
exactly where on 34th St. they were taken.
Ken Brown Says:
May 13, 2009 at 9:52 pm
Peggy, the picture is from 34th and Pelham Place. Dave Baker identified everyone in the photos in the
first post on that page.
Gail Nasuti Burke Says:
May 14, 2009 at 9:00 pm
My brother Gary Nasuti and I saw, former gym teacher, Mr Walters on Sat. We were at a community yard
sale. Mr Walters and Gary started talking. Gary knew he seemed familiar….then he said he taught in the
Camden School System for over 30 years.
Mr Walters says hello to everyone. We told him about this site, but he said that he rarely goes online.
He was happy that students still remember him.
He said his most enjoyable times in teaching were at Davis and Wilson.
Michelle Cinelli Pizza Says:
May 15, 2009 at 6:59 pm
So happy to find this site……have very fond memories of Davis school and the friends made……I live in
North Wildwood NJ and have a restaurant in Cape May Court House……FYI I’m a 1977 graduate and would love
to hear from any fellow graduates or anyone from 32nd street…..hope to hear from old friends and
acquaintances ………Michelle
george marks Says:
May 15, 2009 at 8:56 pm
HOW ABOUT GINOS HAMBURGERS, THEY WERE GREAT. WIBG RADIO STATION IN PHILLY, THE SOUND OF ROCK AND ROLL.
GERRY BLABBIT, ‘THE GEETER WITH THE HEATER’.
Ken Barr Says:
May 15, 2009 at 10:21 pm
yes George you are right, when Kentucky Fried Chicken was just a dream the burger from Ginos was just
short of unbelievable. If my memory serves me it was called “The Gino Giant” wow, and what great
special sauce. McDonalds takes a back seat to that burger anytime. Thanks for the memory,,,,,pass the
ketchup.
Terry Abraham Says:
May 16, 2009 at 7:38 am
Hi Michelle! Great to see someone else from my class on this website.
I too have wonderful memories of Davis and East Camden. Did you keep on singing. I remember you had a
nice voice in chorus. We put on some great Spring Concerts. I’m sure you remember Mrs. McCormick, she
was intense, sometimes she seemed like she had too much coffee! I will have to check out your
restaurant—I’m in that area a lot. If you would like to chat–I am on Facebook or my e-mail address is
Take care, Terry
Terry Abraham Says:
May 16, 2009 at 7:42 am
Thanks George Marks!
I am glad you found Tommy’s brother. My brother is on Facebook and is in touch with Terry Downs–I think
he will find Tommy soon.
Ken Brown Says:
May 17, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Welcome to the site Charles Haines and Michelle Cinelli Pizza. We are glad you found us and look
forward to future visits.
Also Welcome to Robert Kushner… I read that you grew up in Atlanta, not Camden, but any fan of the
Philadelphia Warriors and Judy Arnold is welcomed here! It’s amazing how people find our site while
searching other things due to the content of our posts here.
dyane porterfield Says:
May 18, 2009 at 5:59 am
DID RON EVER GET TO TOUR THE OLD HOMESTEAD? BEEN WAITING FOR ALL THE NEWS AND PICTURES?
Ken Brown Says:
May 18, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Tom Schlueter – WWHS Class of ‘61 Welcome to the site, I’m happy you found us via FaceBook.
My Dad worked with your Dad at Hollingshed’s, I recall the name Cliff Schlueter from conversations with
my Dad – Bill Brown, he was a lithographer there for 42 years.
Dave Baker Says:
May 18, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Dyane Porterfield, Joann Hoffman, Ken Brown. I was back in the old neighborhood on the Cycle on
Saturday and didn’t see Ronnie laying around anywhere! LOL Trust me I rode around there for over an
hour from Cove Rd. on Westfield Up to 27th and around Federal to Dudley, Out 36th and around 34th to
Davis He was nowhere to be found! Bad as the area is today it can’t wipe out the fond memories I have
of growing up there! I was suprised to see a yardsale on 34th St. I couldn’t resist buying a couple of
antique collectibles, The lady didn’t have any documentation but assured me that the items had been in
the family for over thirty years, I bought two bricks said to be the first ones thrown in the ’60s
riot. Hopefully Ronnie is ok, Dawn have you heard from your Fav Uncle?
I hope we don’t have to call an airlift from “Sky Cowboy” to rescue him. Ron! Log on! Hello! Where are
you?
Dave Baker Says:
May 18, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Nick? R U OK? Haven’t heard anything since you were in Tornado Alley!
Drop us a line Bro! Do you need anything? Ruby Slippers? Courage? Heart? A Brain? LOL Seriously,
Pinmonkey, Where are U? IGYB!
Bake
Dawn Henry Says:
May 18, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Dave
I heard through my Aunt Karen that my fav Uncle Ron is having major computer problems — apparently it
crashed — i just got off the phone with him – read him your post and he LOL (LOUDLY) – he said “thanks
for thinking of me”…..(haha) – he hopes to be back up and running with a new computer shortly…..
Charles “Skeeter” Moy Says:
May 18, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Dave Baker .
Did you ride down Rosedale Ave. between Westfield & 36th by any chance. Remember all those pot holes we
had to navigate with our skates & bikes as kids ,way back when?..LOL
An old friend from the 50’s rode down past our old houses (3177-3187) in Feb. & she said no more
holes…all filled in & nicely paved.
Skeeter
Dave Baker Says:
May 18, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Skeeter, Sorry Bro I didn’t even think of checking out Rosedale, I came down 36th St. from Federal and
could’ve cut down to check out Mario’s.
I was however saddened to see that the Railroad tracks were gone! Wonder if we could get some FIFTY or
HUNDRED markers on Ebay? LOL
I was however amused that one of the old metal bus stop benches at Wesfield and Dudley St. (even though
sunken into the ground by a good 10? to a foot in the front) was still being used by people waiting for
the old “D” Bus (they didn’t seem to mind having to lean forward) LOL
I even took a ride out Rt. 70 and was sad that my favorite girls were gone from their perch! Remember
the “Bayard Chocolate Girls” in the swing? GONE! GONE I TELL YOU! No Candy Striped outfits, No swing!
Gone! How can they still have the nerve to sell candy there! (Sorry I just got a little crazy, I’ll be
ok, Deep Breaths!) Next time down I’ll make a run down Rosedale and let you know!
Nick Rap Says:
May 18, 2009 at 8:48 pm
BAKE! You are alive too! I thought you were gone. I, myself, took a journey on the Starship Enterprise.
I thought I saw you near Romulus, but it was someone else. I heard you were in the neutral zone
somewhere. I was also told by Data that you might have been on a Borg ship in Sector D. Hmmmm. That
wasn’t you either.
Anyway, I am back on planet earth. It’s more relaxing here. Beaming up & down get’s kinda old. (next
time I will just Follolw the Yellow Brick Road) IGYB!
Nick Rap Says:
May 18, 2009 at 8:51 pm
If anyone wants to talk, I can be reached on my cell at 919-819-1412. Since we do not have Chat
capability here (hint hint Kenny), call me anytime. If I don’t answer, I am at work or sleeping.
Thanks all!
Nick
Dave Baker Says:
May 18, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Skeeter, One other thing I found interesting, All the street signs on Wesfield Ave. in Pennsauken have
been revamped, Retro 1900s cast iron posts painted black with embossed enamel street signs, white
background, black letters, Very cool looking. Not to be out done, From 36th St. Up to 27th St. some
innercity artist took the liberty of spray painting all the street signs with fresh colors! LOL
Dave Baker Says:
May 18, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Nick my IGYB Camdenite Brother! I was on hiatus also, In fact I still have “Red sand between my toes
from a vacation in outer space!” LOL
(A case of soft Philly pretz if you can tell me who that came from?)
Actually I was in the DMZ, My visit to the “Old Hood” was as surreal as any Sam Peckinpah film I’ve
ever seen. LOL Like a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs! There seemed to be a slight
malfunction of my power windows not to mention the power door locks, I really need to trace the
electric circuts on the bike! In hindsight I probably should’ve went in the daylight! LOL Good to hear
from you, Where’s Paul? And don’t tell me he’s the barefoot one on the cover of Abbey Road! (never
crossed your mind did it?) LOL
Ken Brown Says:
May 19, 2009 at 6:22 am
Note to Nick Rap… you’re right, there is not a chat function here, as I’ve been trying to convince
everyone, this is not FaceBook… and this place has it’s limitations. If you want chat join FaceBook.
Also I have no problem with you posting your cell phone number, but do consider, this is not FaceBook,
so it is not just people you have friended who will see your cell phone number here… this site and the
content of it, can be read by anyone who stumbles upon it on the Internet. You may have just opened a
can of SPAM worms on your cell phone by posting your cell phone number, as it is not protected here as
it would be on FaceBook where only those who really know you would have access to it. Just so you know,
and don’t come complaining to me when your cell phone starts to get bombarded with unwanted calls, the
Spam catcher here at WordPress has been catching an average of five attempted spam posts a day on our
site. So the spammers are out there. I’m not sure why there is an increase, I hope they have not been
“tagging” along on anyone’s legitimate postings. Sometimes spam works that way, if they are already
embedded in someone’s account, they tag along and attempt to post and spread where ever that person
posts.
jim lang Says:
May 19, 2009 at 6:26 am
hi,skeeter, the last time i was by dudley grange park there was a fence that ran the entire length of
roesdale ave. barring acces to the park. the kids in that area can no longer walk or recreate at the
grange. all the happy times spent by many of us in that park. it is sad. i hope that fence was just
temporary. jim.
Paul Skeens Says:
May 19, 2009 at 9:58 am
Hey Dave, I’m right here. Man, those fake bullet-holes on your bike are the most realistic I have EVER
seen! Hey, did the lady at the yard sale happen to have a supply of tiny glycine bags?
After all the talk from you and Ron, I think it’s time for a roadtrip “back in time.” I’ll have to let
my wife stay home this time. My dashboard doesn’t need anymore scratchmarks in it. I told her, “look,
these people are trying to be neighborly, why, they are all even walking up to the car to greet us!” as
we sat at the corner of 39th & High. Silly girl, she said they were trying to sell us drugs….but, I
doubt that.
Glad you had a good trip
Ken Barr Says:
May 19, 2009 at 4:05 pm
The saddest part of Bakes report…..the loss of the chocolate lady at Bayards….have they no shame, they
can’t continue to sell without our waving southern belle, I might just check out their web site and
enter a complaint. I will keep you posted Bake and see if we can revive the “sweet girl “
Dave Baker Says:
May 19, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Paul, Negative on the glycine bags sorry Bud-ee! LOL I was however warmed to the core by how friendly
everyone was, They were all waving to me, Especially the ones that didn’t have all their fingers! LOL
Ken Barr, Such is progress, The Girls are gone, I’m a bit confused as to why, They were ambassadors to
the wonderful world of confections…Sigh!Funny how the only things that survive the rise and fall of
urban blight and progress are the bars and liquor stores, They all seemed to be intact give or take a
few that apparently caught fire. (perhaps by lightning, nudge, nudge, wink, wink) LOL
Ken Brown Says:
May 19, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Warren Smith, Wilson Class of ‘69, Welcome to the site. We hope you will visit often! There have been a
few other people from your class visit the site.
Charles “Skeeter” Moy Says:
May 19, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Dave Baker,
Sorry to hear they fenced off the track side of Dudley Grange.
I can remember rushing out my front door (we lived on Rosedale) flying up that embankment,across the
tracks & hitting that hedge full speed & bursting thru into MY park…LOL
Spent many a happy hour there.
BTW…I know the Pennsauken street signs well,I have lived in Pennsauken for the past 37 years.
The township revitalized the Westfield Ave. Business district several years ago & went with bricks
aling the side walks & those old stye lights& signs.
I live on the Maple Ave. side of town where Rice & Holman used to be.
Skeeter.
Charles “Skeeter” Moy Says:
May 20, 2009 at 7:16 am
OOPS…SORRY .
THE THE FENCE COMMENT WAS MEANT FOR JIM LANG.
THERE HAS BEEN A FLURRY OF ACTIVITY THE PAST COUPLE DAYS & I GOT MY REPLIES MIXED UP.
Skeeter
Inez Reams Janess Says:
May 20, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Hey everyone,
If you are waiting for Ken to attend this site……. you’ll just have to wait until the pulla is baked!
Sorry Ken….. I couldn’t resist it….. the devil made me do it. Ha Ha.
Dave Baker Says:
May 20, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Pulla? He told me it was Nisu! Tomato, Tomatoe! LOL
Ken, slice me a thin piece, coffee flavored please! LOL
Bake
Inez Reams Janess Says:
May 20, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Hey Ken,
If we all behave ourselves, would you consider letting us have your grandmom’s pulla recipe? It sounds
good with raisins and almonds!
I would really like to try making it this coming Christmas. For those of you who don’t know what pulla
is….. it’s braided mildly sweet yeast bread made in Finland. My Finnish brother-in-law used to make it
every Christmas for the family.
Who knows? You might even get Bake to bake!
Ken Brown Says:
May 21, 2009 at 8:13 am
Inez, my Finnish Pulla recipe is very similar to the one you forwarded to me, with the addition of
raisins and almonds… I use baking raisins and “fold” them into the dough prior to braiding the loaves.
As for the almonds, place sliced almonds on top of the loaves under the sugar and egg brushing just
prior to baking. I prefer my pulla without the sugar coating on top, I don’t use additional sugar,
there is enough in the dough recipe for my own personal sweet tooth.
Dave Bake, sorry Pulla does not come in “coffee” flavor, Pulla is Pulla because of it’s distinct
cardamom taste. Without the cardamom spice, it would just be another loaf of sweetened yeast bread, and
not worthy of the name Pulla. Of course cardamom will set you back a few dollars, it is one of the most
expensive spices to purchase, a McCormick’s sized, 2 ounce jar of it will set you back $10 to $12… pods
are a little cheaper, but more work. Cardamom is sold in many Indian groceries, often at a better
price, as they use it in many dishes. The Finns and Scandinavians are the biggest consumers of cardamom
spice outside of India.
Also there are health benefits from cardamom, it is one of the spices found in Chai tea, it has also
shown promise in preventing colon cancer, gastro-intestinal disorders, and depression.
Dave Baker Says:
May 21, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Ken, You don’t mix sugar and brewed coffee together and brush it on before baking? I’ve had it with egg
white and milk coating also but still prefer the coffee and sugar.
Inez, Bake does bake! However my background is more from the Pennsylvania Dutch, Apple Snitz and
Snickerdoodles are my favorites and I’m sure Ken wouldn’t approve of the non-benificial ingredients but
then neither would 9 out of 10 Doctors! LOL If I go out It’ll be enjoying what I eat! (Sorry Ken, Not
really but your the host and I’m obligated to make an effort) LOL
Inez Reams Janess Says:
May 21, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Hey Ken Brown,
Cara is off to California so I am “scanning” those Davis class photos to email to you.
Hey Bake, as the (Pennsylvania Dutch would say)
” The hurrier I go the behinder I get!”.
Guess what Cara and Debra are going to do in California? They are going to visit “the munchkins” from
the Wizard of Oz. It seems that the little people from the movie got together in the 40’s and
established their own town.
Inez Reams Janess Says:
May 22, 2009 at 1:49 am
Hey Ken Barr,
I just now read your post of April 10 about Cub Scout Den 36.
I believe that was the number of the den when I was Den Mother.
We held meetings at the house; but held “special” meetings in the basement at Asbury Methodist Church.
At one special meeting, the boys gave a presentation to their parents and anyone else who cared to
attend. They presented the flag of the state of New Jersey and each boy told what the symbols on the
flag stood for.
Since Mayor Nardi’s son was in our den, the mayor was kind enough to let us use the flag from his
office. I am sorry to say, I had to return it with a small water stain on it. I tried to remove a spot
of soil from the “satin” flag. I was quite embarrassed.
While I was collecting the class photos for Ken, I came across a certificate of gratitude from the
scouts for being a den mother. When I get back to my house again, I will check on the den number.
Paul Skesne Says:
May 22, 2009 at 5:59 am
Inez Reams Janess
“Pack 36? was the Cub Scout group that met in the basement of Asbury Methodist Church once a month. The
“Pack” consisted of several “Dens” that would meet weekly at a specific Den Mothers’ house.
Janet Greineer was my Den Mother, Den 07 I believe…She lived on 36th St. near Fairfax.
Young Joe Nardi was definately a member of Pack 36, although I don’t know what Den he was in.
Like Ken Barr said, we used to have the annual Blue & Gold Dinner (They Still have them, went to MY
son’s Blue & Gold recently) That was the BIG event, beside the Pinewood Derby and numerous trips.
Ken Barr
Do you remember the year they had the Cowboy Trick Shooter? He would shoot balloons out of his sons’
hand, right there in the church basement! Was it MR. McCall or young Francis that did Tiny Tim? Your
Mom deserves GREAT KUDOS for that one!
Who else was in our Pack Ken? I remember you & your Brother, The McCalls, the Nardi’s, the Gifford Boys
from 39th St, I think Robert Thomas (who posts here) Steve Parker (who always won the pinewood derby)
Anyone else off the top of your head?
Ken Brown Says:
May 22, 2009 at 2:42 pm
WELCOME to the site Darline Pine Le Comte, WWHS Class of ‘74… look around there are a few others from
your class who post here.
Inez, thank-you for forwarding all of the pictures, and for re-scanning the class photos that Cara had
sent. I hope to get them posted soon, probably not this weekend, but soon
Everyone have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend, and take some time to remember all the men and
women who have served our country in the military, especially those who have paid the ultimate
sacrifice, and all those who continue to serve on active duty today.
Ken Barr Says:
May 22, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Paul, it was Mr. McCall I will never get that evening out of my head and yes even though my mom, she
did an outstanding job that year for our entertainment. I am glad to hear the Blue and Gold Dinners
live all, I am just pleased to know that some wholesome gatherings are still taking place and that some
kids still have a chance at a wholesome life. I think the Scouts brought a lot to our lives in a good
way for sure. Glad to hear you have your children (child) involved, one thing taught to us was
respect…for ourselves, our parents, those in charge, adults and superiors. Sadly I admit today these
things are lacking in our young people. Before I get cards and letters,LOL I know you can learn these
other ways and if you didn’t attend Scouts doesn’t mean you are down right low life….NOT what I am
saying. Having said all that Paul, you covered a big list of participants I think the Mosers and
Galleghars were there. I remember Ms. Greineer and yes lived at the point of Fairfax and 36th behind
some bushes in front line of the house I recall. I also think John Martin was in it also, not for sure.
I do remember the cowboy gun slinger, do you remember the B&G with the volcano our den made smoke and
all, I think that was us maybe your den if you were 07 we must have been 06 either way fond memories
thanks Ms. Inzes and Paul I enjoyed the trip down memory lane keep them coming it was some of the best
times of our lives.
Sandy (Orme) Says:
May 22, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Hope everyone has a wonderful, safe and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend 2009! Enjoy one and all!
Inez Reams Janess Says:
May 23, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Hey Dave Baker,
Cara and Debra just pointed you out in the 66-67 Grade 5 photo.
You are the cute fellow (first in 3rd row).
Hey Peggy (Marks) DeBoard,
Now we know what Bake looked like!
Paul Skesne Says:
May 24, 2009 at 6:38 am
Ken Barr
That’s right, I forgot about Joe & Kevin Gallegher, and was it Jeffrey Moser (Motzer)? Were you in Mrs.
Greineers’ Den? The only one I can remember clearly was David Gifford, as he & I had the job of mowing
Mrs. Greineers’ lawn every week. It’s a blurr as to who was in the Pack & who was actually in our den.
As you say Ken, it was for us then, and continues today, to be a positive experience for kids. In our
day there was also a great emphasis placed on respect for, and the proper handling of the United States
Flag, and I’m pleased to say that emphasis continues, as well as the other values of scouting that you
mentioned. It is sad that those values are not stressed more on a dailey basis. That was a great group
of people then, the scouts and the leaders for giving their time & dedication. It was a LOT of fun!
Hope everyone is having a Great Memorial Day weekend, and THANK YOU to all who ARE serving and who HAVE
served this Great Country, ESPECIALLY those that made the ultimate sacrifice!
And THANK YOU to their families as well!
Ken Brown Says:
May 24, 2009 at 9:39 am
Paul… Jeffrey Moser, now there’s someone I wish would find this site! I think I mentioned this before,
I visited his house on 35th Street on my bike a lot, even when Jeff was not around, to visit their
Great Dane dog – Lux! The Moser’s also had an aquatic wonderland in their basement, all kinds of fish
tanks, even salt water tanks as I recall, which were rare for fish hobbyist back then.
Note to everyone who has sent me pictures in the last week… Inez and Cara, “Brother” Barr, and Gary
Fioretti, I have all the photos saved (I think there are over 35 of them…LOL) and will work on getting
them posted after this long busy weekend is over. It’s been too nice here at the Jersey Shore to be
indoors. Fantastic Weekend here. And yes I do feel the pain of those in soggy Florida.
Dave Baker Says:
May 24, 2009 at 9:57 am
To all the Men and Women who have before and now serve our country as well as their families, We give
thanks to you all for allowing us to maintain the freedoms and liberties you have provided us through
your sacrifices, “All gave some, Some gave all” To all those in harm’s way today, Godspeed!
Dave Baker Says:
May 24, 2009 at 10:22 am
Inez, Thank you for those kind words, Seeing your photo it’s not hard to figure out where your girls
got their good looks from, I guess those Georgia Peaches don’t fall far from the tree! LOL As for PA
Dutch sayings, One of my favorites is “We grow old too soon, Und smarts too late”
Peggy (Marks) DeBoard, You mentioned in an earlier post you lived in Harrisburg, Are you still in the
area?
Nick Rap Says:
May 24, 2009 at 10:45 am
Wish ALL a safe and blessed Memorial Day Weekend. Thank God for all those who served and are serving
this country to maintain the safety and freedoms we take for granted every day. A special blessing to
all the men and women and their families those who made the ultimate sacrifice. May God bless you.
Peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
May 24, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Dave Baker,
No, Dave, I lived in Hbg. for a year back in the 60’s then the West Shore for 15 years before moving
on. Presently, I live in North Phoenix, AZ.
Are you in the Harrisburg area?
This Memorial Day weekend takes me back to the days we lived in Camden. On Memorial Day we always
packed a lunch, drove to Philadelphia, and picniced at the cemetary where my grandparents were buried.
They always had some war veterans who held a little memorial and a gun salute. It was like a color
guard which leads a parade. Of course there was the parade on Westfield Av. We kids decorated our bikes
and rode in the parade. One year Bob Simons and I went as Mrs. & Mr. America and won a big gold cup. We
had to share the cup!
Dave Baker Says:
May 24, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Peggy Marks DeBoard,
Yes I’m in the Harrisburg area on the West Shore, Just outside of Newberrytown, I take it you moved
before the TMI scare. LOL
They still have the traditional Memorial Day Parade here, Police, Fire Dept.
Boys and Girl Scouts, Bagpipes, Color Guard, Vets, We decorate and ride our bikes (only now they’re
motorcycles) It ends at the Cemetary with the traditional 21 gun salute, Amazing Grace from the
bagpipes, taps, Then off to the Church for the lighting of the candles for local fallen Vets and then
Hymns. With all the things that have been taken out of our schools today that we grew up on, It’s truly
uplifting to take part in these types of events, It makes you feel proud to have been part of a
generation that grew up in a more simpler time.
DuWayne Carter Says:
May 24, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Nick Rapanotti just told me about this site…
VERY cool to see a lot of familiar names once again…
My wife and I are still in the area (Mt. Laurel). I hope to catch up with some of the old crew from
WWHS….
Ken Says:
May 24, 2009 at 9:14 pm
DuWayne Carter – Wilson Class of ‘77, WELCOME to the site, we are glad you found us via Nick Rapanotti.
I remember you from Wilson.
Ken Barr Says:
May 25, 2009 at 8:04 am
We give Honor, Glory and Thanks to those that are serving, have served, have suffered and families that
mourn their lost loved ones. For all serve and served proudly, and those fallen, we have not forgotten.
FALLEN NOT FORGOTTEN
By Boltz/McConnaha
I stood beside my daddy
as the soldiers marched on by
It was Memorial Day I remember
I saw a tear in Daddy’s eye
We stood there in the crowd
by a monumental stone
He said, “Son my Daddy went to fight,
He didn’t make it home.”
Fallen Not forgotten, he was a hero
He stood so tall
And forever, we will remember
for Honor and Glory
He gave his all.
Many left their families
the towns where they were born
for the rice patties of Vietnam
for the sand of Desert Storm
Many fought there in Korea
World War 1 and World War 2
Some paid the price
Some gave there lives
They fought for me and you
Fallen not forgotten
they were the heroes
they stood so tall
and forever we will remember
for Honor and Glory
they gave their all
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL AND GOD BLESS
Ken Says:
May 25, 2009 at 11:37 am
Brother Barr, thank you for posting the very thoughtful Memorial Day poem. It is much appreciated.
Take time today to remember and thank all those who have served, and continue to serve our country in
the US Military – the Army, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Navy, and also the other first
responders – the police, fire, and EMT/paramedic, Red Cross, FEMA, and other government personnel who
give back everyday to this great country of ours.
I know a number of us have family or loved ones on active duty, including a few who are currently
serving in Iraq – Sandy Orme Craig’s son Adam Craig, my nephew John Roscoe, and Dave Nevius are all
currently deployed to Iraq… keep them in your thoughs and prayers as they continue serving in harm’s
way.
Ken Says:
May 25, 2009 at 2:15 pm
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=heroes2
The above list is from the Courier Post, and includes the names of all South Jersey area US Military
personnel who have died in the War on Terror. Thanks, Charles “Skeeter” Moy for fowarding this article
to post on the site for Memorial Day.
Ken Says:
May 25, 2009 at 2:20 pm
The following Memorial Day poem was also forwarded to me by Charles “Skeeter” Moy. I am not sure of the
origin of the poem, perhaps Skeeter will know.
A little patch of color on a lonely mound of green,
A little flag above him very new and very clean.
The May time breezes blow, through the grasses soft and sweet,
And the little children wonder, why the drums so slowly beat.
They’re told there was a soldier, in the days before they came,
Who marched away to battle, when the world was all-aflame.
For they’ve heard us talk about him,and they often heard us sigh,
But they have no understanding, of the reasons soldiers die.
Only those who’ve lived a wartime, know its anguish and its pain.
And the anxious weeks of waiting, and the tears that fall like rain.
For those who’ve lost a soldier, understand Memorial Day,
And the bitter cost of freedom, which the brave go forth to pay.
Now the children follow with us, to the grave with pretty flowers,
And we try to teach them something, of the memory that is ours.
And hopefully when they are older, they will come to understand,
For THEM, they went to battle in a far-off land.
Ken Barr Says:
May 25, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Thanks Skeeter for sending that in and Ken for posting it, I think the line says it all ” Only those
who’ve lived a wartime, know its anguish and its pain. ” very impacting poem. Ken what I posted is
actually a song, if all goes well it will be part of my new CD coming out late September 2009. As you
can imagine it is request many times during performances. But aside from that, words can’t express the
gratitude we should all have, whether you believe in this war or not you are living under the Safety
Freedom and Liberty that was achieved from war and we must never take any of that for granted.
Sandy (Orme) Says:
May 25, 2009 at 5:45 pm
OUR SON ADAM IS BACK FROM IRAQ!!!
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT, PRAYERS AND KIND WORDS!
HAPPIEST MEMORIAL DAY EVER!!!
Charles “Skeeter” Moy Says:
May 25, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Ken,
I received that poem this morning from an internet friend who served in Nam.
It was unsigned in the email & I have no idea who wrote it.
But it sort of knocked me off my chair as I read it…its so important that we pass on to our children &
grandkids the true meaning of this Holiday.
So I forwaeded it on to share with everyone.
Skeeter
Paul Skesne Says:
May 25, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Sandy,
That is WONDERFUL news!!!!! What a great gift for you this weekend.
Give our best to him, and our thanks!
Kenny,
Where on 35th did Jerffrey Moser live? Salt water fishtank? Remember when we used to go to Tisa’s pet
shop and get a couple of guppies and just look at the salt water stuff and dream!
Ken Says:
May 25, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Sandy, GREAT NEWS about Adam returning from Iraq!!!
Paul, not exactly sure of the address where Jeffrey Moser lived, I know it was on the opposite side of
the street from where Tim Brill lived, and down a few blocks, it was in fact across the street from the
house that had a candy store on the enclosed front porch. Maybe Ken Barr or someone actually from that
neighborhood will know the exact address. I know they have talked about about the candy store on this
site, and someone even mentioned the name of the woman, in a post awhile back.
I have many fond memories of Tisa’s Pet Shop, and John Tisa, the owner. I bought many pets there as a
kid, fish mostly, but also newts, frogs, lizards, hamsters, and one time an alligator, which my Mom
sent me back with, after calling Mr. Tisa on the phone and giving him an earful for selling me the
alligator. He was quite understanding about the whole thing, and took the alligator back in exchange
for fish, though everytime I went into Tisa’s after that, he would always ask… “Are you sure your Mom
is okay with this?” LOL. I think I paid all of $2.99 for the baby alligator and I was probably only
about ten at the time, and rode my bike out there by myself to purchase it.
Something many people did not know about John Tisa, was his past before opening the pet shop. He was in
fact an organizer and early member in both the Socialist and Communist parties. In the 1930’s when the
Spanish Civil War started, he volunteered for the American Lincoln Brigade and went to Spain, where he
became the editor of the official Lincoln Brigade newspaper – Volunteer For Liberty. He also met, and
would dine and drink with Ernest Hemingway, who was in Spain as a journalist covering the war. When the
US entered World War II, Tisa did enlist in the US Army, but because of his connections to the
Communist Party, his duties and rank were restricted, though he was allowed to serve. I think he served
at a military hospital. In the 1950’s, while working as a labor organizer, he was called to testify
before McCarthy’s House Un-American Activities Committee, but pled the fifth, and refused to answer any
questions put to him about Communist activities within the US labor/union movement. Due to refusing to
testify, he was prohibited from working as a labor organizer. The pet shop John and his wife ran, was
actually the result of him being unable to work in the labor/union field after being blacklisted. He
also published a book on the Spanish Civil War and the Lincoln Brigade in the 1980’s titled – Recalling
the Good Fight. Tisa died in the 1990’s after retiring to Florida. The pet shop closed a few years
before that… maybe around 1991.
Inez Reams Janess Says:
May 25, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Hey Sandy Orme,
Thank you and your fine son for keeping us safe! God bless you both!
Ken Barr Says:
May 25, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Paul and Ken, we lived at 531 N. 35th one block up on same side as Tim Brill, we were in the single
family dwelling right next to the enclosed porch with the candy store run by Mr and Mrs Burkquist. To
this day I blame them and their 1 cent pretzel rods dipped in mustard and red gummie fishes for the
cause of my girlish figure going out of wack, LOL. The Mosers lived 2 houses up from us on the other
side. Charlie and Elsie Brown lived directly across from us then next to them was the Keeblers then
Mosers. On the one side of us was the store and the other Mrs. Wolfer, when she passed away it was
bought by our friend Tony Lope. When the Burquist retired to the nursing home their home was bought by
My brothers friend and WWHS Alum Harry Commiso. And guys I don’t remember the fish tanks, but I do
remember LUX I mean who could forget that dog or was it a horse,LOL. A few years back the Dad Jack
Moser our cub scout master troop 36 passed on. To the best of my knowledge Betty (his wife) still lives
in the area of the Pocanos, and sadly I have lost contact with all the boys
Sandy (Orme) Says:
May 25, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Inez, Thank you for you kind words.
It’s just a nice way to end the Memorial Day weekend and a great start to the Summer of ‘09!
Thanks!
Paul Skeens Says:
May 26, 2009 at 8:01 am
Sandy,
We can almost see that smile on your face, it’s SOOOOOO BRIGHT!!!!! It surely will be a great summer
for your famiy!
Kenny,
That is extremely interesting stuff about John Tisa. We had touched on his involvement a long time ago,
but I did not realize to what extent. It is fascinating, especially in retrospect.
It does not surprise me that you went home with an alligator, although….do you think you were
unwittingly drawn into his Master Plan of selling Alligators to the children of Patriotic Americans,
then waiting while the alligators grew to full size, to then seize the opportunity to take control of
the government during the chaos and confusion undoubtedly created by hundreds of out of control pet
alligators running rampant in Soutern New Jersey?……Hmmmmm…..Mr. Tisa was quite cunning!
Ken Barr
What line of work was Mr. Moser in? He was a real nice guy when he was the leader of #36. We had a lot
of great times with the events and trips they had. Do you remember wearing your uniform to school
during scout week? A little girl in my class wore her brownie uniform the same day as I wore my cub
scout uniform and the teacher made a really big deal of it. She called us up in front of the class, for
an extended period of time, talking all about scouting and she even took several pitures of us!
Christina Marie Says:
May 26, 2009 at 10:36 am
My older brother served in Nam – 14 or 16 months active duty – doing well, married, living on the west
coast of this great country.
My nephew still in Iraq – they keep extending his tour, hopefully he’ll be home for good this year!
Appreciate any prayers on his behalf!
Was in NJ last weekend for Rowan 09 Graduation of a couple of young folks! Was a great visit and caught
up with lots of friends!
Be well everyone!
Ken Barr Says:
May 26, 2009 at 11:09 am
Paul, I really don’t remember what line of work he was in. I do remember in the summer he would come
home wearing brown pants and white t-shirt, why I remember that I have no idea. What ever it was he was
able to retire early and they moved to the Pocanos. Didn’t wife Betty work as a nurse? Have you had
contact with Jeff or Johnee thrid boy I can’t remember name gosh I am getting old,LOL?
Ken Brown Says:
May 26, 2009 at 11:34 am
Christina, we’ll certainly keep your nephew in our thoughs and prayers. My nephew is currently in Iraq
also, and his older brother has been deployed a few times to Iraq and Afghanistan. It will be a great
day when they can bring most of those serving home.
Paul, I don’t know if Mr. Tisa was trying to change the ecosystem of South Jersey through political
conspiracy means, but ya never know… LOL. Despite being a Communist, he was quite patriotic, he was one
of the union organizers who brought the unions to Campbell’s Soup. I was so close to being allowed to
keep the alligator, until my Mom had me pull out the World Book Encyclopedia and read up on them… I
think the bit about topping out at 10 or 12 feet as an adult is what convinced her is should go back.
That was the only pet of many that my sister or I ever brought home that we were not allowed to keep.
What is so funny looking back now is that I carried the gator in a box, on my bike all the way home,
then all the way back to Tisa’s. That is something only an East Camden kid could pull off! LOL
Ken Barr, didn’t the Mosers move to Collingswood or Haddon Twp. after leaving 35th Street? I seem to
recall riding bikes there around 5th Grade, I think it was with George Gumbrell and maybe Tim Brill,
and looking for Jeffrey. We had a street but no house number, but never did find Jeff.
Ken Brown Says:
May 26, 2009 at 11:37 am
Ahhhhh, my picture changed! I swapped out my WordPress profile picture about a week ago, but it did not
update right away. Now it has.
george marks Says:
May 26, 2009 at 1:58 pm
IT’S SAD TO SEE WHAT WE’VE BECOME. THERE WERE ONLY TWO FLAGS OUT ON MY STREET THIS WEEKEND. I REMEMBER
WHEN DECORATION DAY MEANT SOMETHING. WHAT SHORT MEMORIES WE AMERICANS HAVE NOW A DAYS. ONE DAY TO
REMEMBER ALL THOSE BOYS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES SO WE COULD LIVE IN LIBERTY. I AM SAD AT WHWT WE HAVE
BECOME.
Ken Barr Says:
May 26, 2009 at 2:17 pm
George, it saddens me but you are right many homes are void of the flag anymore. I remember growing up
fighting my brother over the privilege to put the flag out on the holder of the porch post. You will
find waving proudly out our home Old Glory 24/7 in its own little courtyard if I Knew how to work the
digital camera I would email you a picture so keep a mental note George.
Ken (I don’t know where George Gumbrell is either) Brown you may be right but on them moving there but
I thought for sure it was Pocanos, after a trying afternoon I remembered the third boy was Gary.
Johnee, Jeffery and Gary. Now you know Ken The Gallahgers moved to Haddon Township, they had a home
built there. I recall spending the night there and helping them lay out the ” sod ” in the yard with
them. The Mosers I am just not sure, other then I am sure they finally retired in the Pocanos. By the
way on the Gallahgers Mr. (the Dad) passed away just last year. Oldest son Joe became a policemen and
Kevin I think became an attorney but that information goes a way back. I need Bake he’s GMB on how age
equals fuzzy memory.
Ken Barr Says:
May 26, 2009 at 9:52 pm
George, I dropped you a note on the “Bob’s Market” page
Ken Says:
May 27, 2009 at 9:03 am
Hey Everyone, new picture pages are coming over the next couple days. I’ve uploaded 52 different
pictures that have been sent to me in recent weeks from Inez Janess, Gary Fioretti, and Ken Barr, and
will be adding them to the site (this will take some time) now that they are uploaded. Thanks for your
patience in this matter
Thomas Goehringer Says:
May 27, 2009 at 2:35 pm
You may post the photo of the Goehringer family submitted by Inez Janess.
Ken Says:
May 27, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Thanks Thomas Goehringer, and Welcome to the site, we look forward to your posts.
I’ve posted a number of new photo pages… all of the class photos forwarded to me from Inez Janess and
Gary Fioretti – the list of new pages for class photos is too long to type out and post here, but
search the menu for any classes you may have been in, they are all listed by year and grade. In
addition there are some new pages for Remington Street, with photos of the Janess family and others.
Barbara Hale I have posted your picture under your name, ditto for some additional photos of Inez
Janess – they are under her name. There is a new picture of the “other” Dudley Grange Monkey Bars II,
not with yours truly, but with Inez… LOL; and there are some new photos of Halloween 1965, and the
Cramer School 8th Grade Picnic from the 50’s. Also a photo of the Fioretti home on N. 34th, as well as
the 1955 Senior Class Prom.
I have about ten more photos to post to pages, the system for uploading has temporarily gone down, I
probably burned it out posting so many pictures
Ken Barr Says:
May 27, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Paul and Ken, I continued to search for some answers and I have confirmed. Jack Moser worked in
electronics at RCA in Camden. The Moser family did move to Collingswood and later retired to the
Pocanos. I have to give kudo’s to my brother as I tapped into his brain cells for some answers. Bake
has informed me of some horrific news… my brain cells are diminishing rapidly, I informed my wife to
not pay attention to me sitting at the computer with me head bobbing around like some bobble head on
the back dash of a 57 Chevy. Her response to my diminishing brain cells is that she has known about
that for several years now…I love you to dear
Warren Smith Says:
May 27, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Sandy Orme,
Any relation to a Camden Fire fighter Capt. Tony Orme? My father, Earl Smith, was also on the
department and worked with him, I beleive at Engine 9 (27th & Federal) or at Engine 3( Broad & Ferry
Ave).
Sandy (Orme) Says:
May 27, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Warren, yes he was my Dad. He passed 8/12/93. Dad would work overtime at both of those firehouses. He
was stationed at Headquarters, 3rd & Federal, near the County jail. My Uncle Vince Orme was a fire
marshall also at Headquarters.
jim lang Says:
May 28, 2009 at 5:49 am
just wanted to thank all of you for the great pictures. jim.
Ken Says:
May 28, 2009 at 8:45 am
Inez Janess, I have fixed the pictures of Barbara Hale and the Senior Prom 1955, occasionally photos
will upload in a format too large for the space, and when I upload them in bulk and create pages for
each, I don’t always check each individual page. If there are any other similar photo problems, let me
know. While I can’t always enlarge pictures beyond their original size, I can make pictures smaller.
Ken Barr, thanks for seeking out the updates on the Moser family. And while it is sad to learn your
brain cells are diminishing rapidly, I’m thrilled to learn that my own memory is still intact, at least
concerning the “lost” Moser issue. It’s nice to know we were actually riding around the right town
looking for Jeff that day so long ago in 5th Grade! LOL All kidding aside, I would not worry about your
brain cells, as it is clear from your posts, your memory for things from years ago is excellent… and
that’s a professional gerontological opinion (just make the co-pay check out to me)… hahaha!
Ken Says:
May 28, 2009 at 8:50 am
Also, I will post the last of the photos I have been sent later today.
Ken Says:
May 28, 2009 at 12:09 pm
I’ve added the remaining photos, their location can be found on the ZZZ Recent Post page, some of the
pages created yesterday got recorded on that page, others did not – mainly all the class pictures, but
they are on the menu, under year and grade, so look for them there.
Paul Skeens Says:
May 28, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Ken Barr,
Thanks for the Moser information and don’t worry….your memory is fine!
Peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
May 28, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Sandy Orme & Warren Smith,
I wonder if your Dads worked with my father Deputy Chief Austin Marks. He was stationed at Headquarters
and at 27th and Federal. He retired in 1965. We lived at 34th and Fairfax Drive, two doors from Davis
School.
Sandy (Orme) Says:
May 28, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Peggy, he most likely did. He started working for the CFD in 1959 I think. Have you check out Phil
Cohen’s site? There is a whole section on the CFD maybe there is something on your Dad. We lived @ 34th
& River Rd, Cramer Hill, over the tracks from East Camden.
Sandy (Orme) Says:
May 28, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Peggy, Just checked Phil’s site and what an article on your Dad. Go to the site gol down a little and
you will see Camden Fire Roster. Look there!
Ken Says:
May 28, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Brother Ken Barr, be sure to check the new page “Ken Barr and Mystery Plant” – I have a feeling you are
about to become an East Camden Urban Legend… LOL You can thank me later…hahah!
Peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
May 28, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Sandy,
Inez put me on to the site about Camden Firemen a while back. I was amazed when I saw the page after
page about my Dad. Makes me proud he, and the other fire fighters, were appreciated!
Nick Rapanotti Says:
May 28, 2009 at 5:13 pm
MR. BROWN……..Is DINNER READY YET?
Ken Says:
May 28, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Nick I only serve dinner on FaceBook, not here.
Ken Says:
May 28, 2009 at 6:55 pm
I’ve just added even more pages… a few Camden area TV personalities (Jim O’Brien, Malcolm Poindexter,
Mike Douglas, John Facenda), Gino’s restaurant, the First Drive In etc… they are listed on the ZZZ
Recent Posts page.
Inez, I have not yet posted the “10th Grade Picnic” picture you sent, for some reason it will not
upload. I’ll try a few more things, but I may have to go back to the original email and re-download it.
Nick Rapanotti Says:
May 28, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Gee whiz Ken! That’s no fair. I am almost in NJ!!!
Warren Smith Says:
May 28, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Sandy Orme & Peggy Marks DeBoard,
I am sure that all of our fathers worked together somewhere along the line. In those days the Camden
Fire Department was, as I remember, a very close fraternity. I remember as a boy the picnics that they
use to have at Pine Lake, and the times my siblings and I would help pass out horseshoe shaped
keychains with a penny in the center, when the Police and Fire Depts sought raises from the city. The
names I remember hearing as a kid were a who’s who of the Fire Dept. And I have spent hours at Phil
Cohen’s website. With my younger brother Larry still on active service with the Dept.; three
generations of my family have served with great pride. Look forward to hearing from both of you as well
as any other relatives of Camden Firefighters (firemen as they called themselves back then LOL)
Inez Reams Janess Says:
May 29, 2009 at 7:59 am
Hey Ken,
I sent you 2 photos for the 10th grade picnic. I believe they were in separate emails. One photo was
just girls and the second had two guys in it.
Inez Reams Janess Says:
May 29, 2009 at 8:35 am
Hey Ken,
I just now emailed both “10th grade picnic” photos (in one email).
Ken Says:
May 29, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Pat Antonelli, thanks for bringing the problem with the class photos to my attention.
Now for the bad news everyone… some of the many class photos I uploaded yesterday, due to the size
format they were originally in and due to me uploading them in bulk to save time as there were so many
to upload, did not load properly, causing only half of each picture to load onto the screen. I’ve
isolated which class photos I need to re-size and re-post, this is going to take some time.
Gary Fioretti, the photos you sent, were in a size format that uploaded properly, so they are fine as
they are. I will go through and remove the oversized photos from the other pages, and re-post them once
I have re-sized them. This will take some time, so bear with me on this tedious task. I would
appreciate if anyone has any photos to submit, to hold off doing so, till I get this mess straightened
up.
Thanks, Ken
Freddy Vesper Says:
May 29, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Just a note of interest, for all the people who remember radio station WIBG ( 99 AM ) , well earlier
this month the call letters were purchased by our local radio station ( my summer residence ) in
Wildwood, NJ. Coastal Broadcasting that broadcasted on 94.3 FM as WILW officially became WIBG and is
still broadcasting on 94.3 FM. This station can be tuned in clearly withinn 40 miles +/- of Wildwood.
Beyond that it is questionable. They play mainly the oldies and is an entertaining station. Most of the
DJ’s are from the area.
Ken Says:
May 29, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Hey Freddy, thanks for the “WIBBAGE” update, I believe I’ll be able to tune into it at my house, as we
are just off Milepost 48 on the GS Parkway, which put us within 40 of Wildwood…LOL
Ken Says:
May 29, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Good News Everyone, I have re-sized and re-uploaded all the class photos that were not loading
properly, you can find them by year and grade on the menu. There are a few class photos that will still
come up on the screen, as just half of a photo, those are pictures that have been on the site for a
while, and they can be clicked on to view the entire photo. The recent problems were partly due to
original size of the photos, and partly due to the uploader I used (Flash Loader), I went back to the
Browser Loader, it works better, and you have more control over sizing the photos.
Inez, I also posted the “Class Picnic 1956 10th Grade” and Ken Barr, I have posted the Warriors as they
appear today under Judy Arnold and Warriors Today, and the other photo of Judy Arnold with Mike Douglas
and that other bozo, are on the Mike Douglas page.
Bake and Nick Rap, I’ve sent the invoice and bill for all my work to you guys; I accept cashier’s
checks, money orders, or non-counterfeit currency, no rolled quarters please, I don’t frequent the
slots in AC.
Ken Says:
May 29, 2009 at 7:30 pm
I also added a page of Mike Rozier collector cards from his days playing in the NFL.
And a photo of Camden Convention Hall.
Sandy (Orme) Says:
May 29, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Ken, you deserve a BIG MEDAL! atta-boy also! Keep up the good work and someday you’ll make the big
time! LOL (whatever that is) lol
You really have done a WONDERFULD JOB all kidding aside. THANK YOU!
Dave Baker Says:
May 29, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Sandy, Thank your son for his yesterdays, today’s and all his tomorrows.
I’m glad to hear he’s home , safe and sound, My son Robert has just returned from his second tour in
Iraq, It’s not easy when they’re gone and you can’t hug them enough when they’re home, And yet they’ll
tell you it’s what they do and you’re not supposed to worry, God bless them, Regardless of how much we
tell them, They’ll never really know how much we love them!
Ken Says:
May 29, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Bake, I just left you a long reply on the Davis 66-67 Grade 3 thread – with info on some of those guys
you asked about.
Warren Smith Says:
May 29, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Carol Smarzynski,
I am one of the Smith kids 240 Eutaw, graduated Wilson 1969. Didn’t you live on Eutaw closer to Berkley
St. You proably knew my older brother Carl. I lived almost directly across from Gail Shierloh back
then. The names and memories keep coming to mind. This site is great. I remember the Goonans, the
Wilkers, the Doaks, the Boyers, the Flemings, the Osbourns, the Lewises and more. You are correct it
was a great place and time to live.
Dave Baker Says:
May 30, 2009 at 12:23 am
Ken Brown, How bout’ a little sumpin, sumpin on Richard Sterban?
Giddy-up, Ooom Papa, Ooom Papa, Ooom Papa, Mau Mau! Giddy-up!
There’s a Camden Native!
Not to mention Joe Bonsall from across the river in Philly, Anybody?
Anybody? Bueller? Bueller?
Sandy (Orme) Says:
May 30, 2009 at 8:34 am
Dave Baker, you are correct, you can’t hug or love them enough.
Say “Thank You” to your son also. Who would have thought our sons would go to war. My father always
thought WWII had taught us (USA) to stay of clear of such things. WWII the war to end all wars, he
would say, then Vietnam, I hope this one teaches that war is not always the answer but I’m not sure
what the answer is either. GOD BLESS AMERICA AND ALL WHO LIVE AND SERVE.
Warren Smith Says:
May 30, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Bruce Scholz,
Bruce graduated Wilson Class of ‘69, was classmate of your sister Bev, and my father (Earl Smith) was
also a member of CFD and worked at 27th & Federal with your dad Harry. Hope all is well with Bev, and
your Dad. Tell Bev I said hello.
Ken Says:
May 31, 2009 at 11:12 am
I’ve added some names to a few of the class photos… 65-66 Grade 2, and 66-67 Grade 3, two classes I was
in, and can name the majority of the kids (though a few names escape me). Please feel free to fill in
the names for class pictures if you know them. Just be positive of the names, if there is any doubt,
it’s best to wait until someone can postively link a name to a face.
Charles “Skeeter” Moy Says:
May 31, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Peggy Marks DeBoard,
I emailed you some info about Bruce Marks & a few pictures pictures.
Keep an eye out for it,it may go to your junk file if I am not listed in your contacts.
I put his name in the subject box.
Skeeter
Joe Larson Says:
June 1, 2009 at 11:23 am
Sandy (Orme)
In one of your posts you said you were a cousin to Tom Schaffer. Tom was just about my best friend in
High School and I’d love to reconnect. Is there any way I can contact him.
j
Ken Says:
June 1, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Welcome to the site Fran Corbett Stoner, WWHS Class of ‘58, and Joe Larson, WWHS Class of ‘64. We hope
you enjoy the site and look forward to your posts.
Sandy (Orme) Says:
June 1, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Joe Larson, I’m sorry to tell you that Tom Schaffer died 3yrs ago in FL. I loss contact with him also
when he moved to FL. He and Lorretta Albino(class of “63) did marry and had 3 sons, divorced and then I
lost contact with them both after my Fater died in ‘93
Freddy Vesper Says:
June 2, 2009 at 6:45 am
Sandy Orme,
Is Tom Schaffer the same one who was a Camden detective?
Joe Larson Says:
June 2, 2009 at 8:20 am
Sandy,
OMG that hit me like a punch. I know we’re all getting older and at or approaching that point where
there’s more behind us than in front but still it’s hard for me not to think of him as that fun loving
kid with the ready smile. I was always in awe of the way he could be so at ease talking to anyone (read
girls). I was always proud to call him my friend.
Do you know what he died of?
Freddy,
In 72 I moved back to Camden for a short time and drove a cab. One day a cop pulled along side me at a
traffic light and asked if I was Joe Larson and directed me to a parking lot. Only then did I recognize
Tom. We only got to talk for a few seconds when he got a call and had to leave. I left for Europe a few
weeks later and we never reconnected.
Did he make detective?
j
Sandy (Orme) Says:
June 2, 2009 at 9:02 am
Joe & Freddy, My cousin Tom Schaffer lived on 35th St. in Cramer Hill, just off of River Rd. Yes, he
made detective and retired a few years later and moved to FL with his new wife and work security for
condos in FL. I only know of his death through his obit. I was looking for a girlfriends Mother’s obit
when I saw Tom’s. No one from that side of the family has told me anything about his death. Once my Dad
passed we had very little contact with that side of the family. Tom has an older sister and younger
brother, Vincent, who also went to Wilson, class of ‘72.
Freddy, do you have a younger sister named Annett, class of ‘76? If so we we were cheerleaders
together. Hope all is well with you and yours.
Take care, Sandy:)
Ken Says:
June 2, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Buena Torrs, don’t visit this site and then post a two foot long list of over a hundred vendors for a
mart in Willingboro. You could have at least had the courtesy to ask. I would have still said no, and
it would have saved me the trouble of deleting your post. This is not a site for free advertising, it
is a site to post memories of a time and place that has special meaning to those who post here
regularly. Do not try to post again or I will turn your contact info into the host site WordPress, and
they will add you to the list of known spammers.
Peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
June 2, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Ken’
Way to go! A high five from me!
Sandy (Orme) Says:
June 2, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Great Catch Ken! Thank you for all you hard work!
jim lang Says:
June 3, 2009 at 5:47 am
sandy, did tom have a son named mike.? jim.
jim lang Says:
June 3, 2009 at 5:53 am
joe larson, did you go to wilson with tom lipka, or ron “fang” mitchell.? do you remember monty
montez,he danced on banstand, . thanks, jim.
Freddy Vesper Says:
June 3, 2009 at 7:45 am
Sandy,
Yes , Annette is my sister.
Joe Larson Says:
June 3, 2009 at 7:54 am
Hi Jim,
I didn’t know Tom Lipka or Ron “fang” Mitchell (I’ll bet there’s a story there). They weren’t in my
class – 64. But I did know Monte Montez. He was like a celebrity in the halls.
j
Ken Says:
June 3, 2009 at 8:36 am
Welcome to the site Lynne Hawkins and April Dariano Goehringer, thanks for visiting and posting.
April Goehringer, what years were you at Davis and WWHS?
Ken Says:
June 4, 2009 at 9:01 am
I filled in the names for the class photos… Davis 70-71 Grade 7-3, Davis 71-72 Grades 8-3 and 8-4, of
the three classes there was only one person in my own class of 8-4 I could not identify. I will fill in
other classes, of those I know, as I have time.
Ken Says:
June 4, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Welcome to the site Joseph Tesler. We look forward to your visits!
Joe, I recognize your name as a friend of my brother from Wilson – Bill “Mike” Brown from the Class of
‘72.
Ken Says:
June 5, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Ken Barr, when you get a chance, check out our Kindergarten class, “Davis 63-64 Kindergarten PM” – I
have filled in most of the names, but there are a couple where I drew blanks on the last names. All of
those kids I can’t remember the last name of, were kids who left Davis after a year or two. See if your
memory can be jogged a little.
Ken Barr Says:
June 6, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Ken, You did a great job with those names Ken. I wish I could help, the one fella Scott, looked
familiar but I don’t remember his face in later years is he one that moved on do you think? I will
sleep on it anyway
Ken Says:
June 7, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Ken Barr, the guy whose name I know was Scott, did not stay at Davis much beyond the very early years.
For some reason I have this memory that his last name might have been Brown also, but that would have
been three Browns in one small class, all unrelated. David Brown I remember, he lived on the corner of
41st and High Street, my Dad had an Aunt and Uncle who lived at 42nd and High, I use to ride my bike up
there to see them, and then ride two more blocks to 44th and High where my Grandmother lived. I was
very young then, probably before 3rd Grade and often went with my brother, though sometimes I would
sneak off alone, and my grandmother and aunt would always feed me, give me something to drink – Usually
Drink-A-Toast, then send me on my way back down High Street to home. I would always see David Brown on
these rides, and my Dad’s Aunt knew that Brown family, but they were not related to us at all.
Ken Says:
June 8, 2009 at 7:54 am
WELCOME to the site Dottie Aurelio Deal – St. Joe’s School, we look forward to your visits.
Ken Barr Says:
June 8, 2009 at 10:17 am
Oh Ken what a reminder of Drink-A-Toast, I never could handle that kind of coke without the fizz so
they say, but sorry if you were able to drink that you are a better man then I ever thought about
being. So many Browns should have had a street named after you guys.
Ken Says:
June 8, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Jimmy Parrish, WELCOME to the site. Your name is familiar, though I think you were a couple years ahead
of me, or maybe it is just Dave Baker has mentioned you. Where did you live?
Peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
June 8, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Must have been wonderful weather on the east coast this weekend. Not many postings so I suppose you all
were at the shore!
Pretty nice here in Phoenix ’til July rolls in and “fries” us!
jim lang Says:
June 8, 2009 at 6:30 pm
joe larson, i would like to share a memory of “monte” montez. we used to play basketball with monte at
hill park, that is what we called it because when you crossed 36th and roesdale ave. you went down a
slight incline. and the park was at the bottom. across from three huge white coal towers. monte was a
friendly fellow with a great sense of humor, he never failed to put a smile on our faces. if the games
got a little to competitive monte would say something to diffuse the situation. he also was a very good
basketball player. i have another story about monte i will say at another posting. joe what year did
monte graduate.? i graduated in “69? take care. jim
Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
June 8, 2009 at 8:59 pm
I met Monte too.
He was friends with Phil Batchelor a kid I hung with in E. Camden.
Phil lived on Marlton Pike near Berwick St.,I believe.
Anyway,Monte would drop by once in awhile,But mostly we would run into him near the Old YMCA,opposIte
old Camden Catholic HS on Federal in Center City.
There was a little eatery there,not much more that a hot dog stand rweally,a few doors down from the
‘Y”.
Sometime he’d be at the record shop around the corner on Broadway,can’t remember the name now.
Really a nice person.
I think he had two teenage Sisters too.
Ken Says:
June 8, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Welcome also to Curt Parrish – WWHS Class of 1950! Curt I’m guessing you might be Jimmy’s Dad?
Joe Larson Says:
June 9, 2009 at 8:59 am
hey Jim Lang,
Monte was in my graduating class, 64.
j
Dave Baker Says:
June 9, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Peggy Marks DeBoard,
Ahhh! Sweet Home Arizona in July! You know it’s hot when you can’t buy a short sleeve shirt in a Harley
Shop! They just don’t sell them, Let alone try to find a black shirt, I think that’s the hottest Sun
I’ve ever felt riding, Never mind trying to ride at night when it’s cooler, Unless you enjoy playing
Armadillo Hockey! LOL
Peggy Marks DeBoard Says:
June 9, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Dave Baker,
When we moved here, July 1. 2005, from Sarasots, FL, it was 117 degrees! We looked at each other and
said, “WHAT DID WE DO?” The consolation is that from late Sept. ’til early June, the weather is
paradise!
We get two growing seasons, orange tree in the back yard and never have to shovel snow!
