This just in… heard from Helen Mack on the road to Nancy Hall’s phone to Susan Dechnik’s, to mine, then directly to you…
It looks like the riders will be delayed in their arrival to Riverton by an hour or more. I am going over to Riverton now to help cheer them upon their arrival around 6:30-7:00 p.m.
Here are the event details Rob Gusky posted on eventbrite.com about the Historic Riverton Century bike ride, scheduled for this Saturday, and the historic marker dedication, slated for the next day.
Although no gold medals await the finishers of this recreational ride as did the winners of the of the 1895 New York Times Relay Race, we can give the riders a big Riverton welcome when they get to town around 5:30 p.m. after their 100+ mile ride.
A police escort will meet them and lead the them on a circuit through Borough streets on their way to the finish line behind the Riverline Station. Check out the map and come out and make some noise to welcome the athletes to Riverton after their arduous journey. – John McCormick
Rob Gusky has given frequent updates on his Facebook page about the Historic Riverton Century ride he organized. Like the original 1895 cycling event, this one originates from New York City and ends here in Riverton.
But the landscape has changed considerably between the Big Apple and our little borough in the intervening 119 years since six-man teams representing the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey competed in the New York Times Tri-State Relay Race.
Rob writes from his home in Wisconsin:
We are leaving for Riverton tomorrow morning (Thurs.) and plan to arrive in Riverton Friday afternoon, then head up to NYC by train with our bikes. If all goes well, we will be back in Riverton after the 100 mile journey at around 5:30 pm, the Riverton Police Dept. is providing us an escort once we return to town and we will ride about 3.5 miles through town ending up at the Riverline Station.
In 1895, the New York Times reported…”there were gathered crowds of interested people at every town and hamlet through which the cyclists flew.” Teams were easily recognized by their colored sashes; New York racers wore blue, Pennsylvania men wore white, and the New Jersey team wore red.
The grandstands of the Riverton Athletic Association’s bicycle track were filled to capacity with fans, many of whom had arrived by special train. Winners received gold medals and rock star-like popularity during that Golden Age of Bicycling.
Be on hand to cheer on Rob and the two dozen or so other cyclists when they arrive at Riverton some time after 5 pm on Saturday.
On Sunday morning at 10:00am there will be a dedication celebration of the historical marker at the former site of the Riverton Bicycle Track near the Riverline station. Incredibly, Rob raised all the money for the sign through crowdsourcing and obtaining a grant from the NJ Historic Trust.
I have to be there to thank the man who organizes such a complex event from halfway across the country and then leaves us with the bonus of a free historic marker. Won’t you please be there, too?
This event will take place at 10 am on Sunday June 8, 2014. Later on Sunday at 1 pm, Carlos Rogers’ 4th Annual Historic Riverton Criterium returns to the streets of Riverton.
– John McCormick
The popcorn was popping and feet were tapping; the river was calm, and the music was lively as the Moorestown Community Band entertained members of the Historical Society of Riverton, residents of Riverview Estates, and other guests in Riverview Estates’ beautiful Rose Garden last Thursday.
Originally planned for Wednesday, but rescheduled because of rain, L. Bruce conducted the sixty member band as they played a variety of musical selections.
“Piper’s Rhapsody”, “Viva Italia”, an Italian song medley, “Abba on Broadway”, “Russian Sailors’ Dance”, “The Westerners”, a Western Theme medley, and that patriotic favorite, “You’re A Grand Old Flag” each lightened the mood of an appreciative audience on this overcast spring evening.
The HSR and Riverview Estates jointly sponsored this free concert.
Thank you to Riverview Estates’ Director of Activities Donna Maratea for another successful partnering with the HSR to bring a free program to Riverview residents, Society members, and the public.
Story and photos by Susan Dechnik
The Historical Society of Riverton and Riverview Estates will be your hosts on Wednesday, May 28, 2014, for an entertaining concert by the Moorestown Community Band.
Founded in 1991 for people who were out of school and wanted to continue to play their instruments, the Moorestown Community Band started with twelve members. Since that time the band has grown to fifty-five members of all ages.
The troupe, directed by L. Bruce Smith, will entertain with a variety of musical styles including pop, Broadway, march, patriotic, classical, and music from abroad that appeals to everyone.
First, at 6:30 we need to conduct a meeting to do a little business that should conclude around 7.
Afterward, the spring blooms in Riverview Estates’ lovely Meditation Garden and the sun setting on the Delaware River will be the scenic backdrop for an enjoyable musical performance.
Please join the Historical Society of Riverton and residents of Riverview Estates for this free concert. Light refreshments will be available.
– John McCormick
It seems for as long as anyone remembers, and farther back than that, Riverton has loved its baseball.
Pages here and in the Gaslight News have detailed Riverton’s rich baseball tradition which dates to the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and possibly earlier. Recent improvements in the playing field and grandstand at Riverton Memorial Park open a new chapter in Riverton history as the Riverton Athletic Association tries out its refurbished digs on Opening Day, April 12, 2014.
Even so, we must acknowledge the achievements of past generations and realize that the loss of such a familiar touchstone of one’s youth might yet cause a nostalgic twinge, no matter how improved the venue.
Enjoy our virtual scrapbook of opening day photos and commentary by my former Riverton School teaching partner, Mrs. Susan Dechnik.
Click on the cover at left for the PowerPoint slides or here for the faster downloading PDF file.
Contribute your remembrances of the old grandstand, regale the younger generation with a bit of Riverton baseball lore, or tell us 
your impressions of the new grandstand and opening day.
– John McCormick
From across the miles, Gary R. Weart writes:
Great to see that the grandstand has beeen renovated. I remember riding bikes there in the 50’s and 60’s because it was a nicer facility than we had in Palmyra. We used to play pick-up games on that field. The wall of the grandstand was also great for “pepper,” as we didn’t have to chase the ball. Sometimes we stood at home plate and played a game “backwards” by trying to hit the ball up into the seats by lifting it just over the fence allowing it to fall in the seats for a “homerun.” We could also record an out on defense by catching the ball off the fence. A ball hit over the grandstand was recorded as an out. It was sort of a game involving bat control. We could play a game of 9 innings with just two people. Needless to say, I have many great memories of spending many hours at that old grandstand.
I also heard from a source that prefers to remain anonymous that it was a great place to make out.
An easy to miss sidebar on page 3 of the Society’s just published newsletter (see March 2014 GN #156) may be of interest to Riverton property owners.
A search of the records at nps.gov for Riverton Historic District, Burlington County, New Jersey directs the reader to two online files:
If you search yourself, you can choose from jpg, Deja vu, and PDF files, but in case the site proves as troublesome for you as it did for me, I post here two direct links for viewing and downloading the PDFs for the Registration text file and the fourteen photos.
The lengthy application, splendidly prepared by Dan Campbell, Keith Betten, and Betty Hahle, serves to outline the history of the borough’s development and catalog thumbnail entries for many Riverton properties.
This entry in the Riverton National Register Historic District Inventory for the dwelling at 407 Howard Street is typical: 
I did not know that.
There are 525 more descriptions of properties in the Inventory, some shorter, some much more detailed. Many include a builder’s and/or architect’s name and names of any notable previous owners. Captions for the photos appear on pages 29 and 30. Several maps at the end help you get your spacial and historic bearings.
You are sure to learn something new about the influences on Riverton’s growth and the history of some structures in the Borough, if not your own home. – John McCormick
By now you know about the planned ride to celebrate the 1895 Tri-State Relay Race from the NY Times Building. Thousands of cycling enthusiasts attended the finish at the Riverton Athletic Association’s bicycle track right here in Riverton, NJ.
Quoting from my new friend, Rob Gusky’s Facebook page promoting interest in the event:
Plans are being made to recreate the spirit of this race by organizing a ride from the New York Times Building to Riverton on June 7, 2014. This 100 mile ride will be completed in one day and is a cooperative effort between a number of bicycle clubs and organizations across our region.
Rob keeps his followers up to date on developments with frequent updates as he manages the project from his home in Wisconsin. Despite the warnings your mom told you about meeting people on the Internet, Rob has been planning this event since last December with a growing number of people whom he has never met. The amateur cycling community has embraced the effort since Carlos Rogers said he was going to “set the wheels in motion to help make this happen.”
An early adopter, Rob had me on board as soon I heard the name Historic Riverton Century.
Previous posts here and here have expressed my enthusiasm for Rob Gusky’s creation of a bike ride with a historical theme as well as his laudable effort to fund and install a historical sign to mark the place where the bicycle race track once stood near the corner of South Broad Street and Thomas Avenue.
Anne Racioppi is the latest person to advance the project with her huge contribution of a truly exceptional official event logo. Rob broke the news to his Facebook followers this way:
Thanks to the help of Anne Racioppi, the Historic Riverton Century now has an official logo! Anne is not only a talented graphic designer, but she is also a cyclist and is planning to join us for the ride on June 7. We are now in the process of getting a jersey designed with this logo – let us know if you like the logo by liking this post. Here is a link to Anne’s site if you want to know more about her work – she responded to our call for volunteer help, what a great community we have here! https://www.facebook.com/anneracioppigraphicdesign
I had to “like” Rob’s post and look up this incredibly generous person. (I relate these Facebook exchanges only because I realize some visitors here do not have an account, so skip ahead if you heard this already.)
Anne very graciously commented:
The cycling community has given me so much help and love and support over the past 7 years of racing. I became an adult around these friends, many of which became family. Now that I’m out of the limelight I would love to continue giving back to this great community that gave me so much.
I followed the trail to Anne Racioppi’s AR Graphic Design Facebook page…
…and told her what I thought of her logo.
Hi, Anne – Thank you for contributing your considerable
creative gifts to make this logo. Choosing to place the words inside an oval that is reminiscent of the old Riverton bicycle track is genius! The historic fonts and flourishes, dramatically framed title, along with an image of a rider extracted from the only known photo of the track, all combine to create a truly exceptional logo for the Historic Riverton Century. Warm regards, John McCormick
Lest you think she whipped up this logo in fifteen minutes with some autopilot computer program, she explains her process:
Rob wanted to pay homage to the very first race so the logo was designed as though it were from the time period. Letterhead Fonts has the best period fonts and Billhead, Booth, and Hensler were used here. Every piece of this was hand drawn and streamlining the rider (Arthur Augustus Zimmerman) was very easy thanks to the high res scan from Riverton’s Historical Society.
By now, I am really impressed. (This, despite the error I introduced in 2009 with 
Zimmerman’s name. We actually do not know the names of any of the persons in this undated photo.)
For Anne to contribute to this project such a high quality and complex hand-drawn logo executed with top-drawer fonts is commendable, but it turns out, not all that remarkable.
I am learning that cyclists are a generous and close-knit community. And Jeopardy-smart. Anne’s contribution of her extraordinary talent to the cause speaks of the dedication to the sport and bond that occurs as these athletes work cooperatively toward the goal of creating something new.
Meanwhile, the clock is still running on the historical sign donation site, a jersey design for riders is in the works (participants buy their own), an application for the sign placement process has started with Borough Council, a Discover NJ History License Plate Fund Heritage Tourism Grant has been applied for, and publicity arrangements are moving forward.
Three months from today, on June 7, the first Historic Riverton Century will be, well… history.
The next day, Sunday, June 8, the plan is to commemorate the 1895 New York Times Tri-State Relay Race with a historical marker near where the race track once stood.
Let’s get it done. – John McCormick
Ice boats, an ice auto, and Riverton’s own One-Man Polar Bear Club sure must have made life on the Delaware interesting in February 1920.
Wouldn’t it be something to find that ice auto under a dusty canvas sitting in a garage on the old Hollingshead property on Thomas Avenue? I’d settle for some home movie footage or even a couple of Kodak snapshots.
With these events happening over ninety years ago, can anyone now possibly have first-hand knowledge of either of the unique ice crafts or the extraordinary athlete pictured here in the icy Delaware River?
I say extraordinary because, evidently, this world-class swimmer in our own backyard we may never have heard of still merits occasional citation when great pioneering amateur distance swim champions are discussed.
I have come across photos of Charles Durborow before, but clearly, I did not take him seriously enough. Newspapers often referred to him simply as a bank clerk and showed him posing in frigid water clothed in swim trunks and a top, holding a chunk of river ice.
One source attributed his conditioning to the development of his arms and shoulders from tossing around heavy sacks of coins in his career as a bank clerk. Further, it claimed that Durborow swam over 600 miles a year, every day of the year, even in winter.
To Riverton citizens and the community of water sports enthusiasts, however, he was much more – Riverton Yacht Club Secretary and Treasurer, Riverton Borough Clerk, Penn Athletic Club founding member, First National Bank of Philadelphia employee for 21 years, independent financial broker, amateur distance swimming champion of national and international renown, Beverly Yacht Club member, and Vice-President Middle Atlantic Association of the Amateur Athletic Union.
As Chairman of the RYC Swimming Committee he managed the annual A.A.U. ten-mile long-distance national swimming championship at the Riverton Yacht Club for the years 1918-1922.
He even accompanied Riverton youths as they marked their transition from childhood to young adult by swimming across the Delaware River from the Yacht Club to the Philadelphia side.
He was so frustrated with his failure to complete a crossing of the English Channel in 1912 that he called off a scheduled 34-mile swim from Sandy Hook to Coney Island and said that he “will quit the game for good.”
But he did not quit. The record books bear witness to his incredible swimming stamina and endurance.
Writing in Sporting Life Magazine in 1916, James H. Sterrett called Durborow, “the world’s greatest distance endurance swimmer.” (The private nonprofit LA84 Foundation operates the largest sports research library in North America. Sporting Life is one of many publications archived there.)
Writing again for Spaulding’s Athletic Library 1917 publication, How to Swim, Sterrett characterized the 34-year-old, 210 lb. six-foot Philadelphia bank clerk as, “the foremost, long-distance and greatest mileage swimmer in the world.” See a list of Durborow’s accomplishments on p. 40 of How to Swim.
Searching for information about the marathon swimmer is made more difficult by the various ways writers mangled his last name. Durborrow, Durboro, Durburrow, and even Durbonard are some of the erroneous handles given to him by journalists.
One goal that continued to elude him was to swim the English Channel. A 1919 Rockford, IL Register Gazette newspaper article referred to a 1914 forced postponement of an English Channel swim “on account of the European squabble.” A planned crossing in 1919 was to be Durborow’s second attempt, according to the story, but he did not prove successful as his name is not on the list of swimmers who mastered the Channel.
The Durborow family later moved to Edgewater Park after residing in Riverton from about 1907-1927. Mr. Durborow’s 1938 New York Times obituary explained that he passed away suddenly at age 56. Funeral services were held Riverton’s Christ Episcopal Church.
Long distance open water swimming still draws participants and fans. A Sept. 2013 National Geographic Daily News article, Greatest Swims: Five Epic Swims in the Wake of Nyad’s Feat, reminds us about Diana Nyad, the 64-year-old woman who became the first person ever to swim between Cuba and Florida unassisted by a shark cage. She accomplished the feat in just 52 hours, 54 minutes, and 18 seconds.
In that article, take note of Gertrude Ederle, the American swimming sensation who conquered the English Channel in 1926. Her experiences as a 15-year-old entrant in competitions at Riverton Yacht Club, among other places, helped hone her distance swimming skills.
As always, we welcome comments from anyone who can shed more light on this subject, and are open to suggestions for other overlooked Riverton characters. – John McCormick
Some South Jersey Downton Abbey devotees held on to their Season Four Finale buzz a while longer as they enjoyed afternoon tea themed to the famous British television drama series at The New Leaf in Riverton, NJ.
Proprietor Mrs. Phyllis Rodgers and Historical Society of Riverton President planned the event as a fundraiser for the Society, and it drew a capacity crowd Sunday afternoon despite the expected arrival of another winter storm later that evening.
The New Leaf’s smartly attired butler hung up guests’ coats as Lady Phyllis invited arrivals to enjoy a champagne punch. (Riverton Mayor and HSR Board Member, Mr. William C. Brown, served as stand-in for Carson.)
Lady Phyllis warmed up the crowd, literally and figuratively, with trivia questions about the PBS hit series as Mrs.Hughes (played by Vicki) helped the maids serve Cook JoAnn’s piping-hot black currant tea and freshly baked lavender and golden raisin scones served with rose preserves and Devonshire cream.
Ever-attentive wait staff delivered to each table towers of delectable sandwiches and savories, each menu item cleverly named after show characters.
The main course, however, was the grand entrance of actress/historian Alisa DuPuy as she channeled everyone’s favorite dowager countess.
In her monologue, part English history lesson, part etiquette class, part stand-up routine, Lady Violet schooled all in attendance in the fine points of the British rules of male primogeniture and the lifestyles of the various social classes.
Lady Violet presided over a bingo game and another about lines delivered by characters during the course of the series’ four season run.
Altogether it proved a pleasant fix for our Downton Sunday habit since we will probably have to wait until January 2015 for the US première of Season Five.
Photos by Susan Dechnik and John McCormick
