Tag: John McCormick

May 2011 Annual Meet Convenes at The Bank on Main

The Bank on Main - open for business once again

The Historical Society of Riverton held its Annual Meeting June 9, 2011, at The Bank on Main, courtesy of the Antonucci Family of Riverton. First constructed for the Cinnaminson Bank & Trust Company in 1928, its new owners have transformed the building’s interior into an attractive venue for business and social events.

In the business portion of the annual meeting members approved a slate of new or returning directors, including Pat Brunker, Donald Dietz, William McDermott, J. Edward Gilmore, Nancy Hall, John McCormick, Phyllis Rodgers, Mary Lou Smith, Michael Spinelli, and Cheryl Smekal.  A number of By-Law proposals received approval with one change, suggested by Mr. Paul Schopp. Members approved his motion to change the quorum for a Board meeting to nine.  Click here find the full text of the By-Laws to passed June 9, 2011.

The massive original vault remains the focal point of the room. Round linen-covered banquet exhibit tables flanked the carpeted part of the room and chairs arranged in rows on a magnificent marble dance floor in the center of the space faced the vault. The high ceiling, large windows, and sparkling chandelier hanging from the center of a huge, ornately carved medallion that dominates the ceiling all served to create an elegant setting befitting the main portion of the meeting; to celebrate the life of Mrs. Betty B. Hahle, Town Historian, who passed away on April 17, 2011. A large photo collage poster of Mrs. Hahle placed next to the vault represented some of her many accomplishments and provided a backdrop for the remarks and accolades of the speakers.

President of the Historical Society of Riverton, Gerald Weaber, started by reviewing the life of Mrs. Hahle, highlighting her contributions to virtually every Riverton organization and stressing her dedication and commitment to preserving Riverton’s history and character.  Her meticulous investigating and record keeping, pursued with passion, earned her a place in Riverton’s history.  Mayor Robert Martin then presented a proclamation to the daughters of Mrs. Hahle, Donna Hahle Kirkland and Marilyn R. Hahle.

Several members of the audience shared memories of Betty Hahle by illustrating examples of her generosity in sharing her extensive knowledge of Riverton while others cited her success in raising her three daughters.

A four-part a capella group called Three Good Men smoothly segued into the entertainment part of the meeting by appropriately choosing “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” as their opening number. They continued the historical theme by serving up an eclectic mix of songs from classic barbershop to Rock & Roll and Doo-Wop, freely seasoned with jokes and puns. The inclusion of “God Bless America” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” on the same set list indicates the versatility of this talented quartet. We even learned history trivia; “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” (1942) was the first ever gold record. Clearly, the foursome achieved their website’s description of “the essence of Barbershop” by liberally “ringing chords” off those stately old bank walls for the entire performance.

Even a mid-meeting power outage which left only dimmed emergency lights to illuminate the chamber failed to dampen anyone’s spirit or curtail the marvelous entertainment from our a capella quartet, which fortunately required no electricity.  At the conclusion, HSR President Gerald Weaber invited participants to enjoy refreshments.  Three Good Men continued their convivial exhibition by harmonizing “Happy Birthday” for two HSR Geminis, Mrs. Linda McCormick and Mrs. Phyllis Rogers and serenading bride-to-be, Keri Antonucci with a song .

We sincerely thank the Antonucci Family for so generously extending to the Historical Society the use of this splendid facility for our Annual Meeting. Find out more about this new multi-purpose banquet hall and event facility at the Antonucci Ventures LLC website.

That was our last meeting for the summer, but check back often for more additions to this website. Our expanded HSR Board will be busy planning for the next 2011-2012 season. Please consider donating items to the Society as you de-clutter or downsize belongings. We also welcome your submissions of recollections, comments, photos, scans, etc. for possible publication in the Gaslight News or on this website.  – Co-written and photographed by: Mrs. Susan Dechnik and John McCormick

 

“Glimpses of Palmyra and Riverton” shows boroughs the way they were in the 1930s and 1940s; Creator, Matt Gideon seeks public’s help with new project

Selected screen captures from “Glimpses of Palmyra and Riverton Volume I”

It seems that Palmyra has its own version of “Romance of Riverton” called “Glimpses of Palmyra and Riverton,” and I recently had the pleasure of screening for the first time Volumes I and II of these classic 1930s-1940s home movies of Palmyra and Riverton. The late Dr. Dean LeFavor, a Palmyra family physician, captured on film many seemingly everyday scenes with his 8mm movie camera while out making house calls. Needless to say, much of the everyday 1934 is no longer with us.

Some of those scenes in the over one hundred aptly named “glimpses” in Volume I include period cars, trucks, and buses, the Delaware River frozen over, a few vehicle accidents, and several types of fire trucks, as Dr. LeFavor often responded to fire and emergency calls where his medical skills would be called for.

Three fleeting clips of the Nellie Bly steam engine passenger train roaring up the tracks en route to New York contrasted sharply with two other sobering scenes which showed the aftermath of an automobile and a milk truck which tangled with the speedy Nellie Bly and lost. Dr. LeFavor even took his camera with him on road trips to New York City and to check out the beached hulk of the Morrow Castle passenger ship at Asbury Park in 1934.

The old Palmyra and Riverton train stations each are hubs of activity in their respective towns, and the bright dancing lights on Palmyra’s Broadway movie marquee beckon couples to come inside to see the 1934 American musical comedy film Twenty Million Sweethearts starring Pat O’Brien, Dick Powell and Ginger Rogers. With so many locations and landmarks so transformed over the years, this film could just as easily been titled, “Things That Aren’t There Anymore.”

I had seen many of the film’s subjects as the static images in the old postcard views, but seeing these same locations reanimated with people in a real movie is just an extra bonus. After searching so long for photos of the Nellie Bly, seeing a clip of her steaming through town was, in itself, worth the price of admission.

These DVDs are sure to appeal to local history buffs, as well as those who enjoy antique fire equipment, steam engine trains, or vintage automobiles, and anyone who wants to see what this place was like “back in the day.”

All of these priceless motion pictures could have been lost had it not been for Mr. and Mrs. Walter W. Poulson who allowed the Palmyra Fire Company to reproduce the films which Dr, LeFavor had given them. In 1989, Matthew Gideon of the Palmyra Fire Department arranged for the film to be transferred to DVD.

Big band and swing background music accompanies Volume I which comes with a scene by scene account developed from notes taken by Dr. LeFavor. “Glimpses of Palmyra and Riverton in the 1930s and 40s, Volume II” contains the last reel of Dr. LeFavor’s films around town, still photos of Tacony-Palmyra Bridge under construction and of the Tacony-Palmyra Ferry Company, and still photos taken from Dr. Lamb’s Picturesque Palmyra booklet. It is fully narrated and accompanied with piano music played by Dr. LeFavor. Click here to view a short trailer showing four scenes from Volume I. (Check out the gasoline price on the sign in the Mutt Parade.)

Matt reports that limited quantities of both titles are available for $25 each;  include $5 postage and handling, if you need yours mailed. Specify if you want Volume I or Volume II. Send your check or postal money order to: Mr. Matt Gideon, 116 Mt. Vernon Drive, Cinnaminson, NJ 08077. If you are local, please arrange for pick-up at the firehouse in Palmyra.

(DVDs are no longer available)

Independence Fire Co. No. 1, 20th anniversary in 1907

Another reason for today’s column is to publicize 40 year Palmyra firehouse veteran Matt Gideon’s newest history project—a detailed history of the Palmyra and Riverton Fire Departments from the founding of each in the late 19th century up through about 1920. He requests that the public contact him with old photos, newspaper articles, programs, memorabilia, and such which will serve to supplement his search of borough records, minutes of firehouse meetings, and logs of fire calls.

Matt plans to use the collected research to plan a talk and presentation he is planning to use as a fundraiser for both fire companies. Please contact Matt at 856-816-4330  and make arrangements to share your old photos and collections which will help him document fire locations and supply background material that will set the tone for the time period from 1886-1920.  – John McCormick, Gaslight News Editor

 

 

Step into the Past with this 1912 Stone Harbor Souvenir Booklet

1912 Stone Harbor Souvenir Folder
The gorgeous weather here in South Jersey this glorious Easter Sunday helps one remember those sunny summer days which lie just around the corner. By now, kids (and their teachers) are counting the days until the term’s end in June in anticipation of going “down the shore.”

What is your favorite shore destination – Avalon, Ocean City, Stone Harbor, Cape May, or any place on LBI?

Here are some newly acquired images scanned from a 1912 Souvenir Folder of Stone Harbor postcards. Find six larger separate images added to the Stone Harbor section of the Images page, bringing to 163 the total number of Stone Harbor images. As always, readers are invited to leave comments or send suggestions.

Find also the new category of Collingswood, NJ Images, just posted. There are 106 classic images of old Collingswood, many of which are of the rare “real photo postcard” type. My Baby-boomer friend who so very generously labored over scanning and sending these files across the miles reminisces,

The Grove, Knights Park, Collingswood, NJ – RPPC
“Boy, do I have some great childhood memories from then growing up! Riding bikes around the block, hammocks on front porches, ice, milk, bread and coal deliveries, babyparades and fabulous Fourth of July celebrations and fireworks displays, climbing trees, playing baseball with friends, digging foxholes and playing soldier or cowboys, etc.  I had a cocker spaniel, a cat, a rabbit, a turtle and fish. Post-war America, the Age of Innocence, Baby-Boom, age of heroes and radio broadcasts, no televisions yet, etc.  We didn’t have a lot, but it seemed we were never left wanting for the necessities back then.  Ah, a simpler time, I gotta believe!”

I invite you to leave a comment on a blog entry, an image page, a Gaslight News issue, on a Program page, or on our Facebook page, if you care to. Those of you with information or collections to share, please contact me so that we can make arrangements. – John McCormick, Gaslight News Editor

From the HSR Archives, A Riverside Souvenir

Dear Readers: Most of the images that you have seen posted here are ones which I scanned from collections belonging to other collectors – serious collectors – of vintage real photos and postcards. It is through their generosity which has made this online exposition of digital images and information possible.

Riverside Souvenir Folder

However, the Historical Society is not without its own resources, so I descended into the HSR archives last week and picked out some items which haven’t seen the light of day since they were cataloged and placed into our file cabinets which are stored in a warehouse somewhere in Area 51.

Here is the first installment in a new web feature called “From the HSR Archives.”

The file folder marked 82.03.31 contained this item that I had not seen before – at least, not all in one piece. In order to give you a really good look at it, go the the Riverside Images Page and find five very large separate images in with the other Riverside pictures.

Here is the real story, however. The documentation which lists the manuscripts and artifacts in our modest archive shows the following notation, “November 29, 1982 – Received from Mrs. Grace Coles Collection of items of local history belonging to Mrs. Ruth Schmierer.” The accession list starts with 83.3.1 and ends three typewritten pages later with 83.3.36 which means that Mrs. Coles donated 36 separate items to the Society.

This Riverside Souvenir Folder may have been donated to the Society 29 years ago, but to me, it’s like I just opened it for the first time. I suspect that may be the case for at least some readers of this column. For my part, I must express a heartfelt “thank you” to the donor.

Just a cursory perusal of this HSR Accession List tells me that many incredibly generous and civic-minded people have contributed to our real Collection (as opposed to my virtual digital collection) over the years. It is my privilege to bring their legacy to an audience via the Internet, even as we hope for a permanent home in which to house and display our Collection. These materials serve as wonderful nostalgic reminders as well as being irreplaceable primary source references for scholars.

Please help us in our mission to discover, restore, and preserve local objects and landmarks, and to continue to expand our history of the area by joining the Historical Society of Riverton. And, if you are able to contribute one real item or a trunkful, just a scan or a real photograph piece of ephemera, a comment or a memoir, please know that you are adding more to our community’s understanding of Riverton history and enhancing our ability to tell it, just as so many other greathearted people who have preceded you.

Come back again to explore more treasures from the HSR archives with me. – John McCormick, Gaslight News Editor

PS. Our HSR Publicity Chairperson Mrs. Susan Dechnik  took a number of photos and wrote a short summary for the presentation given at our March 23, 2011 HSR meeting. You can find her synopsis of “Ladies’ &  Gentlemen’s Accessories of the Past Victorian, Edwardian, and Depression Eras” along with a dozen captioned photos and a video clip on the Programs and Events page.

Welsbach Gaslamps Are Century-Old Fixtures Here

Riverton Yacht Club and Pier, 2007

Ask someone what things in town they think symbolize Riverton, and somewhere in that top ten list will probably be the Riverton Yacht Club and the old-time gas streetlamps. Here are both in the same photo, taken on a sunny August day in 2007.

There is just no place else which has this picture postcard look.

We here in Riverton may be “used to” the gaslamps illuminating our streets. To an outside visitor, though, it must seem as if a Hollywood set dresser has placed these nostalgic fixtures throughout this charming town in order to evoke an elegant Victorian mood.

Whereas most American cities had gaslit streets in the early 20th century, only a handful have retained the type of old-fashioned gas streetlights which have become such an integral part of many people’s memories of Riverton.

It is hard to imagine Riverton without its cherished gaslamps. Yet, there was a time during the late 1970s when it looked like Riverton’s gas streetlamps would be snuffed out for good.

Welsbach lapel pin

In November 2007, Mr. Jeff Cole, a HSR member and Riverton resident, presented a comprehensive presentation on the Welsbach Street Lighting Company which manufactured the original lamps. In it, he traced the history and development of the Welsbach Company, explained the technology of the incandescent gas mantle, told of the battle against the state Board of Public Utilities to keep the lamps, and showed some his collection of  Welsbach publications and collectibles.

Jeff is uniquely qualified to assemble such a project since he is the grandson of Mr. Robinet Cole, a Riverton resident who worked at Welsbach for a remarkable 68 years. In a true Horatio Alger story if there ever was one, the elder Mr. Cole worked his way up from being a 15 year-old office boy to the president of the company.

In case you have wondered about those gaslamps, or missed that Historical Society meeting almost four years ago, here is that same PowerPoint and the notes that explain the slides. Click here to download the 43.4 MB  PowerPoint slide show and click here to download the PDF file of explanatory speaker’s notes.  In addition, several rare publications used by Jeff in the preparation of the project can be seen in greater detail by clicking on the following links:

A handsome example of an original gaslamp post refinished by homeowner, Mr. Harry Richman

As always, we welcome your comments, additions, or corrections.

John McCormick, Gaslight News Editor

The schooner Lucy Evelyn, built 1917, beached at Beach Haven, NJ  (1948-1972) where it served as a unique gift shop. Destroyed by fire, 1972.
PS – Despite these damp chilly days which have no business being here at the end of March, my thoughts wander to warmer temps and past summers at the shore. For me, it was LBI. I worked there several summers through high school and college at Surf City Hotel, first as busboy and then as a waiter. Look on the Images page for recent uploads of 87 Long Beach Island images, 40 Ocean City images, 10 Seaside Heights images, and 5 Avalon images. Those great linen-era postcards depict a number of things which aren’t there anymore, and most pre-date even my serving days at Surf City Hotel during the 1960s.

 

Welsbach torch
Welsbach torch – top view

PPS – 06/13/2012. A visitor named Anthony has a torch stamped “Welsbach Street Lighting Company of America” and he left two comments about it below. Since then, he sent in two photos which we display here in the hope that someone may be able to offer more information about it.

Rivertons Good Sports from Waaay Back

Riverton Ball Club 1872 Fred Moore, veteran of 23 seasons in center
The Phillies are playing in Clearwater now, and fan anticipation is high as the team prepares for another run at the World Series. With the re-signing of Cliff Lee, the Phillies now have in Halladay, Hamels, Oswalt, and Co. what may arguably be the one of the best starting pitching rotations ever assembled in the history of major league baseball. Years from now, a generation will look back fondly upon these as the “good ol’ days.”

Few today can remember grandparents’ tales of Riverton’s heyday of baseball during the late 19th century, but there was a time when the “Riverton Nine” was so highly regarded that Henry Chadwick, the “Father of Baseball,” recalled an 1890 game in which they played as one of the best he had ever seen. A June 4, 1895, New York Times article stated, “During the old days of baseball, perhaps no amateur club in the country was so well known as the Rivertons.”

 

1890 map detail showing Riverton Ball Club Grounds

The team first organized in 1865, and played in Biddle’s apple orchard. When the interests of the group grew to include the sports of cricket and tennis in 1881, they leased land from the Miller Grounds and improved it with about 250 train carloads each of Pennsylvania sod and soil.

1890 Sporting Life graphic

Baseball, particularly, flourished in those days and the players ultimately outgrew even that setting. Consequently, in 1885, they purchased 6¼ acres of the Lippincott property and moved there in April, 1887. In 1894, the more inclusive name change to the Riverton Athletic Association seemed appropriate for the band which was just then adopting the next new American craze—bicycling.

The newly invigorated association built “…one of the finest quarter-mile (bicycle) tracks in the world” with stands that seated nearly 3,000 spectators. (For more details see the September 2009 issue of Gaslight News for Pat Solin’s feature story, “The Fine Grounds of the Riverton Athletic Association”).

Riverton’s Bicycle track – undated photo from Ed Gilmore

In 1895, the club hosted the New York Times Tri-State 150-Mile Relay Bicycle which included 163 cyclists. All preparatory aspects of the event were closely followed in the pages of the New York Times for weeks preceding the event. The race started out from the offices of the Times in New York City and climaxed with the winner crossing the finish line at Riverton’s own quarter-mile track.

Riverton’s long and illustrious sports tradition includes much more, of course: the sailing competitions and regattas at the Riverton Yacht Club, founded 1865; the live-pigeon trap shooting competitions held at the famed Riverton Gun Club (1877-1906); the individual efforts of athletes in national swim meets held at the Yacht Club during the 1920s; the play of men and women golfers of the Riverton Golf Club; as well as the stunning performance of 1923 women’s AAU track phenomenon, Frances Ruppert.

Look for images representing some of these accomplishments on the Images Page. We welcome the submission of photographs, programs, printed material, schedules, team rosters, and personal anecdotes or family stories which may serve as topics for future postings. John McCormick, Gaslight News Editor

 

 

Riverton History 101

Mr. McC’s history classroom

I started collecting images and information about Riverton’s early days to use in instructing my middle school students at Riverton School on local history. When I couldn’t buy on eBay, I borrowed from other collectors who generously loaned me items to scan.

The result was a virtual collection of hundreds of vintage images from which I reproduced prints and enlargements to raise money toward the purchase of a digital projector for my classroom. While my first goal was to help my students learn about their town’s local history, I soon learned that even many adults had not seen the images in this expanding digital compilation.

When Priscilla Taylor and Patricia Brunker approached me during Victorian Day 2006 festivities and drafted me into the Historical Society of Riverton, I mistakenly thought that one needed to live in Riverton to join. Au contraire, mon frère. There is no residency requirement. In fact, only about 60% of the addresses on the Gaslight News mailing list are for Riverton; the rest of the locations range from New Jersey to California and Maine to Florida. Rivertonians, current and former, are a far-flung lot. Hence, my wish to bring the show to the Internet. (Here’s a membership flyer, or go to the Contact page.)

screenshot of presentation title frame

Since joining the HSR, I’ve been tapped to do several presentations; some solo, some collaborating with others. I have never charged the HSR a speaker’s fee. In a classic case of “you get what you pay for,” or perhaps hoping that I’ll one day get it right, the Board continues to invite me back.

This was the first presentation that I gave to a HSR meeting in January 2007. Billed as a show of vintage postcards and photos, it played to a SRO crowd in the Riverton School Library, a feat not duplicated since. Maybe there was nothing on TV that night. For whatever reason, the turnout both surprised and gratified Bob Bednarek, the president at that time. Me, I was just nervous, as you may hear.

Topics include The New Era, Dreer’s Nursery, Vintage Postcards and Photos, and Local Maps

However, once seen by the group of people who venture out for a particular meeting, the program’s content, however worthwhile, just languishes in the hard drive of my computer. While I have always wanted to post these presentations on the Internet, the large file sizes that result from creating PowerPoints from the vintage postcards and maps, graphics, and animations which illustrate my talks have been problematic.

Computer wunderkind Mike Solin once again shows his old teacher new tricks
Short story: I told Mike Solin, my former Riverton School student, now computer consultant, of my wish, and he figured out how to add that feature to the WordPress template that he continues to tweak to meet our needs.

 

Following is the link to download the large PowerPoint file for that first program containing images and information about historic Riverton. To be fair, it’s really more eye candy than in-depth information—the reason for the freshman course title of this blog post. I would learn at that first presentation, and on successive ones since, that when coming to address the Riverton citizenry on their history, I could expect to receive schooling in such matters myself.

Although I cannot find my handwritten presenter’s notes which explained the slides, somehow, through computer crashes and changeovers, I found on my hard drive a rather poor quality audio file recording of that evening’s program, complete with no small amount of audience participation. You may want to download the audio file and listen as you advance through the slides.

You can hear that my lecture certainly benefited from the many recollections and personal anecdotes furnished by the group. I have come to value the fact-checking, insights, and historical perspectives contributed by people in the audience.

Then, as now, I invite viewers to comment on the presentation, particularly if they would note an error or provide more information. One mistake in this presentation was my identification of a long-gone building that I thought was the Evans Lumber Building; it turned out to be the Woolston Carriage Works.

Click here to download the 74.3MB PowerPoint slide show, “HSR slide show 1-29-2007.” Click here to download the 52m, 06s 24.1MB wma. audio file which I recorded as I gave the presentation that evening. You will hear that my solitary “talk” instead turned into more of a town meeting, with the slides serving as an itinerary for a group excursion down Riverton’s Memory Lane. You are invited along, and it’s not too late for you to add your voice to the chorus.

John McCormick

I welcome comments from this larger audience and I’ll be glad to try to answer any questions that you may have. Please contact me if you can add to our knowledge base by donating relevant items, by loaning items so that we can scan them, or by sending text or image files as email attachments.  – John McCormick, Gaslight News Editor

Reprising a Popular HSR Program

 

Alumni, staff, parents, and board members marked the 100th birthday of the present school building
As her AVA guy, I themed much of the design of the slideshow around Mrs. Kloos’s personal memories. Mrs. Kloos invited “class participation” as she reminisced about her alma mater and her thirty-three years as a teacher in the school. – JMc

On January 19, 2010, sixty former students, staff, and interested community members assembled in the Riverton School gym to observe the 100th birthday of the present school building. Retired teacher, Mrs. Mabel Kloos, showed a PowerPoint presentation called “A Short History of Riverton Public School” created by myself which was very much enjoyed by those in attendance. You can read the March 2010 issue of Gaslight News for a fuller recap of the events of that evening.

Since then, several people have expressed regret that they had missed it. Now, if you wish, you can replay the entire slide show from that night.

 

RPS Grade 3 1921 Mabel’s dad 3rd from right
Click here to download the 23MB PowerPoint, “A Short History of Riverton School.” If you do not already have it, you’ll need the free PowerPoint viewer or the PowerPoint program in order to watch the slide show.

Click here to download the PDF file of notes that go with the slide show and you’ll also have the narrative which explains the images as well as prompts for the animations and advancing the slides.  – John McCormick, Gaslight News

Recap of February 2011 HSR Meeting

In another case of "The Student becomes the Master," young Michael Solin has patiently tutored his former teacher in the intricacies of WordPress web design. Now retired, Mr. McCormick expresses his deep appreciation to Mike for making the website possible. Acknowledging Mike's prodigious computer skills, Mr. McCormick quipped, "I have sweaters older than this guy, and now he's showing me how to do things that I've always wanted to do on this website, but couldn't." Mrs. Natalie Ragomo (2nd from right), who taught Mike in kindergarten, is amused.
Congratulations on a successful roll-out of the new web site for the Historical Society of Riverton. Our appreciation goes out to the web site development team led by John McCormick and the Solins – Mike and Pat.

 

 

Members of the Society marveled at the rich content and beautiful stereo slides and postcard images of life in the 1920s. John McCormick’s blog is a fresh and informative perspective on Riverton, its people and historic structures.

Mr. Gerald Weaber addresses the twenty-two ardent local history fans who braved a cold drizzle to attend the screening of Mr. Francis Cole's oral history video and take a hands-on tour of the HSR website.
Thanks to the many Society members and friends who have shared their images on the web site.

 

Dr. Cliff Johnson attended the Society meeting to hear the oral history of Francis Cole whose family owned Cole Dairy at 501 Main Street in Riverton. Dr. Johnson, who was born in 1920, and lived in the Riverton-Palmyra areas since he was three years old, commented tonight, “I went to school with the girl who painted your masthead- Anne Knight Ruff,” and he went on to identify the members of the Palmyra Police Department during the Depression when Police Chief Maurice Beck and patrolman Bucky Wallace led the force.

 

HSR Pres. Gerald Weaber and Dr. Cliff Johnson confer as Mike Solin watches Ms. Cheryl Smekal explore the HSR website. In back, Ms. Peggy Trauger Crook and Mr. Jeff Chambers check out the site.
Dr. Johnson is the father of Society member Cheryl Johnson Smekal.  Dr. Johnson’s dentistry practice was located at 433 Thomas Avenue in Riverton and is still the oldest structure on that street dating from circa 1869. Dr. Johnson purchased the home from the Coddington family which operated a paint and wallpaper store in town.

 

 

The mysteries of Riverton’s past continue to be revealed as more people explore the web site and contribute images, memories and identify the faces of town folk long forgotten yet whose contributions to our community made Riverton such a special place to live along the banks of the Delaware River in New Jersey.  – Gerald Weaber, HSR President

Riverton in 3D Old Hat for This Esteemed Riverton Family


ice jam on Riverton Yacht Club pier. January 1920
Riverton Fire Co. 1925

I am privileged to know Mrs. Elsie Waters through our membership in the Historical Society. Among the many things which she has permitted the HSR the use of are some of her family’s treasured photographs. These stereoviews are just a few of the photos, stereoviews, and movies which chronicle the history and growth of Elsie’s many kin.

The Waters/Knight/Wright/Flach Family Tree has a considerable history, parts of which have been entangled in many of the significant chapters of Riverton’s saga.

July 4, 1924

I am motivated by the increased ability of our amped up website to display media, and so I am revisiting resources such as this in order to  bring them to a new audience. Jim Flach and his dad, Richard Flach, generously sent me these higher resolution files via Internet from Florida.

Click on each thumbnail for a hi-res file.

With some time on the PhotoShop bench, I was able to unwarp the curve in the cardboard mount.

I have wondered if one were to print these at actual size (3½” x 7″), how they would look in a stereoscope viewer. Somebody, let me know.

– John McCormick, Gaslight News Editor