Davis School and WWHS Students of the 50's, 60's and 70's

Ella-Marie Says:
April 6, 2008 at 7:22 am Ken, Do you remember my sister Michele? She lost her eye behind the Buckleys house when she was 10. Kids were throwing stones and she got hit in the eye and I literly had to hold her eye ball that was hanging out of her eye and walk her home. They put the eye back in but she lost her site in that eye. As far as the hill near the pool. I remember Ice skating around there but not sleding. My oldest brother Chuck didn’t go to davis he went to ST. Joephes.

Ken Says:
April 6, 2008 at 12:11 pm George, whenever you make it down to Jersey, we’ll get together. What is good about this site is, those that live out of state can keep everyone informed about when they might be back “in town”!

Ella-Marie, I have a vague memory of someone getting injured badly in the eye, but I did not realize it was your sister Michele. I think the memory is more of remembering my Mom talking about it. What a tragic injury to have occur at such a young age. Was the rock thrower anyone from the neighborhood?

Don’t know if many that my wife Lorrie and I went to Wilson with, were aware of it or not, but she is legally blind in one eye, the result of being born with a cataract and then having surgery when she was young that did more injury to the eye. Such surgeries were not well developed back then.

George Gumbrell Says:
April 7, 2008 at 2:47 am Hey Jim, Thank you for letting us know about Charles Woodfall and Ed Gruber. Its never a good news. But all of us shared that special area, that we fondly remember. And all of US, should know when one of Our Own, has gone.

Freddy Vesper Says:
April 7, 2008 at 11:23 am Jim,
Sorry to hear the bad news, I used to play ball with those two. I thought Terry lived on the south side of Federal St somewhere around 32nd St.

Ken Says:
April 7, 2008 at 10:54 pm Welcome Rich Orth… I see you left a post under the “Where Are You Now?” page. It’s about time you found us! We now have 1/4 of the Wilson ‘75-’76 Varsity Wrestling team here (You, Russ McDaniel, and myself). I doubt any of us could still make the weights we once wrestled. And Rich, I didn’t realize you were in the Navy at the same time I was in the Coast Guard (78-82???). When were you in Gitmo, Cuba? I was there briefly in early Summer of ‘78. Another strange coincidence involving Wilson wrestlers… back in ‘79 I ran into Russ McDaniel while we were both TDY at Little Rock AFB in Arkansas. You remember that Russ?

Gene McCloskey Says:
April 8, 2008 at 6:18 am So sorry to hear about Chick and Terry.Terry and I lived in the same building in the acres.He had a great sence of humor and loved sports.

Ken Says:
April 8, 2008 at 7:49 pm Okay all you Camden trivia buffs… I know you have been anxiously waiting for more questions to rattle your aging brains. I’ve just posted some, so have at it. Sorry about the delay in getting new questions posted (I know they are popular with many, as they are the most often viewed pages here most weeks). I have been away from the board for a few days due to family matters.

Russ “HALOMAN” McDaniel Says:
April 9, 2008 at 8:27 pm Ken,

RE: your post to Rich Orth about the coincidence of two Wilson wrestlers bumping into each other in Little Rock AFB: yeah, I remember that (or I’m just responding toan idea planted in my head by a voice coming out of the computer). That was when I was with the 82d Airborne Division (damn, that brings back some OLD memories).

I have always wondered how many from our class served in the military. The only other class mate that I bumped into in the ARMY was Kay Sherlin. It was in 1981 in Germany. We were both assigned to the same aviation unit. I recognized her, but couldn’t remember her name. When I asked about her, her name was confirmed, it was in fact Kay Sherlin. When I mentioned that we graduated from High School together, my friend replied, “Yeah, she toldus. She said you were and @$$h0le”. I don’t disagree with that assessment; I just can’t recall the reason. A little help?

Ant way, it would be a good project for some Ph.D. to try and research the numbers of service members from WWHS, class of ‘76. Would everyone agree that Ken, or some Ph.D., should take this homework assignment? Hmmm? Huhhh?

RussMac

PS: I could make my old/young weight of 135# easy. I wouldn’t have a left leg, but I’d be 135#.

Ken Says:
April 9, 2008 at 11:05 pm Russ that was the summer of ‘79 that we ran into each other in Little Rock… I was there TDY from Alaska taking some C-130 class, and as I recall youse 82nd Airborne guys from Ft. Bragg jumped into Little Rock from the back of a C-130. You guys were crazy jumping out of a perfectly good C-130. You’d never catch a Coast Guard aviator doing that unless all four engines were flaming out and there was no ocean to ditch in.

Actually there were a number of us from Class of 76 that served, men and women… and at least one I know that is still serving – Dave Nevius in the Air Force Reserve. Dave if you are reading this, how many years do you have in now?

As for making my old wrestling weight… not gonna happen. I’m a long way from 122lbs… though if I cut out the late night snacking while maintaining this site, I probably could make 158 with not much effort.

George you are confused, we never agreed I could not drive the tour bus, but we did agree that we would not let Russ ride the PATCO speedline!

Ken Says:
April 10, 2008 at 10:18 am Not so fast George, while it is true Laurie has five kids, she has no experience transporting old people, and since most of us are 30 plus years removed from Camden, I vote against giving Laurie the wheel. Besides, if we drove by the Choice Bar and there was a parking space, that is as far as the tour will get with her.

I suggest we walk the tracks in from the suburbs, then use NJ Transit buses. I still have the schedule for the “D” Route down Westfield Avenue.

Ken Says:
April 10, 2008 at 3:58 pm Hey Everyone… I did some house cleaning today at the site… I’ve moved another batch of comments to the Archival Vault, all posts from this front page up till April 5th, can be found on the menu to the right.

I’ve also started a “Military Vets of East Camden” page, a place for all of us at the site that served in the military to post and share some memories, or if you currently have a family member serving in the military, please share some comments.

terry defrancisco Says:
April 11, 2008 at 12:55 am To Dot Ward…I figured that you were married to Michael. I know Ted’s wife, Cathy, through Barb Dubinink, so there was only Harzie left. Thanks for asking about my mom. Unfortunately, mom passed away May 29, 1996. She did move from Rowe Street to 41st Street in Pennsauken, then moved down to Bellmawr with my brother and his family. I’m sorry to hear about your mother in law, Rose Melleby passing a few weeks ago. I have so many fond memories of the Melleby family. I hung out with Patty and Linda constantly and spent alot of time at their house on Pelham Place. Did you live in the area?

Ken Says:
April 12, 2008 at 9:10 am Does anyone remember the name of the two hobby shops that were located on Federal Street? One was just off of the corner on the St. Joe’s church/school property, it was a small white building. I use to buy Matchbox cars there. Then across the street on the other side of Federal, a block or two away – towards the supermarket, there was another larger hobby shop that had hundreds of models, as well as all kinds of model planes hanging from the ceiling. I can’t recall the name of either store. Anyone remember?

Anyone remember the large “stuffed” great dane dog in the window of People’s Pet Shop down where Westfield meets Federal? I always felt sorry for that former “award winning” pure bred. He was in that window for so many years he looked like he had mange, and he had all those ribbons from dog shows pinned to him with tacks too. LOL I was a pet keeping fanatic back in the day, but I never bought animals from People’s; I would ride my bike out to Tisa’s Pet Shop on Route 38 in Pennsauken to get my critters. That place was great. I even bought a baby alligator there once, which my Mom sent me back with after having a “nice” conversation with Mr Tisa on the phone about my pet buying habits and his agreement to sell me anything I was interested in. After the alligator incident, whenever Mr Tisa would see me hop off my bike and enter his store, he’d say…”You again!!! NO alligators!” Then he would return to his kind demeanor and sell me a bag full of newts, a lizard, or a new pregnant hamster. I was about eight or nine then!

I just realized… my kids are pet keeping fantatics too… it must be genetic. Sister Laurie (you, the keeper of many cats), what do you think?

terry downs Says:
April 12, 2008 at 12:49 pm Hi Dot, no I haven’t seen Karen or John since my dad passed.

George Gumbrell Says:
April 15, 2008 at 12:24 am OK ALL former Camdenites, What Hospital were you born at. I was born at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. And You?

Ken Says:
April 15, 2008 at 2:01 pm Born in Cooper Hospital also… Sept. of ‘58… Lorrie was born 17 days later in Frankford Hospital in Philly. Delivered by Dr. Glover who had an office on King’s Highway in Haddonfield, though early on was in Camden… he delivered all five of us Browns.

Our family doctor was Dr. Jules B. Cunningham (I remember that from reading the diplomas on his wall). His office was first in Camden, not far from the Ben Franklin Bridge plaza, then later in Maple Shade. He was a real old time general physician, who kept a little pharmacy room near his office with numerous jars of pills, syrups, and powders. I also remember his waiting room – I was fascinated with the yellow and red bordered magazines – which when I was old enough to read I figured out were National Geographic and Time. My grandmother went to Dr. Cunningham up until she passed away in 1978, well into her 80’s, and the good doctor never charged her more than $5 for an office visit, regardless of why she went. You never needed an appointment with Dr. Cunningham, just show up at his waiting room during his posted hours and he would see whoever was there. No receptionist either, he would finish with one patient, poke his head out the door and ask who was next. He was also still making house calls in the early 1980’s to some of his long time patients, and he was quite elderly himself by then.

Ken Says:
April 16, 2008 at 1:27 pm WOW… a number of new people have found the site since yesterday.

WELCOME Larry Gottlieb, Sheryl Milstein Gross, Alene Hymson Plevinsky, Rena Plevinsky McCaffrey, Flo Weiss Weinstein, and Betty Mahoney Garrity. Visit often and share some memories. I see some of you are from the Camden Class of ‘70, there are a number of people here from Wilson’s Class of ‘70 that you probably knew at Davis. Be sure to check out the “Archival Vaults” and the many messages left under the various pages. And spread the word about the site.

We now have over 19,000 hits on this site. Amazing, as we have only been open since mid February. Thanks everyone for making this place not only a success, but a great place to reconnect!

Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
April 16, 2008 at 4:41 pm Awhile ago Jim Lang asked me to describe what I remember about Dudley Grange Park in the 50’s.

I emailed him ,but I decided to post it here too.

I got some help with this from my best friend Fred Kalt

Dudley Grange Park in the 50’s

There was a road that ran from Westfield Ave, to a small circle where a huge dark gray rock fountain was located.
You could make a right there & come out on Federal at WWHS,or go completely around & back out to Westfield.

To the right as you entered from Westfield there were ,I believe, 4 tennis courts that had high fencing to keep the balls from going out onto Westfield Ave.I think they were dirt courts,but were eventually covered with a green colored ashphalt type material.

After entering from Westfield ave., the left side was all grass,nothing built on it at all.Thats where the neighborhood kids would play touch football,and baseball.

On the right ,directly behind the courts there was a small building,I think they kept park maintenence equiptment in there.

Later when the neighborhood changed,probably in the 70’s,it was made into a Police Sub Station. Large boulders were placed at the Westfield & Federal entrances to keep cars out.

Behind that there was a baseball field where WWHS & industrial league teams played.

Continuing on the right hand side of the road,there was a large open space with a hill that went down to Federal,St.
We would fly our kites and model ( gas engine ) planes there..

Looking from WWHS ,you saw the library ,and the hill we used to sled down.
There was a Mulberry bush & a park bench at the bottom.

Directly behind the library there was another maintainence building and tables & benches where they taught arts & crafts in the summer..That building also had a mens & ladies room.
Next to the library they had a slide,swings, & see-saws .

There was a gravel road that lead to the carriage house, I was in there once,and there was a carriage,a buckboard type wagon,and other things ,like a moose head,saddles,& stuff.

The caretaker was Charlie a handicapped man with one arm severed just below the elbow.He & his wife lived in a house on the grounds.
He also kept a large vegetable garden between his house & Rosedale Ave..

The road that ran through the park,was lined with peach trees, I think,and park benches.

Along the Rosedale Ave. side,there was hedges & several very large Pine trees and a couple of Oak trees.
.
Had some great fun in that park,on the swings,playing football,arts & crafts,not to mention the 4th of July fireworks & Easter egg hunts.

The park was bordered by Federal St.,Dudley St.,Westfield Ave.,rail road tracksthat paralleled Rosedale Ave. and 32nd St..

Freddy Vesper Says:
April 16, 2008 at 6:00 pm Skeeter recalled the way the park was perfectly. I would like to add something, from about 1956/57 til 1967 during the summer days a large group of Italian immigrants would congregate around the first bench on the right side of the road heading toward Westfield Ave. from the library. There would be 20 to 30 men and most would bring their own lawn chairs and they would sit around all afternoon and talk in Italian and play cards. Little by little , due to death, the group was decreasing in size. My grandfather ( Domenico Vespe) told me one day that it was not much fun to be old because all your friends and loved ones are dying. When I left to go in the Air Force in July, 1967 there were only two remaining in the park, my grandfather and Giuseppi ( Joe ) Constantine. Joe lived on the 3100 block of Federal St. and my grandfather lived on Hollingshead Ave. in Pennsauken and they did all their traveling by walking.
Shortly after I left Joe died and the last of the old park gang, my grandfather ) died in Nov, 1967, he was 87 years old.

Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
April 16, 2008 at 7:49 pm I mentioned that Fred Kalt helped me out.
He reminded me about the rest rooms & Charlie’s garden.
Actually I sked several friends for help.
I just got a reply from Rita,a girl who lived a couple of doors away from me & she added a few more things I had forgotten.

The Freddy she mentions is Fred Kalt.
**********************************************
Here is her reply.

Skeeter, up near Westfield Ave., between the park road and the tennis courts, There was a 2 story building. It was like a big house with a porch facing Westfield. The bus stop was there and I would go up each day and wait for my Mom to come home from work and walk her home. There were two little fir trees that I’d sit under when it was raining. Do you remember the train station shack right there at Westfield & Rosedale. I remember it wasn’t there long. And do you remember the butcher shop across Westfield from the park, next to the tracks? And a little down next to it , the Drug Store? It had a soda fountain and my mom used to send me up there every afternoon for a time, for a milkshake with an egg in it ’cause I was so skinny.

As you went down Rosedale, directly across the street from our houses there was a little cottage house in the park that Charlie the Caretaker lived, between the tracks and the circle. If you went to the left of the circle, Charley’s house sat back more near the tracks, then there was the little path we’d use to go to the library (across from Freddy’s house), then the bathroom/craft building, the gravel road (where the swings were), then the libray then you continued around the circle. I used to constantly “wash” that fountain’s ol’ bald head. LOL And that mulberry tree that was near it whose branches drooped down like a waterfall, we used to get inside of and pretend it was a little house. Do you remember the HUGE sunflowers along that path behind Charlie’s house? They seemed soooo tall when you stood in the middle of them and I was scared of the bees. And that big tree on the railroad bank that Freddie and Leonard built the treehouse (well, actually a deck) in? Remember putting pennies on the tracks for the trains to squash??

Have you seen how the park was built up? There’s a school at Westfield now. And the Westfield Acres aren’t there anymore, but there’s new modern housing. WE HAD IT WHEN IT WAS BEST!

************************************************

Now…I do remember the house,perhaps thats what became the Police sub-station.

I vaguely remember the RR shack,and I climbed that old oak tree on the railroad bank many times.

Now I remember the sun flowers.they must have been over 6 feet tall.

And the Butcher shop became a liquor store later.

Can’t say that I remember the drug store,but then Rita is a year older.

Isn’t it funny ,no not funny,isn’t it GREAT, how one person mentions something and then someone else comes back with a little more,and you say”Yes I remember that now”…lol

Freddy Vesper Says:
April 16, 2008 at 8:26 pm Just a side note about the caretaker Charlie who lived in the house in the park, his wife was named Laurie and the back of my house faced their house but there was about 300ft between us. I remember during the warm weather when the windows were open hearing Laurie laughing late at night when I was in bed. She had a high pitched penetrating voice that pierced the night air and was heard all over. Laurie told me that Charlie’s father was a foreman for Mr. Dudley and when Mr. Dudley sold his ground he deeded the house to Charlie’s father and family as gratitude for his loyalty. Charlie was the last ( he may have been the only ) child and after his passing the house was immediately demolished. That area became one of our sandlot football field.

Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
April 17, 2008 at 7:54 am Jim Lang,

Hey buddy,How was that description of the park,way back in the 50’s?

I hope it brought back some good memories.

Freddy Vesper Says:
April 17, 2008 at 6:45 pm Jim Mahoney,
I remember you very well, you were one year behind me. I played baseball, basketball, and football for the Marauders. I was on the championship ( undefeated) little league baseball team in 1961. Mr Cassidy was our coach ( Cardinals ). I played on the 100lb and the 120 lb football team and in 1964 our 120 lb team was the Champions of the South Jersey Midget Football League and I was the co-captain. We were the only Marauders football team to go undefeated. I weighed 99lbs and I played offense and defense right guard. When I was 13, 14 & 15 years old I played for the Marauders VFW League baseball, Mr Doran was our coach. Some of the boys on my teams were Sonny Aceto, Joe Sweeney, Harry Watson, Joe Ciervo, Dennis Clark, Dennis Cassidy, Donny Sviben, and I can go on and on, I remember almost everybody I played ball with. I also have all my trophies and my jackets that were given for the two championship teams. My baseball jacket and trophy was given to me at our annual sports banquet by the guest speaker who was Chuck Bednarik, former Phila Eagles player.

Ken Brown Says:
April 17, 2008 at 7:23 pm Freddy what an honor to receive your baseball award from THE CHUCK BEDNARIK… aka Concrete Charlie! Talk about an Eagle’s legend, he is by far the most worthy of that title. The guy use to play defense and offense for the full 60 minutes Heck he’s the one who knocked Frank Gifford out of the ‘61 season, and that poor guy has never been the same… LOL Bednarik is still living, up near Bethlehem, PA, he’s 83 years old. Last year’s Sports Illustrated special 75th Year Eagles issue had a nice write up on Chuck!

Freddy Vesper Says:
April 17, 2008 at 7:33 pm Ken,
The Chuck Bednarik presentation was an honor but the biggest honor I received while playing for the Marauders was when I was selected co-captain for the 120lb football team . I only weighed 99lbs, I played right guard and started both offense and defense and played the whole game with no relief. We were 14wins 0 losses that year. Our coaches, Mr. Cassidy, Barry Brickner, Mr. Perkins nicknamed me “Mighty Mouse”.

Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
April 19, 2008 at 12:58 pm Just receieved this additional info from Fred Vesper about the park & surrounding neighborhood..
******************************

The swimming pool was closed in the early 1950’s and according to some of the then current park attendants it closed because of an accidental death at the pool.

Clarence ( Barney ) Morfeld was the youngest of 3 brothers who lived around the corner on 32nd St. Barney is 1 year older than me so he is about 59/60 years. The oldest Morfeld is Freddy, he is closer to your age, I would say Freddy is about 66 years.

32nd St, Merriel Ave., and Rosedale Ave were part of a development built by Leon Todd ( there may have been a partner also ) around the 1920’s.

The concrete flower box?, I assume the one in front of Woodrow Wilson, I do not know for sure but surmise it was built when the school was built in the 1930’s. When the school was built it was not a high school, it was a school for business classes

Freddy Vesper Says:
April 20, 2008 at 7:54 am Jim Mahoney,
My first little league year was 1957 and I played for the Yankees and we were coached by Mr Ott and Mr Doer. The 1958 thru 1961 years I played for the Cardinals. The first year with the Cards the coach was Mr Lennarz and his brother in law, can’t remember the name. From 1959 to 1961 we were coached by Mr Cassidy and we were undefeated and Champs in 1961.
It is good to hear from you.

Jim Mahoney Says:
April 20, 2008 at 1:56 pm Freddy Vesper
I started out in 58 in what we called then the minors and a couple years later moved up to little league for 3 years. We must have played on that Cardinals team togather. I played a few positions but mainly shortstop. Mr. Lannraz coached, he had a son who pitched we called “Birdie” Larnarz, I remember Michael Boaches also on that team. My last year of little league Mr. Perkins coached and he had a son who caught we called “Perkie”. Your memories seem pretty clear of those days let me know if this makes sense.

Freddy Vesper Says:
April 20, 2008 at 10:02 pm Jim Mahoney,
Aparently we played on the same team but I do not remember Mike Boches playing for the Cards. I played 2nd, 3rd, but mostly shortstop. My last year I also pitched. I do remember Mr and Mrs Cassidy giving us doughnuts and Coke. Dennis Cassidy also pitched my last year in little league and the following year he and I played for the Marauders VFW League. Mr Cassidy coached the Marauders Babe Ruth League that year. I started at shortshop all 3 years in the VFW League and my last year when I was 15 I also pitched. When I was 16 I played for the Cramer Hill Garden State League and Woodrow Wilson High.

terry defrancisco Says:
April 21, 2008 at 12:09 am The Hobby Shop. That definitely was the name of the small shop. I remember going in to by the wooden spinning topps that were so popular when I was growing up.

The Crummy Beard was on the corner of 34th and Westfield across from the Mister Grocer. It was definitely a hippie shop. The first time I ever sat on a waterbed, or saw a waterbed for that matter. I remember, back then, the waterbed was so soft and wavy. When you laid on it, it just consumed you in waves. Always enjoyed going in that place, though, to check out that bed. Bought a few jeans and shirts from that place, too.

Ken Brown Says:
April 21, 2008 at 10:27 am Terry, I remember the monkey bars at Dudley Grange, when I was real little, my two older sisters would take me and my brother to the park, get us to climb the monkey bars then prevent us from climbing down. They would also get us on that spinning thing, whatever it was called, and get it going real fast and not let us off. Or they would get us on the see-saw, and not let us down when the side we were sitting on was up in the air. They liked to torment us, which is probably why I started wandering off on my own as soon as I had a sense of direction and could find my way home – which was by about age four!

I remember when the Mr. Grocer opened, and also the gas station that was there prior. Mr Grocer was a big thing for the neighborhood, I remember going there numerous times on opening day. I also remember that somehow, Lenny Hans, who was a neighbor, got a job at Mr. Grocer within days of it opening, and he was probably only about nine at the time!

Does anyone remember what was next to the Mr. Grocer, there were a couple of stores. On the 33rd Street side of the row was a drug store, but there was a shop or two between that and the Mr. Grocer. Maybe a dry cleaner?

I also remember when they converted the Esso at the corner of 32nd and Westfield into a Cumberland Farms. Not as exciting as when Mr. Grocer opened, as I liked the Esso. There was a guy named Ken who worked there that owned a classic blue and white ‘58 Corvette. Real nice guy who use to give us rides on the car lift, and let us sit in his car. I also remember there was a phone booth on the corner by the Esso that we always checked for change, and my sister Laurie use to place neighborhood cats in the phone booth and close the door, come to think of it, it might have been our own cat.

Freddy Vesper Says:
April 21, 2008 at 9:30 pm Ken,
I remember the two gas satations that were there before Mr Grocer and the drug store. The station on 34th & Westfield was an Amoco station owned by Cokie Fannelli who had a son about my age named Matt. The other station I think was a Texaco station. I remember when I was about 14 or so and some of the kids were playing “hide the belt” ( that was the 33rd St hangout , we were the Park hangout) and Richard Konklin, who lived on the 100 block of N. 32nd St was running on the roofs of those two stations, was being chased with the belt and he leaped from one building to the Amoco station. Unfortunately he did not make it , fell, broke his leg in a few spots and had a permanent limp.

George Gumbrell Says:
April 21, 2008 at 10:40 pm Hey Russ, thanks for the Flyers history, that was fun. Hockey really has grown since those days. You even have Major and Minor league teams through out Florida now.

Hey Jim, thank you for the info on George Perkins, I played pee wee and little league ball with George, and I often wondered what became of him.

Ken Brown Says:
April 22, 2008 at 9:30 am George, the Devils played the Greensboro Generals the night we met Bobby Clarke. I can’t recall who Bobby was sitting with that night, whoever it was, he was not worthy of asking for an autograph, and it certainly wasn’t his size 4 shoe wife!

Russ, you probably did not realize it back in the day, but in high school, when we all learned you worked part-time in Walt’s shoe store – a WOMEN’S shoe store – we were all very envious. That was a much cooler job than Paul had picking up bodies for Eddie Leonard’s Funeral Home.

I think my sister Laurie sold Bobby Clarke a new toilet or tub when she worked for the plumbing supply store in Pennsauken during and after high school. Hey Laurie fill us in on that story.

Gene McCloskey Says:
April 22, 2008 at 6:59 pm Jim Lang,
I’m from the class of 69.Two years ago I had 7 or 8 people at my house to try and get something started but we have only contacted about 25-30 people so far.
I read your story about Rosedale littlie league and playing for the Giants.I was a member of the CardinalsI pitched almost every game and Frannie pitched when I couldn’t.We won that league my last three years in a row.We used to battle mostly with the Dodgers team coached by Mr.Lore.My bud Pat Gafney played for them and my bud Billy Gray played on your team.Billy hit a homerun off me, one of only two to get me.Later in the game he came in to pitch and I got him back with a grandslam
after they walked me intentionally twice. When I was 10 I hit three HR’s
in the first game of the season against the Pirates who had won the year before I moved up.The pitcher was a 12 yr old and the coach’s son.He was so pissed he threw the ball down after the third HR and walked off the field.I donated all my trophy’s back to the little league to be recycled.I
thought I was hot stuff with three championship trophys’two MVP’s and two HR trophy’s.Do you remember the All Star games we played?It was the Cardinals against an All Star team from the rest of the league.We used to play 9 innings so everyone could get in on July 4TH.

Gail Nasuti Burke Says:
April 22, 2008 at 9:22 pm Ken, This is an amazing site!!! It is great to hear everyone talk about the area we grew up in.
I was in your sister Laurie’s class most years. We were friends. I remember riding my bike to the top of the 32nd St hill to your house to see Laurie. Riding home down that hill was really fun. I remember thinking if a car was coming down that cross street, at the bottom of the hill, at the same time, I would probably be hit… but, I didn’t care because it was so much fun flying down the hill! I also remember I would meet her halfway at Orlows, we would buy penny candy and sit outside and eat it.
My mom, Lil Nasuti, worked at Davis. She ran the “Sattelite Lunch Program”, as they called it. She would heat the food in trays, and the “Lunch Aides” would serve it to the kids in their classrooms.
I graduated in 80 from CCVTS, my brother Glenn Nasuti in 74 WWHS, my brother Gary Nasuti WWHS 70. We lived on Remington St.

Laurie Freeman (Brown) Says:
April 23, 2008 at 1:51 am Gail, How great to see you have found the site. It’s funny, I was checking out the Phil Cohen site just last week and noticed the interesting people of Camden section on your father, I noticed that you had helped put that section together.
We sure did have alot of great times on our bikes. How many summers did we spend riding up and down all the streets?
You’ll have to send me off an email so we can catch up. Hope to hear from you soon. Laurie

Gene McCloskey Says:
April 23, 2008 at 12:26 pm Jim Mahoney,
Do you remember Mrs Sherman’s class?When she took attendance we would call out “here” for Billy Gray who was always late and would crawl
up the aisle and into his seat without her noticing!

Laurie Freeman (Brown) Says:
April 23, 2008 at 5:37 pm I had Mrs. Sherman in 2nd grade, which would have been 69-70, I believe she only taught for one more year after that. I remember she made it a point to visit every student’s house the year I had her. I did not like that at all, luckily she visited in the afternoon when only myself and my mother were home.
I also remember she would make the “bad boys” sit under her desk for punishment when she was at the board. She also liked to keep us after school to write sentence after sentence of various different rules.
We must not talk in class
We must not talk in class
We must not talk in class
etc. etc. etc.
And I was a good kid back then but still had to write sentences, she would make the whole class write if no one fessed up.

Gene McCloskey Says:
April 23, 2008 at 5:51 pm Ken,
We had her for 7th grade and she was over matched.She used to sit my bud Nicky up agaist the wall near the coat room behind her desk.She used to put us in the coat room when we misbehaved.Nicky was put into the coat room which had a window within reach of the boys room.I came into her room after class claiming to have found a classmates notebook.She told me to put it on the desk near the coat room.Nicky would then reach out get the book and hand it to me in the boys room then I would return claiming to have found another notebook.It took her four to five times before she caught on.She would say,put it on the desk with the other ones!
Our classmate Billy was ALWAYS late.When she would take attendance
one of us would answer in a disguised voice as she never looked up.Billy would then arrive,Nicky would quietly open the door and Billy would crawl on his kness to his desk in the back.I don’t know if Jim remembers but he sat directly behind me in her class.He was a good kid and tapped me on the back to get my attention during a very quiet time.I then shouted at the top of my lungs,”YO MAHONEY!” and acted like he hurt me.Mrs Sherman came running down the aisle to see what happened and Nicky would get the answers off her desk and tape them to the wall behind her desk for all of us to see.
Jim,
Do you remember any of the stuff we pulled?
Ken, did you guys get over on her or were you too young.7th grade we were about 13 or so.I did see her picture somewhere on your site.Bill Walters also.He used to line the guys up and throw a ball at them.It was a riot.He also played basketball the whole gym class so we had a great time.

Ken Brown Says:
April 24, 2008 at 9:25 am WELCOME Glenn Nasuti… I enjoyed the memories you shared on the Wilson Memories page. With both you and your sister Gail here, you join a growing list of East Camden siblings who have found this site.

I did not really know you at Davis as you were two years ahead of me, but I do remember you as one of the kids who did a lot of extra work for Mr. Billig in the Print Shop. Mr Billig was a great guy. A few years after Davis, he became one of the assistant wrestling coaches at Wilson, when he transferred there to teach. I remember he and his wife Miss June, held the team end of season party at his house in Pennsauken our senior year, and we were all amazed at the cool stuff he had – his basement was truly reflective of an industrial arts teacher! Norm Abrams of “This Old House” would be envious. And he also had a really cool salt water aquarium. I remember he played George Carlin albums for us.

Freddy Vesper Says:
April 24, 2008 at 6:15 pm Jim Lang & Ken,
Charlie’s was actually named the Garden State Luncheonette. Mr. Cusack (Charlie) and his wife and daughter lived nexr door to me. When I moved to Merriel Ave in 1956 the store was opened so we know as early if not before 1956.

Gene McCloskey Says:
April 25, 2008 at 1:23 pm Jim,
I remember Tippy’s.You could get a cheesesteak,soda,snacks and still have money to play pinball for $1.50.I ate lunch there instead of going home many times while in elementary grades at Davis.Who was the barber on the same block(or very close on same side of the street)?
We all had crew cuts and went there evry Saturday.

Gene McCloskey Says:
April 25, 2008 at 3:16 pm Charlie,
Are you thinking about the Sugar Bowl?Big hang out in the 60’s.

Ken Brown Says:
April 25, 2008 at 4:25 pm Henry’s was the barber shop near Tippy’s, then there was also a barber shop at the corner of 37th and Westfield called Eric’s – nice guy who tolerated Paul Skeens, myself, and others hanging out in his shop – as long as he had no customers.

Gardner’s was the Bakery at 34th… later became Diamond Lil’s restaurant.

The Army/Navy store on Federal was Roseman’s – I think every kid in East Camden bought their gym clothes there.

You “kids” from the 60’s, what was the name of the hangout on Federal next to Wilson… Campus Corner, or Calico Corner or something like that?

Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
April 25, 2008 at 8:28 pm Jim,

Now that you’ve said the name,I remember it…Thats the one.

So many luncheonettes back then its hard to remember, there was Kessels.Sugar Bowl,M& H,The Spot,Cozy Corner,There was one next to Langs Bakery that a lot of kids from Cramer went to at lunch time,can’t recall the name,and one up up Federal near where Dio’s Lounge was,but on the opposite side of the street (Cartuns side).

Then several in Cramer Hill…but I only remember Wells’s & I think at 24th & River Rd.,a place called Mars’s.

Ken Brown Says:
April 25, 2008 at 11:41 pm WOW… I go to Borders for a few hours, come home and there are many new posts!

Hope, WELCOME to the site – I’m glad you found us. I enjoyed reading the comments you posted on the various pages. Please spread the word to any others from East Camden that you may be in contact with. And make sure you read all the archival posts when you have the time… there are lots of great memories that have been posted.

Jim and Skeeter… I remember seeing pictures of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in Shellows on Federal Street on the Internet a year or so ago. I will try to track them down again. I have the “Darkness/Edge Town” original album in my vast collection, I’ll check to see if it has the cover with Shellows on it, and try to post it.

Ken Brown Says:
April 26, 2008 at 8:37 am Freddy, that’s a lot of barber shops for one stretch of Westfield. Makes you wonder if they all went under (except for Henry’s and Eric’s on 37th) with the advent of longer hair in the late 60’s! There was also another shop over on Federal Street just before the cemetery heading towards the loop to Merchantville and Penn Fruit. I don’t recall the name of it, but my Dad went there for years. As you can tell from my class photos my head rarely saw a professional barber, my Mom insisted on cutting our hair. And she did till 8th Grade when I let it grow. I think in my entire life, with the exception of my time in the Coast Guard, I can count the number of times I’ve sat in a barber chair. Even today, I cut my own – buzz cut it every two weeks whether it needs it or not. I’m proud to say I don’t even own a comb!

Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
April 26, 2008 at 9:20 am I used to get my hair cut at the one that is at 34th & Westfield.

It is a tee intersection.

Coming down to Westfield on 34th,if you went straight,you would bust through the plate glass window ,right into the shop.

As a matter of fact,I almost did that,
nn 1966…LOL

I lwas single & lived in Palmyra,but stayed with Grandmom in the Acres on weekends..think it was 501 Biedemen.

If you looked out her 3rd floor kitchen window you could see Samples in the archway.

Anyway I left Grandmoms on a very icy day headed down Beideman,made a right ,then another right on 34th.

I was fiddling with the radio in my brand new 1966 Corvair,and did not notice the light changed to red as I was passing Davis.

I saw it at the last minute and applied my breaks …kept going straight…turned my wheels…kept going straight.

The barber & the guy in the chair saw me coming,and you should have seen the look on their faces.

Luckily I was able to hit a dry patch & slowed down just about in the middle of Westfield.

My car was moving slow enough to bounce back after contacting the curb instead of jumping it.

Funny now,but scary then.

Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
April 26, 2008 at 1:39 pm I was referring to Lang’s Bakery . It was between 27th & 28th on Federal.

There was a luncheonette next door where kids from Cramer Jr, HS went for lunch.

Do you know the name of that luncheonette?

Hope Malin (Benson) Says:
April 26, 2008 at 11:55 pm Hi Chris,

It’s so good to hear from you! I often ask Diane about you-she keeps me posted on your whereabouts. She just emailed me the other day and told me she had seen you recently when you were visiting in NJ. I wish I had known-it would have been great to reconnect with you after all these years. We had some great times together back in our Davis days, didn’t we?
I just ventured to this site last night for the first time-Diane emailed me about it a while back but I never got around to it. She then sent me the link again late last week and I figured that if she sent it more than once, I should give it a shot. In just a short time it has proven to be well worth it.

If you’d like to email me, I’d love to keep in touch! I’ve posted my email address on the link “add your email address here”-check it out.

Take care, Hope

Hope Malin (Benson) Says:
April 27, 2008 at 9:11 am Did anyone attend the “mega-reunion” held back in November? I heard that representation from our class (’76) was spotty at best but if I can get Patrick to post here he might have some interesting tidbits. I wish our past class reunions had had a better turn-out. I attended a reunion a few years back – some might say I was a party crasher since it was a reunion for the Class of ‘75. I went with Nick Timpanelli (who still teaches at WWHS but I think he now teaches chemistry, not math) and it was fun seeing a number of people who showed up but it’s just wasn’t the same since my ‘76 friends weren’t there.
Come to think of it, I have some limited contact through work with some of our old classmates and will shoot them an email to give them the link-Juanita Lewis, Feleta Gaymon, Elva Lamboy, Teri Lawrence, Tillie Woodward. I’ll also ask them to pass the word along.

Charlie “Skeeter” Moy Says:
April 27, 2008 at 10:26 am Hi everyone & welcome to the board.

Say, if anyone has any older brothers & sisters,or moms & dads who went to Davis in the eary to mid 50’s or Cramer in the late to mid 60’s tell them to stop by.

If they lived anywhere in E. Camden,or Cramer Hill,we may know each other.

Graduates from WWHS in 57-63 may be friends of mine also.

If anyone has WWHS yearbooks from those years,I have names…Lol

Ken Brown Says:
April 27, 2008 at 12:27 pm Jim.. the stationary store at 36th and Westfield was Acme Craftsman Stationary. I was forever going in there and buying multi-colored Bic pens and stacks of index cards when I was about seven or eight. Don’t ask! LOL

Reese and Wildens was the hardware store – also a great place for a kid to hang out, and the owners were very kind and accomodating. I wish they had hardware stores like that still, ACE and Home Depot just aren’t the same. Though from what has been reported here, Cartun’s Hardware on Federal is still open!

Hope Malin (Benson) Says:
April 28, 2008 at 7:55 pm Nick…….as in Rapanotti? Great to hear from you. I didn’t go to the reunion-it was a conglomeration of too many disconnected years of alumni (I think it was 1970 to 1989). I only know a couple of people who were there. It would be fun to have another reunion but the planning takes so much time that I don’t think anyone is interested in stepping up. We’ll have to wait and see.
Speaking of glasses, I just had to break down and get bifocals (well, progressive lenses). I’ve been reading over or under my glasses for the last couple of years and I eventually succumbed to the fact that I am getting OLD!!..

christina doone wwhs 76 Says:
April 29, 2008 at 7:11 am I once had a friend that told me when u turned forty you went blind, well I was in denial for a few years but when I finally broke down and became 4 eyes, it was great to see color again! I especially missed yellow.

Ken Brown Says:
April 29, 2008 at 8:05 am Chris, I think we all have fading eyesight, as long as we don’t start seeing little ponies in cloud formations, we should all be okay!

A South Florida reunion sounds good. Russ McDaniel would agree, he’s already living there. I volunteer to drive the reunion bus to Florida. I’ve driven that run a few times in recent years to Disney (hey with three kids, it’s where you go). I’ve got the route down, and I can do it in 22 hours of non stop driving and lots of caffeine. Bob Thomas drives the Jersey to Florida run even more than me, but he does see little ponies in the clouds, so it’s best if he does not drive the bus!

Ken Brown Says:
April 29, 2008 at 9:35 am I’ll beep Nick, but with your “tri-focals” you’ll see three buses and not know which to get on. Remember, when seeing more than one, always choose the middle one! LOL

Hope Malin (Benson) Says:
April 29, 2008 at 2:29 pm Hey George, I might join you. I’m an avid cyclist. Does your bike have a motor? Mine does not……..

Ken Brown Says:
April 29, 2008 at 3:44 pm Hope… George as a kid, had the bike we all envied – the Tour de France 10 Speed. We put a lot of miles on our bikes back in middle school, George on his, and me trying to keep up on my Huffy 3-speed. They were both green as I recall!

Nick, rent me a big enough bus and buy the $5 a gallon diesel it will need, and I’ll criss cross the country all summer picking up whoever flags me down!

Tom Anastasiou Says:
April 29, 2008 at 4:57 pm Well, I know that none of you remember me because I left Davis in 1966 at the end of third grade when my parents moved to Ft. Lauderdale. But if you want to have a reunion down here in the land of sun and fun, count me in!

Ken Brown Says:
April 29, 2008 at 9:49 pm Tom Anastasiou WELCOME to the site – though you are hardly new here. Thanks for the class photos you provided when this site was barely off the ground. And don’t be surprised if some of the folks here DO remember you… point yourself out in those Davis pics from ‘64 and ‘66 and I am sure someone will remember you, eventhough you left Davis in 3rd Grade!

Chris Doone, if you flew into Atlantic City, you flew right over my house on your approach to landing. We live about five minutes from there, AND Lorrie works at the airport at the FAA’s Tech Center.

Hey Chris and Tom, could you two be neighbors in Florida? Are you both in Ft. Lauderdale?

George Gumbrell Says:
April 29, 2008 at 11:29 pm Hey Tom, your name sounds familiar, point yourself out, and I bet most of us remember you. You may have left early, but you are still one of us!

Ken Brown Says:
April 30, 2008 at 6:06 am Laurie, will Kelly Clarkson meet the bus and sing for us? I’m liking this summer tour by bus idea a lot, and now it seems to be turning into one of those culinary roadtrips you always see on the Food Network. Maybe we could get them and the the National Geographic Channel to sponsor us – The Davis/Wilson Summer Tour. If all us former band geeks from Davis bring instruments we could even put on concerts, with Nick as lead singer of course. This would go over better than those pseudo-reality reunion shows you see on MTV. George if we put a bike rack on the bus and swing North to VT, do we get Ben and Jerry’s with cheese and maple syrup?

George Gumbrell Says:
April 30, 2008 at 9:14 am Phish food, Cabot cheddar and Maple syrup for everyone!

George Gumbrell Says:
April 30, 2008 at 10:44 am Hey Tom, I do remember you back then. I have always been good at remembering faces. I remember seeing you around, in and out of school. It may be faint, but I am sure more will come back later. I am glad you are doing well down there in Florida.

Laurie Freeman (Brown) Says:
April 30, 2008 at 6:15 pm Yo Guys, who needs a navigator in the world of GPS, I get a great discount at Academy Sports and Outdoors, and they even talk to you in seven languages. I’m sure Lorrie can program in our routes, after all she can sort out our national airpspace for a living.
Since I’m in charge of beverages I’ll be looking for a portable margarita machine. Ken check out ebay for me. I also get a great discount on coolers, so we can keep those coke and beer drinkers wet.

Ken Brown Says:
April 30, 2008 at 8:59 pm Tom, if you think you have your hands full in Florida with Spring Break students, your eyes will really be opened when a bus load of aging kids from Camden arrive. Most of those from the 60’s and 70’s are quite adept at concealing a full case of Rolling Rock, and several bottles of Night Train and Boone’s Farm wine in their Wilson gym bags… and the ladies from those years – it’s impressive what they can hide in their purses. In lieu of the fact that the bus will also have a former bartender (George), and an ex-East Camden girl who now lives in Texas (where you can still drive with open containers) – as the bus driver and resident geriatric consultant, I strongly recomment that this be a “dry” tour – hot tea, bottled water, and Ensure only. Besides, I don’t think Chris wants to host a bunch of road weary old friends smelling of stale beer. She might just lock her doors and send us all to your place.