COMMENTS and POSTS
This is the only page on the site where comments may now be left. All pages on this site are now “read only” pages. Feel free to still leave comments, contact info, etc… on this page. I have had to close the other pages to comments for several reasons – the site has been bombarded with spam in recent weeks, fortunately all of it has been caught before any of it was posted to various pages. Also this site has grown beyond its capacity to run efficiently, and it is no longer an easy chore to update daily, the postings on various pages, so all comments and posts will now be confined to this page. Please keep the posts relevant to the site’s purpose, which is to share memories of growing up in East Camden in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, and to reconnect with those from the old neighborhood you may have lost touch with.
November 5, 2009 at 11:34 am
All the posts and comments from this page from August ‘09 to November ‘09, have been archived and can be found on the page menu. Please keep in mind the purpose of this site when posting – see the statement above if you need a reminder of why this site was created. The purpose of this site is narrowly defined – growing up in East Camden. It cannot accomodate the sharing of personal political or religious comments, there are other sites you can post at where that is more appropriate; if you wish to share your political and religious views, I suggest you do so on your own page at FaceBook or MySpace.
I would also discourage lengthy posts and analysis of events that do not have a direct connection to growing up in East Camden. I had no problem with people sharing their thoughts on the Phillies and the World Series, that was an appropriate topic for discussion, as many grew up following Phillies baseball. I do, however, think (as do others who visit this site) that the in depth play by play analysis of the games was a bit much. It took up a great deal of wall space on this page, and made it difficult for visitors to the site to find posts on other topics, and to respond to those posts.
Thanks to all for your understanding and cooperation.
November 5, 2009 at 7:33 pm
I realize that many Camdenites here are very much into sports & it was the world series. but the site was created to bring back memories of Camden.
Sports ,religion and politics have many forums,plus right here we have a thread to the right “email addresses”. Its my personal opinionion that any lenghty discusuusions should be conducted between interested parties via personal email.
I am guilty myself of making a couple of comments about the games,but only a couple before realizing I was not following the rules.
Like I said this is my opinion,hope I did not offend anyone for expressing it.
Skeeter
November 6, 2009 at 11:17 pm
I guess there are a few of us that got carried away with baseball & other non-Camden comments; hope that doesn’t force the closing of the site. As I’ve said before, I appreciate Ken’s hard work at keeping up with this site, & Facebook…thanks again, Ken!
November 7, 2009 at 4:48 am
Former Security Trust Bank building at 3rd and Market Streets which is being restored now in downtown Camden.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=BZ&Date=20091106&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=911060805&Ref=PH
November 7, 2009 at 8:27 am
Camden Parkade to be demolished
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BZ&Dato=20091102&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=708170807&Ref=PH
November 7, 2009 at 10:07 am
Skeeter, thanks for the links to the Security Trust Building and the Camden Parkade. I use to stand in front of the Parkade, it was directly across from City Hall, at 5am on Monday mornings in ‘76 and ‘77, when I was a student at Stockton College, and catch the first Atlantic City bound bus. It was the “P” bus, it ran down White House Pike to AC. I would get off in Pomona, then hike into the Stockton Campus. Camden was eerily quiet at that time of the morning back then. There was a small bus station on the ground floor of the Parkade (but that did not open till later in the morning) for the local South Jersey buses, and I believe Greyhound also stopped there. Continental had an office over near Cooper. Anyway I would stand there in the early morning, usually with just a few other people, watching the clock on City Hall, and the bus was always right on time. Some winter mornings it was quite cold. I would get to the Parkade about ten of five, after catching the “D” bus at Westfield and 32nd, and getting off around the corner from the Parkade on Market Street. Friday afternoons I would catch the bus back to the Parkade from Pomona, and usually walk over to the Rutgers campus where Marie was then a student, and meet up with her.
November 7, 2009 at 10:33 am
Skeeter has brought to my attention that there is a 1978 WWHS YEARBOOK for sale currently on eBay. If anyone is looking for such a book, the link is below. Sometimes people lose or become separated from their Yearbooks for various reasons. I recently reconnected Joe Tesler, who was the editor of the ‘73 Wilson Yearbook, with a copy of an original; he had lost his copy a number of years ago in a fire. I had a copy of that year, eventhough it was not my year, and passed it onto him.
http://cgi.ebay.com/1978-WOODROW-WILSON-HIGH-SCHOOL-YEARBOOK-CAMDEN-NJ_W0QQitemZ120344123532QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Nonfiction_Book?hash=item1c0511988c
November 7, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Ken, Brown
On the other side of City Hall there was a shoe shine stand & a little bit to the left of that there was a news stand operated by a blind man.
The blind man was my Grandfather Cheales Moy Sr.
He operated that stand when the old Court House ,I think that was what they called it,the building with the Capitol shaped dome on top.
He was there until around 1960.
He sold cigarettes,papers ,candy & gum.
There was a peanut & gumball machine out in front & also one filled with corn,so you coud buy a penny’s worth & feed the pigeons…LOL
Oh…& just like the man,Mr. Staple is it,at the Acres…Grandpop somehow could tell if you handed him a one,5,10 or 20…without having to ask.
He never divulged how he did that,& it still drives me crazy!
November 8, 2009 at 12:07 am
Skeeter, thanks for sharing about your grandfather. Do you happen to know who or what organization was behind the news stands such as the one your grandfather operated, and the one in the Acres run by Mr. Samples? I know of two others – there was one near River Road and State Street, maybe outside the gates of the Clorox factory, and another inside the “newer” City Hall, and they too were operated by blind individuals.
I have seen pictures of the original domed city hall building. It’s a shame that building was torn down and not preserved, it was quite unique.
November 8, 2009 at 2:04 am
Ken,
Wow,my memory fails me,but it was either sponsored by an organization for the blind or something to do with Veterans.
If you went down Federal St. ,at the corner where Marlton Pike intersects Federal there was an unoccupied newsstand,those were like a storage shed that housed papers & the operator had to stand outside & sell papers. Most of those had advertisements for a specific newspapers on the side,although they sold all local papers. A young man named Eddie Peters ran that one. It was right outside the Manhattan Diner owned by Mr. Jimmy Auletto. He also did Catering & his Brother Lou had a Bakery next door. James Auletto went on to do just catering,and he operated out of Almomesson (sp) I believe.
I knew ,I guess it was Lou’s kids on 26th St, Mildred & her younger Brother,can’t recall his name nowcould have been Lou Jr..
Anyway back at that corner Federal & Marlton Pike,headed towards N. Camden. If you made a right ,you would now be on E.State St. I lived at 112 E, State just where you started over the overpass,but back then ,the late 50’s there was no overpass,just gates & a crossing Guard at the R.R. tracks. Marlton Pike became E. State after it crossed Federal.
When you reached the light at River Rd. (now called River Ave. )on your right a was RCA ,a large fenced in yard the RCA truckers operated from.
Thats where I remember the newsstand. There was an RCA facility directly across River Rd. I want to say Bldg # 17 for some reason.
.
SITTING AT THE LIGHT (YOU ARE STILL ON E.STATE)…ON YOUR LEFT,WAS THE CLOROX BLDG.
AS YOU PULLED AWAY FROM THE LIGHT & HEADED TOWARDS N. CAMDEN,ABLETT VILLAGE WAS ON YOUR LEFT & YOU WERE, I BELIEVE ON STATE ST,.NOT E.STATE ANYMORE.
GEE…I PROBABLY CONFUSED YOU BY NOW,BUT ITS BEEN SO LONG.
PERHAPS JIM LANG,FRED kALT OR FRED VESPER COULD EXPLAIN IT A LITTLE CLEARER
BUT THE OCCUPIED NEWSSTANDS ARE THE ONES MENTIONED ,PLUS THERE MAY HAVE BEEN ONE AT COOPER ST. IN N.CAMDEN OUTSIDE THAT RCA .
And another at the Bridge Plaza.
Please excuse all the capital letters,I forgot the Caps lock was on & my arthritis is bad due to the change in temp. & all the rain lately. It was less painfull to change all the lower cases to Caps…lol
Skeeter
November 8, 2009 at 2:12 am
Oh…BTW,anyone,please feel free to correct me on all that I just posted. I won’t be at all offended…LOL
Like I said my memory isn’t what it used to be.
Once its jarred I start writing & things come to me in spurts. Sometimes I remember things from way long ago that are accurate & it amazes me.
Then again ,sometimes it is a little less than accurate & I do not realize that until I have already posted or someone corrects it for me.
Skeeter
November 8, 2009 at 11:05 am
Skeetr,
You are right on target with the names and directions of streets but I do not remember the Chlorox factory. The one news stand I will never forget was the one on the corner of Broadway and market where Penney’s was located. It was operated by an ex fighter, who was a little punch drunk and he was known as Da Da. You could place horse racing and numbers bets with him. The bulk of his income came from the bets. True story, he was busted one time or I should say attempted by a cop and he punched the cop in the face. No charges were filed probably because of his influence.
November 8, 2009 at 11:31 am
Freddy,
Thanks for the reminder,yes I do remember that one now.
As for the Clorox factory,I am not positive where it was either,I just know what was on those other three corners & guessed the 4th was the factory.
Ya know its strange but whenever we talk about Broadway,Federal or Westfied Ave. and places like Penneys,Grants, Woolworths,Lit Brothers, the Lintonia restaurant ,visions of Christmas shoppers & snow covered streets with bus loads of people scurrying around pop into my head. Christmas tree lots on the corner…lol
Something about snow & Camden seem to go together for me.
Perhaps its connected to those great times sledding down the hill at Dudley Grange,or building snowmen. Grabbing car bumpers & being towed down Wesfield Ave..
To this day (I’m 67 years old) when it snows I just love to go out walking late at night while the snow is falling,everything is very still,white covered & beautifully clean.
During those walks it gives me time to feel closer to God (IMO) and to relect on my life ,and to be thankful for just how lucky weare.
Skeeter
November 8, 2009 at 11:57 am
Skeeter and Freddy,
The Clorox factory was near the intersection of River and State, though now that I think about it, it may have been a block or two north on River Road, or at least that is where the gated entrance to the plant was. I do know that it was quite large and backed up to the rail road yards and tracks. My grandparents lived in Ablett Village up until my Grandfather’s passing in ‘63. I have memory of walking to the newstand at the corner, on visits there.
Night time city walks in the snow is probably something not many do anymore. I remember when I was a kid, whenever it would snow a lot, my dad would take me and my brother Mike and we would walk down Westfield to 44th, where my grandmother had moved to after Ablett Village, to shovel her walk. My Dad enjoyed taking brisk walks in the snow, and also on cold nights.
November 8, 2009 at 5:53 pm
My Aunt Mary & Uncle Foster Proctor, & my cousins Lois & Ruth lived in Ablett Village in the 50s, until they moved to Mitchell St. around ‘59-’60. Don’t know if any of you remember them. From as far back as I can remember, though, the part of Marlton Pike in Camden was “Avenue”, out to about rt.130 or so. There always seemed to be confusion about the Pike/Avenue thing. Everybody still called it Pike, so I always thought they should have changed the name to eliminate the confusion…
November 9, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Hey Skeeter,
To quote your comment of November 8, “During those walks it gives me time to feel closer to God (IMO) and to relect on my life ,and to be thankful for just how lucky we are.”, I always felt that way, also….. and still do.
One of my favorite memories of East Camden, was walking with my “Big Sister, Sis” to the Westfield Ave business district in search of a Christmas Tree for a couple dollars. We would walk back to “the Acres” with each of us carrying one end of the tree….. happy as can be! If it happened to be snowing, it was even more “wonderful”.
November 11, 2009 at 12:05 am
There are quite a few articles about Camden at this site.
http://historiccamdencounty.com/
November 11, 2009 at 12:22 am
Skeeter,
Cool site – lots of great old pictures! Thanks for the link.
November 11, 2009 at 12:47 am
Skeeter,
Great link! I was especially interested in the old cemetary. It may be where my father’s mother’s parents are buried. I’m curious as to how one can access the names of those interred there.
November 12, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Hey Y’all,
I visted Phil Cohen’s History of Camden site and found 2 article’s that hit home with me:
#1: Ron Blizard’s memory of Mrs Molotsky reading Psalm 24 from the Bible during opening exercises at Garfield School and how uplifting it was to him (even if he did not totally understand it). That was me…… back in the good old days days!
#2: Bernie Rieck’s memory and photos of working as a stage hand with Tommy Goehringer at WWHS. Bernie also told that after graduating in 1956 he waited a year before getting formal training in electronics in the Navy. Now, I know why I saw him in Navy uniform in airport in Chicago in August of 1957 when I visited my new husband Bob during his electronics training in Waukegan, Illinois. What a coincidence! East Camden folks sure do get around!
November 13, 2009 at 10:11 am
There used to be a house in N. Camden when we lived on Main St. that was said to be haunted. I had to pass it on my way to the Bridge Plaza to get a bag of burgers at the White Tower (10 for a dollar).
I think it was near 4th & Linden,anyway it was the street that had the car underpass. Always had one light on on the 3rd floor with a rocking chair visible thru a pulled down shade.
No one was ever visible in that chair,but sometimes, I am not kidding,the chair would be rocking! I used to run like the wind when passing that house. Even during the day.
There used to be a site about haunted houses years ago that mentioned that house,but I could not find it today.
However I did find this.
http://www.paranormalknowledge.com/articles/h-h-davis-elementary-school.html
November 13, 2009 at 10:54 am
Skeeter, thanks for posting. I think, just due to the age of many of the homes in Camden, there were quite a few inhabited by spirits. I know the house we lived in on 32nd Street possessed at least one spirit, and while I will not share those stories here, I will share that the presence of that spirit was known during the thirty plus years my family lived in the house…. and our cat knew it too. I also had an aunt who lived on State Street in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s, and her home too had spirits. The house we lived in in Maryland for twelve years had spirits too, and that was a newer home, though it was built on what was once farmland, and that land figured in the Battle of the Monocacy, in the Civil War.
Previously on this site, during the early months, the daughter of a long time Davis teacher from the 80’s and 90’s, posted on this site about reports that her mother’s spirit had been seen on several occasions at Davis. If you look back through the menu of pages, on the “Email Addresses” page to March 24, 2008, you will find that post by Shira Tarantino about her mother Cheryl Goodman, and a link to an article about the story.
November 13, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Just stumbled across the new Woodrow Wilson High alumni site, it looks pretty cool and functional, but ony 9 other members of my class are listed. Check it out and register if you want.
http://www.woodrowwilsonhighalumni.com/
Dave
November 14, 2009 at 10:36 am
Dave Martin.
I went to the WWHS alumni site.
I never attended Wilson,but am looking for friends who did.
I don’t see how one can view the members without registering.
Skeeter
November 15, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Photo Gallery:
South Jersey Reflections: Camden Co. part 1
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BZ&Dato=20091113&Kategori=HISTORIC&Lopenr=911020805&Ref=PH
November 17, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Skeeter,
Hey, we’re dying here. Time you came up with some interesting East Camden info. We depend on your “eagle eye” to pick up interesting lore.
November 18, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Yeah, Skeeter, you’ve been coming up with some pretty good ones… thanks!
November 19, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Broadway revival eyed for Camden
Article & thumbnail Gallery.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20091119/NEWS01/911190351/Broadway-revival-eyed-for-Camden
November 19, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Skeeter,
Great Pictures! Knew you’d come through!
November 21, 2009 at 9:28 am
This I think you all will enjoy.
Those old phonographs & tv sets sure bring back memories of my childhood..LOL
VIDEO
Camden NJ’s Treasure House of History
November 21, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Skeeter, excellent video posting on Camden’s history and RCA. And it’s nice to see the late Gary Papa in this Prime Time story.
November 23, 2009 at 8:33 am
Sadly, once again Camden has been listed as the most dangerous city – for 2009.
http://www.walletpop.com/insurance/dangerous-cities?icid=main|main|dl2|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.walletpop.com%2Finsurance%2Fdangerous-cities
November 23, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Skeeter & Ken,
Great links! This is exactly what this site is all aboout! Thanks for sharing these.
November 24, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Camden – New Jersey – History
http://www.americatravelling.net/usa/new_jersey/camden/camden_history.htm
November 27, 2009 at 12:38 pm
In the 40’s,50’s & 60’s a lot of people drank Camden beer.
I never knew where the brewery was located,but in 1958 I 1ived on E.State st. & at 20th & Federal,across from Marty Segals Saloon there was a warehouse where they stored Camden beer. It was across the alley from a luncheonette called The Grapevine.
The Camden County Beverage Co.
http://www.dvrbs.com/beer/CamdenBeer.htm
November 28, 2009 at 11:57 am
Annual Turkey Day Football Game between Camden High and Woodrow Wilson was won this year by Wilson 22-20. If anyone can locate a Courier article for the game please post it. The local Atlantic City Press just had the final scores for all the non-local games.
November 28, 2009 at 11:59 am
Here is an article about Walt Whitman’s home on Mickle Blvd. earning a literary honor. The home is a Camden historic treasure, as is his gravesite in Harleigh Cemetery.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20091128/NEWS01/911280351/Walt-Whitman-s-home-earns-literary-honor
November 28, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Below is an article about Camden High’s 22-20 win over Wilson in the Turkey Day Game. As usual the Atlantic City Press had it wrong. Makes me wish I were still in the Courier=Post delivery area. Thanks Skeeter for forwarding the article.
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/high_school/new_jersey/20091126_Camden_holds_off_Wilson_to_win_Turkey_Bowl_Trophy.html