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Remembering growing up in Haddonfield. . My long term memory is excellent, short term (like what I did last week) stinks. These are some of the things I remember 50+ years ago growing up in Haddonfield. As a kid going to Tatum Elementary and living near Hopkins Pond, I spent hours in the woods, making leaf forts in the fall, finding salamanders under rocks, fishing for sun fish and coming home just before dark, smelly and dirty. I played with Dave Wick, Bill Beals, Dave Crane, Jack Leonard, Linda Cole, Jack Peternich, Joan Wiegner, Linda Weiler and Joan Beatty (moved before HS). I borrowed Hardy Boy books from Beal’s vast collection. I loved to read. I loved candy. The Weilers always had a drawer full of it in their kitchen free for the taking and I was in kid heaven. I remember the 5 & 10 for the balloons you could pick with prices inside from 1 cent to 50 cents for their banana splits. I remember playing chase the fox in the woods and Ladinslager’s giant homemade swing near Beal’s house where you had to climb up on a platform that was 50 feet high (or seemed that as a kid), haul the swing up by a rope and jump on. Someone had to grab you from the platform on your way back. (Definitely potential law suit material today) I remember having my tonsils out in 5th grade and not being able to go to the YMCA dance with Dave Crane. I remember my first “date” was with Fred Anderson (8th grade) and we went to his parent’s restaurant, The Homestead, for dinner– I felt really grown up. I remember ballroom dancing lessons at the Haddon Fortnightly and wearing stockings for the first time. Learning the fox trot and slide close slide and hoping I |
wouldn’t be the last girl that would get asked to dance when all the boys came barreling across the room and then slid the last few feet to pick their dance partner. Jack Peternich was the most talented slider. Later, how can anyone forget the Friday dances at the Legion Hall and our music that is still alive and being enjoyed today? Does anyone remember the AVA room above the 2nd floor of the high school, where you could climb across the ceiling over the study hall auditorium and drop stuff on people below? I remember painting the backdrops for the proms with all the talented people from Mr. Kollack’s art class like Bob Clement, Joanne Salvatore, Fred Anderson, Viveca Ott and Carol Saladik and then seeing how beautiful it looked the night of the prom. Remember (no names mentioned) slightly changing the signage from Historical Haddonfield to something else. I remember trading my healthy packed lunch for money so I could buy chocolate Tastycakes with cream filling. I remember the senior trip to Washington, ironing hair so it was straight, Gino’s 15 cent hamburgers, parties at the shore, Mr. Castle calling girls “tomatoes”, the hideously ugly bloomers for gym, babysitting so I could buy “Villager” clothes, cherry cokes at the Lantern Restaurant after school, the butterflies in my stomach before going out on the field to march and twirl during halftime, and last - remembering that I was in freshman history class sitting behind Bill Cahill when it was announced that Kennedy had been shot. Life is a journey and all the people you meet through your life and all the experiences you have are part of who you are as a person. Thanks Haddonfield, thanks classmates for the memories. Linda (Cline) Ramsay |
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Haddonfield Memories
Half a century ago I remember
Haddonfield to be a relatively happy place. That era pre-dated the turbulence
to follow in the late sixties. The town, with its tree-lined streets and
revolutionary charm, provided an ideal setting for experiencing a true slice
of Americana. I can still smell fresh cut grass mown by old-fashioned push
type lawnmowers on a summer day and burning leaves on a brisk fall day. I
remember buying Halloween masks in Neumeyer’s, a vanilla coke in Sun Ray
Drugstore and new P.F. Flyers in Ricci’s Shoe Store. The excitement of Candy
Cane Lane at Christmas time, sitting on Santa Claus’ lap in front of the A
& P and buying my mother a one dollar bottle of perfume in Farrow’s Gift
Shop. Sledding on Washington hill, decorating my bike for the 4th
of July parade and enjoying a clown sundae at Green Valley. Gyrating with my new Hula Hoop bought at
Woolworth’s 5 & 10 and checking out the new cars on Haddon Avenue at
Winner's Ford, Haddonfield Chevrolet and McAllen Buick. Going out to dinner
at the Homestead Restaurant and the Hansen House. Buying new clothes in
Johnson’s Department store and Davison’s Boys Shop, while my sister was
across Kings Highway in DeWee’s. My first 45 record, Hound Dog, was purchased
in Wright’s Gift Store. Later additions to my music collection were bought at
Armand’s Record Shop in the new Cherry Hill Mall. Not every memory is exactly
a fond one. Being cut from my first little league team was a bummer, but not
exactly the life shattering event it would be considered today. (Getting two
strikes in a row at Baker Lanes helped in my recovery!) Seeing a puddle of blood on the ice from
my split open chin at an Ice House birthday party was somewhat upsetting and
being shipped off to camp Ockanickon at 8 years of age wasn’t exactly the
most fun I ever had. In the early sixties doo-wop
music was giving way to Motown, the British Invasion and the surf sound.
WIBG’S HyLit and Joe Niagara could be heard playing the Temptations, Beatles
and Beach Boys on transistor radios everywhere. I made new friends in Junior
School with classmates from Central, Tatum, Elizabeth Haddon and Friends
Schools. The charismatic Harold Elliot, my 8th grade homeroom
teacher, still stands out as perhaps the best teacher I ever had. My learning
experience also included the box step at Draper’s Dance Class at the Haddon
Fortnightly (“May I have this dance?”). Thinking of the last slow dance of
the night at Rec Hall to the melodious “When I Fall in Love” by The Lettermen
still gives me goose bumps. Favorite hang outs included the train station
(remember the tunnel?) and the back room at Regensberg’s Grocery Store.
Memorable highlights of Junior School were the safety patrol trip to
somewhere in Virginia and Mr. Elliot’s “talent” show. I lip-synched Dion’s
“Runaround Sue” while Ginger Joslin acted out the role on stage. Skip Monro
showcased his homemade Juke box playing Gary U.S. Bonds “Quarter to Three”. High school started in the fall
of 1963. We were all stunned by the assassination of President John F.
Kennedy on November 22. (I was in high school library when I heard the
news.) The next four years flew by
exposing us to all kinds of academic opportunities, extracurricular
activities, social events and establishment of lifelong |
opportunities, extracurricular activities, social events
and establishment of lifelong friendships. Favorite eateries
included Gino’s, Tano’s and Wombo’s. Some preferred going down the steps to
the Lantern. Fun would be had at the American Legion Hall on Friday nights.
(I can still feel and hear the rhythmic bouncing of the wooden floor to the
beat of the “Bristol Stomp”.) Fall Saturdays had Kenny yelling “fumble,
fumble,fumble” at the opposing football team. Transportation by Colonial Cabs
was replaced by our own driving. (Remember the parallel parking test in
Berlin?) Memorable cars in high
school were Hal Tucker’s SS396, Frank Nelson’s 427 Corvette, Barry Botsford’s
“Alaskan Bomber” and Reid Barbor’s V8 powered pink Jeep. Tragedy struck once
again in 1965 when George Schumacher’s Chevelle went out of control on
Warwick Road killing him and Sandy Palmer. The lovers amongst us headed for
the Music Fair, Cooper River Park and area Drive-Ins. Car radios were tuned
into Jerry Blavat, the Geator with the Heater, playing “Goodnight Sweetheart,
Goodnight!” Congregating in Crow’s Woods, “prepping” for Legion and the
infamous senior trip, in accordance with parental correctness, are memories
probably best left to private conversations. During
our high school years the touch tone phone was introduced, Medicare was
started, gas was 39 cents a gallon and a first class postage stamp was 5
cents. In the fall of our senior year the first episode of Star Trek
premiered and “The Sound of Music” was playing at the Century and Westmont
Theatres. Unbeknownst to many of us, a cultural revolution was brewing in
1967. War was escalating in the jungles, mountains and rice paddies of
Vietnam. Classmates Richard Smith, Jerry Evans, Barry Botsford and Dan
Waldron would be seeing this country first hand in the next few years. What
is now known as classic rock got its beginnings in 1967. The Doors “Light My
Fire”, the Beatles “Sergeant Peppers’ Lonely Hearts Club Band” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” ushered in a new
era in music. We
graduated in June of the “Summer of Love”, had a graduation party at
Tavistock and parted ways. Now here we are forty years later, members of the
aging “Baby Boomer” population.Wrinkles, graying/thinning hair, aching joints
and bad backs are but a few of our concessions to age. Some of us have
experienced very serious ailments and some have passed on. A few have already
retired and several of us have grandchildren. . We are spread over the globe.
(Lorraine Mecca lives in New Zealand. Some day she would like to host a
reunion.) Some of us still live in Haddonfield. The town has changed over the
years, but still retains many of the characteristics which made it such a
nice place in which to grow up back in our early years. Since 1967 we have
become quite a diverse group, but we will always have two common bonds:
Haddonfield,, New Jersey and HMHS. Years ago the group Buffalo Springfield
sang “somethin’s happenin here, what it is ain’t exactly clear”. Well, it’s
become very clear to me. Time is flying by. Life is to be enjoyed as much as
possible. Be thankful for family, friends, good health, good times and good
memories. As we gather here tonight, let’s make some memories and let the
good times roll. Booth Durham |
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